Meike is the latest manufacturer to utilise the “Air” series branding. Viltrox paved the way with the introduction of its “Air” branding, and today, whenever we see an “Air” label on a lens, we already associate the word with something affordable and lightweight.
Intro
In early February 2026, Meike teased its new lineup, showcasing the 25mm f1.7, 35mm f1.7, and 56mm f1.7, with a planned launch sometime within the year.
Months later, the Meike 56mm f1.7 Air was officially announced for Sony E-mount on 9 May 2026, with Fuji X-mount and Nikon Z-mount coming later. While there was no official date for when the X-mount and Z-mount versions would be available, both mounts were expected to arrive towards the end of May on various websites, including Meike’s own official website.
Before I proceed further and share my experience with this lens, I would like to thank the good people at Meike for sending this lens over for my review. Without their support, this post would not have happened. Nevertheless, the opinions expressed here remain my own, and Meike has no influence over them.
Design and Build Quality
When it comes to lens design, I always feel that Meike has drawn multiple inspirations from the brand with the red line, which always delights me. This lens is no exception. At least, the design vibe it gives me is very similar to what that brand has done with its non-professional, consumer-grade lenses. If you know, you know.
But Meike did one thing that the other brand probably wouldn’t do with its consumer-grade lenses, and that is giving us a lens hood.
Although the lens hood shares the same plastic build as the lens body, the overall quality of both the lens and hood is actually pretty good and sturdy. It doesn’t feel like cheap materials were used, which is always a good thing because the handling experience is important and forms part of the lens experience.
The lens comes with a 52mm filter size and weighs just 190 grams, making it pretty compact and lightweight. Handling the lens is comfortable, and the weight distribution is nicely balanced. There is nothing much to complain about, nor is there anything particularly outstanding to praise, but everything is perfectly acceptable for this price range.
And yes, this lens does not come with an aperture ring. Again, that is pretty acceptable in my opinion.
Apart from the black colour option, the lens is available in a white colour option, but unfortunately, that version is only available for Sony E-mount. Black is the only option for X-mount at the moment.
Image Quality
Image quality is pretty decent when shooting wide open. The sharpness level is fair, with decent contrast as well. The image quality is totally usable for social media sharing and even typical prints for home use.
Chromatic aberration seems to be nowhere to be found with my poor eyesight, or at least it is not particularly noticeable when I zoom in to 100%. Vignetting is mild and can be observed when shooting wide open.
As for the sunstar effect, the result from this lens does not produce the finest lines, but it works okay if you need it.
Focusing
With the Stepper Motor (STM), the focusing speed is within my expectations. Focusing works well and is fast enough, although I would not call it snappy or as fast as the higher-tier lenses. It is generally accurate, but there are occasional misfocuses.
The usual suspects for misfocusing are insufficient light, especially in low-light conditions, along with some unexplained occasions where the lens simply decides not to focus correctly.
Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)
The Minimum Focus Distance is 55cm, and I am glad that the image quality preserves most of its characteristics across the other focusing ranges.
There is no dreamy-looking softness, no heavier vignetting, and no obvious increase in chromatic aberration when shooting close to the minimum focus distance.
All in all, I am happy with it.
Price Point
Priced at USD 159, the Meike 56mm f1.7 Air is slightly on the higher side, especially when its competitors are priced at USD 144 for the Viltrox 56mm f1.7 and USD 129 for the TTArtisan 56mm f1.8.
As this is still a relatively new lens, I am expecting the price to eventually come down closer to its competitors. After all, price matters.
Others
A USB-C port is located at the rear of the lens for potential future firmware updates. Interestingly, they even include a website address on the rear lens cap to let you know where to find the firmware to download. Nice gesture there.
Who is this for?
As much as I wish to recommend this lens, the Meike 56mm f1.7 sits in a rather weird position.
The price is not particularly competitive compared to its competitors, and it is only about USD 40 cheaper than Meike’s own 55mm f1.4.
If you are looking for a budget-friendly mid-telephoto lens, the TTArtisan 56mm f1.8 is a good option. It comes with a nice metal build, comparable image quality among these three budget lenses, and decent autofocus performance.
If you can afford to add another USD 40, then the Meike 55mm f1.4 is definitely worth considering. It comes with an aperture ring, sharper image quality, and slightly better autofocus performance: not by a mile, but enough to be noticeable.
I personally love this lens and have always recommended it to photographers looking for a good-value portrait lens.
Conclusion
Although the Meike 56mm f1.7 comes with a relatively boring lens design that doesn’t really stand out from the crowded market, the lens itself actually offers decent image quality, build quality, and autofocus performance.
There is no major technical issue for me to fault at this price point. The biggest problem, however, lies with the price tag. Its competitors are simply coming in at more attractive price points.
The competition in the budget lens bandwagon has always been a tight and tough fight. With Meike now joining the competition, it will be very interesting to see how photographers make their choices, especially if Meike decides to bring the price closer to what the other brands are offering.
At the end of the day, the Meike 56mm f1.7 Air is not a bad lens. It is just entering a battlefield where there are already plenty of good and affordable choices.
Thank you for reading.
Disclaimer:
1. All the shots taken here are shot by me.
2. Most of the shots are straight out of the camera with some shots edited via In-Camera Raw Processing.
3. The opinions are based on my experience. If there is any mistake, please kindly drop me a message and I will gladly make the amendment.
4. I reserve ownership of these images, if you wish to use my images, please notify me.
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Alwin Kok 