Meike Has a New Super-Fast 35mm f/0.95 APS-C Lens

Meike has announced a new 35mm f/0.95 large aperture lens for six different camera mounts: five APS-C and Micro Four Thirds. While fully manual, it boasts solid image quality and a relatively affordable price.

The new lens is available for Sony E, Fujifilm X, Canon EF-M, Nikon Z, Canon RF, and Micro Four Thirds mounts for $259. In typical Meike fashion, the company spends no time propping up the lens with needless marketing mumbo-jumbo and keeps it to the facts.

The lens is constructed of 10 elements in seven groups, but the specifics of that arrangement and any information on whether or not there are any special lenses (such as an aspherical or low dispersion element) have not been revealed. It does feature an aperture range of f/0.95 through f/16 via a 13-bladed aperture diaphragm, which is an unusually high number of blades that usually indicates a soft, circular defocus area, or bokeh.

On that note, Meike provided PetaPixel with a few sample images taken with the lens, which showcase the sharpness, falloff, and bokeh pattern. Photos appear reasonably sharp, and one in particular (the French Bulldog) is very sharp, which shows that any issues with focus in the other images might be due to the incredibly shallow depth of field and the fact that the lens is manual focus only.

Also apparent in the photos is the quality of the bokeh, which does show signs of what is called a “cat eye” effect, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but does show that despite the 13-bladed diaphragm the lens doesn’t always appear able to generate perfect bokeh spheres.

The Meike 35mm f/0.95 weighs 380 grams, has a 52mm front filter thread, and is able to focus as close as 0.39 meters (about 15.4 inches). When mounted to an APS-C camera, it has an angle of view of 44.2 degrees. When mounted to a Micro Four Thirds camera, it has an angle of view of 34 degrees.

As is the case with many, if not all, Meike lenses, the optic is fully manual and provides no electronic communication with the camera. While not a deal-breaker for some, it does mean that no EXIF data will be recorded in any photos taken with the lens.

The Meike 35mm f/0.95 is available for $259 directly from the company’s website.

Image credits: Meike