Every now and then, some manufacturers want to extend the longevity of their product line-up to maintain its popularity. The usual way is to release a new color. For example, TTArtisan 27mm f2.8. They released the black version in 2022, then the yellow edition in 2023, and now the silver version in 2024. Another good example is Ricoh GR3. It has a few editions, and the recently announced HDF edition gives a little hardware change to boost the photographers’ choices.
Brightin Star 35mm f0.95 Silver EditionBrightin Star 35mm f0.95 Silver Edition
Intro
Brightin Star has just launched a new silver version of its popular 35mm f0.95. If you hesitated to buy it before due to the black color, this silver option adds a fresh appeal, making it a great choice for you now.
Image Quality, Build Quality & Design
The image quality remains the same and if you are curious about it, you can click on link from the previous paragraph to understand more about this lens. As for built quality, it is no difference from the black color variant.
The silver color gives a totally different vibe to the original black color. The striking yellow bold brand logo has become subtle. This may be a good thing for someone wants to lay low yet wants a different color to differentiate this lens with the other he/she owns. Apart from that, the aperture numberings and markings are now in black with focusing distance numberings in red.
Brightin Star 35mm f0.95 Black & Silver EditionBrightin Star 35mm f0.95 Black & Silver EditionBrightin Star 35mm f0.95 Black & Silver Edition (rear)
Price Point
It is now 169.99 USD, slightly cheaper than when I reviewed it. Do you think it is a good time to get it?
Others
What’s fascinating about this lens is the lens cap. Both front and rear.
Brightin Star 35mm f0.95 Black & Silver Edition
The front lens cap now comes with a minimalistic font indicating it’s a “35mm f0.95” lens and followed by the brand itself. Again, all wordings are in black.
The rear lens cap comes with a frosted plastic material. I think this is the first time I am seeing something that is so interesting. Of course, the name “Brightin Star” can be seen on the rear lens cap.
Conclusion
This lens is an ingenious design from Brightin Star’s design team. They did not simply “color change” the lens and then sell it to potential photographers. I can see that they put effort and thought into this edition of the lens.
This lens is a cleverly crafted creation by Brightin Star’s design team. They put in more than just a “color change” and clearly invested time and effort into this particular version of the lens.
Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 35mm f0.95 @ 35mm . f0.95. 1/320″ . ISO 800 . Nostalgic NegativeFuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 35mm f0.95 @ 35mm . f0.95. 1/320″ . ISO 320 . Nostalgic NegativeFuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 35mm f0.95 @ 35mm . f0.95. 1/320″ . ISO 1000 . Nostalgic NegativeFuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 35mm f0.95 @ 35mm . f0.95. 1/320″ . ISO 640 . Nostalgic NegativeFuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 35mm f0.95 @ 35mm . f0.95. 1/320″ . ISO 400. Nostalgic NegativeFuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 35mm f0.95 @ 35mm . f0.95. 1/320″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic NegativeFuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 35mm f0.95 @ 35mm . f2. 1/320″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic NegativeFuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 35mm f0.95 @ 35mm . f0.95. 1/950″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic NegativeFuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 35mm f0.95 @ 35mm . f0.95. 1/320″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic NegativeFuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 35mm f0.95 @ 35mm . f8. 1/1000″ . 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. 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 it comes to the 33mm focal length (or 50mm in full-frame equivalent), there aren’t many options available. Unlike the 50mm to 56mm range, which is well-represented by nearly every brand, the 33mm/35mm focal length seems to lack strong competition in the market.
Meike 33mm f1.4
Meike likely recognized this gap in the market and released their 33mm f1.4 to attract more attention from photographers like us.
Intro
There are some teases for this lens from the company and rumors before it’s official announcement in August 2024.
Meike 33mm f1.4
Prior to this lens, Meike released the quite impressive 55mm f1.4, which I tested and really liked. I often recommend it to anyone looking for a compact and lightweight portrait lens. Because of my positive experience with that lens, I have high expectations for the Meike 33mm f/1.4.
Meike 33mm f1.4 with lens hood
Before I move on, I want to express my gratitude to the wonderful team at Meike for providing this lens for my review. I sincerely appreciate their ongoing support.
Design and Build Quality
If you have the Meike 55mm f1.4, then you will be treated with many familiarities with this lens. It shares the same design language, same build quality, and same handling experience.
This 55mm filter-size lens comes with an aperture ring. It still has the same stiffness and same clickiness level applied to the aperture ring. The stiff level is strong enough to prevent accidental change in aperture value. This can be a beneficial thing for me, but definitely not so much for the videographer.
The lens still uses a plastic build, but it doesn’t feel cheap. Holding it feels quite solid, and it doesn’t attract fingerprints easily. While I’m not sure how much weight was shaved off to bring the total weight down to 314 grams, I believe Meike must have carefully considered this balance during the design process.
The Meike 55mm f1.4 gives me a very satisfying result. A result that has decent image quality, good level of contrast, and good chromatic aberration control. The Meike 33mm f1.4 follows the same. After knowing that it does not produce any soft unusable result, I am very happy to use this lens wide-open.
Vignetting, however, is still present at wide-open. In my opinion, it is acceptable as I am totally fine with a small level of vignetting but not too heavy too disturbing to the overall viewing experience.
When comes to sun stars, it is just fine. The lines are not well-defined or detailed. Just fine soft lines. Of course, it does introduce some flares too.
Focusing is snappy in most scenarios but sometimes I do encounter the lens is not able to focus on any object at wide-open in bright outdoor and well-lit indoor environment.
This could be a bug or just the copy I have and it only happens if I shoot at f1.4 and did not encounter similar behaviour in any other aperture values. I hope there will have a firmware update to address the focusing issue at wide-open.
If you are concerning about lens breathing, this lens has actually one of the good minimal lens breathing among the third-party manufacturers.
Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)
40cm minimum focus distance is not the shortest. Using XF33mm f1.4 as a benchmark, it’s 30cm and Sirui 33mm f1.2 shared the same MFD as the Meike 33mm f1.4.
In most scenarios, short MFD does not really impact to my day-to-day shoots. Just that occasionally I wish it can close up more when I wish to do close-up shots. Nevertheless, I am glad that the image quality does not reduce significantly when taken at MFD.
Price Point
229.99 USD is what it is selling at this time of posting. It is about 3.5 times cheaper than the XF33mm f1.4 (799 USD) but comparable with the other third-party lenses like Viltrox 33mm f1.4 (279 USD) and Sirui 33mm f1.2 (279 USD).
It has the USB-C port located at the rear lens to allow easy firmwares upgrades in the future. And similar to the Meike 55mm f1.4, this lens does not come with any weather sealing or weather resistance.
Meike 33mm f1.4 rear
Who is this for?
With this price point, it is easy to recommend new photographers who plan to buy their first prime lens. For the professional, this can be a good getaway lens to enjoy the love of photography.
This lens may not be perfect in every aspect, but it offers solid performance for its price. In my view, Meike made a smart move by introducing this focal length to expand their lineup. I love how compact the lens is and how usable the image results are. Most importantly, I enjoy using it a lot. I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for a budget-friendly option without breaking the bank.
Alongside the Meike 55mm f1.4, the Meike 33mm f1.4 is one of the best lenses to complement it. What’s still missing, though, is a 23mm focal length (or perhaps even 22mm, given the 55mm and 33mm in the lineup) to complete a “Trinity” of lenses from Meike. While there’s no official word from the manufacturer yet, we can only hope they’ll eventually release this focal length to round out the set.
Meike 33mm f1.4 with lens cap
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:
The 50mm focal length (equivalent to 75mm in full frame) or similar focal length is a favorite among both manufacturers and photographers, showcasing its popularity. Most brands offer one or two standout lenses in this category. However, the real question is: Can this lens differentiate itself from the competition?
Brightin Star 50mm f1.4
Intro
Before I proceed, I would like to take the opportunity to thank Brightin Star for sending this lens over for my review. Having said that, the review is based on personal experience and zero influence from the manufacturer.
Brightin Star 50mm f1.4
This is Brightin Star first first-ever autofocus lens. It’s a great deal for the manufacturer and I am always happy to see more and more third-party lenses joining the Fuji family. This gives us one more option to choose from.
Design and Build Quality
At a glance, the striking yellow brand label is prominently marked on the lens body, and it resembles somewhat similar to a red badge brand. Nonetheless, it easily gives everyone a good impression of the brand. Oh yes, it comes with metal-built quality, which adds a touch of premium quality.
Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f1.4. 1/1500″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic NegativeLeft: Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f1.4. 1/2500″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative Right: Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f2 . 1/400″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
Despite the presence of a textured half ring where the aperture ring would typically be located, this lens does not actually have one. I found myself attempting to rotate the “ring” only to discover that it was not present.
It’s a pity to see them missing out on the aperture ring. I was informed that by implementing the aperture ring, the height of the lens will be increased by at least 2cm. I guess the engineers behind this lens have some consideration and come out with this decision. Probably we might see one with the aperture ring someday?
Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f1.4. 1/150″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
With the weight of 445 grams, I can feel the weight when I hold the lens in my hand but it feels well-balanced when I mount it on my X-T5.
Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f1.4. 1/80″ . ISO 320 . Nostalgic NegativeLeft: Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f1.4. 1/2500″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative Right: Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f1.4 . 1/400″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
It comes with a 58mm filter. I am glad that it comes with a small filter size, which does not require photographers to cough out a huge amount of money for a larger filter size.
Image Quality
My experience with Brightin Star 35mn f0.95 was positive and so I have a high expectation for this lens. I am glad that this lens did meet my expectations. The image quality is great at wide-open.
Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f1.4. 1/250″ . ISO 1250 . Nostalgic NegativeLeft: Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f1.4. 1/125″ . ISO 640 . Nostalgic Negative Right: Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f1.4 . 1/80″ . ISO 3200 . Nostalgic Negative
The sharpness at wide-open is great but still falls behind the XF56mm f1.2. When comes to contrast, it seems to be slightly lacking too. I do not worry much about it since it can be done via post-edit. Nonetheless, vignetting and chromatic aberration are well-controlled.
When it comes to the background/foreground blur rendering, it is not the best rendering. But at least it is not something dramatic, nor is it messy.
One observation I’ve made is that, despite having the lens hood attached to the front, some flares are still able to penetrate and reach the glass. It’s uncertain whether this is due to the way I shoot, but it’s worth being aware of. However, the flare does not significantly diminish the quality of the captured image. It retains a good level of contrast on the subject while adding a unique character to the shot.
Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f16. 1/80″ . ISO 160 . Nostalgic Negative
When it comes to the sun star result, the line is not the sharpest nor the lines are well-defined. The result is pretty dull in my opinion.
Focusing
This lens is equipped with a Stepper Motor (STM), and the focusing is considerably snappy for so many glass elements inside the lens. I have no issue with focusing on both bright days and well-lit environments. For low-light situations, I do experience occasionally a little slower autofocus performance. But it’s not a deal breaker for me.
Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f5.6. 1/350″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
Left: Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f1.4. 1/80″ . ISO 250 . Nostalgic Negative Right: Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f1.4 . 1/170″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
In terms of eye-AF for portrait photography, the combination with the X-T5 performs well. It achieves a high success rate, with only a minimal number of out-of-focus results.
Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f1.4. 1/125″ . ISO 3200 . Nostalgic Negative
Left: Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f1.4. 1/125″ . ISO 800 . Nostalgic Negative Right: Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f2 . 1/100″ . ISO 2500 . Nostalgic Negative
I also encounter a few times when the focus is off when the focus box is already in green. I think this can be fixed by future firmware updates.
The focus breathing is a surprising minimum and I think this helps for videography.
Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)
It has a 50cm MFD, which is a little fall-short as compared with XF50mm f2 (39cm), Yongnuo 50mm f1.8 (45cm), but slightly better than Meike 55mm f1.4 (61cm), and Sirui 56mm f1.2 (60cm).
Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f1.4. 1/80″ . ISO 160 . Nostalgic Negative
The MFD is just nice, and it is nothing to shout about. At least, the focus distance since any further than the competitions. In my observation, the image quality still preserved well with a minimal amount of softness is observed at wide-open. No sign of losing in contrast.
Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f1.4. 1/80″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic Negative
Price Point
It is priced at 299 USD. This is an attractive yet competitive price point for getting this amazing glass. Taking references from other similar focal length lenses like Sirui 56mm (279 USD), Yongnuo 50mm f1.8 (299 USD), Meike 55mm f1.4 (200 USD), Sigma 56mm f1.4 (529 USD), TTArtisan 56mm f1.8 (158 USD) and lastly XF50mm f2 (449 USD), this newly launched lens is actually quite reasonable.
Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f2. 1/4000″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic NegativeLeft: Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f1.4. 1/240″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative Right: Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f1.4 . 1/200″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
Others
It comes with a USB-C port right at the rear of the lens mount, like many other third-party manufacturers do. This is mainly for future firmware updates.
USB-C port at the rear lens. (Love the black chrome color)
According to Brightin Star, this lens does come with waterproofing, drip proofing, and dust proofing. Also, it comes with an anti-fouling fluorine coating that allows the stains that fall onto the lens to be easily removed. This surprised me, and I consider it to be a bonus point.
Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 with lens hood
You might have noticed that there is something on the lens hood. It comes with a different lock release mechanism. When the lens hood is in the forward position, you need to press the button to detach it. However, this design only works one way, the lens hood is not able to lock when placed in the reverse position.
Who is this for?
We all know this focal length is suitable for the portrait genre, but this focal length is also suitable for the street genre, product genre, and journalism/documentary genre as well.
Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f2. 1/80″ . ISO 160 . Nostalgic Negative
Left: Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f1.4. 1/160″ . ISO 400 . Nostalgic Negative Right: Fuji X-T5 . Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 @ 50mm . f2 . 1/6000″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
If you are new to Fujifilm and looking to start building a collection of prime lenses, this lens is both affordable and reliable for long-term use.
For seasoned photographers looking to experiment with third-party lenses, this could be the next lens to consider, as long as you are willing to accept that it lacks an aperture ring.
Conclusion
I have to emphasize again that this is Brightin Star’s first autofocus lens. Although it is not the perfect lens everyone is looking for (such as missing aperture ring and weight), the decent image quality and price tag is something worth considering.
In my opinion, image quality should be the higher priority among all functionalities, and I think the engineering effort for this lens deserves good praise. Nevertheless, this is a worthy lens, and I am already looking forward to their next autofocus 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. 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:
Many are aware that the X-T30II, released in 2021, is not a true successor to the 2019 X-T30, and there have been no indications of a potential upgrade in this mid-range category during these years. At one juncture, I even considered the possibility of this series being discontinued.
Fujifilm X-T50Fujifilm X-T50
Now, the much-anticipated X-T50 has finally arrived. Does it represent a significant improvement over the X-T30?
Intro
X-T50 is the fifth iteration of the X-T double-digit series. It was announced at the X Summit Sydney 2024 in May.
X-T(xx) series has always been the little brother of the X-T(x) series. They share something similar, but also something different to set them apart. This is no different for this generation. But the gap is sort of getting closer.
Before continuing, I want to extend my thanks to Ms. Carmen, Marketing Manager at Fujifilm Singapore, for lending the X-T50 for review. As of the publication of this review, the camera unit has been returned to Fujifilm Singapore.
Design, Build Quality, Handling & The Shutter…
X-T50 still gives a nostalgic feel like its predecessors but takes a different camera design approach. The camera is more rounded now and has a deeper hand grip design. Some photographers might dislike it, but I love this design.
With the deeper hand grip design, the ergonomic handling is way better than its predecessors. I remember I felt that I always needed an additional hand grip to make myself feel more secure in those days. Just to let you know, my little pinky still hanging out but the handling now feels more secure with this X-T50.
Having said that, mounting bigger lenses like XF70-300mm or XF56mm f1.2 WR still has the common problem of heavier lenses over the camera body which makes the balancing of the camera handling experience off. I suggest getting an additional hand grip for better balancing. If you are using compact lightweight lenses, it handles perfectly fine.
It has a 2-way tilt screen (like the X100V/VI) with 1.84 million dot resolution and a 2.36 million dot electronic viewfinder (EVF). A little disappointed with the EVF as it still uses the same resolution as the X-T30II but is still usable. On the bright side, it has improved 3-inch screen resolution from 1.04 million dot resolution.
(In comparison to X-T5, it is 3-way tilt 3-inch screen with 1.84 million dot resolution and 3.69 million dot resolution EVF.)
As compared to X-T5, the mechanical shutter seems to be “heavier” in the X-T50. Probably due to the size of the camera body, I can feel the shutter movement more than the X-T5. It is not a deal breaker for me but just my observation.
Sensor and Processor
The X-T50 comes with the X-Trans CMOS sensor 5 HR and the X-Processor 5, which shares similarities with X-H2, X-T5, and X100VI. I think I do not need to explain how good is it with this combination.
While the image quality is subjective to the lenses I have mounted on, it is the same as what I have expected from the X-Trans CMOS sensor 5 HR and the X-Processor 5.
The image quality is exceptionally great if you pair up with the new generation of Fuji lenses. In short, you will not be disappointed with the results.
Performance
In general, the performance is pretty close to its elder sibling. The tracking system behaved the same. I have no issue with eye-AF tracking, train tracking, and bike training during my test. They pick up and lock up as they should be.
Not surprised that Fujifilm implemented the IBIS but what surprised me is that Fujifilm did not skim down on the IBIS compensation. The IBIS in the X-T50 shares the same 7-stops of compensation like the latest X-H2S, X-H2, X-T5 and X-S20.
In layman’s terms, the IBIS works very well. If you read about it in my other reviews. It can achieve similar results with a similar lens setup. In my daily life, I do not encounter any blurred results unless it is intended.
Battery Life
While it still uses the NP-W126S battery instead of the bigger NP-W235 battery, I managed to squeeze about 550 shots on average. (In my test, I switch on the camera to shoot, switch off when not in use, and transfer about 50 photos.) According to CIPA, it is about 305 shots.
I understand that it is not an impressive number based on today’s standards. But battery is always not an issue in my opinion. The batteries are not bulky or difficult to keep inside my camera bag so I always bring 3 – 4 batteries everywhere I go.
Feedback
40 megapixels provides ample resolution, especially for RAW files, which is substantial. Looking ahead, I hope Fujifilm considers offering photographers the option to choose between small, medium, and large resolution settings for RAW files, similar to what they currently offer for JPEGs.
At $1399 USD, it competes in a price range where other brands offer cameras with larger sensors, which is worth considering.
However, I always advise photographers to thoroughly research their purchase because they’re investing in a system, not just a brand. Consider not only the initial camera cost but also the investment in lenses and their availability. It’s important to focus on what lenses are currently available from both the manufacturer and third-party suppliers, rather than relying on future promises or aspirations.
The X mount system has evolved significantly, offering a wide range of lens options today, including a variety of third-party offerings.
Others
There are a few more things that set the X-T50 and X-T5 apart and here are some of them. The first one is a single SD card slot against dual. The second one is X-T50 comes with a pop-up flash while X-T5 doesn’t has one. The last one is the mechanical shutter, where X-T50 can only go as fast as 1/4000s whereas 1/8000s on X-T5.
NP-W126s battery slot and SD card slotThe Pop-up FlashMic-in port, USB-C port and mini-HDMI port
There is one very bold change that I did not mention earlier and it is the Drive mode dial. It has been replaced by the new Film Simulation dial. While I am not sure if everyone loves this new change, I enjoy using it. It gives me an instantaneous switch of film simulations at ease.
I know we can switch film simulations via the “Q” function, but switching the film simulations via the dial is an enjoyable process.
The Film Simulation Dial
The dial also has three additional custom/programmable FS positions, allowing you to assign to Pro Negative, Eterna, standard Monochrome, and Sepia film simulations. For “C” function, basically allows you to control the film simulations via the “Q” function and also allows you to use your customized film simulations.
One small feature that further endears me to the camera is its design: the “play” button is noticeably more prominent than the “delete” button. This not only makes it easier to distinguish between the two but also enhances the satisfaction of pressing the buttons.
Lastly, it does not come with the 4 ways selector buttons.
Who is this for?
It is a good mid-range camera. If you are holding on to the first three generations of this series (X-T10, X-T20 and X-T30), I think X-T50 is a good upgrade. No doubt it is priced higher than the predecessors, but I think it is a good investment for years to come. Oh yes, you can continue to use the same NP-W126S battery.
If you are new to photography and want to use Fujifilm as your camera, the X-T50 is a good camera to allow you to explore. Although the X-T30II is still in the available in the market, I believe that the X-T50 is a better investment to choose from.
Conclusion
I initially believed it might share the same configuration as the X-S20, but that assumption proved incorrect. Fujifilm has not compromised on the internals; instead, they’ve maximized the potential of this sensor and processor, offering more photographers the opportunity to experience it.
In my view, the X-T50 stands out as a capable mid-range camera for photography. Its compact size and only weighs slightly over 440 grams makes it ideally suited for use with compact to mid-size lenses, which, in my opinion, generally fulfills the needs of most photographers.
Thank you for reading.
If you like my works, please follows me on either one of the 2 Instagram accounts:
Disclaimer: 1. All the shots taken here are shot by me. 2. All of the shots are straight out of the camera with some edited via In-Camera Raw Processing. 3. 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 will be happy to share it with you. 4. I reserve ownership of these images, if you wish to use my images, please notify me. 5.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.
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This is the last of the Sniper lenses I have with me. By now, if you have read the first two lenses, I guess you should know my opinion of this series. Anyway, I still need to finish sharing my opinion of this focal length.
Sirui 56mm f1.2Sirui 56mm f1.2
Intro
This is the third lens introduced by Sirui together with the 23mm f1.2 and 33mm f1.2. In summary, they started with crowdfunding from one of the popular platforms and this Sniper series succeeded.
For some reasons, the “white ceramic coating” or simply white plastic seems to be the worse built quality among the three colors. Having said that, it still far better than the Meike 85mm f1.8. That’s my opinion. As part of the Sniper family, it shares many similarities such as filter size (58mm), no aperture ring and no weather resistant. Also they share the same length as well. This is beneficial to videographers who need to mount on a gimbal.
At 419 grams, the weight of this lens feels okay. Although it may seem heavy, it is evenly distributed. Like its siblings, it comes with a lens hood. The difference is that it comes with a round lens hood instead of a petal-shaped lens hood.
Image Quality
Optically, it shares a lot of similarities with the Sniper family. At f1.2, the image is soft and lacks contrast. Coupled with it are the mild vignetting and strong chromatic aberration. Of course, everything gets better when stopping down. For my acceptance, f2 is the minimum f-stop for sharpness and contrast.
The rendering of the background blur is not as smooth as I expected. Somehow it looks kind of hard and unpleasant. Or maybe it is something that I don’t appreciate?
Focusing
It comes with a Stepper Motor (STM). The focus is okay. It is not as snappy as the XF56mm f1.2 WR (just using it as a benchmark). Probably quite average among the rest of the 56mm focal length.
On average, I do encounter some pull-push effect before focus is locked on my subject. Not every time, but encounter it quite often. Hard to catch the behavior here but fail to do so. I hope the future firmware provides some remedies.
Also, the manual ring is different from the typical manual ring, this one can do a 360° rotation angle electronic focus ring. For photography per SE, I think it might help with precision focusing but I believe this benefits videography more.
Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)
For a typical 85mm (in full frame equivalent), what is your expectation for a MFD for this focal length?
The MFD of this lens is 60cm. Not quite on par with the average one but not any worse. The image quality, fortunately, isn’t degraded any worse too.
Price Point
At 279 USD (discount from the usual price at $349 USD from it’s official store), it is a good price point for a f1.2 autofocus lens. Or 799 USD for the 3 lenses.
For a quick comparison, XF56Mm f1.2 WR is priced at 999 USD, Meike 55mm f1.4 is priced at 199.9 USD, Sigma 56mm f1.4 is priced at 479 USD, and Viltrox 56mm f1.4 is priced at 299 USD. Is the price attractive?
Others
Like all other Sniper lenses, it comes with an USB-C port for future firmware update.
Sirui 56mm f1.2 – rear
Also, it comes with a circular lens hood but mounting and dismounting it gives a quirky noise that always makes me think that I am breaking it anytime with a little pressure. Probably I have a bad copy of the lens hood?
Lastly, it has a thin lens cap (similar to its siblings) which gives me some problems when removing the lens cap from the lens. That’s because the pinch-to-release area is too narrow for big fingers (like mine) to pinch and remove the cap without any level of struggling.
Who is this for?
This 85mm (in full frame equivalent) focal length is suitable for the portrait genre. But not only that, this lens is also suitable for product shots, street, documentary, etc.
If you are a new photographer and have a limited budget, this lens together with its siblings forms good trinity lenses for a starter. Only if you are acceptable with its not-so-perfect image quality.
Conclusion
We do not lack any third-party autofocus lenses for Fujifilm. If you are looking for a “complete set” of third-party lenses, there are a few brands that I can think of at the moment; Sigma and Viltrox.
Considering the price point, I find this lens acceptable, especially since it’s an f1.2 prime rather than the typical f1.4. However, I may have overestimated its capabilities. Nevertheless, I’m eagerly anticipating the release of their “Mark II” Sniper lenses, hoping for significant improvements in this series.
Oh yes, Sirui has launched another 2 new Sniper lenses, the 16mm f1.2, and the 75mm 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:
I have recently shared my opinion about the Sirui 33mm f1.2 and this is the second lens from the Sirui Sniper series.
Sirui 23mm f1.2
Intro
To keep things short, this series was first introduced via a crowdfunding platform and, they were successfully funded as expected.
Design and Build Quality
Sirui 23mm f1.2
The aluminum alloy or silver color (in my opinion) option seems to be less fancy than the white and black/carbon fiber one. The color is also duller and less reflective than the silver XF lenses.
It is plastic-made build quality. Not the worst one but it’s also not the best plastic build either. However, the 380-gram lens is well-balanced on hand but I can feel the weight. This lens also shared the same 58mm filter size as the Sirui 33mm f1.2.
And yes, it comes with a petal-shaped lens hood and metal rear mount.
Since it comes from the Sniper family, missing the aperture ring is one of them. (There are more similarities later.) It comes with an electronic manual ring, which means it comes with a 360° smooth rotation angle.
Image Quality
At f1.2, softness and weak contrast are pretty obvious. In my opinion, sometimes I am unsure if I have nailed the shots with such an image quality. While there are photographers who might like this level of softness, I can’t accept it. I would probably close one eye if this lens were to be released a few years back. For my personal acceptance, f2 is the base with f2.8 for better results.
Vignetting at the corners is acceptable but the chromatic aberration is obvious for wide-open shots.
The foreground/background blur rendering is not my favorite. It seems to be “hard” or I should say the transition is not as smooth as I am expecting it to be.
Focusing performance is fast and silent due to the Stepper Motor equipped with this lens. The performance seems to be better than the 33mm version. If compared with the XF23mm f1.4 WR, it is not that snappy fast and locks the subject fast. I do not experience a lot of push-pull focusing issues.
For a 35mm (full-frame equivalent) lens, the MFD is 30cm. For a quick comparison, XF23mm f1.4 WR is 20cm, Sigma 23mm f1.4 is 25cm and the classic XF23mm f1.4 R is 28cm.
If you don’t really need to care about shooting as close to the subject as possible, then this lens is fine. The good thing is that the image quality won’t get worse, even at wide-open.
Price Point
279 USD (from B&H) is considerably a good price point for a f1.2. For reference, XF23mm f1.4 WR is about 810 USD, Viltrox 23mm f1.4 mk II is at 299 USD, and, Sigma 23mm f1.4 is priced at 550 USD.
This 35mm (in full frame equivalent) shares some similarities with the other Sniper lenses. For example, the lens hood gives a very clicky feel that deems the hood can be broken easily when mounting it front-facing. Another example is it comes with a very thin lens cap with very narrow pinch-to-release space. This gives a good challenge for big fingers to pinch the lens cap.
Lastly, it is not weather-resistance.
Who is this for?
This is my favorite focal length. I would say it’s a very versatile focal length for environment portraits, street, documentaries, journalism, and many others.
If you are a new photographer or you are unsure if this focal length suits your shooting habit or on a tight budget, you can consider this lens as a stepping stone.
Conclusion
This lens together with the other Sniper lenses is a good attempt from Sirui. Compared with the other manufacturers’ lenses I have reviewed, I am a little disappointed with the optical quality Sirui provides with this series.
There is a lot of potential in this series. Unfortunately, it is not what I expected for a fast lens. Having said that, I hope to see more improved versions of this series in the future.
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:
I mentioned before that I do not have very good experience with Meike’s first autofocus lens. When I received this lens, I set myself a low expectation of this lens.
Sometimes, I wonder whether the manufacturers communicate with one another or they coincidentally have the same thoughts at the same time. This is the third portrait lens that are available to photographers in just the first half of 2024. Anyway, I feel there is a sudden strong competition with this focal length in this budget segment.
Meike 55mm f1.4 with lens hoodMeike 55mm f1.4M
Intro
Meike 55mm f1.4 was announced in March 2024 and this is Meike’s second autofocus lens. I have reviewed their first X-Mount autofocus lens, the Meike 85mm f1.8, and I have my reservation with it after some testing. The announcement between the two lenses was about 1 year apart.
Before I proceed further, I appreciate the good people from Meike for sending this lens for my review. I thank them for their continuous support.
Design and Build Quality
From the first impression, the lens design seems to take inspiration from the Canon L lens (the red line ring). Secondly, the plastic build quality feels so much better than the Meike 85mm f1.8 when I hold it in my hand. The lens comes in a matte finish, so it is fingerprint-magnet-free. It’s a huge improvement in my opinion.
This 52mm filter-size lens is compact and lightweight. Only 286 grams. Oh yes, it comes with an aperture ring! Hooray! However, the ring is a little stiff compared to other lenses I have tested. At least it is clicky but the experience is not what I expected.
On the bright side, it comes with a lens hood too. As for the lens cap, it is the normal pinch-to-release lens cap but better than the ArtraLab 24mm and 35mm.
Image Quality
With my low expectations, Meike gives me a good surprise. The image quality at f1.4 is pretty good. Decently sharp and has good contrast. Although corner-to-corner sharpness is within passable to a fair standard, in general, it is fine if you do not pixel-peep.
Chromatic aberration is decently well-controlled but you still can spot it if you pixel-peep. Vignetting can be observed too but not as heavy as I have expected.
When it comes to sun effect, I think it is just fair. The lines are not clearly defined or sharp. Also, shooting directly facing the sun does come with some flares as well. So please be mindful if you dislike it.
Focusing
It comes with a Stepper Motor (STM) and the focusing speed is fast. The focusing response is pretty good from MFD to infinity. But it is still not as fast as the new generation lenses from Fujifilm like XF23mm f1.4 WR.
However, I do notice that the lens is unable to focus on the subject, even in bright daylight. It seems to have this strange phenomenon, luckily, it happens rarely. I hope they will address the issue here.
One interesting thing to note here, it comes with an AF/MF switch. If you want to switch to manual mode to shoot, you have to switch the mode via the AF/MF switch on the lens and not on the focus mode selector on your camera. I hope they can give the photographer an option to choose where to change the focus mode freely. I hope they can implement it in future firmware updates. Nevertheless, it is not a big deal.
Meike 55mm f1.4
Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)
By now, we all know there is no perfect lens in the market. The lens should have compromise(s) and it is also depending on our acceptance. Well, for Meike 55mm f1.4, the shortcoming is the MFD.
Why did I say not the worse? Because we have lenses that are even furthe, the classic XF56mm f1.2 and XF50mm f1. Both at 70cm. So this is something the Meike 55mm is slightly better.
Price Point
This lens comes at a very competitive price point of 199.99 USD. To name a few, TTArtisan 56mm f1.8 is priced at 158 USD and Viltrox 56mm f1.7 is priced at 169 USD in their own respective online stores.
With just 30-40 USD more, I can get aperture ring and a faster lens. So do you think it is a sweet deal?
One good improvement that Meike do it right is having a few USB-C port for firmware upgrades. This is so much friendlier than the 85mm. Now I can have fewer cable management issues.
Meike 55mm f1.4
Also, I think this is also within expectation. This lens does not come with any weather sealing or weather resistance.
Who is this for?
Although it is 1mm shorter than the typical 56mm, this 82.5mm (in full frame equivalent) lens is still a portrait lens. It does not make any difference from the other portrait lens.
With this price tag, I can recommend it to any photographers new to photography or exploring photography genres like portraits. But this lens can be used for street, documentary, and product shoots.
Conclusion
The market is flooded with many third-party portrait lenses, but what makes this lens stand out is the f1.4 fast lens, aperture ring, and price point. Even though the MFD is the only drawback I have with the lens, Meike has done well with the optic quality and the focusing speed.
All in all, I do love this lens a lot and I am excited to know that Meike is planning to release 16mm, 23mm, and 33mm. All are f1.4. (At least this is the understanding so far). I am looking forward to their arrival.
So does this lens check all the boxes? In my opinion, not all but it checks on the right boxes.
Meike 55mm f1.4 with lens cap
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:
Sirui made a big move by launching the trinity prime lenses with 3 different color options for photographers, black, silver, and white. And what an even smarter move is to launch them via a crowdfunding platform. They call them the Sniper series.
Sirui 33mm f1.2
Intro
Sirui has been in the photography industry since 2001. That’s a long established brand for over 2 decades. I came to know about this brand when I have searching for a tripod, what about you?
Sirui 33mm f1.2
Although Sirui has been here for quite a long time, when it comes to photography lenses, they are still at the “young”/”early” stage. If I remember correctly, they launched their first lens, the 50mm f1.8 1.33x anamorphic lens, in 2019. So how does the Sirui 33mm actually perform?
Design and Build Quality
The plastic-constructed lens is considerably well-built. The black carbon fiber design is pretty nice looking too. At 400 grams, I can feel the weight when I hold it in my hands but lucky it is not bulky, otherwise, it will not be a pleasant experience.
As you can tell, this 58mm filter size lens does not come with any aperture ring. However, those who love to use the focus ring will be very happy because it has a very big surface area for the focus ring.
Also, unlike a typical manual ring, this one comes with a 360° rotation angle. As this is an electronic focus ring, I believe this benefits videographer.
The 50mm (in full frame equivalent) comes with a metal rear mount.
Image Quality
Somehow, I am a little disappointed with the optic. At f1.2, the image quality is soft, lacking some contrast and sharpness. Maybe it is the characteristic softness that some photographers love, but this is not my preference. Nonetheless, this experience is similar to those I tested with the typically manual focus lenses but slightly better.
For low-light and indoor situations, it is slightly better with shots taken at wide-open. But you still can see that softness if you pixel-peeped.
In my opinion, f2 is the sweet spot. The image quality definitely gets better from f2 onwards. Sharpness and contrast are great and better photos usability.
Chromatic aberration is pretty obvious at wide open but on the bright side, the vignetting is mild.
I seldom share about background/foreground blur as the beauty of it is very subjective and personal. The same for bokeh. However, I feel that the blur rendering is somehow not as smooth as I expected from a f1.2. It seems to be forcefully rendered or at least not to my pleasing.
This lens comes with a Stepper Motor (STM), which is silent and pretty fast when there is sufficient contrast. However, be it during the day or under low-light situations, I sometimes experience some focus-pulling, and it takes a few times to get it focused. Also, shooting at wide-open sometimes does have focus pulling. Sometimes it will eventually focus-locked successfully, sometimes it will fail. I think this can be resolved with future firmware updates.
The focusing speed between MFD and infinity is okay, and you can feel the difference when you compare it with the XF33mm f1.4.
Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)
At 40cm, this lens does not have the best MFD in my opinion. It is even worse than the Rokinon 35mm f1.2 (@38cm). For your information, XF35mm f1.4 is holding the record of 28cm. Luckily, the image quality doesn’t get any worse at wide-open at its MFD.
It is selling at 456.50 USD on the Sirui website. But if you are getting from B&H, it is 331.55 USD. If you are looking at 3 lens kit, it will be 1304.88 USD and 949.05 USD respectively.
Others
Like most manufacturers, the lens comes with a USB-C port for future firmware upgrades. At least it is not the micro USB found in Meike 85mm f1.8.
Sirui 33mm f1.2 – rear
Another good point to note is that it comes with a lens hood. The bad point is that the lens hood gives some sort of unpleasant sound that seems like it will break when I try to mount it front-facing. Keeping the lens hood is fine. Strange phenomenal.
Also, the lens cap is thin, making it probably the worst experience I have had with any lenses tested this far. The pinch-to-release area is too narrow for big fingers to pinch and remove the cap without any some level of struggling.
Lastly, this lens does not come with any weather resistance or sealing. I do encounter some drizzling during my shoot, luckily it still works fine.
Who is this for?
This 50mm (in full frame equivalent) lens is a nice focal length that generally covers a lot of genres. Street and portraits are easily some of them.
If you have not owned this focal length before or want to give this focal length a try but do not wish to spend more money, then you may consider getting this lens. If you want a good Trinity lens setup to start your photography journey, this sniper series might be a good choice to kickstart with.
This Sniper series is Sirui’s first attempt in the APS-C world and this series really gets a lot of attention and successfully gets the lenses funded in the crowdfunding platform.
In my opinion, this lens is considerably affordable as it comes with a fast but not-so-favorable f1.2 and pretty decent focusing performance. As I mentioned earlier, I think treating this lens as an f2 lens instead of an f1.2 lens will make me feel better. Then f1.2 is a “bonus” when I really need that big aperture, then it is there for me to use it.
There is room for improvement with this series, and I hope to see better image quality at wide-open, comes with an aperture ring and probably some form of weather protection.
And yes, this is the first of the 3 Sirui lenses I have reviewed. 2 more to go.
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:
ArtraLab isn’t stopped at just releasing their 24mm f1.7 in Septemeber 2023. Just exacting one month later, they released another new lens in October 2023; the ArtaLab NONIKKOR-MC 35mm F1.4.
ArtraLab 35mm f1.4
Intro
This is the second lens I have tested from the company. Besides the X-mount, this lens comes with E-mount, Z-mount, and L-mount. A little interesting fact about this lens is that it is a full-frame lens. Does this mean that the optical quality of the APS-C sensor should be better than those lenses designed specifically for APS-C?
ArtraLab 35mm f1.4
Design and Build Quality
If I am correct, this lens comes with two designs. Basically, the difference between the two is the change of the focus ring. The first one has very identical design language to their 24mm f1.7 variant, which seems like just an upsize of it. The second one (the one I am reviewing), has a bit more distinguished design language. The focus ring is more of a “blocky rectangular tile-like” shape design.
Nonetheless, this lens is also heavily inspired by the 80’s Nikon lens design language. The 285-gram lens has the same good metal-built quality. Still has the attractive colorful aperture values that I love and it also comes with the same pleasant clicky aperture ring.
This lens comes with a 52mm filter size, which also shares the same filter size as the ArtraLab 24mm f1.7. Nice.
In case one wonders, the lens is designed in Hong Kong and assembled in China.
ArtraLab 35mm f1.4
Image Quality
I previously shared my positive thoughts on the ArtraLab 24mm f1.7, but unfortunately, my experience was not the same this time around. Firstly, the chromatic aberration coupled with softness was quite disturbing when using the lens at a wide open. It reminded me of the image quality issues that were prevalent 4-5 years ago.
Although sharpness isn’t there at wide open, contrast isn’t that bad. The contrast is fair enough in my opinion. Image quality does improve from f2.8. For some reason, The glowing/blooming effect found in the ArtraLab 24mm f1.7 can be found with this lens but I feel it isn’t as strong as the one with 24mm. I thought it would be nice to share the same characteristic charm.
Anyway, to be fair, the optic of this lens is designed to be the same as the one found in the 80s. So I think this is why it behaves this way.
The rotation is approximately 180° from end to end. Personally, I prefer “long travel distance” as this will allow me to have better precision in manual focusing on the subject. This also greatly improves in nailing the shots at a higher success rate.
Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)
35cm MFD is pretty standard nowadays for this focal length. Nothing spectacular but the soft image is expected at f1.4.
For the price point, I can top up a bit more to have the legendary XF35mm f1.4. But if you are someone who really loves the 80’s Nikon design, the price is not important.
Others
Sadly, it does not come with any lens hood like most other manual lenses. I wish ArtraLab was willing to provide a metal lens hood to compliment the lens. Giving the photographer his/her choice. Also, weather resistance is not covered as well.
Speaking of lens breathing, this lens has pretty minimum lens breathing. I believe this benefits for videographers. Oh yes, the lens protrudes a little at the MFD, which is pretty normal for most of the manual lenses I have tested.
Left: Artralab 35mm f1.4 at MFD Right: Artlab 35mm f1.4 at infinity
Who is this for?
This lens is definitely aimed at photographers who love retrospective lenses, this one should not be missed if you are accepting in the image quality. As for Genres, it can do the usual ones, especially street, and portraits.
I love the nostalgic lens design but not the image quality. Given the price point, I cannot accept to have this optical glass quality. But I am not stopping photographers who loves the 80s nostalgic charm from getting it.
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:
Artralab Nonikkor-MC 24MM F1.7 is probably one of the best-looking retro-designed lenses in recent years and pairs very well with the Fujifilm range of retro-designed cameras. It was announced sometime in September 2023 and gained much traction from manual lens lovers and enthusiasts. So how does it live up to?
ArtraLab 24mm f1.7ArtraLab 24mm f1.7
Intro
I was only aware of this company when they teased the internet about this lens last year. I had never heard about the company before, so I googled a bit about them. Here is some high-level information about the company: ArtraLab (Art Random Adventure), a Hong Kong-based company, was founded in 2018 by a group of passionate photographers, architects, fashion designers, and product designers.
Oh yes, this lens comes with an E-mount and Z-mount.
Design and Build Quality
At first look, I am attracted by the colorful print of the aperture and manual focus rings. The lens design takes a lot of inspiration from the 1980s Nikon lens designs. I love it.
When I hold the 210-gram lens, I can feel that the aluminum-constructed lens is very well-built and I did not feel any loose parts. Oh yes, it is made in China if someone ever wonders. I love the colorful aperture values on the aperture ring. Rotating the aperture ring is one of my most pleasing experiences because I love that satisfying clicky feedback. The focus is another pleasure to use (more on this later).
This compact lens comes with a small filter size of 52mm and comes with a typical plastic pinch-to-unlock lens cap.
Image Quality
The image quality coming out from this 36mm (in full frame equivalent) is pretty decent at wide-open but has a kind of characteristic softness. This softness is not totally soft and not to the extent that I am not acceptable. In fact, I like the charm of this softness.
Oh yes, it is not clinically sharp if you pixel-peep but it has good contrast and it is still acceptable for my day-to-day use.
Also, I get to see the glowing/blooming effect (very similar to the CineBloom filter from Moment) at wide-open but this effect will wear off from f2.8 onwards.
Chromatic aberration is surprisingly in decent control as I did not observe any during my shoot. As for vignetting, it does have them at wide-open but not as heavy as I have expected.
Sun star is pretty pleasing in my opinion. The lines are fine but not clinically sharp. Also, ghosting can be observed as well.
The sensitivity of this manual focus ring is probably one of my favorite ones to use. It rotates effortlessly like a breeze and I can even use my pinky finger to glide clockwise and anti-clockwise without any problem.
The rotation is approximately 180° from Minimum Focus Distance to Infinity. While it may seem “far” or “long travel distance”, in my opinion, this gives a very good amount of travel distance to have better precision on the focusing.
Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)
The MFD 23cm is nothing to shout about as it has the same MFD as most 23mm focal length lenses have.
But having said that, unlike some manual lenses that suffer from image quality breakdown, the image quality is well-maintained at wide-open at MFD. At least, the sharpness isn’t any softer.
Price Point
At 386 USD, it is very close to the autofocus lens price points. For example Viltrox 23mm f1.4 at 299 USD, Sirui 23mm f1.2 at 330 USD and spend a bit more for XF23mm f2 at 449 USD. As for manual lenses, we have TTArtisan 23mm f1.4 is 99 USD, and 7Artisan 24mm f1.4 is 109 USD.
After sharing the price point, if you really like this lens, I guess the price is not a concern here.
Others
Like most manual lenses, it does not come with weather sealing or resistance, and the lens barrel will protrude a little when you are at the MFD. Also, it does not come with a lens hood which I feel is a little disappointing, given the premium that the photographer has spent.
This lens does have very minimal lens breathing, so videographers should be less worried if they want to use this lens for their videography work.
Lastly, do take note of the change of white balance when you change the apertures. This is very common for most of the manual lenses that I have tested thus far.
Unless you love the retrospective design of this lens, I won’t encourage anyone to get this lens at this price or at least I feel that paying a little more to get an autofocus lens is more worth it.
Having said that, there are quite several genres that can be covered with this focal length such as landscape/cityscape, street, environmental portrait, documentary, editorial, etc. It is a very versatile focal length
Conclusion
As my title suggests, this lens is all about being nostalgic and I am sure it gives a lot of reliving memories for all the 80s Nikon photographers. In my opinion, the company did well in launching this lens and I am glad that they did it. This gives 1 more option for the photographers to choose from.
Also, as this lens is very close to 23mm, it is a very versatile focal length for me. For image quality, it has that charming blooming at wide-open. Rotating the manual ring is really a pleasure for me. Smooth and giving me a sense of satisfaction.
I like everything about the lens except for the price. Maybe someone finds it worth the value but I shall wait for a better deal.
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:
Alwin Kok 