Everywhere:

Ingenious lenses taking over the world of film

Bollywood relies on them and they’re established names in Europe and the US: Hawk lenses from Weiden, Germany. The idea behind them isn’t new at all, but their technology is. This becomes even more evident with our fascinating new generation of lenses. They’re considerably lighter than their predecessors, which also makes them easier to handle than their conventional counterparts.

Internationally successful

Hawk anamorphic lenses combine two essential quality features. First of all, their widescreen picture resembles the visual perception of the human eye as no other format does. Secondly, Hawks use the available film format as effectively as possible. In fact, the exposed film area is 52% larger than in Super 35! Both could be called signs of advanced quality – or simply a cinematic experience.

Instead of traditional round lenses, Hawks rely on glasses with a cylindrical shape. The result is intriguing: While the height of the picture is unaffected, it’s squeezed horizontally. This is the only way that a conventional 35mm film — with its unfortunate 4:3 ratio — can be the medium for elegant and breathtaking widescreen movies.

By using this technique, Hawks are exactly in line with internationally established cinematic standards. This means that material can be further processed and projected everywhere in the world without any problems.

“I think the optical quality is just crazy. It’s such a pleasure for the eye, such a brilliant picture. Sometimes it looks like you’re watching 3-D images.”

Wim Wenders

Impressive composition

Hawks distinguish themselves on the set with several advantages. By the very nature of their construction, they record the same image detail at longer focal lengths. This creates a shallower depth of field, resulting in very dense, concentrated pictures. Even at full aperture, they’re ready to be used without a loss in quality. And due to their format, they achieve an impression of vastness and spaciousness.

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Ten outstanding international films garnering 148 nominations and 80 brilliant awards — and all of them shot on Hawk lenses.