BLACKWING7 from Tribe7 Black Blackwing7 Brushed Aluminum Blackwing7 Binary Top view BLACKWING7 Specs BLACKWING7 Primes Focal lengths 27, 37, 47, 57, 77, 107, 137 mm Tuneable optics. Seven focal lengths in the initial set. A choice of Aperture T1.9 -T22 for all 3 looks. Custom tuning by design and by appointment. Looks S: Medium focus roll-off, medium flare BLACKWING7 prime lenses will be available to order exclu- T: Heavy focus roll-off, medium flare sively from TRIBE7 beginning March 2019, with production X: Heaviest focus roll-off, high flare deliveries starting in Summer 2019. Additional focal lengths— Lens Coating Single and multi-layer anti-glare including wide angle, macro, close focus and faster T-stop ver- Anti-reflection Fixed on S version sions—will be developed during late 2019 and ship in 2020. Tuneable on S, T, X versions BLACKWING7 binaries Iris 14 blades, Circular Ten sets of first-edition lenses will ship from March 2019 to se- Image Circle 48mm Ø Full Illumination (Full Frame / VV format) lect clients: initially 37, 57 and 77 mm, with the rest delivering by Illumination 60mm Ø (65mm Format Coverage, except September 2019. The BLACKWING7 binaries are slightly faster 27mm) at T1.8, but have the same response and overall image qualities as Image Distortion Within -4% to + 0.5% (FF /VV) final production lenses. The housings have a polished aluminium Transmission 420nm to 680nm waveband finish. They have T-tuned characteristics with exaggerated flaring Breathing < 4% magnification shift from ∞ to close focus because of selective lens element coating. Mount PL mount (other options on request) Focus Scale Windowed left / right, Imperial (Metric on request) Looks & Pricing Focus Barrel 270° rotation • S-tuned BLACKWING7 lenses begin at US$ 10,000 each. Iris Barrel 90° rotation • T and X BLACKWING7 are between $ 10,770 - $ 11,700 each. Aperture Scale Non-windowed left / right • BLACKWING7 binaries are about US$ 12,700 per lens. Gears Consistent focus and iris gear placement These prices are preliminary and may change. Individual custom Front Diameter 114mm O.D. / 104mm I.D. lens tuning and personalization services are available on request Operating Temps -20 to +45 °C and will be priced accordingly. Contact: 7isatribe.com Apr 2019 • Issue 93-94 75 BLACKWING7 Backstory Neil Fanthom and Bradford Young ASC have launched a new company called TRIBE7 and a new series of Large For- mat lenses called BLACKWING7. Focal lengths so far are: 27, 37, 47, 57, 77, 107, 137mm. Lots of sevens. Neil Fanthom was one of the ARRI Rental gentlemen who whisked me off to an un- disclosed NDA location at NAB in April 2013, exactly 6 years ago, to foreshadow what would become the ARRI ALEXA 65 and its creative collection of characterful lenses. One year shy of seven years later, Neil and Bradford launch BLACKWING7. Bradford Young, ASC is the acclaimed cinematographer whose credits include Selma, A Most Violent Year; Arrival; and Solo: A Star Wars Story. He studied film at Howard University. Bradford’s cinematog- raphy on Arrival won a Silver Frog Award at Camerimage and nominations from the Bradford Young, ASC Neil Fanthom Academy, BAFTA and the ASC. Clearly, these gentlemen know about lens- ing degrees of smoothness to the in-focus be uniquely configured—tuned or toned— es and look and cinematography. image area, different amounts of focus roll to their owner’s wishes and creative style. off in the out-of-focus areas, and unique Three pre-set tonalities are available: Neil explained, “TRIBE7 is a company flare characteristics. S STRAIGHT (Standard) interested in all aspects of creative image 7 making and especially in color science, Each focal length in the set has three vari- S-tuned BLACKWING lenses have a pro- light and optics—how those facets of im- ations: S (Straight), T (Transient) and X file founded on lens designs from the first aging can be explored, and re-imagined, to (Extreme). The lenses have been designed half of the 20th Century, such as the 1936 the benefit of today’s creative filmmakers. from the ground up with subtle distor- Kodak EKTAR 45 mm f/2, and the 1950 One of our aims is to provide artists the tions and edge halation that is generally Wray UNILITE 50 mm f/2. Lenses have a ability to tune (enhance) and de-tune (dis- seen with 1930-1950s lenses. The halation simple one-layer coating and a smooth roll- tort) elements of color and light to bring a can give the lenses a look that’s even faster off to their sharpness characteristic. greater intentionality and visual authority than the native T1.9 because it lowers con- T TRANSIENT (Middle) trast, fills in the shadows and accentuates to their story.” 7 the focus roll-off on faces and objects. T-tuned BLACKWING lenses have a pro- Bradford added, “It has been an interest- file which further softens the roll-off to the ing journey. It all began when I was re- The first focal lengths out of the gate will edge of the frame, and provides increased searching cameras and lenses for Solo: be 37, 57 and 77mm. The additional four edge detail halation. T lenses are designed A Star Wars Story. Neil came to me with focal lengths, 27, 47, 107 and 137 mm will to capture a slightly softer, artistic image, a wonderful opportunity to experiment. be delivered next. A 17mm and additional with a higher degree of light reactivity and They were developing the DNA lenses at focal lengths may come later. flaring characteristics are harder and more ARRI Rental and that gave me an oppor- From the beginning of our discussions prominent than with the S-tuned version. tunity to embed some my own meta, my about this new venture, Neil made fre- X EXPRESSIVE (Extreme) history and some of my own life into the quent references to music. He pointed out X-tuned BLACKWING7 lenses exaggerate glass. Things progressed from there and that just as cinematographers are constant- the image roll-off to the edge of the frame, 7 now we are introducing BLACKWING .” ly seeking unique visuals that differentiate to the point where only low frequency per- The new BLACKWING7 lenses are Large the work, so do musicians modify their in- formance is evident in the outer thirds of Format T1.9 tuneable lenses based on de- struments and tune the accoustics. the frame. X-tuned optics have further ex- signs from the early 20th century. There BLACKWING7 tuning aggerated edge detail halation and a minor are 3 sets of lenses with varying degrees of degree of spherical aberration and focal Every BLACKWING7 lens is hand-built “distress,” distortion and look. Additional- plane curvature, which exaggerates the ef- in Germany in cooperation with a long- ly, they can be tuned-to-order to the taste fect of shallow depth of field. X-tuned lens- established and well-respected optical of the individual cinematographer. The es are designed for filmmakers who light manufacturing firm. A proprietary pro- optical design allows for the flexibility to aggressively and expect their lenses to offer duction tuning process allows the optical provide varying degrees of spherical aber- luminous characteristics, especially with performance of each lens in the range to ration, halation, and flare. This offers vary- hard lighting. 76 Apr 2019 • Issue 93-94 BLACKWING7 Backstory (cont’d) Neil Fanthom Neil explained, “BLACKWING7 lenses are crafted though a process of innovation and intention. The lenses exhibit unique imag- ing properties that arise from the introduc- tion of distortion during the development and manufacturing processes. This distor- tion is modular by design and allows con- trol over key parameters that shape many creative characteristics of the lenses. “The range comprises a core set of 7 focal lengths, with each lens having tuneable optical qualities. BLACKWING7 lens tun- ing allows parameters such as sharpness, contrast roll-off, spherical aberration, field curvature and edge halation to be modi- Bradford Young, ASC vide a service for my colleagues. fied. This level of tuneability can be applied Bradford Young, ASC continued the dis- “The next day, Neil comes to set again and to the entire set of lenses, or on a lens by 7 cussion on how BLACKWING began, asks, ‘Do you have a moment? Can I talk to lens basis, to create curated optics that suit “During prep on Solo: A Star Wars Story, you about something?’ We walked off set the personality and intent of the owner. In I was excited about what was happening and settled to talk, of all places, next to a concept, the ability to individually tune with the DNA glass. We kept testing and dumpster in the middle of Pinewood. He each BLACKWING7 lens is identical to pushing hard. Then, I got a call from Neil said, ‘I’ve been thinking about what you how EQ adjusting is used in music pro- one day as I was testing ‘donor’ lenses said yesterday. I love filmmaking. I love the duction—to control the range, or shape of with the whole camera crew and look- art. And I’m also a scientist and I have seen tonality in specific wavelengths across the ing at flares, uncoated glass, compression, how you cinematographers really want audio frequency spectrum. fall-off and chromatic aberration. customized lenses that are unique and “Many of the design cues for the BLACK- “Neil had a lens that he wanted us to take have personality.’ WING7 series are founded on vintage lens- a look at. It was a vintage 50mm T2.0 “Neil described a concept that addressed es, but the real inspiration for our tuneable that he’d sourced, but which was prov- the needs of Full Frame, high resolution optics lies in the experimental nature of jazz ing tricky to rehouse.