Xelmus APOLLO 32mm T2 2x Anamorphic Lens Announced

Lens News

by Jeff LochMarch 31^st, 2023

Xelmus recently announced a new lens in its APOLLO lineup of 2x anamorphic lenses: a 32mm T2. This lens, unlike other APOLLO lenses, only covers Super35 image sensors. So let’s take a closer look at this lens, now available to pre-order for $16,999.

Xelmus is a relatively small Ukrainian company founded ten years ago by Oleg Krasyuk and Igor Lobarev. The company focuses on creating anamorphic lenses only, and they released their first APOLLO 2x anamorphic lenses in 2019 with a 40mm T2.1, 60mm T1.7, and 100mm T2.5. Later in 2020, Xelmus completed the APOLLO set with 50mm T1.7, 75mm T2, and 135mm T2 2x anamorphic lenses.

Xelmus is now back with a wider anamorphic lens, which only covers Super35 image sensors: the APOLLO 32mm T2.

Xelmus APOLLO 2x anamorphic lenses – features

There is very little information about Xelmus APOLLO lenses in general. I wouldn’t say they are niche since they were used to shoot major feature films such as Disney’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, but the company does not promote its products much.

All APOLLO 2x anamorphic lenses, except this new 32mm T2, cover full frame sensors, give focus pullers 270 degrees of focus rotation, and are only available for PL mount cameras. However, all lenses have different lengths, weights, minimum focusing distances, close focus distances, etc. Below is a chart with all the characteristics of each lens.

Xelmus APOLLO 32mm T2 2x anamorphic lens – features

Now that you have a better overall picture of the Xelmus APOLLO 2x anamorphic lenses, let’s talk about the new kid on the block: the 32mm T2. As mentioned previously, this lens only covers Super35 image sensors. However, Xelmus says you can get “full coverage on Open Gate on the ARRI Alexa Mini.”

This 32mm has very similar specifications to the company’s APOLLO 40mm T2, with a minimum focusing distance of 15in/37cm, a weight of 3.92lbs/1.78kg, a length of 4.52in/11.5cm, and an industry-standard front diameter of 114mm.

Price and availability

The Xelmus APOLLO 32mm T2 2x anamorphic lens is available for pre-order now. The pre-order price is set at $16,999. Xelmus lenses are close to being made-to-order, so expect to get your lens between six to eight months after your deposit.

As a comparison, the Laowa Proteus 2x anamorphic lenses – which also have a 35mm T2 lens – retail for $4,999 each. We could also list the Atlas Lens Co. 32mm Orion Series anamorphic prime that covers full-frame image sensors and retails for $9,999. What an incredible time to be a filmmaker; if you once told me ten years ago that there would be “competition” in the owner-operator 2x anamorphic lens market, I probably wouldn’t have believed it.

For more information, please visit Xelmus’ website here.

What do you think about this new 32mm T2 2x anamorphic lens? Did you ever shoot with the Xelmus APOLLO anamorphic lenses? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments down below!