NiSi’s ATHENA line was announced a year ago at NAB 2023 and now has three new lenses. The ATHENA 18mm T2.2, 40mm T1.9, and 135mm T2.2 join the line, filling some gaps and extending the tele-reach while maintaining similar optical and physical characteristics. The NiSi ATHENA 135 T2.2 is quite a bit longer than the others, but the control ring location is similar. Both the 135mm and 18mm will feature a T2.2 aperture while the 40mm aligns with the rest of the line at T1.9. About a year ago, NiSi launched their ATHENA prime line, joining the relatively affordable cine prime fray. While cine prime lines tend to be on the more expensive side, NiSi and other (mainly Chinese) manufacturers managed to lower prices to an unheard-of price range of around $1,000 per lens. In many cases, those affordable lenses manage to come fairly close in terms of image quality to the more expensive offerings, while providing great user experience. Aligned control rings, similar size and weight across the line, and similar optical characteristics are now within reach of a much wider creative crowd. NiSi ATHENA lenses, 18mm T2.2, 40mm T1.9, and 135mm T2.2. Image credit: NiSi NiSi ATHENA prime line With their ATHENA line, NiSi opted for relatively compact yet quite fast T1.9 lenses. Aperture speed slows down in the wide and tele fringe to T2.2 for the 18mm and 135mm, and T2.4 for the 14mm, which is still quite fast. The ATHENA lenses (except the 135mm) weigh around...
Published By: CineD - Wednesday, 3 April, 2024