Meike 16mm T2.2 Cine Lens Review 

that shot in the court with the guy playing guitar and people walking... beautiful shot

Hi Emily, I watched your video, and thought I could help explain your “stops.” F-stops are the result of a calculation that factors the size of a lens’ entrance-pupil with the diameter of the “aperture” created by the blades of the diaphragm. Therefore, the resulting numbers are mathematical estimates of light passing through the lens at different diameters. This does not have a direct relationship to your lighting, because “stops” will vary based on different viewing angles toward camera and on the reflected values. The “T” in T-stop stands for transmission value. This IS directly related to the amount of light entering the lens (f-stop) with the additional consideration of the density of the glass elements that comprise your lens. The more glass, and the more space between elements adds to the overall exposure required. Thus, T-stops are the most precise measurement of light passing through you lens and striking the sensor. This is most important when shooting scientific imagery, or images where a precise exposure is critical to an accurate rendering. I hope this makes sense?

Great video!! A friend just offered me this lens and I needed some more information on it! This is exactly what I needed. Thanks for taking the time to make this and talk about it. I'm a GH5 and BMPCC 6K (moving to 4K) shooter.

It’s funny I see this video. I just did a mini review on my channel of the Meike 25mm Cinema lens but for Sony E mount. I’m very proud of that lens and now one of my favorite RU-vidrs is making a similar review. Thanks for the good work. Keep it up!!

Awesome explication, excellent footage to support your findings!

Hi Emily 👋 Checking in super late, but I love the enthusiasm for this lens. Looks like a solid performer for the price. Keep it up!

You’re awesome, thanks for making such great content! :)

Hi Emily!! between this and the 12mm t 2.2 which one do you consider to be better? I love your channel

Es una delicia sver sus videos Usted es muy profesional y sirven mucho sus recomendaciones casi siempre las tengo en cuenta, ya me hice al meike 16 mm, voy a usarlo mucho

Really want to get my hands on the 12mm Meike cine if they release it! And the 10-25 panasonic leica... incredible! Can't wait.

Thank you for footage great video

Love the footage. Apparently the whole set available by Dec2019. Did you shoot any interior footage with this lens? Hard to find interiors footage with lens' reviews. Thanks

how would you compare the meike to the rokinon cine lenses?

Loved this video. Makes me happy to see a change from the usual 30 year old man reviewing a lens trope haha.

how would you compare the light gathering capabilities of PL25 vs Meike? I am how many fstops is Meike darker in real life use? And also the overall look would be nice to see side-by-side. Thanks, cheers

I've been testing the 25 and waiting on the 16. Agree with everything you've said about the build. Same situation with CA on mine, its there but minimal wipe open, wipes the floor with the samyangs optically. Build is very good, it doesn't feel like a pretend cine lens, it feels better than some expensive tv lenses I've used and feels similar to some serious cine gear. Only negative is I seem to have got an original version 25 with only imperial marks with is irritating. As for T stops and F stops, it isn't about accuracy or wiggle room. F stops are very accurate, they are a ratio, but due to coatings and numbers of elements ect the same mathematical f stop does not correspond with light transmission. Enter the transmission stop or T stop, a measured level of light transmission allowing you to match exposure across the set, but leaving "wiggle room" on depth of field.

Good for you young lady! I wish you great success, which you clearly are already there. 👍

Does it produce soft images like vintage lenses?

Does anyone else experience the front lip getting loose? I have the 16mm MFT version and I love it however I'm hearing the lip move (clank a little) in the audio from mics because it's slightly loose... Can't find anyone else who has this problem and how to tighten the front...

Hey great review but what about the Meike MK 25mm F1.8 Large Aperture Wide Angle Lens Manual Focus Lens for Olypums Panasonic Micro 4/3 Mount Mirrorless Camera vs this one i know its a cine lens and the one im asking about isnt but i just wanna know thanks.

The Lab doing a good job there.

I just bought the same lens, but does not fit in my black magic 6k why

Is it good for photography????

Thanks for another great review. You mentioned your favourite video lens (lumix 25mm f1.4). I wonder have ever had a chance to use Olympus 75mm f1.8 for video ?

Yes, fantastic lens. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this lens. . A small note: the 16mm is more versatile then the 25mm, because you can crop your frames in most situations. That makes the 16mm in my opinion more versatile. But even better is to buy the other Meike Cine vocal lengths. They are fantastic!

may I ask how u manually focus with this lens when u use it on a gimbal?

I want to roam around and record some impressive video - landscapes, street scenes, etc. Out of all the available Meike cine lenses which one to buy first and build from there? edit: and I like your website very much too !

Hi Emily, I feel I know you quite well by now as I've recently got a G7 and been devouring all your MFT vids. I am looking for a lens that will work well in studio with a not too big talking head shot with camera about 2 foot in front of me and room depth about 2.5m away. I'd like to achieve a sharp face image (using keylight) and a soft blur in the background... Based on these measurements, what would you recommend. All I have right now is the stock lens and the 7Artisans 12mm, neither good for this job. Oh, must be a prime, I can sit still, but can't stand focus searching. Thanks if you get around to answering this. Peace!

Would you recommend the 16mm as a first cinema lens , as apposed to the 25mm, or what reasons would you get the 25mm over the 16mm what are the differences in the lenses?

Love the channel. Hope to work with you in the future.

Hi, can you use this lens for the occasional photos you have to take while filming (to avoid changing lenses)? Thank you!

This review just pushed me over the line for buying a Black Magic Pocket Cinema 4k instead of the 6k, just to get native use of my Still photography lenses. This Cine lens looks brilliant! Thanks for sharing the info and your impressions!

Great informational video , could you please suggest me a good all rounder lens for my recipe video . I have Panasonic G7 . Currently using lumix 25mm f1.7 . But I can’t get close enough to my foods ,

Really cool video! I wanted to ask you, what are your thought through on the 10-25mm f1.7?

I'm so torn should I get the ... but for cine ... I'm really thinking about this ... which let's take it is a Veydra 25mm knock off, but for the price which is equivalent to the VAT paid for a Veydra. or the real new cine kids on the block ... DZOFilm DZO 10-24mm and the 20-70mm T2.9 MFT obviously for a lot more money ... there just isn't much on RU-vid about them yet... but for a GH5, BMPCC4K or Z-CAM E2 owner trying to shoot narrative ... what lens! Maybe on your channel you can try and get some on loan for a review ... defo get ratings as there isn't much info.

Are these lenses the old Veydra revamped?

What do you think about the New Panny 10-25mm 1.7! I'm excited to get it. I hope it's affordable. Maybe not.

So after another 6 months, I'm curious, are you still enjoying it? Noticed any downsides to the Meike's, as a videographer? I'm scouring the internet looking for critical reviews of the Meike's but all I'm getting is nothing but love for these lenses, except for, like you already mentioned, some chromatic abberation in the worst of possible lighting situations, and I can't wrap my head around it. For that price range? That build quality? That sharpness? Surely, there's gotta be some serious downsides, somewhere?

I have a Black Magic 4k camera (bmpcc4k) and I need to record classes in a very small scenario, at a maximum distance of 1.2 meters from the lens. Is the Meike t2.2 16mm lens able to give me a suitable frame at that distance? Below is an example of the frame I want for that distance. ibb.co/FKQntwR Thanks!

Looks like very little distortion as well. Thanks

I got the 25mm .....produces a great image on my bmpcc4k

Love your voice hell😂😂 shit relax me..i can watch any review with that voice. Idk sometime about uk voices..remind me of mary poppin the original..

You should try out some of the Rokinon cine ds lenses. The 35/50/85 are all really good cheap cinema lenses, also they have them in m43 mounts. The 85 t1.2 is the lens im getting first for the Gh5 for detail shots for car videos and such.

What? Do you just heart every comment and reply to ones that suit your interests?

Hello, I did an observation related to focus markings, as soon as I got the 16mm and I'd like you to test it as well and tell us if it is a consistent issue. The actual infinity (beyond 5,20m) is around 2m mark. At 1,20m marking the actual focus is at 2,20m. At 0,90 it's 1,50. At 0,60 it's 0,90. At 0,45 it's 0,53. At 0,38 it's 0,44. At 0,30 it's 0,33m. After that mark the closer ones are pretty much what the marking declares. It's not a big issue considering the price of the lens, but I'd like to see if this kind of flaw is consistent in all lenses. Thanks!

Just to add some education to your already very informative video (#mansplaining): The amount of aperture blades doesn't affect the shape of the wide open bokeh in any way, since the blades are not in effect at all at the widest setting. It will always be round since the lens and image circle is round. The amount and shape of aperture blades gets more pronounced the more you stop down the lens. But then with m43 the bokeh will become less visible anyway, so it's not too much of an issue on m43 as it is on FF or even MF. But it's still has a big marketing value so the companies continue to use it. I hope some of you are more knowledgeable now than they were before. Anyway, have a nice Sunday.

Your description of T stops compared to f stops was a tad bit sketchy Em! Let me mansplain it. F stop is purely mathematical. It’s entrance pupil diameter (roughly aperture diameter) divided by focal length. A lens with a 12.5mm entrance pupil diameter and 25mm focal length would be f2.0. Depth of field at a given focal length will always be identical if the f stop is the same. The T stop is simply the f stop, but adjusted down for the imperfect light transmission of a real lens. If you had a lens with no elements (say, a pinhole camera) then the f stop and T stop (actual light transmission) would be identical. In real life, however, lenses have elements and coatings which eat some light. Not all of it gets to the focal plane. To a greater or lesser extent the actual transmission value is less than the f number. It will always be the T stop that gives you correct exposure. It will always be f stop that gives you a known depth of field at a given focal length. Interestingly, but not entirely surprisingly, the differential between f stop and T stop varies significantly between different lenses. A super efficient one is the Olympus 75mm f1.8 (superb lens, worth more than it costs). That comes in at T2.0, only a third of a stop down. The PanaLeica 42.5 f1.2 Nocticron (also great, not worth the price though) measures at T1.7 transmission. That’s a whole stop down and only 50% transmission!