Mitakon Zhongyi Speedmaster 35mm f/0.95 II Reviews
Good portrait lens
By Jeremiah
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2022-12-13
I mainly use it wide open for portraits with usually just the eyes in focus. It is great for fun photos like having just my cat's nose sharp in focus. It makes a nice dreamy effect if the object has attractive eyes like a golden eyed black cat. It is also good when stopped down as a medium focal length lens but its weight is quite substantial and on the xpro3, it is unyielding. The focus peak is strong when fully opened making it easy to manually focus. It however does flare badly if there's any back light.
It's quite sharp in the center region but only in the center. The rendering is not as good as the Nikon z 50mm/1.2 nor is it as sharp as the Fuji 16mm/2.8 or the 8-16mm/2.8. However it is a lot brighter, so naturally it is good for low light situations. I could get a portrait at a candle lit table without having to resort to extreme ISO settings. The focus ring is smooth but stiff. At close distance, I just move the whole camera to get a small region in focus.
Lovely bokeh but sharp!
By Lewes
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2022-05-25
What a fantastic lens! I've heard about their 0.95 series years ago when Zhongyi released the first E-Mount version. I didn't own a camera at that time but I'm so happy that Mitakon Zhongyi made this bokeh beast on Fuji body.
The lens is quite heavy, it feels like it's heavier than my 56 1.2. The build quality is pretty good, very smooth aperture ring and focal ring, not too tight but also not loose. Perfect friction. Love it. The silver coating is a bit coarse in my opinion, thus it looks and feels a little bit cheap and plasticky (but it's all metal).
The only thing that I don't like is the clickless aperture ring. I know some video makers would love the clickless, but as a photo shooter, I still hope that Mitakon Zhongyi could make a clicky version of this amazing lens.
Both of two worlds
By Mohammad
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-03-26
I have over five Takumar and several M42 lenses, let me tell you that this lens has the touch of the old lenses, it have that unique bokeh that is now goes with sharpness that the old lenses miss,, so you will have the both of two worlds. Great value, definitely worth it.
Great lens for mirrorless, adds depth to photos.
By Thomas
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-02-23
After about a week, I've still got plenty of shooting ahead, but I'm happy with my purchase. It makes me feel more like I'm shooting full frame with my crop-sensor Sony A6500.
I read and watched a lot of reviews on the available f.95 lenses and pulled the trigger on this one. These are my thoughts:
It does have a tiny bit of chromatic aberration, atleast wide open, but it's not too hard to correct in post. The overall look wide open is fantastic, and I like the look of the flair vs other potential lenses with the red halo type effect. Even stopped down a few stops, it's easy to get a nice separation of subject and background.
I wasn't certain about the clickless aperature-ring; it turns smooth with a nice level of resistance. It is not chipped unfortunately, and it would be nice if the fstop was recorded in the Exif data, but it's not a dealbreaker. I haven't had any issue bumping it by accident or have it slide on its own, and I don't feel the need to worry about that with this lens.
It is a nicely constructed with plenty of metal, which is great if you value build quality over weight like me. It's larger than a pancake but still good for everyday use, it's not the kit Sony 16-50PLZ, but it's also not a standard telephoto zoom sized lens IMHO.
It looks super cool which doesn't hurt.
It doesn't come with a lens hood which is a bummer, but it's not super flair prone in my experience.
Most importantly, it is also sharp. True it's not easy to nail that razor thin focus, but it is a competent lens, not just a toy.
For me it's a game changer. I can shoot in low light without bumping ISO so high and obliterate any horrible distractions in the background as well. Seems like there's great potential for portraits with this lens.
Returned laowa lens
By Julio
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-01-28
I had read all the reviews and watched all the you tube segments on the F0.95 lenses. I ordered the Laowa and returned it because it was SO BIG. When you use these off brand lenses, youre not looking Noctilux quality. The lens has character which is what I got.
First Hour Impression - Love it!
By ryan
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2021-12-21
I've spent the last hour with this on both my X-Pro2 and X-Pro3. I'm absolutely stoked on the IQ. Much is made of the razor thin depth of field in online reviews, but it's not that bad to work with. Focus peaking makes it a treat, but is definitely easier on the XP3 with the larger EVF display.
The rendering is fantastic, as everyone says it is. Images have a pop to them that I really like and the bokeh quality is beautiful. I believe this will be living on one of the two XP bodies permanently.
The aperture ring is very easy to move, being non-detented. I've heard folks say they've used a little gaffers tape to permanently put the lens at f0.95. I've found that I'm already developing a habit to slide it into f0.95 while holding the camera (which is easy with the aperture ring on the outside). Like anything, you've gotta develop a relationship with it that works for you. So far, I can see it'll work well for me.
On the XP3, you've gotta be aware that it'll rub against the bezel around the lens release button. Apparently not all copies do this, but it's a thing. Clearance on the XP2 is no problem. That minor niggle doesn't really bother me though as I don't think it'll be anything more than a cosmetic issue on the XP3. Folks suggest it might put pressure on the lens mount ring, but I dunno. I bought my XP3 second hand and I'm planning on using the hell out of it, as I have my XP2. Not gonna be bothered by a little scratch.
superb lens
By Dragomir
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-10-24
excellent glass, fine focusing touch, excellent quality body !!!
Bokeh master
By James
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-07-06
It takes awhile to get the hand of using this lens, as the depth of field is quite shallow at f0.95. But it produces excellent results. I use focus peaking to get the subject into proper focus. The distance scale is harder to use.
