Chinese lens manufacturer Meike has introduced a new lens in its Super35 lineup: the Meike S35 18mm T2.1.
After the 25mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 75mm, this new wide-angle prime lens is the fifth lens and should soon be joined by the final piece of the set, a 100mm T2.1.
Meike is slowly building a good reputation for its affordable, compact, and good value-for-money lenses. The company has three main lineups of lenses: the Mini Cine Primes, which cover Micro Four Thirds sensors, the S35 series, and the Full Frame line.
Meike S35 18mm T2.1 features
The Meike S35 18mm T2.1 is a compact wide-angle cinema lens that, as its name suggests, covers Super35 sensors. Similar to the other lenses in the Meike S35 series, this new 18mm will be available in either Canon EF or PL mount. However, the lens mount is not user-interchangeable. With a physical length of only 10.5cm in Canon EF mount, this prime lens won’t take much space in your camera bag.
The lens has dedicated focus and iris rings with industry-standard 0.8mod focus and iris gears. The focus throw is very long at 270°, so you better use a follow focus with this lens. Furthermore, the focus ring has imperial/metric markings.
Optical design
The optical design of the Meike S35 18mm T2.1 consists of 15 elements in 10 groups. The front filter diameter is 77mm, and the external outer diameter is 80mm for clamp-on matte boxes. The aperture diaphragm consists of ten aperture blades, and the minimum focusing distance is 25cm/9.8in.
Price and availability
The Meike S35 18mm T2.1 should be available by the end of this month for $699.99.
