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"The most beneficial thing about lenses for cinematographers is that there is choice."
There have never been as many types of creators and filmmakers as there are today. From emerging artists, content creators, and podcasters to independent filmmakers and tentpole creatives, we need solutions that work at every budget level that don't compromise the creative look or technical requirements.
Today, Leitz, a known leader in the high-end cinema lens market announced a new addition to their impressive collection. The HEKTOR lenses, a series of six lightweight, compact, and ever-so-pretty full frame primes, are their contribution and answer to our changing industry. Leitz just became accessible.
Cinematographer, Indeana Underhill, (a huge fan of Leitz), flew to Toronto in early August to shoot a proof-of-concept for writer/director and AFI alum Leah Cameron (The Communist's Daughter). She flew with a case of HEKTOR lenses straight out of Leitz' German factory to put them to the test.
Please tell us a little bit about how you ended up using these lenses on the Canadian project you recently did.
I was approached by Seth Emmons from Leitz, who I adore, and have known for close to a decade. He showed me a few early images taken with the lenses- their bokeh, color rendition, and fall-off at the edges. Seth and I first spoke about how my non-profit (Cinematography for Actors) could partner Leitz with a few of our emerging filmmakers to create some low-budget sample footage for them.
These HEKTOR lenses were Leitz' answer to accessibility. A very important piece of the puzzle in our industry right now. We are seeing cameras, follow focus, monitors and lights all become more and more affordable without compromising quality. A few other cinema lens companies had introduced their answer to this as well, like the Cooke SP3s and Zeiss CP.2s. It just made sense that Leitz would enter the emerging film market.
From this initial conversation, I connected Seth with a few of our emerging filmmakers before I selfishly asked to test them out myself on an upcoming project, "Baby Dealer", I was shooting with Leah Cameron- a fantastic AFI graduate and writer/director in Toronto. Without being able to give her any information (as I was under NDA), I told her: "Trust me, you're going to be stoked." Thank goodness for the strength of a director/DP relationship, I flew with a pelican full of these brand new primes to Toronto.
Can you share more about Baby Dealer and how these lenses enhanced the shoot?
For Baby Dealer, we had a variety of set ups. We had car mounts, interior, and exterior – both day and night – and the lenses being SO compact and light, were such a dream. They open to a 2.1 so when we needed a bit of extra light, we were able to get that, but even at 4, there was still such beautiful depth and bokeh in the background. I also put their impressive close-focus to the test for some of our inserts.
It was really important that we were able to be really fast on set (especially since we were shooting two cameras) and the HEKTORS are extremely easy to swap because of their size and weight. We paired them with the Blackmagic Pyxis 6K. One day, we had four company moves and were able to just pick up the body and the lens set and get camera up almost immediately at the next location.
Something funny- I was worried early on that the lenses might be too clean. A worry I always have with new lenses. You want lenses that really add something, a quality. So, I was – not nervous – but I was a little cautious that they weren't going to have enough character for me. I worked with Keslow Camera on my Toronto prep to help kit out my camera and add some filtration. They put together an incredible accessory package including some Hollywood Blackmagic. However, after the first shot I literally asked my incredible 1st AC, Roy Zheng, to put all our diffusion filters back on the truck because we wouldn't be needing them.
These HEKTOR lenses are so subtly soft on skintone and helping with highlights. I was impressed.
How is the feel of the lenses in terms of weight and the ease of use?
Leitz is know for some of the highest quality cinema lenses on the market which often comes with a bit of a weight and length. These are the opposite – they are compact, lightweight, very short, and have all of the necessary technical elements on them that work well. Aside from that, they're pretty bare bones. They're beautiful to look at but they are structurally very easy to throw on for quick setups, and handheld.
Also, these are the first of their lenses they've made that aren't native PL mount. They come in four user-interchangeable mounts, hence their promise to being a more accessible lens brand by this release.
In your opinion, who is this lens for?
This was made to cover a space that Leitz hadn't tackled yet, and that's the emerging professional market. Yes, these can be used by professionals at any point in their career, there's nothing quality wise that would make you feel as though you need to upgrade your lenses. However, they are made for every creator. I definitely noticed that they replicated some of the softer (yet technically precise) looks that we love from Leitz lenses.
Additionally, because they have 77mm threads for screw-in filter, they're able to be used by people who are used to using that type of filtration.
Really these are for anyone, whether it's a narrative project, a doc, podcast, or content creation. The HEKTOR lenses are great for those that are going for a style that isn't too clean without it being too much to the point that a producer is going to get mad at you for "making it your own".
Is there anything especially unique that you noticed in how the lens performed visually?
Yeah! They are very creamy. They have a slight fall off on the edges, meaning that it pulls the viewer into the center of the image, while also having really beautiful bokeh in the background in terms of depth. They also tend to skew a little warmer and flare. I was surprised by the amount that they could flare while still holding the blacks.
Would you consider the lenses user friendly?
Very user friendly. It's a very simple lens that isn't hard to understand; it's also short so it isn't overwhelming or intimidating with its weight or size. Currently, they're releasing four user interchangeable mirrorless mounts: E, L, R, F, and Z, so they cover a large variety of entry level cinema cameras. It kind of has everything you need and then it's also very instagram worthy because they're silver... not black.
Do you feel that these lenses are filling any current gaps in the lens market?
The most beneficial thing about lenses for cinematographers is that there is choice. That's because each project and story is so unique. Leitz is joining the market with an entry level lens and the benefit of that is that each one of these manufacturers has their own look inherently. Zeiss is clean, Cooke has their "look" with fantastic skin tones and warmth, and now Leitz can bring their aesthetic to a new audience.
How can filmmakers check these lenses out?
Leitz doesn't make a lot of lenses each time they release something new, so I imagine the lenses will only be available in select rental houses and on a road-show over the next few months. They will be available for purchase and to rent. The entire set will also be available to check out at the Leica Store in LA this Friday, Sept 12 from 10am-1pm.
Finally, I want to thank the incredible crew of Baby Dealer, who made testing these lenses such a joy on a tight shoot. Huge gratitude to producers Beth Evans and Danilo Reyes; gaffer Taher Bhujwalla; camera operator Chris Mierzwinski; 1st AC Roy Zheng; key grip Axel Estridge; and 2nd AC Kwame Pipim Frimpong.
Also, HUGE thank you to Leitz, Keslow Camera and Blackmagic Design.
