Here is a quick lensbook of my preferred options for the next season. Disclaimer, these stills have obviously not been graded for the look that Bookish has, so keep that in mind, and keep colours out of the equation please. I’m not worried about the colours, as we would adapt the LUT to whatever is needed to have the same result as the previous seasons.

This is a testvideo to compare the Alexa 35 versus the Pyxis 12k. In the captions you can see which frame is which camera.
Lenses are the Atlas Mercury 42mm and 54mm. They have been swapped and mixed throughout the cameras.

Alexa 35 Premium: Open Gate 4.6k
Pyxis 12k: Open Gate 8k

The Mercuries are from the same lens manufacturer as the first and second season; Atlas. I know these lenses quite well and consider them really not far off from what was used on the previous seasons (the Orions) but with a bit more character and a lot of other advantages. Where the Orions have a x2 squeeze, these have a x1.5 squeeze, though they have been designed to resemble x2 squeeze anamorphics.

The advantages in my opinion are aplenty and I think I would recommend them more than any other lenses in this case.

• because of their 1.5x squeeze factor, they cover more of the sensor for the desired aspect ratio of 2:1. So you basically have more pixel, more information, more resolution from your sensor with this squeeze, in comparison to your delivery format.
• they are much smaller and more compact, so that makes them easier to use, operate, and makes our footprint in tighter spaces also smaller and gives us more manoeuvrability.
• they cover all the way up to Full Frame (stills below are Full Frame Open Gate, stills above are super 35 Open Gate) which honestly might be interesting too to have the option of using that full frame sensor size when needed for both practical, or creative reasons, or for VFX if you need to capture outside of the frame for tracking.
• they have the same coatings as the Orions, so in terms of colour there isn’t that much difference. they are a little softer though in contrast, which I consider a must for flexibility in post and on set (Mark’s glasses and the shadows)
• they fit in the budget, and the range would be 24mm, 36mm, 42mm, 54mm, 72mm, 95mm, 138mm, with a doubler

These lenses are x2 squeeze anamorphic and fairly new. I like them because they do add character to them, as in more glare and flare, which helps give it a bit of a vintage feel to them. They are also softer than the Orions in terms of contrast. They do differ more from the Orions used in previous seasons.

• they are more or less the same size as the Orions
• they are beautiful lenses, but they do differ more from the original lenses
• they don’t cover Full Frame, so as the original you would have to stay in Super 35 format, so a bit more cropping going on in post to get a 2:1 deliverable.
• beautiful flares and glare
• budgetwise they fit in the budget with a little extra push from myself, but we can’t test them in the coming 3 months as there are none available nearby. they come in 30mm, 50mm, 75mm, 135mm

The Apollo’s are also x2 squeeze anamorphics, similar to the Aura lenses. They are very cinematic in my opinion, so again, much more cinematic than the Orions, which might be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you want to resemble the look of the first seasons. They flare beautifully as well in my opinion.

• they are a bit heavier and bigger than the Orions, but negligible
• they are beautiful lenses, but they do differ more from the original lenses because of a more pronounced cinematic look and contrast
• they cover Full Frame, so the same advantage as the Mercuries would come in play here.
• beautiful flares and glare, but a bit different from the original though.
• budgetwise they are the most expensive though, need to check affordability. testing them would be easier as they are a bit more common and less new.