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Hawk Vantage ONE4: Spherical Glass
- Author: Sam Jorgensen
Vantage Hawk & Cine Visuals Presents: Hawk Vantage One4
Cinematic Heritage
In 1993, Peter Märtin and Wolfgang Bäumler saw an opportunity. Originally starting their careers on-set and shifting to work in optics, they started Vantage with the goal of bringing ergonomics into lenses. At the time, they felt many cinema lenses were simply poor mechanical adaptations of still photography lenses. Märtin and Bäumler wanted to make lenses specifically designed to be motion picture lenses. Their first focus was on a type of lenses beginning to be regarded as a legacy format – anamorphics. Loving the look and feel of these lenses, Märtin and Bäumler wanted to breathe new life into anamorphics. Their main line of lenses and anamorphics became known as Hawk. Thus, many filmmakers refer to the company as Vantage Hawk or simply Hawk.
By the early 2010s, Vantage Hawk lenses had become renowned for their anamorphic glass. However, in 2012 they released a new lens for motion pictures – this time a set of sphericals. These new prime lenses were the Vantage One Primes. Created for Super 35mm image planes, they were released under the Vantage name instead of the Hawk name, not as a departure from Hawk but as a new line of lenses. All the optical innovations of Vantage Hawk now embedded in a line of spherical lenses.
By the late 2010s, Full Frame sensors were on the rise. Wanting to get ahead of the curve, Vantage Hawk released the Vantage One4 Primes. This new set of lenses would take the same optical design as the Vantage One Primes and increase the image circle to match Full Frame.
Image Fidelity & Focus
Vantage has brought the iconic Hawk look in their venture into the Full Frame spherical arena. The Vantage One4’s are incredibly versatile lenses. Wide open, they deliver a dreamy look, with gentle, soft edges and glowing highlights. Focus falloff is beautiful and deeply expressive wide open for a strong look. The shallow depth-of-field rendered by the T1.4 aperture offers strong subject separation with an impressionist background. Skin tones are handled with gentle warmth and care. Wide open, they have strong aberrations and minor color fringing that adds to their expressive rendering. However, Vantage has designed these lenses to fit a multitude of needs. When stopped down, they quickly become sharp and increase in contrast. They balance both the expressiveness of vintage glass and the sharpness of modern glass all within the same lens. This gives cinematographers extensive choice and freedom when making on set choices for their lenses.
Handling & Adaptability
Vantage Hawk makes pristine glass and excellent mechanical handling. Focus rings are well-crafted to be buttery smooth. Made from the highest end materials, the housing is robust and long-lasting. Inside the lens, there are no floating elements. No expanders, no aspherics, only the highest quality spherical glass. These designs, though they create a heavier lens, make for optics that do not compromise on image quality. Weights range from 3.30 lbs to 6.8 lbs with the average weight across the lens set being 6 lbs. Each lens measures between 5.32” to 7.87” with lenses averaging around 6”.
Image Circle
Full Frame coverage requires a 43.3mm image circle. Vantage One4 Primes easily cover this across the full range of the set. Most of the set has a 45mm diagonal image circle with a 46mm illumination circle. However, with the rise of medium format digital sensors and a recent return to shooting on 65mm film, all the focal lengths 65mm and above can cover this range. These pair great with the Fujifilm Eterna 55, which requires an image circle of 54.5mm, available for rent here at Cine Visuals.
Flare & Bokeh
Taking inspiration from their anamorphic glass, the Vantage One4 Primes have expressive flares. Flaring is bold and pronounced. Coating the frame in scattered long ovals of light, they are unique and artistic. Yet, when stopped down flares rapidly become subtle and contained. Bokeh takes on a rounded triangular shape as they approach the edges of the frame. Each bokeh swirls around the center and stretches as they pull from center to the edges. This creates a strong sense of dynamism when wide open. However, much like the rest of the image, when stopped down the bokeh takes on a circular appearance and becomes more refined and uniform.
These lenses are available for rent at Cine Visuals. For inquiries or testing appointments email info@cinevisuals.com or call (323) 244-2552.