News roundup: Lenses, filters, updates & more

In a busy week we have new lenses from DZOFILM and Mitakon, some NDI filters for a DJI drone, a free update for Vegas Pro, and more.

DZOFILM Vespid Retro Golden Coating Cine Lens Set Released

DZOFILM now brings its Vespid Retro Cine lenses for professional filmmakers to the market. The amber coating adds a warm soft tint to the cold bluish image that renders skin tones. Vespid Retro has a focus ring and iris ring, so no adjustment is needed when changing focal lengths with 270-degree focusing rotation. Interchangeable mounting design is compatible with a variety of cinema cameras.

The limited edition Vespid Retro is only sold as a set and the price is $18,999. Lenses will start to ship by the end of this month.

The New Mitakon Speedmaster 50mmT1 MFT Cine Lens

Mitakon is looking to complete the 17mm, 25mm, and 35mm cine lens MFT line-up by adding a new 50mmT1 MFT Lens. Zhong Yi Optics, the wide-aperture lens manufacturer in China, has 4 focal lengths for its complete set of wide-angle to telephoto: 17mm, 25mm, 35mm, and 50mm. It is said to be a budget saver for filmmakers who can use a set of lenses with the same characters during video production.

Tiffen ND Filters for the DJI Avata

Tiffen has released new Tiffen ND Filters for the DJI Avata, the first professional light control filter kit solely for the DJI Avata drone. These filters are designed to help with the camera aperture for ideal exposure. Tiffen says these filters are specifically designed for outdoor use such as being resistant to water, oil pollution, and scratches.

The kit comes with neutral-density filters in ND8, ND16, and ND32. The ND8 yields a 3-stop reduction, the ND16 a 4-stop reduction, and the ND32 cuts the light by 5 stops.

Key specifications:

• Includes ND8, ND16 & ND32 Camera Filters
• Unparalleled image quality with the guarantee that the effect will not scratch off 
• Will not fade when exposed to harsh lighting conditions 
• 10 Year Warranty 
• Drone camera filters are made from optical glass with waterproof and scratch-proof multi-coating, which reduces reflection while maintaining clarity and color fidelity 
• The rectangular filter rings are built of lightweight and durable aluminum

These filters are available for $59 inc. VAT.

VEGAS Creative Software Releases Free Update to VEGAS Pro 20

VEGAS Creative Software has announced a substantial free update to its flagship VEGAS Pro 20 product line. The new features to further enhance color grading workflow power, efficiencies, and collaboration directly on the timeline. This new update also brings VEGAS Pro the ability to zoom into the Video Preview window for a close-in look up to 2,000 times magnification.

The new color correction features enable creators to produce signature looks, fine-tune the color to match the emotion of their sequences, and gain full control of colors. Users can change the saturation of anything from the entire video to a very specific hue in the video, and they can pull saturation out of a specific color to mute the colour’s effect or pump up the saturation to make a specific colour pop.

Introducing Pixotope Fly for Creating Augmented Reality with Drones

Realtime virtual production solutions, have unveiled Pixotope Tracking - Fly Edition (Pixotope Fly), a new camera tracking software solution that dramatically simplifies creating and tracking augmented reality elements with drones and cable cameras. The unique markerless technology eliminates the complex setup and creative constraints imposed by tracking markers, enabling productions and live events to engage audiences with dynamic real-time aerial graphics.