30 Sep REVIEW: Meike 12mm T2.2 Cine Lens

Blog? What’s a blog? All the cool kids/influencers make “content”. And evidently, content = YouTube videos.

So what’s a dinosaur such as myself to do? (Just how old am I? Here’s a clue, my first computer was the Commodore PET.) Roll over and die? Go quietly into the night? F*** dat. If I can make a movie, I can make a review video. Besides, I have a new slider to play with. 😉

For those people that still know how to read, here’s the tldr; version:

Overview

The Meike 12mm T2.2 Cine Lens is another solid entry from the little known Chinese manufacturer, Meike*. It mostly matches–physically and optically–its 25mm and 16mm siblings. Any shortcomings are minor, especially when considering the price point. If the 35mm and 50mm continue this trend, indie filmmakers will have a formidable set at the ready for less than the cost of one Xeen lens (which is very soft wide open.)

Pros

• Solid, all metal construction. Same 77mm filter threading as other lenses.
• Nicely dampened focus and aperture with standard pitch gears and 270º+ throw.
• Neutral color rendition
• Tack sharp center, even wide open
• Little geometric distortion or vignetting
• Less than $400 US

Cons

• A few millimeters shorter than 25 and 16, requiring matte box adjustment.
• Soft corners. (But not more than one would expect from most lenses this wide.)

*Just how do you pronounce this name? I think I pronounced it three different ways in the video. Until I hear otherwise, I’m going to go with the German girl’s name.