Vega lenses were developed with filmmakers in mind in response to the market’s growing demand for lenses capable of covering the larger full frame digital camera format. TLS’s latest development, Vega, is a new series of Full Frame cine prime lenses.
The Vega lenses, although sharp, have a beautiful smooth look with a tiny amount of fall off towards the corners. They also have a stunning bokeh as a result of their 16 blade circular iris and when wide open, can offer a very narrow depth of field.
These lenses are designed with floating elements so TLS have used their dual cam system to allow the optimum optical performance while still allowing some character. The housing is the same process as their renowned rehousing process. Therefore, there is 300 degrees focus rotation and solid stainless steel stops on both focus and iris movement. These lenses have accurate and repeatable dual focus scales, available in both imperial and metric.
Nick Manly DOP uses them extensively and has said -
I used the TLS Morpheus and Aurora zooms on seasons 1 and 2 combined with Arri Amiras from Verve. I really liked their look and the practicality of a high-quality lens that was light enough to use on a show with a lot of handheld work.
The Vega's use the same Nikon glass, it's got great character without looking " vintage" and a T1.5 Full Frame range allowed me to shoot in low light and some confined locations with high-quality results. They are light but robust and the matched diameter made for fast lens changes without a matte box or follow focus issues, a solid set of primes I have used on 2 BBC drama series since. Currently, the same set is being used by Darius Kondji ASC ( Delicatessen, Evita, Seven) on " Mickey 17".