The Kipon PL-PL 0.7x focal reducer is designed to reduce the focal length of a lens by a factor of 0.7x and increase the light transmission by one stop. In Laymen’s terms, it enables you to use full frame lenses on S35 sensor PL mount cameras to create a wider field of view and increase the T-stop.
The adapter takes PL or LPL mount lenses by default and allows light to pass through to a maximum T-Stop of T1.5 set on the attached cine lens. The resulting T-Stop is up to T1.1 and the image can cover sensor sizes up to 36mm diagonal.
We are all familiar with focal reducers, or Speed Boosters (a phrase Metabones coined) as they allow us to create a wider field of view and increase the F-stop/ T-stop when using full frame lenses on cropped sensor mirrorless hybrids and certain digital cinema cameras. Making a focal reducer for a lot of the shallow flange depth mirrorless mounts is pretty easy to do, but creating a version that goes from PL to PL is extremely difficult.
No easy task
As I just mentioned, making a PL-PL 0.7x focal reducer is no easy task and there is a reason we haven’t previously seen them before. They require a very complex and difficult optical design.
Kipon is utilizing an innovative optical design consisting of 13 lenses in 12 groups which is claimed to ensure low distortion and maximum imaging accuracy.
People may not be aware, but 10 years ago Kipon actually developed a Leica M 0.65x focal reducer. They made several prototypes, but due to coverage and mechanic issues, they didn’t put it into production.
Why would you want to use this focal reducer?
- Image quality can improve after adding the focal reducer
- You can use wider lenses for S35 systems by converting wide FF lenses on S35 sensor cameras, like Leica 16mm, Cooke 18mm, Lowa 12mm, and even the Loawa probe lenses.
- You can swap the front of the focal reducer to an optional LPL lens mount, Leica M mount, Sony E, etc.
Size & weight
The biggest caveat with the Kipon PL-PL 0.7x focal reducer is the size and weight. Because of the complex optical design, it is 205mm / 8.07″ long and it weighs 1.8 kg / 3.96 lb.
Above you can see how large it is when mounted on an Alexa 35 with no lens attached.
This size and weight mean that even if you are using relatively compact prime lenses, the overall footprint of your camera rig is going to increase quite dramatically. Above you can see just how large it still is with a MIR 20M 20mm F/3.5 MC lens attached.
Above you can see a few other different lenses attached to the Kipon PL-PL 0.7x Focal Reducer.
You are also going to have to use long rods and a lens support to support the additional weight.
With larger lenses, your camera rig is going to become quite long and front-heavy.
Arguably, this is going to create some additional issues if you want to shoulder-mount a camera.
These are all things you need to carefully consider if you plan on using the Kipon PL-PL 0.7x focal reducer.
Build Quality
The lens features a very understated design and it’s only available in black.
The 3/8″ lens support bracket is robustly made and easy to use.
Upside down
The relay optical construction is what makes it possible to project an image from a PL mount lens onto a PL mount camera. This is something that cannot be done with conventional focal reducer designs. The relay optics maintain the integrity of the PL mount system while enhancing functionality and versatility.
Now, because of the relay design of the KIPON 0.7x PL > PL Adapter there is a 180° rotation of the image before it is projected onto the camera sensor. You can correct the projected image by flipping the image in the camera settings, although only a handful of cameras have this functionality.
Create a Pseudo Alexa 35 LF
By using the Kipon PL-PL 0.7x focal reducer on an ARRI Alexa 35 you can arguably end up getting the best of both worlds. The high dynamic range and color science of the Alexa 35 coupled with the field of view of the Alexa Mini LF.
If you were using an Alexa Mini LF with an Alexa 35 on a shoot, you could use the focal reducer and get the field of view to be a closer match if you were using lenses with the same focal length.
Yes, arguably it would make more sense to just use two Alexa Mini LFs, but it is always good to have options.
Sony F35 LF
The Focal Reducer also lets you breathe new life into older camera systems. Above you can see the Kipon PL-PL 0.7x focal reducer on a Sony F35.
Even though this camera is only capable of capturing full HD it utilizes a large 5.7K sensor, so the focal reducer can certainly help unlock a lot of its potential.
Swappable Mounts
The front part of the Kipon PL-PL 0.7x focal reducer can also be swapped to Arri LPL, Sony E, Leica M, etc. Basically, any short FFD mount (44mm) such as a Canon RF or Nikon F mount could be used.
This certainly increases the Focal Reducer’s versatility as you can open up your camera to far more lens choices.
Optical Performance
With any type of optics that goes in front or behind a lens, you want to do detailed testing to see if it affects the optical performance.
I did a bunch of sharpness tests at various T-stops with a wide array of lenses with and without the Kipon PL-PL 0.7x Focal Reducer to see if there were any differences or caveats that you need to be aware of.
The good news is I didn’t find any massive reduction in sharpness or optical performance.
The advantage of getting an additional stop of light is that you can stop your lens down to get better sharpness and still achieve the same or similar out-of-focus look as when you are not using the Focal Reducer.
Getting that additional stop of light does come with some caveats depending on the lens you are using. For instance, on the Tokina Cinema Vista lenses, which are already T1.5, you are essentially getting enough light to turn them into T1.1. What I found is that there was quite a bit of chromatic aberration when using the lenses wide open.
Does it change a lens’s characteristics?
Apart from the optical performance, I was also very interested to find out if the focal reducer altered the optical characteristics of the lenses it was used with.
In short, yes it does change the characteristics, but it really does depend on the lens you are using it with. In my testing I purposely white balanced with the lens on the camera and then I added the Focal Reducer. I did this so you can see what is actually changing when it comes to color, CA, and flare characteristics.
Above you can see a color test where I white balanced with just the lens (Tokina Cinema Vista 85mm T1.5) attached and then I put that same lens on the Kipon PL-PL 0.7x Focal Reducer to see if the colors changed. The Focal Reducer does change the color as you can see. With the Focal Reducer, the image is noticeably warmer and it has a slight push towards green.
The results do vary from lens to lens and it really depends on what lens you are using it with.
I also did a bunch of flare tests comparing a few lenses when they were used with and without the Kipon PL-PL 0.7x Focal Reducer.
With certain lenses, I actually liked the flare I was getting with the Focal Reducer, and with others, not so much. As you are adding a lot of additional glass into the optical image chain it is no real surprise that the flare does get altered.
Chromatic Aberration
When I used the Kipon PL-PL 0.7x Focal Reducer on an ARRI Alexa 35 I did notice a slight increase in chromatic aberration, especially when using lenses wide open.
There are signs of green and purple fringing, but they are reasonably well-controlled. You do, however, need to be aware of it when using certain lenses.
Real World Thoughts
The ability to take wide full-frame lenses and use them on an S35 sensor camera, while arguably niche, is very useful. I tried the focal reducer with a ton of different lenses, including the Laowa 12mm T2.9 Zero-D Cine Lens (PL Mount), Tokina Cinema Vista 21mm T1.5, Viltrox EPIC 25mm T2 1.33x Full-Frame Anamorphic Lens (PL Mount), BLAZAR LENS Great Joy 35mm T2.9 1.8x Anamorphic Lens, BLAZAR LENS Remus 65mm T2.0 Full-Frame 1.5x Anamorphic Lens, BLAZAR LENS Great Joy 85mm T2.9 1.8x Anamorphic Lens, TLS Morpheus 80-200mm T2.8, Venus Optics LAOWA 24mm T14-40 Full Frame 2x PeriProbe Cine Lens, and MIR 20M 20mm F/3.5 MC.
It was also nice to use fast full frame prime lenses such as the Tokina Cinema Vistas.
Because of the added length of the focal reducer, it is arguably easier to use lens motors.
I did run into an issue with the version of the Laowa 12mm T2.9 Zero-D Cine Lens (PL Mount) as it wouldn’t fit on the adapter. Now, this isn’t an issue with the Focal Reducer, this is an issue with the lens. The problem with the Laowa 12mm T2.9 is that some lenses have mount size issues.
I took the Kipon PL-PL 0.7x Focal Reducer out to get some test shots. I purposely wanted to put it into some difficult conditions to see how it performed.
I tried the lens out with a TLS Morpheus 80-200mm T2.8, BLAZAR LENS Remus 45mm T2.0 Full-Frame 1.5x Anamorphic Lens, and a Tokina Cinema Vista 21mm T1.5.
Above you can see some test footage.
What I did find in real-world shooting conditions is that the PL-PL 0.7x Focal Reducer does seem to slightly enhance any faults a lens may have. For instance, the BLAZAR LENS Remus 45mm T2.0 Full-Frame 1.5x Anamorphic Lens has fairly bad chromatic aberration when used wide open, or even slightly stopped down. When coupled with the PL-PL 0.7x Focal Reducer that became even more noticeable.
The sharpness is still pretty decent, however, if you start running lenses wide open with the Focal Reducer you can start to exceed their optical limits.
With an already fast lens like the Tokina Cinema Vista series, if you use it wide open, with the Focal Reducer it becomes very hard to get focus because the depth of field is so shallow.
Super Niche
Look, this is a super niche product, and like a lot of specialty optics, it is only going to be suitable for certain applications.
It is more likely to be a rental option than something an owner/operator would buy.
With so many cameras out there that are capable of shooting in full frame and cropped sensor modes, you could arguably make a case that there is no need for a product like this to exist. However, a PL-PL focal reducer does enable you to do something that wasn’t previously possible, and regardless of how niche it may be, it certainly serves a purpose.
Price & Availability
The Kipon PL-PL 0.7x focal reducer is available to purchase for $5,480 USD.
