Thank you so much!

Thank you Theodore! It has been a delight to make videos and get such kind feedback from folks like you. Thanks for watching!

Thank you Zac! I can tell you that every time I use these lenses, I love them just a little bit more. I think the weight is easily worth it in this case.

THANK YOU! That is so kind.

Yes, they are awesome. I’ve been thinking about what kind of set I would recommend for people to purchase if they can only get one or two Arles lenses, but still want a broad range of options. In some cases, it may be a good idea to purchase one Arles lens, and then a couple Vespids to supplement it.

You can still definitely make great work on the Irix set!

I assume the Laowa lenses are just rehoused versions of the f0.95 stills like they’ve had for several years. The flares I've seen in demos from the cine ones look cool, but overall they’re just not quite at the same level as Arles - sharpness, cleanliness, usability in a broad variety of circumstances. I have the 45mm Argus stills lens and even dressed it up with gears for cine use, but I never reach for it. For the money, again, I’d just save up and get Arles.

Thanks! Do you mean the piece to camera (me talking into camera)? I shoot those on the little Canon plastic RF lenses. In this case it was the 35mm f1.8, but sometimes I use other ones. I love those tiny little lenses, and did a video about them here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hsCflLGb18m6emw.html

Oh and do you have any idea when the other focal lengths will get released?

I think they said later this fall. See the interview I did at Cinegear, he might have answered there.

Not to worry. Charts and brick walls are NOT my jam. Those things are useful, but I don’t enjoy shooting them. It’ll be real world footage only from me.

The only way to truly make it in this market is to have a time machine and endless do overs! Opportunity cost is a bit#$! :-)

Well I had only a limited time with the Cooke lenses. And I’m getting an extended look at the Arles set. For the way I like to shoot, the Arles set is very compelling and fits my sensibilities very nicely. So for me, Arles is tough to beat. But take the caveats seriously (just my opinion, just my shooting style, and limited experience with Cooke).

Haha thank you Hector! It’s nothing fancy, just something I’ve been working on in spare time. I have another short video about it. I’ll explain more in a future video once I’m a little more solid with it.

@@nick_salazar Well whatever you're cooking up is wild. Totally fell in love with those flares. Appreciate the breakdowns on these lenses. Happy you got to get your hands on these awesome lenses. It's definitely a wonderful time to be a video creator.

What a great question! I think it often comes down to taste. As you can see, everything I shot here was at T1.4, every single shot. If I was shooting a broad landscape, I might want a lot more in focus, and so I would choose a much smaller aperture like T8. It all just depends on what you want your final image to look like. Much of the time, I like to use focus as a way to direct the audience’s eye, and to make subjects stand out against the background. That’s why I love super fast lenses, because they help do that so well.

@@nick_salazar thanks! Are you focusing manually and handheld?

Manual focus, and most of these shots were taken on a tripod.

I'd put it differently. Xeen is basically rehousings of Rokinon's stills lens line, which were developed 10-15 years ago as a low-cost competitor to the Canon L-series stills glass of that era. The Canon stills were rehoused into the CNE line, and the Rokinon lenses became Xeen. Same optical formulas, just different housings. But Arles is definitely a more modern offering - everything is better corrected, you're going to have fewer aberrations, better sharpness and resolution, cleaner bokeh, and that slightly faster speed. I'd say Arles is trying to be a lower-cost competitor to things like the Sigma Cine FF line, the Zeiss Supreme Primes, Tokina Cinema Vista, and ARRI Signature Primes. You're right that Xeen is in that same general space, but it's such an older design that it doesn't really hold its weight against Arles. Over the past six months or so it looks like the price of Xeen and Xeen CF (same optics just different housing) have been dropping, as they try to stay competitive against newer and more refined designs like Arles. At the moment, there's nothing else precisely in this space. The closest would be Sigma FF, at about double the price of Arles. Does that all make sense?

@@nick_salazar absolutely! And thanks for your detailed response. I hadn't thought of it in terms of punching up towards the supreme or signature lenses. I noticed and the prices drops with the cf and your response gives good context. I think what you mentioned actually gets lost in the sea of knowledge outside specs which could be brought up more is the intent of lens design and approach. What I remember being discussed from most lens reviews is how clinical a lens family is, consistent across lenses, and the bokeh and flairing effects. Liked this video and thanks for your response.

@Nick Salazar ooooh I see a low hanging fruit video in our future?

@Nick_Salazar ooooh! I see a little hanging fruit video in our future? :-)

With a mirrorless body it would be pretty easy if you have a long enough plate. On my V-Raptor, that's gonna get a little hairy - very close to the max weight, but probably possible. We'll see.

They should work with most adapters (front or rear).

I didn’t explain this properly. The request wasn’t specifically about the Athenas, it’s because DZO knew that Athena is my only other primary set of complete primes, and Athena are very much budget lenses. That’s not the space they’re trying to compete in with Arles - they’re aimed squarely at the top tier of the market. So it was like "if all you have in your area is budget fast food, please don't put that in a video against our fine steakhouse." I don't think it's fear of comparison, it's just not the association they want to make. To be clear, having used both I like Arles MUCH MORE. But, to your question - adapters for Athena, I think you mean PL to RF, as there is no EF Komodo. The only PL-to-RF drop in VND adapter that will work on the Athena lenses on your Komodo is the Breakthrough DFM. It's what I have and use with them. Other adapters will interfere with the rear protrusion on the Athena set.

@@nick_salazar Thanks!, do the meike ones intrude too, breathrough's is very expensive, might as well get the arles for the combined price. What exactly do you prefer about the Arles? Does the size of the arles put you off at all when working handheld?

@@sonnyjostins6158 the Meike FF primes protrude about the same amount, so it's not a real difference there. What do I prefer? For one, the larger aperture is a big deal for me. I REALLY love shallow depth-of-field, and the difference between T1.4 and T2 is MASSIVE in my opinion. But the faster you get, the harder it is to make a decent lens. These are perfectly usable wide open, very smooth and well-corrected bokeh, no wild aberrations or glare or ghosting wide open (which is how I shot everything in this short video). If you don't care about fast speeds, there are lots of great options (NiSi Athena, DZO's own Vespid series). But if you care about fast speeds, your list of clean and modern lenses that won't break the bank is ... basically just this set. Next step up is Canon CNE and Sigma FF primes at $3000 per lens and up (both sets have their benefits, but also drawbacks), then Tokina Cinema Vista at $8k per lens (I personally dislike that set), and then above that you're at $14k per lens and above with things like Cooke, Zeiss, and ARRI. Arles is the only super fast, super shallow DOF, modern/clean/sharp set that exists at the $2k a lens price point.

@@nick_salazar sorry not talking about meike primes. I meant the meike pl to rf drop in nd filter mount instead of the breakthrough to use with the komodo and the nisi PL lenses. I get that image quality wide open is good but the chances are il only leave it wide open at very low light conditions. Im run and gun handheld and hoping most people cant tell the difference in the day time shooting at 2.8 on the nisi compared to the arles.

@@sonnyjostins6158 if you don't shoot faster than 2.8, and you prioritize run-and-gun gear, you may want to look at some 28-70mm zooms. Tokina, Sigma, Laowa, etc.

I’ve been told some version of that comment on various youtube videos about a dozen times. “Manson orbs,” or “sociopath stare,” and now you’ve added the brand new “murder-esque smile.” Ah, the kindness of strangers ;-)

What?

Yeah I didn’t explain that very well. It wasn’t specifically about Athena, but rather that they knew that Athena is my primary lens set. If I was a rental house I’d be able to compare against the broader variety sets against which Arles is designed to compete. But as an owner operator, if my ONLY comparison is against a low budget set with very different specs, that could be unhelpful for DZO.

@@nick_salazar Okay. Got the picture.

I actually think these look absolutely gorgeous and nothing like sad the vespids.