Digital Cinematography

Chapter 7Lenses

Figure 7.1 Nikkor’s 6mm lens has an amazing 200 degree field of view.

I am going to begin on the subject of lenses before I talk about cameras, because lenses are just as important as cameras! A camera is a box to hold a sensor in the dark. Yes, the quality of the sensor makes a big difference, but when all we had to make movies with was film, the only real difference between one camera system and another was the lens that captured the image. Good lenses do not happen accidentally; they are the result of well-intentioned and skilled design, attention to detail in the formulation and manufacture of glass, enormous research and ...