Usable with non-ZEISS lenses, the one click virtual lens tech from the company allows you to experience the possibility to choose a digital lens for your VFX, like the DP does for his camera.

Demonstrated for the first time at FMX in Stuttgart, Germany on May 7, this new breakthrough replicates the visual characteristics and animated behavior of actual lenses on computer-generated content. The new ZEISS technology is part of the CinCraft ecosystem, which is dedicated to simplifying VFX workflows. Attendees to the FMX event are invited to get their own hands-on impressions at the tech demo held in the ZEISS booth at the FMX Marketplace.

The development now announced opens a new world where you as a visual effects artist have the chance to pick a certain lens “off the shelf” to apply its lens look digitally. According to ZEISS, the 1-Click technology will enable you to reach your creative vision faster.  It promises, “physically based digital lenses with a high-fidelity standard, capturing the visual essence of real lenses with unmatched precision” and says it allows artists to “say goodbye to time-consuming lens look replication and hello to physically correct lens effects that truly stand out. Experience this new way of working with lenses, from the first view through the real lens to the final image on the big screen.”

Compared to traditional lens and defocus effects tools which follow a filter-based approach, the emerging ZEISS technology leverages physically based lens performance to deliver real optics characteristics throughout each frame’s individual lens setting within a sequence. It captures genuine lens characteristics such as sharpness, focus falloff, cat eye bokeh, chromatic aberration, distortion, and more.

“The lack of ‘ground truth’ data for lens look characteristics makes it hard for post-production professionals to talk and apply the same visual language that cinematographers and directors expect,” explains Jonathan Demuth, Product Manager for the ZEISS CinCraft ecosystem. “ZEISS wants to close these gaps in communication by offering a reliable and predictable lens look solution for compositing artists which will improve the quality of photorealistic images. Lenses play an important role in the look of visual effects. That is why we want to provide VFX artists with matching digital lenses ‘off the shelf’, instead of brute force replicating lens characteristics from scratch.”

As a lens manufacturer, ZEISS leverages its unique heritage in optics to offer an innovative approach for artists tackling the time-consuming hurdles of achieving physically correct and cinematically aesthetic lens behavior. This technology aims to reshape the way digital artists work with lenses.

“We are focused on a one-click solution approach which provides access to digital lenses, that brings physical lens behavior of real lenses to the digital world of 2D compositing, giving artists the possibility to choose from a digital shelf, just like the DoP does at a camera rental,” Demuth adds. “Moreover, not being restricted to ZEISS lenses, the technology has the possibility to freely create any lens look, then top it off with additional enhancement add-ons to deliver stunning results.”

Tech being shown at FMX, in Germany

In a seminar at this year’s FMX in Stuttgart, Germany, Europe’s leading conference for Animation, Visual Effects, Interactive and Immersive Media, Jonathan Demuth and Marius Jerschke from ZEISS will present the new technology along with Nicolas Borens, Head of 2D Film at MPC Paris. They will discuss Nicolas’ experience testing this new technology and his personal speculation of the potential impact on an artist’s work (Wednesday, May 7, 2:30 PM). As noted above, attendees are invited to get their own hands-on impressions at the tech demo held in the ZEISS booth at the FMX Marketplace.

Digital compositors, VFX professionals and other interested parties are invited to visit the dedicated landing page to learn more about the technology and stay up to date on further developments.

There they will find answers to a series of common questions regarding the technology. Important information such as “digital lenses are going to be provided per focal length and represent one real lens per digital lens” or that the lens look of a digital lens can be applied on any camera format, one advantage of computer-generated images, is included in the FAQ section of the page. Digital lenses also reproduce, the company adds, things like breathing, bokeh, etc. according to the visual behavior of its real twin lens”.

ZEISS believes the new technology will save time when dealing with lens effects as, the company notes, “our solution will provide you with the ground truth lens looks in one click. Starting from this base you can do quick finetuning while previewing your visual results. Its GPU-based performance will keep the high-end renderings within time units you are already used to.”

For now, ZEISS is testing the technology in a closed beta, with selected testers, but the company does suggest that an open beta may happen in the future. Keep checking the landing page for the one-click tech for updates.