SLR Magic 12mm T/1.6 Hyperprime Cine Lens Review

SLR Magic 12mm T/1.6 Hyperprime Cine Handling and features

The build quality and design of this lens harks back to lenses of a bygone era. In fact, the all-metal construction is reminiscent of the M42 screw fit lenses that used to be available for Pentax, Cosina and Zenit 35mm cameras. Thanks to the heavy-duty construction, the lens feels quite weighty for its size, but it is still only 330g, which ensures it balances well with the Panasonic Lumix G3 camera used for testing.

Quite a lot of resistance is provided by the focusing mechanism, which can make applying quick focus adjustments a little troublesome. To overcome this, SLR Magic offer their 'Lens Gear' accessory, which attaches to the focusing ring to make performing follow focus easier when recording video. This accessory clamps to the focus ring, providing gears for follow focus equipment, as well as giving the focus ring a wider diameter, increasing the mechanical advantage, which should make it easier to turn. Unfortunately this accessory costs an eye-watering £80 extra. For still photographers, the resistance of the focusing mechanism can actually be of benefit, as it makes it very difficult to accidentally knock the lens off focus, which is especially useful when using the excellent hyperfocal scale as a focusing guide. Closest focus is 15cm from the sensor plane, which is ideal for close-ups and shooting in claustrophobic environments.

There is no electronic contact between the lens and camera, and the lens features a stepless aperture, which can be especially useful for applying adjustments during video recording. The scale on the aperture ring isn't linear, so the ring needs to be turned further at fast apertures than at slower ones to apply the same amount of adjustment. This can take some getting used to, as close attention need to be paid to what aperture values are actually written on the ring.

The lens accepts 58mm filters, and the filter ring does not rotate during focusing, which will aid the use of graduated and polarising filters. No lens hood is supplied with this lens as standard.

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