SIRUI Saturn 35mm T2.9 1.6x Carbon Fiber Anamorphic L-mount... half price. Any good?

[Andrew Reid]

Let's talk Chinese anamorphic stuff, vs vintage.

I don't have much modern stuff although did get the full frame Great Joy 60mm T2.8 for L-mount a few months back.

Recently picked up one of these though...

https://siruishop.de/en/products/saturn?srsltid=AfmBOoqYgHSzTnkpJQ0HBLwj-2r6w0uskpYgytF1N-2y1XJX3hglGgMO

It has come down from 1399 euro to 600.

I got mine for 180 euros... Aperture blades were broke, so I removed them. Plan to put a DIY oval aperture in it.

The look is good, in terms of sharpness and bokeh.

Distortion is quite heavy - and pincushion, it's a very wide lens and I don't mind a bit of distortion but would prefer there to be barrel distortion like a Hollywood Panavision anamorphic, pincushion is a bit unexpected.

Flare is weak, this is an area the good value for money lenses still can't seem to get right.

I'll do some comparison shots with my Iscoramas.

It is a 1.6x stretch so very similar to the Iscorama 36 (1.5x).

Minimum focus distance is just a tad under 1 meter. It's a full frame lens so this isn't too bad, you can crop for closer-ups.

Mainly I am impressed by the size and weight of the thing... It is absolutely tiny for an anamorphic cine lens.