Tokina Cinema Introduces New Primes, Refreshed Zoom, and More!

Tokina entered the cinema lens market several years ago with a few zooms and a macro prime which were all ported over from their still photography line of lenses. Originally, their 11-16mm T3 (a lens that we lovingly began the trend with) lacked a PL mount option which it finally gained just recently, while the other lenses featured the PL mount as a factory option. The 11-16mm was accompanied by two additional zoom lenses – a 16-28mm T3 and a 50-135mm T3 and a lonely 100mm Macro prime lens. Last week, Tokina announced that it will begin manufacturing three brand new prime lenses – a 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm, all T1.5, and refreshing the 16-28mm with a version II.Tokina stresses the degree to which they’ve addressed breathing in the new prime lenses and the 16-28mm zoom. Let’s focus on the new primes for a moment. According to Tokina, all three will cover  35FF sensor and have a common T1.5 T-stop. The dimensions are all identical from lens to lens. The primes will be available in Arri PL, Canon EF, Sony E, and Micro 4/3. Focus rotation will be a generous 300 degrees which, depending on how the focus movement is designed, can be a LOT of rotation for a wide angle lens like the 35mm. We haven’t seen production versions of these lenses so we’ll hold off on commenting on the image quality. Let’s check the spec sheets:

There’s no talk of additional focal lengths yet, but if Tokina plans to follow in the footsteps of Zeiss, Canon, Schneider, Rokinon, and more, then they’ll start with three lenses and simply add to the set in the future. Expect delivery to begin January, 2017 with a price tag of $3,999 for the 35mm and 50mm, and $4,499 for the 85mm.

On to the ZOOM! Tokina had already released several zoom lenses including a 16-28mm which is now being revised to the 16-28mm II T3. With an all new optical design, the lens covers a 35mm Full Frame sensor. It’s physical features will match up with the new primes nicely. Tokina also notes minimal breathing on the new 16-28mm. The original 16-28mm Tokina Cinema was no slouch, but this new version is a welcomed improvement over the outgoing model.

Tokina has clearly found an aesthetic style of their own with the new primes and zoom. The older zooms had a slightly immature appearance that was surely holding them back from being considered a professional option. Perhaps the newer, simplified design will make these lenses more appealing to working pros.

Oh and one more thing. They also quietly announced a brand new product. A 1.6x Expander designed to increase the image circle of PL mount lenses. There’s a PL to PL version as well as a PL to Sony E mount version, both with the same optics.The 1.6x Expander allows cinematographers to use Super35 PL lenses on the latest full-frame 6K/8K cameras. The Expander increases the diameter of image circle by 1.6x on Super35 PL prime and zoom lenses.

“Tokina engineers gave special attention to the 7-element optical design to ensure the integrity of the original lens’ performance and to keep light fall off to a manageable 1.36 stops. The all mechanical design is robust, durable, and lightweight.”

Tokina does also note that the 1.6x Expander performs best when used with lenses that have a T2.0 or larger aperture and when the lens is stopped down to T2.8 or smaller. so buyer beware: as it is with any modification to the original image, there are no miracle products that will magically improve your lens. It’s still bound by the laws of physics.

You’ll be able to pre-order these new Tokina lenses and accessory directly from Duclos Lenses, an authorized Tokina Cinema dealer, very soon. Drop us a comment below and let us know what you think of these compared to something like the Xeen, CP.2, CN-E, Schneider, or Sigma primes.