On a recent shoot in Africa for New York-based design and production company UV Phactory, Brian O'Carroll, an award-winning DP, used his new Thales Angenieux 26x7.8 mm AIF HD ENG/EFP telephoto zoom lens exclusively for capturing aerial footage.
Using a Panasonic VariCam HD camera, O'Carroll shot 15 hours of footage in 36 hours of airtime during 12 days in and around Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, South Africa. The setup for the aerial assignment involved installing the camera and lens in a Gyron gyro-stabilized nose mount attached to the front of the “Squirrel” Eurocopter. O'Carroll controlled the lens from inside the helicopter.
The images shot by O'Carroll are posted at www.nydp.tv/.
The 26x7.8 AIF HD lens features Assisted Internal Focus (AIF) capability, a focal range of 7.8mm to 203mm (15.6mm to 406 mm with a 2x extender) and a fast aperture of f/2.2. Its digital features include a large variety of modes for zoom and focus servo controls; iris priority (the zoom range stops when the lens starts to ramp); anti-breathing mode to keep the field of view constant when focusing; auto-cruise; and an RS232 serial interface for digital remote control.
For more information, visit www.angenieux.com/.
