The Canon CN7x17 KAS S Cine-Servo 17-120mm T2.95 which was announced way back in April 2014, is finally available in RF mount. For the last 10 years, you have been able to purchase it in either EF or PL mount.
It may seem slightly baffling that it has taken so long for Canon to bring it out in RF mount, but given that there weren’t any Cinema EOS cameras with an RF mount (apart from the C70) there really wasn’t any need to do so until now. With the announcement today of the EOS C400, it perhaps makes sense for Canon to do this, however, that is a full-fame camera and this is a S35 lens.
The Canon CN7x17 KAS S Cine-Servo 17-120mm T2.95 was designed for ENG, documentary and narratives. While it doesn’t feature a constant T2.95 aperture across its zoom range (it drops to T3.9 at 120mm), it is still reasonably fast. At its time of release it was a direct competitor to the popular Fujinon Cabrio range.
The lens has an eleven blade iris for smooth bokeh and features a removable servo zoom. As I mentioned earlier, up until now, the lens was available in either EF or PL mounts. You could swap between the two mounts, but this could only be done at an authorized Canon service centre.
The lens weighs 3.11kg in RF mount and projects an image size with a diameter of 31.7mm. This means it basically covers Super 35mm and not full-frame or larger sensors.
Same same or different?
This new version of Canon CN7x17 KAS S Cine-Servo 17-120mm T2.95 isn’t exactly the same as the old one, as it features a new drive unit. The new drive unit has a relocated connector port that is now positioned diagonally towards the back so you can place a camera with the lens attached on the floor without having the cable hit the ground.
With the RF mount, the lens can benefit from distortion correction and send metadata to the camera for virtual production applications.
With the RF mount version of the lens, you can also utilize Canon’s Dual Pixel II AF with compatible cameras. You can also use the Dual Pixel focus guide system and there is ambient light and chromatic aberration correction.
You will also get lens information on the camera’s display, including T-stop, focal length, etc.
The PL version also now supports ZEISS eXtended data which allows for realtime output of lens information such as shading and distortion.
Drawing on its years of servo zoom ENG broadcast lenses the Cine-Servo Zoom incorporates a LCD display equipped Digital Drive unit. This allows operators to access the various digital functions, and a 16-bit high-precision microprocessor contained within the Digital Drive unit enables operators to pre-program focus and zoom position/speed, as well as iris settings. The microprocessor also provides the capability of a very high-speed zoom of 0.5 seconds end-to-end, to a very slow and consistent zoom of 300 seconds.
The lens also supports
The lens features a 12-pin B4 serial connector that can provide power and trigger functions with a wide range of cameras. The lens can also communicate via the mount using the Cooke /i-technology protocol on the PL version or Canon’s own electronic connection on the RF mount.
The lens also features a shorter 180 degree focus barrel rotation which suits manual focus by hand on the barrel for documentary shooting. The lens has a 114mm front diameter for clamp-on Matteboxes or Canon’s own sunshade and a 112mm filter thread. Below is a look at the lens from AbelCine.
While it is nice to finally have this lens available in RF mount, you could make an argument that the newer Canon CINE-SERVO 25-250mm T2.95 Cinema Zoom Lens makes more sense, but that isn’t available in RF mount. You can only get it in EF or PL.
Price & Availability
The CANON CINE-SERVO 17-120mm will be available in October 2024 for $23,850 USD.
