'Rhinestone Blue' screening, June 1, 11:30 a.m., Paramount Theatre, Los Angeles

Valhalla, New York, May 23, 2019 – Rhinestone Blue, a short film lensed by master cinematographer Tobias Schliessler, ASC, will premiere at this year’s Cine Gear Expo on the Paramount Studios lot in Hollywood. The six-minute film, directed by Schliessler’s daughter, Aisha, showcases the new line of FUJINON PREMISTA large format cinema lenses. The screening is set for Saturday, June 1, 2019 at 11:30 a.m. at the Paramount Theatre, and will be followed by a Q&A session with the filmmakers.

We follow an aging cowboy who sets out to compete in a small-town talent show. When his plan goes awry, he’s left to win something much more meaningful.” The film was produced over the course of three days, with shots designed to put FUJINON’s 28-100mm PREMISTA zoom lens through its paces, using Sony’s large-format VENICE camera on as many camera platforms as possible.

“At the same time, we wanted to hold on to static shots long enough for the viewer to study the beauty of the lens,” says Tobias Schliessler. “We also included as many different lighting situations as possible, with low- and high-contrast settings and opportunities to show the color characteristics of the lens. I was very impressed with how the PREMISTA, in combination with the VENICE, captured color nuance.”

The Premista 28-100mm is a standard zoom lens that covers 28-100mm focal lengths. Since this range is normally covered by six different prime lenses, this lens can save significant time on the set, especially when the camera is on a crane or helicopter and access is difficult. A new 13-blade iris allows for a pleasant bokeh effect, and a wide dynamic range of light can be captured thanks to dedicated optical design that suppresses unwanted flare and ghosting. Thanks to its large-diameter aspherical lens elements and new focus/zoom system, the PREMISTA series achieves stunning optical quality from the center to the corner at all focal lengths. The lens weighs only 3.8kg/8.3 lbs., yet is still very durable, allowing professional use even in harsh conditions.

The FUJINON PREMISTA 28-100mm T2.9 will be available in summer 2019, followed by the launch of the 80-250mm T2.9-3.5 before the end of 2019. Together, the lenses will cover the most frequently used focal lengths from 28mm to 250mm. The 28-100mm has a constant T2.9 speed across the entire zoom range and the 80-250mm has a constant T2.9 speed from 80-200mm, before gradually ramping less than a stop to T3.5 between 201-250mm. Both lenses cover a 46.3mm image circle, sufficient for all current large format digital cinema cameras.

“I’ve been a fan of the FUJINON Zoom lenses since my first experience on Lone Survivor, where I used the 19-90mm Cabrio and the Premier zooms for the first time,” says Schliessler. “I have since used them on all on my spherical feature films and commercials. I am happy to have the PREMISTA for my large format work. The lens has the same contrast, sharpness, color characteristics, quality, and lack of lens breathing as the Premier zooms.”

FUJINON's PREMISTA large format cinema zooms are the culmination of 20 years of high-quality cinema optics design and manufacturing. The list of cinematographers who, like Schliessler, choose FUJINON lenses is robust, including the likes of John Toll, ASC; Tom Sigel, ASC; Claudio Miranda, ASC, Linus Sandgren, ASC, FSF and many more.

“We’re thrilled to present Rhinestone Blue to the filmmaking community,” says Tom Fletcher, director of marketing for the Optical Devices Division of FUJIFILM North America Corporation. “Tobias and Aisha have created a visual treat that shows what the Premista lenses are capable of in the hands of true artists. We can’t wait to show off the results to the discerning eyes at Cine Gear Expo.”

The Cine Gear premiere is part of a “Presenting Premista” tour that invites filmmakers to see, touch and test FUJINON's 28-100mm T2.9 Premista large format cinema zoom lens, and eventually the 80-250mm, as well. Events have been scheduled at Sim in Vancouver; William F. White in Toronto; TCS, ARRI Rental, and AbelCine in New York; PC&E and John Sharaf Photography in Atlanta; and AbelCine and Panavision in Chicago. More events will be announced here as they are added.

Watch the Rhinestone Blue trailer here. Production photos and interviews with the filmmakers are available upon request.

About Fujifilm

FUJIFILM North America Corporation, a marketing subsidiary of FUJIFILM Holdings America Corporation consists of five operating divisions and one subsidiary company. The Imaging Division provides consumer and commercial photographic products and services, including: photographic paper; digital printing equipment, along with service and support; personalized photo products; film; and one-time-use cameras; and also markets motion picture archival film and on-set color management solutions to the motion picture, broadcast and production industries. The Electronic Imaging Division markets consumer digital cameras, and the Graphic Systems Division supplies products and services to the graphic printing industry. The Optical Devices Division provides optical lenses for the broadcast, cinematography, closed circuit television, videography and industrial markets, and also markets binoculars. The Industrial and Corporate New Business Development Division delivers new products derived from Fujifilm technologies. FUJIFILM Canada Inc. sells and markets a range of FUJIFILM products and services in Canada. For more information, please visit www.fujifilmusa.com/northamerica, go to www.twitter.com/fujifilmus to follow Fujifilm on Twitter, or go to www.facebook.com/FujifilmNorthAmerica to Like Fujifilm on Facebook. To receive news and information direct from Fujifilm via RSS, subscribe at www.fujifilmusa.com/rss.

FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, brings cutting edge solutions to a broad range of global industries by leveraging its depth of knowledge and fundamental technologies developed in its relentless pursuit of innovation. Its proprietary core technologies contribute to the various fields including healthcare, graphic systems, highly functional materials, optical devices, digital imaging and document products. These products and services are based on its extensive portfolio of chemical, mechanical, optical, electronic and imaging technologies. For the year ended March 31, 2019, the company had global revenues of $22 billion, at an exchange rate of 111 yen to the dollar. Fujifilm is committed to responsible environmental stewardship and good corporate citizenship. For more information, please visit: www.fujifilmholdings.com.

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