Chinese lens maker Viltrox has teased its second wild “Luna” cinema zoom lens of the year, showing off a gargantuan Luna 42-420mm T5.6 cinema lens at IBC 2024 in Amsterdam.
This new 10x zoom lens follows the $65,000 30-300mm T4 lens Viltrox showed off earlier this year, which covers a 46.5-millimeter image circle and is designed for full-frame cameras. On the other hand, the Luna 42-420mm T5.6 covers a 60-millimeter image circle, making it a medium-format cinema lens (or large-format in some parlance).
According to CineD, which was on hand at IBC to see the lens in person, the Luna 42-420mm T5.6 will not only break an unprepared user’s back — it’ll break the bank. The lens “should become available towards the end of this year for around $100,000,” CineD explains.
It’s a big, pricey swing for a company that continues to primarily focus on making affordable lenses for photographers and videographers, like the excellent Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.7 XF lens. However, the hefty price tag makes sense, given the special nature of the Luna 42-420mm T5.6. The huge lens is full of massive glass elements, which are exceptionally expensive to produce. Not only is making large glass elements challenging, but the elements are often imperfect and must be made multiple times to pass muster.
The Luna 42-420mm T5.6 is very similar to the 30-300mm T4 lens in nearly every way, albeit with everything scaled up to cover the larger image circle. The 42-420mm T5.6 weighs about 16 kilograms (35 pounds) and includes a robust top handle to make it easier to carry. The lens features mod 0.8 gears for focus and zoom and is, as expected, a fully manual lens. It’s hard to imagine what type of autofocus system would be required to move such large glass.
Given its large image circle, the lens promises to pair nicely with medium-format cinema cameras, like the Arri Alexa 65, the OFG Customs 65 built on the GFX 100 II platform, and the brand-new Blackmagic Ursa 17K Cine camera, which comes with a relatively low price tag of just under $30,000.
Although the Viltrox Luna 42-420mm T5.6 will be available for purchase soon, it is likely that such an expensive, specialized lens will primarily be a rental item for most cinematographers. It’s undoubtedly a very unusual lens, but it will likely prove uniquely adept in certain situations.
Image credits: Viltrox
