Foton Optics introduces its first Cine Zoom: M1 25-300 mm T2.8

A new optics company called Foton Optics was recently born, and they have already designed their first lens, a 25-300mm T2.8 cine zoom. Foton essentially amounts to a rebranded entity of DZO. DZO is another Chinese lens manufacturer that primarily makes industrial lenses.

The Foton 25-300mm T2.8 is intended to be a cheaper alternative to other lenses such as the Fujinon ZK12x25 25-300mm T3.5-3.8, the Angenieux Optimo Style 25-250mm T3.3 and the Canon CN-E 30-300mm T2.95-3.7.

The 25-300mm T2.8 covers Super 35mm sensors and weighs 8.98kg. The company claims that the lens has a “vintage look”.

It is still under development and it seems that the first tests that Foton Optics has allowed to show the M1 25-300mm T2.8 have deduced that they still need to give this lens some more work. The mechanics are still not up to the standard of a cinema zoom and the image, although not bad, is nothing special. It’s still a fairly new version of the lens, but if they’re going to show this product on the NAB show floor to attract interest, it should be up to snuff.

Foton Optics doesn’t plan to officially introduce the lens until early 2020 and it’s being targeted to reach a price of $22,000 USD. While that price is considerably cheaper than the offerings from the big manufacturers, people don’t usually risk spending such an amount on something that won’t truly work, but it still has a long way to go to establish itself within the industry and to develop optimally.