GEAR ZONE
New gear
Here’s what caught our eye this month
Lume Cube 2.0
From £90/$90 https://lumecube.com
L
ume Cube is pitching
this as the smallest,
most feature-packed,
professional quality LED
light for photo and video on the
market. The device appears very
similar to the original Lume Cube,
with an aluminium body just
4cm-cubed and only 99g. It also
features the same tripod thread,
seven levels of strobe lighting and
the same level of illuminance, but
the similarities largely stop there.
The Lume Cube 2.0 boasts a
5600K daylight-balanced output
and a very impressive 95+ colour
rendering index. It also touts an
increased 80-degree beam angle
and an improved lens for more even
lighting. Battery life is hugely
boosted, now rated at up to
90 minutes at
100%brightness, and the Cube 2.0 is still
able to, mercifully, operate when
plugged in, making it ideal for
home/studio use.It is worth noting, however, that as
the USB-C port is sealed via a rubber
flap rather than screw-in panel, this
second edition is only waterproof
down to 30ft, which is much
shallower than the original’s 100ft.
This makes it much easier to access
for charging, though.FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The Lume Cube 2.0 comes as a
single unit (£90/$90), a dual pack
(£175/$175) and a Professional
Lighting Kit (£270/$299) with a
pair of Cubes, light stand adapter,
snoot, barn doors and carry case.Nikon Z 58mm
f/0.95 S Noct
£8299/$8000 http://www.nikon.co.uk
T
he Nikon Z 58mm f/0.95
Noct S was launched at the
same time as the delightfully
svelte Nikon Z 50 APS-C mirrorless
camera, though the two couldn’t be more
different when it comes to portability.
This is a big lens, weighing in at around 2kg, and
it’s hugely expensive for what is essentially just a
standard prime. But then again, Nikon is not
expecting to sell thousands of these. Like other
innovative lenses from its past, such as the
incredible 6mm Fisheye, it is destined to become
the stuff of legends.
Even though this is certainly a hefty lens, we
were pleasantly surprised that its 153x102mm
dimensions don’t quite dwarf the small APS-C
Z 50. The lens has an LED information panel,
display button, and an Fn function button
- making it easy to customize the lens – but its
standout feature is its manual focus ring, as its
degree of rotation is
enormous. To move from
infinity to the closest focusing distance of 0.5m
requires almost a 360-degree rotation. You need
this precision though, as using the lens at f/0.95
means even the smallest change knocks your
subject noticeably out of focus – it’s all too easy to
get the eyelashes of your sitter in focus, but leave
the irises annoyingly blurry. There is no autofocus
here to help you out, but thankfully you do at least
get a small, rotating tripod collar to help you
tripod-mount the lens for perfect balance.
Filmmakers are more used to shooting everything
on a sturdy support – however the large degree of
focus travel means that pull focus effects will still
need to be chosen with care.Although we weren’t able to take any
pictures during our time with the Noct, we were
able to see the incredible limited depth of field
that the f/0.95 maximum aperture creates.
Beautiful out-of-focus circular highlights –
resembling full moons – should help ensure
stunning bokeh quality.FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct will undoubtedly
be a dream lens for both portrait photographers
and cinematographers, and though prohibitively
expensive for most, this is a lens that will usually
be hired for a shoot. Even its steep manual
focusing learning curve and wafer-thin depth of
field are unlikely to prevent this statement lens
from being on perpetual back-order.