An Introduction to Sumire Prime Lenses

Beginner

Canon’s Sumire Prime lenses offer a unique look in the Canon Cinema lens family. Sumire Primes feature a PL mount, an industry standard for professional cinema cameras and lenses.

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Published on July 03, 2023 Updated On July 03, 2023

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"SUMIRE", pronounced "soo-me-ray" in Japanese, means "violet flower.

Canon’s Sumire Prime lenses offer a unique look in the Canon Cinema lens family. Sumire Primes feature a PL mount, an industry standard for professional cinema cameras and lenses. This range of lenses is an ideal combination of precise imagery when you need your shots to be sharp, and beautiful soft bokeh when you want a more artistic look.

Canon Sumire Prime Lenses

In addition to bright T-stops and Canon’s renowned warm imagery, a unique optical design introduces a nuanced look as the lens aperture approaches its maximum setting – subtly modifying the textural renderings of the human facial close-up. It also smooths the transition to the fall-off portions of the scene resulting in a pleasing bokeh. This combination adds emotional expressiveness to a memorable scene.

Key Features of Sumire Prime Lenses

Sumire Key Features

1. Soft, Natural Bokeh

Sumire primes have an 11-blade aperture. With the increased number of iris blades, you get natural bokeh that appears more circular, from maximum to minimum aperture. The use of an odd number of blades diffuses light rays in high-brightness subjects and renders images more artistically pleasing.

2. Warm Colour Tones

Sumire primes inherit the same subtle warm colour tone from the Canon cinema lens range to reproduce human skin with favourable hues. With a consistent and standardised colour tone, colour balance is not affected when you change lenses, thus eliminating the need for colour correction.

3. Interchangeable PL Mount

Sumire Primes are PL mount lenses. PL, which is the short form for positive lock, is the most common mount used in the cinema market. Sumire’s PL mount can be converted to EF mount at Canon authorised service centres.

4. Compatibility with Cinema EOS Cameras and Large Format Cameras

Due to the lenses’ large image circle, not only are Sumire Primes compatible with Canon Cinema EOS full-frame cameras but also large format cameras like the Super 35mm 4K camera. Compatible camera models include Canon EOS C700 FF, Canon EOS C500 Mark II, Canon EOS C300 Mark III, Canon EOS C300 Mark II and Canon EOS C200.

What Can You Film With Sumire Prime Lenses?

Capable of simultaneously producing sharp images and creamy bokeh, Sumire Prime lenses isolate subjects from busy backgrounds to focus on capturing rich expressions and authentic emotions. In this aspect, Sumire Prime lenses are ideal for shooting narrative works such as cinematic movies, short films, documentaries, and commercials.