Thank you Jorge! It’s a privilege to do this work, and I really appreciate the kind words.

Honestly, the more the use them the less I care about the weight, or about other lenses in general. The image is just SO nice.

@@nick_salazar weight is something that I should care about more. You have no idea how much I hurt my body during the last couple of years for my love for filmmaking. 😅

I hear you. Good support and good technique are critical for longevity in this game.

Thanks Mark!

Welcome Chad! I use the Breakthrough DFM with their X4 VND. It’s very well built and gives you exposure control for any PL lens without having to use a matte box. It’s more expensive than its closest competitor (the Mogage Poco), but the Breakthrough has better clearance. It’s the only twist-on PL plus VND adapter which will clear the NiSi Athena primes. If you don’t need or want a VND, then I’d choose the NiSi PL adapter. Those ones are very light, internally flocked, and work great as well. I own them too. But my "endgame" recommendation is the Breakthrough DFM. Tell them I sent you.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think they will work just fine. They don't protrude very far back.

That's a Smallrig follow focus wheel (or maybe it's the Tilta one, I have both) with a "speed crank" handle attached. Many companies make them. I think I was using this one by Fotga: amzn.to/3KQtcGz but you can find a lot of other options here: amzn.to/3RvvNcP - they just use a standard square connector like you'll find on ratchet wrenches, and basically every follow focus wheel on the market has the connector, including the SmallRig and Tilta models.

@@nick_salazar Thankyou so much Nick - I agree with you on the lenses - 24 , 35 and 100mm would be my desert island mix

Hi Min. Some slight gliding sound is normal on most lenses. "Grinding" would be bad, but "gliding" is okay. But if you aren't sure, just reach out to DZOFilm via their website, they should be able to help you.

One person also sent the unit back to DZO for this problem. The comment it’s on the CVP Arles review video.

@@urielsantistebanfilms good to know. I would expect DZOFilm to be responsive to any customer reporting an issue like this. Remember that these are very new lenses, and early manufacturing of any product is always where bugs show up. The customer has a right to have that issue addressed, but DZOFilm has earned a reputation for excellence, so I would give them the benefit of the doubt, and imagine they will get everyone sorted out.

That’s called a “speed crank” and they’re compatible with almost every follow focus wheel on the market. Mine is by Fotga, but there are tons of equally good options: amzn.to/3KUZhgE

@@nick_salazar is that plastic?

@@nick_salazar Thank you Nick! Don't know why I've never seen that before...thanks for your help.

The SPEED is the most important difference. In my opinion, there is a substantial difference between f1.8 (Athena) and f1.4 (Arles). It's about one stop, and that particular stop is a big one for my taste. Enough that I'm even willing to endure the higher size, weight, and price. Along with the shallower depth of field generally, super fast lenses also seem to have an overall softness to the out of focus areas - in some sense just the same phenomenon again, but it's significant enough to mention again in this slightly different context. The speed itself IS the reason to want Arles over Athena, for me anyway. If you don't care about f1.4, you might just stick with Athena.

I have a few. I think that's either the Smallrig or Tilta wheel, with a Fotga Speed Crank attached. The speed cranks are super handy: amzn.to/3RxNyby

Also keeping in mind that i would like atleast one complete full range in a spherical set if possible (aside from my RF set) and also if pricing isnt an issue. Wouldn't want to compromise if i could avoid it :P Im fully down to invest and commit but prefer not to have too many spherical sets if i can avoid it as well haha

Thanks Theodore! The reality is that the strength of your story is 100x more important than "how well lenses cut together." Consider a movie like The Dark Knight, which would frequently switch between IMAX spherical lenses (Hassleblad I think), and then Panavision 2x anamorphic (C-Series). And no one cares even a little bit, because they're just watching the story. So you can shoot WHATEVER you like. If it helps you tell your story, go nuts. So yes, you could EASILY intercut Athena footage with Arles footage, no problem. Now as to whether you can survive an entire day of hand-holding an Arles lens ... that's something I can't answer for you, as it depends on you personally as well as your specific setup. But my guess is that you would definitely want some kind of support equipment, like an Easyrig, Readyrig, etc. If you plan to operate a camera all day long, you probably want support regardless of what lenses you're using. For me personally, if I'm on a set all day long, I'm likely to be both in front of AND behind the camera (acting AND directing), so I shy away from vest-type solutions and go for things like jibs, handheld gimbals, etc, so I can jump back and forth easily.

​@nick_salazar Thank you for that thorough response. Very helpful 🎉 as I do understand that it's not about the equipment all the time as you stated and it's a lot about the story. But I guess I was looking for my forever lens set and tired of buying and reselling my gear because I'm also seeking to not make any compromises in image quality. So basically if weight wasn't an issue this is likely the end all of the best images from a lens set you can buy in this price range in your opinion? Mind if I ask a personal question whether if you are planning to keep both sets of athena's and Arles? I'm also planning to keep my Canon RF (L series) set so I have my run and gun solution already for corporate, event coverage. Can't beat a solid hybrid autofocus lens kit for that haha Arles and/or Athena I was planning mainly for maybe documentary, few big client corporate work (likely sit on tripods), but mainly for narrative projects which is a combination of handheld, gimbal and steady rig shots. Keeping in mind I am also a solo operator like yourself which is why I seek for your opinions highly in this.

@@DragoTJ I wouldn't say "end all" or "best possible," etc. I would say it fits my sensibilities very well. It fits, like good clothing fits. There are lots of other styles, and different people have different priorities. I happen to love the image. The weight is not trivial however, and something to consider. This set was a demo set, and will have to be returned. Will I buy a set of them myself? If so, will I keep the Athenas or sell them? I haven't decided those answers just yet.

@@nick_salazar Thank you for your honest take on this 🙏

Yes I have - take a look at the feed, I published a video about them pretty recently. They have pros and cons, but ultimately they're not the right fit for me.

@@nick_salazar I just realized, I actually saw that video. For somebody that doesn't care about the odd focal lengths, nor the 9 aperture blades; would you say image quality is comparable? I just don't like how heavy the Arles lenses are and besides that, I wonder if they are worth the extra 800 bucks.

It’s not merely the odd lengths, but also that they are incomplete. There is nothing between 65mm and 150mm. If you don’t care about that missing range, they seem nice like I said. I couldn’t really say how they compare to the Arles primes, because I only had a short time at the booth with Irix. I have reached out to them several times asking if they would lend me something to test, but they have not replied at all. That itself makes my eyebrows go up. If you can’t even reply to say “no,” then how active is your customer service? DZO on the other hand always replied to me quickly, even when it was to say “we really can’t lend you anything right now” for the tenth time of me nagging them.

The "microjitters" idea is quite overblown. Proper technique and rigging can give you stable footage even with very light setups. But you're right - I do like Arles a lot more than the Athenas to put up with the weight. I'd say I'm still thinking about it though ... that's why I said I might be "still looking" rather than just "this is it, ignore all other lenses!" haha 🙂

I purchased the arles 25mm and i have it on my red komodo with the meike ef to rf drop in ND. Its pretty heavy but manageable, i hope. The lack of drop in NDs on the athenas put me off.

@@sonnyjostins6158 a good bit of the DZOFilm demo footage was shot on Komodo (or Komodo X, but same size sensor anyway) with that 25mm lens. instagram.com/p/C7L7ttJK1-r/

I think they make a very strong case. I'm always searching, testing, and trying new things. But every time I put these lenses on a camera, I come back with something I'm happy with.

Yes, I have verified it. Although I didn’t take a direct measurement, I just compared against a couple other lenses whose f numbers were known. I may go get more technical about it and show actual measurements. But they are clearly not an F1 2 or F1.3 design, the pupils are smaller than that.

@@nick_salazar good to know. Would love to see a comparison if you make one.

Just following up here, I did take direct measurements. I got a 39mm pupil on the 50, and 75mm on the 100, coming in at f1.28 and f1.33 respectively. Allow for some margin of error, but they are in the neighborhood of f1.3 for sure.

The Sigmas are good for sure. Most of the Sigma focal lengths are slightly older designs, in some cases not as well corrected, and many have significant focal breathing because they were adapted stills lens designs. But they are on average a little lighter than Arles. Arles benefits from all having been designed at the same time, specifically for cinema use, no breathing, very well corrected, matching colors on the slightly warm side, and are far less expensive. But they’re slightly heavier on average (some focal lengths are about the same). In short, Arles is nearly flawless in every respect that I care about. If you’re cool with the weight, just get them.