The COMPACT-SERVO 18-80mm T4.4 EF-mount lens combines the benefits of compact size and light weight (only 2.65 lbs.) for outstanding mobility. Designed to shoot video, this lens can be ideal for the cinematographer moving up from our EF lenses, combining the functionality of our EF lenses with the video shooting features of our Cinema lenses.
Acknowledging the need to control zoom, focus and iris, Canon has developed this zoom lens with full external servo control. The integrated servo drive unit is compatible with broadcast industry-standard lens controllers including Canon's standard broadcast lens controllers (ZSD-300D/FPD-400D). The optional ZSG-C10 Zoom Servo Grip can mount to the lens for handheld operation.
Three levels of Image Stabilization and incorporated autofocus functions set the COMPACT-SERVO 18-80mm T4.4 EF lens apart from traditional Super 35mm Cinema lenses. A 9-blade iris creates a rounded aperture so out-of-focus highlights appear circular. The lens also features a 4.4x zoom magnification, a focal length range of 18-80mm and a 130? smooth rotating focus ring. The COMPACT-SERVO 18-80mm T4.4 EF lens offers professional video functionality all at an affordable price, making it ideal for a wide range of video applications including documentary, cinema, news gathering, wedding and other video production.
Different aspects of lens performance are emphasized when shooting video as opposed to still images. A zoom range through commonly used focal lengths, high level 4K optical performance and a smooth aperture iris designed for motion picture capture all demonstrate the COMPACT-SERVO 18-80mm T4.4 EF lens's optimization for video.
A zoom can be useful in narrative or documentary video production for capturing wide to medium fields of view.
The 18-80mm T4.4 EF lens is parfocal in both manual and autofocus modes. The lens employs a special compensating lens group that moves to maintain precise focus while a separate lens group performs the zooming action. Maintaining focus while changing focal length allows the lens to be used in video production where zooming while recording is required.
The 18-80mm T4.4 EF lens maintains a wide aperture of T4.4 (F4.0) throughout their zoom range. This allows zooming while at maximum aperture without any dimming of the image.
The 4K optical performance of the 18-80mm T4.4 EF lens produces a significantly sharper image than 2K/HD. The various advanced design strategies used help to ensure over 4K resolution at picture center and a careful control of falloff of image sharpness at picture extremities.
The excellent contrast range associated with High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging helps ensure both deep black reproduction and the excellent handling of scene specular highlights. HDR image capture significantly enhances both the contrast and the richness of colors in a scene, but it also poses a potential challenge in exacerbating the visibility of any lens chromatic aberrations. The 18-80mm T4.4 EF lens was designed to help minimize such aberrations.
Canon's color science has become highly refined over generations of lens designs, paying the closest attention to a pleasing skin tone reproduction. The 18-80mm T4.4 EF lens can be used interchangeably with other Canon Cinema lenses during the same production since both have the same warm, cine-look color characteristics -- making it easier to maintain consistent color when multiple lenses are used.
The 18-80mm T4.4 EF lens can smoothly adjust between open and closed for precise exposure control and live in-shot changes. The 9-blade iris creates a rounded aperture so out-of-focus highlights appear circular. An odd number of iris blades also help create a less distracting flare. The iris on the lens can also be completely closed, which is useful when adjusting black balance.
A cinema lens requires an iris that can be smoothly adjusted between wide open and closed. Continuous adjustment allows not only for precise exposure control, but also smooth adjustment live in shot while recording. This can be useful to help compensate for change in exposure due to spotty clouds or moving between indoor and outdoor light levels within a shot.
More iris blades create a rounder aperture, resulting in out-of-focus highlights that appear more circular. An odd number of iris blades means that there will be a larger number of small radiating points on a flare, helping to prevent distracting artifact.
The aperture on the 18-80mm T4.4 EF lens can close completely, allowing no light to pass through. This is useful in black balancing a camera.
The auto exposure system in the 18-80mm T4.4 EF lens capitalizes on Canon's Electromagnetic Diaphragm (EMD) technology that has been highly refined over many years in the EF lens series. This technology integrates the lens iris assembly and a miniature stepping motor in a single unit. Electronic pulses from the camera controls the motor to map numerous steps across the full range of the iris mechanism. This AE control loop is fast and silent. An AE Shift mode allows a small manual override for fine adjustments to exposure.
A flange back adjustment mechanism is built-in allowing you to adjust on site which helps to provide even greater optical performance among various cameras.