In case you guys missed out on my update - I am now able to make and post videos on social media in Malaysia without legal complications. I made a video about that here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zsL3pahrSJA.html Also, a few of you guessed the mystery lens right! Though, I don't think any one person specifically mentioned Kamlan 50mm F1.1 "MARK II".
Robin Wong I have tried search on Shopee but unfortunately nobody selling below Rm700, perhaps you can share me the name of the shop or link? Thank you very much!
This channel always has calm and pro videos. Love this gentleman as he always focuses on the audience instead of filling the video with bad background hiphop music.
I think it's an amazing lens for the money and even though as you mention it has some flaws, it also has a ton of character and light gathering capabilities. I'm currently shooting with fuji and have a few vintage 50s and also the 7artisans 55mm f1.4 but I think the Kamlan is a better lens than the 7Artisans. Very nice review as always.
Thanks, I can'r comment on the 7artisan since I never tested it, but the Kamlan is a fun lens for sure. And the F1.1 is a good bragging right, sounds cooler than F1.4!
Thanks for sharing. Would be interesting to see how the lens performs on black and white, because many of the image quality downsides you mention would not be that serious.
Absolutely love this lens. My first manual for my X-E3, and I really enjoy the handling and creative options it allows. Looks like you got some great results!
Robin Wong Your videos are always a bg smileys. just want to say a big thank to you for all your great contributions. The 1.1 will definitely be Mine soon.. Wow. I'm an old Olympus photographer, Om 4ti, PEN F.. now OM D 5 Mark II. Thanks for all your great contributions, you are a worthy ambassador for Olympus. Roman Dossenbach 5-Times Guinness world record holder and your Fan.
Hello Robin As soon as the Covid19 is over, I will visit you in my beloved Malaysia. Push-ups. My 5 world records. 1 hour on the knuckle, 1 hour classic and 3 times the minutes world record on the knuckles. Number 6 will be most Diamond Pushups in one Minute. Stay healthy your Fan Roman
Hi Robin! I owned this lens for a few months, I use it in my PEN-F and I agree with most of the points that you talk about in your analysis, in particular the chromatic aberrations and the haze at full aperture. Regarding the type of bokeh, I like the "nervous" bokeh that this lens has, I think it gives it "vintage" character, it reminds me of classic lenses. And, talking of something else, I am very happy that the government of your country has canceled the rate that was going to apply to the videographers, it would have been a real shame to loose your videos. Regards!
I had the first Version of the Kamlan and it had the same issues, i also did not like the nervous looking Bokeh of it. So i gave it back and bought the Sigma 55mm 1.4 which i am really happy with.
Sigma 56mm is about 3 times the price, so it is not a fair comparison. And, even so, Kamlan has F1.1, which is much brighter too! But of course, for practical shooting, the Sigma is a better option. I am just saying, both are very different lenses to begin with.
I’ve got to say the still photos in this latest video are really stunning!...you’ve definitely upped your game from being a excellent photographer to a brilliant one!.....I need to get a lens like that!...keep posting, we love it!...🇬🇧🖖🏼🌈😎📸
Thanks Peter, you are being too kind. I guess there was a lot of pent up frustration, built up for months since the lockdown, and now I am able to shoot again I released all that tension.
Great video, thank you. I have this Kamlan lens. I liked it so much, I purchased a 0.95 manual Blackmagic, 3 times the price. I ended up disappointed with the Blackmagic for the price difference, so I sold it and kept the Kamlan. Value for Money.
Thanks for another excellent review Robin. This Kamlan 50mm seems to have an abundance of character while offering tremendous value for money; if I didn't already own the Olympus 45mm f1.2, this lens would be on my shopping list.
So I think I'll stick to the Oly 45mm f1.2 then. I love this lens for Street. The power to isolate with the power to shoot from a slight distance to not interfere with the activity the person is doing and small enough to not alarm then they they're being stalked. Thanks for the review Robin. For the money I think this is a great pathway into bright glass for people who are unable to afford the mainstream brands. Its imagery is remarkably like the 0.95 nocticron ripoff art lenses you can get. They claim 0.95 but they're probably 1.1 like this lens. For Street the lack of manual focus is both bad because you'll miss things but good because it forces you to slow down, hold steady and enjoy being part of the scene. I shoot both auto and manual focus on Street and find I get a lot less shots on manual but they mean more and are more considered than if I used auto. I put that down to having time to absorb what's in the frame and perhaps move a little for better composition and to have no motion blur because I'm holding steady to focus.
@@PaulPavlinovich I began photography with two totally manual cameras I love to this day. Everybody should start as a manual photographer to fully learn the craft. Autofocus photography is way more snapshotty than manual photography. Cannot compare both spirits...
@@jannieschluter9670 my first beast was a Praktika TL1000 its only automation was a built-in light meter. It was good to learn with but I can't say I miss it. There's two distinct camps and both are right, those who minimise technology to maximise control such as your self and those who adopt technology but surrender some control. I think as long as the latter is done knowingly its ok.
I have both .. and yes, the Olympus is better .. easier .. and it lead to the dark side. Well, no, but yes you'll need to learn like a Jedi to master to the Kamlan, or just want to challenge yourself.
Hi Robin, Some interesting points here. I have the KamLan Mk1 which I was very happy with, particularly at f8 and thereabouts. Will go out with it again and check out the issues you have raised here. Nice to see you're still in You Tube action. Kind Regards, Glenn
Thank you for this video, good idea to also test these inexpensive lenses, they show us that they are also useful for creation and in a city as surprising as KL ... This one works wonders, and shows us well that the excess sharpness of our pro lenses sometimes does not do the job as well ... See you soon in KL, I love this city ........ Yves from Switzerland.
for roughly the same cost better save your money and get olympus 45mm 1.8, with handy autofocus & lightweight body; Nowadays people are too concern about “large aperture 1.1 or 1.2 bokeh” but to be honest no one cares what u shoot with as long the final photo look great and of course your composition matters. Spending alot money on those manual 0.95, 1.1 or 1.4 lens are not worth your effort when it comes to the final result eventually. I have been coming from that route before, too.
Again, a very informative review, thank you! If someone is looking for nice bokeh, I recommend the Olympus Zuiko Digital 50mm/2.0, which can be found second hand quite cheap. I use it with the Comlite adapter, which is less expensive than the Olympus MMF-3. Still affordable is of course the Sigma 56mm/1.4, which has a very nice bokeh, too. Nevertheless I’d like to try the 35mm/1.2 lenses by 7artisans and BrightinStar.
Thanks for the kind words. The reason I bought the Kamlan 50mm F1.1 Mark II, was for the F1.1, so all other options which are F2, F1.4, well, they have less appeal. I already use Olympus F1.8 and F1.2 lenses extensively.
Robin, nice to see you testing a non-Oly product. Looks like a great lens for the price. I looked on eBay and the price I can get this for is more like 250 USD equiv. maybe not quite so attractive. I think the Oly 45mm f1.8 is better value for a portrait lens at the end of the day.
Sorry if i'm wrong, but there's something wrong with the example photo at 6:00 -- it says that exposure is set to 5 seconds, but the walking person on the right looks like it's something more like 1/2 seconds. Anyway, great video, i'm going to buy the first E-M1 camera and this lens for myself. I think it will be very good combination
Paul Thomas, If you want some great vintage glass find the Pentax Super Takumar or Super Multicoated Takumar M42 series (screw mount) lenses. The 8 element one is exceptionally good. They are almost all radioactive but not enough to worry about.
Art Tafil Pentax lenses are some of the nicest. I only have the 55mm f2 but I don’t use it that much. I always end up grabbing my canon fd 50mm f1.4. I don’t really like the 55mm on full frame and on apsc the f2 leave more to desire. The overall optical performance of the takumar is one of the best though. Really does not have any flaws for a vintage lens. The canon is close with just a bit of purple fringe in some conditions. I do love the look of vintage lenses. If you can get them for a reasonable price. Some are getting overpriced and you’re better off buying a new modern lens of 3rd party.
Paul Thomas, Paul, the Canon 50 f/1.4 in all vintages is a great performer. If you’ll notice on the Canon lenses they’ll either have SC (single coating) or SSC (super spectra coated) which is multi coated. The earlier FL and first gen chrome locking ring are all fine picture takers. Heyerdahl reasonable as well. In my 55+ years of shooting and collecting I’ve conservatively bought, sold, used and collected over a quarter million dollars worth of equipment. I have a near terminal case of G.A.S. Fortunately or as my wife would say unfortunately my career has afforded me ample disposable income for this. My father started me on this path in 1954 when he taught me the basics of earl technically perfect photography using his new Leica M3 double stroke camera. He also went into great detail explaining the “sunny sixteen” rules of exposure. Way back when, Kodak had the exposure charts inside of the film boxes. I still have many of them. Once you know the basics the heck with a meter. This is a lost tidbit of photographic knowledge in today’s world. All these videos of how to shoot film miss one major point. Digital is easy, you shoot and immediately review. With film one has to use your minds eye and “envision your final composition”. It takes discipline to truly “see” your final composition before tripping the shutter release.
Art Tafil love the store and words. I almost got into film last year but the cost of film and processing discouraged me. I have an old Canon AE 1 and Olympus OM 1 that I should really try out. Film to me still has a very beautiful and unique look that can’t be matched with digital. Some of my favorite pictures were taken with old film cameras. The canon 50 mm I have is the SSC with the chrome locking ring. I have the fd 28mm F2.8 that has the bayonet mount but no ssc or sc markings. I like that lens too but it lacks the dreamy look the 50 1.4 can give. I have tried a handful of other vintage lenses but I always keep coming back to the cannons they seem to have a nice overall quality to them. It’s funny that I’m shooting them on a Nikon camera. Anyways good talking with you. Enjoy your photography
Robin, this was super informative but I wonder if you have more budget lens reviews with unique qualities. Other similar small brands that have an uncommon focal length for a Olympus prime and/or are faster would be nice to know.
Good video and nice shots! Yes, I know it's a very cheap lens, I tested this lens on Fuji APS-C but I don't like it ... too many chromatic aberrations which make the lens difficult to use in most daylight situations. Thank you for the review.
Robin thanks for your shows i love them. I have a question to ask what kind of filter do you use on your lenses? The pictures you tooked were so bright and sharp on all shows. thanks
Hi Robin. I backed this lens when it was on Kickstarter and I am also quite impressed by what I got for the money. It has a very "premium" feel and the construction is extremely good (MF feel is better than any of my Olympus PRO lenses). I've used it mainly for low light indoors shooting and some garden flower photography. Similar to my Mitakon Zhongyi 25mm f/0.95, this lens has a very different "feel" from my other modern optics. The pictures do look different, but they have a very pleasant rendition. I notice that you had the hood off most of the time--could that have helped with some of the flare/blooming? I do think the positives do outweigh the negatives for this lens.
Interesting report and great pictures. Have you ever tried the FT (legacy) 150 f2. I love the bokay so much that I've shot portraits with it. (Other legacy lenses I own and like: Olympus 7-14 f4 , 11-22 f2.8, 12-60 andn50-200 SWD and especially their final FT lens, the 14-35 f2, and also the "Panaleica" Lumix 25 f1.4,.).
Hi Robin! Excellent review. I was myself on the fence about this lens just for occasional use and portraits. There are however other alternatives using high quality manual focus vintage lenses. For example, I came across used copies of Canon FD 55mm f1.2 S.S.C. on eBay in good condition starting about $150 USD and they are excellent performers with the FD-MFT adapters. I would love to get a copy of the Olympus OM Zuiko 50mm f/1.2 or the Zuiko 55mm f/1.2 but prices start above $350 USD (beautiful lenses and excellent rendition). I have a set of OM mount (Zuiko and 3rd party) form my OM system days but I'm looking forward to acquire a Canon copy in a near future.
Thanks for a very thorough review, and your very fair and honest appraisal of this lens. I was looking at this lens seriously thanks to several positive reviews I'd seen of it, but after watching your one, I went looking for some more sample shots, and I can clearly see the flaws you're talking about (especially the CA and bloom). My Asahi Pentax-M 50mm f/1.7 has better bokeh and less bloom and CA wide open, and is a lot more compact. My Helios 44s all have more interesting bokeh (if you like swirly bokeh), and I have some other vintage lenses that seem to make the subject pop more, even though they don't have anything like as wide an aperture. I do love those round and pretty smooth bokeh balls, though, and I wonder if those 11 aperture blades would produce a sharp 22-pointed star...? While it's a very interesting lens with a lot of potential if used creatively, I think my money might be better spent on 2 or 3 more of the well known vintage classics, unless I've just got to have that big, bright f/1.1 aperture.
It was my pleasure sharing the review, and I had a lot of fun shooting with the lens. The reason I got it was for the F1.1, such a cool lens to brag about - hey I have an F1.1 lens!
I use nikon 50mm f1.2 aise adapted to em1 and em5ii. The frame of 100mm is a bit constricting but the images up to f2 beautiful poetic rendition but after that till f8 one of the sharpest glass around. The bokeh is a bit bubbly at 1.2 and simply beautiful
Hey, Rоb. Perhaps you are interested in doing tests of Soviet lenses such as Jupiter, Helios? . or ,some rangefinder(s), from the same era. For the Olympus-system it should be simple - cheap glass - high quality (or not)?
I'd link to know your opinion about using the old Russian Helios 44-2 58mm f/2 of the Zenit's times, still with screw mount, but quite well known for its boqeh (both using an adaptor, of course - I have an OM-D E-M5-MkII), when it comes to speak about boqeh and portraits in general. It’s cheap, but is it worth to buy, in comparison with my old Zuiko OM-serie 50mm f/1.8 (dating from my oooold OM-1N of the '70s!) which I already have?. Thanks a lot!l
Robin, I must be getting even lazier. Whilst you could shoot street via the traditional zone focusing method, I tend to find the need to either zone focus or use focus peaking ( too slow for street) to be too much of a chore when the lens from Olympus do such a good job. The price of the 45 non-Pro, is quite reasonable and produces results that I have always been happy with.
@@robinwong Very shallow dof with 1.1- I normally just set 5.6 for street and don't really worry too much about focussing as generally everything is reasonably sharp.
Hey Robin, good review as always! If you have the chance then please take a look at the Samyang 50mm f1.2 lens. I had this lens for several years and it's pretty sharp wide open, in fact sharper than my 45mm f1.8. But it also delivers really nice bokeh, especially in comparison to the Kamlan. The only reason I sold mine was the missing AF.
wait, why didn't I get the notification when you released this vid? So funny, that I saw you reviewing this after I bought myself one used for 100 bucks. but sadly no MFT mount... good to see you shooting with this lens, next to your fav 45 1.8 ;) I had the luck that there already was a ND4 Filter attached to it, otherwise it would be too bright to shoot in daylight wide open with mechanical shutter. I don't care so much about flare or CAs. For me the Bokeh is quite soft and pleasing. Not so bubbly than the Samyang 50mm F1.2.
It's an ok lens for the price, better at night where the issues are a bit minimalized than say in bright daylight where the bloom/haze and aberrations can be ..annoying. And yes the Bokeh can be hard to control sometimes, you need to chose your background a bit carefully. Manual focusing is always a bit hard, here it is a bit harder because the lens is heavy and it's a telephoto .. Overall, for all those reason and because it's bigger/heavier as well, I find it more difficult to use than the Mitakon 25mm/0.95 which is still my favorite manual fast lens. But still, I'm keeping it because you gotta take a challenge from time to time ;D
Ah, I rarely see you buy a non Olympus lens. My main issue with Kamlan is my friend (you) pronouncing the name in Hokkien (😂). The haze and bloom and purple fringing seems very similar to the legacy film lenses I have, particularly the telezoom lenses, regardless on whether MFT or FF bodies. I don't think such lenses should used for the same subject as modern lenses - i.e. general subjects. They don't reward us with our expectations. They are lenses for niche subjects like really dreamy soft portraits of ladies in traditional old style dresses or cinematic scenes in old shophouses or kampung attap houses with natural diffuse light. And for those scenes, we don't use the legendary Olympus natural colours, we colour grade them severely to lose the natural look. That's my thinking. The busy bokeh, yeah, not nice. Now I am wondering how busy looking are the old film lenses I have.
I disagree. A lens should be able to be used in all situations. If it falls short in some scenarios, it will be problematic. You cannot control how the light hits, or how messy the background is. Your example was "dreamy soft portraits", which was near impossible with harsh, nervous bokeh. I never mentioned anything about color, whether natural or not. In fact, I was quite happy with the contrast of the lens, just not the overall rendering, or the "character".
@@robinwong Sure, we can disagree. It's why certain people choose to wear different clothes - you choose what you like. But I hope I can clarify my opinion. The point about optical bloom, softer optical contrast in such a lens - it's already there, and I would choose a romantic scene rather than choose street photography / journalism. The other point is a different - the nervous bokeh. That is more difficult handicap to overcome. It is not attractive in street photos neither is it attractive in romantic scenes. But in street photos, or a better term is oppurtunistic photos where the scene is there, there is not much you can do. In the studio or a set up scene, however, by definition of that term, it is up to you to make a background that is not so painful. By the way, I shoot with a mirror lens, which shows doughnuts as soon as you have something bright in the background. It's similar to having busy bokeh, in my opinion. Sometimes, I overcome that. By not having an out of focus background at all. :)
@@AnandaSim when you are shooting with a lens you can't just selectively ignore certain aspects of the lens character, especially when it is so damaging to the overall rendering. The bloom and haze are already bad enough, but the bokeh is worse. I can accept that you don't need bokeh in the shots, as I have shown in more than half of my samples, but that is a different topic altogether. Avoiding the weakness of the lens does not take it away. I respect people who love the "flaws" and want to somehow make them work. If it works for you, more power to you. Do what you love, no one can say anything.
@@robinwong LOL, certainly you can't make a bloomy lens become a sharp, contrasty lens just by using words. That's not my intention at all. But crafting my photo to be what I like (may not be what you like), as you say, that's the choice of the photographer. Unless of course, the assessment is being carried out by a competition judge or some client in which case we have no choice but to satisfy that party. 😉
@@AnandaSim I think you misunderstood what I said. I never said anything about bloom and haze, I mention do not ignore the fact about the messy bokeh. Since you brought up dreamy soft portraits, I just don't see how that is possible with such harsh bokeh rendering, no matter how much bloom and haze you add.
I'm pretty happy with my guess - the 45mm f1.2 PRO. I'm surprised you went for an MF lens though. Also I didn't look for any of the optical flaws you mentioned and I'm a bit shocked at how many there were. Great to see you out and about!
Red 35 tested it, though he did something you didn't try which is Black and White .. solves the chroma issues, and the overall look suits it a lot better. Maybe if you know a B&W photographer you can have him try it out and see if he likes it.
@@robinwong A question you should ask someone that shoots B&W I suppose :D It's an artistic choice. I like it sometimes, used to have a phone that had a dedicated B&W sensor, years ago, and it made some really good B&W shots, better than color in some situations.
I was going to purchase this but I got a used Samyang 50mm F1.2 and I am not liking this lens at all. Now I am curious what the difference is between the Kamlan and the Samyang.
Greetings again mr. Wong. This is interesting. i like the picture at 10:50. Maybe you can exploit the haze and messy nervous bokeh, by doing what will also do away with the fringing - conversion to a highcontrast dramatic B&W. i happen to especially like B&W so much, I whenever on GuRushots see and fave a B&W-picture, I comment on it, my standard "B&W-photography rules :)!"-comment. I urge you to consider this. You might end up liking it. If so, you could later do a followup on this video, with samples in which the shortcommings in the imagequality on this lens, becomes an advantage. Could be of interest to many more, I reckon. This contrsty B&W tyically already is good for scenes appearing scary, or perhaps decayed and in disrepair, in which case the messy and uncalm bokeh would likely be a plus. This video has now made me consider adding this lens to my arsenal for this purpose. Maybe someone like myself would be convinced to take this leap of faith if you eventually opload a video with convincing samples. I hope this comment finds you well. Best of regards Klaus Lehrmann Denmark
@@QippysChannel 1. I need AF. I won't use a lens without AF, still true 2. Lens character is overrated. Also true 3. Manual lens have too many flaws. Also true A quick summary, just in case you didn't get those very obvious messages from the video.
Lovely review and presentation. I hope and can't wait for you to check the other 3rd party Chinese lenses, especially the more specialized ones like f 0.95 and f 1/1.1 (I don't do portrait professionally and while I like to do street photography I don't do enough to justify the f 1.2 Pro lenses from Olympus, but a lens or two like these for the fun and f 1.8 Olympus for when I need AF would be more reasonable )
What manual focus small aperture telefoto lens should I look at as an alternative? I think this lens should be compared to the vintage lenses. I wanted to play around with those, but given the price of a good vintage lens + an adapter I certainly think the Kamlan 50mm F1.1 is better all round. I'm open for suggestions. This is my current setup: OM-D 5 MKII / M.Zuiko 12-40mm f.2.8 Pro / M.Zuiko 45mm 1.8/ Lumix 20mm f 1.7
That was my way of thinking ;-) Since it is possible to adapt old lenses, the good ones have seem to become quite expensive over the last years. I use old lenses with an adapter and it is possible, but not as nice as a genuine mount and those old lenses are quite big as well. But since you already have the 45mm 1.8, would it really be such a big difference to a 1.1 lense? Would you really use it? By the way, seeing your equipment, have you ever thought about getting the Olympus 9mm F8.0 bodycap lense?
@@justmythought7658 Thank you for your reply! Indeed the 45 mm f 1.8 is just a wonderful portrait lens, insane bang for the buck, and I do love it. It does overlap for me, so I probably wouldn't use the manual focus that much. It's just a cool toy to play around with, and I really wanted something to be just a "better vintage lens". Also wow, I totally overlooked the bodycap lens, it's amazing I just love the compact stuff, and this is right down that alley. Definitely considering picking one up! Thanks again!
@@ballagheorghe2498 If you really want a manual focus lense, I got the Walimex 50mm 1.2, which is the Samyang lense with another name, and it is not supersharp wide open, but ok and you only notice it zoomed in. I choosed this lense because Samyang is known for good lenses by now and I didn't know what to think of the other brands like 7Artisans, Kamlan, Meike or Brightin Star. At the moment it is my most used lense, but I have it only for two month by now. The Bodycap lense on the other side is a pure fun lense. Heavy distortion, only F8:0 and a strange manual focus, but is is quite cheap and very small. Easy to put in the bag just in case.
@@justmythought7658 I've seen one for about 190 euros, it's even cheaper SH than the second gen KamLan 50 mm. These are not about being super sharp, they are all about the vintage feel. Lenses like the Sigma 105 mm f 1.4, or the Samyang XP 85 mm f 1.2 got me hooked on this thread. But I think the best decision for me is to just enjoy what I have for now, I've just recently made the move over from NIKON, and I think I'm rushing through the spectrum. As James Popsys would say, invest in a good trip rather then a new piece of gear :P , but knowing myself I might just end up buying one on impulse :))))
@@justmythought7658 As for the body cap lens, when I picked up the Lumix 20 mm f 1.7 I had the same frame of mind, but I managed to find the most banged up unloved one on the market at around 120 Euros. So It's the same deal, different focal length, light, but does have auto focus, insanely sharp, and some gorgeous vignetting, that actually fits my style. Don't care if it's slow and noisy. Whenever I just go for a walk, not knowing what to expect, I throw this in my bag, and know I'm covered.
Hello Robin. On a different topic. Can you refer me to a 2X macro lens I can use on my OM-D-M10 Mark III. I currently have the 60mm macro lens. Thanks.
50mm isn't going to add that much but weight and a slightly tighter FOV. I would strongly suggest the olympus 75mm f1.8 if your looking for something longer that pairs well. You gain auto focus at the cost of manual focus by wire (much the same as your 45), but the separation is amazing.
Get the Kamlan 50mm F1.1 for non serious/practical shooting. It is a fun lens, otherwise for real world shooting the Olympus 45mm F1.8 can get the job done
Hello Robin Thank you for that brilliant video. I try to get that KAMLAN f1.1 MII in Germany. It is not possible. Can you give me a tip where I can get this lens? Best Regards, Alex
I had the same problem. I didn't wanted to import it from China (you can get it on eBay if you want) or directly from the Kamlan website, so I bought the Walimex 50mm 1.2 from a German dealer instead. It's the same lense as the Samyang as far as I know, just with a different name on it.
