f/0.95 Showdown: Laowa Argus 33mmF0.95 vs Mitakon 35mmF0.95 vs 7Artisans 35mmF0.95

You might remember how we already shared a comparison between the Laowa Argus 33mm f/0.95, the Mitakon 35mm f/0.95 and the 7Artisans 35mm f/0.95 made by Richard Wong. We have summed it all up including his final thoughts in this article.

Now also Christopher Frost made the very same comparison, but will he also get to the same conclusions?

  • all very similar build quality. All made of metal
  • all focus rings are precise enough for accurate focusing at f/0.95, although the Laowa turns round further, which can be helpful
  • all manual focus, no IBIS, no EXIF transmitted to camera
  • the Laowa Argus is bigger and heavier than the other two lenses
  • at f/0.95 all three lenses are surprisingly sharp in the middle, but none of them has impressive contrast
  • at f/0.95 the 7Artisans shows quite strong color cast and some magenta color fringing
  • at f/0.95 the Mitakon as some purple fringing
  • at f/0.95 the Laowa Argus shows a bit less color fringing than the other two
  • in the corners the Mitakon is by far the softest followed by the 7Artisans while the Venus Optics Laowa lens remains surprisingly sharp
  • at f/1.4 all lenses remain sharp as before in the corners, while in the middle they gain a lot of contrast and look a little sharper than before with the Laowa Argus being still noticeably ahead of the other two
  • at f/2 all three lenses look virtually perfect in the center. In the corners the situation is the same as in the wide apertures
  • at f/4 all three lenses enjoy a nice improvement in corner sharpness with the Laowa being ahead of the others
  • af f/11 diffraction kicks in
  • vignetting and distortion: all three lenses have a remarkably similar performance. They show just a little barrel distortion af f/0.95
  • the Mitakon seems to show the least vignetting at f/0.95 and the Laowa Argus the most
  • at f/2 the vignetting is gone on the 7Artisans and Mitakon, but it remains a bit on the Laowa
  • close up focus at f/0.95: Mitakon is the softest, the 7Artisans is sharp but with terrible contrast, the Laowa is pretty sharp with a bit of color fringing
  • at f/1.4 the Mitakon begins to look sharper and the 7Artisans gains contrast, and the Laowa looks the sharpest
  • af f/2 all gain sharpness, although the 7Artisans still suffers from lower contrast
  • against bright light sources, they all show tons of intrusive flare with the Mitakon looking a bit worse than the others
  • Bokeh: on the 7Artisans is fine but can be a bit nervous and also show a little colorful outlining. Background bokeh on Mitakon and Laowa is exceptionally soft and smooth. The Mitakon suffers a bit of longitudinal chromatic aberration.

Conclusions:

  • 7Artisans typical low budget model that can give some gorgeous narrow depth of field image
  • the Mitakon is more expensive than the 7Artisans. He liked it a lot when it came out, but it’s the oldest of the three and now shows its age
  • if you want to spend more for the lens than for the 7Artisans, go for the Laowa, as it is sharper and better in every way over the Mitakon, except for vignetting

Order Yours:

TTArtisan 40mm f/2.8 Macro Review

FujiRumors has already shared the TTArtisan lens short-mid term roadmap for Fujifilm X and GFX mount, and it contains a few very nice options, including the first TTArtisan autofocus lens for Fujifilm. You can check it our here.

One lenses on the roadmap and scheduled for September release is the TTArtisan 40mm f/2.8 Macro lens.

Well, fellow X shooter pal2tech has already got his hands on the TTArtisan 40mm f/2.8 macro. Above you can see the full video and below summary:

  • to cost around $100/150
  • strange, flat and thin lens cap
  • lens hood is not included
  • very tight aperture ring
  • 8 elements in 7 groups
  • 11 aperture blades
  • f/2.8 to f/16
  • 372 gram weight
  • not electronically controled lens. All manual lens and no EXIF lens data saved
  • solidly build lens
  • very nice focus ring
  • clear markings
  • filter size 52
  • 70cm minimum focus distance
  • at f/2.8 there is some vignetting and center is quite soft
  • at f/4 it gets much better
  • even better at f/5.6, but it still a bit soft of the corners
  • corners improve at f/8. Best aperture for this lens
  • no chromatic aberration issues
  • pretty good job of subject isolation at f/2.8
  • color rendition slightly on the cooler side
  • not recommended for professional macro work. You’ll need optical quality of the Fujinon XF80mm F2.8
  • but for prosumers it is a viable option

TTArtisan 40mm f/2.8 (coming soon): TTArtisan / BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama

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7Artisans 25mm f/0.95 First Review, Product and Sample Images

Just yesterday we reported that 7Artisans is about to release the 7Artisans 25mm f/0.95 lens for Fujifilm X.

After my article, a FR-reader reached out to me (thanks) and directed my attention a website called schlueter-enterprises, who has already shared sample images, product images as well as an initial review about this lens. I will share the link to everything down below. Now here just some main points and images.

  •  build quality of 7Artisans 25mm f/0.95 lens is fully in line with the high end quality finish of 7Artisans 35mm f/0.95 and 7Artisans 50mm f/0.95
  • smooth damped movement of the aperture and focus ring
  • 11 lenses in 9 groups (3 lenses are made of high end HOYA ultra low dispersion glass)
  • a bit front heavy on X-Pro2 due to 99.7mm length and weight
  • filter diameter of Ø52mm
  • without lens hood the IQ is already high [admin note: he still needs to get a proper lens hood for this lens]

To read and see more, check out:

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The Non-Love Story between DPReview and the Fujinon XF50mmF1.0 Continues – Silver Award

DPReview has no love apparently for the Fujinon XF50mmF1.0. Let me explain.

The Fujinon XF50mmF1.0 was declared the worst lens of 2020 by DPRTV here due to the lens being soft and showing too much chromatic aberration. And now it got the silver award at DPReview.

Before we look at the negatives, here is what Rico wrote in the comments:

I have been using two copies of the 50mmF1 (pre-production and production), and both of them have been pretty sharp wide-open. I also did bokeh comparisons, and it easily beat the 50mmF2 at f/2.

It’s strange that DPR is recycling old sample images taken by DPR TV (who probably had a bad copy of the lens for their review) into a “field test” written by a different author who did not even take his own sample images with another lens.

Now let’s get into it.

** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **