SLR Magic 35mm T/1.4 Cine Mark II Lens Review

SLR Magic 35mm T/1.4 Cine Mark II Lens Handling and features

The construction of this lens is all metal, finished in satin black. The build and finish is reminiscent of lenses of a bygone era, when lenses were good to last a lifetime. The lens feels pretty weighty for its size, thanks to the heavy-duty construction, but it still only weighs 390g. As a result it balances well with the Panasonic Lumix G3 camera used for testing.

The focus and aperture rings are well damped and smooth to operate. There is just the right amount of resistance in the focus ring and fine adjustments are a pleasure to apply. Both rings have a geared grip, which makes the lens compatible with follow focus equipment, commonly used for video recording. A useful hyperfocal scale is etched onto the lens barrel and closest focus is 30cm, which is quite close for a lens of this focal length and aperture.

There is no electronic communication between the lens and camera, and aperture is stepless, which can be especially useful for applying adjustments during video recording, as the aperture can be adjusted seamlessly. The scale on the aperture ring isn't linear, so the ring needs to be turned further at fast apertures than at slower ones to apply the same amount of adjustment. This can take some getting used to, as close attention needs to taken to ensure the correct adjustment is applied, especially as aperture values at the slower end of the scale. These are so closely bunched together that some values are actually missing.

The lens accepts 52mm filters, and the filter ring does not rotate during focusing, which will aid the use of graduated and polarising filters. No lens hood is supplied with this lens.

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