Introduction
Thypoch entered the market of still lenses with the Simera 28mm 1.4 and 35mm 1.4. Both capable lenses with floating elements but sadly some questional choices when it comes to the mechanical design. Now this 50mm 1.4 Simera marks the next generation of Thypoch’s lenses, let’s find out in this review what it has to offer compared to the near endless alternative options of fast 50mm M-mount lenses.
Sample Images
You can find most of the sample pictures in this article in full resolution here.
Contents
Specifications
-
- Diameter: 54 mm
- Field of view: 45° (diagonally)
- Length: 53 mm
- Weight: 267g (without hood [21g] and caps)
- Filter Diameter: 49 mm
- Number of Aperture Blades: 14 (rounded)
- Elements/Groups: 8/6
- Close Focusing Distance: 0.45 m
- Maximum Magnification: 1:10.4 (measured)
- Mount: Leica M
buy from ebay.com | ebay.de | B&H (affiliate links) for $649
When ordering from the Thypoch Webshop you can use the code “phillipreeve Simera” to get free shipping.
Disclosure
Thypoch lend me a sample of this lens for reviewing purposes. Thanks a lot!
Handling/Build Quality
If you had a look at my reviews of the 28mm 1.4 Simera and/or 35mm 1.4 Simera you know I am not a huge fan of some of the mechanical design decisions of these lenses. Luckily the Thypoch guys seem to have listened to the feedback, as at least that annoying infinity look has been replaced with a focus tab here, which surely is good news.
Like the other two Simera lenses also this one features the “Visifocus” distance scale, meaning instead of simple bars or lines we see these red dots that “light up” when changing the aperture setting. As you can see from the picture above it is even less helpful with this longer lens, I would still prefer ditching that thing altogether and giving us a bigger focus ring instead.
This is a front-focus lens. The rear group stays put, the rest of the optical block moves out on focussing closer. As you can see from the picture above the length of the lens remains constant and when adding a protection filter nothing will move externally.
What I like about the focus ring is that it has a distinct click stop at the 0.7 m setting, so you will notice leaving the rangefinder-coupled range.
The rotation angle between 0.7 m and the minimum focus distance is still too short though, which makes the lens very hard to focus at closer distances.
The focus ring is also slightly wobbly on this sample, there even is a tiny bit of slack when changing the direction of rotation.
The aperture ring features a small de-click lever at the bottom. Its resistance is high, so I don’t think there is a high likelihood to accidentally change its setting. The stops are not spaced equidistantly and the click stops are also a bit random – 1/3rd of a stop clicks between f/1.4 and f/5.6, half stops between f/5.6 and f/8.0, full stops between f/8.0 and f/16 – which makes figuring out how far you stopped the lens down going by the clicks and without looking at it also rather difficult.
There is also some rangefinder blockage, especially when using the supplied rectangular hood. The situation here is similar to the Leica 50mm 1.4 Summilux-M Asph, if you are looking for a fast 50mm lens with very less rangefinder blockage the Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.5 Nokton II is the way to go.
The calibration of the rangefinder was quite alright on this sample, but true infinity was a tad before the hard stop which I am not a fan of.
All the markings are engraved and filled with paint. Some of the writings do look a bit cramped together though, less would have probably been more here.
The inside of the hood is painted matte black and unlike the 28mm 1.4, this 50mm 1.4 does not feature a shiny chrome front ring, the front is painted in the same way as the rest of the lens.
This Simera 50mm 1.4 is very similar in size to the Simera 28mm 1.4. The TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 is slightly longer and heavier, but also features nicer aperture and focus rings.
You can of course adapt this M-mount lens to all kinds of other mirrorless cameras. As it features a floating elements design you should pay attention that your adapter has the correct length though.
Vignetting
Light falloff
| f/1.4 | 2.8 |
| f/2.0 | 2.1 |
| f/2.8 | 1.4 |
| f/4.0 | 1.0 |
| f/5.6 - f/16 | 0.7 |
The amount of vignetting is pretty much the same as that of the Leica 50mm 1.4 Asph and the TTArtisan 50mm 1.4, whereas the more compact Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.5 Nokton II shows about half-a-stop more at all apeture settings.
It is recommended to have a look at this article first to get an idea how this brightness graph works.
Optical vignetting
Fast lenses usually show a significant amount of optical vignetting. Without going too much into technical details optical vignetting leads to the truncation of light circles towards the borders of the frame.
In the center of the frame almost every lens will render a perfect circle, but only lenses with very low optical vignetting will keep this shape in the corners.
So in the following comparison we move from the center (left) to the extreme corner (right) and see how the shape of the light circle changes.
I did not shoot these lenses side by side, so the size of the circles is not directly comparable.
The amount of optical vignetting is comparable to the competition. The Leica 50mm 1.4 Asph and TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 show a little less, the Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.5 Nokton II a little more.
One thing is notable though: while all these lenses make use of aspherical elements, this Simera shows by far the best polishing, as I can hardly see any onion ring structures, whereas they are very noticeable with all the other lenses.
Sharpness
Focus Shift
I do not see any field relevant focus shift here. Good news for rangefinder users!
infinity (24mp Leica M10, 42mp Sony A7rII)
The Simera 50mm 1.4 shows a good performance in the center as well as the midframe from f/1.4 on the Leica M10. For the corners to look really good stopping down to f/8.0 to f/11 is advisable though.
What about the competitors? The Leica 50mm 1.4 Asph has higher contrast in the center of the frame, but also a stronger midzone dip and the corners look very similar at shared apertures. The TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 also has a midzone dip, but the corners look better, so already by f/2.8 it looks really good across the whole frame. The Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.5 Nokton II is by far the best of them, already at f/1.5 it shows a performance as good as this Simera or the Leica when stopped down to f/11.
This lens performs worse on the Sony A7rII with its thick filter stack as we would expect. The midframe looks way worse and needs f/4.0 to f/5.6 to look decent, the corners also need f/11 to look good here. At the end of the day, for inifnity shooting I would prefer to stop this lens down to f/11 regardless of camera.
portrait distance 1.4 m (24mp Leica M10, 24mp Sony A7III)
I refocused for every shot and aperture to get the best possible result at different locations in the frame (center, inner midframe and outer midframe).
The circle of the dollar bill is more or less the size of a human eye.
We will be looking at 100% crops from the 24mp Sony A7III and the Leica M10. Both cameras do not have an anti aliasing filter in front of the sensor. Focus distance was 1.4 m.
Leica M10 <—> Sony A7III
At these distances the Simera 50mm 1.4 shows a good performance and again the differences between using it on a Leica camera or a Sony camera are not that huge.
In the outer midframe the lens is a bit softer, but it looks much better here than the Leica 50mm 1.4 Asph. The TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 and Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.5 Nokton II show a similar performance.
close 0.45 m (42mp Sony A7rII)
This Thypoch Simera 50mm 1.4 features a floating elements design, so despite its – compared to other fast 50mm M-mount lenses – short minimum focus distances we should expect good performance at wider apertures here.
The problem is, the comparison to the competitors is not really fair, as their minimum focus distance is only 0.7 m. That being said this Simera looks least as good at 0.45 m as the Leica 50mm 1.4 Asph and TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 do at 0.7 m and clearly better than the Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.5 Nokton II.
Flare resistance
If you are a regular reader you already know: evaluating the flare resistance of lenses is not an easy endeavour as a slight change in scenario can have a huge impact on the performance.
Generally I did not have a lot of trouble with this lens in the field. Shooting directly into the sun – like in the sample above – veiling flare can be a problem, apart from that there are not a lot of issues at f/1.4.
Stopped down with a strong point light source in the corner of the frame some pretty big and distracting artefacts can appear though. This is something I would recommend watching out for.
This performance is like a hundred times better than what I have seen from the Leica 50mm 1.4 Summilux-M Asph and also better than the TTArtisan 50mm 1.4. If you are allergic to lens flares my recommendation is to have a closer look at the Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.2 Nokton though, I didn’t come across a fast 50mm with a better performance in this category yet.
Coma
Having used all the Simera lenses, I have the feeling perfectly correcting Coma is not in their design criteria. As was already the case for the Thypoch 35mm 1.4 Simera, also here we see noticeable deformations at f/1.4 to f/2.0 and still at f/2.8.
The Leica 50mm 1.4 Asph, TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 and the Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.5 Nokton II show a similar performance up until f/2.0, by f/2.8 they all look a bit cleaner though. From f/4.0 there are only minor differences.
Distortion
This 50mm 1.4 only shows a very low amount of distortion. I did not feel the need to correct it in any of the sample pictures. Good news for the M-mount film shooters.
Bokeh
When it comes to M-mount 50mm lenses you can find everything from low contrast vintage lenses with busy bokeh to modern high performance designs with a smoother and less distracting out of focus rendering.
This Thypoch 50mm 1.4 – just like their 28mm 1.4 and 35mm 1.4 – falls in the latter category as it draws a modern, smooth bokeh. This is something I personally prefer, if you are looking for a lens with a more distinct bokeh, Thypoch also has you covered with their 50mm 2.0 Eureka lens.
The minimum focus distance of only 0.45 m allows to get really close to your subjects, something the other fast 50mm M-mount lenses cannot do. On top of that the floating elements design leads to a really nice and clear definition of the focal plane. It sure was a lot of fun to use this lens for these applications.
We see some optical vignetting, but as discussed before it is comparable to other fast 50mm M-mount lenses.
The transition from in-focus to out-of-focus also looks pretty good to me.
Even at longer distances – where many lenses struggle – this lens draws an appealing bokeh, but how does it compare to the competitors?
The Leica 50mm 1.4 Asph has higher contrast in the central part of the frame at f/1.4, which under the right conditions makes the subject stand out even more. At longer focus distances it has some field curvature issues leading to not so nice bokeh in the corners though.
The TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 also draws a very nice bokeh, very similar to the aforementioned Leica lens but with less field curvature (have a look at this comparison if you want to see the difference). To my eyes it looks very similar to this Thypoch lens.
The Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.5 Nokton II shows the highest contrast of these four lenses and also the highest optical vignetting.
There are no night and day differences between these lenses, but if you are looking for something specific you may prefer one over the others, so have a look at their individual reviews to find out which one fits your preferences best.
Sunstars
Due to the high number of rounded aperture blades I did not expect to see distinct sunstars, but the production tolerances for the diaphragm seem to be pretty tight, as we see nice sunstars with an even length of the rays from f/4.0 to f/16.
If you want to know more about sunstars have a look at this article.
I really wonder why not more manufacturers manage to strike this balance between a high number of rounded blades and nice sunstars stopped down.
Chromatic aberration
lateral
This lens show only minimal lateral CA so I have nothing to show you here this time.
longitudinal
The amount of bokeh fringing, meaning green outlining in the background and magenta outlining in the foreground, is average for a 50mm 1.4 lens. This means there are some visible at f/1.4 and stopping down to f/2.0 is not sufficient to completely get rid of it.
When it comes to purple fringing the situation is similar.
Conclusion
good
|
average
|
not good
|
Already when I reviewed the Thypoch 35mm 1.4 Simera, I was asking the question: what does this Simera lens bring to the table, that should make you choose it over those competitors? And when it comes to 50mm lenses, that question might be even more relevant, as so many different 50mm M-mount lenses have been released over the last decades.
Looking at the table above we can see that this turned out to be a very well rounded product though and it is one of the few lenses that do not seem to have any outstanding drawbacks.
Some minor annoyances are still present though. While Thypoch got rid of the annoying and useless infinity lock, the focus throw in the 0.45 to 0.70 m range is still too short and I still think the “Visifocus” distance scale hurts the ergonomics.
I can only say positive things about the optical performance though and Thypoch lenses feature some of the best aperture diaphragms and best polished aspherical elements I ever came across.
I actually consider this being the most versatile fast 50mm M-mount lens, especially thanks to its unrivalled minimum focus distance coupled with the floating elements design. This is the do-it-all 50mm M-mount lens for me.
buy from ebay.com | ebay.de | B&H (affiliate links) for $649
When ordering from the Thypoch Webshop until Dec. 3rd you can use the code “phillipreeve Simera” to get an additional $40 off
Alternatives
I reviewed a lot of 50mm M-mount lenses all of which you can find listed here. I will only talk about some of the obvious alternatives in detail here.
Leica 50mm 1.4 Summilux-M Asph:
The Leica 50mm 1.4 offers higher contrast in the central part of the frame and this is something you should really care about if you are thinking of getting one, because in most other categories it shows a now outdated performance compared to this Simera and the other lenses I will mention next.
Off center sharpness isn’t great, flare resistance is awful, ninja-star diaphragm is downright stupid and despite its floating elements design it only focuses down to 0.7 m and has more issues with field curvature at longer focus distances. It is also heavier than this Simera lens.
buy this lens new from B&H for $4500 or try to look for a used one on ebay.com starting at $3000 (affiliate links)
Voigtlander VM 50mm 1.5 II Nokton Vintage:
Out of these fast 50mm M-mount lenses the Voigtländer 50mm 1.5 II is not only the smallest but also has the highest contrast and very good resolution fromf /1.5.
It shows higher vignetting and a bit of focus shift and does not feature a floating elements design though.
In terms of size and weight a great match to M-mount cameras.
buy from Robert White (UK) | B&H | ebay.com | ebay.de (affiliate links) for $749
TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 Asph:
The TTArtisan shows a performance very similar to this Thypoch lens. I prefer the aperture and focus ring of the TTArtisan lens, but it doesn’t feature a floating elements design and it is a bit on the heavy side at 402g vs the 267g of this lens – its main disadvantage.
It is the cheapest of these options though and has an amazing price/performance ration.
You can also have a look at my review of the Leica 50mm 1.4 where I compared those two lenses in great detail.
buy from the manufacturer’s shop, on amazon.com/amazon.de, B&H or ebay.com/ebay.de for about $328 (affiliate links)
Voigtlander VM 50mm 1.2 Nokton:
If f/1.4 or f/1.5 don’t cut it this should be worth a closer look. Not only is its bokeh beautiful, it is also plenty of sharp stopped down with beautiful sunstars. But the real stand-out feature among the fast 50mm M-mount lenses is its amazing flare resistance. It is noticeably better in this regard than any of the other lenses mentioned here.
No floating elements and noticeably heavier than this Thypoch lens.
buy from B&H, amazon.com or ebay.com/ebay.de for about $899/1099€ (affiliate links)
Mr. Ding 50mm 1.1:
The Mr. Ding 50mm 1.1 neither uses a floating elements design nor aspherical elements, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it isn’t as contrasty as the other lenses mentioned here. It is noticeably faster though and draws a beautifully smooth bokeh.
Sadly, it seems to be in somewhat short supply lately.
buy from official Mr. Ding Studio shop or ebay.com (affiliate links) for $399
Sample Images
You can find most of the sample pictures in this article in full resolution here.
Further Reading
- All M-mount Lens Reviews
- Lens aberrations explained
- Review: Leica 50mm 0.95 Noctilux-M Asph
- Review: Mr. Ding 50mm 1.1
- Follow us on Discord
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Thanks for another useful review. Nothing here makes me want to replace my Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton II, but now I know what I’m missing and not missing. Thypoc’s pervasive Instagram presence does a diabolically effective job of imprinting the message that “all the cool kids are using Simeras now,” but I’m going to keep resisting the temptation…
The 50mm 1.5 II has a size advantage which is hard to overlook.
I really love the rendition of these lenses. Too bad they haven’t made any from the bottom up for Sony cameras. If they made a 28/1.4 that performed on Sony like their current one performs on Leica I would buy that so quickly
“This is the do-it-all 50mm M-mount lens for me.”
I can confirm that 100%.
Sold the 50 Summilux ASPH about 10 years ago. Loved it’s center performance and bokeh but what prompted me to sell was the far too pronounced midzone dip. In the overall view, the Simera is the better choice for me, although the appearance of the Summilux still seems nicer to my eyes.
With Techart LM-EA9 adapter, the autofokus works pretty well on Sony A1 (including eye-AF).
The Leica 50mm 1.4 Summilux-M Asph is for me one of the most beautiful M-mount lenses (talking about the casing design) together with the 90mm 2.0 Pre Asph.
But its midzone dip and subpar flare resistance would drive me crazy.
many thanks for an other fine review, I use the Oly zukio 50 1.4 with Leica m adapter, works just nice with teacart to Sony and also Nikon 🙂
Hi thanks for the detailed information and review of this lens and comparison to other but I wonder if you compare it to voigtlander nokton 50mm F1. How’s it different both have the floating elements. And if you only choose one lens to do all (portraits, street and walk around lens, etc.) and only one 50mm to have.
You buy the Voigtländer 50mm 1.0 only if you really want the f/1.0 maximum aperture.
If that is not the case have a look at the VM 50mm 1.2 or some of the other smaller/lighter/cheaper alternatives.
Thanks for the hard work, Bastian. Being always on the search of fast 50mm primes with some character, I’d like to ask you which is your favorite of these three: the new simera, the old voigtlander 1.2 or the tiny and not bad at all voigtlander 1.5.
The VM 50mm 1.2 would be my personal favorite. But what is right for me may not be right for you.
If you like to take close up pictures the Simera is the smarter choice and if you care more about size than speed the 50mm 1.5 II starts to look very appealing.