The XEEN CF 135mm T2.2 takes the number of cine lenses in the Samyang XEEN line-up to six
(Image credit: Samyang)
Samyang doesn’t just make low cost prime lenses for photography. It also makes XEEN cine lenses for professional photographers and filmmakers, now covering a focal range from 16mm up to 135mm. These are sold under the Rokinon brand in the US.
The new XEEN CF 135mm T2.2 is available in PL, Canon EF and Sony FE mounts, covering the three most popular options for filmmakers. It features carbon fiber construction, X-Coating to control flare and ghosting within the lens, and is designed for 8K video and a ‘cinematic’ look. Interestingly, Samyang says of its X-coating system that it ‘creates a distinctive look, properly utilising flares and ghosting to create dramatic effects’.
It’s claimed the new lens also offers ‘outstanding usability’, with ‘unified’ 95mm aperture and focus gear positions for the easy attachment and removable of filmmaking accessories like matte boxes and follow-focus controls.
These gears are one of the distinguishing features of cine lenses compared to regular lenses. They allow for manual control of the iris (aperture) and focus setting during filming, either via a knob on the follow-focus unit or remotely.
Cine lenses also use a ’T’ rating rather than an aperture rating. The ’T’ stands for the light transmission, and is a more accurate indication of exposure than f-stops.
The XEEN CF 135mm T2.2 cine lens joins five others in the Samyang XEEN range. These include the XEEN16mm T2.6, 24mm T1.5, 35mm T1.5, 50mm T1.5 and 85mm T1.5.
The XEEN CF 135mm T2.2 will cost $1,795/£1,716 (about AU$2,594).
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Rod is an independent photography journalist and editor, and a long-standing Digital Camera World contributor, having previously worked as DCW's Group Reviews editor. Before that he has been technique editor on N-Photo, Head of Testing for the photography division and Camera Channel editor on TechRadar, as well as contributing to many other publications. He has been writing about photography technique, photo editing and digital cameras since they first appeared, and before that began his career writing about film photography. He has used and reviewed practically every interchangeable lens camera launched in the past 20 years, from entry-level DSLRs to medium format cameras, together with lenses, tripods, gimbals, light meters, camera bags and more. Rod has his own camera gear blog at fotovolo.com but also writes about photo-editing applications and techniques at lifeafterphotoshop.com
