Best Cine Prime Lenses for the Red Monstro 8K

Let’s look at the best cine prime lenses for the Red Monstro 8K camera.

First, here are some criteria for the lenses to qualify:

True cine lenses, not rehoused still lenses.
Must at the very least cover an image circle of 46.3 mm.

We won’t be looking at specialty lenses or anamorphic lenses. We’ll cover those in a separate article.

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Here’s a list of the best cine prime kits available for the Red Monstro 8K:

Feature	ZEISS Supreme	Angenieux Optimo	Cooke S7/i	Leitz Cine THALIA	Panavision Primo 70
Aperture Range^	T1.5-T22	T1.8-T22	T2.0-T22	T2.8-T22	T2.0-T22
Front Diameter (mm)	95/114	95	110	95	114
Blades in Iris	16	9	9	15	N/A
Image Circle (mm)	46.3	46.3	46.31	60	Covers Alexa 65
Close Focus (mm)^	460	407	500	300	407
Weight (kg)^	1.2	1.7	3.4	1.64	N/A
Focal Lengths in KIt	15-200mm	18-200mm	16-135mm	24-180mm	14-250mm
Consistent Length?*	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
Largest Consistent Aperture**	T1.5	T1.8	T2	T2.9	T2.0
Focus Rotation (degrees)	300	300	270	270	N/A
Price for 50mm (B&H, USD)^	$20,625	Not Released ($23,000)	$23,400	$30,700	Rental Only

*For about four lenses in the kit, typically 24 to 85mm.

**If three of the lenses (among the middle five) are T1.5 but the other two are T2.1, then the largest consistent aperture is T2.1.

^For the 50mm lens in the lineup. For the Leitz Thalia it’s a 55mm.

My favorites?

I’ve only shot with a few of these, but for what it’s worth, my two favorites are:

Leitz Cine THALIA

These are probably the lenses I wouldn’t hesitate to use right now if I had them. Note the following:

15-blade iris, which is probably enough (Master Primes have only 9)
Future-proof – use it on anything.

Angenieux Optimo Primes

I had a chance to test them at Broadcast India (just the 40mm), and I’ve seen sample videos and to be honest the look is incredible:

Smooth bokeh and great skin tone
Warm organic look – matches Optimo zooms
Angenieux are experimenting with removable aperture blades and an internal lens element!