This is the Sirui 135 mm T2.9 1.8x anamorphic lens - not a 1.6x, not a 1.33x, but a 1.8x. This thing is an absolute beast and it works really well with the 1.6x.
The biggest thing when it comes to longer focal lengths is that you're actually going to get a little bit more background compression, and the oval bokeh is much more pronounced with a 1.6x on a longer focal length. But this is a 1.8x without that adapter. If you remember the last set that comes with the anamorphic adapter which gives you approximately 2x anamorphic squeeze, this one is 1.8x by itself, but it still works perfectly with the other lenses.
This is the latest one in their edition, but still they do have that new carbon fiber one which is extremely small. It's the world's smallest anamorphic lens at this time. When it comes to full-frame lenses - and it's phenomenal by itself - I've got the neutral flare, so be sure to tune in for that one. The intro was shot not just with this lens, but the other anamorphic lenses in the set as well. So anyway, let's jump into some of the specs on this, and then we can talk about what the image quality is going to be like on this thing.
The Sirui 135mm is a T2.9 to a T16. It has an anamorphic squeeze ratio of 1.8x, a minimum focusing distance of 0.9m or three feet, a front filter thread diameter of 82mm, and it weighs a total of 1300 grams, which is a little bit lighter than the 100mm 1.6x.
135mm isn't a lens you're going to be putting on absolutely every time. There are a few different circumstances where you're actually going to be utilizing this, and most likely it'll be for close-ups: medium close-ups maybe, or even extreme close-ups. You still have that very similar minimum focusing distance of about 90cm, that’s almost 1m. But on a longer focal length, you're obviously going to get closer to the talent, which is going to make this thing pop even more. When you get closer to your subject, you're going to get much more depth of field, but also this is going to accentuate the oval bokeh and the anamorphic qualities of these lenses.
In terms of the oval bokeh, it's more prominent in the 100mm, and that's only a 1.6x, whereas the 1.8x doesn't have as oval bokeh as I thought it would have.
Considering that it is the 1.8x anamorphic squeeze now, to make sure that I get the correct squeeze factor, all I do is utilize my lens chart right here. Grab a circle and then pretty much just de-squeeze it to the correct ratio that I've got on the screen, and that's how I actually get my de-squeeze ratio. To get the perfect de-squeeze factor in your post-production, all you need to do is click on uniform scale, and scale it down to 57.5 or approximately 57 or 58, and that's about a 1.8x when you're using a 16x9 sensor.
With this 135mm lens, it has 135mm in height, but when it comes to the width it's very similar to a 75mm focal length on a full-frame camera.
If you do want to get closer with any kind of anamorphic lenses, all you need to use is close-up filters or diopters. They're the type of filters that you actually throw on the front here for just those rare shots you need extreme close-ups for.
When it comes to the 1.8 times squeeze, what is it like at the minimum focusing distance and at the longest focusing distance? We do know that the Sirui ones tend to change, is this one the same as the others?
This is at the minimum focusing distance of 90cm:
And this one is at about 2m further back:
It seems to be focusing pretty much the same when it comes to that squeeze factor, it's consistent at 1.8 times squeeze. So if you are filming close-ups and you're wanting to pull to the background, you're not going to get any sort of distracting squeeze change.
In terms of the closest focusing distance, this is how close you can actually focus on a human face.
If you do want to get a little bit closer, that's where you're going to have to use those close-up filters, so this is technically called a four times close-up filter and this is how close you can actually get.
One of the biggest things about these close-up filters is that you're going to have to stop down the lens: this is a T5.6, and the depth of field is super shallow, so you have to stop it down so you can actually increase the depth of field and get something in focus.
Now I have to discuss this because this is one of the most misinterpreted things about these lenses, and that is the focus throw.
A lot of people don't like the focus throw here, and they do think it's a little bit too small. I don't understand why people would be complaining about that because if the focus throw is almost 360 degrees with the side handles, you're going to have to wind it a few times and that can be extremely annoying, especially if you do have a manual one. If you do have an automatic one or a wireless one, that does make it a little bit easier, but it really just depends on what system you're using, and I don't think it's a disadvantage whatsoever. Indeed, it does come down to individual skill when actually pulling focus anyway, and the larger the focus throw, generally it does make it a little bit easier because you've got more room to play with, it just really depends on how you're actually utilizing these lenses and what your personal preference is.
I think Sirui's last step is to produce a PL or EF mount of these lenses, and I know they can do it because other brands out there are currently doing it, so I think they're going to be onto those surely for those you know PL and EF users. I've got a whole bunch of other reviews obviously of their anamorphic lenses, and I've shot a whole bunch of projects on these lenses as well.
Sirui is bringing quality budget anamorphic lenses to all of us consumers out there to utilize and create the best art possible.
