Compact 35mm lenses are very popular among the M-mount users and while they usually come with a maximum aperture of f/1.4 or f/2.0, Mr. Ding decided to go for f/1.8, making this a bit of a unique offering. The Mr. Ding 50mm 1.1 Noxlux became a favorite of mine and many others, can they repeat that success with this 35mm 1.8 Pactcron? Let’s try to find out in this review. This lens will be reviewed on the 42mp Sony A7rII and the 24mp Leica M10 and some sample pictures taken on a Nikon Zf are also available.
Sample Images
Nikon Zf | Mr. Ding 35mm 1.8 Pactcron | f/1.8Nikon Zf | Mr. Ding 35mm 1.8 Pactcron | f/1.8Nikon Zf | Mr. Ding 35mm 1.8 Pactcron | f/1.8Nikon Zf | Mr. Ding 35mm 1.8 Pactcron | f/11Nikon Zf | Mr. Ding 35mm 1.8 Pactcron | f/1.8Leica M10 | Mr. Ding 35mm 1.8 Pactcron | f/1.8Leica M10 | Mr. Ding 35mm 1.8 Pactcron | f/1.8
The Syoptic 50mm 1.1 was one of the big surprises for me in 2022, as it was a very capable, fast 50mm lens with surprisingly appealing bokeh rendering and a very affordable price tag.
Unfortunately there were also some issues: almost unreachable filter thread, loose focus rings in the first production run and allegedly some issues with product support.
Now the “official” and improved version of this lens is available branded as Mr. Ding Studio 50mm 1.1 Noxlux. Let’s have a look together. This lens will be reviewed on the 42mp Sony A7rII and the 24mp Leica M10. Update 11/23: Information on the updated Mark II version added
This lens is in many aspects identical to the Syoptic 50mm 1.1, so I will reuse a few sections of my review of that lens.
Leica 50mm 0.95 Noctilux | Zhong Yi 50mm 0.95 M | Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.0 Nokton | MS-Optics 50mm 1.0 ISM | Mr. Ding 50mm 1.1 | Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.2 Nokton
The M-mount seems to be more popular than ever, thanks to plenty of manufacturers – old and new – from Europe, Japan and China designing and releasing countless of new lenses every year for this bayonet.
Super fast 50mm lenses are especially popular here, so many manufacturers designed one as their “flagship” lens.
Thanks to a reader and very cooperative companies I managed to get 6 of these lenses on my table at the same time, so let’s see what each of them is good at – to help you figure out which one might work best for your needs. Last Update March 2025: Transmission section updated
In 2023 there are plenty of lens manufacturers originating from China speaking to various different target audiences. While some are the Primark of the lens industry – simply trying to offer cheaper alternatives to the reknown manufacturers of lower quality – others have become the actual innovators in the photography lens business.
Having used more than 80 of those lenses from 15 different manufacturers I thought it is a good time to highlight the best ones I came across. Update September 2025: many new lenses added
Having reviewed a lot of things this year I thought it might be a good idea to mention this year’s highlights, giving them some well deserved spotlight.
Unfortunately there was also a noticeable amount of junk I reviewed, so this list ended up being a bit short.
Sony α | Leica M | Nikon F/Z New article every week
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
