A cine lens, short for cinema lens, is a specialized optical device designed specifically for motion picture production. Unlike standard photographic lenses, cine lenses are built to meet the rigorous demands of filmmaking, offering precise control over focus, aperture, and other key elements essential to cinematic storytelling. Known for their superior build quality, smooth operation, and ability to maintain sharpness and clarity across various focal lengths, cine lenses are engineered for high-end professional use in film and television production. They often feature consistent aperture settings, minimal focus breathing, and reliable manual controls, making them indispensable tools for cinematographers seeking to achieve the artistic vision and technical excellence required in the world of visual storytelling.
While still photo lenses and cine lenses are fundamentally similar in that an array of optics is housed in a variety of cylinders that actuate precisely to manipulate zoom, focus, and iris, there are a few key differences between the two styles of lenses that are worthy of note.
Typically, cinema lenses are designed with robustness and consistency in mind. Standing up to the rigors of production environment require thoughtful design with more durable, reliable materials and methods than typical consumer-grade photo lenses. Modern cinema lenses feature standardized zoom, focus, and iris gears for interfacing with a wide range of third-part accessories such as motors or follow-focus. The mechanical design of the focus and zoom movement benefit from extended travel for a greater control and precision while filming. The physical size, shape, and weight of cine lenses, while typically larger and heavier than still-photo lenses, is ideally consistent across a manufacturer's product line to streamline swapping lenses during a production.
The optical design of a cine lens is arguably more similar to still-photo lenses than the mechanical design. This is the reason that it is not uncommon for still-photo lenses to be repurposed as cinema lenses with minor or major modifications. Notable mentions would be Century Precision Optics, Clairmont Camera, Otto Nemenz, and many more (see Cine Lens Rehousing). Other optical design considerations for cine lenses would be the correction or compensation for focus breathing, zoom tracking, and image stability while zooming and focusing. These additional considerations are opto-mechanical design accommodations with the goal of achieving the most consistent image across a range of cine lenses within a product line. Image characteristics such as color, contrast, focus falloff, bokeh, and more are all taken into consideration when designing a cine lens.
Anamorphic lenses for cinematography may also be classified as cine lenses.[2]
The following companies produce cine lenses: