Skip to main content

Schneider-Kreuznach’s tilt-shift cinema lenses could shake up video industry

schneider cinema tilt shift announced 16403268 1384701248267795 5262547190472827783 o
Schneider-Kreuznach / Facebook
Tilt shift has arrived in high-end videography. On January 27, Schneider-Kreuznach announced the new Xenon FF-Prime Cine-Tilt lens line, the first full-frame cinema lenses to include the tilt functionality. An industry first for full-frame lenses, the new lineup allows videographers to adjust the focal plane to add in tilt-shift effects while recording.

Schneider-Kreuznach
Schneider-Kreuznach

The new lens lineup tilts up to 4 degrees and like traditional tilt shifts for stills, allows videographers to correct distortions such as in architectural photography. The lenses can also be used to capture that characteristic tilt-shift effect that throws the bottom and top portions of the image out of focus, making real-life scenes look like miniature models.

The company says that the new line includes the same features as their current cinema primes, with the added tilt-shift functionality. With the tilt at zero degrees, the lenses will function as a normal cinema prime.

The cinema design of the lenses means that the tilt shift effect can be adjusted as smoothly as pulling focus in a video, Schneider-Kreuznach says. The 120-degree lens ring allows the tilt effect to be adjusted mid-recording, while the larger 0.8 gear module means the feature can be adapted to use with follow-focus systems for even smoother control.

The new lineup adapts similar features as the company’s standard Xenon prime line, including optics designed to handle resolutions beyond 4K. The new tilt-shift primes have a classic Hollywood bokeh, the company says.

Designed in Germany, the firm claims the lenses are lightweight and compact, and the lineup, compatible with full frame Sony E-Mount, is set to include five focal lengths with a T2.1 aperture: 25mm, 35mm, 50mm, 75mm and 100mm.  Pricing details have not yet been announced, although Schneider-Kreuznach says the lenses will be sold both individually and as a set.

Hillary K. Grigonis
Hillary never planned on becoming a photographer—and then she was handed a camera at her first writing job and she's been…
Fujifilm’s most-hyped camera has just started shipping
Fujifilm's X100VI camera, released in 2024.

The latest iteration of Fujifilm’s X100 camera started shipping on Wednesday.

The X100VI is -- as the name cleverly suggests -- the sixth in the series. Early reviews have been mostly positive as the camera builds on the successes of the already impressive earlier models going all the way back to the original X100, which launched in 2011.

Read more
How to resize an image on Mac, Windows, and a Chromebook
Windows 11 set up on a computer.

Resizing an image is something we’re all going to have to do at some point in our digital lives. And whether you’re using Windows, macOS, or you’re rocking a Chromebook, there are ways to scale images up and down on each PC. Fortunately, these are all relatively simple methods too.

Read more
Watch an acclaimed director use the iPhone 15 Pro to shoot a movie
acclaimed director uses iphone 15 to shoot movie shot on pro midnight

Shot on iPhone 15 Pro | Midnight | Apple

As part of its long-running Shot on iPhone series, Apple recently handed acclaimed Japanese director Takashi Miike (Audition, 13 Assassins, The Happiness of the Katakuris) an iPhone 15 Pro to shoot a short film.

Read more