Hey folks, Tito Ferradans here for some interesting developments regarding the Sirui lenses and
their mounting solutions.
I’m shooting this video using the 35 and 50mm Sirui lenses on Panasonic S series cameras.
That’s right!
I’m using Sirui’s lenses on an L mount camera, something not natively compatible.
Sirui’s mount planning has been kinda confusing, so it was a bit tough to understand the lack
of a few popular mounts among the range they were covering.
To be specific, I’m talking about Canon RF and Leica L mounts.
The flange distance for those two is pretty close to Micro Four Thirds, which is Sirui’s
“base mount”, let’s say.
Canon’s RF seems to be the “new EF” - an affordable and reliable mount used in
cameras from multiple manufacturers.
It’s present in Canon’s R5 and R6, as well as the popular C70 and RED Komodo.
The L mount is an alliance between Leica, Sigma and Panasonic, which is featured now
in a bunch of different cameras, including Panasonic’s flagship S1H as well as the
rest of the S series. Sigma fp and Leica’s SL models also feature that.
So, if those mounts aren’t offered natively, how am I shooting this right now?
For the last handful of weeks I’ve been bombarded with questions saying “HAVE YOU
HEARD ABOUT MTF SERVICES?
THEY OFFER DIFFERENT MOUNTS FOR THE SIRUI LENSES”.
Wait, wait. Isn't it MFT?
No, it's MTF.
MTF Services is a small company in the UK who has decided to take matters in their own
hands and hack the mounts to allow more options, including L and RF mounts for all three lenses
24, 35 and 50
This was achieved through light modifications and a custom-made mount.
MTF Services buys lenses from Sirui and then “remounts” them.
So to get an L mount or RF mount Sirui, it’s the price of the original lens plus a 200
pound premium.
Think of it as you’re buying a new lens with a new mount.
You CANNOT send in your old lenses to be modified.
On the upside, MTF’s lenses come with your desired new mount and a replaceable Micro
Four Thirds mount.
This means that you can switch back and forth between them.
This is all awesome, and I don’t have to re-test the lenses with the new mounts because
they perform exactly as they should.
But why do we need someone like MTF Services in the first place?
If they can do it why CAN’T Sirui?
Or maybe more interestingly, why Sirui chose not to.
My theory is that the L mount was only used on full frame cameras.
The same applies for the RF mount, which was only featured on Canon’s R5 and R6.
It didn’t matter that all of those cameras with L and RF mount offered APS-C/S35 internal
crops that would be compatible with these APS-C designed anamorphic lenses.
I figured that offering a lens that won’t cover the entire sensor by nature is a recipe
for disaster among poorly informed consumers.
I make this guess based on the number of questions I get confusing EF-M and EF mounts, or asking
about speedboosters for these lenses.
That’s why I think Vazen only just started to offer RF versions of their lenses after
there were S35 RF cameras - RED Komodo and Canon C70 to be specific.
But they’re still not offering L mounts, although every camera in Panasonic’s S series
has always had an APS-C crop.
But if I step away from being a camera enthusiast and put on my business brain, I kinda get it
If I’m a company trying to sell anamorphic lenses, limiting mounting options helps ensure
a certain customer experience.
If people throw my lenses on their camera and find it doesn’t work as expected they
may blame me and lose trust in my brand or, even worse, associate the experience with
anamorphic in general.
For a lens manufacturer less customers might be better than more with some people not getting
what they expected.
In the case of Sirui I think they decided it’s better to not offer those mounts themselves
and just let MTF Services buy and mod their lenses.
People buying from MTF Services likely have to do some research and confirm the mods will
work how they expect - even if that’s outside of what Sirui originally expected.
Thank you for the extra options, MTF Services.
Now, if you have an RF or L-mount camera, are you considering the possibility of using
Sirui lenses?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on these new offerings and my rant in the comments
below.
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Thank you so much for hanging out and I hope you have an excellent week.
Tito Ferradans, out.