SIRUI Saturn Carbon Fiber Lightweight Anamorphic Lenses Teased – for Full-Frame Mirrorless Cameras

Lens News

by Omri Keren LapidotNovember 17^th, 2023

SIRUI teased two new lightweight full-frame anamorphic primes – the SIRUI Saturn 50mm T2.9 x1.6 and the SIRUI Saturn 75mm T2.9 x1.6. They’ll be available in six optional mounts including E-mount, RF Mount, DL Mount, X Mount, Z Mount, and L Mount. A blue flair and a natural flair version will be available.

Last year, SIRUI released the lightest, most compact full-frame anamorphic lens ever made, the SIRUI Saturn 35mm T2.9 1.6x. Today, the Chinese manufacturer plans to expand the Saturn line with two additional lightweight, high-ratio, full-frame compatible lenses – the 50mm T/2.9 x1.6 and the 75mm T/2.9 x1.6. This will complete an extremely light and compact anamorphic trio, perfect for various projects and use cases. All three lenses feature an identical external layout and similar weight, so switching between the trio will be a breeze whether working on a gimbal or a rig. They should all produce similar visual rendering, except for the field of view.

Lens design

Both designs will consist of 17 elements in 12 groups. Both will focus down to 90cm and use 10 aperture blades (in line with the Saturn 35mm T2.9). The slightly larger lens elements on the 75mm make it a tad heavier at 480g, compared to 470g on the 50mm, and 390g on the older, wider Saturn 35mm T/2.9 x1.6. SIRUI mentions that high-precision glass molding aspherical elements have been used to reduce overall lens weight, but doesn’t specify how many are in each lens. Both lenses sport a carbon-fiber front barrel to reduce weight and maintain structural integrity. As mentioned, both lenses boast a high-ratio 1.6x squeeze factor. On a 3:2 sensor, 1.6x ratio will work out to a 2.4:1 aspect ratio, while on a 16:9 sensor, it will result in 2.8:1.

Who is it for

The new Saturn Duo is a rather unique offering. It opens up the world of anamorphic creativity to “low-end” users, and by “low-end” I’m only referring to gear cost since creativity comes in all shapes and (budget) sizes. This set will find its place among hybrid shooters and other independent filmmakers – those who work with their own Sony, LUMIX, Canon, FUJIFILM, or Nikon camera, those who appreciate smooth gimbal shots and the ability to pack everything up in a backpack. Another interesting and relatively recent user group includes those with the DJI DL-Mount, whether using the RONIN 4D or the Inspire 3 drone. Both allow for remote focusing and easy switching within the Saturn trio.

Alternatives

The first alternative that comes to mind is SIRUI’s own Venus series. Similar in most nominal specs (save for the weight and size), the Venus series is broader, including two additional tele primes, a 100mm T/2.9 and a 150mm T/2.9. As mentioned above, Venus lenses differ in one key feature – they are roughly double the weight of respective Saturn lenses. Your personal workflow will determine how much of a problem it might be, but for candid, handheld, or gimbal-based workflow, the Saturn lenses will probably be the better choice.

Other than SIRUI’s own options, it’s hard to find an anamorphic set in the same price range. Another path may lead you to the world of anamorphic adapters. These come in all shapes and sizes. They dictate a specific workflow and will vary in terms of coverage and quality, depending on the host lens-camera combo. You also shouldn’t expect visual continuity and comparable rendering across your lens lineup, but it will be interesting, and sometimes that’s all we need. SIRUI has its own moderate x1.25 squeeze factor front anamorphic adapter. Though not as extreme as others, it will take a 4:3 open gate recording and will stretch it to 16:9. MOMENT recently released a nice x1.33 anamorphic adapter. At 880g, it’s by no means compact but is well-made. SLR-Magic offers the Anamorphot-50 x2.0, a high ratio x2.0 adapter. While extreme in squeeze ratio, this adapter is limited to 70-100mm lenses on full-frame sensors.

Price and availability

The SIRUI Saturn 50 T/2.9 x1.6 and 75mm T/2.9 x1.6 will be launched via an IndieGoGo campaign soon. Super Early Bird Price will be $974 per lens and the retail price will be $1299, just like the existing Saturn 35mm T/2.9 x1.6. While SIRUI has an excellent reputation and the crowdfunding campaign seems to be more of a method for preordering, we must emphasize that backing a campaign is different than purchasing an actual inventory item. You can read further information here.

Are you excited about this future addition to the SIRUI Saturn line? To what use would you put these kinds of lenses? Let us know in the comments.