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:

New Zhongyi Mitakon 35mmF0.95 Mark II

Zhongyi Mitakon 35mmF0.95 Mark II

Zhongyi Mitakon 35mmF0.95 Mark II

With all the buzz surrounding the X-T2, I missed this news, so I catch up now: there is an updated version to the original Zhongyi Mitakon 35mmF0.95, the Zhongyi Mitakon 35mmF0.95 Mark II. It promises “drastic improvement of sharpness and better control of chromatic abberations“

You can find the first lenses at eBay US here, eBay Germany here, eBay China here and eBay Honk Kong here.

FXF Member Yukosteel compared the original Mitakon 35mm f/0.95 Vs. the Fujinon XF35mm f/1.4 in this Post.

Press Release Here

Zhongyi Optics (ZY Optics) has released an improved version of their first f/0.95 lens, Zhongyi Mitakon Speedmaster 35mm f/0.95 Mark II. The mark II verison features a drastic improvement of sharpness, better control of chromatic abberations and much compact size. The new version comes with a Fuji X / Sony E / EOS-M mount and is able to cover the image circle of APS-C sized sensors.

Zhongyi Mitakon Speedmaster 35mm f/0.95 Mark II is a ultra-fast prime lens which provides a 35mm-equivalent focal length of around 53mm in APS-C cameras. A maximum aperture of f/0.95 makes it extremely convenient to shoot at a low light conditions without flash. The new optical design incorporates a 11 elements in 8 groups structure, including 1pc of Extra-low disperson elements, 2 pcs of Extra-high Refractive Index elements and 3pcs of High Refractive Index elements. This structure effectively improved the image resolution by 30% compared to the previous version from corners to corners. This also controls the chromatic abberations very well and deliver excellent image sharpness even at f/0.95.

The new Speedmaster 35mm f/0.95 is light and compact. The total weight is reduced from 680g to 460g, making it an ideal companion for the compact mirrorless cameras. Manual focus design and a click-less, silent aperture ring promote smooth handling and are especially well-suited to video applications. The lens is built in metallic enclosure with additional protective process and finest finishing, which gives extra durability and aesthetic.