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FULL FRAME

Zeiss CP.3

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Origin
Germany
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Year
2018
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Lens Type
Spherical
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Squeeze Factor
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Anamorphic Type
FULL FRAME

Zeiss CP.3

flag
Origin
Germany
calendar-alt
Year
2018
camera-alt
Lens type
Spherical
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Squeeze Factor
crop-alt
Anamorphic Type

About

The Zeiss CP.3 lenses continue the evolution of the CP.2 lens line. Again, Zeiss is rehousing their exceptional still photography lenses with upgraded irises. However, the CP.3 housings have smaller 95mm fronts, and Zeiss' eXtended Data feature which allows the camera to record metadata straight from the lens, which provides valuable information to post including the lens' distortion, shading, focus distance, T stop, etc. all in real time.

The lenses have very high contrast, resulting in deeper blacks, and saturated colors.

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Focal Length
18mm
25mm
35mm
50mm
85mm
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Max Aperture
T2.9
T2.1
T2.1
T2.1
T2.1
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Min. Focus Distance
12"
10"
12"
18"
3' 3"
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Weight
1.9 lbs
1.8 lbs
1.8 lbs
1.7 lbs
1.9 lbs
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Front Diameter
95mm
95mm
95mm
95mm
95mm

Stats

File
TIFF
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Bokeh Chart
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The 15:17 to Paris
The Last Dance

Films

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Projection Tests

Focal Length
18mm
25mm
35mm
50mm
85mm
WFO Center
200
200
140
140
140
WFO Field
70
50
50
70
100
T2.8 Center
N/A
200
200
140
200
T2.8 Field
N/A
70
50
70
140
Contrast Average
High
Medium
Medium
Low
Low
Focal Length
18mm
25mm
35mm
50mm
85mm
Notes

N/A

Minor SA reduces contrast overall.

Minor SA reduces contrast overall

SA prominent wide open. Cleans up around T4.

SA and CA prominent wide open. Cleans up around T4

Projection Room Notes
ARRI Alexa LF
16x9
No Color Grading
ProRes 422 HQ
ISO - 500
Lighting - Incandescent
ARRI Rec. 709
LF Open Gate 4.5K
No Sharpening
White Balance - 3200K

Test Settings

Brent Barbano
Lens Test Exec. Producer, ShareGrid Co-Founder, Cinematographer

The CP.3's are a great upgrade to the CP.2's but with a 95mm front diameter and the option to have have XD support for more metadata to use in your post workflow. Still very compact and light weight, the CP.3 are a perfect fit for gimbal-use or handheld takes as they won't break the payload limit like a lot of other cinema glass. Plus, Zeiss did a great job at keeping these affordable so they can work with just about any budget. Not to mention they're sharp, incredibly accurate in color and strong in contrast.

Matthew Duclos
COO of Duclos Lenses

Moving into the next phase of Zeiss’ full frame cine legacy, the CP.3 inherited their optical design from their Milvus cousins. Their T-stop is limited to a T2.1 to keep the set consistent across the range. What the CP.3 lack in speed, they make up for in image quality and build quality.

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