great review. I'll be picking one up for my xpro 2. I own the 25mm and love it. On the xpro 2 shooting film simulations jpegs with these lenses is awesome. So much fun. Not for my "serious" photos but for daily carry "just in case" I can't think of better value. Plus they look gorgeous on an Xpro body. Cheap man's Leica, haha! - keep up the great reviews.
This lens is so much fun. Manual focusing with it is pretty enjoyable and the miniscule form factor makes it something one can always take along to just have some fun with the process of (manually) taking pictures without too much regards for image quality.
Great review, but not sure if it's for me. Maybe for some fun right out of camera snap shots, or like you said video use. Thanks for the video. I almost forgot to ask about the part of the video that you took a physical look at the lens. Did you intend to leave the slack between observations in editing? Not a critique just curious, I kinda liked it like a dramatic pause.
Dustin, you may or may not recall that in the past, I made comments either in YT comment section or perhaps on your FB ,to effect that you seemed price selective in the lens reviewed by you. Your penchant for and clear affection for the Zeiss Batis range was a prime motivator for my comments as was your less than fulsome view of the Sony 55 1.8 which had been very highly rated by DXOMARK. However, the price point of this lens requires that I openly retract those past comments. Thank you for reviewing this clearly ultra affordable lens. Whilst of no direct interest to anyone apart from myself, I tend to place far more importance on the quality of top quality glass, though my ability to purchase the likes of the Zeiss Batis are now a matter of past times. Have a Fuji X T20 and XT2 which do all I need. For a zoom both match my abilities and pocket the " kit" Fuji zoom does not disappoint. Thanks again for reviewing this modestly priced lens.
Thanks for the positive feedback, Robert. I do stand by my review of the 55mm F1.8, and if you read the comments on my recent Planar 50mm F1.4 long term review, you'll find that many real world users of the lens support my conclusions.
Great review, as always. I have just ordered this lens direct from Pergear. I'm a M4/3 shooter...in that instance, would you expect any real differences in lens performance due to the smaller sensor and 2X crop factor?
@@DustinAbbottTWI Actually it should work better on m43, because it crops the (softer) corners of the image and you would end up using just the centre. Its the same as with FF on aps-c effect.
The complaints I read about this lens is that when compared to other 1.8 lenses this is full stop darker. And also some say that the metric system markings for distance are apparently inaccurate. Did you test these?
This is a F1.6 lens, not F1.8. If it were a full step darker they would not be allowed to market it as F1.8. There are limits to how much companies are allowed to vary from the stated norms. It is darker than a high end lens at F2, but like more like 1/3rd to 1/2 stop.
Great review! Great information! One thing I that stands out front to me is unrelated to these lenses. It's your mic. Fantastic sound. What's the brand of your mic? I appreciate your wealth of knowledge.
With lens like this, once I upgrade my camera, I can leave my a6300 to my siblings (slightly over 10 years my junior) and just slap on a Pergear lens to get them accustomed to manual focus lens. I am not giving vintage lenses to my siblings at any time soon, but this one is fine.
@@DustinAbbottTWI OK, thanks. And one more question. If you would like to try manual lenses, would you buy both 25mm and 35mm lenses, or only 25mm lens and an extension tube?
A 10mm extention tube, maybe. I am new to photography, and I thought this would save me some money. I don't know if there would be some concerns about the quality of photos when extension tubes are installed.
Unfortunately I haven't tested them with extension tubes. They will probably be fine with extension tubes for up close work if you shoot at F2.8 or so. Just know that extension tubes only allow you to focus closer at the expense of not being able to focus to infinity. It won't make a 25mm lens behave like a 35mm lens.
I am really new to cameras and stuff and was looking at these two cheap lenses. I am confused about the cropping thing regarding APSC, Full Frame, etc... I have a Micro 4/3 Lumix G7 that I am going to use to shoot videos in 4k; will I have to crop the footage drastically in order to use this lens? Will it look like a tiny circle at the lowest fstop? I specifically want this lens to shoot low light and high bokeh artsy shots since my kit lens only goes to f3.5
No, the crop factor of your M43 camera applies equally to everything. You won't have to do anything. All of your lenses are handled the exact same way.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Thank you. Will the aperture actually stay 1.6 on my M43 sensor? The crop factor reduces the light intake so it's actually not a good lowlight lens, right?
recently i bought zonlai‘s 35 1.6 3rd editionfor a spin，im very suprised at its performance， the sharpness is probably over the fuji fx 35 1.4 close to the fx 35 2， CA distortion well controled and even has optic character（the sunstar is easily formed from f2 and shape like voightlander lens），it stood out oddly among these chinese cheap lens （i tried zonlai‘s 22mm 50mm 7artisan‘s 25mm，not so impressed）
Excuse me I don understand. Those are lenses for crop sensor. I heard you can use FF lens on Crop sensor but you cant use crop sensor lens on FF. as is just too small and will create a huge vignette. How can you stick 35mm APC-S lens on FF to become 50+ mm lens. 35mm APC-S will give you yes and equivalent field of view of 50mm but on APS-C sensor. I can see you mounted it on your A7iii. I am sorry it is just me here?
Two things here: 1) all lenses list their 35mm (full frame) equivalent, as the standard for crop factors changes from lens to lens. This lens can be 52.5mm on a Sony body but 70mm equivalent on a M43 body. 2) I tested the lens in APS-C mode on my a7RIII because I don't have an APS-C camera at this point.
The difference between this lens vs modern lens can be clearly seen @14:52 I've always noticed alot of chinese lens lacks contrast, saturation, has this slight tint and, as mentioned by Dustin, gives that certain look that appeals today (filimish vibe).
I think he did but once again, quality content and I heard it all.. not even on apsc anymore lol still an interesting lens for the ultra cheap prices :)
@@ArrakisDunedt noice. Enjoy full frame. I'm still on apsc and have no reason to upgrade. I actually need a telescope or a tracking mount or something instead of a new camera.
@@DustinAbbottTWI chinese economic policy is weird. In the west business loans are given out over economic rewards for an investment. In china loans are given out over the number of people a business can keep employed. Pete Zeihan has some great vids on china's policies
![[UNCUT] บอสพอล แผลงฤทธิ์ บอสพระ-นักร้อง ก. โดนแฉยับ! I คนดังนั่งเคลียร์ I 21 ต.ค. 67](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/XKf6HeftoPI/mqdefault.jpg)
great review. I'll be picking one up for my xpro 2. I own the 25mm and love it. On the xpro 2 shooting film simulations jpegs with these lenses is awesome. So much fun. Not for my "serious" photos but for daily carry "just in case" I can't think of better value. Plus they look gorgeous on an Xpro body. Cheap man's Leica, haha! - keep up the great reviews.
That sounds like a perfect application.
This lens is so much fun. Manual focusing with it is pretty enjoyable and the miniscule form factor makes it something one can always take along to just have some fun with the process of (manually) taking pictures without too much regards for image quality.
That's a great perspective on a lens like this.
Great review, but not sure if it's for me. Maybe for some fun right out of camera snap shots, or like you said video use. Thanks for the video. I almost forgot to ask about the part of the video that you took a physical look at the lens. Did you intend to leave the slack between observations in editing? Not a critique just curious, I kinda liked it like a dramatic pause.
I would have to go back and look at what you said. It doesn't sound like it was intentional.
Dustin, you may or may not recall that in the past, I made comments either in YT comment section or perhaps on your FB ,to effect that you seemed price selective in the lens reviewed by you.
Your penchant for and clear affection for the Zeiss Batis range was a prime motivator for my comments as was your less than fulsome view of the Sony 55 1.8 which had been very highly rated by DXOMARK.
However, the price point of this lens requires that I openly retract those past comments.
Thank you for reviewing this clearly ultra affordable lens.
Whilst of no direct interest to anyone apart from myself, I tend to place far more importance on the quality of top quality glass, though my ability to purchase the likes of the Zeiss Batis are now a matter of past times.
Have a Fuji X T20 and XT2 which do all I need. For a zoom both match my abilities and pocket the " kit" Fuji zoom does not disappoint.
Thanks again for reviewing this modestly priced lens.
Thanks for the positive feedback, Robert. I do stand by my review of the 55mm F1.8, and if you read the comments on my recent Planar 50mm F1.4 long term review, you'll find that many real world users of the lens support my conclusions.
Incredible detailed review ! Now I know why I am going to buy this lens ;)
Are the photos you presented shoot with an APSC camera ?
Thanks !
Yes and no. I don't own an APS-C Sony body at the moment, so I used the APS-C mode on the a7RIII or RIV.
Great review, as always. I have just ordered this lens direct from Pergear. I'm a M4/3 shooter...in that instance, would you expect any real differences in lens performance due to the smaller sensor and 2X crop factor?
The focal length will behave differently, but results should be roughly similar.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Actually it should work better on m43, because it crops the (softer) corners of the image and you would end up using just the centre. Its the same as with FF on aps-c effect.
Dear Dustin. What lense you used and on what camera to film yourself in the garden?
I guess a7R3 and Voigtlander 65mm F2 macro
I'm not at liberty to share that information yet...but stay tuned for next week...
@@frankluo230 Seven III 4 sure just curious about that lens..
The footage does look nice, doesn't it
@@DustinAbbottTWI hmm interesting, bokeh look interesting. Colour is nice.
The complaints I read about this lens is that when compared to other 1.8 lenses this is full stop darker. And also some say that the metric system markings for distance are apparently inaccurate. Did you test these?
This is a F1.6 lens, not F1.8. If it were a full step darker they would not be allowed to market it as F1.8. There are limits to how much companies are allowed to vary from the stated norms. It is darker than a high end lens at F2, but like more like 1/3rd to 1/2 stop.
@@DustinAbbottTWI I meant to type f1.6. Mixed it up with the 25mm. How about the accuracy of those distance scales?
I just haven't had time to test that. I keep a very tight schedule of reviews, and it is hard for me to find time to go back to previous projects.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Ok cheers anyway. I'm going to get this or the 25mm regardless. Probably the 25mm.
Great review! Great information! One thing I that stands out front to me is unrelated to these lenses. It's your mic. Fantastic sound. What's the brand of your mic? I appreciate your wealth of knowledge.
I use a Rode SmartLav+
Hay thanks. Based on your review i did further research and happened to find the family of Pergear lenses. Thanks for your knowledge.
With lens like this, once I upgrade my camera, I can leave my a6300 to my siblings (slightly over 10 years my junior) and just slap on a Pergear lens to get them accustomed to manual focus lens. I am not giving vintage lenses to my siblings at any time soon, but this one is fine.
That's a solid tank.
Secrets out! Looking forward to the Samyang af 85 rf review!
Yep. Next week
Hi, Dustin. Would you go for, TTartisan 35mm f1.4, or Pergear 35mm f1.6?
I haven't tested the TTArtisan 35mm lens, but I was pretty impressed with the TTArtisans lens I did test. I'd probably lean that way.
@@DustinAbbottTWI OK, thanks. And one more question. If you would like to try manual lenses, would you buy both 25mm and 35mm lenses, or only 25mm lens and an extension tube?
A 10mm extention tube, maybe. I am new to photography, and I thought this would save me some money. I don't know if there would be some concerns about the quality of photos when extension tubes are installed.
@@DustinAbbottTWI pardon my ignorance. :)
Unfortunately I haven't tested them with extension tubes. They will probably be fine with extension tubes for up close work if you shoot at F2.8 or so. Just know that extension tubes only allow you to focus closer at the expense of not being able to focus to infinity. It won't make a 25mm lens behave like a 35mm lens.
I am really new to cameras and stuff and was looking at these two cheap lenses. I am confused about the cropping thing regarding APSC, Full Frame, etc... I have a Micro 4/3 Lumix G7 that I am going to use to shoot videos in 4k; will I have to crop the footage drastically in order to use this lens? Will it look like a tiny circle at the lowest fstop? I specifically want this lens to shoot low light and high bokeh artsy shots since my kit lens only goes to f3.5
No, the crop factor of your M43 camera applies equally to everything. You won't have to do anything. All of your lenses are handled the exact same way.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Thank you. Will the aperture actually stay 1.6 on my M43 sensor? The crop factor reduces the light intake so it's actually not a good lowlight lens, right?
recently i bought zonlai‘s 35 1.6 3rd editionfor a spin，im very suprised at its performance， the sharpness is probably over the fuji fx 35 1.4 close to the fx 35 2， CA distortion well controled and even has optic character（the sunstar is easily formed from f2 and shape like voightlander lens），it stood out oddly among these chinese cheap lens （i tried zonlai‘s 22mm 50mm 7artisan‘s 25mm，not so impressed）
Interesting. I haven't used that on.
Super ; thanks from Brussels / Luc
Welcome!
These lenses are also supplied with vented metal lens hoods. Not bad for the price!
Absolutely.
Excuse me I don understand. Those are lenses for crop sensor. I heard you can use FF lens on Crop sensor but you cant use crop sensor lens on FF. as is just too small and will create a huge vignette. How can you stick 35mm APC-S lens on FF to become 50+ mm lens. 35mm APC-S will give you yes and equivalent field of view of 50mm but on APS-C sensor. I can see you mounted it on your A7iii. I am sorry it is just me here?
Two things here: 1) all lenses list their 35mm (full frame) equivalent, as the standard for crop factors changes from lens to lens. This lens can be 52.5mm on a Sony body but 70mm equivalent on a M43 body. 2) I tested the lens in APS-C mode on my a7RIII because I don't have an APS-C camera at this point.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Thank you for clarification. I think i was lost in translation here.
1st thing I do is to hit that like button! To all who love Dustin vids!
Thanks, Michal.
@@DustinAbbottTWI No sir. Thank you for guiding us here. I relay totally and buy confidently products you are recommending.
Nice review, but please use room noise reduction. Other than that, thanks for the info!
You’re welcome.
Thanks again Dustin.
You're welcome.
The difference between this lens vs modern lens can be clearly seen @14:52 I've always noticed alot of chinese lens lacks contrast, saturation, has this slight tint and, as mentioned by Dustin, gives that certain look that appeals today (filimish vibe).
Right. It's not technically perfect, but some people like the look
I think you misspoke full frame instead of apsc. Great video btw.
Are you proud of yourself? 💩
I think he did but once again, quality content and I heard it all.. not even on apsc anymore lol still an interesting lens for the ultra cheap prices :)
@@dmacrolens come on. I didn't mean that in an offensive way. We all misspeak often. This is quality content don't mistake me
@@ArrakisDunedt noice. Enjoy full frame. I'm still on apsc and have no reason to upgrade. I actually need a telescope or a tracking mount or something instead of a new camera.
I was actually citing that the 25mm is like a 35mm (37.5mm) on full frame, and this lens is a like a 50mm (52.5mm) on full frame.
I have no interest in this lens whatsoever, still come to enjoy your excellent review. Well done.
That's flattering. Thank you.
Cant be worse then a RF 35mm 1.8 stm , so how come dont we see these little gems on FF , is the optical challenge to big for the R&D budget?
We do see some full frame lenses like this, though the short answer is yes - there are a LOT more challenges engineering for full frame.
Sounds like someone left a tap on
It's actually a new lapel mic I was testing, and discovered later that a setting needed changing.
It's china it isn't about making a profit. It's about how many people they can employ.
Hmmmm, I'm not sure that fits what I know of many Chinese business people - they are definitely trying to make a profit.
@@DustinAbbottTWI chinese economic policy is weird. In the west business loans are given out over economic rewards for an investment. In china loans are given out over the number of people a business can keep employed. Pete Zeihan has some great vids on china's policies