Mitakon brings 17mm, 25mm and 35mm T/1.0 lenses for MFT, a 35mm T/1.0 for Super35, and a 50mm T/1.0 for full frame
(Image credit: Mitakon)
These four new Mitakon T/1.0 lenses offer filmmakers a series of ultra-fast primes at very affordable prices. This is in stark contrast to big name camera makers who produce only a small number of lenses of this type and at very much higher prices.
The T/1.0 rating is related to lens aperture, but quotes the actual light transmission rather than the size of the aperture. It’s a more demanding standard applied to video lenses and you can take it that a T/1.0 lens is equivalent to an f/1.0 lens but with guaranteed light transmission too.
All four lenses are manual focus only, but come with cine-style focus gears for use with camera focus attachments. They all feature internal focusing so that the length of the lens doesn’t change during focusing, and all have been designed to minimise focus breathing, which is any kind of visible change in the size of the subject as you focus in and out.
The manual focus and cine-style focus gears means that these lenses are not really designed for vlogging, but they do look terrific value for more advanced filmmakers working with camera rigs.
There are three lenses in this group: the Mitakon Speedmaster 17mm T/1.0 ($449), Mitakon Speedmaster 25mm T/1.0 ($449) and Mitakon Speedmaster 35mm T/1.0 ($449). It will also be possible to buy all three as a set for $1,199.
Being Micro Four Thirds lenses, these have a 2x crop factor, so their equivalent focal lengths (in full frame terms) are 34mm, 50mm and 70mm.
Get the Digital Camera World Newsletter
The best camera deals, reviews, product advice, and unmissable photography news, direct to your inbox!
Mitakon Speedmaster 35mm T/1.0 for Super35 cameras
The Mitakon Speedmaster 35mm T/1.0 ($599) has an image circle large enough for Super35 and APS-C sensors, and will also be available in Canon RF mount (for the Canon EOS C70, for example), Sony E and Fujifilm X mounts.
The three lenses above are available now from Mitakon/ZY Optics, while the Mitakon Speedmaster 50mm T/1.0 (below) will be available in June 2021.
This is a full frame lens available in Canon EF and Arri PL mounts, both widely used by professional cinematographers. It’s a larger lens than the others, not least because it covers a full frame sensor. At a price of $999, this still represents a pretty low price for such a wide aperture lens.
Rod is an independent photography journalist and editor, and a long-standing Digital Camera World contributor, having previously worked as DCW's Group Reviews editor. Before that he has been technique editor on N-Photo, Head of Testing for the photography division and Camera Channel editor on TechRadar, as well as contributing to many other publications. He has been writing about photography technique, photo editing and digital cameras since they first appeared, and before that began his career writing about film photography. He has used and reviewed practically every interchangeable lens camera launched in the past 20 years, from entry-level DSLRs to medium format cameras, together with lenses, tripods, gimbals, light meters, camera bags and more. Rod has his own camera gear blog at fotovolo.com but also writes about photo-editing applications and techniques at lifeafterphotoshop.com
