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Merger of Worlds
- Author: Sam Jorgensen
ARRI and Cine Visuals Present: ARRI EnsΕ Primes
Cinematic Heritage
ARRI, leading innovators in the film industry since 1917, have always found their success from the feedback of their consumers. One of the cries of modern cinematographers is wanting to bring back the character of vintage lenses but without sacrificing the technical mastery of modern lenses. ARRI heard this plea.
Inspired by this call to merge two worlds, ARRI looked outside themselves for inspiration. In their own words, ARRI describes EnsΕs as, βcombining German engineering with Japanese optical excellence, EnsΕs are a fusion of two cultures – adaptable and reliable, yet elegantly simple and pure of purpose.β
In doing so, they crafted these lenses. With a wide variety of focal lengths, a uniformity in size and weight, with a compact design that manages to cover even the largest of sensors while still adding an organic character to their otherwise optical perfection the EnsΕs are the merger of two worlds and the answer to the aforementioned plea. The term βEnsΕβ comes from a Zen symbol, representing both the graceful image and the feeling these lenses bring on set due to their balanced design.
One of their most impressive achievements in the development of these lenses are the ARRI EnsΕ Vintage Elements. ARRI took feedback on the quality and design of the ARRI Signature Impression filters and made these six different lens look options, which can be chosen via an easily interchangeable magnetic rear optic design.
Image Fidelity & Focus
The ARRI EnsΕs were embedded with the quality and care that ARRI takes with all their lenses. Delicately designed with a base of sharpness in the center with gentle falloff on the edges without loss of detail, leaving the lenses beautiful on their own, but open to modifications. With customization in quality and uniformity of design in mind, the ARRI EnsΕ Primes can be easily adjusted between six different EnsΕ Vintage Element Options. There are three P or βPositiveβ types that soften edges and emphasize swirl in the bokeh. In the opposite direction, there are three N or βNegativeβ types that create more fringing, sharpen edges, and heighten contrast in the highlights. This gives cinematographers the ability to easily adjust the character of the lens on-set with minimal effort for different moods within the project. ARRI even suggests that when using the EnsΕs on a S35mm format, to add the first layer of Positive Vintage Elements to bring the same look to the center of the image circle as the lens would provide for LF.
Ben Davis BSC states, βIβve been shooting with the Signature Primes, which I love, and I needed something to run along with these that was more compact for handheld and stabilized work. The EnsΕs were perfect; they are great right across the frame, with good close focus, nice flare characteristics, and a slightly vintage feel. I love them.β
Handling & Adaptability
These lenses were designed with maximizing user-friendliness in mind. With an average weight of 4.4 lbs and length of 5 inches, these lenses are compact and robust. With 14 focal length options ranging from 10.5mm to 250mm, there is a cohesion and precision that open up wide possibilities for the cinematographer. 11 of the 14 focal lengths have a convenient and tight 95mm front diameter with the widest lengths (10.5mm and 14mm) being 156mm and the longest (250mm) being 114mm. Furthermore, 10 focal lengths have a fast T2.1 with the widest and longest still maintaining a standard T2.8 or faster. Light and form fitting, these lenses are excellent for handheld, gimbal, drone, and steadicam work and built for high speed workflows without any compromise to image quality.
One of the major innovations these lenses bring are the ARRI EnsΕ Vintage Elements. These come in six forms that modify and tune the lenses on set and on the go. With workflow in mind, these rear optics use magnetism to connect to the back of each lens for easy and quick changes. Furthermore, each of these elements has contact pins to communicate metadata to the camera that is important for certain VFX and post production workflows. Allowing cinematographers and directors the freedom to experiment with expression on set without any hesitation.
Image Circle
ARRI EnsΕ Primes cover all ARRI Large Format, Open Gate, and 3rd party Full Frame formats. However, knowing the wide breadth of choices available to filmmakers and the creative demands of projects, the ARRI EnsΕ Primes are designed to pair well with a wide variety of sensor sizes to allow the filmmaker the utmost freedom in their creative choices. ARRI guarantees edge-to-edge coverage without vignetting from these lenses on the AlexaβLF, AlexaβMiniβLF, Alexaβ35, Alexa Classic/XT/SXT, AlexaβMini, and Amira making them versatile and reliable lenses for any production. With an image circle of 43mm and illumination circle of 46mm, the ARRI EnsΕs can cover the majority of these sensors and certain sensor modes with the Alexa 65.
Flare & Bokeh
Taking inspiration from their vintage ancestry, the ARRI EnsΕs are given only a single-layer coating to deliver vintage flare characteristics without overtaking the image as a whole. A subtle but smooth flare that gives a gentle coat to the frame. The fast aperture allows for large creamy bokeh with high iris blade count that gives consistently round and soft bokeh even stopped down. The ARRI EnsΕ Vintage Elements are the magic butter to these lenses. For the flares they bring out the character, color, and shape or sharpen and reduce them depending on the need and look of the situation. For the bokeh, they can either bring higher contrast and organization to the bokeh or an impressionistic swirl around the edges that creates an expressionistic background.
These lenses are available for rent at Cine Visuals. For inquiries or testing appointments email info@cinevisuals.com or call (323) 244-2552.