The Zhong Yi Mitakon 135mm 1.4 Speedmaster is a very rare and also unique big aperture portrait lens. So far only ~100 have been made and trying to find useful information on it is more than difficult, so with this review I will try to change that.
Continue reading Review: Zhong Yi Mitakon 135mm 1.4 Speedmaster
After the success of their compact and affordable f/2.8 zooms Tamron has released a small family of f/2.8 primes: we already reviewed the Tamron 2.8/24 Di III OSD, this time I check if the Tamron 2.8/35 Di III OSD is a good performer.
Most images in this review can be found in full resolution here.
We already reviewed the 7Artisans 35mm 1.4 and now we have a more complex 35mm 1.4 by TTArtisan. Unfortunately the lens does not seem to optimized for the Sony filter stack, so how good a performer is this lens when used on a Sony camera? Let us find out in this review!
Update 03/01/20: added sharpness infinity chart for Leica M10 and a few additional information regarding its use on a rangefinder camera
The 50mm lens is what used to be called a “standard” lens, though perhaps a very slightly shorter focal length gives the absolutely most natural perspective. For some of us here at Phillipreeve.net it’s a length we adore, and have more 50s than any other focal length. Others of us are less keen, finding it usually too short or too long. Obviously there is no right answer here, it depends on how each photographer sees the world.
But it is a very versatile focal length with a wide range of applications. It can be used for slightly formal portraits, moderately environmental portraits, landscape, architecture – most things except wildlife or sport. You can also, with a little quality loss, crop down to a more formal portrait angle of view, and you can – with a gain in both quality and hassle – stitch frames to get wider angles of view for certain kinds of landscape.
In this article we summarize our experience with all the native E-mount 50mm lenses to give you a independent resource in one place for choosing the best 50 mm lens for your needs.We will cover AF E mount, MF E mount with electronic contacts, and lenses with the E bayonet but no contacts. There will a separate article about lenses from other mounts you might adapt to E mount.
Unlike most other review sites we have no association with any lens manufacturer apart from occasionally borrowing a lens for a review. We prefer independence over fancy trips and nice meals.
Before discussing each lens, we tell you which of us had or has the lens, and whether it was purchased or borrowed for review. In most cases we have bought the lenses new from retail stores or on the used market. If you want to support our independent reviews please consider using one of the affiliate links. It doesn’t cost you anything and helps us a lot.
If we have left any question unanswered please leave a comment and we will do our best to answer it.
Olympus lenses are known for their good build quality and performance. Does this apply to the the Olympus F.Zuiko Auto-S 1.8/50, one of the lightest Olympus standard lenses too?
Most images in this review can be found in full resolution on flickr.