Go-To Lenses under $1,500 – Primes

An optically advanced wide-angle prime, the 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens from Sigma mixes a comfortable focal length with an especially fast design.

The bright f/1.4 maximum aperture helps to achieve shallow depth of field and selective focus effects, and also suits working in difficult lighting conditions. The optical layout incorporates both low dispersion and aspherical elements, which help to improve sharpness and clarity by controlling both spherical and chromatic aberrations.

A floating elements system is also used to maintain performance throughout the focusing range. A Super Multi-Layer Coating is also featured, and helps to minimize flare and ghosting for greater contrast and color accuracy when working in strong lighting conditions.

• covers full-frame sensors
• Available Mounts: Canon EF / Nikon F / Pentax K / Sigma SA / Sony A

An inherently flexible focal length, the 35mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Lens from Sigma is a sleek wide-angle prime pairing a bright design with a portable form factor.

The standard wide field of view is useful for a broad array of subject types, including landscape, street, and reportage shooting, and the f/2 maximum aperture excels in challenging lighting and enables greater control over depth of field.

In terms of the optical design, three aspherical elements and one SLD element are used to minimize a variety of aberrations and distortion for sharp and accurate rendering. Also, a Super Multi-Layer Coating helps to control ghosting and flare for improved color fidelity and contrast.

• covers full-frame sensors
• Available Mounts: Leica L / Sony E

All in all, the Argus 35mm f/0.95 lens is a unique lens. Yes, it has its limitations, yet, it’s truly fun to work with. We love the built quality and we love the “freedom of expression” this lens allows.

Team it up with the Sony a7S III and you get a powerful duo that complements each other perfectly! As a documentary filmmaker, Johnnie would love to have that kind of lens on him at all times as it can simply “save the day” when it comes to filming in low light situations, and of course artistically “shape the frame” when there is plenty of light, and urge to isolate the filmed object easily and effectively.

All in all, for indie filmmakers, this set of lenses represents a great balance between optical performance and price!

Most lenses we tested in 2023, had some kind of “vintage look” built into them. Now, while some will say that the “vintage look” is an excuse to produce optically inferior lenses, let’s give the respected manufacturers the benefit of the doubt. In this regard, NiSi chose the opposite way by introducing good clean, natural-looking optically wise lenses. Let us put it differently, the optical performance of those lenses is consistent, almost clinical, which in many ways is a good starting point as you can alter the look by yourself with some good frontal anamorphic adapters or different filtration for example.

When it comes to improvement, there are two points we would like to touch. One is the number of lenses currently offered. Of course, you have to start “somewhere”, but additional focal lengths will be a welcomed addition. NiSi already hinted at working on a 135mm lens, and we guess that this is the reason for having one additional space in the hardshell case.

The other thing we wanted to highlight is the built quality of those lenses. In general, we really like what we see, but, one of the two demo 25mm lenses gave us the hardest time when it comes to mechanical and optical reliability. We had some issues with the lens focus ring (stiff focus at some point) and drop-in filter tray not locking well, next to having a single spot in the lens itself which caused some unwanted reflections. Luckily, we had no similar issues with the rest of the lenses in the kit. (NiSi assured us that those are isolated issues with those specific demo lenses).

Presenting an ultra-wide field of view, the Sony FE 20mm f/1.8 G is a sleek and wide-eyed prime lens characterized by its portability, advanced optical design, and intuitive handling.

The optical design incorporates a pair of aspherical elements and three extra-low dispersion elements to greatly reduce a variety of aberrations and distortion. A Nano AR Coating has also been applied to further reduce surface reflections and flare for improved contrast when working in bright and backlit conditions.

Benefitting the optics, this lens also sports a dual XD Linear Motor system that is quick and quiet, and also lends more responsive control for manual focus operation. The lens also has a dust- and moisture-sealed design, along with a fluorine coating, to support shooting in inclement conditions.

• covers full-frame sensors
• Available Mounts: Sony E

A classic wide-angle prime with an updated, sleek design, the Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM is characterized by its speed and relatively compact form factor.

The versatile focal length suits everything from street shooting to landscape and documentary subjects, and the fast maximum aperture excels in low light and for controlling depth of field.

Also, as a G Master lens, it features an advanced optical design for well-corrected imagery with a high degree of sharpness and clarity.

• covers full-frame sensors
• Available Mounts: Sony E

Pairing the tested Distagon concept with contemporary functionality, the ZEISS Batis 25mm f/2 is a wide-angle prime designed specifically for full-frame Sony E-mount mirrorless cameras.

Its broad field of view makes it well-suited to landscape, reportage, and architecture photography applications and the bright f/2 maximum aperture is ideal for shooting in low-light conditions. The optical design uses a series of aspherical and anomalous partial dispersion elements to greatly reduce color fringing, distortion, and other aberrations to realize sharp, clear, and color-accurate imagery.

A floating elements system is also employed for consistent performance throughout the focusing range, and an enhanced ZEISS T* anti-reflective coating has been applied to reduce flare and ghosting for working in difficult lighting conditions.

• covers full-frame sensors
• Available Mounts: Sony E

In our opinion, the Samyang V-AF series of “Cine AF” lenses are a good investment if you are after a cost-effective and lightweight set of primes for your Sony E-mount camera.

Particularly, if you predominantly use them with autofocus, and occasionally manual focus. They are really perfect on the gimbal, which is what we will mostly use them for, and also on larger drones with mirrorless cameras.

The fact that the lenses are also all the same in weight and size makes them the go-to choice for gimbal operators using a Sony. Autofocus works great, the bokeh is soft and pleasing and their look is quite neutral and clear, which makes these lenses usable and adaptable for most productions.

A truly wide-angle prime featuring a rectilinear optical design, the Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D from Venus Optics is specifically meant to limit distortion for clear and accurate portrayals of landscapes and architectural subjects.

The optical construction also incorporates a pair of aspherical elements and three extra-low dispersion elements to control both spherical and chromatic aberrations for improved sharpness and reduced color fringing. A Frog Eye Coating has been applied, too, to repel dust and moisture from the front element of the lens to benefit working in trying environmental conditions.

Benefitting the optical attributes, this lens also features a precise manual focus design along with a floating optical system to maintain accurate rendering throughout the focus range, from 7.09" to infinity. Additionally, a petal-shaped lens hood is also incorporated into the lens' design to reduce flare and ghosting when working in strong lighting conditions.

• covers full-frame sensors
• Available Mounts: Canon EF / Nikon F / Pentax K / Sony A

The APO MicroPrime Cine 25mm T2.1 Lens from SLR Magic offers apochromatic capture in a lighter-weight, cine-style form.

With a 46mm image circle projection, this wider Canon EF-mount lens is suitable for use with 8K cameras with high-resolution full-frame sensors. Its apochromatic elements are designed to correct color aberrations often seen in high-contrast images or shots captured with wide-open apertures.

• covers full-frame sensors
• Available Mounts: Canon EF
• Available focal lengths: 25mm T2.1 , 32mm T2.1 , 50mm T2.1 , 85mm T2.1

Relatively small and lightweight, the DZOFilm VESPID 25mm T2.1 Lens is part of the VESPID series of lenses from DZOFilm and is well suited for independent and high-end full-frame cinematography. The lens has an 80mm front diameter, allowing it to work with virtually any cine-style matte box. The small size makes this lens an attractive option when working with drones and gimbals, as well as when shooting handheld or run-and-gun. The interchangeable PL mount allows you to use the fully manual lens on a variety of modern and vintage cine cameras, while the full-frame coverage supports sensors that have an image circle up to 46.5mm for use on cameras with sensors up to full-frame without vignetting. covers full-frame sensors Available Mounts: ARRI PL / Canon EF Available focal lengths: 100mm/T2.1 , 125mm/T2.1 , 25mm/T2.1, 35mm/T2.1, 50mm/T2.1 , 75mm/T2.1 , 90mm Macro / T2.8