Samyang (aka Rokinon) has announced its new XEEN 50mm T2.3 2x anamorphic as well as the new Meister T1.3 full-frame primes.
XEEN Anamorphic
Samyang (Rokinon) did unofficially announce that they were working on an anamorphic lens series quite a few years ago, and now it is finally here.
The first lens in the series is a 50mm T2.3 2x. The lens has been designed to cover full-frame sensors, however, it will cover an image circle of up to Ø 43.2mm. Once de-squeezed, the XEEN Anamorphic 50mm T2.3 lens can provide a 2.55:1 original cinematic scope ratio.
The 50mm T2.3 has a physical circumference of Ø128.0 and it is 19.8cm / 7.79″ long.
Despite featuring some carbon fiber, this is not a light lens and it tips the scales at 3.9 kg / 8.50 lb.
The lens has a minimum focusing distance of 3.3′ / 1m. It has 15 aperture blades and a focus throw of 300 degrees. The front of the lens features an industry-standard 114mm diameter.
The 50mm T2.3 has focus and iris scales on both sides of the lens. It also features a luminous coating so you can see key information in low light working environments.
The 50mm T2.3 2x anamorphic will only be available in PL mount.
Price & Availability
There is no indication of pricing or availability for the 50mm T2.3 2x anamorphic. The lens will be shown for the first time at the Micro Salon AIC Rome, Italy that goes from the Nov.26~28.
XEEN has always made affordable cine lenses, but if I was to guess, I would estimate that this lens will probably retail somewhere between $4-5K US.
XEEN Meister
The XEEN Meister lenses are a new series of very fast full-frame prime lenses. They will be available in focal lengths of 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm. All three lenses feature a claimed T1.3 aperture. It will be interesting to see how the lenses perform when used wide open. Previous XEEN and Rokinon lenses have had some pretty bad chromatic aberration when used wide open.
Just like the XEEN 2x anamorphic, these lenses also cover a 43.2mm image circle and they have a 114mm front diameter. All three lenses feature 13 aperture blades and a 300-degree focus rotation. Focus and aperture values are displayed on both sides of the lens.
As far as weight is concerned, the PL version of the lenses tips the scales at 1.9kg / 4.2lb. All three lenses are 12.2cm / 4.8″ long (PL mount).
What is interesting to see is that the new Meister series support the /i Technology protocol (PL mount only), which enables cameras to automatically record accurate lens metadata.
The XEEN Meister lenses will be available in PL, Canon EF, and Sony E mount.
Price & Availability
Again, just like the 2x anamorphic, there is currently no pricing or availability yet for the Meister lenses. Based on previous XEEN pricing, I would fully expect these new Meister lenses to be quite affordable as far as full-frame cine prime lenses are concerned.
Without having seen any vision or knowing how much the 2x anamorphic or the Meister T1.3 primes are it is hard to make any type of assessment about them. However, it is always good to see more competition in the cine lens space.
What do you think about these new offerings from XEEN? Let us know in the comments section below.
