What’s the difference between a cinema lens and a stills lens? A cinema lens often has a 300-degree rotation for a smooth focus throw. There are marks for repeatable focus, and gears allow you to stick motors or follow focus, making operating the lens much more straightforward. You have a de-clicked aperture, enabling you to change the light to dark without seeing any jumps in exposure as you would in a stills lens. Often there are better optics in your cinema lens. And, my favorite thing about the cinema zooms is that they’re parfocal. What does parfocal mean? It means that once you grab the focus of your subject, you can change the focal length, and the subject stays in focus. Without autofocus!
A stills lens is often lighter, smaller, and usually cheaper than the comparable cinema lens. If you get a good one, it will be weather-sealed, which means it could stay out in the elements, and you don’t have to worry about it getting ruined. And my favorite feature is autofocus.
Which one’s right for you? Well, the right tool for the right job. Suppose you’re looking for the best optics in a robust housing, go with a cinema lens. If you’re looking for something small, lightweight, and autofocus, probably stills lens.
