EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS GOES ZEISS DIGIPRIME®

"When you want to get into someone's face for comedy, you need a lens that can close focus reliably," says cinematographer Mark Doering-Powell. "On Everybody Hates Chris, what Chris Rock and his younger self see and feel sells the show. And, thanks to the Zeiss DigiPrimes we can put the lenses on the Viper and shoot Steadicam or handheld and get closer and more intimate than if we were using a zoom."

Doering-Powell was sold on the Zeiss DigiPrime lenses when he tested them on the pilot of this hit two-camera half-hour comedy from UPN. "The markings are perfect," he says enthusiastically. "Since 2001, I've been asking for a scale on HD lenses in order to have a reference as to where you're at with the back-focus. Zeiss DigiPrimes have very accurate scales.

"Some other reasons I like the Zeiss lenses are that they're fast, don't flare, and they're problem-free.

"Thanks to Marker Karahadian and Plus 8, we've got a full set of lenses on the series. Our main lenses are the 7mm, 10mm, 14mm and sometimes the 20mm. Each is true to configuration and gives us exactly what we need when we need it.

"Frankly, they are so good, they should be in a museum," he laughs. "But, not while we need them to get the kind of in-your-face comedy that punctuates scenes in Everybody Hates Chris."