Meike is expanding its FF (Full-frame) cine lens family, by announcing a new prime cinema lens for large-format sensors, the 35mm T2.1. This lens joins its big sister, the Meike 50mm T2.1. These lenses allow you to purchase a cine-glass that covers full-frame cameras without breaking your bank. Let’s explore it below.
Meike FF Prime 35mm T2.1:
The Prime 35mm T2.1 is Meike’s second full-frame cine lens which joins the 50mm T2.1. Both the 50mm T2.1 and 35mm T2.1 cover an image circle of 45mm. It is available in either PL, Canon EF, Canon R, Sony E, and Panasonic L mounts. Acceding to Meike, It has industry-standard 0.8mm pitch gears on the focus and aperture ring. The lens design of the Meike 35mm T2.1 FF-Prime consists of fourteen elements in nine groups. The aperture mechanism consists of 11 aperture blades. The minimum focus distance is 33mm. The focus rotation of this lens is 330 degrees, which is quite an impressive capability even for a cinema lens.
Camera Compatibility
- Canon C700
- Sony VENICE
- Alexa LF
- Z Cam E2-F6
- Mavo LF
- All full-frame Sony, Panasonic. Canon, Sigma, Leica mirrorless
- All Super 35/ APS-C sensors
FF Prime 35mm T2.1 highlights:
- Lens Mount: PL/EF/RF/E/L
- Min Focal Dist: 33cm
- Image Circle: 45mm
- Structure: 14 Elements in 9 Groups
- Aperture Range: T2.1-T22
- Iris Blades: 11
- Focus Rotation: 330 Degree
For sample footage, check out the video below:
Price
The Meike FF Prime 35mm T2.1 price is identical to its 50mm, which is $960. The lens is on pre-sale on Meike’s website. The 50mm can be purchased on the B&H website.
Full-frame Cine-Primes for the masses
As you can figure it out, the price is very affordable. Moreover, according to Meike, those lenses were designed as cinema lenses from scratch, which means there are not rehoused versions of stills. The initial price tag of a cinema FF prime is $5,000. Make sure to read our article that compares the prices of cine-prime sets from various lens manufacturers, from DZOFilm and Rokinon to Leica and Angenieux (Large Format Cinema Lens Sets: A Chart for Filmmakers). The Meike FF Primes’ price tag locates this lens together with other affordable FF cine-primes like the SLR Magic APO MicroPrime Cine, and the DZOFilm VESPID primes.
Check out the slide below which compares your affordable options for full-frame cine-primes:
Final thoughts
It’s nice seeing so many affordable full-frame cine primes announced lately. Those lenses are dedicated to low-budget productions and indie filmmakers that are eager to use their advantages for cinema applications. Furthermore, those lenses produce decent image quality that doesn’t fall behind comparing to high-end cinema lenses. If you’re targeting social media, those cheap lenses might be more than enough for you. Don’t agree with this phrase? Comment below.
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How about the Nisi/Kinefinity Mavo Prime/Nitecore lens sets? They are pretty much the same thing (admitted by people from some of these brands). Didn’t see you mention them. Besides, it seems other Chinese manufacturers are catching up, like Laowa and the sort. Please keep an eye on them and set up a more comprehensive and up-to-date database.
Thank you so much for your effort.
Hi Derek. Thx for commenting. The lenses you’ve mentioned are about twice the price. In this article we’ve decided to focus on lenses with the same price tag as Meike’s new lens, which means around $1,000.
Thank you!
Yossy