Kamlan 50mm F1.1 MKII IQ + Review | 4K

Kamlan 50mm F1.1 MKII IQ + Review | Photographer Dustin Abbott breaks down the performance of the much improved MK II version of the Kamlan 50mm F1.1 lens for Sony E-mount (APS-C), Fuji X Mount, Canon M mount, and Micro 4/3rds. Join the Kamlan 50mm F1.1 MK II Kickstarter: kamlan-50mm-f1.... Dustin covers everything from the image quality to the video performance. Read the text review:bit.ly/kamlan11... | Check out the image gallery here: bit.ly/kam1150IIig
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Keywords: Kamlan 50mm F1.1 MK II, MK2, MKII, MK II, 50mm, Kamlan, Sainsonic, 50 F1.1, 50mm 1.1, Kamlan 50 1.1 Review, Kamlan 50mm Review, F1.1, Sony a6400, Sony Alpha, a6400 Review, Sony, a6400, Review, Dustin Abbott, a6500, X-T3, Fuji, Hands On, Video Test, Canon M, M43, Portrait, Video, Bokeh

[@vikdaddy]

Best, most thorough reviews on KZbin. Thanks Dustin

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

My pleasure!

[@kohentrevor1045]

Instablaster.

[@cremersalex]

Looks good. I did miss some typical portrait head shots to compare it with the Fuji 56mm 1.2.

[@tomhsia4354]

Interestingly, my Soviet 50mm f1.2 projector lens (no aperture control) is way sharper in the center, but can only serve as a special effects lens due to the healthy amount of Petzval distortion, vintage levels of contrast, bubble bokeh, and CAs.

[@SamBrownMusic]

Since there are no electrical connections, does that mean that the fujifilm (X-T5 for example) would not be able to utilize the focus assist peak highlights? Just to clarify, Focus Peak Highlights enabled makes a color of your choice such as red, or yellow, show on the camera screen what is in focus by "painting" the color. I'm interested in all manual lenses but this is one feature that is making me think... Thanks!

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Yes, you can still use focus assist

[@SamBrownMusic]

@@DustinAbbottTWI perfect, thanks

[@tomhsia4354]

I backed the 199usd slot. This one is selling like hot cakes. I think they reached their goal in under 100 minutes.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

With good reason. It's a lot of lens for the money.

[@cpaphoto1]

I bought the first one, will sell it. I bought the second under indiegogo too.

[@tomhsia4354]

@@DustinAbbottTWI One year later, still enjoying this lens. Interestingly, my Soviet 50mm f1.2 projector lens (petzval formula) beats this lens in term of centre sharpness and longitudinal CA by quite a bit (to be fair, that thing is pretty much pixel-sharp on my a6300, you can't beat pixel-sharp), but it's a petzval lens, so it has wild field curvature and barrel distortion, bad lateral CA, and your typical crappy Soviet coatings. Nice lens indeed, I still get over how much glass is in this thing. There is a special joy to be had in turning the aperture ring and watching the blades slide open. BTW, my lens has a green coating that seems to perform slightly better than the one on your copy.

[@dasIDS]

@@DustinAbbottTWI Is it much better then 55mm 1,4 from 7Artisans?

[@CO8848_2]

Got the lense. Couldn’t get it to focus. Now I use magnifier and peaking, portraits at night come out nice with bokeh.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Magnifying the image is definitely the way to go.

[@DJAnamaly]

May I ask what device you are using to pull focus while you were sharing the video test? and thank you for the review much appreciated Dustin.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Sure. I reviewed it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3napIuBlt9kmbc

[@cgmds1973]

Thank god!! I was just wondering what's that device!! I'll buy one

[@pyotrpig]

Got this one and turned out that my the biggest concern is actually its weight! This lens is BTW not that heavy to focus with, but rather is simply HEAVY. But for the image quality and low light performance it delivers (and price!) I can forgive everythng. :D

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

It definitely got substantially heavier, but that's what it takes to get good performance at a massive aperture like this.

[@Christophe-Cochez]

I would like to know if with this lens we can use in fuji screen the help to make a point ( exemple focus peaking ) ? thank you

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

All of the manual focus aids are available with this lens.

[@Christophe-Cochez]

@@DustinAbbottTWI thank you

[@AgnostosGnostos]

I wonder for the price. I guess that it will be considerably higher than the price of the first version. Maybe both versions will be available at different prices.

[@davidteer80]

Version 1 is $170-200. Version 2 is $220-250

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

If you order now via the Kickstarter you can still get it for pretty cheap. Both versions will continue to be available.

[@davidteer80]

@@DustinAbbottTWI would you recommend saving up an extra $100 or so and getting the sigma 56?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

The Sigma is a little sharper and more contrast at wide apertures (and has autofocus). The Kamlan certainly has nicer bokeh and an aperture advantage.

[@AgnostosGnostos]

Dustin Abbott Thank you for the reply and the care. I missed the Special Thanking Deal of the kickstarter for just three hours. Anyway the price is still good.

[@edpark]

Hello all, I've tried mounting the 50mm MK ii version on my BMPCC4K and it won't mount; I can get the lens seated on to the camera mount but there's no way I can turn the lens (it feels like something's preventing the lens from turning on the inside). Has anyone experienced the same problem? This is the second 50mm MK ii lens I've tried (returned the first one and ordered a second one to see if it was the problem). I'm entirely mystified why this is happening..

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

That is odd.

[@dct1960]

I have this lens and have found that on my G9 the focus peaking works, but on my Olympus E-M1 and the E-M10 MK II the focus peaking will not function. Will focus peaking work on the newer Olympus bodies? Thanks

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I'm not familiar with Olympus, but most focus peaking tools are not related to the lens. The peaking is really related more to the screen. You can get focus peaking on a remote monitor even though it has no focus system.

[@dct1960]

@@DustinAbbottTWI Thanks for the reply Dustin. I am new to the M4/3 system, but I am really enjoying the many features. Lots to learn. Please keep posting videos as they are very helpful and informative. Cheers, David.

[@BartechTV]

Which is best between this and 7artisans 50mm f1.1?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I haven't used that lens so can't comment.

[@tomhsia4354]

Since this lens seems to have an oversized image circle (exchanging size and weight for performance), how does it behave on full frame?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

If you'll check out my text review linked in the description I cover that.

[@tomhsia4354]

@@DustinAbbottTWI Ok, thanks.

[@V8rgr8]

Another great review. I was wondering how hard it is to get accurate manual focus on the Fuji X-T3? Thanks Dustin.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I set bodies to be able to easily magnify the image, and that makes nailing focus easy.

[@V8rgr8]

@@DustinAbbottTWI Thank you Dustin. I am going to get into the Fuji system. After watching your review on the X-T3, I am sure I'll like it! Take care.

[@leledreher]

DoF should be 1.65 on APS-C, no?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

That's roughly correct. 1.6, I would say

[@alanmcdade2459]

leledreher Er no, DOF is not affected by sensor size. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

It's complicated, but APS-C sensors don't behave identically to FF sensors for DOF.

[@alanmcdade2459]

Dustin Abbott actually is it physics and they do behave identically. The perception is caused because you have to move further back to have the same subject in frame. Here is an experiment you can carry out, I use a Nikon d800, stick a 50mm lens on and take two shots without moving the camera, 1 in ff mode and a second in dx mode. Apart from the fact the second is a crop(smaller field of view and half the megapixels) of the first they are identical, DOF, noise etc. The reason why you all get into such a knot over this subject is that you want to give dx lenses a ff equivalence when that is a fallacy. The field of view is cropped the focal length is not changed.

[@musguelha14]

@@alanmcdade2459 Yes, you're right, but you said it yourself, you have to move back for the same framing, so DoF is affected.

[@jbnitpou9942]

I have just received this lens and the progress are really huge compared to the first version. I need to do more test but for the moment, it’s quickly very clear => Much sharper and much less CA ..... and same kind of nice bokeh. Very nice, particularly with this low price. 👍👌👍

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I agree completely

[@jbnitpou9942]

You were right, Dustin ..... but I’m not surprised. 😀 A big hello from a French subscriber.

[@talhaa.rehman2436]

@dustin Abbot have u used kamlan 21mm f1.8? i tried to learn about this lens but not too much information is available. can u provide some light?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I haven't used it, so I'm afraid I can't help.

[@mousse4444]

Hello Dustin. Could you please tell me the name of that ring with the handle you have around the lens to help you focus. Thanks

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

It's called the Focus Shifter. I reviewed it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3napIuBlt9kmbc

[@PDQknives]

Hi Dustin, great video! I make knives, and take pictures of them. I have a Canon M50 and want to improve my knives pictures, will you recommend this lens over the Canon 50mm stm?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I guess it depends on how important a highly blurred out background is to you. The F1.1 lens definitely gives you some additional options in terms of aperture.

[@PDQknives]

@@DustinAbbottTWI No, at all. However, it is good to have the ability to do that if I decide to take other kind of pictures. Is this lens sharper than the Canon 50mm? Despite autofocus, Is this better overall? Thanks for the answer.

[@photographykmemory]

Was watching your 56mm 1.2 XF review and I wonder if you'd compare the two, shot by shot, especially both wide open. Would love that. Great reviews as always.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I did shoot a comparison series, but decided to not include it in my review. The 56mm F1.2 is a little better at wide apertures, and both have smooth bokeh.

[@CO8848_2]

Thank you, it still seems the f1.1 with manual focus will be hard to use. At $200, maybe I will buy it for very specific purposes on stills, like portraiture. But on video or moving subjects, I am afraid it will come out blurry and I can't really tell how focused the camera is using the EVF -- I tried that and it didn't work well. So I can't trust this lens.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Manual focus is an acquired skill, but I like to map a button to quickly magnify the image in the viewfinder to nail focus.

[@tomhsia4354]

Focus peaking paired with magnification helps a lot, especially for sharp lenses. Burst mode will also help. I do agree that shooting moving subjects and video work is hard on a fast manual focus lens, though.

[@johnkevin7992]

depends on what you're filming, but being out of focus and then pulling back into focus in video is a lot more forgiving than just missing focus in a still image. could even come off as artistic choice.

[@cantkeepitin]

@@tomhsia4354 Thanks, but what is burst mode?

[@tomhsia4354]

@@cantkeepitin Continuous shooting. It's like fully automatic guns, you hold down the shutter and the camera continuously shoots photos. My a6300, for example, can do up to 11 photos a second.

[@billzidis2656]

The only problem for this lens is the Samyang 50mm1.2... Such a good lens but the plastic build really make me angry...Now Kamlan comes with a solid metal build and aperture 1.1 which is 2 huge improvements...Also now we have the amazing Viltrox 85mm 1.8 Autofocus for fuji for around 300 which makes it the absolute deal...I have to think about it ... Nice review Dustin,loved the colorful shirt

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I don't know if I would call that a problem, per se. It is the most logical competitor, though.

[@SuperIdo1]

The samyang costs twice as much, does it not?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Yes

[@SuperIdo1]

Hardly a fair comparison. I purchased this lens because it's a cost I could justify to my wife :), twice this, not so much.

[@soneeeee4440]

@@DustinAbbottTWI We still need to see if kamlan has any consistency from one copy to another and what the quality control is like on these...

[@kshitijjgulati]

Dustin, thanks for the review. How this one holds against the 7artisons 55mm f1.4 considering it is half the price?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Haven't used that lens.

[@kshitijjgulati]

@@DustinAbbottTWI Thanks for the reply Dustin :)

[@EnterSpacebar]

I have that lens and this looks much sharper and has much better CA control. The optics are simply superior in the Kamlan.

[@Itsallgoodtogo]

HELP ME :D Looks absolutely awesome, but I have a specific problem. I'm using the Blackmagic Pocket 4k, with a 0.7 speedboster And I already have a Sigma 18-35 and a Tamron 70-200. Basicaly 25-50mm and 100-280mm. Since they only offer an EOS-M mount and not an EF mount, I'm only left with a MFT option to stick it on my camera. But this would mean it would be a 100mm lens ... which I already have with the speedboster and the Tamron 70-200mm. Is there any other alternative to my 50mm problem ? It has to be full manual focus(not by wire) though and a reasonable price... Thats the reason why I don't have the nifty fifty from canon. Digital focus is horrible for movies. HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP !!!

[@Itsallgoodtogo]

I did some calculations. And found a fairly simple and cost effective solution. I get the focal range of a 50mm if I use a simple adapter from EF to MFT and stick it on my sigma 18-35mm. (No glass in the adapter, so ... in my case Viltrox EF-M1) This way I get 70mm which is effectively a EF 50mm mounted with a speedbooster to my MFT camera. As I am a narrative film maker and rarely use focal lengths bellow 35mm anyway this seem the ideal solution. I can still switch out the adapters if I need the extra wide shot and I filled in the massive gap I had before from 50 to 100mm. Now I have a 70mm option as well. Sometimes you just need a bit of inspiration to get the solution you need. This video helped me to figure this out in a non-direct way :)

[@HarryPowerColt]

Some people say that this lens is shipped with a 4-stop ND filter because the lens itself has no coating on it, which means without the ND filter you will eventually burn your camera's sensor if you're shooting in strong sunlight. Is this true?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

It is not. I've reviewed multiple copies on both Sony and Fuji.

[@6rimR3ap3r]

Just backed their Kickstarter and ordered the bundle together with the 28mm f/1.4 :-)

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

They are both excellent little lenses.

[@teropong_alam]

hi can you help me to compare Kamlan lens 50mm F1.1 MKII vs Samyang 50mm F1.2? which one is better by comparing price and quality Thank you..

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

That's tough for me, as I reviewed them a number of years apart and on two different camera systems. I would say the Samyang might be a bit sharper at wide apertures, and the Kamlan has nicer bokeh and a slightly better build.

[@JimBailey]

Thank You Mr Abbott

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

You're welcome.

[@divyangkundaliya3584]

How was the focus breathing for video

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

If it isn't covered in the video, then I don't remember off the top of my head (I think you should be able to see some video pulls and tell in the video, though). I've covered dozens of lenses since this one.

[@khuo0219]

Originally I thought I would just keep the mark 1 but all these reviews convinced me otherwise. I got in early and got a 169 usd copy. Just have to wait until August for shipping

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I think you'll be happy with your decision.

[@rymdskrotet]

Which is the difference between mk I and mk II?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

A lot. I detail that in this review and the previous episode linked to in this review.

[@johnft8746]

There is a Canon EOS-M mount Version, too, or?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I believe there will be, yes.

[@evanchong6482]

yes there is WOHOOOO

[@Samtestetde]

Where I can buy?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Soon it should be available for retail purchase. Right now we are in-between the Kickstarter and retail, so I don't know if it is available yet.

[@chrisbaudeg3233]

Great value for price paid. Only physical issue, is that Leica metal hood mindset. Why metal, when a polycarbonate will absorb any shock when setting the camera down, accidentally hitting a door frame, wall etc.... Metal hoods are for Sunday photographers. Added a silicone wrist band ring to the hood rim, but not a solution - still sends shockwaves.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Fair enough. I think it feels premium, and so it seems like a positive.

[@zhouxuanming3209]

can you do a review of the latest tamron 35-150mm, seems very sharp for a zoom lens

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

It's scheduled for July 17th. Unfortunately Tamron rolls out Canon mount versions after Nikon, so I have to wait.

[@zhouxuanming3209]

@@DustinAbbottTWI :) was wondering if someone can review the nikon mount then i can buy one as soon as the ef mount release. I think that's the only advantage of late publication of ef mount, lol.

[@momchilyordanov8190]

If this is 200 dollars indeed , APS-C shooters should buy one. This type of quality usually is way more expensive.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

There are about 50 more slots left at the less than $200 price tag on the Kickstarter.

[@tomhsia4354]

I'm waiting for them to make ultra-wide-angle lens, short tele-lenses, and super tele-lenses. Then, I can give my Soviet lenses a break.

[@antoniomd3812]

It's 7.5 not wide enough? www.kamlan.shop/products/7-5mm-f-3-2-mf

[@cantkeepitin]

Tele makes little sense wo. stabelization, but I miss eg. a 10mm too.

[@ChristianThueringer]

I heard they release a 15mm f2 for apsc, early 2022 or so

[@tomhsia4354]

@@ChristianThueringer It's already been released and is available is China. Can't wait for reviews. Early reviews are not good, though.

[@ChristianThueringer]

@@tomhsia4354 thank you for the information! So sad to hear its not good. :(

[@Noealz]

Looks lovely but 1.1 isn't really 1.1 on a crop sensor right?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Yes and no. The physical aperture is F1.1 (It covers about 4/5ths of the image circle of FF, actually), so it lets in the light of an F1.1 lens. The crop factor of the camera body does affect depth of field. Trust me, though, the depth of field is TINY with this lens. It's as shallow as you would ever want.

[@EnterSpacebar]

It is f/1.1 irrespective of the sensor size. The FoV is what's different.

[@kaverjordankharbteng2550]

It's basically gonna look like a 75mm f/1.65.

[@GilbertTV]

looks like a winner

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

It really is a fun little lens that produces some pretty stunning results.

[@ekphotography]

Thanks!

[@عبدالله_محمد_الغامدي]

Available now on Aliexpress for $230.

[@soneeeee4440]

where, can't see mark II

[@billzidis2656]

Bought this lens after seeing your video. Can't wait to test it on crazy creative video !

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Enjoy!

[@marcclarion6586]

oh hello hahaha

[@just_eirik]

Their kick starter says "MSRP: $249", so its not gonna be under $200

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I shot this video more than a month ago, and at that point I was assured the price would be under $200 (which I guess is true if you order it via Kickstarter).

[@robertmcdaniel7788]

The kickstarter price is $199, until that segment is sold out. The list price will be $249 on the open market.

[@jeffreyagnes2232]

I played it at 1.25x speed and it sounded normal.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

LOL. I guess that depends on what your standard of normal is.

[@fez877]

Kamlan hahaha.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

It's more of a corruption of the town that the lensmaker's founder is from.

[@dude1diligence]

@MPTCE yea, can never get over the name. But only those who know, know.