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Comparing 25mm – Mitakon F0.95 vs Voigtlander F0.95 lens

yukosteel

Shots are taken from tripod with Panasonic DMC GM1 camera, at ISO200.  Lens compared:

  • Voigtlander 25mm F0.95 ver I (MFT mount)
  • Mitakon Speedmaster 25mm F0.95 (MFT mount)

I’ve tried to focus at same distance, but images from Mitakon 25mm F0.95 have focus center slightly forwarded, so just take that into account. JPEGs are re-compressed for smaller file size, though original resolution is preserved (click to open full size). First image in groups are from Voigtlander 25mm F0.95. Continue reading “Comparing 25mm – Mitakon F0.95 vs Voigtlander F0.95 lens”

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Lens Disassembly1 Comment

Disassembly – Zhongyi Mitakon 25mm F0.95 Speedmaster lens

yukosteel

I’m shooting with APS-C Mitakon 35mm F0.95 Speedmaster lens since it release in 2016, and already disassembled it numerous times. Today I’m going to disassemble another Speedmaster lens – Zhongyi Mitakon 25mm F0.95. It’s smaller model from Zhongyi Speedmaster series designed for Micro Four Thirds sensor size. The lens sample is generously provided by Greg Hall (thank you Greg!). I’ll probably also find time to make short comparison of this lens and Voiglander 25mm F0.95 prior to returning the lens sample to its owner.

Continue reading “Disassembly – Zhongyi Mitakon 25mm F0.95 Speedmaster lens”

Tests1 Comment

Comparing 50mm – 7artisans, Zeiss, Voigtlander

yukosteel

I’ve decided to try 7artisans 50mm F1.8 as lightweight and cheap manual focus lens alternative for Fujifilm cameras. So far I’m pleased with shooting results and would like to share some observations in this short image comparison of four 50mm lens:

  • 7artisans 50mm F1.8 (Fuji X APS-C)
  • Voigtlander 50mm F1.5 Nokton Aspherical
  • Carl ZEISS 50mm F1.5 C Sonnar T* ZM
  • Carl ZEISS 50mm F2 Planar T* ZM

Continue reading “Comparing 50mm – 7artisans, Zeiss, Voigtlander”

Tests1 Comment

Sharpness – 7artisans 50mm and 55mm

yukosteel

There are numerous feedbacks on 7artisans 55mm F1.4 lens saying it’s producing very soft pictures when focused on distant objects. I didn’t spend much time shooting far targets with this lens, but can definitely agree on that point. I think that this 55mm F1.4 lens is primarily designed for portraits and subject isolation with smooth and natural OOF rendering.

There are many influencing factors like focusing precision, infinity calibration, and optical formula. I’d like to have a closer look to better understand how 7artisans 55mm F1.4 behaves on far distances. I’m using 7artisans 50mm F1.8 as a more sharp lens by design for comparison. Continue reading “Sharpness – 7artisans 50mm and 55mm”

Repairs, Tests3 Comments

Bad lens or optical alignment issue?

yukosteel

Typically lens are performing very close to the designed limits and producing great shots. Each lens has strong and weak points, and knowing that helps to use equipment in most efficient way.

I like sharp images, and I like soft images – it depends on the shot goal. But in both cases I’m expecting optics to be properly aligned and matching the expectations. Sometimes purchased lens may produce very bad results just because it’s defective sample. I’d like to share how to check that and my personal experience trying to fix the problem.

sXIZ87814

Continue reading “Bad lens or optical alignment issue?”

Reviews4 Comments

Lens Review – 7artisans 50mm F1.8 (FX Mount)

yukosteel

I’ve purchased 7artisans 50mm F1.8 lens three weeks ago directly from eBay 7artisans store. I already have 7artisans 55mm F1.4 and Voigtlander 50mm F1.5 for this shooting angle, though was considering to try one more interesting lens because it’s smaller, cheaper, and looks more compact. I was also expecting better border performance on Fuji X APS-C sensor from F1.8 lens comparing to CV 50mm F1.5 or ZM 50mm F1.5.

sXIZ77774

Continue reading “Lens Review – 7artisans 50mm F1.8 (FX Mount)”