I really like my two 7Artisan Hope lenses, the 25 and 50mm in MFT format (45/50 and 90/100 respectively on the 1.8x GH5s/2x other MFT).
I chose them carefully and had decided to buy the 16mm at some point to make a set. I did not get it in the end, channelling the money in other directions, but also I was not as sure about that one, it just felt like a lazy set maker.
The 25 is near perfect, the 50 possibly even sharper and the pair make for a very decent MFT interview set. The 25 is warmer than the 50, well most of the set actually, so perfect colour matching is not happening, but we are only talking 200kelvin, well within processing limits.
I also have the 7Artisan Vision 12mm (21/24), which after a rocky start has become a favourite in the rarely needed wide angle range, and the Sirui Nightwalker 24 T1.2 (43/48), which is super fast when needed and a different handling experience. but there is still a hole in the space I tend to use most (30mm-ish). I have camera lenses, like the Leica 15, Oly 17, but nothing cine format.
The Hope 16mm was still the logical contender, but unlike the 25 and 50’s, it has high CA when close focussed, some corner softness wide open (which at only T2.1, is often used), has average flare control etc and to be honest, the role of the Hope lenses, which is the “stable” studio interview performers, did not fit ideally with this focal length, especially with both existing lenses becoming slightly wider on the GH5s.
The Sirui 16mm Nightwalker (SNW) T1.2 is raising it’s hand again.
Before the Hope lenses, this was probably the inevitable purchase. The SNW shares the 67mm filter thread I have a lot of effects filters for, matching my Lumix-S series and my intended filter base size until the Spectrum and Hope lenses serviced by matt box filters. It is nice to handle with run-n-gun shooting and wide open seems much the same as the Hope 16. The thing is, wide open is T1.2. At a matching T2.1, it is better than the Hope.
It is also warmer in rendering, which actually matches the Hope 25 and SNW 24’s closer, has a very nice rendering, possibly with more character than the Hope lens and is similarly priced. I also feel it is nice to have a couple of matching lenses to add choices in a controlled dynamic.
It is a little weak wide open at it’s closes focussing distance, but stopped down to T2 (still faster than the Hope), it cleans up very well.
An odd set, the 7A Vision 12, Sirui 16 and 24 and the 7A Hope 25 and 50. They are all however, the best of their series and ideally aligned to purpose.
The Hope lenses are stable and bullet proof, ideal for set interviews and critical work.
Very stable glass for any purpose. Basically no nasties to think of, clinical and safe. These allow me to be a little risky with lighting placement while running a dual cam setup.
The SNW’s are more character filled, optically strong, over two stops faster, very light to focus, while taking smaller filters and are a smaller, lighter design, so better for run-n-gun.
The 24 Nightwalker stood out recently in a test for 3D pop in my 50mm equivalents, which to be honest was meant to allow the Hope lenses to shine. They did, but the 24 was right there. This was taken at T2.8, still showing some separation, which other lenses did not always.
The Vision 12mm is the right lens for wide angle for me and happens to match the Hope lenses in ring placement and look. The 10mm Hope is the weakest and too wide, the SNW’s offer nothing this wide.
The 12mm has impressed. The other Vision lens I would get is the 35 T1.05, but the others are a mixed bag. The mount on this one is not tight, so I put it aside, but on using it, I have come to appreciate it’s optical consistency and mechanically, it aligns with the Hope lenses.
The reality is, budget, even mid-range cine lens sets can be optically stable, sharp and well made, but within each set, there is usually some variation in colour, rendering and optical performance.
The 7Artisans Vision series stand out for being so mixed, that they are hardly a set, but individual lenses do stand out in different ways. The 12 and 35 are well behaved, the 25 and 50 less so, almost “dreamy” in rendering.
The Hope and Nightwalker series are overall better, but by no means perfectly matched (but even the much dearer Nisi Athena lenses have better and worse in their range), so apart from mechanical variables, there is little real reason not to mix the very best of each series together to make a superior budget cine set, especially if sub-sets within these make sense.
Ed. There is of course the elephant in the room of would I use a traditional cine lens for more run-n-gun video if I have two zooms and some primes, with AF and even some stabilising at hand? The reality is, the G9II is my “in hand” cam and that comes with several handling advantages.