Reviews

TTArtisan 35mm f1.8 – A New Bargainous Option

TTArtisan has been very quiet about what is coming next in their product lineup. I also noticed a slowdown in the number of new lenses launched by the company. Also, after the launch of the TTArtisan 27mm f2.8, there was no teaser or hint of what was coming next in the autofocus lens lineup until recently in September 2023.

TTArtisan 35mm f1.8

Intro

This is TTArtisan’s second autofocus lens for the Fuji X-mount and it is released almost a year after the launch of the TTArtisan 27mm f2.8. The 27mm lens from the manufacturer was a big hit back then. Everywhere was literally out of stock and the manufacturer is trying to fulfill the backlog orders for weeks or even months. 35mm is a very focal length and I am excited to see how popular this lens can be.

Fuji X-T5 . TTArtisan 35mm f1.8 @ 35mm . f1.8 . 1/150″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Before I proceed further, I would like to thank TTArtisan for sending this lens over to me. I appreciate and thankful for their support. Having said that, the review is truly my own opinions and TTArtisan has no influence to it.

Design and Build Quality

From the lens appearance, it is minimalistic and clean. This also means the lens does not come with an aperture ring like the TTArtisan 27mm f2.8, just a smooth rotation focus ring.

Fuji X-T5 . TTArtisan 35mm f1.8 @ 35mm . f1.8 . 1/600″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

It’s lightweight, at 199 grams. In case someone wonders, it weighs 224 grams with the lens hood and 238 grams inclusive of the rear “lens cap”. The metal-built quality is very similar to other TTArtisan manual lenses that I have tested thus far. I have to say it is a pretty decent-built lens. It comes with a metal rear mount and the overall handling of the lens is good too.

One of the most exciting things, in my personal view, is the lens hood. This 50mm (in full frame equivalent) lens comes with a decent built square lens hood and the design of the lens hood is just simply beautiful. The hood complements the overall lens look and feel so well, I have had the hood permanently mounted onto the lens since then.

The filter size is pretty small, at 52mm only. Oh, by the way, it does not come with weather resistance.

Image Quality

Speaking of the image quality, I have to say it’s a huge improvement over my past experiences with the other TTArtisan lenses. Although it is not clinically sharp or corner-to-corner tad sharp, it is so much usable at wide-open. If you read some of my past opinions with the TTArtisan lenses, you will notice that I always find the usable aperture is usually 1-2 stops from the base aperture value. I am happy to use this lens at wide-open.

Fuji X-T5 . TTArtisan 35mm f1.8 @ 35mm . f8 . 1/280″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Vignetting is there at f1.8 and it seems to be a bit heavier than other lenses but it is not much of my concern as we can either post-process it or step down to f2.8 onwards for improvement.

Fuji X-T5 . TTArtisan 35mm f1.8 @ 35mm . f1.8 . 1/850″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Chromatic aberration is surprisingly well-controlled here. At least it is not prominent in my shots.

The fall-off is fine but not the smoothest nor spectacular. The background blur is also just fine.

Focusing

With the help of the Stepper Motor (STM), the focus is pretty fast in most situations. The focusing speed is pretty good between MFD and infinity. Having said that, it is not as snappy as the XF33mm f1.4. To be fair, they are in different categories and focus groups.

Fuji X-T5 . TTArtisan 35mm f1.8 @ 35mm . f2.8 . 1/5800″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

During low light situations and under harsh sunlight environments, I do experience focus pulling or being unable to focus correctly. But it recovers after I point to another subject and then to the one I want. I hope there will be future firmware upgrades to address this issue.

Fuji X-T5 . TTArtisan 35mm f1.8 @ 35mm . f1.8 . 1/2000″ . ISO 125 . Classic Negative

In my opinion, focusing breathing is pretty far. I’m not sure if it impacts photographers but this likely impacts videographers.

Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)

The MFD is 60cm and, this is probably the biggest drawback for this lens. I think I have been spoiled by the MFD offered by other lenses and it set up my expectations for what a 35mm lens’ MFD should be.

So I asked the engineers from the TTArtisan and try to understand what was the decision behind this. And this is the answer from them:

“Considering that the 35 lens is mainly for humanistic photography and portrait photography and there will be less close-up shooting, and also considering the focusing speed and lens size, the minimum focusing distance has been compromised.”

Fuji X-T5 . TTArtisan 35mm f1.8 @ 35mm . f1.8 . 1/250″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Having said that, MFD at 60cm is totally fine for day-to-day casual street shots and even portrait shots. It only hinders me when I want to take a close-up food shot or a close-up shot of a small subject.

Fuji X-T5 . TTArtisan 35mm f1.8 @ 35mm . f1.8 . 1/2500″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Price Point

I am informed by TTArtisan that the price will be 149 USD. That’s the same price at the TTArtisan 27mm f2.8! This is really a good price point.

Fuji X-T5 . TTArtisan 35mm f1.8 @ 35mm . f1.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 500 . Nostalgic Negative

For comparison, the closest autofocus lens that I can think of is the XC 35mm f2. It is priced at 199 USD. While I am unsure if it has fully stopped production, I think if you can spend that extra 50 USD, then XC 35mm should be a better deal (but without the lens hood). After all, it is an XF 35mm f2 optic in a plastic body. On the other hand, 50 USD can get you some filters and accessories, or just save that 50 USD.

Fuji X-T5 . TTArtisan 35mm f1.8 @ 35mm . f1.8 . 1/8000″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negativ

All in all, I have to say it depends on the individual photographer’s needs and wants.

Others

Speaking of firmware upgrades, this lens shares the same docking rear lens cap as the TTArtisan 27mm f2.8. It acts as both the lens cap and there is a USB-C port for future firmware updates. Similar to my suggestion on the 27mm, I will suggest photographer keep this unique rear lens cover at home.

LFuji X-T5 . TTArtisan 35mm f1.8 @ 35mm . f1.8 . 1/600″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Who is this for?

There are many 35mm lenses in the market and we are not lacking in it. But because it comes at a very attractive price, I think it is very competitive in the 35mm continent.

In my opinion, this lens is suitable for those who do not have this focal length or are new to photography, you can take this opportunity and give it a try. Besides the X-mount, it comes with the Sony E-mount and Nikon Z-mount too.

Left: Fuji X-T5 . TTArtisan 35mm f1.8 @ 35mm . f1.8 . 1/3000″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

In terms of genres, it’s a good street, portrait, cityscape, and landscape. Product shot is possible too but depending on the kind of product shot you are shooting, the limited MFD might be affecting you.

Also, this is probably another good gift option for any photographer friend that you want to give.

Conclusion

Although a little compromise on the MFD in return of the lens size and focusing speed, I was pretty satisfied with the overall performance such as the image quality and the focusing speed.

Fuji X-T5 . TTArtisan 35mm f1.8 @ 35mm . f1.8 . 1/1800″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Also, TTArtisan launched the lens at the price of 149 USD. It is not easy to maintain the same starting selling price as the TTArtisan 27mm lens with the recent inflation around the world. Nonetheless, this lens is set to give young or budget photographers another option to choose from besides manual lenses but I will recommend everyone to give a try with this lens.

Fuji X-T5 . TTArtisan 35mm f1.8 @ 35mm . f4 . 1/1100″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Now, TTArtisan also teases about another upcoming portrait lens, 56mm f1.8. Will it priced the same at 149 USD? I think if everything about this lens is great, could pricing it at 200 USD or 250 USD be a big hit? We shall wait for the good news to come.

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.

If you like my works, please follow me on either one of the 2 Instagram accounts:

https://www.instagram.com/alwinkok_

https://www.instagram.com/alwin.portraits

If you have a Facebook account, feel free to join Fujifanboys FB group.

If you like my content and you want to show some support and keep this blog alive, you can buy me a coffee here.

Reviews

Sigma 23mm f1.4 – The King of Street Lens from Sigma

23mm focal length (35mm in full frame equivalent) is one of my favorite prime lenses. If I can only bring one lens out, this is the focal length I will bring. No second thought. And now, Sigma has this amazing lens ready for the X-mount, L-mount, and E-mount.

Sigma 23mm f.14 DC DN Contemporary

Intro

Sigma 23mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary was released officially in September 2023, but it was announced way back in April 2023.

If I remember correctly, this is Sigma’s 4th prime lens. It may not sound a lot, but Sigma did cover basically the most commonly used focal lengths for street photographers.

Before I proceed further, I would like to thank Mr Lawson from Sigma Marketing (Singapore) for loaning me this lens for review and Kai for making the arrangements. I appreciate their support in making this review a reality.

Design and Build Quality

From the first look, this lens shares many similarities with the other Contemporary series like the Sigma 18-55mm, Sigma 56mm, etc. The lens gives a very minimalistic look, nothing fancy, just a low-profile lens design. The lens is made of “Thermally Stable Composite” (TSC) polycarbonate material, which gives a very high quality, well-built lens body.

Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 23mm f1.4 @ 23mm . f1.4 . 1/125″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

At 335 grams, this lens is very comfortable to hold, and it comes with a 52mm filter size (For your information, it is the same filter size as the Sigma 30mm f1.4). It also comes with a plastic lens hood.

In the same manner, this lens is also equipped with dust and splash-resistant sealing that helps to protect the lens from certain weather/environmental conditions. Last but not least, it does not come with an aperture ring.

Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 23mm f1.4 @ 23mm . f1.4 . 1/450″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 23mm f1.4 @ 23mm . f1.4 . 1/250″ . ISO 400 . Nostalgic Negative

Oh yes, it is made in Japan.

Image Quality

I think this is probably the better image quality as compared to the other Sigma prime lenses. At wide open, the image is great, sharp, and contrasting. If I set XF23mm f1.4 WR as the benchmark, this Sigma lens is just one tier lower. This is very impressive in my opinion.

Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 23mm f1.4 @ 23mm . f1.4 . 1/15000″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

The blur transition between the focused and non-focused object is not the best I have since but it is decent too. Not harsh or distracting.

Vignetting is there at wide-open. But again, not a critical concern to me. Chromatic aberration is nowhere to be found or at least I did not spot one during my course of testing.

Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 23mm f1.4 @ 23mm . f1.4 . 1/120″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 23mm f1.4 @ 23mm . f16 . 1/180″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

If anyone is concerned about the sun star result, it is okay, not the best but also the worst.

Focusing

With the help of the stepping motor, the lens performs very well. In most situations, the focus is quick (not the fastest) and accurate. So far, I have not experienced any miss-focused shots which I think is another great experience to have.

Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 23mm f1.4 @ 23mm . f1.4 . 1/2200″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 23mm f1.4 @ 23mm . f1.4 . 1/400″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

But under challenging situations like a dim environment, it does pose a bit of a challenge to focus. This is pretty much the same behavior as most lenses in the market.

The focus ring is smooth as expected. Nothing to complain about. Also, Sigma did a good job at controlling the lens breathing. Not too much of a concern for photographers, but if you intend to use this lens for videography, I think it might be a good option.

Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)

While 25cm MFD is not the shortest for this focal length, it is pretty usable. It is still allowing photographers to take close-up subject if he/she wants to. The image quality might seem to be a little softer at wide-open. Unless you do pixel peeping, it is barely noticeable.

Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 23mm f1.4 @ 23mm . f1.4 . 1/15000″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Price Point

It is priced at 549 USD. For comparison, XF23mm f.14 WR is priced at 899 USD, Viltrox 23mm f1.4 is priced at 325 USD, Voigtlander Nokton 23mm f1.2 is priced at 599 USD (not quite a fair one but I just throw it in for price sensing purpose).

Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 23mm f1.4 @ 23mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 250 . Nostalgic Negative

What do you think? Is it a fair price?

Others

The “metallic” surface of the lens is prone to fingerprint smudge but this is the same across all contemporary prime lenses thus far. But not too much of a worry as it can be removed easily with a cloth.

Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 23mm f1.4 @ 23mm . f1.4 . 1/26000″ . ISO 125 . Classic Negative

Who is this for?

If you are new to photography or want to own the first decent-quality prime lens but are on a budget, I will always recommend a 23mm prime lens as a start. Because as a prime lens, it is versatile for the street, cityscape/landscape, documentary, environmental portrait, astrophotography, editorial, and the list goes on.

Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 23mm f1.4 @ 23mm . f5.6 . 1/60″ . ISO 2000 . Nostalgic Negative
Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 23mm f1.4 @ 23mm . f1.4 . 1/680″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Hence, this Sigma 23mm f1.4 can be one of your considerations. There is not much of a 23mm focal length competition just yet. I know there is a brand or 2 that have the intention to enter this 23mm segment but I am totally not sure how good their lens and the image quality will be. But Sigma has been around since 1961 and has been accompanying many photographers in their photography lives. So the image quality is at a certain standard.

Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 23mm f1.4 @ 23mm . f1.4 . 1/80″ . ISO 400 . Nostalgic Negative
Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 23mm f1.4 @ 23mm . f1.4 . 1/120″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Conclusion

As a third-party lens, Sigma 23mm f1.4 set a benchmark for many others to follow. Fantastic image quality, decent focus speed, and comfortable lens handling. As for the lens build, it may not be as good as what metal built quality is but it is definitely a premium polycarbonate build quality. Trust me, I experienced the not-so-good one.

Sigma may not seem to release lenses aggressively for Fujifilm. But if we look back, it is otherwise. In fact, Sigma had released lenses for Fujifilm at a good momentum throughout the years. Today, Sigma has released a good range of prime lenses for street photographers.

Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 23mm f1.4 @ 23mm . f1.4 . 1/80″ . ISO 250 . Nostalgic Negative

Finally, I have to say this is by far one of my favorite Sigma lenses and I hope Sigma will continue to support the Fujifilm X-mount and also probably the G-mount soon?

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 and Capture One.

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.

If you like my works, please follow me on either one of the 2 Instagram accounts:

https://www.instagram.com/alwinkok_

https://www.instagram.com/alwin.portraits

If you have a Facebook account, feel free to join Fujifanboys FB group.

If you like my content and you want to show some support and keep this blog alive, you can buy me a coffee here.

Discussion

The Not So Serious Comparision: 27mm VS 27mm VS 27mm

This is the second of the above-mentioned series. I have recently tested the Viltrox 27mm and much earlier with the TTArtisan variant and the Fuji variant. So in the name of fun, I am trying to compare the image quality among the 3.

Of course, this comparison is not scientific, nothing technical or chart board to take reference and compare. Photos are taken in my house.

The comparison is simple. Shoot at the respective lens’ Minimum Focus Distance (MFSD), at approximately 50cm and 100cm. Apertures range from wide-open, f2 (only applies to Viltrox), f4, and f5.6.

For a note, the MFD for the lenses are as of below:
Viltrox 27mm – 28cm
XF27mm – 34cm
TTArtisan 27mm – 35cm

So do not take it seriously.

Shooting at Minimum Focus Distance

Shooting at approximately 50cm.

Shooting at approximately 100cm.

In my opinion, Viltrox seems to be the better one in overall performance out of the 3 and it also has a very usable MFD. Of course, better image quality comes with some sacrifice: weight and price. It is selling at a retail price of 549 USD as compared to XF27mm at 399 USD and TTArtisan 27mm at 159 USD. So which one will you get? Image quality over everything? or
Striking a balance between image quality and weight? or
Getting the best value?

Thank you for reading.

Disclaimer:
1. All the shots taken here are shot by me.
2. All shots are straight out of the camera.

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.

If you like my works, please follow me on either one of the 2 Instagram accounts:

https://www.instagram.com/alwinkok_

https://www.instagram.com/alwin.portraits

If you have a Facebook account, feel free to join Fujifanboys FB group.

If you like my content and you want to show some support and keep this blog alive, you can buy me a coffee here.

Reviews

Viltrox 27mm f1.2 Pro – The Ultimate 27mm Yet

Viltrox 27mm f1.2

Viltrox started off with a very good strategy by introducing the first ever pro lens from the company, the Viltrox 75mm f1.2. It was a success, and many photographers who own it love it. Does this Viltrox 27mm f1.2 have the same mojo? Time will tell. But for now, Viltrox is busy fulfilling the orders. (Viltrox loves the Fujifilm community because both lenses are available for Fujifilm at the beginning.)

Intro

Viltrox has been teasing this lens as early as April 2023. While I am not sure if it gets the attention it intended for from the rest of the photographers, it did raise my eyebrows when I first aware of this teaser. A 27mm lens is going to be the next pro lens from Viltrox is going to be an interesting one.

Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 27mm f1.2 @ 27mm . f1.2 . 1/1250″ . ISO 800 . Nostalgic Negative

They do away with the usual standard focal lengths like 23mm or 35mm and choose 27mm instead. But is that really a wise choice?

Putting that aside, there is a saying that 40mm (in full frame equivalent) is a sweet spot between 35mm and 50mm (in full frame equivalent). One step back, you can get 35mm. One step forward, you can get 50mm. But I think only if the surrounding allows us to do so.

Also, I have a “cast in stone” impression with the 27mm (or 40mm in full frame equivalent) lenses are tend to designed as compact as possible. Making it an everyday lens for every photographer. But Viltrox’s approach is totally different, giving us the best possible optic one ever desires for this focal length.

Fuji X-T5 . Viltrox 27mm f1.2 @ 27mm . f5 . 1/850″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Design and Build Quality

Similar to the Viltrox 75mm f1.2 (I will just mention 75mm from now onwards), the metal-built quality is identical, solid, great build, and feels premium. So is the weight too (560 grams).


Fuji X-T5 . Viltrox 27mm f1.2 @ 27mm . f4 . 1/500″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

The aperture ring is clicky and is a pleasure to use and the focus ring is smooth with minimum resistance.

Surprisingly, the filter size is only 67mm as opposed to the 75mm (72mm). Also, it is dust-proof and waterproof.

Fuji X-T5 . Viltrox 27mm f1.2 @ 27mm . f8 . 1/125″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

It also comes with a plastic lens hood. Although I feel that it should come with the metal hood to suit the “Pro” name, I guess this is to reduce the overall weight of this gigantic lens.

Image Quality

The image quality is fantastic, clinically sharp, and deep contrast. At wide-open, the subject is pop and clearly separate from the off-focus foreground/background beautifully. Just like the 75mm, the shots are totally usable.

Fuji X-T5 . Viltrox 27mm f1.2 @ 27mm . f5.6 . 1/80″ . ISO 160 . Nostalgic Negative

The question here again is whether clinical sharp is a bad thing or a good thing? The answer is subjective to individual photographers. For me, I’m okay with either sharp or not sharp, it’s the lens characteristics. If I want to bring it out for a shoot, it means I have my expectations for what the results coming out from the lens.

Also, it has zero cchromatic aberration but with little vignetting can be observed if one is nitpicking. Removing vignetting should be easy with post-processing software, so I am not so bothered by it.

The sun-star result is not the best but pretty decent with a nice shape.

Focusing

This lens comes with an STM Stepping motor. It gives a fast and silent experience. It is very snappy and probably even better than the 75mm that I tested sometime back.

Also, there are times that the lens does not focus well which usually happens while shooting at MFD or a highly exposed area. But this don’t happen every single time so I believe this can be fixed in future software release.

Fuji X-T5 . Viltrox 27mm f1.2 @ 27mm . f1.2 . 1/125″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negativ

The lens/focus breathing is good here. The focus distance did not change dramatically as you change the focus distance from MFD to infinity and vice versa. In my opinion, this is a thoughtful engineering from the Viltrox engineers. Although this does not impact to photographer, this can be a great deal for a videographer. As far as I know, many cinematic videographers use this focal length for their shoots.

Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)

28cm MFD may not sound like a big deal but in fact, it is impressive. For reference, it is much closer than XF27mm f2.8 WR (@34cm) and TTArtisan 27mm f2.8 (@35cm). With this close MFD, photographers can take the opportunity to get closer to the subject and give a stronger compression with the background.

Fuji X-T5 . Viltrox 27mm f1.2 @ 27mm . f1.2 . 1/80″ . ISO 2500 . Nostalgic Negative

Price Point

549 USD is the price. Is it expensive? For comparison, XF27mm f2.8 WR is selling at 399 USD at B&H, TTArtisan 27mm is 159 USD and lastly, Voigtlander 27mm f2 is 595 USD. So it is kind of hard to determine whether 549 USD is really expensive or worth buying. It’s all up to the individual.

Others

It also comes with a USB-C port right at the rear lens. This also means future firmware improvement to the lens is possible.

The USB-C port

Viltrox 27mm f1.2 shares a lot of similarities with the 75mm counterpart. This also means things like missing aperture ring lock release that prevents accidental switches. But this is not a deal breaker.

Who is this for?

This lens is not a usual lens in terms of size and weight. Using this lens as a street lens is fine but not sure if one can sustain carrying it over time.

Fuji X-T5 . Viltrox 27mm f1.2 @ 27mm . f1.2 . 1/8000″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

From what I see, professional photographers should benefit from using this lens for their works. What genres will be quite dependent on what the photographers want to achieve with this lens? In general, it can cover typical genres that I always mentioned in other posts.

Conclusion

I think this is the right move from Viltrox where 27mm is indeed in a good spot in the overly crowded market space with 23mm and 50mm/56mm focal lengths. Also, let’s not forget that the price is really attractive if you are comparing it with other f1.2 and f1.4 range of lenses.

If you put size and weight aside, you will be rewarded with fantastic image quality and I couldn’t ask for more from it.

Viltrox has quite a number of lenses up its sleeve for the Fujifilm community. But for now, there is a leak with the Viltrox 20mm f2.8 and it is expected to be arrived in Q4 2023. Also, a LAB series that is meant to be superior to the Pro series? I think we will know the answer in the future.

Viltrox 27mm f1.2

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.

If you like my works, please follow me on either one of the 2 Instagram accounts:

https://www.instagram.com/alwinkok_

https://www.instagram.com/alwin.portraits

If you have a Facebook account, feel free to join Fujifanboys FB group.

If you like my content and you want to show some support and keep this blog alive, you can buy me a coffee here.

Reviews

YN50mm F1.8X DA DSM Pro – A Good Start

Yongnuo has been in the photographic industry for over 10 years and they are no stranger to making autofocus lenses. In fact, for 50mm focal length per se, they have about 10 different 50mm lenses for different mounts up in their online store and this Yongnuo 50mm f1.8 DA DSM Pro is the first for Fujifilm X-mount.

Yongnuo 50mm f1.8 DA DSM Pro

Intro

The first time I learned about this lens was on a rumor website in May 2023. My thought is that this might be a direct competitor to the XF50mm f2.

Fuji X-E3 with Yongnuo 50mm f1.8 DA DSM Pro and lens hood

And today, it’s right in my hand and let me give you my opinion after a short 2 weeks of day-to-day hands-on with the lens.

Special thanks to the nice people at Yongnuo for sending me this lens. Without their support, this blog will not be here.

Design and Build Quality

When I first unbox the package, the prominent OLED screen appears in front of my very eyes. This less than 2cm screen (in diagonal) reminds me of some of the Nikon Z-mount lenses. Obviously, it is meant to show some information.

Fuji X-T5 . Yongnuo 50mm f1.8 @ 50mm . f1.8 . 1/180″ . ISO 400 . Nostalgic Negative

Picking up the lens the first impression that this lens gives me is a very clean and simple design. From the lens appearance, it lacks the physical aperture ring. So here is the interesting part. There is a function switch 1 and 2. Toggling to switch 1 gives you the capability to change the aperture while the other gives you focus ring control. Oh yes, the ring itself is very smooth. More about this later.

Fuji X-T5 . Yongnuo 50mm f1.8 @ 50mm . f1.8 . 1/2000″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

The metal-constructed lens (or so it seems) weighs about 378 grams. The rear mount is metal too. I can feel the weight when I hold it on my hand but it’s not as heavy as the number stated. Overall, I feel it has a very solid built quality.

The filter size is 58mm which is very decent and small. Also, it comes with a lens hood.

Image Quality

At wide-open, the shots are phenomenal or I should say it exceeds my expectations. The contrast and sharpness are pretty decent and I am not able to spot any softness in the photos. Vignetting and chromatic aberration are well-controlled too.

At f1.8, it does not give a strong/heavy background blur like the one with f1.2 or f1.4 but good enough separation between the subject and the off-focused foreground/background. The blur result does not look very busy or harsh, which is comfortable in my opinion.

Fuji X-T5 . Yongnuo 50mm f1.8 @ 50mm . f1.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 320 . Nostalgic Negative

The sun star gives a good soft star shape to the photo. If you are aware, there is a lens flare introduced as well. For photographers who do not like lens flare, please do note. Also, I have the lens hood mounted but somehow there is still a lens flare, it could be my handling problem.

Focusing

Thanks to the digital stepping motor, the focusing performance is fast but not as snappy as the new generation Fuji lenses (for example: XF23mm f1.4 WR and XF56mm f1.2 WR).

Fuji X-T5 . Yongnuo 50mm f1.8 @ 50mm . f1.8 . 1/160″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic Negative

I have no complaints about the fast focusing performance, however, I do encounter some off-focused results when the focus box is green. Luckily, when I experience this issue, the off-focused preview is quite obvious. This happens when I aim at darker environments like under shadow or in a dim environment. The good thing is it happens rarely in my course of testing.

Fuji X-T5 . Yongnuo 50mm f1.8 @ 50mm . f1.8 . 1/4400″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)

Although it is not as close as what XF50mm f2 offers (39cm), MFD at 45cm is still pretty decent. It still provides a good close-up result of the subject without losing details.

Fuji X-T5 . Yongnuo 50mm f1.8 @ 50mm . f1.8 . 1/60″ . ISO 500 . Nostalgic Negative
Fuji X-T5 . Yongnuo 50mm f1.8 @ 50mm . f1.8 . 1/8000″ . ISO 500 . Nostalgic Negative

Price Point

It is priced at 265 USD on the Yongnuo official site. As compared to XF50mm f2 (449 USD), I have to say it is a sweet price point and very competitive pricing among third-party manufacturers.

Yongnuo 50mm f1.8 does not have any direct competition of the same focal length and aperture value. But somewhat close will be Viltrox 56mm f1.4 (329 USD) and Sigma 56mm f1.4 (429 USD). Of course, I am comparing based on brand new units and not comparing with second-hand/pre-owned lenses of the above-mentioned lenses.

Fuji X-T5 . Yongnuo 50mm f1.8 @ 50mm . f1.8 . 1/320″ . ISO 500 . Nostalgic Negative

Others

There is a USB-C port on the lens for future firmware updates and it is positioned exposing on the outside of the lens, unlike other manufacturers that locate the USB-C port at the rear mount. It comes with a rubber to seal the port but I am afraid it could be potentially missing someday and leave the port exposed by accident.

For a note: the terms DA and DSM are “Digital APS-C” and “Digital Stepping Motor”.

Feedback

Although this is a pro lens from Yongnuo, there is no weather resistance found in this lens. I think this can be a good improvement for their next-generation pro lenses.

This lens comes with a unique aperture ring and focus ring combination. Somehow this might be a problem here. After I set my aperture value and leave the function switch as “1”, there is a possibility that I might accidentally change the aperture value again without knowing. This does happen to me even if the lens comes with an independent aperture ring. So in order to prevent such a thing from happening, I will have to remember to toggle the function switch to “2”.

Following this, the screen only provides an aperture value. I hope to see more likable to see the focal range I am at when I am toggled to function switch 2.

I also noticed that I am unable to control the aperture value via the camera front control dial. I think this will be nice if the Yongnuo engineers can help to implement this. I also think that this would be nice if the photographers had the option to choose their preferred way of controlling the aperture value.

Lastly, the manual focus throw is long. It takes me quite a long while to focus from minimum distance to infinity. No matter how slow or fast I rotate the focus ring, the momentum is constant. As this is a digital focus throw, I hope that Yongnuo will improve on the manual focus throw to be dependent or react to how fast or slow I am focusing. Having said that, this is not the top priority.

Who is this for?

In my opinion, this lens is great for photographers who want a small lens that covers mainly the portrait genre. Of course, this lens is also capable of covering landscape, street, product, and documentary photography.

Fuji X-T5 . Yongnuo 50mm f1.8 @ 50mm . f1.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic Negative

Conclusion

The way I see it, this lens is all out to directly compete with the XF50mm f2. I think it’s a good competition. This not only gives Fujifilm a second thought about refreshing its F2 lens lineup, but it also gives photographers more options to pick. As much as I give a number of feedbacks, I do feel this is a very solid lens in terms of optical quality, performance, built quality, and of course, attractive price point.

uji X-T5 . Yongnuo 50mm f1.8 @ 50mm . f1.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic Negative

As I stated in my title, Yongnuo has a good start with launching this lens. I hope the future lenses coming out from Yongnuo will be even better or at least should maintain this benchmark.

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.

If you like my works, please follow me on either one of the 2 Instagram accounts:

https://www.instagram.com/alwinkok_

https://www.instagram.com/alwin.portraits

If you have a Facebook account, feel free to join Fujifanboys FB group.

If you like my content and you want to show some support and keep this blog alive, you can buy me a coffee here.

Reviews

Meike 85mm f1.8 – Probably The Best Afforable Portrait Lens Yet

Ever since Fujifilm opens up its X-mount protocol in 2020, we get to see more and more new third-party manufacturers releasing autofocus lenses for Fujifilm gradually. This is definitely a joy for Fuji photographers because we have more and more options to choose from.

Meike 85mm f1.8

Intro

This time, Meike is the manufacturer attempting with its new 85mm f1.8 but this is not the first autofocus lens from the manufacturer. Meike has manufactured another autofocus lens as early as 2018 but that is for another mount, another brand.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 85mm f1.8 @ 85mm . f1.8 . 1/600″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

That said, Meike is not new to creating an autofocus lens. Let’s see how this X-mount lens performs.

Also, this is a full-frame lens that comes with E-mount and Z-mount too!

Before I proceed further, I would like to thank Meike for sharing this lens for the review. I appreciate their kindness!

Price Point

I place this section first among all. All for a reason, it is priced at 200 USD. For reference, Viotrox 85mm f1.8 II is priced at 399 USD. Let’s be realistic, we should not set the expectations sky-high for an autofocus lens with this price point and there will be some trade-offs. So it is dependent on the interested photographers willing to accept the trade-offs.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 85mm f1.8 @ 85mm . f1.8 . 1/750″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Design and Build Quality

The first thing I notice about the lens design is that it reassembles a lot to the Canon EF85mm f1.8 but is not 100% identical. The lens design gives a very simple, clean, and minimalistic look. Nothing fancy shout about. Since it gives a minimalistic look, this also means that it does not come with an aperture ring.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 85mm f1.8 @ 85mm . f1.8 . 1/170″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

The lens comes with a polycarbonate build quality but I have to say that it is not the best one out there in the market. I can feel that it is more plasticky than other polycarbonate-built lenses but the 386 grams lens feels light to hold on my hand.

It comes with a 67mm filter thread size which is decent for the aperture value it gives. No comment on this. And it does come with a lens hood too! It does not come with a weather-resistance seal as well, and I think I can accept that.

Image Quality

At wide-open, the shots are acceptable. They are not clinically sharp with some lacking of contrast. The images look fine if you are not nitpicking or pixel-peeping. Vignetting and chromatic aberration are present but manageable. But if you step down to f2.8, the image quality shows improvement.

The background blur is a little harsh for my liking. The transition between the off-focused and the subject is not the best but still within my acceptability.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 85mm f1.8 @ 85mm . f2.8 . 1/1250″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Focusing

All thanks to the STM stepper motor, the focusing is also pretty silent throughout my testing. Focusing surprisingly well. It gives excellent focusing speed and accuracy in most situations. I do encounter some hiccups but mostly under dim light situations and do note that some other higher price tag lenses also have very similar focusing behavior. So I think it is fair for Meike 85mm at this price point.

Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)

The MFD is 85cm and I think it is pretty okay for a 85mm lens. The image quality doesn’t get worse at wide open, it maintains the same characteristics and behavior of the lens. In my opinion, it is pretty usable for social media purposes.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 85mm f1.8 @ 85mm . f1.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 400 . Nostalgic Negative

Others

This lens comes with a Mirco-USB port that sits right at the rear mount where we can update the lens with future firmware for a better user experience.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 85mm f1.8 @ 85mm . f1.8 . 1/420″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Who is this for?

This is the second cheapest autofocus lens in the X-mount market. The cheapest one still belongs to TTArtisan 27mm f2.8 (149 USD).

With its affordable price point, I think this lens is very suitable for photographers who want a portrait lens but do not wish to invest in more expensive options or wish to attempt to try taking shots with this focal length (127.5mm in full frame equivalent). In terms of genres, it can be used in most of them, such as general street, product, portrait, and landscape.

Conclusion

It is not the best-built and best image-quality lens but not the worse in the market, and it is also not competing against the top tier lenses. We are coming to the end of this post, and we all know what the trade-offs are with this lens. But they are traded-off for a reason, to allow more photographers have access to this focal length at an afforable price tag. I know I have reiterate a number of time about the price tag with this lens but I just can’t help tying them together.

Based on my past experiences with Meike lenses (Meike 35mm f0.95, 60mm f2.8, 7.5mm f2.8, and 10mm f2), I believe Meike can do a great job and giving the best they have in terms of build quality and image quality if they want. But for now, they give one more option for budget-minded photographers.

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 and Capture One 2023.

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.

If you like my works, please follow me on either one of the 2 Instagram accounts:

https://www.instagram.com/alwinkok_

https://www.instagram.com/alwin.portraits

If you have a Facebook account, feel free to join Fujifanboys FB group.

If you like my content and you want to show some support and keep this blog alive, you can buy me a coffee here.

Reviews

Tamron 11-20mm f2.8 – Ultrawide with Versatility

When comes to ultrawide zoom lenses, we have limited options to choose from other than. the Fujifilm lens line-up. Namely, XF8-16mm f2.8 and XF10-24mm f4.

And that has been this way for a while until this new Tamron 11-20mm f2.8. Will this lens be worth our eyes on it? Let’s find out.

Tamron 11-20mm f2.8

Intro

Tamron introduced this 16.5mm to 30mm (in full-frame equivalent) for Sony for quite a while before Tamron makes it available to Fuji X-mount. This is an attractive focal length that does not has the widest nor it has the most tele focal length like the other 2 ultrawide lenses that Fuji is offering. But does it has its spot in the whole Fuji lens lineup (including third parties)?

If you just want to know my opinion, scroll all the way to the conclusion session.

Tamron 11-20mm f2.8

Before I continue further, I would like to special thanks to Cles Distribution of Tamron Singapore for allowing me to loan the Tamron 11-20mm f2.8 Di III-A RXD (Model AFB060X-700) for Fuji X-mount for this blog review. At the time of releasing this review, I have returned the loan unit to Cles Distribution.

Tamron 11-20mm f2.8

Design and Build Quality

Right off the bat, you will notice that the lens starts at 20mm (which is at the tele end of the focal length) and not at 11mm. The lens will zoom externally but not be extended by a lot. That’s considered a good thing for an external zoom lens. So in short, 11mm is at the lens’ longest end.

Fuji X-T5 . Tamron 11-20mm f2.8 @ 20mm . f8. 1″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

One might wonder why this lens is designed differently and unlike the typical lenses that “starts” at the widest focal length and “ends” at the tele focal length. I guess that 20mm is closer to street photography focal lengths like 18mm and 23mm, where this focal length has a higher usability rate than 11mm. Or maybe I think too much and it is just engineering design to make it as compact as possible.

This lens has the same polycarbonate build quality with a metal rear mount bayonet as its other sibling lenses (Tamron 18-300mm and Tamron 17-70mm). This does not mean the lens is not good. It feels fine, sturdy and does not feels any loose end or anything bad.

Fuji X-T5 . Tamron 11-20mm f2.8 @ 11mm . f8. 1/340″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

This 67mm filter-size lens weighs 335 grams. It does have weight when I hold it in my hand but not feel heavy. It also has a good balance with my X-T5 too. (Do you know that both Tamron 18-300mm and Tamron 17-70mm share the same filter size too?)

Similar to other Tamron lenses, it also lacks an aperture ring. It may sound like a deal breaker to many photographers. But after a while, I have gotten used to controlling the aperture values via the front command dial.

Image Quality

The image quality is great. Or at least I am more than happy with the results it provides across all the focal ranges at wide open. For a zoom lens, the contrast and sharpness are great. If you are comparing it with a prime lens, it is not as superb as a prime lens. But who will compare the zoom lens with the prime lens?

Fuji X-T5 . Tamron 11-20mm f2.8 @ 11mm . f2.8. 1/900″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Vignetting is mild and it can be noticeable if one is to nitpick the photo. Chromatic aberration is well-controlled. Distortion control is pretty good here. While I am not sure if it is done through software or not, at least the results straight out of the camera are pretty decent for distortion.

For transition between a focused subject and off-focused foreground/background, it is seamless and does not give messy or rough off/focused results.

As for the sun star, it gives very decent sun star results with nice sharp edges.

Focusing

Focusing speed is fast but not as snappy/instantly as Fujifilm’s new prime lenses. But I notice one phenomenon. If I focus on a darker area/spot, there is a chance the lens is unable to focus correctly or off-focused. But if I relocate my focus point to a brighter area/spot, it works and focuses fast.

This phenomenon does not matter if it’s outdoor or indoor, daylight or low light environment. It’s a unique behavior that I observed thus far with this lens.

Fuji X-T5 . Tamron 11-20mm f2.8 @ 20mm . f2.8. 1/750″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Putting that aside, this lens comes with RXD (Rapid eXtra-silent stepping Drive) stepper motor unit which allows it to focus silently. This is very good for street photographers and significantly better for videographers when they use this lens for video productions.

Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)

Tamron is doing a great job when comes to MFD. Both the Tamron 17-70mm and Tamron 18-300mm give very impressive MFD and this lens is no exception. The MFD is 15cm at 11mm and 24cm at 20mm.

Fuji X-T5 . Tamron 11-20mm f2.8 @ 11mm . f2.8. 1/600″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

In short, 11mm can give a very unique perspective/close-up of the subject. It brings new creative options for photographers to explore.

As for 20mm, it can also capture very close to the subject but the wow factor is all on the 11mm.

Price Point

Given it is priced at 829 USD, I think it is a good price point. For instant, XF 8-16mm f2.8 and XF 10-24mm f4 are priced at 1499 USD and 999 USD respectively.

Others

While this lens does not come with weather resistance, it does come with Moisture-Resistant Construction and Fluorine Coating that offer additional protection when outdoor shooting.

Who is this for?

I think it is pretty clear who is this for and what genre is suitable with this focal length.

Fuji X-T5 . Tamron 11-20mm f2.8 @ 20mm . f2.8. 1/80″ . ISO 250 . Nostalgic Negative

Conclusion

Technically, Fujifilm gives a very clear option for photographers to choose from. If you have a reasonable budget on hand and don’t mind the bulky lens build, XF8-16mm is the choice. Otherwise, XF10-24mm is the best alternative with a reasonable price tag.

Fuji X-T5 . Tamron 11-20mm f2.8 @ 20mm . f2.8. 1/450″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

With the Tamron 11-20mm f2.8, Tamron steps-in in the right spot with the right price tag. It gives many Fujifilm photographers one of the best alternative options to choose from.

With decent image quality at wide open, decent weight and size, and decent build quality, this is the lens I will recommend for photographers who are looking for one with a bang for the buck.

Fuji X-T5 . Tamron 11-20mm f2.8 @ 20mm . f2.8. 1/80″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

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 and Capture One 2023.

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.

If you like my works, please follow me on either one of the 2 Instagram accounts:

https://www.instagram.com/alwinkok_

https://www.instagram.com/alwin.portraits

If you have a Facebook account, feel free to join Fujifanboys FB group.

If you like my content and you want to show some support and keep this blog alive, you can buy me a coffee here.

Reviews

Meike 10mm f2 – The Widest Lens Yet

This is Meike widest lens ever created, 10mm may not sound as wide as the recently launched XF8mm f3.5 but that does not mean this lens of Meike is not great. So when comes to the ultrawide lens, what are our expectations if we are getting one? Widest possible focal length? Brightest possible aperture? How about size, weight, and price play a part in the consideration? There is no right or wrong answer to these questions. It is up to individuals to find the best suitable lens for their wants or needs. Having said that, the Meike 10mm f2 could be the lens some photographers might be looking for.

Meike 10mm f2

The good people in Meike have recently shared with me the 10mm f2. I thank them for their kindness and continuous support. Making another post possible. Having said that, I stay neutral and true to myself.

Intro

This lens was announced exactly back in 1 year ago in July 2022. It is still a pretty new lens in the market. As usual, it comes with various mounts too: Canon RF, Nikon Z, Sony E, M43, and of course, the Fujifilm X mount.

Meike 10mm f2

Design and Build Quality

From my first impression, this is not the sexiest lens nor it is ugly either. It gives a unique overall design look. The most distinguishable one among other lenses is the wider front element which comes with a 77mm filter thread. If you take a closer look, the front lens is protruding, so I think this might be the factor why it obtains its unique lens look.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 10mm f2 @ 10mm . f2. 1/80″ . ISO 3200 . Nostalgic Negative

At 550 grams, the weight is dense when I hold it in my hand. You can imagine how many glass elements are inside this metal-built lens.

The aperture ring is de-click and smooth with very little friction, which means it benefits videographers. While it doesn’t harm much for my shoot, I do wish to see an option to click and de-click the aperture ring in their future lenses. Because with the clicky experience, I can roughly tell which aperture am I at. After all, this lens does not come with any electronic contact, hence, there is no information exchanged between the lens and the camera.

It comes with a cap-on style lens cap and if there is anyone concerned about its build material, it’s plastic. It may not feel as good as the lens body but I think it makes some sense to reduce the overall weight.

Image Quality

When comes to image quality, I think apart from how good the image quality it will be, other questions such as how good is distortion control is, how strong the vignetting is, and how heavy is the chromatic aberration. This ultrawide lens is no exception too.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 10mm f2 @ 10mm . f2. 1/80″ . ISO 320 . Nostalgic Negative

To answer them one by one. The image quality is great. The subject is sharp and contrast when I shoot wide open. I am surprised by how good the results are.

I am impressed with the distortion control from this lens. I cannot say it is 100% distortion free or zero distortion because if I nitpick with it, some very minor distortion at the edge of the photo can be observed.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 10mm f2 @ 10mm . f2. 1/10″ . ISO 3200 . Nostalgic Negative

Vignetting is unavoidable when shooting at f2 but is not as strong as other manual lenses. As for chromatic aberration, I am shocked by how well it is controlled. At least from the shots I have taken, I am not able to find one.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 10mm f2 @ 10mm . f5.6. 1/320″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Another thing that I like about this lens is its transition between the focused subject against the other. At least to me, it is very pleasing to my eyes.

If anyone is curious, the sun star result is pretty good and sharp.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 10mm f2 @ 10mm . f22. 1/80″ . ISO 400 . Nostalgic Negative

Focusing

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 10mm f2 @ 10mm . f2. 1/5800″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

When handling the focus ring, it has the same experience as the aperture ring: smooth with little friction. Apart from the ring designs and the width of the rings, I am expecting some levels of friction difference when handling both rings but I was wrong with this lens. In my opinion, I prefer to have a bit more friction handling differences to set the aperture ring and focus ring apart. Because there are a few times when I mistakenly change the aperture ring when I am supposed to rotate the focus ring to my desired focused point. Again, that could be me only.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 10mm f2 @ 10mm . f4. 1/1900″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negativ

Like other Meike lenses I have tested thus far, it shares the same similarity when comes to focusing. The other end of the MFD is not the true infinity, the right infinity shot is where the infinity symbol is.

Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)

The MFD is 30 cm and I find it a pity as it is not as close as I expected. Probably due to engineering limitations or other technical issues, the Meike cannot make it shorter. For info, the Meike 7.5mm f2.8 fisheye lens is 15cm. But then, it is a fisheye lens and this is an ultrawide lens. Both lenses are designed differently.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 10mm f2 @ 10mm . f2. 1/2200″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

So if you are looking to have some very close-up shots, this lens may not be the right choice.

Price Point

Originally priced at 449 USD but now it is priced at 349.99 USD on the Meike website. It is not the cheapest price nor it is the most expensive one among all the manual lenses. It’s somewhere in between those price ranges.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 10mm f2 @ 10mm . f2. 1/80″ . ISO 1600 . Nostalgic Negative

Just for some sense, the newly launched XF8mm f3.5 is selling at 799.95 USD, Viltrox AF 13mm f1.4 is 459 USD, Rokinon 12mm f2 is 248 USD, and TTArtisan 17mm 1.4 is 118 USD.

Others

Similar to other manual lenses tested, there is an obvious change in white balance whenever I change aperture values; for example f2 to f4. It does not have a real impact if you shoot in raw format. But if you are a straight-out-of-camera (SOOC) photographer, probably you might have to take note of it.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 10mm f2 @ 10mm . f2. 1/80″ . ISO 400 . Nostalgic Negative

Who is this for?

As for the current market, I think there is no other lens that offers this combination (15mm in full frame equivalent and f2). For landscapes, architecture, cityscapes, and astrography photographers, you can consider getting this lens as part of your arsenal.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 10mm f2 @ 10mm . f2. 1/1500″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Although it is a manual lens, getting the right focus is not that challenging. If you have the time to spare, take your time to nail the shots or snap a few more shots with a slight change in focus range.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 10mm f2 @ 10mm . f2. 1/80″ . ISO 1000 . Nostalgic Negative

Conclusion

This lens is exceptionally good for its focal length. Although size and weight are the 2 drawbacks I have for this lens, it gives very usable f2 image quality shots that I cannot complain much about.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 10mm f2 @ 10mm . f4. 1/80″ . ISO 640 . Nostalgic Negative

With its latest pricing (as compared to the initial launched price), I think it is a very good investment if you can accept the 2 drawbacks. If Meike management or engineers are reading this article, if you are planning to create the successor, I hope you can improve on the 2 drawbacks and possibly on the front lens element as well. I believe it will be a popular one.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 10mm f2 @ 10mm . f2. 1/80″ . ISO 160 . Nostalgic Negative

Nonetheless, I am happy using this lens.

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 and Capture One 2023.

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.

If you like my works, please follow me on either one of the 2 Instagram accounts:

https://www.instagram.com/alwinkok_

https://www.instagram.com/alwin.portraits

If you have a Facebook account, feel free to join Fujifanboys FB group.

If you like my content and you want to show some support and keep this blog alive, you can buy me a coffee here.

Reviews

Meike 7.5mm f2.8 – In My Fisheye View

As the title suggests, it’s a fisheye lens. In my opinion, the fisheye lens is a niche product and it is really up to the photographers’ creativity (pardon me I’m not the creative one) to showcase this unique point of view. Nonetheless, I try my best to share what I can do with this lens.

This is not my first time experiencing a fisheye lens. I got my very first fisheye lens from 7Artisans when I had my X-T2 not long ago and then I also tested the TTArtisan 7.5mm f2 2 years back. In other words, a fisheye lens is not something I am not that unfamiliar with. Oh yes, this is a diagonal fisheye lens and not a circular fisheye lens.

Intro

This Fisheye lens from Meike was announced quite some time ago, in May 2022, which translates to a year-ish from the time this post is live. But it is still worth trying out with the new 40 megapixels sensor from Fujifilm.

For a note: It comes with various APS-C mounts (namely Canon EF-M, Fujifilm X, Nikon Z, and Sony E mount camera systems) and Micro Four Thirds mount too. Meike also released a couple of fisheye lenses (both diagonal and circular type) but this 7.5mm is probably the sexiest one among them.

Before continuing, I would like to express my gratitude to Meike for sharing this lens with me. Without their support, this post will not be able to be here today.

Meike 7.5mm f2.8

Design and Build Quality

The first thing you will get to notice is how well the lens is constructed. Visually, it’s a very compact fisheye lens, not as compact as a pancake lens but still compact. Unfortunately, like other Fisheye lenses, it is not possible to place a filter in front of the protruding lens. Oh yes, it comes with a built-in lens hood like most other fisheye lenses do too.

With its 260 grams, it doesn’t feel that heavy when I had it on hand. It feels a little bit dense but overall it does feel good on hand and is well-balanced.

At 7.5mm, it is equivalent to 11.25mm in 35mm format. This focal length is also probably the widest focal length among all landscape-oriented lenses. In case someone wonders, its angle of view is 190° diagonal, 161.8° horizontal, and 106.5° vertical.

Rotating the aperture ring is a pleasure, its clicky ring gives me a gentle satisfying experience to me. And like all Meike lenses I have tested so far, it comes with a rear metal bayonet too.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 7.5mm f2.8 @ 7.5mm . f2.8 . 1/85″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Image Quality

From my first impression, I am surprised by how sharp and contrasting it is at wide-open. And it is consistent at all focus ranges. However, the corners of the shots can be a little soft if ever one wonders. The fall-off between the subject and the foreground/background is smooth and blends quite well.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 7.5mm f2.8 @ 7.5mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 2500 . Nostalgic Negative

Although it has very mild vignetting, it also has good chromatic aberration control. I think I can ignore about doing post-processing because it is unnoticeable unless you are looking for it intentionally.

Another good surprise is how well the lens resolves around the newly developed sensor. No complain here.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 7.5mm f2.8 @ 7.5mm . f4 . 1/600″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Lastly, it does render very good sun star with very sharp star edges. However, background blur/bokeh is not something majestic and jaw-dropping, but it does its job well on subject separation. Anyway, I don’t think this is something most photographers are looking for in a fisheye lens.

Focusing

Like most of the Meike lenses I have tested thus far, the manual focus ring on this lens is smooth with very gentle friction. Oh yes, it rotates approximately 50° from Minimum Focus Distance to Infinity. It seems a little shorter than other lenses but it just works well with the focus precision with this focal length.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 7.5mm f2.8 @ 7.5mm . f4 . 1/1000″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)

With an MFD of 15cm, I hope it can go a little closer like 10cm or so. Because I think there will give a more interesting and creative point of shot if it is able to shoot at a shorter MFD.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 7.5mm f2.8 @ 7.5mm . f2.8 . 1/450″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Don’t get me wrong, 15cm is still impressive and it is a marvel achievement for a small and compact lens. The image results in retent the good sharpness and contrast at MFD. This is really stunning.

Price Point

Formally priced at USD 149, USD 139 is the new price it is going for on the Meike website. I think the price is pretty decent for the quality of this lens.

Others

Because it is an ultrawide lens and also such a compact lens. Depending on how you place your left index finger on the camera body, it can be within the field of view and will be part of the photo taken. At least this happens to my huge clumsy index finger saying hi to some of the photos taken.

One thing I am a little disappointed about is the lens cap. Although I wish the lens cap is made out of metal, it turns out to be a plastic one. After a while, I think it is fine but the lens cap happened to be quite loose. I am not sure if this just happened to be my unit. Nonetheless, this is the case.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 7.5mm f2.8 @ 7.5mm . f2.8 . 1/28″ . ISO 3200 . Nostalgic Negative

Like most manual lenses, it does suffer from white balance shifting from one aperture to the other. If you are doing in raw format, it is not much of a concern. If you are a Straight-Out-Of-Camera photographer, do take note.

Left: Fuji X-T5 . Meike 7.5mm f2.8 @ 7.5mm . f2.8 . 1/2500″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
Right: Fuji X-T5 . Meike 7.5mm f2.8 @ 7.5mm . f5.6 . 1/640″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

One last thing to note is that, although it comes with a built-in lens hood, it can still suffer with lens flare.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 7.5mm f2.8 @ 7.5mm . f8 . 1/1900″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Who is this for?

With this focal length, it makes suitable for landscapes, cityscapes, and astrography. But I believe creative minds and photographers who want to explore the beauty of the fisheye lens are welcome. If you ask me if there is any particular genre that is good with this lens, my answer to you is that I think it can suit almost every genre. As long as you know what you are looking for.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 7.5mm f2.8 @ 7.5mm . f5.6 . 1/800″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
Fuji X-T5 . Meike 7.5mm f2.8 @ 7.5mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 1000 . Nostalgic Negative

Conclusion

This lens is definitely one of the few primes lenses that I will bring for oversea travels. Not only it gives a whole new perspective to the places that I visit, it is also a good selfie/wefie lens.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 7.5mm f2.8 @ 7.5mm . f2.8 . 0.18″ . ISO 3200 . Nostalgic Negative

Meike did a good job in creating such a beautifully crafted fisheye lens. Great image quality and compact size are one of the best selling points for this lens. Not forgetting that the price is reasonable and affordable for any photographer who wants to attempt to try out this lens. It is surely another good attempt from Meike in broadening its portfolio with this lens.

Fuji X-T5 . Meike 7.5mm f2.8 @ 7.5mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic Negative

Thank you for reading.

If you are interested to get this lens, Meike is running an offer at a 20% discount. Simply key in this code: 207528 at checkout.

Click the link to purchase.

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 and Capture One 2023.

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.

If you like my works, please follow me on either one of the 2 Instagram accounts:

https://www.instagram.com/alwinkok_

https://www.instagram.com/alwin.portraits

If you have a Facebook account, feel free to join Fujifanboys FB group.

If you like my content and you want to show some support and keep this blog alive, you can buy me a coffee here.

Reviews

AstrHori 50mm f1.4 Tilt – Tilting Around My World

The good people of AstrHori send me their 50mm f1.4 Tilt lens for review. I thank them for their kind support. It does help our Fuji community to have one more opportunity to learn about this lens.

AstrHori was founded in 2018 and it is one of the few manufacturers who is producing accessories and lenses for full-frame mount and also GFX GF mount. But this is not the story for today.

Before proceeding further, I would like to clarify that the lens has tilt capability only and is not what the packaging or the box suggests, i.e., TS (Tilt Shift). One interesting fact about this lens is that it is a full-frame lens but it is available in X-mount.

Intro

We have limited options when it comes to tilt lens (and tilt-shift lens is literally non-existence for the native mount). As far as I am aware, there are not many manufacturers producing tilt lenses. The first one is from TTArtisan 50mm f1.4 tilt and then followed by AstrHori 50mm f.14 tilt.

Fuji X-T5 . AstrHori 50mm f1.4 Tilt @ 50mm . f4 . 1/2700″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative – Tilt

AstrHori 50mm f1.4 tilt comes with various mounts such as RF mount, Z mount, E mount but it also comes in M43 and of course the X mount.

Design and Build Quality

The first thing you will notice about this lens is that it has a very unique lens design. This is unlike any other normal lens and also the tilt-shift lens you see in the market. Rather, it resembles much like the Lensbaby.

It weighs 340 grams, I can feel it is quite dense and solid metal built when holding it in my hand. I can say it has very impressive built quality.

Fuji X-T5 . AstrHori 50mm f1.4 Tilt @ 50mm . f1.4 . 1/80″ . ISO 400 . Nostalgic Negative

It has two mechanisms to perform the tilt effect. There is a lock near the rear lens mount where we have to rotate clockwise to unlock and allow the ball to rotate freely. After adjusting the ball to the desired position, lock it back and start shooting. Sounds easy in principle, but we need to spend some time getting familiar with its mechanism. There is also a zero-return line where we can return the lens to this position for normal mode.

AstrHori 50mm f1.4 Tilt – Zero-Return Line

When comes to the aperture ring, this 75mm (full frame equivalent) lens is smooth and clickless. Like other clickless aperture ring lenses, I miss the clicky one as it gives me a sense of satisfaction when changing the aperture value. But the texture on the aperture ring is comfortable to hold.

Oh yes, it comes with a nice 46mm filter size. Very good size for filter lovers. And for the lens cap, it’s a screw-on cap. Not the most convenient but it’s nostalgic!

Image Quality

Since this is the tilt lens, I will discuss the image quality in two different modes, normal mode, and tilt mode.

When comes to normal mode, the wide-open shots are usable but lacking of contrast. However, some softness, chromatic aberration, and glowing effects can be observed if shots are taken between 3 meters and the infinity focal range. Mild vignetting can be observed across all focal ranges at wide open. Of course, the image quality will improve when you choose an aperture value from f2.8 onwards.

Fuji X-T5 . AstrHori 50mm f1.4 Tilt @ 50mm . f1.4 . 1/80″ . ISO 500 . Nostalgic Negative

As for tilt mode, the result is very shallow, soft, and lack of contrast at wide-open and that is beyond my level of usability. In my opinion, aperture f4 or f5.6 achieve more usable results. Similar to the normal mode, softness, and chromatic aberration have the same characteristics at the same focal range.

Fuji X-T5 . AstrHori 50mm f1.4 Tilt @ 50mm . f1.4 . 1/170″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

As for the sun star, it achieves a pretty good result.

Fuji X-T5 . AstrHori 50mm f1.4 Tilt @ 50mm . f16 . 1/125″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Focusing

The texture on the manual focus ring is the same as the aperture ring but it feels denier than the aperture ring when you rotate it. Having said that, it gives me a better-focusing control and also helps me to identify which ring am I. Also, it provides about 170° rotation from Minimum Focus Distance to Infinity.

Fuji X-T5 . AstrHori 50mm f1.4 Tilt @ 50mm . f1.4 . 1/14000″ . ISO 125 . Classic Negative – Tilt

Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)

Similar to most same focal length lenses, it comes with a 50cm MFD. Nothing to complain about because at least it is not more than 50cm.

Fuji X-T5 . AstrHori 50mm f1.4 Tilt @ 50mm . f1.4 . 1/80″ . ISO 160 . Nostalgic Negative

For shots taken at MFD and wide-open, it still has some softness and chromatic aberration, but maintains a good amount of sharpness and contrast.

Price Point

At 259 USD (199 USD on eBay), it belongs to the mid-tier price range one among the other manual lenses but given that it comes with 2 “types” of shooting experiences. I think it is still worth it.

Others

Like most modern manual lenses, you will get an off-focus shot at the infinity mark. With the help of focus-peaking, you can easily identify the right infinity shot.

Fuji X-T5 . AstrHori 50mm f1.4 Tilt @ 50mm . f1.4 . 1/300″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative

Who is this for?

Definitely, it is a good recommendation for photographers who want to try and explore shift lenses. And not forgetting that this 75mm (in full-frame equivalent) lens can be used for many other genres as well, especially portraits.

Fuji X-T5 . AstrHori 50mm f1.4 Tilt @ 50mm . f1.4 . 1/80″ . ISO 2500 . Nostalgic Negative

Conclusion

The tilt lens is niche but it comes in handy if you need one. Although it comes with a learning curve to use and understand how this shift lens works, I am sure you will be fine after getting hold of it.

And also, it is hard to come by to have a capable wide-open manual lens.

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 and Capture One 2023.

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.

If you like my works, please follow me on either one of the 2 Instagram accounts:

https://www.instagram.com/alwinkok_

https://www.instagram.com/alwin.portraits

If you have a Facebook account, feel free to join Fujifanboys FB group.

If you like my content and you want to show some support and keep this blog alive, you can buy me a coffee here.