Let’s face it: cinema lenses aren’t cheap, and for good reason. Cinema lenses are, generally, superior to conventional “non-cine” lenses in almost every regard. They’re more durable, offer better control, produce superior image quality, and so on. The only downside is the price you pay for the privilege of their performance; a top-tier cine lens can easily run you thousands of dollars.
But don’t reach for your Payboo card just yet. Despite their well-earned reputation as bank-busters, not all cine lenses require a credit pull. In fact, today, we’ll be going over some of the best telephoto cinema lenses you can buy and still remain under your budget.
Rokinon 85mm T1.5 Cine DS Lens
Kicking off the list we have Rokinon, one of the go-to names for quality optics at a friendly price. This is an 85mm with a fast T-stop of 1.5, allowing for plenty of light to hit your sensor, as well as super-shallow depth of field. For the best results, Rokinon employs multi-coated lenses on the DS line to help minimize unwanted flaring and ghosting. Additionally, each lens in the series features industry-standard gearing, which allows you to retain your focus unit and iris motor positions should you decide to swap between focal lengths.
Samyang Cine AF 100mm T2.3 FE Lens
Up next, we have our only lens on this list with autofocus capabilities: the Cine AF 100mm, from Samyang. Covering full-frame Sony E-mount sensors, this lens produces a clean image with incredibly soft and pleasing bokeh with its maximum aperture of T2.3. Thanks to the built-in autofocus, you can easily employ this in a variety of situations where manual focus-only lenses would be difficult to utilize, such as in drone work, gimbal work, or any scenario where one’s hands are occupied. It even has a built-in tally light to ensure you know when you’re recording or not. Samyang offers this in a variety of focal lengths, one of which is a 75mm and T1.9
Sirui 75mm f/1.8 Super35 Anamorphic 1.33x
Adding some spice into the mix, we have this anamorphic lens from Sirui, which features a 75mm focal length, f-stop of 1.8 for great low light results, and a squeeze of 1.33 times. You can expect to see many of the qualities that make anamorphic lenses so desirable, from tasteful flaring, gorgeous bokeh, and, of course, the standard 2.4:1 widescreen aspect ratio. For the price, this is an excellent solution for achieving crisp anamorphic footage on super35/APS-C Sensor cameras.
Meike 85mm T2.2 Manual Focus Cinema Lens
This compact, lightweight lens from Meike, designed for MFT mounts, boasts a hearty metal housing, buttery smooth 270° focus rotation, 77mm filter thread, and a wide T2.2 aperture. Multilayer coatings were implemented to reduce flaring and ghosting and increase contrast. For those lightweight run’n’gun sessions, or when you need something that won’t be cumbersome to toss onto a gimbal, this Meike lens is a great option to consider.
DZOFilm Pictor 50 to 125mm T2.8 Super35 Parfocal Zoom Lens
Although this is the most expensive lens on this list, its capabilities and features pack a punch that are well above its weight class. This is a cine zoom lens that covers a range of 50 to 125mm, all while being parfocal, meaning focus will remain true and consistent even when zooming in and out. It also allows the lens to have almost zero focus breathing, making for extremely pleasing pulls. Even with its dynamic zoom range, the lens still manages to retain an impressively fast aperture of T2.8, rendering exceptionally nice bokeh, especially at 125mm. For the price, it’s quite hard to beat this lens from DZOFilm, considering all that it can do!
Thanks to the ever-growing assortment of affordable optics, getting your hands on a quality cine lens is easier than ever before. The lenses covered in our roundup are just a few of the many budget-friendly cine lenses currently available at B&H Photo. If you have any questions about any of the lenses we covered today, or cine lenses in general, be sure to drop us a line below.
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