Tokina Cinema Vista-P lenses with vintage bokeh introduced

Tokina has unveiled its latest series of professional cinema lenses, the Tokina Vista-P, boasting premium quality optics that blend vintage image “character” with support for ultra-high resolution. This new cine lens line promises images with smooth, swirling bokeh.

Previously, the Vista Prime lenses underwent modifications by third-party companies to cater to specific customer preferences, especially to achieve a softer effect at the frame edges. This was accomplished by adjusting the air gap at the rear of the lens elements. However, Tokina decided to tackle these alterations directly from the factory for the Vista-P series, making extensive changes to the optical design along the lens’s entire length.

This redesign isn’t confined to the lens’s rear; it spans the entire optical setup. The new Vista-P cine lenses feature unique spherical distortions reminiscent of vintage lens patterns, offering a distinct visual style. Tokina provides a frame example to illustrate this aesthetic shift:

While bearing some resemblance to the Soviet Helios-44 lens in design, the resolution capabilities of the new Tokina Vista-P lenses far surpass those of the famous vintage lens.

Moreover, the Tokina Vista-P lenses inherit the benefits of the Vista Prime line, showcasing minimal focus breathing and providing a 46.7mm field of focus image circle, accommodating large-format cinema cameras. These lenses maintain a consistent 114mm front diameter, boast a nine-blade aperture, and are available in PL, LPL, Sony E, EF, or MFT mounts.

The Vista-P series offers the most pronounced spherical distortion effect when operating in Vista Vision/Full Frame formats, while this effect can be mitigated on Super35 or smaller formats, particularly towards the frame edges.

Given the intricacy of this modification, Tokina Cinema conducts all adjustments at its Japanese plant. The Vista-P series is available either as brand new lenses, fully modified upon purchase, or as upgrades for existing Vista prime lenses, requiring lenses to be sent back to Tokina Cinema in Japan for alteration, which is irreversible upon completion.

Tokina Vista-P series price and release date

Initially, Tokina is releasing Vista-P lenses in focal lengths of 18mm, 25mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm, all featuring an aperture of T1.5. The 18mm variant, Tokina Vista-P 18mm T1.5, will be priced at $8,999, while the rest of the set will cost $7,499. Pre-orders are available through the Bhphotovideo.com online store.

The last addition to the Vista Prime series, introduced in 2022, was the Tokina Cinema 180mm T1.9 Vista Prime.