NiSi Aureus Full-Frame Cine Primes Feature Super-Fast T1.4 Aperture

Apr 07, 2025

Jeremy Gray

Five NiSi camera lenses in a semicircle arrangement on a dark background, featuring focal lengths of 85mm, 50mm, 35mm, 24mm, and 18mm. The brand name "NiSi" is displayed in orange at the bottom center.

Filter and lens company NiSi announced the Aureus Prime T1.4 Cinema Lens Series, a group of five new full-frame cinema lenses designed for high-end film and video production.

NiSi’s Aureus series comprises five focal lengths — 18mm, 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm — and all feature the same fast T1.4 aperture and a consistent physical design across the range. NiSi says that three additional focal lengths are in development, 29mm, 65mm, and 105mm, which will bring the Aureus series to a whopping eight full-frame primes.

As for the five Aureus lenses NiSi is showcasing at NAB 2025, all five weigh 1,300 grams (2.87 pounds) and cover a 46mm image circle, meaning they are suitable for Super35, full-frame, and large-format sensors. As mentioned, the lenses have unified designs, including the same 0.8 gear mod, 86mm filter size, and 90mm front diameters. The lenses also feature rear filter support, including for small ND or creative filters, which can be useful when using the Aureus primes in a compact setup on a gimbal or drone.

Five camera lenses are lined up in a row, labeled with focal lengths: 18, 21, 35, 50, and 85. Each lens features green numeric labeling on a black body, along with accompanying markings for focus and aperture settings. — NiSi Aureus series

Each lens also features an 11-bladed aperture diaphragm controlled via a dedicated aperture control ring and 300-degree focus rotation angles.

At first glance, there are some similarities between NiSi’s new Aureus prime series and the company’s existing full-frame Athena cinema lens series. That is no accident. Nisi says its new Aureus lenses, although faster than the Athena lenses, deliver similar optical qualities and appearance.

Four professional video cameras are lined up, each with various attachments such as lenses, handles, and monitors. The cameras feature different brands and models, showcasing a range of cinema-grade equipment.

Concerning optical performance, NiSi says its new Aureus primes deliver outstanding performance, including dispersion control and artifact reduction.

“With a precisely engineered optical structure, the entire set delivers consistent ultra-low dispersion performance, minimizing color fringing and ensuring pure, high-quality imagery,” NiSi promises.

A technical specification chart compares camera lenses with focal lengths of 18mm, 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm, all with T1.4 and PL mount. Details include diaphragm blades, imaging circle, MOD, focus rotation, angle of view, dimension, and weight.

The company has also spent significant effort to minimize focus breathing, which is when the framing changes during focus shifts, and ensure a neutral, accurate color profile consistent across the entire series of primes.

Each NiSi Aureus lens features luminous paint markings that glow in the dark and optional dual-scale feet/meters markings. The focus rings are user-changeable, which enables the dual scale markings.

Close-up of a camera lens with glowing green markings. The text "Aureus Prime 24 T1.4" is visible, along with focus and distance scales. The lens is set against a dark background, highlighting the illuminated details.

Pricing and Availability

The new NiSi Aureus cinema prime lenses are available to preorder now for $2,299 to $2,599 depending on the focal length. The currently available five lenses are also available in a bundle for $9,999. They come in PL mount.

Image credits: NiSi