Reviewing The Sigma 65mm T1.5 Cine Lens

February 6, 2023

Eleven lenses; that is the new number of FF High-Speed Cine Prime lenses from Sigma. These eleven prime lenses range from 14mm to 135mm, offering T1.5 or T2 brightness. Throw in the full-frame wide zoom, and full-frame shooters have just about every focal length covered with razor-thin depth of field to go with it all.

The newest in Sigma’s FF High-Speed Cine Prime Lenses is the 65mm T1.5. This 65mm is right between what feels like a gulf-sized gap between the 50mm and the 85mm. In my opinion, the new 65mm is neither a standard view lens nor a telephoto, and I think that is where it shines. Being non-standard, an outlier of shorts can be a benefit.

Yes, technically, Sigma 65mm is considered kind of a short telephoto lens, but let’s be cool about this because the 65mm is just trying to be itself and nothing else. To me, I think 65mm is interesting, visually, to shoot with focal lengths that are not often found with lens sets.

The 65mm T1.5 FF High-Speed Cine Prime Lens from Sigma combines the same high-quality optics and mechanics of its FF prime line with a cine-oriented design. This 65mm prime with a Canon EF mount offers full-frame sensor coverage, a slightly tighter “normal” look, 6K to 8K resolution, lens markings in feet, and a T1.5 aperture in a compact, lightweight form.

Minimum focus

A minimum focus of 2 feet and 2 inches, or 0.65m, gives you a near-macro look with the 65mm T1.5 FF High-Speed Cine Prime Lens. To me, the minimum focus is one of the ways I test whether or not I like a lens, and the Sigma Cine lenses always seem to have a better minimum focusing than other equally priced lenses. Nothing frustrates me more than an interesting lens I can’t use to get close to a subject.

Chess

While shooting for a documentary short, I had a day when the weather tossed our best-laid plans aside. Rain poured down, and I found myself and my camera gear prepped for a soccer game that was now canceled. I had long telephoto lenses, tripods, and the Sigma 65mm T1.5. Thank goodness I had enough brains and brought that Sigma 65mm T1.5. That Sigma lens was the only lens I shot during that whole day.

In the spirit of French Filmmaker Robert Bresson, I shot this scene on only one lens, the Sigma 65mm T1.5. If you are new to his work, Bresson often shot films on just a 50mm lens. His “A Man Who Escaped” is probably his most accessible film.

Geared up and surrounded by the subject’s family, I shot the chess scene without lights and one lens. I did have other lenses on hand but chose to go with the 65mm because of how good it looked. To get the high-contrast look I wanted and set the mood for a pretty heavy subject matter, I turned off all the lights in this part of the house. Thankfully, the camera I used, the Canon C300 Mark III, comes with a ton of neutral density, and I had it all dialed up to give me the shallowest depth of field.

Without the T1.5 or near the wide-open aperture, the room and background may have become distracting. The room was straight out of the 90s with wood paneling and used as a home school classroom. I wanted the room and the material in the room to stay focused on the two playing chess. Having that T1.5 helped me keep the look I wanted, and the great minimum focus helped me keep the images looking different without changing my lens. I will sometimes shoot a scene with a single lens because I feel like the edit can have a smoother look to the finished assembly. It takes discipline and practice, but the results can be stellar.

Boundless Bokeh

Nearly all Sigma’s High-Speed Cine Prime lenses have a super wide aperture. The thing about T1.5 lenses is they all deliver images dripping with bokeh. What I love is using these lenses at night with specular highlights in the background. I shot an interview in a conference room one evening, and the twinkle of the street lights below made for beautiful bokeh, elevating the interview from a boring conference room to beautiful twinkling lights in the background.

Near Zero Focus Shifting

What I love about the Sigma Cine Prime lenses is how controlled the focus and image can be when the focus is pulled pretty hard from near to far. The 65mm T1.5 keeps the intended image in the frame when you shift focus, just like the rest of the Sigma Cine Lenses. It’s one of those nice features you don’t think about until you have a lens with serious focus shifting.

Part of a Set

The 65mm T1.5 FF High-Speed Cine Prime Lens slides right into the already available High-Speed Cine Prime Lens set. Just like each lens in the range, the 65mm T1.5 offers consistent lens gear positions and 180° of focus barrel rotation. And, since the 65mm T1.5 is just like the rest of the set, this lens also features a clickless iris with linear markings, dampeners on each gear ring for silent operation, industry-standard 0.8 MOD gear pitch, and engraved markings for durability. What I love about a complete lens set is the option I have to rent the whole bunch or just the lenses I think I want. I write “think” because being on a shoot is different than not and sometimes what I hope to happen doesn’t. It’s a humbling business, for sure.

Unified Look

All of Sigma’s High-Speed Cine Prime lens set feature a unified look. The 65mm features that provide a unified look with the rest of the Art series include high resolution, chromatic aberration and distortion correction, ample peripheral illumination, and vignetting suppression. You can use any of Sigma’s Cine Lenses and you will get the exact same look outside the focal length difference. The look of the Sigma High-Speed Cine Primes can be clinical and near optically perfect. If that is what you want, then these are great lenses for you.

95mm Front Diameter

In order for a cinema lens set to be complete, the lenses should match up as best as they can with iris and focus rings, as well as having a similar or the same front diameter. The Sigma High-Speed Cine Primes have a common front diameter of 95mm across the line. It just makes sense to me. If I’m working as an assistant camera or with a camera crew, not often these days, to have lenses that don’t match is a little irksome. The gear needs to be used, fast, and absolutely. We cannot be fiddling with gear while everyone’s waiting. To me, that’s a big no-no on set. Set yourself up right to grab and go without a hiccup. Or, as I like to say, “no one likes to wait on camera.”

Compact, dust- and water-resistant design

The Sigma 65mm and the other High-Speed Cine Prime lenses are built like a tank. The dust and water-resistant design keeps your lenses in shape and ready for the next shoot. Would I keep the 65mm or my camera uncovered in the rain? No, I’m not stupid. But a little mist is nothing to sweat about.

Glow-In-The-Dark Markings

I nearly forgot that Sigma High-Speed Cine Prime lenses all come with glow-in-the-dark markings. At least, I forgot about it until I shot a scene in bright light and then turned away from the light and to my cases. Lo and behold, the lens in my hand was glowing in the dark. I think it’s a nice feature to have glow-in-the-dark markings. Is it critical? Not at all, but it’s cool in my opinion.

Weight

Some may think the 65mm T1.5 is a lens on the heavy side of the scale. The weight of the PL version is 4.7 pounds. If you are used to other PL lenses of similar value and image characteristics, the 4.7 pounds may feel a bit on the heavy side. Yet, when I shot with the 65mm, the 4.7 pounds didn’t feel cumbersome to me. Interestingly enough, my Canon C300 Mark III, Zacuto base plate, and other accessories weigh over 4.7 pounds making for a well-balanced system.

Overall thoughts

I found the Sigma 65mm T1.5 High-Speed Cine Prime lens a solid choice for filmmakers. To me, the super wide aperture offered me an incredibly shallow depth of field that helped a ho-drum scene come to life and add style. What I also like about the Sigmas in general and the 65mm T1.5 is the 180° focus throw. These lenses do not have a 300° focus barrel which can be way too much lens focus for any single operator, and since I am usually a single operator, I like lenses that I can use on my own. The 180° is a perfect compromise for solo operators, giving them enough focus movement to nail critical focus easily without giving too much focus ring movement.

And the bokeh! Who can forget about the bokeh with that T1.5 aperture? I love the look of a shallow depth of field, and the 65mm T1.5 delivers that shallowness in an interesting way. The out-of-focus elements are not too rough and smooth enough. I also shot with the 65mm T1.5 on a Canon R5 because I wanted to test the shallow depth of field and to see if I could get anything in focus at T1.5. I can confirm the 65mm T1.5 lens looks even better on a full-frame camera. At a generous price tag of $3499.00, the Sigma 65mm T1.5 High-Speed Cine Prime Lens is a great buy.