Ultra wide shots on modern cine cameras are a thing of beauty. Whether its an establishing shot or a stunning aerial shot, landscape vistas and glimmering urban skyscrapers, DP's need to resort to some high quality glass to minimise distortion and ensure crips images. This is the only way to do such beautiful exteriors any justice. ARRI have a long and established history in making some of the world's finest optics for high-end cinematography. With their latest Ultra-Wide angle Zoom - the 9.5-18mm T2.9, cinematographers have a very unique tool, which enables them to capture pristine wide angle perspectives without compromising quality. The ARRI Ultra Wide Zoom UWZ 9.5-18/T2.9 is the first super wide angle zoom lens for the professional cine market. Designed for existing and future digital sensor generations, the UWZ incorporates patented, cutting-edge lens technologies that overcome known performance problems with wide angle zooms. The large image circle of 33.7 mm in diagonal works perfectly for any camera with a larger sensor. The optical performance of this new telecentric design is comparable to or even better than high-end wide angle primes. For maximum flexibility on set the UWZ can easily replace a complete range of wide angle primes. uwz_flyover_2014 The UWZ has been developed and predominantly optimized for the requirements of VFX applications and is ideal for plate shots or any situation where maximum image quality counts. The distortion of this lens is at a level of less than 1% at 9.5 mm length, which means straight lines stay straight, even at close focus. Due to a new multi-layer, anti-reflective coating, flare and veiling glare are reduced to an absolutely minimum. The telecentric optical design means the UWZ has a very uniform field illumination from the center to the very corner. Built-in ARRI Lens Data System (LDS) functionality provides precise lens metadata for zoom, focus and aperture settings, easing postproduction workflows. ARRI UWZ Recently, cinematographer, Steadicam operator, helicopter operator and CTO/founder of a Danish rental facility, Anders Holck took his ARRI UWZ 9.5-18/T2.9 for a spin in a helicopter with an ALEXA M in a gyro-stabilized head to shoot some absolutely spectacular aerial footage around Queenstown in New Zealand. "Mostly I was on the wide end of the lens and the way it renders the image without any distortion is very impressive... We filmed over water and the flat horizon demonstrated that lack of distortion; when I tilted up the horizon line stayed straight. Panning just a little while the chopper was moving created a really nice effect because of the optical qualities of the lens. The accentuated speed of the pan makes people think I was zooming when in fact I wasn't; the movement is incredibly dynamic. We found that flaring is very subdued, like with the Master Primes, although if you actively try to flare the lens then the flares are organic and pleasing." - DP Anders Holck on the ARRI UWZ Cinematographer Thomas Hardmeier, AFC also used the ARRI Ultra Wide Zoom UWZ 9.5-19/T2.9 for VFX shots in a Lavazza commercial directed by wiz French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, known for visually stunning films such as "Delicatessen", "Amelie" and "Alien: Resurrection" among others. The ARRI UWZ is a must for DP's looking for the perfect wide angle shots on their ALEXA, or other high-end digital cinema camera. See the stunning UWZ Showreel before and see for yourself. At Visuals we love ARRI lenses, and as authorised reseller for all things ARRI can assist you with your purchase and requirements. Our ARRI specialists can be contacted at 0208 977 1222 Monday - Friday 9am - 17:30pm.