XEEN Prime Lens Test: 24mm, 50mm, 85mm

We’re going to compare the XEEN 24mm, 50mm, and 85mm lenses with the Canon CN-E, Zeiss CP.2, and our Cooke S4 lenses. All the lenses have the same exposure, and we put a Neutral Day Interior LUT on so we can see how the lenses vary in how they read color, bokeh, contrast, resolving power, and distortion.

The Test Specs:

Specs of our test

Testing the XEEN 24mm Lens

Let’s compare the 24mm XEEN and 24mm Canon both wide open, at a T1.5. The Cooke wide open is a T2.0, and the Zeiss wide open is a T2.9, which isn’t close to the XEEN and Canon wide open.

24mm XEEN T1.5 and 24mm Canon T1.5

Looking at the side by side, the Canon is handling the bokeh better, has less distortion, has more resolving power in the background, and also has less contrast. You can see the Canon having less contrast by looking at the gradation on the ground and the detail under the desk in the dark areas. With the 24mm XEEN wide open, there are more halations with the bokeh. So,  I wouldn’t shoot with this lens wide open unless you wanted that.

Now we’re going to stop down to around a T2 on the lenses and compare the 24mm XEEN, the 24mm Canon, and the 25mm Cooke. The Zeiss doesn’t stop down to around a T2, so let’s take a look to see how the other three lenses compare around this stop.

24mm XEEN T2 2/3, 24mm Canon T2, 25mm Cooke T2

The 24mm XEEN set at a T2 2/3 has a bit more green tone, the 24mm Canon set at a T2 has more of a reddish yellow color, and the 25mm Cooke is more neutral in color with less contrast. The XEEN has more bend factors than the other two lenses, but the bokeh looks nice with all three lenses.

Bringing in the Zeiss

For this next part, we can bring the Zeiss back in because we set all four lenses to around a T2.8.

24mm XEEN T2.8 1/2, 24mm Canon T2.8, 25mm Zeiss, T2.9, 25mm Cooke T2.8

Looking at the 25mm Cooke, I’m noticing a star effect on the bokeh. A note about the Cookes with a digital sensor and bokeh – to get rounder bokeh with this lens you have to shoot with the lens wide open. Once you start to stop down, your bokeh starts to have more of that star effect and you can literally see the iris blades. The 25mm Cooke also has the least contrast out of the four here, and the 24mm Canon and 24mm XEEN have a very similar contrast when shot around this stop.

The resolving power of the 24mm Canon seems a bit better than the others. The 25mm Zeiss has the most contrast and the bluest tones, and the 24mm XEEN holds cyan in the background and has a greener tinge of color. The green can be dialed out with color correction, but the green color with the XEEN is like the lens’s own IR filter.

At a T5.6, there are still many of the same qualities we saw when the lenses were set at around a T2.8. Take a look at the comparison below.

24mm XEEN T5.6 1/4, 24mm Canon T5.6, 25mm Zeiss T5.6, 25mm Cooke, T4 6/10

Testing the XEEN 50mm Lens

Now we’re going to compare the 50mm XEEN, 50mm Canon CN-E, 50mm Zeiss CP.2, and our 50mm Cooke S4 in the same situation with the same settings that we used to test our 24mm and 25mm lenses.

The 50mm XEEN and 50mm Canon both stop down to a T1.5, so we are going to see how those compare side by side at that stop first. Once we close down to around a T2, we’ll bring in the Zeiss and the Cooke.

Side by Side

50mm XEEN T1.5, 50mm Canon T1.5

Looking at the side by side of these two lenses wide open, the 50mm Canon looks a little more neutral in color, but the 50mm XEEN has a little less contrast. The Canon also makes Monette’s face more slender.

Moving on to the lenses set at around a T2, the 50mm Zeiss and 50mm XEEN are pretty nice. The Zeiss has a bit more purple in the background.

50mm XEEN T2, 50mm Canon T2, 50mm Zeiss 50mm T2.1, 50mm Cooke T2

Stopping down further to around a T2.8, the 50mm Cooke and 50mm Zeiss seem like they’re pushing the background further away from Monette than the 50mm XEEN and 50mm Canon lens The 50mm Cooke takes the cake here with resolving power, but for a $2500 dollar lens, the XEEN is doing really well. The green color can be dialed away in color correction, and the background comes just a bit closer to Monette. The XEEN sweet spot is between a T2 and a T2.8 1/2. If you shoot this lens in that range, it will perform really well for you.

50mm XEEN T2.8 1/3, 50mm Canon T2.8, 50mm Zeiss T2.8 1/3, 50mm Cooke T2 3/4

The same qualities apply when we set all the 50mm lenses to around a T4.

50mm Zeiss T4 2/3, 50mm Canon T4 2/3, 50mm Zeiss T4 2/3, 50mm Cooke T4 1/3

Testing the XEEN 85mm Lens

Now we are going to move on to the 85mm lens, once again with the same control settings and compare this lens to the 85mm XEEN, 85mm Canon and 75mm Cooke.

Once again, we take a look at the 85mm XEEN and 85mm Canon side by side both wide open at a T1.5 because the Zeiss and Cooke don’t open to a T1.5. The 85mm Canon still has that quality of slimming the face to make her appear younger. The bokeh with the Canon is also more round, and the XEEN’s bokeh is more oval like an egg. I’m also seeing a bit more contrast with the Canon.

85mm XEEN T1.5, 85mm Canon T1.5

When the lenses are set to around a T2, the 75mm Cooke is the only one showing some stop sign effect with the bokeh.

85mm XEEN T2, 85mm Canon T4.2, 85mm Zeiss T2.1, 75mm Cooke T2

Moving on to the lenses set to around a T4, with the 85mm Zeiss at a T41/3, we’re starting to see some of a star pattern with the bokeh. With the 75mm Cooke set at a T41/2, we are getting stop sign bokeh.

85mm XEEN T4 1/2, 85mm Canon T4 2/3, 85mm Zeiss T4 1/3, 75mm Cooke T4 1/2)

In conclusion, here are some general characteristics of the lenses:

• XEEN: Makes her face wider, greener tonality, good bokeh, background was drawn to us.
• Canon: Makes her face more slender to make her look younger.
• Zeiss: Widens Monette’s face a bit, cooler tonalities.
• Cooke: Great resolving power in the background, pushes background away.

Technical Specs: