SLR Magic 35mm T1.4 rolling review part 3 the conclusion!

Overall thoughts:

I can find no fault worth mentioning with the build quality and finish of this lens, it's sturdy, reassuringly heavy and well finished with smooth and perfectly damped focus and aperture rings. I suppose if I was being really picky I would say the geared rings were a little hard on the fingers but let's not forget this lens is optimised for video use with a follow focus.

In terms of sharpness the lens delivers a surprisingly good performance wide open for the price with resolution remaining strong towards the edges of the frame. There is some visible purple fringing and contrast can very a lot depending on the lighting conditions but both of these can be countered quite easily with modern software.

The lens delivers smooth bokeh apart from point light sources that can have quite a solid outline, I think this is the best of both worlds and it reminds me a lot of the bokeh I see in movies where out of focus lights are used to stylistic effect whereas everything else is just a smooth blur. Thanks to the hefty aperture blade count out of focus highlights remain circular throughout the aperture range.

The lens can be coaxed into producing some extraordinary flare wide open which also reminds me of watching motion pictures and which will either be drool worthy or an eyesore depending on your tastes but as I said before you can literally turn this flare off by stopping down just a tiny amount. The lens becomes sharper and more contrasty as you stop down and already by T/2.8 the optical performance is very strong with crisp sharpness and a minimum of aberrations.

Overall the lens performs very well wide open considering it's price and fast aperture, there are some weaknesses but they can be countered quite easily with software. Once you stop the lens down to T2.8 and beyond the optical performance is very impressive indeed but be assured that the lens remains very much usable at it's maximum aperture.

The only other issue I noticed was some slight distortion but again it was simple to remedy with software when necessary.

Compared to other options:

Thanks to the generous trade in scheme a lot of people will be upgrading from the SLR magic 35mm f/1.7 lens and will be wondering how much of an improvement this lens really is, I can comfortably say that you will instantly see a huge improvement in all areas, the sharpness wide open is a lot better and on the T1.4 this applies to the entire image and not just a tiny little blob in the centre of the frame as with the f/1.7. The new cine lens has no field curvature in comparison so subjects can be sharp at the centre and the edge of the frame at the same time. You will also find the bokeh to be much smoother and that it will remain circular because the T1.4 has many more aperture blades.

The 35mm F/1.7 remains a great little lens for the money and gives very unique and often pleasing results but as a serious tool for still photography and filming alike it just isn't on the same level as the new T1.4 lens.

The same applies to users of the fujian 35mm f/1.7 CCTV lens with which the SLR Magic F/1.7 shares a common ancestry and is an improved version of, the T1.4 lens is superior in every way and can be considered a "real lens" whereas the CCTV lens while capable of producing great images is very much a toy in comparison.

You may also be considering the Jackar 34mm f/1.8 lens but despite it's elaborate finishing and packaging, this lens also found it's beginning in the Fujian 35mm CCTV lens and simply can't hope to come anywhere near to the SLR Magic 35mm T1.4 for optical performance or build quality, it's just in a different league!

In conclusion I found this lens to be very well made and capable of delivering a high level of performance. The image quality is obviously at it's weakest wide open but is still very good and very usable with decent sharpness and a perfect balance between smoothness and character when it comes to bokeh. The lens just gets better and better as you stop down and from T2.8 onwards it performs on a very high level comparable to lenses costing a lot more.

I quickly became accustomed to being pleased with what I saw on the computer screen after a shooting session and the lens constantly impressed me with it's performance/price ratio.

For the price there is really no significant weakness, the lens represents amazing value for money and would make a great choice for still photographers or film makers alike!

 


PROS:

Decent sharpness wide open that extends well into the edges of the frame.

Very high overall image quality in all areas when stopped down to T2.8 and smaller.

Bokeh that strikes a perfect balance between smoothness and character.

Highlight bokeh remains circular throughout the aperture range thanks to the hefty aperture blade count.

Very solid all metal build quality damped focus and aperture rings.

Warm and vibrant colours.

Very cool looking lens flare that can be used to great effect and which disappears quickly upon stopping down (Perhaps a con to some but not me!)

CONS:

Purple fringing can be strong in some circumstances but quickly dissipates upon stopping down.

Contrast can be quite weak wide open under certain lighting conditions.

Distortion. 


Bottom line:

To cut a long story short, the lens is excellent value for money and performs very well even wide open, it has character without being a novelty item like CCTV based lenses. You can absolutely use this lens as a serious tool for picture and film making. In this price point the pros outweigh the cons several times over.

I highly recommend this lens for anyone needing the best balance between price and performance!

The SLR Magic 35mm T1.4 is available in Sony E mount, Fuji X mount, Canon EF-M Mount and Micro four thirds mount. The lens is not yet available on the website or their ebay shop but you can get ahead of the queue by ordering direct, just send an email to support@slrmagic.com







You can find my Flickr photo set of sample images HERE

You can find Part one of the review HERE and Part two of the review HERE

SLR Magic 35mm T1.4 rolling review part 1

Let me start by apologising for the suspense! I have had some serious marriage problems recently and am currently separated so depression has been rearing it's head of late. It also doesn't help that I am currently sick as a dog fighting the terrible illness known as "man flu"! But alas, finally I have gotten my hands on a pre production copy of the SLR Magic 35mm T1.4 and this will be the first part of a rolling review!

Initial impressions:

I have to say I was immediately impressed as soon as I handled the lens, it's reassuringly heavy and solid, it's made of metal and it feels substantial and well made. The (stepless) aperture and focus rings are both smooth and well damped contributing to the impression of quality. Both the focus and aperture rings are geared for easy use with a follow focus, this is a nice touch for movie makers! One major bonus for those familiar with using old preset legacy lenses will be the fact that the number of aperture blades reaches into two figure territory, that means smooth circular highlight bokeh even when the lens is stopped down, that's a very unusual feature on new lenses nowadays but one that can be very useful creatively. Overall the construction and appearance of this lens are very much old school and that can only be a good thing because we all know they used to build lenses better back in the day!

In terms of image quality what I have seen so far impresses me, even wide open sharpness appears to be more than usable and that goes right to the edges of the frame, there seems to be a little less contrast at maximum aperture but this can very easily be restored in software and it can be beneficial when making video on lower end cameras as it can help to improve gradients when you're battling with a limited codec.

This lens is very much usable wide open and that's important because people tend to buy a fast aperture lens with the intention of using them wide open and so far the lens really does not disappoint in this department.

The bokeh I have seen so far appears to be very smooth for the most part with highlights being a bit more distinctive but not in a bad way, taste in bokeh is a subjective matter but for me this lens really delivers and gives a very cinematic look. I am looking forward to experimenting more.

Here are some shots I took today whilst I was familiarising myself with the lens, they are all taken with the lens wide open and I used the black and white mode built in to the Sony NEX-5n:








Click here for part two of the review!

Click here for part three of the review!

More photos taken with the Fujian 35mm F/1.7 C-Mount CCTV Lens

a quickr pickr post

Sony NEX-F3 and Alpha A37 photos leak online!

Several photos that appear to show a secret Sony presentation have surfaced at http://www.yangcanggih.com which depict samples of the both the new NEX-F3 and the Alpha A37!

The NEX-F3 is quite a departure from the outgoing model and features a built in flash and a 180 degree swivel screen allowing the user to take self portraits, rumors of a limited edition "facebook camwhore" version with "duck face" detection have yet to be confirmed.

The camera could well have a touchscreen as well judging from the fingerprints!

Sigma to announce two new lenses for Micro Four Thirds AND Sony NEX!

 

Tomorrow Sigma will announce two new lenses for the Micro Four Thirds system and the Sony NEX system, these will be the first third party autofocus lenses available to users of M43 cameras.

There's a 19mm F/2.8 and a 30mm F/2.8, neither of them are particularly exciting in terms of specs but we can forgive that considering how unique they are for the time being, no doubt they are designs that were relatively cheap and easy to make but there's nothing to say they won't give stunning IQ and at least Sigma haven't gone for a really safe bet with a superzoom like Tamron have done with their debut NEX offering.

Sigma make some really fantastic lenses so while I agree these don't look earth shatteringly impressive I have confidence they will combine good value with strong image quality so I'll be looking forward to some reviews and samples!
 

Review: Fujian 35mm F/1.7 C-Mount CCTV Lens

This now famous lens is a very cheap and basic CCTV lens that can be bought for very little on ebay and with an adapter can be fitted to Micro 4/3 and Sony NEX cameras among others. It's unusual for a CCTV lens in that it casts an image large to cover the APS-C sensor in the Sony NEX although originally it was intended to work with much smaller sensors hence the "interesting" rendering around the edge of the frame.

The obvious appeal of this lens is a combination of the cheap price, the fast maximum aperture and the fact that even in a world where adapting manual focus lenses has become popular it's still something a bit different!

A modified version of this design is sold by SLR Magic and I once wrote a blog entry criticizing SLR Magic because like many I assumed the lens was simply plucked off the mass production line and sold at a huge mark up however after speaking to Andrew at SLR Magic it was explained to me that some changes are made to the lens both cosmetically and optically so whilst this lens and the SLR Magic version share the same ancestry the SLR Magic version is, in theory, a superior lens so the results of this review do not apply to the SLR Magic lens.

How this lens compares to the SLR Magic version in terms of image quality I do not know and some people claim to see no tangible difference but if you want to avoid the risks of poor quality control it might be a better choice as a "luxury" version and of course it also has a native mount fitted from the factory so you won't have to endure the hassle and even potential risks of buying an adapter. If this sounds appealing to you then I would suggest you buy the SLR Magic version. If, on the other hand you get a kick out of doing things as cheaply as possible you may be interested in buying the basic Fujian version!

Build quality and finish:

Well it starts off well in as much as the lens is made from metal but it's not very well finished and the rubber grips for the focus and aperture rings are terrible. The focus ring is somewhat gritty and the aperture ring tends to stick if you turn it hard against the internal stop. If this was an expensive lens I would be disappointed but it's not an expensive lens by a long shot and when the price is put into consideration it's not that bad, the finish is poor but it's a fairly solid lump of metal so I'm not going to be too hard on it!

Image Quality:

Interesting is the operative word with this lens, you are initially greeted with a tiny circle of sharpness in the centre of the frame that just refuses to grow no matter how much you close the aperture! The sharp part gets sharper on stopping down but does not increase across the frame! There's a very extreme case of field curvature going on which tricks some people into thinking the lens cannot be focused on objects towards the edges of the frame when it can, it's just that the field curvature is so bad that you simply cannot have the centre and edge of the frame in the same plane of focus no matter what! Even when taking a photo of a brick wall you cannot have uniform sharpness across the frame at any aperture, this is related to the fact that the lens was only designed to give a flat plane of focus on sensors much much smaller than those in digital cameras.

Does this mean it's a bad lens to use? Not at all! I have an absolute wail of a time using this lens, it's so fun and quirky and the images are full of character, the colours are very saturated, fringing is surprisingly low all things considered and the bokeh is actually quite smooth apart from highlights which can look busy but I like the look a lot, it works great with out of focus city lights etc. The lack of sharpness across the frame can often give the impression of a lens with an even faster aperture and make the depth of field look really paper thin! This is probably one of the cheapest lenses I own but might very well be the most fun to use! I thought I would get bored of the quirkiness eventually but I still enjoy taking the lens out for a spin, it just seems to get the creative juices flowing!

All the pros and cons apply equally to making video as they do taking still photos.

Sample video:

Fujian 35mm F/1.7 CCTV Lens On Sony NEX-5 from David Joyce on Vimeo.

Conclusion?:

What this lens lacks in build quality and optical consistency it more than makes up for in terms of being fun and interesting to use, for the money it's an absolute blast and I can't help but recommend it! And if you want the same thing but with better quality then you know where you can get it!