50mm f/1.1 - Bokeh Beast for $160!

Box Ninja time!
Thanks to SquareSpace for sponsoring this channel!
If you'd like to start up your own website or online shop, visit SquareSpace for a free trail and for 10% off your first purchase, go to squarespace.com...
Palette: www.adorama.co...
Sainsonic Kamlan 50mm f/1.1 geni.us/xSneQQT
My kit: cvp.com/profil...
Tim's Channel (Chinese): / @mediastorm6801
Music:
Birocratic birocratic.lnk....
Blue Wednesday / bluewednesday
*thanks to the special guest appearance by The Fly at 0:23
* I may earn a bit of commission if you use the product links above to help me keep on making videos for you, so thank you!

[@mhykkul5459]

"It's not exactly the sharpest tool in the box. But it's not a tool -- it's a lens. So it doesn't matter." -- Kai W., 2017.

[@isaacsanchez7317]

Lmfao died when he said that

[@chase1255]

These kinds of videos from Kai makes photography so much cooler than it already is.

[@iozzyi]

"It's a little bit tight" (That's what she said) "Your mum might be watching this!" 😂😂

[@dadude4960]

for bokeh: eat greasy food. then smudge it onto your lens. after that, everything in your image will be bokeh.

[@Milicevic1987]

xD

[@sadmkahn167]

Oh shit! This actually worked

[@ImNotQualifiedToSayThisBut]

Lol don't make it so hard just shake your camera heavily

[@ludwig4029]

Ali Kumquat ik

[@chrisw5742]

vaseline on your uv filter becomes a soft filter. :-)

[@bandyo]

That lens is faster than Kai's kick.

[@KaiManWong]

Which lens do you think has the better BOKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH?

[@MsBurasuka]

Kai W - 4 - Takumar f1.4. Really awesome lens for a good price :-)

[@Scotracer1987]

I did just shout that out IRL. You've broken me.

[@XtinaFerrari]

Helios

[@Ferdian2012]

Kai W anything but your bokeh screaming LOL.

[@Kirill-Plotnikov]

Helios

[@sinusphotographie6412]

I use the 50mm kamlan now for a month and am super satisfied. It is cheap and certainly not the sharpest but who is a cheap and powerful lens has found it. The bokeh is unbelievable and the quality is more than good. In my opinion definitely a clear buying recommendation. Particularly well suited for filming.

[@Jxnskates]

Really glad to see that you’ve built back up and have such a following. Thanks for all the years of Photo gear guidance.

[@federicodelcastillo3769]

All Asians look so similar, this guy looks the same as the DigitalRev one.

[@wilsonhi2157]

he is the guy in DigitalRev

[@federicodelcastillo3769]

No shit, Sherlock !

[@Ai-sq6zh]

All Mexicans comment similar, this guy comments like the same guy on Kai’s video.

[@RichardsWorld]

They Lok the same.

[@ElcoCanon]

FUCK YOU

[@bobneptune]

Jupiter 8 for me. Love that eye swimming blur

[@TheSneakyWolves]

I don't understand how you can do street photography in the UK, in Hong Kong there are so many people that no one cares but that you do it on that street, damn! You got some huge balls Kai, huge, like an elephant.

[@petertaylor4980]

Canterbury High Street. People probably thought he was a tourist taking pictures of the buildings.

[@CaptTerrific]

The trick is to simply not care what people think - it's liberating. I often take street shots in Chicago, and haven't gotten punched once!

[@zunainfaisal]

Higgins2001 Try doing that in Beverly Hills, a friend of mine tried that, got slapped by a girl.

[@Cibeen]

I have been shooting on that street for couple of years, never had any problems, it's a shame that I missed Kai

[@neilninonavarra1235]

It's not that intimidating actually. People in the UK are much friendlier and tolerant to street photographers than others might think in my opinion. I regularly shoot in the streets of London, in museums and sometimes inside tube stations and I never had an unpleasant encounter/incident.

[@kinnai8334]

I watched this video ages ago, and bought the lens ages ago. I now realise it makes a really good combo with my a6000 (cheap combo I know, but I'm not a pro and don't have the money to splurge). And to be honest, I really like the photos I can take with this lens, and since it's fully manual, it makes my camera battery not last 10 seconds like it does with a fully electronic lens. It makes me less anxious as I don't have to think of packing extra batteries and charge them all. This lens is awesome for the price (even with the slightly blurry edges above f4 and chromatic aberration).

[@kitrt]

Awesome vid, Kai! How about some night testing? I mean, f/1.1... Come on, it's meant for this!

[@burggesyens3982]

definitely agree,I need that night light bokeh as well

[@Xitaychin]

Agree!!! I need it~

[@AgnostosGnostos]

The 50mm lens for APS-C is 75mm full frame equivalent. The full frame E-mount Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 is a little narrower but it offers shallower depth of field than the Kamlan 50mm f/1.1 for APS-C cameras. Just use any online depth of field calculator.

[@EposVox]

Bokeh Ninja

[@joelding4391]

Good to see Tim back!

[@owenlaprath4135]

OY! This looks like a great bargain lens! Thank you for wrecking my budget again :) But seriously, you always have great reviews that are not just advertisements, but are indeed critical, and you entertain on top of it. It's like ... you are a one person "Top Gear". Nice work :)

[@jaybugo]

If there was ever a channel dedicated to film and photography stuff, i'd want this to be a full show.

[@rastamansreelesh]

3:20 kai: "Its a little bit tight! otherguy: thats what she said😆😆

[@TheBrightPixel]

Birocratic - amazing music. Just bought his discography for 15 bucks on Bandcamp. Never heard of him before this. Thanks Kai. Props for crediting the music you use.

[@HalfDayHero]

thank you for uploading your vids at such high resolutions :) 1440p woohoo

[@WeLiveWeDie]

its 4k...

[@HalfDayHero]

I'm sure it is, for those that have 4K monitors.

[@NorthShoreProductions]

hi

[@mmannemm]

The sound is crappy when compared to his previous channel though.

[@RAYDTV]

You sound just like Jeremy from Top Gear and that is so comforting. Very well done

[@NullStaticVoid]

This was the second lens I bought for my Fuji X-T3. (which is an amazing camera btw) I had a brief love affair with it's f1.1 aperature. But as I picked up a couple more Fuji lenses and then a few M42 adapted lenses on ebay, it started gathering dust. I find the images to be kind of washy and not very defined. I could get decent stuff, but I ended up having to lean on it pretty hard in Camera Raw. Compare to Takumar, Yashica and Fuji 50mm it's pretty bland. It just never sharpens up very much. And neither does it give you good contrast. The worst though is trying to use this at a concert. It flares and comas so badly. If there is a saturated spot on stage one half my sensor would see that color. Oddly I find my Yashica 50mm F1.7 to be about as bright? So I wonder about that f1.1/

[@abhishekvsmalyala]

Sold out in all mounts. Kai - you should be demanding a huge commission from these guys.

[@ShiroKage009]

The colors coming out of the lens look like they're from some sort of special color film.

[@maciejkwiatkowski5572]

ShiroiKage009 I think that they already had been edited by Kai

[@solidamber]

colour

[@DiCola119]

Reagionall variationne in spaelling

[@andresechevarria7965]

color looks terrible

[@Garacha222]

@ Sidney Turner "What region doesn't use full stops? California! typically we use 'rolling' stops. (similar in Italy, but Italians do it legally because they respect pedestrians the same as vehicles. And everybody knows it and agrees with it. In Cali, unfortunately it is because we live in a bubble, collectively are rather productive, usually in a hurry, and don't care ... unless we get caught.)

[@mikepawlikguitar]

I know this is an old video but I am happy to see people are still using Birocratic music !

[@adeelansari]

This video definitely gave me a bokehasm on multiple occasions!

[@lukasrossi3170]

You need your own tv show. Both of you chaps. Well done ..on all your material. 🤟🏻

[@ConchitaProductions]

That lens opens wider than Kai's eyes. 👀

[@dylanpatera4440]

Kai, you should make some videos adapting old lenses for your a7, really good swirly bokeh on dirt cheap vintage lenses.

[@PsyDei]

I don't like that new Lok, is not the real Lok.

[@cwat3088]

lok neistat

[@samwoods6035]

a lok-alike

[@dave11a82]

What do you expect? It's made in China! ;)

[@SimoneUrbinati1]

I don't like the new Lok because I can actually understand what he says

[@aag24]

PsyDei Itzamná I

[@JonBear]

The MK2 version is even better! Came out in 2019 as a kickstarter. I reviewed it on my channel. An absolute beast of a lens

[@Modellbaufreaks]

Do you live in Canterbury? Btw, I'm probably going to buy this lens, just for fun, i mean 1.1 is awesome and the price is alright.

[@RyanH0809]

The Kamlan and the Helios, for my money, have the nicest bokeh character. The Helios was already on my wishlist, purely for it's dreamy character.

[@fosterandnava]

Kia, you are amazing. Simple as that.

[@KaiManWong]

Who's Kia?

[@fosterandnava]

Kai W ......didn’t catch that till now....haha.

[@Electrowasabi]

This made my day. HAHAHAHAHA

[@arzuarzu2903]

Mercedes is much better than him :P

[@XeMuotTuoiXanh]

Hyundai

[@RayAmbler7]

Hi! Question for my full frame Sony and this lens, would it be better to turn on Super35 or just have it turned off and crop later on? Thanks! :)

[@zzzxtreme]

Kamlan in hokkien means... xxxx xxxx Everytime you said it I giggle

[@Cpt.PickHard]

Your jacket game is always on point

[@dylanorba9243]

Only Kai would make breaking his phone screen funny 😂

[@SayWhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat]

THAT WASNT FUNNY

[@KevinAClassA]

Thank you for staying around ! Your vids mean a lot to us. They may seem crazy to some but they are entertaining and break up the b.s that some of us have. Funny (Side note) No names.. the old channel, I bought a shirt from there store one time, yes, several years ago. Ordered a 3X, I thought it would be tight but DAMN ! I'm 6' 2" 265 pounds, shirt looked good on my neighbors wife, she was 5' 3" about 90 pounds. That was that ! Anyway, Thank you. Have a great day and a safe year my friend. Kevin

[@nissanpacific9793]

Kai is PUBG Banana Man! I KNEW IT!!!🍌

[@TheMickybutler]

This goes down as one of the classic Smiley Kai content vids ever. Keep 'em coming, Bruce!

[@Friday_Trouble]

Kai, _your street photography is awesome_

[@patbaptiste9510]

Hey Kai...how are you? I've watched quite a lot of your videos and I think, apart from you being a photographer, you also have the potential ability to become a stand-uP comedian. Yeah you're a really funny dude.. Your photography reviews are comical but at the same time, provides an enjoyable level of entertainment.

[@simantakarki]

Anyone notice that fly/mosquito cameo at 0:23 lol

[@KaiManWong]

Damn, forgot to put him/her in the credits.

[@simantakarki]

Do it fast otherwise he/she might sue you 😂

[@KaiManWong]

added to description

[@Y2Kvids]

Dekhe

[@richardrichardson5312]

3:17 "that's what she said" lol...ahh never gets old

[@MiladJPanah]

I can highly recommend a UV Filter on any of these cheap lenses. Got my Sensor burned from a 7 artisan lens on my xpro2

[@ATreeForFive]

Really ? How come ?

[@shadowoflight4743]

Yeah that's a good burn we should all be scared of

[@rentedtux1883]

Don't shoot the sun. Problem solved.

[@XxDrac13xX]

UV filter wont save your sensor if you’re shooting the sun. You have to use a solar filter

[@vrmaroli]

Kai going Topgear with the Bokeh Board 😂

[@Vitalstatistix]

*I miss Kai, Lok and Alamby*

[@Fernandosampaio_]

KaiW isn't only about câmeras but is about fun too.

[@donman1727]

Am I the only one that wants to have Kai's voice?

[@catfeline1530]

He could make a good coin as a narrator as a side jig if he wanted to. His voice is fantastic.

[@pharmeden]

He's an asian that sounds like Dave Attenborough lol

[@kevinpatrickmacnutt]

Yeah he could do voiceover work.

[@lyunardo]

@@trollerblade1011 No. Bad. Puns. lol!

[@iandavis1355]

@@pharmeden And here I thought being born in London made you English.

[@RJ-lp7lm]

7:07 "I got a bit of Kamlan" 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣 this guy is awesome... Love your Vid's!!! Thanks for the Video I bought it. Amazing Lens.

[@armandCodes]

At least that was a little bit of street ph action, reminds me the old days :-) nice vid!

[@swiftyzipz8807]

It just arrived and I am loving it Thanks Kai for a great review

[@lumpyfishgravy]

I like my bokeh to look like quinoa. Boquinoa.

[@adefalohun]

Viltrox adaptor + 50mm 1.8 lens gets F1.2 like magic.

[@cihaniboule4708]

3:19 "it s a little bit tight -that s what she said" hahhaah

[@jonleehk]

Bought this lense on your recommendation and I’m so happy with it. Your review a have been stellar since the Digital Rev days mate. Keep it up.

[@FFxO]

i think Kamlan was originally derived from Come Lah!

[@Bobbylim323]

lifeofejan isn't that a Malaysian/Singaporean thing?

[@trucdo7791]

oh, you fkn funny mate.-))))))

[@andnatanael]

0:34 kick was actually a pretty good kick

[@auraguy64]

the Bokeh Board: Inspired my Top Gear's Cool Wall

[@GoCreateSomething]

Nice prop shot in the drone footage. Always get a laugh out of your videos and sometimes I learn something. Thanks!

[@enyceckk1o11]

Good lens! Bought one off ebay used for 126$ mint!

[@alexvanderkooy]

Love your sense of humor dude 👏

[@D800Lover]

Did Kai declare war on his hair?

[@canpin]

Like Kai's videos even during digital rev days. I just find mostly the videos long (in the youtube universe)..hope he can compact them in the future

[@Alovatololo]

Honestly just based on your face I can't tell if you're a 20yo guy or a 37yo woman.

[@BRoyce69]

He's a father, and has been a KZbinr/film maker for about a decade, so I'd say like 35?ish Edit: is man

[@melonyigranaty7968]

Yellow ring, yellow jacket, yellow Is back ! 🐝

[@supertotoro]

"Chinese Casey" 😂

[@user-tp9jz9km7q]

Surprisingly found STUDENT Tim from here~

[@aperturereign9042]

I really like Kai's videos but his crusty lips make my head hurt

[@moeshonestreviews6958]

Aperture Reign lmaoo

[@MrMentalz2]

😂😂😂

[@keithprice6581]

Bought a Helios 44-2 on your recommendation and am very satisfied with the results! Love you videos Kai, keep up the good work!

[@antonsiberian]

Keith Price I've got a Helios 44m4, it's a nice lens too. Made in the 80's, but it looks quite new.

[@naifal-khanbashi2801]

I what this vid and watch 7 years ago vid And there is no different .

[@JOSHSPNR]

honestly one of the best youtubers imo. been watching for years, only recently subbed for some reason. Keep goin up

[@jamskof]

Tip: gain an extra million subscribers if u get a boosted board and act clumsy with the products. Also, get a wife and kid, but don't spend any time with them.

[@gtjack9]

newie Don’t forget to use your KZbin channel to push a shite app in your viewers face. (Beme)

[@markliang9519]

wheres all da salt coming from mate

[@jazzman5115]

Elaborate please.

[@LKBean]

First time watching this youtuber. Was not expecting his voice.

[@MrFedy1996]

For a cheaper price you can get an old Nikkor 50mm f1.4, in your opinion which is the best choice between them?

[@GrimYak]

MrFedy1996 nikkor is sharp

[@MrFedy1996]

Jay G yes, I have got maybe the oldest version of it, coupled with a Nikon F2 photomic (all for 180€). I've tried it on my D3100 (I don't have any FF body) and the result is surprisingly good for the age of this lens. I can't wait to try it on my F2

[@Shadowboost]

It's legendary

[@scottmcelhiney323]

I shoot with a Nikkor 50mm f1/4 that was made in 1964 (same year I was), on a Nikon D3200. Wish I could justify a Sony A7s or one of it's newer varients, but I do quite well with my ancient primes on a cheap modern digital SLR. I picked up the 50, an 85 and a 120mm along with K kit and filters and the Nikomat 35mm for $150 off of Craigslist. Shot a couple of rolls of film with that rig and then went back to digital mixing old school and new. Not a chance in hell I'd trade any of that for this 50mm f1.1 but if I didn't have what I have, I'd go for it.

[@MrFedy1996]

Scott McElhiney wow, for that price u made a great deal. Nowadays the price of these old lens is raising up..

[@markiemarc8342]

I just like the jeans jacket he's wearing :)

[@timwynn6079]

Someone setup a gofundme page for Kais haircut..

[@AZdroptop]

The Casey tunes and the boosted board was classic. :)

[@HotBrassandBullets]

SOLD OUT ?

[@KaganTech]

Kai is the most entertaining KZbinr I watch!

[@commanderlake7997]

Ive not started the vid yet and i want 1!

[@marekdzurak1867]

get Helios instead :D if don't have any but yeah 1.1 ..is like a magnet :D but then i would recommend Rokkor f 1.4 for half of that price or ho some another vintage 1.2 but those are around 300 ...full frame ofc

[@jordan.newsom]

Thanks for the boosted board update. I tuned in midway and was confused for a sec there.

[@rahul.920]

Chinese Casey 😂

[@LE672AJ]

Good parking job in the end there.

[@thedonovanclan1420]

:) Loving all this delicious content

[@SkylerKing]

I was wondering if he saw my comment... this is fantastic...

[@cesar122111]

Chinese Casey HAHAHA 6:45

[@Phrankleen13]

Cesar Melendrez lmfaoo 🤣🤣😁😂😂😁😂😂

[@StevePhoenix]

Chasey

[@albeeandrada6373]

You’re the best, Kai! You helped me decide which camera I need to buy years ago. I

[@ericmay4774]

Love your content!!!

[@bertimunro]

Love the pro yellow ring that matched the yellow hoodie! See one can colour co-ordinate with your gear.

[@xWood4000]

There was a render error at 1:40. It doesn't affect the video enough to be taken down though.

[@alexcorona]

You can get a Nikon and Canon 55mm 1.2 for around that price. I have the FL 55 1.2 and I love it, super usable wide open.

[@jacobmurray6543]

50th...

[@JasonBryantGreen]

Yaaaaaassssss Kai 600k! Congrats!

[@williammindreaders1029]

Very Fun beginning :p

[@AgnostosGnostos]

The only reason for buying this lens with 150$ is for using it at f/1.1 and only at f/1.1. At f/1.8 there are much better autofocus lenses by Canon, Nikon, Sony at nearly 200$. I have bought the Kamlan 50mm f/1.1 e-mount and I am very satisfied with it. At f/1.1 the corners are inevitably very soft with very low contrast. The center is sharp enough with decent contrast. It is a portrait lens and usually portraits have out of focus corners. So any problem with the corners doesn't appear. With poor lighting and full open aperture, it is certainly not a landscape lens. From f/5.6 until f/11 the corners are quite sharp with decent contrast. All Sony e-mount cameras can increase the sharpness, contrast and saturation in three levels with jpeg files. With f/1.1 I select the third level of sharpness, the third level of contrast and the first or second of level of saturation. The results are very good. A better solution is too correct the low sharpness and contrast with raw files inside Lightroom or Photoshop. At f/1.1 the chromatic aberration of corners or even the center is very obvious in the cases of high contrast objects, like tree branches in front of the clear sky or white statues behind a dark background. Lightroom doesn't have a profile of this lens for automatic digital correction of chromatic aberration but some manual digital correction can help. The typical easy digital correction of photos are essential with this lens. I like Kamlan because it has permitted the experience of very shallow depth of field for low budget amateur photographers. I have to say that the manual focus at f/1.1 isn't very easy even with focus peaking and focus magnification. The high level of focus peaking isn't very accurate. I prefer the low or sometimes the medium level of focus peaking. Also I prefer the second level of focus magnification for more focus accuracy. With daylight a cheap ND filter is useful at f/1.1 because the very low ISO and the faster shutter speeds can't prevent overexposed photos. With poor lighting and handheld shooting, shutter speed speeds slower that 1/80th sec may cause blurry photos. I prefer 1/120th sec for no blurry photos. The 1/120th sec shutter speed increases the ISO noise a little but I correct it digitally. As I said before some basic digital corrections are essential with this lens and you don't have to be an expert. The iOS app Photoshop Express by Adobe can correct the contrast, sharpens, saturation and noise of raw files. The mirrorless cameras don't allow the wireless transfer of raw photos into the iPhone but the Toshiba FlashAir wifi SD card and its iOS app permits it.

[@real_pushkin]

Hi из России

[@voiceofjava]

I have know idea how. But his British accent. Also gave me satisfaction, beside his reviews.