Tokina Vista-C 29mm T1.5 Cinema PL

Tokina Vista-C 29mm T1.5 Cinema PL – Fast T1.5 Aperture for Large Format Filmmaking

Tokina Vista-C 29mm T1.5 Cinema PL is an exceptional part of the Vista-C prime series, designed to provide cinematographers with a distinctive and characterful image expression. This high-quality lens is crafted to maintain modern mechanical reliability while offering a unique aesthetic feel. With its PL mount, this lens is perfect for use with modern digital large format film cameras, making it an excellent choice for both professional and enthusiastic filmmakers.

Optical Character and Rendering

Vista-C primes are meticulously optically fine-tuned to achieve a refined vintage aesthetic. With mild field distortion and natural light falloff, these lenses help create images that feel more organic and vibrant. They display softer edges and a smooth, pleasing bokeh, thanks to a 9-blade curved iris that preserves rounded out-of-focus highlights even at aperture settings.

The contrast is somewhat lower compared to neutral modern lenses, providing a more expressive and warm rendering. The design of Vista-C allows for a beautiful combination of blue and red flare tones, further enhancing the vintage-inspired feel. The reworked coatings reduce the green dominance previously found in the Vista lines and improve color reproduction, all while maintaining high central resolution for modern large format sensors.

Coverage, Aperture, and Focus Behavior

The Vista-C series offers full-frame and large format sensor coverage with an image circle exceeding 46.7 mm. This means that the lenses are compatible with “full-frame plus” cameras and also with ARRI ALEXA 65 Open Gate. With a fast T1.5 maximum aperture and a T22 minimum aperture, the lenses provide the ability for shallow depth of field and flexible exposure control, which is crucial for filmmakers seeking creative freedom.

Another significant advantage of Vista-C primes is their virtually nonexistent focus breathing, allowing filmmakers to perform smooth focus pulls without disruptive changes in the field of view. The lenses deliver high central resolution while preserving the cinematic character described above.

Mechanical Design and Handling

The mechanical design of the Vista-C lenses is robust and high-quality, featuring a full metal housing and professional cine mechanics. The 29mm PL version has an ARRI PL mount, 0.8 MOD focus and iris gears, and approximately 300° focus rotation for precise manual control. Each lens in the series has the same outer form factor, including a front diameter of 114 mm and consistent gear position placements. These common dimensions make lens changes quick and predictable when using matte boxes and FIZ systems.

Key Features

• Fast T1.5: maximum aperture with T22 minimum aperture in the series
• Coverage: full-frame and large format coverage with image circle >46.7 mm, suitable for sensors up to 65 mm and ALEXA 65 Open Gate
• Vintage-inspired Rendering: with softer edges, reduced contrast, natural falloff, and subtle field distortion
• Flare Tones: warm reds and blues with reworked coatings to minimize green dominance and enhance color reproduction
• Focus Breathing: near-zero focus breathing and high central resolution

Frequently asked questions

What type of mount does the Tokina Vista-C 29mm T1.5 Cinema PL have?
It has an ARRI PL mount.

What is the maximum aperture for this lens?
The maximum aperture is T1.5.

How does the lens handle focus breathing?
The lens has virtually no focus breathing, allowing filmmakers to perform smooth focus pulls without distracting changes in the field of view.

What kind of image quality can one expect from the Tokina Vista-C 29mm T1.5?
One can expect a vintage-inspired image quality with mild field distortion and natural light diffusion, giving a more organic and vibrant feel.