Thoughts on cine lenses?

[bmcdonough]

Hey all! I've got an upcoming project and someone was recommending I use cine lenses... I already have E mount lenses and I personally can't tell the difference but what do you all think? This person said it's what really makes a film look cinematic, but again I can't really see a difference. 

Edited May 18, 2023 by bmcdonough

[bjohnson]

I'm certainly not the expert (those folks are over at community.SonyCine.com). But a big motivation for using cine lenses is how they integrate with the rest of a film rig. The focus ring is geared to work with a remote focus, the iris doesn't have detents at each stop. 

Like everything in the creative world they are just tools - there's not necessarily any right or wrong or better. It's the right tool if it works for you.

Read more here https://community.sonycine.com/forums/topic/84-cine-lens-or-photo-lens-are-cine-lenses-better/ for a concise overview.

I've always thought the most important ingredient in "cinematic" is lighting. A great Director of Photography will make lesser cameras/lenses look good. And a poor DP can make great gear look terrible.

If you have time before your shoot consider renting a cine lenses that is similar to one of your E mount ones and do a little side-by-side.

[bmcdonough]

Thanks Ben, this is really helpful! I appreciate it! 

[Drew_Geraci]

If you're looking for lenses with 'character' to really give you that cinematic feel, try renting a set of Tokina Vista 8k Primes, Cooke S4/5, or a variety of rehouse vintage glass from the 70s or 80s. It really just depends on what your budget is and the type of look you're going for. I personally love the anamorphic's from Atlas - they give a SUPER cinematic look and they're reasonably priced (for cinema lenses, haha). That being said, you can't using some of Sony's primes like the 50 1.2GM, 135 1.8, and 85 1.4. They have a more sharpened look but produce incredible cinematic imagery with the right lighting. 

[bmcdonough]

Hey all! Just wanted to share an update: we shot the film with Sony primes - we went with the 50 1.4, 24 1.4, and 35 1.2, then for a few shots we used my 90 macro (not in the macro function though!) 

We had aperture lights along with some other really high quality lights and it turned out beautifully! Thanks for all the advice!