The Samyang XEEN CF 35mm T1.5 is a manual-focus cinema prime lens for Canon EF mount, built around a lightweight carbon fiber housing, a T1.5 maximum aperture, and a 146-degree focus rotation — making it a serious tool for videographers and filmmakers who need smooth, precise focus pulls on a full-frame or crop-sensor camera.
Key Specifications
- Focal Length: 35mm (prime)
- Maximum Aperture: T1.5
- Aperture Blades: 9 (rounded for smooth bokeh)
- Focus Rotation: 146 degrees — plenty of travel for precise manual focus pulls
- Minimum Focus Distance: 0.3 m
- Filter Thread: 77 mm
- Weight: 738 g
- Built-in lens hood: Yes — no extra accessories needed on set
- Image Stabilisation / Autofocus: None — manual focus only, by design
Who is the Samyang XEEN CF 35mm T1.5 for?
This lens is built for video shooters and filmmakers first. The 35mm focal length sits in a sweet spot: wide enough to capture environmental context and a full sense of place, but tight enough to use comfortably for close portraits and talking-head interviews. On a full-frame body it gives a natural, slightly wide perspective; on a crop-sensor body it lands closer to a standard 50mm-equivalent field of view. The 146-degree focus rotation gives focus pullers meaningful throw to work with — dramatically more than most photo lenses — and the de-clicked, T-stop-calibrated aperture ring makes exposure transitions smooth and repeatable across a matched set of XEEN CF lenses. At 738 g with a carbon fiber barrel, it's noticeably lighter than traditional all-metal cinema glass, which matters when it's on a gimbal or a shoulder rig all day. If you're shooting narrative short films, documentary work, or high-end branded video content on a Canon EF body — or adapting to mirrorless via an EF adapter — the XEEN CF 35mm is a capable, cinema-native choice.
Buying a used Samyang XEEN CF 35mm T1.5
Cinema lenses tend to be used hard on set, so buying second-hand makes sense only when the copy has been properly inspected. Every pre-owned lens on Camera-tweedehands.nl is individually checked and photographed, and comes with a minimum 12 months warranty. The carbon fiber barrel resists knocks well, but it's worth checking the focus ring for smooth, even travel across the full 146-degree rotation — any grittiness or stiff spots can indicate internal dust or friction.
