Even Sigma’s own 35mm f/1.4 Art is an incredible lens, and significantly lighter, smaller, and more affordable than this f/1.2 Art. Make no mistake, the Sigma 35mm f/1.2 DN Art is incredible, and has almost everything, going for it when you use it at f/2.8, or f/2, or wide-open… Honestly? Besides a little bit of pixel-peeping at f/1.2, it’s a phenomenal lens all around!īut again, there are just so many other 35mm f/1.4 and 35mm f/1.8 primes out there, many of which are extremely high-quality, too. To spoil the ending, here’s the biggest thing you need to ask yourself when deciding whether or not this lens is right for you: Do you absolutely need an aperture e that is just ONE HALF of a stop faster than f/1.4? Because if not, there are innumerable 35mm f/1.4 primes out there that would really suit you much better. However, there are also plenty of reasons why you might want to avoid it, too. It does show that there are some very low priced options available that have AF, communicate fully with the camera bodies and are sharper than the Meike.Why would you want such a large, heavy, fast lens? There are many reasons, and we’ll talk all about them in this review. This is not an exhaustive list, and does not include the more expensive options. Micro Four Thirds users have the Sigma 30mm f/2.8 at £119, the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN at £249, and the Panasonic Lumix G 30mm f/2.8 Macro at £279. So, looking at the most reasonably priced, we have for DSLRs: Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC HSM A for Canon is priced at £299, the Nikon 35mm f/1.8 G AF-S DX is £151, the Sony DT 30mm f/2.8 SAM Macro is £139, the Sony 35mm f/1.8 DT SAM is £149, and the SMC Pentax-DA 35mm f/2.4 is £119.įor CSCs, Fujifilm users have the Fujifilm 35mm f/2 WR at £299, Nikon 1 users have the Nikkor 32mm f/1.2 at £649, Sony E mount users have the Sony E 30mm f/3.5 Macro at £172, the Sigma 30mm f/2.8 DN at £119, and the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN at £249. Obviously, some of these would be an unfair comparison for the Meike, and if we were buying them we would no doubt have some specific purpose in mind. Looking at the alternatives, there are a huge number of 35mm or thereabouts lenses, some costing over £3000. The Meike 35mm f/1.7 lens is available for £63.99, a very modest cost for any lens. Overall, the most even aperture edge to edge is f/8. The edges are very soft, with only fair sharpness at all apertures apart from f/8 where it does peak at a very good level. Centrally, the lens is at its sharpest at f/2.8. Sharpness starts off at a very good level centrally at f/1.7, becoming excellent between f/2.8 and f/8, before dropping to just fair at f/22. Even so, although there is no lens hood supplied, use of one is to be recommended.

CA and distortion can, in any event, be corrected in software.įlare is well under control, the lens handling light sources within the field of view extremely well.

CA is in fact even lower than the already impressive 50mm f/2 from the same range. The overall look of the images is very good, with nice colour, lovely bokeh and very well controlled CA (Chromatic Aberration). It can be cured in software.Īpochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimise the problem, hence they usually cost more.įor this review, the lens was tested on a Panasonic Lumix G6 using Imatest. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. Chromatic aberration is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point.

35mm textured bokeh lens