Tokina Vista 135mm T1,5 Cinema PL

Tokina Vista 135mm T1.5 Cinema PL – Fast T1.5 for low-light and shallow depth of field

The Tokina Vista 135 mm T1,5 Cinema PL is a fast 135 mm cinema lens with a 9-bladed iris and an internal focus design. It covers full-frame sensor sizes and is suitable for 8K video capture. The lens shares form factor and control placement with other Tokina Cinema Vista primes to simplify lens changes and accessory use.

Design that matches other Vista primes

Tokina built this 135 mm lens to match the rest of the Vista prime series. It uses the same lens gear position, focus rotation, and front barrel diameter as the other Tokina Cinema Vista lenses. As a result, you can change lenses quickly on set and keep accessories aligned without extra adjustments.

Additionally, the lens maintains a consistent length during focus pulls and shows no image shift while focusing. The internal focus design helps achieve this stable behavior during operation.

Optical performance and image character

The lens offers a fast T-stop of 1,5, which is useful for shooting in low light or for producing very shallow depth of field. Tokina uses aspherical elements and modern coatings to reduce chromatic aberrations and to deliver sharp images suitable for high-resolution capture, including 8K video.

Tokina reports nearly no breathing during focus pulls, which improves the visual consistency of focus transitions. The 9-bladed iris produces round, out-of-focus highlights for pleasing bokeh, and the lens retains a very pleasing image character across the iris range, making it usable even wide open.

Practical controls and construction

The lens includes clearly marked focus and iris scales on both sides, so operators and focus pullers can read settings from either side of the camera. Tokina describes the construction as robust, built for demanding production use.

Typical use cases

• Shooting in low light where a fast T1,5 helps maintain exposure without increasing ISO.
• Creating shallow depth of field and smooth bokeh with the 9-bladed iris.
• High-resolution workflows, including 8K capture, thanks to its optical design and coatings.
• Integration into cinema rigs using VistaVision or Red Dragon-sized sensors and full-frame formats.
• Quick lens swaps and accessory sharing across a kit of Tokina Vista primes due to matched form factor and gear placement.

Features

• Fast T-stop of 1,5 — good for low light filming and shallow depth of field.
• Image circle of 46,7 mm — covers full-frame sensor size, VistaVision and Red Dragon formats.
• Very pleasing image character across the iris range and usable wide open.
• Consistent length of lens during focus pull for predictable handling.
• No image shift during focus pull, supported by the internal focus design.
• 9-bladed iris for natural-looking, round bokeh highlights.
• Robust construction suited to production environments.
• Focus and iris scales on both sides for easy reading from either side of the camera.

Technical specifications

FAQ

Question: Does this lens cover full-frame sensors and higher-resolution formats?
Answer: Yes. The Tokina Vista 135 mm T1,5 has an image circle of 46,7 mm and is specified to cover full-frame formats, VistaVision and Red Dragon sensors, and is suitable for 8K video capture.

Question: How does the lens behave during focus pulls — does it breathe or shift image?

Answer: The lens exhibits nearly no breathing and maintains consistent length without image shift during focus pulls, which helps keep framing and composition stable while racking focus.

Question: Is the lens practical for handheld or multi-camera setups where quick lens changes are needed?

Answer: Yes. The lens shares the same form factor, lens gear position, focus rotation, and front barrel diameter as other Tokina Cinema Vista primes, enabling fast lens changes and straightforward accessory sharing across a kit.

Question: What optical characteristics should I expect at wide open apertures?

Answer: You can expect a very pleasing image character across the iris range and usable performance wide open at T1,5. Aspherical elements and modern coatings reduce chromatic aberration and help deliver sharp images suitable for high-resolution recording.