In the last few years, cine-grade gear is becoming more affordable. When I started shooting video, Cine PL lenses were basically a dream to rent. Let alone own. Laowa has been a key player in bridging that gap as they bring their new line of cinema lenses. They really knocked it out the park with their new Laowa 12mm t/2.9 Zero-D Cine. This video shows exactly just how well the $1500 dollar cine lens stacks up against an ARRI Ultra Prime 12mm T2.0 F Lens $35,000 lens.
Meike announces a new 35mm T2.2 Cine lens for Micro Four Thirds
Meike has announced a new 35mm T2.2 cinema lens for Micro Four Thirds cameras. As a cine lens, it’s full manual focus and aperture control, with a wide aperture of T2.2 (stopping down to T22) and a fairly short minimum focus distance of only 42cm. The lens is constructed of 10 elements in 8 groups and offers a field of view equivalent of a 70mm lens on a full-frame camera.
Irix expands their cinema lens range with the 45mm T1.5 and more on the way
Irix shocked us all recently by announcing that their 45mm prime lens was going to be released as a T1.5 cinema lens first, and not the f/1.4 we’ve been expecting since Photokina 2016. Irix were at PhotoPlus 2019 this year, showing off the new Irix 45mm T1.5 prime, along with the 11mm T4.3 and 150mm T3.0 cinema lenses. So, we stopped by to take a look and chat about Irix’s plans for the future.
Samyang announces XEEN CF line: compact, lightweight carbon fiber cine prime lenses
Samyang has announced a brand new lineup of its affordable XEEN cine lenses. The new and improved XEEN CF line is coming in five focal lengths, from 16mm to 85mm. They’re compact and lightweight, and they’re the first full-frame cinema lenses which incorporate carbon fiber into the lens barrel.
Legal dispute between founders sends lens manufacturer Veydra out of business
California-based lens manufacturer Veydra has officially shut down its business. Despite the praised price-quality ratio and a successful Kickstarter campaign for MFT cine lenses, internal conflicts have sent the company out of business.
Nitecore soon to produce camera lenses, announces five full-frame cinema primes
Nitecore is a Chinese company producing rechargeable flashlights and third-party batteries (including smart batteries no one asked for). But now it’s about to make camera lenses as well. The company has just announced five full-frame cinema primes ranging from 25mm to 100mm. They will be compatible with a range of mounts, and the company promises “optimum optical quality.”
Irix teases new cinema lenses, starting with a 150mm T3.0
It looks like Swiss lens manufacturer, Irix is getting into the world of cinema lenses. A new teaser posted to the Irix Facebook page shows a 150mm T3.0 lens in a cinema housing. Obviously, this is just a rehoused version of the Irix 150mm f/2.8 Macro, but with the features we expect from cinema lenses. Features like a clickless aperture and a very long focus throw with a geared ring for follow focus units.
Venus Optics enters the world of cine lenses with 25-100mm t/2.9 and 12mm t/2.9
Venus Optics has been known for a variety of unique and weirdly cool Laowa lenses. The company is now entering the world of cine lenses and it has announced a 25-100mm t/2.9 and a 12mm t/2.9 lens for EF and PL mounts. Venus Optics will display the lenses at this year’s NAB, which will be their US debut.
Canon launches its first series of seven PL-mount prime cinema lenses
Canon has launched its first set of cinema prime lenses made for PL-Mount cameras. The series is named Sumire Prime, and it consists of seven prime lenses covering focal lengths from 14mm all the way to 135mm.
This rare 130mm f/1.0 lens has triangular bokeh and it can be yours for “only” $18,500
If you are passionate about rare lenses, here’s a treat for you. A Berthiot Monital 130mm f/1.0 cine lens is currently being sold on eBay. Other than being very rare and having a wide aperture, it has a pretty unique trait: it produces triangular bokeh.
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