Why are cinema lenses much more expensive than comparable still-photo lenses?
Asked 2/11/2012
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2 answers
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Cinema lenses often cost far more than still-photo lenses with similar focal lengths and mounts. For example, a cine prime may be much more expensive than a fast 50mm DSLR lens, and a cine zoom may cost dramatically more than a still-photo superzoom.
What features or design requirements make cine lenses more expensive? What do they do that typical high-end still lenses do not? Are any of those advantages useful for photographers shooting stills?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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Cine lenses do have to overcome certain limitations that don't really apply to still cameras.
Still lenses will usually exhibit the phenomenom of "breathing" during focus. Breathing will cause the image to appear to get larger when the focus shifts, a non-issue for a still camera, but a big issue when doing motion picture recording. Fixing that isn't free, as it were. :)
Zoom lenses for still cameras are often vari-focal, the focus changes as you zoom, but this is not the cases for cine lenses, these are para-focal. In other words, you can zoom in and out and the focal point will remain the same. Again, not free to fix.
Final thought... Volume. I don't think the volume of sales helps the price. That's the supply/demand side of things in play, they just won't sell enough to make the profit margins.
In terms of benefit to a dSLR user, the answer is that it's the same as a videographer when you shoot video.
Originally by user472. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user472
14y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Cinema lenses are built for motion-picture needs, not just single frames, and that adds cost.
Key reasons mentioned:
- Minimal focus breathing: many still lenses change framing slightly as focus shifts. In video, that’s distracting, so cine lenses are designed to reduce it.
- Parfocal zoom design: many still zooms are varifocal, meaning focus changes as you zoom. Cine zooms are typically parfocal, so focus stays consistent through the zoom range.
- Color matching/consistency: cine lens sets are often matched so multiple lenses or cameras cut together with consistent color and rendering, which matters much more in edited motion work.
- Lower production volume: cine lenses are made in much smaller numbers, so they don’t benefit from the same economies of scale.
- Specialty designs: some cinema optics, such as anamorphic lenses, are niche products that further increase cost.
Can photographers benefit? Sometimes, but usually less than filmmakers. For stills, focus breathing and parfocal zooming matter little, and subtle color differences are easier to manage shot-to-shot. So cine lenses can help, but their biggest advantages are primarily for video and cinema production workflows.
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