I have their 25mm lens. It was the first prime lens I bought. I still love it! It has a kind of vintage lens feel, so it fits in with the collection of vintage lenses I've added since then. I could use a 35mm... :)
Thankyou for mentioning the chromatic abbration on 0.95 vs 1.2, it really change my opinion about 0.95 since I'm gonna use it for video. And it's difficult to get rid of chroma ab without sacrificing video quality on hundreds of footage.
Thanks for the video! it has been very helpful! I like the way you made the review. I was looking for a compact 'normal' lens for the fuji and I was between this one and the faster 35mm. finally I went for this one, I think the image rendering can help create some interesting shots and your video helped me to see that!
Matt- this was a great and honest review! I don't put too much value on sharpness in this price range but it's very acceptable quality! I have the 50 1.2 and it's great. Keepem coming!!
A truly fantastic review, great work brother! You kept the information succinct and hit on all of the aspects I was interested in hearing about. You’ve got a new subscription from me! Warmest regards and gratitude from the UK!
Great video Matt! Definitely gonna consider this as an option for a 35mm focal length. I currently have the Meike 35mm F1.7 it's great considering its price at only 60$ but I do find myself wanting a better sharpness at wide open apertures. I have the viltrox 56mm 1.4 but it's already entering the telephoto range so yeah.
@@MattJacobs I've been eyeing on the 35 F2 or the Viltrox 33 1.4 but I think the F2 wins it for me for the faster af and that weather resistance. The new 33 1.4 of fuji came out but to be expected it's gonna be expensive.
Definitely consider the 35mm f/1.4 if you can live without weather resistance. If you have a somewhat modern camera the autofocus is fine in my opinion and I use it professionally all the time
Great review, thanks! So, at 1.2 this lens is not super sharp (which is fine with me), but does it improve in sharpness if you add sharpness in the camera settings?
It will add artificial sharpening but no real detail. You would probably get better results doing it in a photo editing program if anything. Unless you are shooting JPEG only, in which case I’m not sure because I always shoot RAW
Yes it does vignette a little especially at f/1.2, f/1.4 but nothing so bad that you couldn’t pretty easily correct in post. Sometimes vignetting actually looks nice on certain images
The clicked aperture is nice, but I see they did not engrave the lettering. Not a biggie, bit with time these letters will fade and you can’t refill the paint. Some prefer the character of the mk 1 - have not tried either, but tempted.
I bought this lens on amazon and it didn't fit my xs10 so I returned it and bought another copy, thinking it would be a manufacturing error, but the second one didn't fit either. :( I'm very confused.
Very weird. Quality control is certainly known to be lower with these Chinese companies. Sorry that happened to you, I’m sure Amazon would give you your money back or keep giving you replacements until you got the right one lol
The mk1 was one of the worst lenses ever. As Crisopher Frost said in his fantastic review, "this lens stands accused of a string of crimes against optical quality". It has every possible distortion in the book. From soft corners and field curvature, from terrible flaring to absurd coma smearing and so on. Even stopped down, it's still pretty bad. It does have solid bokeh though. That being said, I'm not sure about the mk2, even though you mentioned there are no major differences. I hope you're wrong and there are major improvements.
I would say it’s an ok lens, kind of what you expect for the price. Cristopher Frost’s reviews look for technical optical perfection, often favoring studio tests and doing the most to show the lens’ flaws, even if they might not come up as often with real-world use. I love his reviews, but a sub $150 manual focus optic is never going to stand up well to studio tests of focus charts, etc. Oftentimes people buy these lenses BECAUSE of their optical flaws. Vignetting, softer corners, weird bokeh, etc. are all things that are technically flaws, but at the same time could contribute to the creative look some photographers are looking for (and are traits par for the course when spending so little on a lens). It may look bad in studio tests, but those tests are also not an accurate representation of the intended use for that lens. I heard the mk 1 is a optical disaster but the mk 2 (I think) makes enough improvements that someone with only the budget to afford that lens would be sufficiently happy. Folks just need to understand they must manage their expectations for such cheap optics. They’re not going to blow you away with perfection. If you want that, get ready to cough up $700+ at least.
Defenitely love the gun metal lens mount vibe, they should make camera and lens mounts black. Looks sick and reduces reflection aswell
The B&W dog photo at 6:10 was excellent. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks!
This lens is my favorite. It's slightly soft on my copy and it's so interesting and dreamy looking
I'm mostly interested in how you got Post Malone to act in your film 😍
This lens is glued on my cam. Cheap but great. Partner this with a CPL filter and you'll get awesome images. Magical!
This was a great review. So much so I'm going out to pick one of these up now! I hope I enjoy it as much as you did!
I have their 25mm lens. It was the first prime lens I bought. I still love it! It has a kind of vintage lens feel, so it fits in with the collection of vintage lenses I've added since then. I could use a 35mm... :)
I think I might get one. Thanks. I like the example photos.
Thankyou for mentioning the chromatic abbration on 0.95 vs 1.2, it really change my opinion about 0.95 since I'm gonna use it for video. And it's difficult to get rid of chroma ab without sacrificing video quality on hundreds of footage.
Shooting at such a shallow depth of field and video is difficult I generally don’t shoot anything under F2.8
Dude I loved this video! One of your best on Matt Jacobs so far
Thank you!! I didn’t even know you watched these 😂
Thanks for the video! it has been very helpful! I like the way you made the review. I was looking for a compact 'normal' lens for the fuji and I was between this one and the faster 35mm. finally I went for this one, I think the image rendering can help create some interesting shots and your video helped me to see that!
Matt- this was a great and honest review! I don't put too much value on sharpness in this price range but it's very acceptable quality! I have the 50 1.2 and it's great. Keepem coming!!
Will do! Haven’t had many manual focus lenses lately but have got to try some more first party Fuji lenses more stuff coming soon!
This is my exact setup, also with the Fuji 27 2.8
A truly fantastic review, great work brother!
You kept the information succinct and hit on all of the aspects I was interested in hearing about.
You’ve got a new subscription from me!
Warmest regards and gratitude from the UK!
Wow thanks so much, that means a lot! Thanks :)
I loved this lens, too.
Great video Matt! Definitely gonna consider this as an option for a 35mm focal length. I currently have the Meike 35mm F1.7 it's great considering its price at only 60$ but I do find myself wanting a better sharpness at wide open apertures. I have the viltrox 56mm 1.4 but it's already entering the telephoto range so yeah.
Definitely check it out for a cheaper option or the Fuji 35mm f/1.4 as a slightly more expensive (but still great value) option with autofocus
@@MattJacobs I've been eyeing on the 35 F2 or the Viltrox 33 1.4 but I think the F2 wins it for me for the faster af and that weather resistance. The new 33 1.4 of fuji came out but to be expected it's gonna be expensive.
Definitely consider the 35mm f/1.4 if you can live without weather resistance. If you have a somewhat modern camera the autofocus is fine in my opinion and I use it professionally all the time
I was going to grab the 0.95 but may have to get this instead.
How would this compare with the Meike 35mm f1.4 lens? I’m looking for something small, light, and sharp at wide apertures. Thank you! 🙏🙂
I have not tried that lens unfortunately, but I can definitely recommend this one!
@@MattJacobs no biggie, thank you!! ☺️
I have both, this one is better.
Great review, thanks. Too bad the lens doesn't have a focus tab, that would come in handy for quick focussing
TTArtisan just released 23mm f1.4, have you tried it?
Not yet I’m trying to get ahold of it…
Im use a XE2 too, and i will to buy 7artisans 35mm f1.2. Any isues about this lens in XE2 ? Thank u
I was suprised that 7 artisans had a clicked aperture ring, I own 4 7 art lenses and none do.
They should use the same caps, but use a magnetic surface.
Good idea
Great review, thanks! So, at 1.2 this lens is not super sharp (which is fine with me), but does it improve in sharpness if you add sharpness in the camera settings?
It will add artificial sharpening but no real detail. You would probably get better results doing it in a photo editing program if anything. Unless you are shooting JPEG only, in which case I’m not sure because I always shoot RAW
@@MattJacobs Ok. Thanks for your input!
This one is as sharp as any of my Fujifilm lenses from f2.8
How is this compared to a vintage 35mm lens?
Does this lens have vignette on the xe2 body, bro?
Yes it does vignette a little especially at f/1.2, f/1.4 but nothing so bad that you couldn’t pretty easily correct in post. Sometimes vignetting actually looks nice on certain images
Does anyone have infinity focus problem with this lens ? i cannot focus to infinity until f2.8
The clicked aperture is nice, but I see they did not engrave the lettering. Not a biggie, bit with time these letters will fade and you can’t refill the paint. Some prefer the character of the mk 1 - have not tried either, but tempted.
I’ve also heard that the mk 1 has a lot of character but at the same time a TON of optical issues. Good point about the paint fading
thanks for the samples. can it be mounted on a dslr and not a mirrorless?
I’m pretty sure it’s for mirrorless mounts. The flange distance would need to be different for DSLRs
@@MattJacobs thanks a lot
I bought this lens on amazon and it didn't fit my xs10 so I returned it and bought another copy, thinking it would be a manufacturing error, but the second one didn't fit either. :( I'm very confused.
Are you sure you got the right mount? I’ve never once had that issue. They sell the same lens that fits different camera brands.
@@MattJacobs i dont think so, double checked the second time i ordered, unless the lens and the box of both lenses i ordered were wrong
Very weird. Quality control is certainly known to be lower with these Chinese companies. Sorry that happened to you, I’m sure Amazon would give you your money back or keep giving you replacements until you got the right one lol
The mk1 was one of the worst lenses ever. As Crisopher Frost said in his fantastic review, "this lens stands accused of a string of crimes against optical quality". It has every possible distortion in the book. From soft corners and field curvature, from terrible flaring to absurd coma smearing and so on. Even stopped down, it's still pretty bad. It does have solid bokeh though.
That being said, I'm not sure about the mk2, even though you mentioned there are no major differences. I hope you're wrong and there are major improvements.
I would say it’s an ok lens, kind of what you expect for the price.
Cristopher Frost’s reviews look for technical optical perfection, often favoring studio tests and doing the most to show the lens’ flaws, even if they might not come up as often with real-world use. I love his reviews, but a sub $150 manual focus optic is never going to stand up well to studio tests of focus charts, etc. Oftentimes people buy these lenses BECAUSE of their optical flaws. Vignetting, softer corners, weird bokeh, etc. are all things that are technically flaws, but at the same time could contribute to the creative look some photographers are looking for (and are traits par for the course when spending so little on a lens). It may look bad in studio tests, but those tests are also not an accurate representation of the intended use for that lens.
I heard the mk 1 is a optical disaster but the mk 2 (I think) makes enough improvements that someone with only the budget to afford that lens would be sufficiently happy. Folks just need to understand they must manage their expectations for such cheap optics. They’re not going to blow you away with perfection. If you want that, get ready to cough up $700+ at least.
DO NOT USE plastic lens cap, looks ugly. But the metal screw in cap is acceptable