I thank Ivan Joshua Loh from Fujifanboys for lending me this handheld cage for a short review. Before I begin, allow me to clarify, I am not a videographer so I cannot speak about how good the handling of this product is while filming. What I will share is my first impression of it, my apologies.
What’s in the box
It comes with many things in this package and I will list them below:
Cage
Top handler
HDMI & USB-C cable clamp
Hot shoe cover (with leveling)
Shutter button adapter
Side lock adapter
M2 screw (1 x short and 1 x long)
M3 screws x 2
Allen wrench
Tapered screw
Screws are not inside the shot.
Design
From its first look, it gives a compact and very strong retro steampunk vibe design (hence, the name). While the overall cage design is very much the same as the usual handheld cage design, this retro design set it apart from the norm. The brass-like cage with the brushed-off finished texture is so beautiful. Not forgetting the stitched leather handgrip is so beautifully curved along the grip.
Being a cage, it has to include several accessory mounting points right? So it comes with ARRI 3/8″-16 locating hole, a 1/4″-20 threaded hole, a 3/8″-16 threaded hole, a NATO rail, and also a cold shoe mount. And of course, this cage also comes with Arca-Swiss quick-release plate at the bottom.
Build Quality & Handling
The materials used here are mainly aluminum alloy, silicone, leather, and stainless steel. Overall, it gives a very sturdy and strong build. (I mean no one is expecting to have flimsy parts for a cage, right?)
It comes with a top handle, which gives a very good texture look and is comfortable in holding it.
The grip has a very deep contour and is very comfortable to hold for big hands like mine. With this huge grip design, SmallRig has even included a shutter button adapter to overcome the problem of reaching out to the shutter release button comfortably. How thoughtful they are. (But my long finger is still able to reach out for the shutter button.)
Others
There is a press-and-flip mechanism on the screw-on HDMI & USB-C cable clamp. This allows the videographer easily access to the camera interface cover without the need to remove the clamp.
If there are videographers who wish to wrist strap the camera, the cage comes with a wrist strap hole too.
At the base of the cage, there is a magnetic wrench/key which saves us a lot of time finding the right tool to loosen/tighten the screws.
In my own words
At 199 USD, it is the most expensive cage ever sold in SmallRig but I think it is totally worth it. I am sold by its retro design. It probably will seek some attention from the surrounding. But I feel that this retro cage does fuse well with the beautiful X-T5 too. Not only do they blend so well with each other, but the cage does also hold comfortably well. Thanks to its look, I might even consider getting this without the top handle. (Yes, SmallRig also sells without the top handle and cable clamp.) If you are looking for a beautifully crafted cage and do not mind spending a bit more, I think you can consider this.
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 or 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:
When I first saw the teaser post from Fuji rumors, my impression was that this is going to be hot selling one within the Fujifilm community if it is priced right. And the turn out to be quite true. At the price of 549 USD, Viltrox priced it so attractively and it sold out immediately on the Taobao platform and its online shop.
Viltrox 75mm f1.2
Intro
Viltrox is a name that we, Fujifilm photographers, are familiar with since the birth of its very first autofocus lens, 85mm f1.8 (MK I). Like many photographers, I am impressed by how the Viltrox engineers reverse engineered the X-mount design and work around it. To refresh everyone’s memory, Fujifilm did not open up their X-mount protocol to every third-party manufacturer and Viltrox make it!
Viltrox 75mm f1.2
Viltrox 75mm f1.2 is an uncommon focal length at 112.5mm (in full frame equivalent). But I believe photographers, who are using XF80mm and XF90mm, easily adapt to this new focal length.
Viltrox 75mm f1.2
Design and Build Quality
There are two things you will get to notice when you hold the lens: the weight, and the build quality.
At 670 grams, I can feel the mass on my hand. It is definitely not light among most of the lenses. Every part of it is by no means cheap or cheap-built, you can feel that the build quality is belongs to the top tier.
The aperture ring is the clickable one (it does not have de-click option) and it has that satisfying clicking experience whenever you rotate the ring. It also comes with a “A” for automatic aperture choosing by the camera but what missing here is the aperture ring lock release that prevents accidental switch.
Unlike the metal lens hood with Viltrox 33mm f1.4, this 75mm lens comes with the plastic lens hood and it is kind of loose when it is face-inside the lens barrel. But it locked up quite well when it faces away from the lens barrel.
Image Quality
At f1.2, the image quality is really sharp. Probably one of the most clinical sharp lenses on the market out there. At wide open, the subject easily pops out from the background. The lens renders the bokeh well and quite smoothening. Even the fall-off is excellent too.
Is clinical sharp a bad thing or a good thing? In my opinion, it is not a good or bad thing. It is based on individual preference and I know some photographers end up de-sharpen in posts with the results from this lens. For me, this is how this lens performs and something, and it is better to have clinically sharp than characteristically soft because this is a pro-grade lens.
As for me, certain shots happen to be over sharpen for my liking but still within my acceptable range. This doesn’t happen in every shot I take. Probably many factors like light and shadow play a part too.
The chromatic aberration is very well-controlled and I did not notice anything. However, there is a small amount of vignetting at wide-open but it can be resolved via increasing of aperture value or in post-processing.
The lens (or focus) breathing is surprisingly good here. The focus distance did not change dramatically as you change the focus distance from MOD to infinity and vice versa. This can be a great deal for videographer.
Focusing
How should I put it? If I try to focus from the Minimum Focus Distance to anywhere far, I will experience some sluggish focusing. It will take quite a while to focus on the subject I want.
Two: Stepper Motor (STM) might be another factor as it is not the faster-focusing motor that is equipped with a lens. But we have seen some other lenses perform quite well with STM too.
If the focus distance and the subject are close to each other, it performs quite well. On the other hand, the eye-AF works quite well and behaves quite close to what the Fujifilm lenses can perform. (that is provided it does not encounter the sluggish focusing mentioned above.)
Minimum Focus Distance (MOD)
It has a MOD of 0.88m, which also means that it can’t really focus that close to the subject. If you are looking for a lens that can do a tight close-up shot, this lens is not designed for that.
I have to reiterate again that 549 USD for a fast autofocus prime lens with the metal build quality is really a good deal. So far, there is no one lens that can price match with Viltrox in this aspect.
Like other third-party manufacturers, there is always a kind of digital communication to support future firmware upgrades via SD card, dock, or USB port. In this case, there is a USB-C port located at the rear of the lens. I’m glad to see this than the micro-USB found in Viltrox 85mm f1.8 Mark II. Unfortunately, pardon the OCD, the design of the USB-C is not quite symmetrical to the red dot, I wish it is.
As a pro lens, it comes with an AF/MF switch, and if you need to switch to manual mode, you need to switch it from the switch. The Focus mode selector on your Fuji camera bodies will not enable the lens to manual focus. This might be a little hassle for photographers who need it but do take note.
Who is this for?
This is a portrait lens and of course, I have to recommend it to portrait photographers and pre-wedding photographers. Although this lens is slow in focusing return, it will not fail you with the image quality it produces. For product shoot photographers, you can consider this lens too.
As for the rest of the genres, I cannot really recommend using them. I mean it is a great lens but here are some of the downsides that make it not as versatile as other lenses offered in the market.
First, this lens is not ideal for street, documentary, and the like photography genres because of its size and weight. It attracts attention easily, and the weight will weigh you down over time. Basically, it is not a suitable candidate for such genres. But if you insist (like me), you can do so. Because image quality will pay off your sweat and effort.
Second, it does not have short (or close) MOD. So for a photographer like me who love to shoot as close to the subject as possible, this is kind of a bumper. But it still renders the image very well at MOD.
Conclusion
This is Viltrox’s first-ever pro-grade lens. I think it nails almost everything and this lens simply outperforms its pricing with image quality. To date, there is no one lens able to match it equally. This is definitely a good start for Viltrox venturing into the Pro series and Viltrox has indeed set a high benchmark for every manufacturer to follow. I cannot wait to see what Viltrox’s next Pro lenses will be. I am really excited.
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 or 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:
One fine day, Ivan posted the Rokinon deal on the Fujifanboys Facebook group. It was Rokinon 85mm f1.4 and it was quite a good deal at about 68 SGD (51 USD) or less. I was not tempted somehow. A moment later, Ivan posted yet another Rokinon deal and it was shared by Rayz Lee (a member of the Facebook group) to him.
Rokinon 35mm f1.2Rokinon 35mm f1.2Rokinon 35mm f1.2 with lens hood
Based on the header of this post, no surprise here. I immediately placed my order for the Rokinon 35mm f1.2 and it was only 98 SGD (73 USD). In case you wonder, Amazon sells this lens between 300 SGD to 600 SGD (223 USD to 445 USD). That’s a huge discount for this Korean brand (also known as Samyang).
From the lens appearance, it isn’t as small as the XF35mm f1.4 and also evitably larger than what other 3rd party manual lens manufacturers are offering. And it is even bigger in size than the TTArtisan 35mm f0.95. To be fair, this Rokinon 35mm f1.2 was announced back in 2016, and the lens design is definitely improved over the years in the industry.
From left to right: Rokinon 35mm f1.2 . XF35mm f1.4 . TTArtisan 35mm f1.4 . TTArtisan 35mm f0.95Fuji X-T5 . Rokinon 35mm f1.2 @ 35mm . f4 . 1/30″ . ISO 3200 . Nostalgic Negative
The lens is made of plastic but it’s a high-quality one. Again this is a different approach from the usual metal build quality 3rd party manufacturers and I can probably understand why this is the approach. I will explain later.
The aperture ring on this 50mm (full frame equivalent) is clicky and not those de-click buttery smooth kind found in most recent new lenses from other manufacturers. However, it is a little stiff when I change the aperture. Not sure if it just happens to my unit but I have to use a little more force to rotate the ring than any of the lenses I have tried so far.
As for the lens cover, it is the typical pinch-to-release type of plastic cover. The lens hood is also made of plastic but it is painted to have the same color as the lens body. At least there is some attention to detail here.
Shooting wide open is unbelievably great and the image quality is totally usable with great contrast. With f1.2, it gives more separation between the main subject and others and allows the main subject to be more pop.
In my period of shooting, I do not observe any obvious chromatic aberration. Similar to vignetting, the corners are pretty mild and considered close to none.
At 38mm MFD, there is nothing to shout about for this focal length. It is not a show-stopper to prevent photographers to shoot in their favorite genres. Just that it is slightly further away than what current 35cm “standard” MFD that other manufacturers are providing.
According to its suggested retail price, it is selling at 499 USD. While Amazon and B&H do have some sales occasionally, with an average of about 349 USD.
Who is this for?
I won’t recommend this lens to someone who is looking for a budget fast prime lens because it is not that budget unless you found the same deal as mine.
Secondly, it is not a compact lens like others too. If you really like the image quality from this lens, then you can consider getting one for the genre of your favorite except for macro.
To be fair, this manual lens isn’t cheap and the size of this lens is bigger than any other lenses released in recent 1-2 years. But the image quality from this glass is undeniably great among the other lenses of the same category.
Despite having some shortfalls like build quality, size, weight, and not being the fastest lens on the market, I enjoy every shot taken with this lens especially taken wide open. It is just so awesome that I can simply accept these disadvantages.
After using so many metal-constructed lenses, I do miss the metal-build quality as it does make the lens feel more premium. I do hope this lens comes with one as well but the plastic build of this lens is there for a reason. It is to keep the weight down and reasonably balance with the camera body. I think Rokinon/Samyang has considered it as well.
Overall, this lens is easily categorized as one of the best manual lenses out there in the market.
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:
I think TTArtisan loves “50mm” a lot. They have lots of choices for this mid-telephoto focal length. TTArtisan has the brightest 50mm, the most compact 50mm variants, and now they have introduced the 4th “50mm” and it has the most distinctive function among all their lenses; the tilt function.
TTArtisan 50mm Tilt f1.4
Similar to the compact 50mm, this lens is also designed as a full-frame lens. Does that mean the optical quality is better on the APS-C sensor? I think we can scroll down and see it for ourselves.
TTArtisan 50mm Tilt f1.4
Before you read further, this is my first time using a tilt lens. I will try to elaborate based on my experience with using this lens as much as possible. Also, I would like to thank TTArtisan for sending this lens to me. Without their kind support, this will not happen.
TTArtisan 50mm Tilt f1.4
Design & Build Quality
The first thing you will notice is the design of this lens. It has a completely different design language from the rest of the TTArtisan lenses. The most obvious 2 extra knobs on the lens body are the first thing I noticed and followed by the sort of zig-zag line across the lens. Obviously, they are important roles for the tilt function.
Despite all these new elements, you can rest assured of the build quality coming out from TTArtisan. As usual, still has the same well-built quality from them. You will not get any disappointment when holding this lens. It weighs 450 grams and it is the heaviest 50mm coming from TTArtisan thus far.
When comes to filter thread, this 75mm (full frame equivalent) lens has a “considerably” large 62mm filter thread that is compared to its 50mm siblings. Given the extra function in the lens, 62mm filter thread is considerably reasonable.
The black knob is to control the tilt mechanism with a tilt angle of ± 8°. For how I use them, I will unlock one knob at a time, adjust to the desired degree, lock it and then continue to adjust with the other knob. With the focus peaking, it helps me to visualize and easily noticeable on where my plane of focus is.
Unlike the usual TTArtisan lenses, this lens uses a click-less aprture, and honestly speaking, I missed the clicks experience that I always love. To make things worse, there are times when I rotate the aperture ring instead of the focus ring without realizing it. Only get to notice it after checking out the shots and looking at my lens. (Since this lens does not have any electronic contact with the camera, hence I cannot see the aperture value from the EVF / LCD.) Sometimes I even think that my camera or the lens is “broken”.
And like the 23mm f1.4, it comes with metal cap-on lens cap instead of the screw-in type found in most of the lens lineup. I love this approach and I hope TTArtisan will keep it this way for their future lenses.
In this category, I will split into 2 sections: “conventional lens” mode and “tilt lens” mode.
Before that, shooting wide open for both modes has a strong vignetting and chromatic aberration. And of course, these can be edited in post-process or lower down the aperture value.
For “conventional lens” mode, the image quality is slightly usable at wide open. The image quality tends to be soft and lacks contrast. And sometimes I cannot tell if my shots are in focus as the shots are too soft. This is based on my past experience with TTArtisan lenses and is usually not really within my minimum acceptance. Usually, I prefer f2 on most lenses. But for this lens, I preferred results at f2.8 as it is sharper and has better contrast.
For “tilt lens” mode, the image quality is not quite usable. Due to the tilt effect and shooting wide open, the focused subject can be very shallow (depending on the shooting angle) and very easily affected by chromatic aberration. Again, I preferred the results at f2.8 and f4 which give a better focus to blur off under the tilt effect. To note the tilt effect will be reduced further as the aperture value gets lower and that is pretty obvious from f5.6 onwards.
Like their other 50mm lenses, it maintains its MFD at 50cm. This is where I think the image quality is at its softest and lacking the contrast the most when shoot wide open. Again, shooting at 1 to 2 stops lower to gain better image quality.
When you shoot at infinity for normal shooting and tilt shooting, this lens has a common issue like most manual lenses. The result will be off-focused. Hence you need to rotate back a little before the infinity marking to get a fully focused result.
For 199 USD, it is priced very closely to the f0.95 lenses, which also means that it is priced on the higher side of the spectrum for the APS-C lenses category. Given the uniqueness of this lens, I think this is a decent price point.
There are not a lot of tilt lenses in the market. And not forgetting that back in those days, tilt and shift lenses are very expensive, and not many photographers will buy one and use it.
With this lens, the potential photographer can use it as a conventional portrait lens where it can be used for many genres like street, documentary, product shoot, archiecture, cityscape, landscape, etc. At times, the potential photographer can also use its tilt mode for more creativity, adventure, and extraordinary perspective.
Conclusion
I mentioned this before and I have to mention this again. TTArtisan never fails to surprise photographers with their new lenses. The overall usability of this lens is very versatile and probably even more practical than its f0.95 sibling.
Personally, I like the tilt function as it helps me to create a good foreground and background blur especially for the cityscape shots and archiecture shots. It is also good in creating miniture effect too.
While the image quality at wide open has room to improve, I can tell that TTArtisan has been improving slowly with each new lens. I hope TTArtisan will continue with the new breakthrough and new unique lens to keep up with the excitement and of course, hope to see more tilt lenses in the future too.
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:
The year 2022 was another fruitful year for me. Of the 28 posts I have posted this year, 21 are reviews of camera gears and lenses. I also had a small achievement by getting 100k views on this blog this year (A big thank you, everyone!). It is challenging to juggle my job, photo shoots, and family time but I am glad I have made it and I enjoy the process.
Again, I would like to thank Carmen, Marketing Manager of Fujifilm Singapore, Cles Distribution of Tamron, Mr. Lawson from Sigma Marketing (Singapore), TTArtisan, Laowa, and FunLeader for giving me the opportunity to be able to hands-on with the gears and lenses, otherwise, this would not even happen.
I am happy to see more X-mount lenses released this year. Especially this year, Fuji has gained a lot of support from the 3rd party manufacturers and of course, I am referring to the autofocus lenses. While we have no idea what Fujifilm going to release next year but I hope to have an exciting one (I pray for X-Pro 4 and X100V successor arrival). And I also hope to see more autofocus lenses from 3rd party manufacturers to be released next year.
Okay, back to the topic. This is a little different from last year. I decided just to share what are my favorite photos taken this year (because it is hard to filter just 12 photos) and I also split them into 2 categories: “The street” & “The portrait”. Please enjoy.
XF30mm f2.8 R LM WR macro, I will call it XF30mm f2.8 here, was first teased in Fujifilm X Summit Omiya 2022 and then finally announced together with X-T5 on the Fujifilm X Summit Tokyo 2022. This lens also marked the “last of 10th anniversary of X mount” released in 2022.
XF30mm f2.8 R LM WR macro
Before I share further, I would like to thank Ms. Carmen, Marketing Manager of Fujifilm Singapore, for arranging and loaning the XF30mm f2.8 and X-E4 for this review. By the time this post was online, both the lens and camera unit had returned back to Fujifilm Singapore.Also, in this experience sharing, I tested with my X-T5 as well.
XF30mm f2.8 R LM WR macro
Intro
XF30mm f2.8 is the latest and the third macro lens in the Fujifilm lineup. At 45mm in full-frame equivalent, this focal length is unique for a life-size macro photography lens. That’s because typically when we think about macro lenses, they are usually about 100mm-ish focal length and shoot from a mid-range distance. Although there are manufacturers that create similar focal lengths to XF30mm, this is Fujifilm’s first of its kind.
First things first, the design element of this lens resembles much like the XF50mm f2. From afar, I am sure not everyone can tell the difference between the two (unless using a silver XF50mm f2). If you take a closer look, the XF30mm is a tad taller but it comes with a smaller filter thread at 43mm as compared to 46mm on the XF50mm f2.
XF30mm f2.8 and XF50mm f2Fuji X-E4. XF30mm f2.8 @ 30mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 1000 . Classic Negative
Among its macro siblings, it is the lightest. Weighing 195 grams against XF60mm 2.4 at 215 grams and XF80mm f2.8 at 750 grams. It is also the smallest (smaller than XF60mm by a bit).
The aperture ring is as clicky as most of the Fuji lenses out there. It comes with an A (Auto) Position Lock too if you prefer to have aperture control via the front command dial.
At wide open, the image quality from this lens is super sharp with great contrast. Even when shooting so close to the subject, the sharpness remains great and the details are well-preserved. I think “clinical sharp” is the best word to describe the optic of this lens.
Unlike harsh and messy bokeh in some lenses, I do love and appreciate how the glass renders beautifully with the fall-off being seamless. Also, I think this is an expectation from Fuji-designed lenses but I do not observe any chromatic aberration or vignetting in the photos.
As for sunny star, this lens doesn’t seem to give a sharp one, even at its smallest aperture. But this is not important in my opinion because what’s important is its macro capability, right?
In the first part, its focus locked really quickly for the usual applications. Very similar to the new generation lens such as XF23mm f1.4 WR, etc, it just snaps onto the subject real quick. In this portion, I have no problem focusing both day and night. As for the cameras I have tested, it focuses fast on an X-E4 but it focuses even faster on the X-T5, which shows the power of the new X-Trans sensor and processor.
The second part, it has the typical macro lens characteristics when I shoot really close to the subject and under low light situations. I experienced a slight focus throw to infinity and back slowly before it locked to the subject. If you know how to recover from this situation quickly, then it will be fine.
The Minimum Focus Distance is only 10cm from the sensor, the shortest among all the Fujifilm lenses and that includes the macro lenses (XF64mm f2.4 is 26cm and XF80mm f2.8 is 25cm). It can shoot very close to the subject if you wonder. So close to the extent that the lens hood is in its way if you mount the lens hood for protection, etc.
Surprisingly, this is the cheapest macro lens among the 3 Fujifilm macro lenses. At 599 USD, it is merely 50 USD cheaper than the XF60mm f2.4 (the first-ever macro lens from Fujifilm).
This might be a good choice if you are a new photographer or looking for your first prime lens. It has a sweet focal length suitable for genres like street, documentary, journalism, portraits, animal portrait, cityscape, and landscape and also steps into the world of macro like insects, products, etc.
I love shooting with my XF80mm f2.8 especially when I shoot for products and portraits. That’s simply because of the sharpness and details that only a macro lens can deliver but it is not a cheap one and it is not the lightest prime lens.
Back to this lens, you do not need to be a macro lover to like this lens. Its MOD basically allows you to take a closer shot of your subject without worrying about having off-focus shots. It also has a focal length close to the “standard” prime lens. This brings out even more versatility in using this lens.
In short, the XF30mm f2.8 is not the brightest prime lens among the Fuji lenses, but it is one of the most well-balanced and versatile lenses on the market.
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:
We all know the function and purpose of a camera rear body cap. It is to cover and protect the sensor when it is not in use. That’s simple.
FunLeader Caplens 18mm f8 Pro
Some of us might even be aware of some interesting body caps such as Fujifilm XM-FL 24mm, 7artisans 18mm f6.3, or other pinhole body cap lenses. The purpose is to enjoy the fun of shooting and create very lomography kind of photo results.
FunLeader Caplens 18mm f8 Pro
Before I continue further, I would like to thank the good guy at FunLeader for sending this cap lens to me for review without any hesitation. I am grateful to them for supporting and believing in me. Nonetheless, this post is not biased and shared purely my experience with the cap lens.
Intro
FunLeader launched their first FunLeader Caplens 18mm f8.0 (a Kickstarter product) back in December 2019. It is still available on FunLeader’s website today! And now, FunLeader launches their upgraded cap lens and it is called FunLeader Caplens 18mm f8 0.3m-∞ Pro. From the name, we can tell there must be something different from their 2019 cap lens, and of course, the name has already given out the hint.
Fuji X-T5 . FunLeader Caplens 18mm f8 Pro @ 18mm . f8 . 1/1250″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
This 27mm (in full-frame equivalent) wide-angle focal length is one of the popular focal lengths among street photographers. As the name suggested, f8 is its brightest aperture. In fact, f8 is the only aperture, and no other aperture options are available to choose from. So how is it going to perform as an f8 lens? Continue to scroll down.
Fuji X-T5 . FunLeader Caplens 18mm f8 Pro @ 18mm . f8 . 1/170″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
Note: This cap lens comes with 2 mounts, E-mount and X-mount.
Design & Build Quality
It is an aluminum build cap lens. It is well constructed with unexpectedly sleek and decent built quality. It weighs 71 grams and is 17 mm thick! It seems light in number but you can feel the weight of the cap lens when you hold it in your hand.
Being a cap lens also means that there is no filter thread for you to mount your filters in and does not come with a lens cap.
Focusing
Fuji X-T5 . FunLeader Caplens 18mm f8 Pro @ 18mm . f8 . 1/2″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
Like all cap lenses, it is a fixed aperture and non-electronic contact. The similarity stops here. FunLeader 18mm f8 pro comes with an adjustable focus dial with distances between 0.3m, 0.5m, 0.7m, 1m, 2m, and infinity. If you are aware, the usual body cap lenses do not provide such functionality.
Fuji X-T5 . FunLeader Caplens 18mm f8 Pro @ 18mm . f8 . 1/80″ . ISO 640 . Nostalgic Negative
The idea of having an adjustable focus distance is excellent. It allows photographers to have close to manual lens shooting experience.
And very similar to changing the aperture on some manual lenses, changing between the focus distances gives excellent clicky feedback.
I do not have the first-generation cap lens from FunLeader, hence, I am not sure how much the image quality has improved in this pro version. In my opinion, the image quality is within my expectation. That doesn’t mean the image quality is excellent but acceptable for a cap lens.
I noticed that the photos look better with any focus distance except for infinity. For most focus distances, the results look good, adequately sharp with decent contrast in it.
At infinity, the shots sometimes look unexpectedly soft, lacking a certain level of sharpness, and contrast. Vignetting is pretty strong with this cap lens. On the other hand, thanks to the small aperture value, I do not observe any chromatic aberration.
By the way, if you are looking to create a sunny star shot from this cap lens, you should probably look out for another lens because this cap lens does not come with any aperture blade.
Honestly, for a cap lens to have an MFD of 30 cm is impressive. It is a tiny, extremely compact “lens” than any other lens out there in the market. For comparison, XM-FL 24mm has an MFD of 1 meter, 7artisans 18mm f6.3 is 35cm and the original cap lens is 80 cm.
Fuji X-T5 . FunLeader Caplens 18mm f8 Pro @ 18mm . f8 . 1/150″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
Fuji X-T5 . FunLeader Caplens 18mm f8 Pro @ 18mm . f8 . 1/85″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
As I mentioned earlier, the results at 30 cm are pretty usable. The sharpness and contrast are pretty good here.
Fuji X-T5 . FunLeader Caplens 18mm f8 Pro @ 18mm . f8 . 1/420″ . ISO 320 . Nostalgic NegativeFuji X-T5 . FunLeader Caplens 18mm f8 Pro @ 18mm . f8 . 1/180″ . ISO 320 . Nostalgic Negative
Other
FunLeader is a thoughtful company. Knowing that most photographers will stick the cap lens to their camera, FunLeader still includes a pouch for the cap lens when it is not in use. “Lens” protection in a way.
Cap lens pouch
Something to note and maybe it is only me (user problem). I do encounter some dust trapped around the cap lens, especially the gap between the focus dial and the non-movable area. Some of the dust can be easily removed but some are just stubbornly stuck there.
Secondly, due to its slim design, the focus dial is slim too. Hence, it is a little hard to grab with big fingers. But I get used to it after a little familiarization.
Fuji X-T5 . FunLeader Caplens 18mm f8 Pro @ 18mm . f8 . 1/20″ . ISO 3200 . Nostalgic Negative Fuji X-T5 . FunLeader Caplens 18mm f8 Pro @ 18mm . f8 . 1/120″ . ISO 3200 . Nostalgic NegativeFuji X-T5 . FunLeader Caplens 18mm f8 Pro @ 18mm . f8 . 1/200″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
Although it is not able to create a sunny star shot, it does have some flares when you are facing the sun.
For the price of 139 USD, it is not cheap as there are many fully functional manual lenses around this price or even cheaper. But if you want it, you will get it, right?
Fuji X-T5 . FunLeader Caplens 18mm f8 Pro @ 18mm . f8 . 1/6400″ . ISO 320 . Nostalgic Negative
Who is this for?
This wide-angle cap lens covers quite a good coverage of photography genres such as landscape, cityscape, and street.
Like all cap lenses, this cap lens comes with one and only one aperture, f8. If you are looking for challenging yourself shooting street with a fixed aperture lens, for the “Lomographic” fun and enjoying straightforward results, then this cap lens might be suitable for you.
Fuji X-T5 . FunLeader Caplens 18mm f8 Pro @ 18mm . f8 . 1/56″ . ISO 3200 . Nostalgic Negative
Also, the holiday season is coming and I think it is a great gift to your fellow photographer friends.
Conclusion
From this Caplens 18mm f8 Pro, I can see innovation from the company. FunLeader had made some good improvements from the first-generation cap lens such as improved MFD, lighter weight, and most important of all, focus dial. This focus dial is the first of its kind and no one else actually did it, except FunLeader.
If you are interested in getting this cap lens, the good guy at FunLeader has given me the coupon code “ALWINKOK” and you can enjoy 5% off with your purchase at checkout.
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:
TTArtisan has just announced yet another fast, bright lens. The TTArtisan 35mm f0.95 is the second lens after TTArtisan 50mm f0.95. If you are a fan of TTArtisan or somehow followed them closely, you will notice that they are slowly expanding and differentiating their product line-up. While they focus on compactness and portability lenses like the TTArtisan 25mm f2, they have another product line-up that goes “all-in” by creating the fastest, brightest lens they can. Can this lens do as good as its sibling? Let’s find out.
TTArtisan 35mm f0.95TTArtisan 35mm f0.95
Before I continue with my sharing, I thank TTArtisan for sending this lens to me. To the readers passing by this blog post, you can rest assured that I give my honest opinions on this lens, similar to the rest of the TTArtisan products that I have shared.
Intro
This is TTArtisan’s second 35mm (or 50mm in full-frame equivalent focal length) lens for the APS-C sensor. This focal length is also one of my favorite focal lengths, especially for street shots and simple portraits, and I believe there are many photographers who love this focal length too.
TTArtisan does a good job of distinguishing its lens design and this design element maintains the same as the TTArtisan 50mm f0.95. The zebra-like design, however, has received mixed opinions among photographers and some discussions are made among the groups.
The aperture ring is as good as the rest of the TTArtisans lens lineup. It gives a very comfortable clicky experience when you rotate the aperture ring. I do enjoy changing apertures because of that even when I am just holding my camera in my hand.
When I have this lens, there is no information about its specification and also its weight. So I use my wife’s kitchen weighing scale to weigh. It is 243 grams (258 grams with the lens cap). It is 168 grams lighter than the sibling so it is not the heaviest manual lens.
When you hold this lens, the first thing you will feel is the weight. Secondly, you can also feel how well the full metal and glass built quality are.
Image Quality
The depth of field of f0.95 is really very shallow and thus gives me an issue nailing the shots. When I manage to hit a focused shot, this lens can give a kind of soft and glowing character which gives us a kind of dreamy feel to the photos.
On the other hand, chromatic aberration and vignetting are observable, especially at wide open. This is an expected result (at least to me) but it can fix in post-processing.
In my test, nonetheless, shooting at f2 meets my minimum acceptance of a good level of sharpness and contrast. Again, this is my personal preference and yours might be different from me.
The focus throw is approximately 180° which gives an ample amount of “distance” for more precise and easier focus. This really helps a lot, particularly for photographers who are not getting used to manual focus.
Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)
Similar to most 35mm lenses out in the market, the MFD is 35 cm. In my opinion, nothing to complain about the MFD. Shooting at this MFD allows better subject-background separation but if you shoot wide open, you will get to see heavier dreamy soft shots than any other focus distance.
Given that it is one of the fastest lenses in the market, at 199 USD, I think the lens is well-priced and also slightly cheaper than its sibling. Moreover, the price is highly competitive as compared to its competitors.
This lens is a lens you can consider if you are a dreamy and soft photo lover and you know what you want to achieve with this lens. It is also lighter than its sibling, making it a better option if someone wants that fast and bright lens.
If you are a first-timer with manual lenses and you are unsure if you want to invest in them or are ready for the world of manual focusing lenses, then I think you can consider many other TTArtisan lenses that are an even lighter and more affordable option.
if you are like me who prefers the results taken at f2, shouldn’t it make sense for me to choose the other f2 lenses instead of this one? Yes, you can consider that but photographers always say that it is always to have such a lens on standby with you. Because you never know when you will need it.
Conclusion
Both siblings share a lot of common things like image quality, built quality, and the character of the lens. Everything I expect from this lens is within my expectation, which is a good thing. If choosing between the 2 siblings, I will prefer to get this lens over the other, all because of the weight and versatility.
TTArtisan shows no sign of stopping here and I am sure these benefits photographers like us as we have more lens options to choose from. My guess is that they are probably going to launch the 3rd lens for this category and I hope that 23mm will be the one. I am excited and looking forward to what TTArtisan has up its sleeve in the year 2023.
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:
My most anticipated camera is finally here. I skipped X-T4 not because it is not a worthy camera to upgrade. An improved battery and In-Body Image Stabilization are most welcome. But something I am unexpected back then is that it came with a fold-out fully articulated screen. Partly because I love how the 3-way tilting screen works for me and if I used a similar screen configuration like the X-T4 and X-S10, I have some parallax error when I fold out the screen for low-angle shots. Nevertheless, at that point in time, the choice of having an articulated screen is the best option as the X-T4 was positioned as a hybrid flagship camera.
Fuji X-T5
Now, X-T4 has 2 indirect successors, X-H2S and X-H2. They are the new generation hybrid flagship cameras in the Fujifilm line-up. Now it is time for Fujifilm to give us photographers a photography-centric camera and that’s true. During the X Summit Tokyo 2022, Yuji Igarashi san mentioned “FujiFilm will never forget photograph, which means, we will never forget its photographic cameras.” This is where I think Fujifilm is clear and remain committed to photographers like us and of course, hearing our voices and caring about our feedback.
Fuji X-T5
Before I continue further, I would like to thank Ms. Carmen, Marketing Manager of Fujifilm Singapore, for arranging and loaning the X-T5 for review. By the time this post is online, the camera unit had returned back to Fujifilm Singapore.
Fuji X-T5
Design, Build Quality, Handling & The Shutter…
X-T5, in general, maintains the same good retrospective design. It obtains many similarities to X-T2/T3 such as a 3-way tilting LCD screen and compact size (actually a tad smaller). Not only that, but it also takes something good (and bad) from the X-T4 too.
Dials, dials, and dials. This should be one of the many reasons why we love Fuji. And the dials aren’t disappointing us. They are good to turn and give one of the best tactile feedbacks thus far. But there is one dial that I am not sure fits the “Photography first” philosophy and that is the “Still/Movie mode dial”. How I wish that X-T5 has the same “Metering” dial placement as the X-T3 instead of the “Still/Movie mode dial” found in the X-T4. But I guess, one needs to know how to be contented. (Metering mode can be accessed via the “Up” selector button.)
With the redesign of the camera grip, it now feels better to hold than the X-T3. But if you have big hands like me, I will suggest you get a handgrip to have that extra confidence to hold the camera.
The weight of the X-T5 is slightly heavier than X-T3, 557 grams against 539 grams (both with battery). In practice, it is hard to tell which one is heavier with them holding onto your hand. But definitely lighter than X-T4’s 607 grams.
Since X-T5 inherits almost everything internally from X-H2, I will not discuss much over here. It comes with the X-Trans CMOS sensor 5 HR and the X-Processor 5. In short, the photography performance is identical during my test (except for the videography).
Since it has the same sensor and processor so everything should be the same, right? In my opinion, yes. Or at least I do not see anything different. One word: awesome!
Based on my camera usage, I feel that the autofocus performance is (almost) no different from the X-H2. Of course, it is also depending on which lenses you are using. Combining X-T5 with newer lenses makes the overall experience snappier, locking onto the subject faster and more accurately. While the older lenses (particularly without Linear Motor), are slower but are still not far off too.
How about comparing both X-T3 and X-T5? In my opinion, you can really feel the difference in AF performance and accuracy rate between both of them, regardless of the newer or old lenses.
IBIS
X-T5 can also achieve up to 7 stops compensation with some lenses up to 5 stops. Yes, the same as X-H2 and X-H2S. So technically I should be able to obtain a good 1/2-second result like the one I did in X-H2 and X-H2S. Well, close enough. I manage to get a 1-second hand-held shot.
According to CIPA, the battery life of NP-W235 on X-T5 can achieve 580 shots while 680 shots on X-H2. In my test, I spend about 40% of the battery life in return for 350+ shots. Doing some mathematics calculations, it should achieve about 700 shots or more. Of course, we need to include many factors like how we use the camera, the environment, etc.
With the advantage of 40 megapixels, I hope they will update X-T5 (and X-H2) with more aspect ratios such as X-Pan 65:24 and any other ratios that GFX gets to enjoy. Although cropping can be done in post, but it will be even better if we have this option right from the camera.
I have mentioned this before in my X-H2 review but I want to highlight it here again. 40 megapixels is a big resolution and I believe not everyone who upgrades to X-T5 wishes to have kept the 40-megapixel raw file. I hope to see if there is an option as to what raw resolution (i.e. large, medium, small) we want to keep, similar to other brands with such offerings. This can be done easily via firmware updates.
If Fujifilm reads this, I hope they can consider these as future firmware updates.
Something worth taking note of:
When you turn the ISO dial, make sure that the Drive dial is not turning together with the ISO dial. Because in my testing, I do turn the Drive dial by accident. Thanks to my big fingers. So if goes unnoticed, you will be taking an HDR shot.
The 3-way tilting LCD screen has a good resolution pump. This does help a lot especially when I do I use focus peaking for my manual lens shooting and also improves viewing the image sharpness.
Unfortunately, the EVF resolution remains the same but I am still happy.
There is a 160-megapixel pixel-shift capability too. A good add-on from the X-H2. Unfortunately, I did not spend time testing out this.
Who is this for?
For photographers who have been using Fuji X-T1, X-T2, and X-T3 or X-Txx series, or even the X-Txxx series and are keen to look for a camera body upgrade. This is the camera you can consider getting and I believe it should last us many years ahead.
For X-T4 photographers, you may consider if you really need to upgrade. Personally, I think it is still a good camera to shoot with.
For beginners, this camera is no doubt a great camera to pick up if you have the budget. Photography is an expensive hobby. The investment you put in is not only a camera body and a lens. There are many accessories that need to be filled too. If you have a tight budget, my suggestion is to get a lower-end body with a better lens(es). Because glass is always more important.
There are many influencers ranting about why X-T5 overlapping X-H2 and many other things about X-T5. But I can see why and what all this ranting is about. Simply they are not familiar with Fujifilm and Fujifilm’s new directions. They choose to rant than spend time understanding what Fujifilm has changed and the decision Fujifilm made and why X-T5 exists in the first place.
In my opinion, this camera definitely has the biggest upgrades for photographers who are still using X-T3 and earlier models. Gives us the 3-ways tilt screen, IBIS, a good AF system, a new processor, 40 megapixels resolution, and a sleeker retrospective design. From a photography perspective, Fujifilm is not skimmed on the functionalities of the X-T5. In fact, all the X-H2 photography functionalities are packed into X-T5.
This camera checks all the upgrades and I believe this is the camera that many Fujifilm fanboys and fangirls will be upgrading with. All because X-T5 is worthy.
I have placed my order and so do some of my friends. Do you think X-T5 is a good camera? Share with me and discuss.
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. 5. The camera firmware is 1.42. 6. The photos are resized to 30% of the original size except for cropped ones. If you wish to see the original file, contact me and I am happy to share it with you.
If you like my works, please follow me on either one of the 2 Instagram accounts:
TTArtisan focuses very much on portability and compactness and TTArtisan 25mm f2 is another product born from this idea.
TTArtisan 25mm f2
Before I begin, I thank TTArtisan for their tremendous support towards me. For readers out there, you can rest assured that I am and always give my honest opinions for their products and that’s including this lens.
TTArtisan 25mm f2TTArtisan 25mm f2
Intro
At 38mm full-frame equivalent focal length, it reminds me of the point-and-shoot film camera back in those days. I remember it was just a fixed focal length and I think it was quite common back then before it goes wider and wider and wider…
The design element of this TTArtisan 25mm f2 follows exactly the same as the TTArtisan 50mm f2. Modern, minimalistic, and sleek are probably the best words to describe this lens.
The aperture ring still comes with that enjoyable and satisfying clicky experience. As for the manual focus ring, it is still as smooth as the other TTArtisan lenses. Basically, you are assured that this lens’s quality is maintained at TTArtisan’s standard.
The lens cap is the screw-in type. It is up to individuals to love it or hate it. As for me, more like I have to get used to it.
At 167.4 grams, the weight of this lens is really good to hold. Although it is not as light as the newly announced TTArtisan AF 27mm f2.8, it is still the lightest among their manual lens lineups.
There is one thing that I have never mentioned in all my manual lens reviews. In case you wonder, the lens does protrude a little when you rotate the focus ring to the Minimum Focus Distance (MFD).
It has a small filter size of 43mm. If you are looking for a hood to put it on, it is still able to find one online. Please note that no hood is included.
Image Quality
The image quality from this lens is surprisingly good and I meant it. Who would expect a lens that is so affordable yet has decent image quality? Typically we expect some will cut corners somehow.
Also, you will also observe some vignetting for wide-open shots. This is a common behavior for TTArtisan lenses and this applies to other third-party lenses too.
From MFD to infinity, the focus throw is approximately 160°. In my view, this compact lens gives quite an ample amount of “distance” for more precise focusing.
Like most manual lenses, the result is might not at its sharpest at the infinity marking. Rotate slightly backward on the focus ring to get a better result.
This lens has an MFD of 25 cm which means it can do quite a close-up shot if you want to. You will also notice some softness when shooting at MFD wide-open. I think it is acceptable and pretty much-expected behavior.
While I thought that the TTArtsian 50mm f2 is the cheapest lens, this 25mm has set a whole new record of 55 USD. Yes, this is how much this lens costs. It can go even lower with occasional promotion from TTArtisan.
There are always pros and cons for all lenses. This lens is no exception. Well, it depends on how you see this negative thing. If you point the lens facing to a light source at a specific angle at f2, you will have a light-blooming effect. Some people love it, and some people don’t. As for me, I kind of love it as it gives an additional special character to the lens. The blooming effect will get reduced with a smaller aperture. But beyond the light-blooming effect, it can also introduce some unique flare. So please beware. Lens hood might be able to solve this problem. If you happened to own this lens and a compatible lens hood, please let me know if it does solve it.
This is easily one of the most affordable and usable lenses to consider if you want to experience what it is like using a fully manual lens. The focal length of this lens is very easy to adapt to and is very suitable for genres like street, journalist, documentaries, landscapes, cityscapes, and even portraits.
For photographers who want to let their older Fujifilm cameras have their “second life”, you can consider getting one too. It might spice up your love with the cameras again.
TTArtisan surprised me once again with this lens. At USD 55, this is the cheapest manual lens ever produced by TTArtisan yet. But they do not compromise on both build quality and image quality. In fact, I am surprised by how usable the images are at wide open and the build quality is as good as other TTArtisan lenses. This is easily a recommendation from me to a photographer wanting to experience manual lenses.
I love to see more of this compact lens series with an affordable price point in the near future. Please continue to give us some surprises.
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:
Alwin Kok 