PERGEAR 25mm 1: 1.8 HD.MC review

According provided by PERGEAR 25mm 1: 1.8 HD.MC lens many thanks official representation Gear.

Navigation

1. In short
2. All Pergear Lenses
3. Main Specifications
4. Assembly
5. Focusing
6. Image quality
7. Sample Photos
8. My experience
9. All Sony APS-C E cameras
10. All original lenses for Sony APS-C E
11. Video review
12. Price
13. Results
14. User Comments
15. Add your review or question on the lens

Please note that the lens PERGEAR 25mm 1: 1.8 HD.MC Available with different mounts. This review shows the version of PERGEAR 25mm 1: 1.8 HD.MC for mirrorless cameras Sony E with APS-C sensor. At the same time, PERGEAR 25mm 1: 1.8 HD.MC is also available with mounts Fujifilm x и Micro 4 / 3. Also, note that PERGEAR 25mm 1: 1.8 HD.MC is available in a black case design (the version is shown in this review), but there is also an option in silver case design. The silver color of the case may be useful to those users who have silver or white / gray cameras.

In this review, I will call the PERGEAR 25mm 1: 1.8 HD.MC lens in abbreviation Pergear 25 / 1.8.

In short

Pergear 25 / 1.8 is a modern manual fast prime lens for cropped mirrorless cameras. One of the cheapest similar fixes for cameras with APS-C sensor.

It is interesting for its low price, compact size, all-metal body, 10 aperture blades and convenient focal length. On cameras with an APS-C sensor, this is a moderately wide-angle lens, which can serve as a standard solution for everyday shooting of a very wide range of tasks. Among the disadvantages, first of all, we can distinguish poor image quality in the corners of the frame and strong vignetting at open apertures.

It's important: Pergear 25 / 1.8 has nothing to do with more well-known similar solutions in the face 7Artisans 25mm F / 1.8 HD.MC и Meike Multi Coated 1.8 / 25. These lenses use different optical schemes, a different design and have a much larger diameter front filter.

All Pergear Lenses

The following lenses are sold under the Pergear brand:

For mirrorless cameras with APS-C sensor:

• PERGEAR 7.5mm 1: 2.8 HD.MC Fish-eye [announce] (E, X, Z, EF-M, MFT)
• PERGEAR 10mm 1: 8 Fisheye [announce] (E, X, Z, MFT)
• PERGEAR 10mm 1: 5.6 Fisheye [overview] (E, X, EF-M, MFT)
• PERGEAR 12mm 1: 2 HD.FMC [overview] (E, X, Z, MFT)
• PERGEAR 25mm 1: 1.8 HD.MC [overview] (E, X, MFT, black / silver)
• PERGEAR 35mm 1: 1.6 HD.MC  [overview] (E, X, Z, MFT, black/silver)
• PERGEAR 35mm 1:1.2 DH.MC [overview] (E, X, Z, MFT)
• PERGEAR 50mm 1: 1.8 HD.MC [overview] (E, X, MFT)
• PERGEAR 60mm 1: 2.8 Macro 2x [announce] (E, X, Z, MFT)

For mirrorless cameras with Full Frame sensor:

• PERGEAR 14mm 1:2.8FF [announcement] (FE, Z, RF, L)
• PERGEAR 14mm 1:2.8 FF II [announcement] (FE, Z, RF, L)
• PERGEAR 35mm 1:1.4 FF MULTI COATED [announcement] (FE, Z, RF, L)
• PERGEAR 60mm 1: 2.8 Macro 2x [announcement] (FE, Z, RF, L + X + MFT)

Easier just find Pergear lenses on Aliexpress.com.

Bayonets: E: Sony E || FE: Sony FE || X: Fujifilm x || Z: Nikon Z || Ef-m: Canon EF-M || L: Leica l || RF: Canon RF || MFT: Micro 4 / 3

Main technical characteristics of PERGEAR 25mm 1: 1.8 HD.MC

Review Instance Name	Near the front lens: '25mm 1: 1.8 HD.MC Ø43mm' On the case: PERGEAR 'E-Mount' side.
Basic properties	HD.MC (High Ddefinition Multi Coating) - multi-coating optics The lens uses a Sony E mount and is suitable for Sony mirrorless cameras with an APS-C sensor Manual focus only Metal mount, metal body metal hood included
Front Filter Diameter	43 mm
Focal length	25 mm EGF for Sony cameras, Fujifilm with APS-C sensor is 37.5mm EGF for cameras of the Micro 4/3 system is 50 mm
Zoom ratio	1 X (this is a fixed lens, it does not have a zoom)
Designed by	Option from the review for cropped mirrorless Sony cameras. This lens exists with mounts: Sony E Fujifilm x Micro 4 / 3
Number of aperture blades	10 rounded petals (on the official website, as well as in other sources, information is sometimes found that there are 12 aperture blades, but this is a mistake, there are 10 of them)
Tags	bayonet mount mark focus distance scale in meters and feet depth of field scale for f / 2, 4, 8, 11, 16 aperture scale on aperture ring
Diaphragm	F / 1.8 to F / 16, controlled by the iris control ring. There are marks for F / 1.8, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 16. The ring rotates without clicks, smoothly. You can set any intermediate value.
MDF	0.2 meters, maximum magnification ratio of approximately 1: 7 (measured)
The weight	191 grams (according to the official site) 182 grams (lens only, version for Sony E, measured)
Optical design	5 elements in 3 groups Optical pattern not found
Lens hood	It must be screwed into the thread of the front filter, is supplied
Manufacturer country	Made in China (there is no data on the country of manufacture on the lens itself)
Period	Around March 2020
Price	View on Pergear website Look at the official seller on Aliexpress

Many amateur photographers want a fast fix, especially in addition to their full-time / 'whale' lens. Aperture F / 1.8 two or more steps wider f / 4 aperture, which is used in 25 mm focal length 'dark' whale lenses. In numerical terms, this means that Pergear 25 / 1.8 is approximately 5 times brighterthan, for example, regular Sony 18-55mm f / 3.5-5.6 OSS or Sony 16-50mm f / 3.5-5.6 PZ OSSwhich use a maximum relative aperture of only 25: 1 and 4: 1 at 4.5 mm of focal length. The calculation of the difference in the relative aperture (count the aperture) is performed elementarily: (4 * 4) / (1.8 * 1.8) = 4.94, which is rounded to the value '5'.

Assembly

The lens came to the review completely new. The delivery box contains a lens with front and rear caps and a metal hood, as well as a soft bag for transportation. The bag has a puff with a lock, as well as a carabiner for attaching, for example, to the photo backpack.

It's important: instruction does not go to the lens. On the box in which the lens is supplied, as well as on its front and rear cover and lens hood, there is no mention of the manufacturer. Apparently these are universal caps and a lens hood that fits different lenses and comes immediately for different brands. The same goes for the delivery box, which simply indicates that the lens is in the middle. Maximum unification allows you to save on trifles and make a low price tag for such lenses.

In general, the lens is well assembled. Pergear 25 / 1.8 has bayonet mount metal and the lens case itself is completely made of metal.

The lens design is quite stylish. The front part of the edging of the focus ring, the thread under the filter, as well as the outgoing trunk of the lens are not painted, metal, which creates characteristic appearance Pergear 25 / 1.8.

Weight Pergear 25 / 1.8 is only about 190 grams. In the hands of the lens it feels like a solid, albeit tiny, thing.

The filter diameter is 43mm, the same diameter used by the other two lenses from Pergear: Pergear 35 / 1.6 и Pergear 50 / 1.8.

The design is nice, and the lens itself is very compact, ideal for small Sony cameras with an APS-C sensor.

Diaphragm comprises ten petals and forms a hole in the shape of a regular decagon, while in the photographs in the zone of confusion, rather round discs of confusion are obtained at any aperture values. The diaphragm can only be controlled manually using a special ring. The diaphragm ring rotates smoothly, no clicks and fixed values, you can set any intermediate value in the range of F / 1.8 to F / 16, which is very useful during movie shooting.

It's important: there is a sub-version of Pergear 25 / 1.8 with 'PERGEAR' lettering near the front lens, looks like like this. There are no other significant differences.

The Pergear brand is a distributor of various photographic equipment. Most likely a third-party company is manufacturing lenses, and Pergear just sells them under its own brand.

Focusing

The focus ring is narrow, metal, ribbed, with frequent and active use you begin to understand that you want a wider and more convenient focus ring. The ring rotates on 90 degrees (1/4 of a full turn). Focusing is smooth, but quite tight. There is a small lag when changing the direction of rotation of the focus ring. This does not cause much discomfort.

During focusing, the trunk of the lens runs forward but does not spin. During focusing, the entire lens block moves.

On the ring there is a scale with a focusing distance in meters and feet and a depth of field scale.

The minimum focusing distance is only 20 centimeters, and the maximum magnification factor is small, approximately 1: 7.

Pergear 25 / 1.8 has a small 'Focus Breathing' effect (changes in viewing angle during focusing). During focusing towards the MDF, the viewing angle decreases.

Focus Shift (shift focus, changing the focus distance due to iris) is missing.

Important: focus picking with a Pergear 25 / 1.8 on a Sony Alpha 3500 camera works well.

Image quality

Pergear 25 / 1.8 is generally good. The weakest point is vignetting, which is hardly corrected by aperture. With sharpness, everything is in order (if you do not take into account diffraction by strongly covered and angles by open diaphragms).

Sharpness

1. at f / 1.8 in the center of the frame, the lens is moderately sharp
2. there is a noticeable drop in sharpness in the corners of the frame
3. sharpness drop on the edges of the frame
4. good center resolution occurs after f / 2.8
5. resolution in the corners of the frame is very weak on open apertures, but improves significantly to F / 5.6

Distortion

1. there is a small barrel-shaped distortion
2. uneven distortion
3. distortion is unified and easily fixable in the editor
4. in the vast majority of cases, distortion remains invisible and does not impair the perception of the image

Vignetting

1. a strong vignetting at F / 1.8 while focusing at long focus distances. In the far corners, the dimming of the image reaches 3 steps
2. vignetting decreases significantly when the aperture is closed to F / 4
3. vignetting decreases during focusing towards MDF

Aberration

1. small amount of spherical aberration
2. spherical aberrations decrease well due to aperture and are almost not noticeable at F / 2.8
3. there is a small amount of chromatic aberration, mostly they are noticeable closer to the corners of the image

Rest

1. from bright light sources you can get a lot of glare (example)
   
2. on a very covered diaphragm, you can get the effect of a not pronounced 10-ray star (example)
3. color shift with Sony a3500 is missing
4. slightly curled bokeh with pronounced 'lemon' or 'cat's eye' discs of confusion

Important: at the time of the creation of this review, there was no Pergear 25 / 1.8 profile for popular RAW converters. You can create a profile yourself or wait for its release.

Sample Photos

All photos in the review are shown without processing. Camera used Sony α3500 (Sony ILCE-3500) Based on EXMOR APS-C CMOS 20 MP sensor. All photos are on-camera JPEG. Picture Control Mode 'Standard 0/0/0' or 'Standard 0/1/1'. Functions' Corr. ob .: Shading ',' Corr. ob .: Chrome. aberr. ' and 'Corr. Rev .: Distortion 'were disabled.

JPEG source pictures at this link (80 files, 400 MB). Original RAW images ('.ARW') at this link (24 files, 400 MB).

My experience

Pergear 25 / 1.8 is made simply and with taste. Nice design, compact size, metal body, 10 aperture blades, very convenient focal length, smooth aperture adjustment? What else is required from a classic manual lens? I am very glad that there are many affordable and fully functional solutions from Chinese and Korean manufacturers.

The Pergear 25/1.8 for mirrorless cameras is a great budget find. It is very good that the manufacturers realized that in addition to fifty dollars, lenses with a focal length range of 20-35 mm can also be made, which is very convenient in terms of viewing angle on cameras with an APS-C sensor. On a Micro 4/3 Pergear 25/1.8 system EGF turns into a classic fifty dollars 50 / 1.8 (although in terms of depth of field it will still be 50 / 3.6).

For the first time I met such lenses on an example 7Artisans 12 / 2.8then my skepticism towards little-known brands offering cheap manual solutions has changed radically.

From Pergear 25 / 1.8, I would like to work more nicely with the focus ring, because this is the main control. It should make it smoother and easier to rotate, increase the angle of rotation, and also get rid of the micro-lag. Otherwise, I have no serious complaints about Pergear 25 / 1.8.

In the comments, they told me that there is exactly the same ANDOER 25mm 1: 1.8 HD.MC.

All Sony E-mount cameras with APS-C sensor

• NEX-3, NEX-C3, NEX-F3, NEX-3Women
• NEX-5, NEX-5N, NEX-5R, NEX-5T [fifth series on AliExpress.com]
• NEX-6, NEX-7
• a3000, a3500
• a5000, a5100
• a6000, a6100, a6300, a6400, a6500, a6600, a6700 [6000 series on Ali]
• ZV-E10
• FX30
• QX1
• Hasselblad lunar

All Sony E lenses for APS-C

Fix Lenses:

1. Sony 11 mm f / 1.8 [2022, black, AliExpress price]
2. Sony 15 mm f / 1.4 G [2022, black, AliExpress price]
3. Sony 16 mm f / 2.8 [2010, silver, AliExpress price]
4. Sony 20 mm f / 2.8 [2013, silver, AliExpress price]
5. Sony 24 mm f / 1.8 ZEISS ZA [2011, black]
6. Sony 30 mm f / 3.5 MACRO [2011, silver, AliExpress price]
7. Sony 35 mm f / 1.8 U.S.S [2012, black, AliExpress price]
   
8. Sony 50 mm f / 1.8 U.S.S [2011, black/silver, AliExpress price]

Zoom Lenses:

1. Sony 10-18 mm f / 4 U.S.S [2012, black, AliExpress price]
   
2. Sony 10-20 mm f / 4 G PZ [2022, black, AliExpress price]
3. Sony 16-50 mm f / 3.5-5.6 PZ U.S.S [2012, black/silver, AliExpress price]
4. Sony 16-55 mm f / 2.8 G [2019, black, AliExpress price]
5. Sony 16-70 mm f / 4 U.S.S ZEISS ZA [2013, black, AliExpress price]
   
6. Sony 18-50 mm f / 4-5.6 [2014, black]
7. Sony 18-55 mm f / 3.5-5.6 U.S.S [2010, black/silver]
8. Sony 18-105 mm f / 4 G PZ U.S.S [2013, black, AliExpress price]
   
9. Sony 18-110 mm f / 4 G PZ U.S.S [2016, black]
   
10. Sony 18-135 mm f / 3.5-5.6 U.S.S [2018, black, AliExpress price]
    
11. Sony 18-200 mm f / 3.5-6.3 U.S.S [2010, silver, AliExpress price]
12. Sony 18-200 mm f / 3.5-6.3 U.S.S LE [2012, black, AliExpress price]
    
13. Sony 18-200 mm f / 3.5-6.3 PZ U.S.S [2012, black]
    
14. Sony 55-210 mm f / 4.5-6.3 U.S.S [2011, black/silver, AliExpress price]
15. Sony 70-350 mm f/4.5–6.3 G U.S.S [2019, black, AliExpress price]

Third-party autofocus lenses for Sony E APS-C:

• Zeiss Touit Distagon 12/2.8 | Zeiss Touit Planar 32/1.8 | Zeiss Touit Makro Planar 50/2.8M
• Hasselblad E 3.5-5.6/18-55 OSS LF | Hasselblad E 3.5-6.3/18-200 OSS LF | Hasselblad E 2.8 / 16 LF
• Sigma C 16 / 1.4 | Sigma A 19 / 2.8 | Sigma EX 19/2.8 | Sigma C 30 / 1.4 | Sigma EX 30/2.8 | Sigma A 30 / 2.8 | Sigma C 56 / 1.4 | Sigma A 60 / 2.8 | Sigma C 10-18 / 2.8 | Sigma C 18-50 / 2.8
• Tamron 11-20 / 2.8 | Tamron 17-70 / 2.8 VC | Tamron 18-200 / 3.5-6.3 VC | Tamron 18-300 / 3.5-6.3 VC
• Viltrox 13 / 1.4 | Viltrox 23 / 1.4 | Viltrox 33 / 1.4 | Viltrox 56 / 1.4 | felttrox 75/1.2
• Tokina 23 / 1.4 | Tokina 33 / 1.4 | Tokina 56 / 1.4 | Tokina 11-18 / 2.8
• Samyang 12 / 2
• Yongnuo 16 / 1.8, Yongnuo 50 / 1.8
• TTArtisan 27 / 2.8, TTArtisan 35 / 1.8

Many interesting manual solutions are provided by Chinese manufacturers and brands. 7Artisans, TTartisan, Meike, Neewer, PerGear, Kamlan, Brightin star, Mitakon Zhongyi, Venus laowa, Fujian, ARTRALAB, AstrHori other. Autofocus Speed ​​Boosters are also interesting Viltrox Canon EF -> Sony E 0.71X и Metabones Canon EF -> Sony E 0.71X... List of full-frame cameras and lenses Sony FE (Full Frame E) here

Video review

A small video review is available. at this link, or below:

Price

Pergear 25 / 1.8 costs around 60-70 dollars. The easiest way to buy Pergear 25 / 1.8 on the official Pergear website at this linkeither official seller of Pergear products on Aliexpress at this link.

Results

Pergear 25 / 1.8 is a convenient regular fix for every day. For its price tag, it is very good. Original autofocus solutions cost ten times more (we are talking about Sony E 24 / 1.8, Fujifilm 23/2WR, Panasonic 25 / 1.7 и Olympus 25 / 1.8 MSC) The image quality of the Pergear 25 / 1.8 has some drawbacks, but by and large should suit many amateur photographers.

10 main advantages

1. low price tag (total about 60 dollars)
2. high aperture with maximum aperture of f / 1.8
3. very convenient focal length for working on cameras with APS-C sensor
4. the lens body is completely made of metal, including with a metal bayonet mount and a metal hood
5. during focusing, the front lens with a thread under the filter does not rotate
6. very compact sizes, there is a depth of field scale and focusing distances
7. ten aperture blades that always give a fairly rounded opening
8. the aperture ring rotates smoothly, without intermediate values ​​(useful for video)
9. good sharpness in the center of the frame after f / 2.8
10. multi-illuminated optics

10 main disadvantages

1. focus ring rotates only 90 degrees
2. the focus ring has a small lag when changing the direction of rotation
3. focusing ring is quite tight, narrow, not rubberized, inconvenient during intensive work with the lens
4. no CPU pins to form the correct EXIF
5. rare thread for 43 mm filter
6. a threaded (non-bayonet) hood should be used
7. there is no lens profile for popular RAW converters, the lens is not 'hardwired' into modern cameras
8. in backlight or side light, you can easily get the corresponding artifacts
9. very strong vignetting at f / 1.8
10. very low resolution at far corners of the frame at open apertures

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Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram