When the NiSi ATHENA lenses landed on my table, I was eager to put them through their paces for my review. After all, these small full-frame primes are promising a lot for the price. With lots of “unified specifications” across the lens line, like gear positions, weight, large aperture of T1.9 (but the 14mm lens), and even color rendering, could these become the lenses you have been waiting for? Let’s take a closer look. Simply put, in the beginning, there was a camera, and then lenses were created… Sounds logical, doesn’t it? One can say, essentially, this is all you need for creating your next blockbuster. Everything else can be considered as an “extra” or a “bonus” if you like. Looking at the current market situation, it seems many manufacturers have realized this, otherwise, I have no other explanation as to why so many companies have started to produce lenses. So now the market is booming with a bunch of offerings. Some are more interesting than others, but in the end, this kind of competition works best for us, the independent filmmakers, who are looking for good lens quality and value for money. NiSi ATHENA lenses. Unified focus and aperture rings across the line. Credit: CineD NiSi ATHENA Lenses Earlier this year during NAB 2023, NiSi exposed their ATHENA line of lenses. And now, those lenses have finally hit the market and are being sold as a set of five, or, you can purchase the 14mm, 25mm, 35mm, 50mm, and...
Published By: CineD - Tuesday, 19 December, 2023