Sirui’s 35mm full-frame anamorphic lens is an intriguing device. While anamorphic lenses used to be exclusively used by cinema-focused lenses. Sirui’s Venus collection blurs the distinction between still photography and cinema partially due to the huge selection of mounts compatible with it. Do you need an anamorphic on your camera? What does this Sirui 35mm t/2.9 provide as much as 45 megapixels or 8K footage? This is the subject I’ll discuss during this article.
What is the reason? Anamorphic?
The most important aspect to consider when evaluating any lens with an anamorphic design, whether it’s for still or video it is a tradeoff created by the lens’s design. I’ve written a comprehensive description of the things anamorphic lenses are able to accomplish but the main aspect is that they feature an “squeeze effect.” They enable the photographer to shoot photos with an aspect ratio that differs from the sensor of your camera.
For the Sirui 35mm t/2.8 (and on all the Venus line lenses) the squeeze factor is 1.6x. After de-squeezing your photo after post-production Your videos and photos will have more of a panorama aspect ratio. For instance, if you have an ordinary full-frame camera with a 3:2 aspect ratio the photos that have been de-squeezed will display an 2.4:1 aspect ratio. (Meanwhile shooting 16:9 videos will result in 2.8:1 aspect ratio images.) This also means that this lens has a larger vertical field than a standard 35mm lens. It’s similar to if you had an alternative 22mm lens.
There are some great advantages to using anamorphic lenses as they result. First, lenses let you take advantage of unique aspect ratios, without cropping your photo and thus preserving the most pixels both in still photos as well as videography. In addition they also have distinctive flare and bokeh effects which make them look cinematic. They are also fun to use If you’re familiar with conventional lenses, and they can help you expand your creative thinking.
Why not Anamorphic?
One issue with anamorphic lens is they make it difficult to take photos. What you see in your viewfinder and/or LCD will appear compressed between left and right. It’s difficult to know where everything is going to be in the final layout. Certain external monitors allow de-squeezing this view, however it’s just a matter of practicing.
Another problem with anamorphic lenses is that you have to be sure to remove the squeeze from your videos or photos after the moment of the. This is quite easy to do to do in Photoshop and most video editors, however it can take some work before you are able to view the images correctly.
For image quality, as well Anamorphic lenses possess distinct characteristics, such as different flare and the bokeh. These features are typically useful for video however they aren’t for all. Regarding quality and clarity, the Sirui 35mm is a great camera and that’s not a lot of a problem.
Lens Specs
- Focal Length 35mm Anamorphic (22mm vertical FOV equivalent)
- Coverage Full Frame
- Max Aperture t/2.9
- Minimum Aperture Minimum Aperture
- Minimum Focus Distance: 3 feet / 90cm
- The element count is 18 within 13 groups
- Aperture Blades 10
- Front Filter Diameter 82.5mm
- The weight is 2.1 pounds / 930g
Build Quality
Cinema lenses are constructed differently in comparison to lenses designed for photography which is why the Sirui 35mm isn’t an exception. The entire body is constructed from metal and feels solid. It’s small and sturdy with a clean and contemporary design. The ring on the front of the lens is filled with important information about the lens, making it quick and easy to locate this Sirui 35mm T2.9 in your bag.
The first thing you notice about this lens is that the focus rings and the aperture ring appear rough and gear-driven (.8 MOD/32 pitch). There’s nothing to stop the user from manually turning the rings as they’re not very sharp. However, it’s the very first indication that the lens was intended to be used as an integral part of a camera rig equipped with the focus pulling set-up that is specifically designed for it. This impression is further supported through the way that the focus and aperture markings are located placed on the sides of the lens! For cine applications it puts them in an area that can be seen by camera assistants or focus pullers, however it’s not the best idea to photograph, as you’ll be looking down at your lens all the time.
This ring for focusing on the Sirui 35mm FF Anamorphic lens has a wide 120 degrees of throw – that’s quite wide given that the lens isn’t focusing very close. The aperture is controlled by the ring on the rear that is clickless. This is a fully-manual lens that has no electronic connection to your camera, which includes for EXIF information.
In the event that you’re using many anamorphic lens that are part of the Sirui Venus line you’ll be glad to find that all the mounting points and rings are in line with one another. This makes it much easier to switch between lenses when shooting, without the need to change the rig of your camera.
Overall it’s build is superb The only thing I would change is the absence of a gasket in back of mount. In all other aspects, it is a very well-built lens. It appears to be equally suited to stand up for use on the sets or in a photographer’s bag.
optical features
At first glance at first, the 35mm t/2.9 seems like an especially challenging optical design to create, it isn’t the case once you make it anamorphic and make the image quality to be high enough to be suitable for an 8K camera. Luckily, Sirui rose to the task and the 35mm produces top-quality results in both videos and stills with high resolution.
The middle of the frame is extremely sharp, and can resolve incredible details on a body that weighs 45MP and surprisingly, there aren’t any issues in the form of distortions. Sharpness is great broad-open, but stepping at f/5.6 adds a bit of punch to the center and the center. Midframe results are good even wide-open, and only the corners at the extremes tend to be softer.
It’s hard to determine variations in the sample from one lens however my copy was pretty center-ed. The right-hand corner of the top was a bit weaker than the other corners, however it’s not to the point of becoming an issue. Because the images de-squeezed from 45 MP sensors exceed 65 megapixels, it’s essential for the lens to work effectively as this lens Sirui 35mm T2.9 certainly delivers.
Contrary to other lenses, users of anamorphic lenses typically searching for flares, not trying to stay clear of flares! A lot of anamorphic lenses promote their unique color flares as a selling point. This lens Sirui Venus 35mm T2.9 has blue flares that aren’t difficult to trigger but are rarely overpowering. Shooting straight towards the sun and increasing shadows resulted in only a slight blurring – which is pretty close to the ideal outcome for an lens that is anamorphic.
Although it is true that the Sirui Venus 35mm T2.9 is not yet fully optimized for sunstars but the aperture of 10 blades is still capable of producing some beautiful 10-pointed stars in the vicinity of the light sources. Together along with anamorphic flares it gives the photos an extremely cinematic appearance immediately out of the camera. When you stop down, it really stimulates these sunstars, in a distracting way – when you’re dealing with lots of light sources that are pointy limit the aperture down to f/5.6 or greater can make the style more slack.
Overall, the optical performance is pretty excellent in this model. The ability to cover a full-frame image circle with an anamorphic design as well as being able maintain 45 MP stills as well as 8K video is quite impressive. When you’re shooting photographs or video the lens won’t be able hinder the quality of your photos.
Is it worth it?
Sirui Venus 35mm T2.9 Sirui Venus 35mm T2.9 definitely is a standout in its design I thoroughly enjoyed exploring it. If you’re looking for an affordable anamorphic lens that provides excellent picture quality, this market is pretty much empty. This collection of lenses from Sirui is among the few choices. Cinema-grade anamorphics can be more than a brand new car, and an estimated price of $1500 can be a game changer especially for productions with smaller budgets. I strongly recommend this lens to anyone with a budget who would like the features of an Anamorphic lens.
For photographers who shoot stills this lens is a lesser-known worth. From the design of the body, in terms of size, and functionality the lens is designed for use in cinema, however, it works well for still photography as well. The anamorphic appearance is not explored enough for still photography and it provides a unique feel that’s like XPan Film images. If you’re looking for a new lens to experiment with, this lens could be worth a try, but I don’t suggest that still photographers buy it on decision on a whim. At $1500, this isn’t a fun or gimmicky Holga lens.
Sirui’s 35mm t/2.9 anamorphic lens is available at B&H with Canon R mount, Leica L, Nikon Z, and Sony E mount. Other focal lengths in this lens series are also available with a range of focal lengths, including 50mm,75mm 100mm, 135mm and more. In addition, Sirui also produces anamorphic lenses that are specifically designed for APS-C.
Have you ever thought of taking anamorphic videos or stills before? I’m sure it’s an unique style. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!