Bokkeh Optics, 8K FF Cine Lenses at under $2,000 each

[Glen Harvey Jones]

Anybody heard of Bokkeh Co., Ltd.

Apparently, they are based in Taiwan, and the blurb says they focus on cinematographic products for the cinema industry and say their range of lenses will be available in September, at a cost of less than $2,000 per lens.

The lenses are VistaVision full frame lenses that cover 8K and all feature a uniform body design with 105mm fronts and matched focus and aperture gear rotations, and the initial range will include 25mm, 35mm, 50mm, 75mm and 100mm. All the lenses are T2 with 12 blades and very similar in design to the Xenon range of lenses and will be available in the following mounts, PL, EF, Sony E and MFT.

They say, this set of lenses have taken 3 years to design and can provide extreme resolution and integrity of color consistency, making a very solid and vivid image, while in theory, the 12 blades should make pretty bokeh.

Link to Bokkeh website

 

[Michael Tiemann]

I hope they knock it out of the park!

 

[Kirk.Attard]

The price is right and the design sure looks too. If QC is good and mechanically they are decent these should be another good option for limited budget filmmakers wanting a good PL set. Still too early to tell though.

 

[Glen Harvey Jones]

They were at the 2016 NAB, with their 75mm T2, I expect someone saw them and had a peep.

http://www.bokkeh.com/nabshow-2016-review/

 

[Phil Holland]

Yep. Saw these at NAB 2016. They had some quirks, but the potential is there for a good deal with decent optical performance. Once the set is more advanced and fleshEd out with the 25mm I'll be testing them out.

Bokkelux

Bokkelux is a new company from far, far away. However, they are making full frame coverage (they think) primes at an insanely affordable price. They will all be T2. 25, 35, 50, 75, and 100mm. 13 iris blades. Sub-$2k a lens. These guys are brand new to this world, so we'll see if they can pull all of this off with a decent level of QC. The lenses are pretty small and the look is fairly interesting from the prototypes. I'll need to test these once they are closer to reality.

 

[Kris Tait]

Not the prettiest looking things, but a welcome endeavor. Would love to see something similar for cine zooms in the 24-70 or 24-105 range.

 

[Glen Harvey Jones]

Thanks Phil, if the price is correct, they will be a damn good challenge to the Xeens

 

[Blair S. Paulsen]

The orthodoxy in cinema lens world has always directly linked superior optics with higher costs. Tighter tolerances on parts/polishing, more "hand built", more expensive coatings, more ULD elements, smooth mechanics with long focus throws and accurate marks, premium materials, color matching across sets, etc. Add to that the effort to give a lens some character, to make it sharp but not clinical, to manage focus falloff and draw, etc.

How do you accomplish all that, and still make a profit on short runs of lenses that retail at $2,000/each? It could be argued that a company like Canon that sells millions of lenses per year (most of which are far less sophisticated than quality Cine primes, but they still have the infrastructure) could potentially leverage their scale to make legit Cine lenses for $2K/ea but I'm not holding my breath.

I look forward to giving the Bokkelux primes a test drive when they hit the market. Until then...

Cheers - #19

 

[Glen Harvey Jones]

Indeed Blair, but I doubt that these guys aim to take on the Ultra Primes but they will more than likely make a big difference to the Rockinon Xeen market. I personally would not mind testing them against the CN-E, CP2 and the Xenons, that is if I get a chance.

 

[M.Halsell]

Is there more market space for yet another set of sterile, so-so flair management lenses? Unlikely they can make the upstream swim to the 8K Weapon users. Which leaves the Sony and Canon DSLR market. You won't lose reputation by choosing Zeiss, Canon or Schneider in your kit. And Rokinon seems to have beat every one on price.

A better proposition would be to copy the flattering look of Cooke or a vintage look of th Ziess Superspeeds.

 

[Shane Kelly]

A better proposition would be to copy the flattering look of Cooke or a vintage look of th Ziess Superspeeds.

That seems to be what https://celerelenses.com is attempting. Has anyone seen these yet?

 

[Nick Morrison]

That seems to be what https://celerelenses.com is attempting. Has anyone seen these yet?

Yes saw one at NAB at Panasonic booth. Sat on a Varicam LT on a Ronin. I know Hot Rod is distributing. Love to test them out later this summer...

Build quality looked good.

 

[Marcus Friedlander]

That seems to be what https://celerelenses.com is attempting. Has anyone seen these yet?

I messed around with them and the xenon's at HotRod and mechanically they seemed practically identical. Unfortunately I couldn't really judge the picture because I could only look at the picture throw a small onboard monitor.

 

[Björn Benckert]

That seems to be what https://celerelenses.com is attempting. Has anyone seen these yet?

My go to lens guy tested them and normally hes opinion about low cost glass is rather sceptical. But about the celerelenses he was more than enthusiastic and actually have a set on order... That tells me those are basically the best bang for buck you can get as he handles pretty much every glas available out there on a daily basis. (he works as a lens doctor at a large rental house) but he owns almost no glass him self but these he bought after having them in the projector for just a few hours. So must be something special. And he is very much into the quality of the build of the lenses as well as picture qualities and always get into the details about the build up of the MPs or master primes and rack down on everything except those that cost less than a good car... but not these he loved them. So without having tested these my self I think rather highly about them.

 

[Michael Tiemann]

Thanks for that info, Björn! I wish I had been paying attention before March 1st when the price increased! WANT!

 

[Jason Diamond]

Yup also saw these at NAB and was fairly impressed. They only had the 75mm up and it looked nice. Def need a closer look at the set.

 

[David Kellermann]

Thanks for that info, Björn! I wish I had been paying attention before March 1st when the price increased! WANT!

I'm one of the resellers for the Celere lenses. Feel free to contact me if you want to test a set. They will also add soon an 18.5mm T1.5 FF35 lens to the set.

 

[Nick Morrison]

I'm one of the resellers for the Celere lenses. Feel free to contact me if you want to test a set. They will also add soon an 18.5mm T1.5 FF35 lens to the set.

David do they have a longer lens in the works too? Like a 135? And even a 180? Love to see them round out the set.

thanks!

 

[Mark K.]

I'm one of the resellers for the Celere lenses. Feel free to contact me if you want to test a set. They will also add soon an 18.5mm T1.5 FF35 lens to the set.

If they actually manage to pull of the wide-angle, I may well take the plunge. The mechanics and consistent sizing look nice. And having that T/1.5 at an affordable price is a big deal.

 

[Michael Tiemann]

David do they have a longer lens in the works too? Like a 135? And even a 180? Love to see them round out the set.

My question as well--especially given their FF capability. A 135 @ 8K is like a 70mm for 4K, and a 180 is like a 90 for 4K. A 180, even if not T1.5, would be very sweet.