Canon Cinema Zooms
My good friends at Canon USA sent me the Canon 15.5-47mm T/2.8 compact cine zoom and the 14.5-60mm T/2.6 cine zoom lens to test and play with for a few weeks and here are my findings. First off the two have a very similar focal range. Secondly one costs twice as much as the other. One is a lot bigger and heavier as well. So why would anyone want the 14.5-60mm at 9.9lbs vs the 15.5-47mm at 4.8lbs? So why such a big price, weight and size difference? In many ways the compact is superior in that it has EF contacts on the EF version. It has a closer minimum object distance. Its lighter and compact. They both have the same amount of aperture blades. The compact is half the price. The only reason I can come up with is timing. The 14.5-60mm was released earlier with the 30-300mm. The quality of materials is the same, the markings are on both sides of the lens, almost everything about the compact seems superior.
So I shot some tests with the two and could not find anything that stood out as to why one would choose the 14.5-60mm over the 15.5-47mm. That extra 12mm just doesn’t seem to justify the price. Is Canon going to phase out the heavier lens? Not from the responses I have gotten. I was told the 14.5-60mm is a good pairing with the 30-300mm and because the two are similar in weight and size that many professionals on set would prefer it over the compact. Here are some specs of the two lenses.
14.5-60mm on left – 15.5-47mm on right.
CN-E14.5-60mm T2.6 Cinema Zoom specs:
Mount Type: EF (S) or PL
Zoom Ratio: 4.1x
Focal Length Range: 14.5-60mm
Number Of Iris Blades: 11
Maximum Photometric Aperture T Number 1:2.6 at 14.5-60mm
MOD From Front of Lens 2′ 4″
Size Length: 5.35 x 6.42 x 12.83 in.
Weight: 9.9 lb.
Front Diameter: Ø136mm
CN-E15.5-47mm T2.8 Compact Cinema Zoom specs:
Mount Type: EF (S) or PL
Zoom Ratio: 3.0x
Focal Length Range: 15.5-47mm
Number Of Iris Blades: 11
Maximum Photometric Aperture T Number: T 2.8 (15.5-47mm)
MOD From Front of Lens: 1’8″
Size Length mm mod: 114 x 125 x 222 mm
Weight: 4.8lbs
Front Diameter : 114mm
Note the electronic contacts on the 15.5-47mm
No contacts on the 14.5-60mm
I have own a Canon 30-105mm compact cine zoom which is physically the same size as the 15.5-47mm. The two make a perfect pair as far as I am concerned. It makes me wonder if Canon will attempt a compact version of the 30-300mm or if that is even possible at that range. They can do it with their still lens line so its feasible depending on the mechanics.
Canon originally released all their cinema zooms with either a PL or an EF mount. You had to choose between the two and it was not an option to swap them. This obviously hindered sales as clients would want the option for both mounts as companies like Angenieux and Zeiss were offering mount swap kits. After much complaining from rental houses, customers and myself of course, Canon offered a mount swap option where you would send in your lens and canon would do the conversion. Not very practical of course. They since changed that to have qualified rental houses swap their own mounts which was a little better. Matt Duclos of Duclos Lenses one up’d Canon by offering their excellent Multi-Mount system which allows mount swaps from EF, PL, Nikon, etc within seconds. Its a great option and the second I heard about it I sent my lens off to Matt to get the conversion. Canon is slowly starting to get it and I have a feeling that lenses in the future will have a easy mount swap option. I also think / know we will be seeing some new Canon lenses at NAB next year. They will be leaked a little before of course.
I get a lot of people asking if the Canon Cinema Primes will ever be offered in PL. The answer I was always told was no. Based on the design and looking at them I cannot see this working without them retrofitting the back of the lens. The 85mm for example would have the element sticking well out the back of the PL which would cause damage. However this does not mean that canon will not offer a new set of primes down the line that are in PL.
Over the year I will be testing and playing with a lot of Canon Cinema glass. What are your thoughts as to why these two zoom lenses (14.5-60mm and 15.5-47mm) are so similar yet so different? Have you had a chance to shoot with either? Post your comments here.
Thank you to Rule Boston Camera and Canon USA.
Michael Sutton
twitter: https://twitter.com/MNS1974
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