NiSi Athena Prime Full Frame Cinema Lens Kit with 5 Lenses 14mm T2.4, 25mm T1.9, 35mm T1.9, 50mm T1.9, 85mm T1.9 + Hard Case (L Mount)

As an independent owner-operator, I'm always lusting after some of the top-shelf gear that I may never get to own. I've been looking far and wide for a solid cine lens set. I considered IRIX, Dulens, DZO, Meike, and Canon CN-E, but ultimately settled on these for their combination of low price, tiny weight, and bright aperture.At the end of the day, these are fantastic and I'm delighted with the choice. The entire set is sharp, fast, light, and consistent. The coverage is excellent, easily hitting full-frame and beyond with very little vignetting. The small size makes them convenient in a variety of setups, and ultimately they are just a ton of fun to use. The one drawback is how far they protrude behind the PL mount, which makes them incompatible with most ... MoreAs an independent owner-operator, I'm always lusting after some of the top-shelf gear that I may never get to own. I've been looking far and wide for a solid cine lens set. I considered IRIX, Dulens, DZO, Meike, and Canon CN-E, but ultimately settled on these for their combination of low price, tiny weight, and bright aperture.At the end of the day, these are fantastic and I'm delighted with the choice. The entire set is sharp, fast, light, and consistent. The coverage is excellent, easily hitting full-frame and beyond with very little vignetting. The small size makes them convenient in a variety of setups, and ultimately they are just a ton of fun to use. The one drawback is how far they protrude behind the PL mount, which makes them incompatible with most drop-in filter systems. However this is a small price to pay in exchange for getting near-ARRI-level performance at 95% lower price and 50% smaller size and weight. Also, the Breakthrough Cinema DFM adapter *does* supposedly work with these, so I'm interested to try that out.In any event, I expect to keep this set for a very, very long time. At this price, the set is absolutely unbeatable. It provides s a very clean, neutral look which can be easily manipulated in post. I might go chase some vintage looks in the future, but I doubt I'll ever get rid of something this reliable, usable, and overall just FUN to shoot with as these.ONE THING TO BE AWARE OF, however. When I first got these lenses, I was shooting on the Canon R5 C. These lenses delivered very similar performance to what I was previously getting out of my native RF glass, what I called my "Mini Cine" kit. Those lenses are also extraordinary and largely overlooked. In fact, if you turn on the automatic corrections in camera, the RF set delivers an almost identical image to the Athenas, just that the RF glass is a little bit softer. In fact, the Athenas are SO sharp that on the Canon R5 C it was a bit too much, and made things look really harsh in some cases. This can be mitigated in post, or even in-camera if you aren't shooting RAW. But there's something in the nature of Canon's sensor or OLPF stack which was making for some unpleasant over-sharpness in some cases. But I recently added a RED V-Raptor to the arsenal, and the Athenas produce a much less harsh image on the Raptor. It's still sharp, but much more smooth and much more pleasant. The point is, just be aware that your camera's sensor can play a part in how the image comes back. You can manipulate things in post, of course, but for those who like to get a good image quickly without much manipulation, make sure to check your sharpness settings etc. Just do some tests, do your homework, and these lenses will reward you. I absolutely love them.

I've been hunting for some sharp glass for a good while. This small set of primes are just what the production doctor ordered!

These are very good starter cine lenses, especially for people graduating from photo lenses with autofocus. These have a cleaner / better look for video, albeit no autofocus. They don't have a ton of character and are pretty sharp so don't expect anything too crazy but like many things, it's often about lighting, how you shoot, how you edit / color grade, etc (and maybe some filters) and you can still accomplish some cool stuff. I think these are great for corporate shoots for sure.