Zeiss is in development on a new virtual lens technology that will allow visual effects and compositing artists to apply an authentic lens look in ‘one click’.
Demonstrated for the first time at FMX in Germany, the tech, part of the company’s CinCraft ecosystem, replicates the visual characteristics and behaviour of real lenses on computer-generated content.
Unlike conventional post tools that rely on filter-based simulations, Zeiss’ new tech looks to leverage physically-based models of lens performance – VFX artists can pick a certain lens “off the shelf” and apply its look digitally. The tech reproduces details such as sharpness, focus falloff, cat eye bokeh, chromatic aberration and distortion across each frame in a sequence. The system is not limited to Zeiss lenses and can emulate a range of optics or create custom looks.
“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,” said Zeiss CinCraft ecosystem product manager Jonathan Demuth.
“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.”
“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.
The company has launched a dedicated landing page for updates: zeiss.com/virtual-lens-tech