Anamorphic is no longer out of reach for your average shooters. Sirui’s latest range of MARS Anamorphic Lenses is certainly proof of that. Not cheap, but quite affordable considering you get four matched primes (24mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 75mm) for that single price.
These are standard 1.33x for getting a 2.4:1 ratio with 16:9 sensors. Designed for Micro Four Thirds cameras, these lenses are quite perfect pairings for a lot of popular cameras for video. If you want to learn more about this set of anamorphic lenses then the channel Anamorphic on a Budget is a great place to look.
Sirui has been building up their anamorphic skills for a while now. The MARS set takes a lot of their experience and creates a nice product that feels complete and shows significant improvements compared to their earliest releases.
These are cine-specific lenses with smooth gears for focus and aperture control. Very similar sizing with similar filter threads and widths and only slight variations to length.
They are nice and compact, making them fit very well on cameras like the GH5. Most of the lenses also have decently fast apertures of T2, except for the 24mm which starts at T2.9.
Image Credit: Sirui
In terms of use, the lenses do handle well. There is some issue with the markings as Sirui has the imperial measurements marks in feet and fractions of feet instead of feet and inches. As for flare, these are toned down smartly compared to earlier versions. It’s still there, but not as overpowering as it was before.
Optically the lenses are good. Nothing special, but in a set of four for only $4,000 you are going to be getting the value out of them. The only hold-up is that they are only available for Micro Four Thirds, and it doesn’t look good that we will see simple remounted versions any time soon.
What are your thoughts on these budget anamorphic lenses?
[source: Anamorphic on a Budget]
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