Jump to content

Zonlai 25mm f/1.8

redfishingboat

By redfishingboat
in Fuji X Lenses

 Share

Recommended Posts

redfishingboat Apprentice

redfishingboat

Posted
Posted

When FujiRumors linked to the Zonlai 25mm, I was quite intrigued.  I know there are fantastic 23mm lenses out there, but the small size (and small price) of the Zonlai made me want to try it. So I picked one up.  I have to say I'm hooked. 

 

My favorite lens on my XE2 is a Voigtlander 35mm 1.4 -- but it is just a tad constricting for my style. I prefer something wider. Hence the 25mm made me perk up

 

I added a focus tab to it, which really makes it feel like the VL in terms of manual focusing. There are no clicks for the f-stops, though. I'm not too put off by that, but i know some would be. 

 

The build quality seems sturdy to me.  I like that there is a depth-of-field scale, though the lens tab is covering it now. :(

 

Yes there is vignetting, yes some distortion, but nothing that bothers me personally for what I like to take pictures of.  These samples are from my first walkaround -- processed a bit much on the iPad, I guess. :-)  I just wanted to show what I am getting from the lens. 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
venatorlucis Newbie

venatorlucis

Posted
Posted

I'm on the verge of buying one too but I'd like some advice from those of you who already have it.

 

Looking at the samples I found online (here, flickr, instagram, taobao listings) there seems to be an obvious problem with the corners at wide apertures. I can very well leave with soft corners at f/1.8...4 for such a small lens, but I'd like to know how it behaves at f/8 and f/11 in the corners.

 

By the way, there is a tab that seems to be stickable on one side and small enough not to cover the whole distance scale.

Link to post
Share on other sites
nl.acd Newbie

nl.acd

Posted
Posted

When FujiRumors linked to the Zonlai 25mm, I was quite intrigued.  I know there are fantastic 23mm lenses out there, but the small size (and small price) of the Zonlai made me want to try it. So I picked one up.  I have to say I'm hooked. 

 

My favorite lens on my XE2 is a Voigtlander 35mm 1.4 -- but it is just a tad constricting for my style. I prefer something wider. Hence the 25mm made me perk up

 

I added a focus tab to it, which really makes it feel like the VL in terms of manual focusing. There are no clicks for the f-stops, though. I'm not too put off by that, but i know some would be. 

 

The build quality seems sturdy to me.  I like that there is a depth-of-field scale, though the lens tab is covering it now. :(

 

Yes there is vignetting, yes some distortion, but nothing that bothers me personally for what I like to take pictures of.  These samples are from my first walkaround -- processed a bit much on the iPad, I guess. :-)  I just wanted to show what I am getting from the lens. 

Hi! Where to find the lens tab? and which size? Thanks!

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...
yukosteel Rising Star

yukosteel

Posted
Posted

It looks so small! And I like the silver aluminum version. Tried to order one from one of Hong Kong seller, but they replied that manufacturer have some production delay for silver samples, so need to wait for few weeks until they appear again : )

 

The closest manual lens of similar size and versatility I've tried on Fuji was adapted Olympus Half Frame G.Zuiko 25mm 2.8 . It's also very small lens due to it's half-frame image circle coverage. Adapter is also slim, like LTM>FX . The only cons is the price - in good conditions in sells for $350+ .

 

I like your shot samples, and very interesting to try this lens, thanks for sharing.

 

Olympus Half Frame G.Zuiko 25mm 2.8

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

Olympus Half Frame G.Zuiko 25mm 2.8

Link to post
Share on other sites
yukosteel Rising Star

yukosteel

Posted
Posted

Looks interesting and pretty affordable. I read somewhere that one user reported that he had a unit where an internal lens seems loose.....

 

read user wonjohnsoup

 

Thanks for useful point!

I've read details and will test mechanics once I find and buy silver version from one of sellers.

Looks like they are out of stock.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 4 weeks later...
keshav Newbie

keshav

Posted
Posted

The results look OK. 

I ordered one a while back together with the Zonlai 35mm f1.8. I'm just waiting on delivery with impatience.

Hi! 

 

Any word on which one you like better? I'm more concerned about which one has better build quality and performance.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 months later...
Begi Nabara Collaborator

Begi Nabara

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hi! 

 

Any word on which one you like better? I'm more concerned about which one has better build quality and performance.

They're both pretty good for the price. Solid and quite compact.

 

Here's one from the 25 @1.8 (focus on the glass)

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

 

 

and here's one from the 35 @f16

 

29691034980_668ce0c57b_c.jpg

Wall Watching. by Begi Nabara, on Flickr

 

The 35 will focus down to one foot.

The 25 down to 7 inches.

Edited by Begi Nabara
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Posts

    • thelostkiwi
      Looking for Full Frame lenses to adapt to GFX

      By thelostkiwi · Posted

      I also use a Nikon to GFX Fringer and it works very well.  24mm f/1.8 vignettes so best used on 35mm mode.  50mm f/1.8 covers the entire frame very well with no issues and is a superb little lens. 105mm Sigma vignettes slightly but is perfectly usable. 300 f/4 likewise the 105.  I have a 70-200 f/20+.8 incoming to test so will report back but I'm expecting a little vignetting.  Even in 35mm mode the image is still 60MP and if you're prepared to manually crop and correct you can get 80-90 MP images.  I also have a C/Y to GFX adapter.  The 24mm Sigma Superwide vignettes strongly. Ditto 28-80 Zeiss Sonnar. 80-200 f/4 Sonnar is perfectly usable. All work fine as 35mm mode lenses.  I also have an M42 adapter which I tried with the Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm f/3.5 with good results. 
    • Trevor R
      Image correction with GF20-35

      By Trevor R · Posted

      Thank you. I will research it.
    • jerryy
      Image correction with GF20-35

      By jerryy · Posted

      Ahh, the infamous brick wall photos… 😀 According to internet lore, if the dng converter does not properly apply the corrections, you can have it apply custom profiles that should work for you. How to do that is waaaaaay outside of this comment’s scope, but there are plenty of sites listed in the search engines that step you through the processes. Best wishes.
    • Trevor R
      Image correction with GF20-35

      By Trevor R · Posted

      Jerry Thank you very much. That is extremely helpful. It seems that the camera and the lens have the latest firmware update, so it appears that the corrections should be applied automatically. The lens arrived this afternoon and I took some quick test shots, in which the correct lens information appeared in the EXIF files, so that sounds good. I used Adobe DNG converter to convert the Raw (RAF) files, and then opened the DNG files and saved them in PSD format. However, with a beautiful, clear, cloudless blue sky, there were no lines near the edges to check if distortion had been corrected. Another day I plan to photograph a brick wall. Thank you for your help.
    • jerryy
      Image correction with GF20-35

      By jerryy · Posted

      Typically you need to make sure the lens is compatible with the camera, i.e. check the lens compatibility charts for your camera, then make sure the respective firmwares are updated so older issues are resolved. After that, each lens has a manufacturer’s profile which will be embedded into the raw file meta data for the images captured using that lens. From there, it is up to the raw conversion software to apply the lens correction to the image. Different converters do that differently, some automatically, some only if a setting is turned on. For in-camera jpegs, the on-board converter does the corrections automatically, assuming the camera recognizes the lens, it applies a generic profile otherwise. I do not know if that can be turned off or not.
×
×
  • Create New...