FUJINON’s Duvo HZK25-1000mm Lens – Tales From a Safari in Kenya

by Alexandra ThompsonApril 24^th, 2024

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At NAB 2024, Johnnie spoke with Emmy-winning filmmaker and wildlife cinematographer Bob Poole and FUJIFILM North America’s Vice President Victor Ha at the FUJIFILM/FUJINON booth. They discussed the experience of using the FUJINON Duvo HZK25-1000mm lens on an ARRI ALEXA 35 while on safari in Kenya, which sounds like quite a trip (forgive the pun!). So let’s see what was involved in getting this lens over to Africa, and whether it was worth it!

Bob was raised in Kenya and his very first film for National Geographic was about elephants. Last year at NAB 2023, Bob met Victor Ha, and after discussing the pros and cons of using the Duvo lens on safari, Victor told Bob he wouldn’t know if it worked until he tried it. So, the decision was made to ship the lens to Kenya and have Bob use it on an elephant safari – no mean feat with a lens that weighs 28kg/61.7lb. Although Victor notes that this was considered Bob’s project, he sent out a BTS (behind-the-scenes) documentary crew, along with the lens, for support.

The set-up for the safari – and filming elephants

Of course, the lens’s weight (in fact, the entire weight of the set-up attached to the car) was a concern, as was the fact that the safari was off-road under bad conditions with dust, wind, and rain. To prepare for the set-up, Bob flew to Africa beforehand and “chopped up and re-designed” the vehicle he would be using (In the end, Victor said the whole set-up looked like something out of a Mad Max film). However, on the first day after he mounted the lens and began filming with it, Bob knew the Duvo was something exceptional.

Bob said that filming elephants is unpredictable – they can be right next to you, or somewhere off in the distance. Filming a large animal up close can be technically challenging, but shooting with the Duvo resulted in an image that was particularly striking as even with a shallow depth of field, there was a smooth roll-off to the autofocus sections of the image, drawing your eye precisely to where he intended it to be.

Backup cameras – just in case

The main camera was the ARRI ALEXA 35, but Victor supplied Bob with backup cameras as well – the FUJIFILM GFX100 II (our review, here). The documentary crew had these and FUJIFILM X-H2S cameras (review, here). Victor explains that his idea behind bringing these cameras was also to supply supplementary tools for the production – Bob could now shoot timelapse (which he set up to run almost continuously), or film on the ground or up a tree if he wanted to. As Victor pointed out, versatility often comes from having different tools to work with.

So what is the Duvo HZK25-1000mm?

The FUJINON Duvo HZK25-1000mm is a cinema box lens with an ARRI PL mount. It features a 40x zoom, 1.5x extender, and an f/2.8 maximum aperture at 25mm. It covers both Super35 and full-frame sensors. Have a look at Johnnie’s interview with Stosh Durbacz of FUJIFILM in the video below to find out all the details:

It’s always special to see a filmmaker like this working in the field with the (enthusiastic) cooperation and support of a brand like FUJIFILM / FUJINON. And hearing about the Duvo HZK25-1000mm lens setup in Kenya was no exception! We look forward to seeing the film when it’s completed!

What are your thoughts on working with this type of setup? Are there any ideas or projects where you can imagine using this lens? Let us know in the comments!