First footage from production versions of the new Tokina 35,50 and 85mm T1.5 Cine Primes has been released. Phil Holland shot the test footage above on the RED Weapon Dragon 8K VV. All the shots were done wide open at T1.5.
Phil was impressed with Tokina’s new offerings and below are a summary of his thoughts:
-Fast T1.5 T stop, good for low light filming
-Very pleasing image character across the iris range and usable wide open
-T1.5 through to T22 iris range
-Use of aspherical elements and modern coatings, nicely corrected image, exceptionally low chromatic abberations
-Newly designed large format cinema glass
-Image circle of 46.7mm covers FF35, VistaVision and Red Dragon 8K VV
-Clearly marked focus and iris scales on both sides of the lenses
-Consistent 114mm front outer diameter, good for efficient matte box use
-Lenses also feature a 112mm screw-in filter size
-Consistent length of lenses, good for quick lens changes
-Consistent length of lens during focus pull, swing away matte box stays put
-9 bladed iris for rounded bokeh aesthetic
-Nearly no breathing during focus pulls (love this)
-No image shift during focus pull
-Robust construction materials, good for long term use and ownership
-Shimmable mount
-More focal lengths coming in 2017
Currently the only place you can buy the new Tokina Cinema Primes is from Duclos Lenses . The Tokina Cinema Vista set with custom case is available for $13997US.
I was very impressed by the lenses when I saw them at IBC last year in Amsterdam. From my short time shooting with them I would agree with Phil’s thoughts. The new Tokina Cine Primes will surely surprise a lot of shooters, and they may potentially set a new benchmark for performance in the sub $5k prime lens category.
