Tokina has announced a new cinema lens – the 16-28mm T3.0 cine lens. It has its optical roots in the popular Tokina AT-X 16-28mm f/2.8 PRO lens. Of course, the cine version is kitted out with standard gearing for the focus and aperture rings.
Additionally, the new cine lens gets a substantially higher price tag. In Japan, it retails for ¥580,000, which is slightly less than $6,000 when converted to US dollars. That would make it close to 10x more expensive than Tokina’s standard AT-X 16-28mm f/2.8 PRO lens.
The PL-mount version of the lens should ship sometime in September, while the EF-mount option is expected to be available in November. Stay tuned for official pricing and availability.
What a silly price for a simple mod of a cheap lens.
At that price, more bitter than sweet.
It better be entirely rehoused with long-throw mechanical focus with precision calibrated markings. For that kind of premium, they need to do more than the superficial: gear rings, de-clicked iris, and engraving on the side of the barrel.
While I love the idea of a manual focus FF WA zoom for stills, this for me is silly money for a Tokina lens. And I seriously doubt whether film makers would consider this either. Who is likely to buy this in realistic numbers?