Atlas Lens Co. developed special spherical IMAX lenses for Dune: Part Three that had to meet the very specific requirements for capturing film on the IMAX 70mm format. Atlas Lens Co. made four focal lengths, including a 55mm T3.5 and an 80mm T3.5. They are also working on some more focal lengths.
Linus Sandgren went to see Atlas Lens Co. because there’s a very limited selection of glass available that will cover the IMAX format, and a lot of that is rehoused Mamiya and Hasselblad glass. It isn’t uncommon for cinematographers to get custom ptics made for projects. Panavision made two custom 50mm and 80mm T2 lenses for Christopher Nolan, and both of those lenses were used on Sinners and Oppenheimer.
The IMAX lenses are somewhat of a departure from what Atlas Lens Co. is known for, as they are spherical rather than anamorphic. What makes the lenses special is that they were designed specifically to eliminate the vignetting issues that are very common in current IMAX lens inventories when stopped down. They also needed to provide a specific visual quality that existing lenses that cover IMAX 70mm could not. Atlas Lens Co. custom-designed the lenses to produce a unique spherical look with specific flare and coating characteristics.
Some of the Atlas Lens Co. IMAX lenses’ focal lengths will cover a 100mm x 100mm image circle, which far exceeds traditional IMAX 70mm film standards. Because of their large image circle, Atlas Lens Co. also needed to create a custom projector to be able to test them, as outside of IMAX, at least to my knowledge, they don’t exist.
The 80mm was the most used of the three focal lengths on Dune: Part Three, and it was designed specifically to offer a unique character in the corners
