Lenses are a thing that constantly distract me, cinema lenses most recently, affordable cinema lenses in particular.
They make a difference in many ways, visually, mechanically, mentally, but which ones and probably more importantly why?
In L-Mount I have a small set of Panasonic S-Primes (35, 50, 85), a pair of 7Art Spectrum (35, 50) and IRIX 150, Sigma 28-70 and a Panasonic 20-60. Bit of a mess I know, but there is some form to this chaos. All of the above have either 67mm threads or require a mat box for filters.
The S-Primes all share the same handling, filter size and overall rendering, but are unfortunately slightly different in colour (the 50 is warmer). The look they have is clean and smooth. They are sharp, but not stills hard-sharp, with good, but not obsessive control of CA, distortion and focus breathing. They are true hybrid lenses and provide a safe place to start most projects.
The 20-60 kit which is comparable and provides a decent wide angle (with the M43 options below). My need for a wide is low enough that I did not bother with the 24mm prime.
The 7Art Spectrum lenses are more cinematic in look and handling** with matching focus rings and filter thread, as well similar weight (double the S-Primes). They are sharp enough and add some character and cine-funk.
They are far from a perfect set however, the 35 is so much warmer than the 50, it is almost in a “class” of it’s own.
The IRIX is a clean budget cine/macro lens. This is my macro go-to for anything serious and it is genuinely good, but as a cine lens it is too long, very clean and sharp. Colour is neutral and the rendering is close to the 50 Spectrum or S-Primes.
The little 28-70 Sigma has been a surprise. It is just a super little all-rounder with only a slight caveat. The lens AF is good enough on the S5.2, but on the S5 it is unreliable. Colour is neutral.
In M43, the choices are easier but fewer.
I have a matched pair* of Sirui 24mm Anamorphic lenses. These obviously match each other as they are the same. I did have a 24mm Night Walker I intended to use as a letterbox cropped faux-anamorphic tele to match, but sold it recently.
The Hope 25 and 50 are both excellent optically and mechanically, tight and true. The 25 is a bit warmer (matches the Sirui anamorphics), but not by much and these match the GH5s and G9.2’s colour difference (GH5 + 25/G9.2 + 50). I had hoped to add a 16 to the set, but my first one was a poor copy, so I have decided to cut my losses.
They have a decently matching 7Art 12mm Vision, probably a better match here than in the hodgepodge that is the Vision range. This is far from a tight mount fit, but is light and smooth in focus, so it works well enough and actually matches the ring placement of the Hope’s reasonably well.
The stills lenses I have for M43 tend to lean towards the more organic 17, 12-40 and 45 Olympus lenses, or sometimes the Panasonic 8-18 and 9 for AF-hand held. None of these excel in handling with the 9mm coming closest to decent.
Filters for these are all over the place from 46mm to Mat-box only.
A set?
The working kit in order of common use;
GH5s (RigidPro rig) as the primary static camera
25 Hope (matches well with the 50, 35 Pana or Spectrum 50)
12-40 Oly for general purpose
24 Sirui if anamorphic is wanted
12 Vision wide angle
S5 as the low light or B-Cam
35 S-Prime (crops to 50)
50 Spectrum in B-Cam role to GH5s and Hope (crops to 75)
IRIX 150 for macro and super shallow depth (crops to 225)
G9.2 as the M43 as movement cam
9 Pana-Leica (fast, small and light and crops well in stabe mode)
8-18 Pan-Leica (same as above but slower and more versatile)
G9.2 as B-Cam to GH5s
50 Hope as the B-Cam to the GH5s
24 Sirui as anamorphic movement and B-cam to above
S5.2 (Log only) as the hybrid run-n-gun full frame option (usually in stills day bag)
28-70 Sigma mounted by default.
50 or 85 S-Prime as B-Cam to S5 (in V-Log)
The extreme ends, both capable macro lenses.
My GH5s and S5 are the core of my video kit, both running cool-ish sensors out to B-Raw unless the G9.2 is used as a movement cam. I am keen on adding a third 5” BMVA 12g***, so I can run three B-Raw cams and reduce rig changes. These cams all share a similar look, so the lenses chosen are key.
The 35 Spectrum is overly warm, loose on the mount (common in the range, but my 50 is tight) and tighter to focus (-the 50 is smooth and loose), making it less pleasant to use and grade than the 50. There is little point in trying to use it as part of a set. This lens will hang around for now and may get used for specific jobs, but not as part of a working set.
Below; top row Spectrum 35 and 50, bottom row S-Prime 35 and 50. The two 50’s I can live with as a nearly matched pair, the Pana 35 also as they all render a more or less blue wall, but the green tinge of the Spectrum defeats me (the light outside was changing constantly so the bright patch in the Pana 35 shot is an inconsistency).
As an aside these were all shot at “cinematic F4” on the same camera then cropped to match to see if they render differently. My favourite is the Spectrum 50 for it’s cinematic Bokeh, the S-Prime 35 for clarity.
The Panasonic 50 is also warmer than its mates, but not by much and is a good match to the Spectrum 50. I do not use it much, preferring to mount the 35 and crop to 50 as needed. The look is obviously consistent (same lens), there is little quality loss cropping and on the S5 using B-Raw out 5.9k is full frame, 4K is a forced APS-C crop, so a forced choice anyway.
The Pana 35 and Spectrum 50 are not perfectly colour matched, but neither are my cameras, the subtle differences in the four when combined well are pretty close to perfect (S5 + P35/S5.2 + S50). I guess really, the Panasonic lenses are a sweet matched set, the Spectrum 50 manages to fit in with them, the 35 does not.
So, what lenses still call to me?
DZO Vespid 40mm is the perfect focal length for a one lens L-mount (PL adapted), 40mm full frame, 60mm cropped and with another adapter to M43 an 80mm. It is now an “older” semi-pro cine lens from the period that helped bridge the cheap-pro gap (with Nisi, IRIX etc), but the Mk2 set is better still and according the Ed Prosser after close examination https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7WGG0drXJ0 , more of a light weight version of the more expensive Arles range. The mk2 range does not have a 40mm which just sucks.
The IRIX cine 45mm possibly in PL mount again so I can use it on any cam as a 45/65/90 lens, or native L would match my 150. This is also available in a Dragonfly non-cine version for less, but no L-Mount. The temptation of getting the 30mm in M43 mount is there, but too limiting (not sure why they even do M43 in these as the widest only just make it into wide territory).
Typoch Simera-C are like the Vespids in compact form (pattern spotted Cimera-C > Vespid, Vespid Mk2 > Arles), but around here they are not super cheap or easy to find. They also only make a 35 or 50 option, no 40mm.
The 7Art Infinity range are interesting, but too new to be front runners and again, no 40.
The Arles 40 T1.4 is the pinnacle, but too expensive, complicated and massive.
The aging Panasonic Leica 24-70 f2.8 has a special something as well as being a premium stills lens. I bought the Sigma as a light weight stills hybrid more to reduce weight in my bag than anything, but the Leica does have an X-factor that is hard to beat and has swung some back away from the better value Sigma Art lenses. If I wanted a top end video-hybrid lens, this would probably be it.
The smaller and cheaper 24-60 S series is also interesting, but the Sigma fills that role. It is the “special” looking Leica or nothing else here.
The 50 f1.4 Pana-Leica S-Pro is probably the top of the hybrid range, but prohibitively expensive, large and limited (another 50!).
The 1.7 Pana-Leica zooms for M43 are also in the mix, but less so now I have a mixed kit. If I had stayed with M43, these would likely have solved most of my issues.
I think that as things stand, I will probably wait and see what happens with the Vespid II’s, IRIX and the aged Leica 24-70 or just hang tight. The S-Primes are solid, my budget cine lenses a mixed bag, but some genuinely good ones and at the end of the day, nobody else cares.
No matter how unlikely, my kit feels balanced at the moment, which is not nothing. Any thoughts of spectacular lens upgrades, always a diminishing return, need to be weighed against my realistic capture scenarios (B-Raw, mid to low res, 1080 output).
*Not perfectly matched as the two cams I use have 1.8x and 2x crop sensors, so a 45 and 48mm equivalent pairing, which is good.
**lower contrast, smoother and less “perfect”.
***or possibly a BMPCC4k for a little more.