Chinese lens manufacturer Sirui has just announced it will be launching a 50mm T/2.9 anamorphic lens with 1.6x squeeze factor for full frame cameras. This is the first full frame anamorphic lens that Sirui has made, and it will be available for Canon RF, Sony E, Nikon Z and L-mount – launching once again on Indiegogo.
Anamorphic lenses are used a lot in filmmaking as they give a unique cinematic look. They change the dimensions of the image on one axis so that a wider field of view can squeeze onto a narrow image sensor. As a result, anamorphic lenses are characterized by bright, horizontal lens flares and oval rather than round bokeh.
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The Sirui 50mm T/2.9 anamorphic lens is made up of 16 elements in 13 groups, contained in an "aircraft aluminum housing" with a premium metal texture. The lens elements are made of German Schott glass and have a super-spectra coating, to reproduce colors accurately and minimize ghosting and aberrations.
The aperture and focus ring are both geared, so that movement can be smoothly and steadily controlled by rigs, which is especially important when shooting video. The aperture ring is also stepless, so that no sound or movement is noticeable when recording.
With its 1.6x squeeze, the lens produces an optical aspect ratios of 2.4:1 (one of the most common ratios used in commercial cinema) when filming in 3:2, and 2.8:1 (which gives a much wider, thinner field of view) when the sensor is set to 16:9.
As with recent anamorphic lenses from the manufacturer, the Sirui 50mm T/2.9 1.6x full-frame anamorphic lens will initially be available to purchase from Indiegogo. In launches on 12 October for an introductory Super Early Bird price of $1,199 (roughly £887 / AU$1,654).
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