Two SIGMA 65mm Cine Lenses in Development – Interview with WAKAMATSU-san

by Olaf von VossSeptember 7^th, 2022

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SIGMA just announced the development of not one but two 65mm cine prime lenses: The SIGMA 65mm T1.5 FF High-Speed Prime and the SIGMA 65mm T2.5 Classic Prime. Both lenses will compliment their respective line of existing cine prime lenses (High Speed and Classic) and both will be launched a bit later.

Our own Johnnie Behiri had the opportunity to speak with Takuma WAKAMATSU-san, Product planner and manager at SIGMA Corporation. He is responsible for developing roadmaps for various product categories at SIGMA, including cinema prime lenses, and this time Johnnie took the opportunity to ask about two upcoming cine prime lenses from SIGMA that are quite similar at first glance, but in reality, offer entirely different characteristics. We, the customers, have the choice, which is always nice!

If you haven’t had a chance to see Johnnie’s interview with SIGMA CEO Kazuto Yamaki-san about the new headquarters (where, of course, this latest interview also takes place), check out the related article and video here.

What is interesting about these new lenses is that the 65mm focal length is the first lens that has been developed from scratch, and is not “just” a rehoused and enhanced version of an existing lens from the SIGMA Art series. Nevertheless, these new lenses fit perfectly into the existing lines (i.e. the FF High Speed or the FF Classic lines).

SIGMA 65mm T1.5 FF High-Speed Prime

There are currently ten FF High-Speed Primes, and the upcoming 65mm T1.5 will be the eleventh lens in the series. As mentioned above, the 65mm focal length is the first in the series that doesn’t have a photo counterpart. So, this is certainly not a rehoused Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary.

Like the other members of the FF High-Speed Prime family of cine lenses, the 65mm lens is available in three different lens mounts: Canon EF, PL (with support for Cooke /i lens data) or Sony E.

Since the 65mm prime lens is part of the High-Speed line, it also has a fast T1.5 aperture. The only difference from its Classic counterpart is the coating used. So you can choose which look and feel best suits your projects: a more clinical and accurate look, or a more dreamy and perhaps a bit vintage look. For that, you should take a close look at the Classic line.

SIGMA 65mm T2.5 FF Classic Prime

First things first: it seems that you can now buy individual lenses from the SIGMA FF Classic Prime Line. So you are no longer forced to buy the whole 10 11-lens set at once, but can now pick and choose which lens(es) you want. This is great news as the entire 10-lens set currently sells for a cool $43,999.

In terms of light transmission, the Classic Prime lens is slightly slower (due to its different coating), but in reality the aperture is the same as the High-Speed variant. So the bokeh of this Classic lens is the same compared to its High-Speed sibling, but due to the different coating, slightly less light hits the sensor.

Both the Classic and High Speed 65mm lenses share the same optical design, so focus breathing is equally well controlled in both lenses.

Here’s a list of the official specification:

• Lens Mount: PL Mount (i/Technology compatible)
• Image Circle: FF φ43.3 mm
• Front diameter: φ95 mm / 3.7″
• Number of Diaphragm Blades: 9 (Rounded diaphragm)

SIGMA 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN for FUJIFILM

As not everyone is interested in serious cine glass, another announcement in this interview might be of interest: SIGMA will release one more lens later this year, this time a zoom for FUJIFILM cameras: the SIGMA 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN seems to be a quite versatile yet fast all-round zoom lens for FUJIFILM users.

And finally, WAKAMATSU-san talks a bit about SIGMA’s own camera system, the SIGMA fp, and fp L. Since their launch, these cameras have received numerous improvements and additional features via firmware upgrades (which in Japanese is called Kaizen – 改善: improvement). Read our article here.

As it stands, the company is still very busy developing new firmware versions that will further improve these cameras over time. Exactly when such firmware updates will hit the market is still unclear, but it’s nice to note that the company is indeed working on constantly improving its products.

Link: SIGMA website

What do you think of them? Is the High Speed or the Classic line of full-frame film lenses something you’d like to explore further? Please let us know what you think in the comments below!