GEAR
XEEN INTO THE FUTURE
Cine prime lenses offer lots of advantages over AF primes for shooting video, including optical quality, faster maximum apertures, lack of focus breathing, as well as the feel of direct manual focusing and clickless T-stops. But a matched set of prime cine lenses from a boutique brand like Arri or Zeiss is a little out of budget for many filmmakers. That’s where Korean brand Samyang steps in, with its Xeen CF range. A full set of five costs £9682/$9995, but that’s a steal compared to premium versions. And you don’t have to buy a full set as they are available individually, with the 24mm at £1999/$1995, 50mm at £1794/$1995 and 85mm at £1799/$1995 . This is the trio we tried, although they are branded as Rokinon Xeen in certain countries. Xeen also offers 14, 16 and 35mm in the family. Available in either Canon EF or Arri PL mount, these can be bought with metric or imperial focus scales. The full set can be ordered with a 14mm version replacing the 16mm, if you like something super wide. To fit the optics to our Sony A7S III, we used a Metabones EF to E adapter. There are no electronic contacts between lenses and camera anyway, meaning adapters are easy and cheap to fit. These CF lenses all have a 95mm front, ideal for compact matte boxes. We used a SmallRig and it was perfect. The Xeens are matched for a consistent look in post – and we found them all colour-accurate, which is a big bonus. It’s something you don’t often get with AF lenses, for example. Consistent size and control ring placement makes it easier to change lenses, as all the accessories fit instantly without rejigging
“These CF lenses all have a 95mm front, ideal for compact matte boxes. We used a SmallRig and it was perfect”
BY THE BOOK All shot wide open at T1.5 for minimal depth-of-field, the Xeen trio need careful focusing, but results are worth it. If you close down a couple of stops, resolution is even better. Xeen has a wide range of focal lengths available in the CF series
46
PRO MOVIEMAKER
Powered by FlippingBook