Meike vs Canon Cinema Lenses!

Review and comparison between Meike Full Frame and Canon CN-E cinema lens kits! See how a $5K set compares to Canon’s $20K option. My Camera Guides and LUTs: academy.dslrvideoshooter.com
Meike Lenses: geni.us/meike-ff
Meike Full Sets: meikeglobal.com/collections/f...
Canon CN-E Lenses: geni.us/canon-cn-e
VIDEO CHAPTERS
0:00 Introduction
0:52 Focal Lengths
1:30 Aperture Specs
1:42 Size and Weight
2:03 Gears and Markings
2:48 Accessories and Mounts
3:26 Price
3:49 Sharpness
4:12 Focus Breathing
4:33 Distortion
4:41 Vignetting
5:00 Chromatic Aberration
5:33 Bokeh
7:08 Flaring
7:46 Color and Skin
8:53 Final Recommendations
DISCLAIMERS & AFFILIATIONS
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Affiliate Links:
Amazon (PAID LINK): geni.us/EeI6W
B&H (PAID LINK): www.bhphotovideo.com/?BI=6566...
This video was not paid for by outside persons or manufacturers.
Meike supplied with with their lenses for this comparison.
The content of this video and my opinions were not reviewed or paid for by any outside persons.

[@NoirEtBlancVie]

The amount of information and comprehensive testing in this video is amazing! The time it must have take to do all this and describe it the way you did Caleb AND condense it under 10 mins, wow!

[@taufiknobo]

Thank you for the test, can not unsee the R5C and looking forward for your video about the camera

[@Mike0193Azul]

Super helpful tests and comparisons as always! Thank you 💚

[@ScruffMcDuff45]

loved this video, very concise and straight to the point. It also really illustrates well, what different qualities one can look for in lenses.

[@rayt_visual]

Nicely done and thank you for the time to compare these 2 sets in length. Having owned the MeikeFF full set for sometime for my indie budget projects, good to know they hold up fairly well.

[@flochfitness]

Amazing!!! The content recently has been top notch and I have learned a ton. Thanks Caleb!!!

[@1MVEntGlobal]

Love every bit of this video. Very extensive breakdown.

[@VulcanworxSG]

Great test and so much effort in there. Quite surprised in the bokeh test! Loving our Meike FF primes

[@fatheadmediapro]

Thanks man. The Meike set has been very appealing to me, so it was nice to see a good comparison. Still also looking into the sigma cine zooms but that would be almost 2x for the 18-35 and 50-100, but the color render would stay consistent throughout.

[@cinelensgeeky3648]

Great footage as usual, I love the FF prime so much, they serve my job well!

[@spensersakurai]

I was waiting for this one. Nice affirmation for having the Mieke's in my kit. The inconsistent color is a bummer but hasn't annoyed me yet... I'll be testing their mini RF lenses next week. Also A+ video as always.

[@graycolour]

I really enjoy my mft set, the full frame set would be a no 🧠er.

[@htoddgriffin4787]

I've got to think that if the color shift between lenses was ever noticed, it would be because you were producing some very boring footage. I was really impressed with the Mieke's and would sleep better with an extra $15k in the bank.

[@NoSuRReNDeR001]

my copies dont have color issues... may be a copy variation I have all 5 Meikes

[@NoSuRReNDeR001]

also its ma kay --- not Mike - like you may have some kay.... may kay

[@NoSuRReNDeR001]

Perhaps Ill check that again tomorrow on my Gemini shoot at some charts... but I havent noticed it.

[@fabioerdos]

Great video as always! I would love to see your review, or comparison, on the IRIX Cine lenses! Thanks again for the amazing content!

[@MLee-vcrr]

Excellent test man! So glad you did this quality comparison. I already have 3 of the Meike FF cine lenses. I've always wondered how they would stack up against something like the Canon. Keep up the great work.

[@PRHeli]

What an amazing review! Very detailed, yet compact. Superlike!

[@NatesFilmTutorials]

The color consistency between each Canon lens is very impressive! 🔥

[@AnthonyHadleyJr]

It’s been a long time I’ve been so shocked by a comparison review from a source that I really trusted! Knowing that the majority of the $4k difference per lens comes down to the coating and the slight color shift is huge!

[@AnimeZone247]

you know good damn and well that a lens coat is not gonna cost an extra $4K

[@AnthonyHadleyJr]

@@AnimeZone247 😂😂😂

[@AndreeMarkefors]

@@AnimeZone247 That's not how it works though.

[@AnimeZone247]

@@AndreeMarkefors that’s not how what works?

[@peepo19]

@@AnimeZone247 fine tuning takes a lot of engineering and time, attention to detail is pricey. And the price difference is accentuated by higher margins at the higher end. Why? Because people who have expenisve time can afford a very high priced lens. Branding is another factor.

[@IndieFilmArmy]

What an incredibly useful video brother! Thank you. Will certainly utilize these for my next film as opposed to the canon's which I was strongly considering!

[@efleschner]

I think a great note for Canon shooters is that the Cine Primes also communicate focus to the camera. I shoot with a C200 and the manual focus guide does not work with my off brand cine lenses. When I use the Canon glass, I’m able to use the manual focus assist guide. That guide is genius. It has never been wrong for me. Shoot at 135mm manual at t2, while performing a dolly move, and pulling focus is much easier with the cine primes. I would not trust my skills the same without the focus assist guide.

[@mithinwilliam8453]

Awesome video. You have nailed down perhaps an hour long video into a sub 10min long one. Which is a really great job. Hat's off man 🙌

[@OrigEntertainmentOfficial]

Thank you for this amazing review and comparison.

[@kentjensen4504]

Your videos are consistently excellent.

[@jordanfish]

Super helpful comparison, thanks!

[@thomaslarmit6434]

Pretty good! I loved the comparison and it really shows how important lenses actually can be to achieve a certain look you want. it's definitely not always in the camera body itself where it shines. One thing i'd love to see is the Meike lenses vs Sigma art lenses, for example the 35mm. I'm curious in buying one and they both are around the same pricetag. But why should I choose one over the other? I want to know!

[@HYTTFilms]

I own this entire full frame set and they are the best cine lenses I’ve ever used for the price. Great review!

[@kamikaze1213]

This was incredibly interesting. Thank you!

[@aLgProduction]

Thanks for sharing this information, especially since I already have Meike (pronounced May - ke) 35mm, 50mm & 85mm lens. So now I feel comfortable getting the 24mm. Thanks for sharing your review.

[@ryanwhite4855]

Thanks for this helpful comparison! I’d love to see the Meike’s up against the Irix cinema lenses. 🙏🏼

[@TRACINGTHOUGHT]

Really awesome video. Thank you!

[@kaminobatto]

Thank youfor this video. I'm not a video shooter but I always wanted a cine lens because of the long focus throw which helps with precision when you're manually focusing. The only hold back for me is the darker T-stop of the Meike. I require no more than T1.5 for the lens to justify its place in my collection. Hopefully, Meike will consider designing something brighter than T2.1.

[@B-Moye]

Extremely impressed by the Meike's performance. Those are pretty solid lenses!

[@kino174]

Amazing comparison! Could you please do another comparison between the Meike and Dzofilm Vespid? They are pretty much of the same price!

[@SamHolland]

This was awesome!! :D ... as always.

[@dslrvideoshooter]

Thank you Sam!

[@rmp5s]

Fantastic test, man.

[@jerelmascarinas3900]

Great review! 👏🏽

[@filmyardart]

Thx Great work like always would luv u to have a look at the NITECORE Superior Prime

[@RandyRuizvideomedia]

I love your reviews!!! What about the irix cine lenses?

[@tobiaseekart]

About the distortion 4:33, i found it hilarious how you opened with ''Im not even going to show you the tests'' and soon after ended with ''Which was really interesting to see'' too bad we'll never get to see it, haha. Great comparisons though!

[@willmannering]

Fantastic comparison Caleb! With the bokeh comparison it would be fantastic if you did the comparisons more similar to CVP, with a subject in the middle of the frame and fairy lights in the background, this gives a much better and more real-world comparison to judge the quality on. Cheers!

[@patriotbarrow]

Another difference in the way they handle is the Meikes have a longer throw on the aperture ring, which makes fine adjustments a lot easier.

[@antonin7985]

I am very surprised by the last test of your video, that's a very huge point and a lot of times, it's missing in some tests. Here we can see how the shift between lens is quite huge, and ask to take some time in grading to adjust it. Not a red flag to me, but definitely an important point. Also, CNE lenses are somthing like 15 years older than Meike lens, maybe it's a important point too. Thanks for you work dude, cheers from Paris !

[@dslrvideoshooter]

All great points! I definitely glossed over/skipped some things.

[@ozcinemarob]

Excellent comprehesive comparison. You've justified my recent purchase of the Meike set over going into debt to buy the canon set. I believe there's a simple solution to the color variation on the Meikes - create a preset grade by lens size and just apply that in post depending on which lens was used for that particular scene. Thanks again, great video

[@zinosfilm2272]

Pls i need help in finding the meike site

[@Notfinalcut]

@@zinosfilm2272 meikeglobal

[@jahkiley]

You're the best! Consistency and quality guranteed!

[@vaidehiarts]

Thank you! Would love to see a comparison with some of the other new players in the budget cine space, such as Sirui, DZOFilm, Samyang/Rokinon and Tokina. For that matter, if you could, a comparison series with the new anamorphic options would also be amazing. We now have Sirui, Great Joy, Laowa, Vazen and SLR Magic (I think) all with options in MFT, Super 35 and FF flavours :)

[@dslrvideoshooter]

If I have the time and lenses, I would love to do a MEGA cine lens showdown. All the lenses. All the tests and get some more creative comparisons in there.

[@HYTTFilms]

DZOs are a tad softer and worse build quality.

[@Trevellian]

Would like similar comparisons with some of the more affordable cinema lenses, like those from SLRMagic and Rokinon.

[@maxwellcollinsdp]

Compare the Meike and Sirui Jupiter lenses! That would be an interesting matchup and prove the low budget cinema lens king once and for all!

[@wannabef]

I've used the CN-E lenses on a number of commercial shoots. That color consistency is absolutely true. They have a very neutral look, though. So if you're looking for something with character, they are not the way to go. I tend to bounce between those, Cooke Mini S4s, and Zeiss Ultra Primes on rental gigs. I've been intrigued with the Meikes for a while and could see getting those as my owned set.

[@rodrigo8269]

Nice! Whats the main difference you see between the Canon e Zeiss lenses? Since both have a more clean look

[@sylvestrisstudios]

I'm still watching Meike FF lens reviews despite having almost a full set. It is great to see them up against some glass that don't constantly get referred to as 'cheap' or 'affordable'. Although colour cast might be a few nodes in Resolve off, I thought they out performed Canon in these tests. Thanks for bringing us this video even if it is just so I can say to my wife, I told you they were a great investment. 😂

[@Whaever_1981]

Would be interesting to compare these from a microcontrast and 3d pop perspective. Shane Hurlburt used to do such tests between various cine lenses. That reveals a lot about character!

[@RobertMTeegarden]

Well done, dude. Mieke’s sold out everywhere now hahaha

[@markjob6354]

Great video. Thanks for doing this test. Your test results have confirmed what I was suspecting with the Canon Cinema lenses - that they have superior contrast and a more accurate, pleasing, and consistent colour science to them. I have to say the Meike lenses were not bad at 1/4 of the price of the Canon lenses.

[@FrankNazario]

15k difference in price.... for just a little more work in the post-editing side of the project??!! ... Yean, Meike rules dude... definitively... THANK YOU SO MUCH for saving us $$$ with these reviews.

Awesome video! How those Meike compares to the full frame Sirui lenses? That would be a nice comparison since both brands have proximate prices

[@theequietstorm]

Thank u sir. great test

[@zvukmirro]

Great test 👏

[@AllenCavedo]

Good review. Good pacing.

[@juandjo707]

Great review.

[@restlake]

This is a great test, thanks! Seems like other reviewers don’t have the same sharpness issues for the 24mm - possible lens issue and/or sample variance? Asking because I’m most interested in that focal length but your results have me worried

[@mattwolcott3266]

Time for a shootout among Meike, DZO Vespids, and Irix!

[@joekelley9311]

If you do a followup on the Meike I would love to see them on a Metabones adapter on a micro 4/3 camera like the 4k

[@owenacevedolara8850]

Amazing video. Thanks

[@benpossehl]

I’ve used the CN-E primes in the past and have found them to be pretty good. Please test the Tokina Vista Primes if you get a chance!

[@alexbormanbou]

Great test

[@twoblink]

The amount of time you spent on these tests were amazing..

[@videoben1363]

Can you do this with Rokinon DSX vs Meike? Just for the data. Great comparison with a lot of good metrics. Subscribed and liked. Honestly, you could just run tests of all these new lenses on a blog post if the videos are too much work. I get it, they're all expensive. Just amazing to see!

[@JacobLCharles]

Great video! I'm curious--what made you choose to compare with Meike rather than, say, Rokinon Xeen?

[@threethroneproductions5498]

with 15k in price difference, I will go for the Meike because the major difference can be corrected on set and in post. Thank you for the video.

[@TheMessenger212]

YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY DO MORE LENSE VERSUS SETS WITH BUDGET VS EXPENSIVE 👍🏾

[@StringerBell]

The most important part - the distortion. I understand that they are the same, but at least you could give us some info about how is the distortion. Being the same means nothing to me, because I have no idea what is the distortion of either of them.

[@enricoparenti3057]

Great review. The 35&50mm Meike are quite similar color wise in my opinion. The 85 is really off, they should fix it!

[@0311uli]

Hope ur able to check out and review the 7artisans cine lenses.

[@yotambouni1853]

You should do a comparison between the meike and dzo vespid primes

[@H2o3G2a]

I don't even care for either, I shoot analog mainly but god damn if I wasn't impressed by the quality of all your videos. I would really love to see more videos similar to your VHS one, things that a lot of people may have never thought about. Also, big respect to Meike, I would support a company like them, there is pride in their lenses.

[@sytesmedia504]

Can you do a review on the new meike rf cine lens for Komodo

[@Herkulez1981]

This was very cool to see even Tought i just shoot film . Got the chance to try some old cooke lenses., i Tought my Canon L lenses where well built but it was nothing agaisnt Those gems . So cool to just play with the focus that was so perfectly smooth

[@malz]

It's a pity that you didn't put your hands on the Canon CN-E 20mm T1.5. Last week I made a music video using mostly the 20 mm from Canon and I reallllly liked it!

[@DynamicPhil84]

Great test, I'm definitely interested in these lenses! Would love to see some creative footage, as well as a budget cine lens shootout between Meike, Sirui, and Rokinon's Xeen lenses. From what I've seen so far, Sirui's have the price and macro advantage, but seem the softest with a kind of vintage pro-mist look (based on your previous video); the Xeen's are the sharpest and cleanest but also the most expensive; and the Meike's are kind of in the middle. I was looking at their specs and I am not too jazzed about their insanely long focus pull distance. 330 degrees would be pretty damn hard to pull by hand, right?

[@dslrvideoshooter]

Yes I didn't get to creative footage this time around due to many things. Hoping to do so at some point!

[@DynamicPhil84]

@@dslrvideoshooter No problem! Also forgot to add the DZOFilm Vespid lenses to that budget cine lens shootout request :)

[@OlegUstimenko]

xeens are in no way the sharpest nor the cleanest im sorry

[@OrigEntertainmentOfficial]

Adding my vote to this test. Plus if you can get your hands on the Zeiss compact primes, I would love to see that added to the comparison. Great video as usual!

[@videoben1363]

@@OlegUstimenko I mean, we just want the tests for the Xeens to see. I'd also like to see the DSX. Please don't poo-poo Rokinon bc it's fashionable to do.

[@VengeanceNZ]

Awesome video, as someone totally new to video work (but recently purchased an A7IV) do you have a recommended focal length to start with? (if I were to purchase just one lens to start learning)

[@aginelo]

Hello I want to shoot a film with Sony fx 3 I can only buy 1 lens for for now which one would you suggest? Awesome video btw!

[@stevenkralovec]

I’m curious how the Meikes compare to the latest offerings from Rokinon.

[@FabledFew]

Amazing video Caleb! Thanks for the effort. I would really appreciate it if you looked into the IRIX cine lenses. There aren’t a ton of videos about them on YT.

[@seannot-telling9806]

I want to say Thank You for the info. Now I just need to get some lenses to feed my Sony PXW-FS7M2. It came with a Fujinon MK50-135 mm Cine Lens. What would you recommend for general indoor shooting. They what for outdoor landscape and animals. Once again Thank You.

Could You review Sigma 18-35 mod lenses by cinematics? Wich is the classic 18-35 but rehoused in cine body

[@OrigEntertainmentOfficial]

I'm curious what you do with all the gear sent to you. Do you ever post it on Share Grid for rental?

[@themaskedcondom2971]

what features does the connectivity to the camera entail? is it just a screen readout of the focus measurement? can the meikes do autofocus?

[@wither8]

Your tests were pretty objective and straight to the point, no bs and no punches pulled (some reviewers go easy on their 'samples' so more free stuff gets sent in-- you clearly did not). And you *really* underplayed the whole Canon's t-stop range being like double what those Chinese lenses have. One thing is, if you're *getting* a cine lens set, that's what you need--you need that consistency. Youre paying out the wazoo for labor with at least one assistant focus pulling or whatever, you're paying for usually at least 2 rigs, paying for talent. Back in the day, when buying condenser mics, you'd have to pay Neumann or whatever an extra 200$ for "matched sets". Basically the same thing - you pay more but you know you're getting 100% on-the-mark audio spectrum simiilaries between the two. (Germans and Japanese...and I guess, some small shops here in the US if you know where to look..make the best stuff) If you're just looking for a one-off hobby lens that can shoot, and *don't* need that sort of cine consistency then there are plenty of really nice cameras out there that shoot video really well. Like, I can't do it but I know some people who have about 5k worth of gear and can shoot shorts with at the quality level of "There will be blood". I never *ever* thought I'd say this, but auto-focus on some cameras are approaching the level of "well, I guess I don't need an AC anymore". Not quite there yet but like the Fuji X-H2S has so much computational power that it can do whatever it magically needs to do to object-select and.. man its crazy.

[@fidelruizhealy]

Any chance of doing a Meike VS Dzo prime test?

[@jkhollywood]

Nice video, mechanical considerations also should be compared. From my experience with cheaper lenses, the tension and smoothness of focus are all over the place from lens to lens

[@SD-ft6gs]

He specifically mentions that they are the same in terms of smoothness and weighted feel of the rings?

[@jkhollywood]

@@SD-ft6gs I know the lenses, I have tested both of them. there is a reason people pay thousands of dollars more for lenses.

[@MannyFernandezMF]

What lens adapter would you recommend if I wanted to use the canon cine lens on my a7siii?

[@takietofoto]

Great stuff. Maybe irix would be a better and cheaper option than meike?

[@amirulrasyidyussof]

Dude your thumbnail backdrop is sick!!! Is that really physical backdrop?

[@optini1422]

How do they compare against the s35 lens set? Are they just for different sensors or are they also built differently? Does anyone know?

[@whyjaywonders]

Canon is f/1.4 and Meike is f/2.5 In Cine lenses, the T stop is really makes up the cost difference and when we shoot early mornings and late evenings brings out the worth of the extra cost. Canon Cine-E primes have in built lens corrections when used with canon cameras like R5C etc.

[@Kaiser68]

I want to know what is the best camera and lens setup for dance videos with a lot of movement. I'm using a Lumix GH4 now but the autofocus is really terrible and I want something that I can use for more professional looking videos. Sony A7IV is expensive, but that's what I'm looking at now.

[@grasworxTTGameplan]

very informative

[@eliapavoni2275]

It would be cool to test samyang/rokinon vdslrmk2 vs the meike ones, sinche they are both very cheap

[@peguzi1]

what's the gear you're using man? Out of all other video related youtube channels, yours just looks so much nicer in every category

[@mikefermin2530]

Can you do a review on the Xeen cine lenses by rokinon! 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

[@blackthornestudio4443]

Well done!

[@adezzyade]

I love this video before it even started

[@askomiko]

Is their hard focus stop precisely in infinity or infinity plus lots of blur?