I am very pleased to announce a partnership with Zeiss USA and The Elders documentary project. Zeiss is an optics manufacturer specializing in still photo and cinema lenses used on a variety of cameras. Some of their lenses cost 4-5 times the total budget of this project! I’m so grateful for their support of the project, and this is a huge boost for independent film.

I’m excited to post here that the project will benefit from a set of prime lenses (shown above) that have been donated for use during shooting. This is a significant boost to morale, and is another indication that the project is on to something important. A “prime” lens is one in which the focal length is fixed. These are somewhat rare in the consumer world today, as most digital cameras have “zoom” as a big selling point. A prime lens does not zoom – in fact, the only way to zoom would be to move closer to the subject!

The set includes the following lenses, worth around $10k (the rental alone would have been $3500):

• 18mm f/3.5
• 21mm f/2.8
• 28mm f/2.0
• 35mm f/2.0
• 50mm f/1.4
• 50mm f/2.0
• 85mm f/1.4
• 100mm f/2.0

This wide range of focal lengths will open up the possibilities to the way in which I choose to frame the subject. A nice wide angle lens can be so handy in a tight space, and sometimes a telephoto lens (the 100mm makro) can be used to create some interesting views.

I’ll be writing more on using these lenses in the field over the coming months, and I’m excited to unpack them when they arrive on this coming Wednesday, June 23!