Tokina Cinema Vista 40mm T1.5 Lens Announced

Lens News

by Jakub HanNovember 4^th, 2020

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The newly announced Tokina Cinema Vista 40mm T1.5 lens complements the existing seven prime lenses in the lineup, while retaining the same look. It covers large format sensors up to RED Monstro 8K VV and ARRI ALEXA LF Mini 4.5K Open Gate, offers a 114mm front diameter, and comes in interchangeable ARRI PL, EF, MFT, Sony E and ARRI LPL mounts. The lens will be available for $7,499.

The Japanese lens manufacturer Tokina offers a wide variety of glass for photography and cinema. While the company produces some fairly affordable stills and cinema lenses, its premium large format Cinema Vista line positions itself on the top of Tokina’s lens portfolio.

Until today, the Tokina Cinema Vista line included seven prime lenses – 18mm, 25mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 105mm, and 135mm – all with the fast maximum aperture of T1.5, high resolution (8K+), and large format coverage. Now, Tokina has announced a new expansion to the line – the Tokina Cinema Vista 40mm T1.5. Let’s take a short look at its features and specs.

Tokina Cinema Vista 40mm T1.5

The new Cinema Vista 40mm T1.5 has an image circle of 46.7mm, which easily covers RED Monstro 8K VV and ARRI ALEXA LF Mini 4.5K Open Gate formats. The lens also has an area of illumination that will cover larger formats up to Alexa65 2:1 Open Gate.

Why 40mm? One could say that with the existing Cinema Vista lenses, Tokina already had all the important focal lengths covered. According to the company, however, many customers asked for a 40mm lens. As Tokina claims, this focal length is considered by many to be the perfect “normal” lens to portray a natural field of view on a large format cinema camera. It seems that as large-format exceeds full-frame FOV, the 35mm becomes a bit too wide for certain shots.

The lens, naturally, retains the same form factor as other Vista Prime lenses with a 114mm front diameter and weight of approximately 2.25kg (5 lbs), which is similar to others in the series. It is available in interchangeable ARRI PL, EF, MFT, Sony E, and ARRI LPL mounts.

According to Tokina, with its Cinema Vista primes, the lens distortion and chromatic aberration is well-controlled, with minimal focus breathing, soft pleasing flare and gentle roll-off from subject to background. The Vista 40mm T1.5, of course, inherits these characteristics to fit well into the existing Vista lineup.

Price and Availability

The new Tokina Cinema Vista 40mm T1.5 lens will be available at a retail price of $7,499.

What do you think about the new Tokina Cinema Vista 40mm T1.5 lens? Did you work with other Tokina Cinema Vista primes? Do you like the look? Let us know in the comment section underneath the article.