35mm F1.6 lens review (CCTV, APS-C, Sony E, Fujian)

Navigation

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

Please note that this lens does not have any identification marks on its body. On its body is written only '35 mm F1.6', and on its box there is only one single inscription 'VISIONLENS'. This lens is often referred to as 'FUJIAN 35/1.6' by analogy with other similar solutions, for example, FUJIAN CHINA TV LENS GDS-35 f=35mm 1:1.7. In this review, for convenience, I will call it exactly the same - FUJIAN 35/1.6.

This lens has a C-MOUNT mount (thread) and can be easily installed on any modern mirrorless camera using a simple and cheap adapter. In the review, I used a FUJIAN 35 / 1.6 lens with an adapter C-mount -> Sony E/NEX (black color, but there are silvery).

It's important: FUJIAN 35/1.6 is available in two body colors: black and silver. This review shows the silver version. For some reason, it didn't come with the lens silver, the black Adapter C-mount -> Sony E/NEX.

Important: most likely the lens Risespray 35mm F1.6 and the like are almost complete copies of FUJIAN 35/1.6.

In short

Fujian 35 / 1.6 - a modern fast lens with manual focus, uses a C-MOUNT mount, which makes it easy to adapt on any modern mirrorless camera. Covers APS-C sensor. One of the cheapest such fixes for cameras with an APS-C sensor and a maximum aperture of F / 1.6.

35 mm is a convenient focal length that allows you to use the Fujian 35 / 1.6 as a standard (standard) lens for a huge number of different photo tasks.

Fujian 35 / 1.6 is interesting for its very low price and maximum aperture ratio of 1: 1.6, as well as a 12-blade diaphragm. It has serious optical flaws, but in general it fully justifies its cost.

UPDATE: list of all FUJIAN lenses here.

Main technical characteristics of VISIONLENS 35mm F1.6

Review Instance Name	Body: 35mm F1.6 On the box: VISIONLENS
Basic properties	The lens uses a C-mount, which is easily adapted to mirrorless cameras, such as Sony E Manual focus only Macro ring included (sometimes 2 rings) Manual iris control Metal mount, metal body Multi-Enlightened Optics Red decorative ring indicating that this is a premium lens
Front Filter Diameter	37 mm
Focal length	35 mm EGF for cameras Sony E, Nikon Z, Fujifilm, Leica BILLION, Samsung NX with APS-C sensor is 52.5 mm EGF for cameras Canon EOS M is 56 mm EGF for system cameras Micro 4/3 is 70 mm EGF for system cameras Nikon 1 is 94.5 mm
Zoom ratio	1 X (this is a fixed lens, it does not have a zoom)
Designed by	The mount easily adapts to modern mirrorless systems with a simple adapter
Number of aperture blades	12 rounded petals
Tags	focusing distance scale, only in meters: 0.5, 0.8, 2, 3 meters and infinity mark
Diaphragm	from F / 1.6 to F / 16, controlled using the aperture control ring. There are marks for F / 1.6, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 16. The ring rotates without clicks, smoothly
MDF	0.5 meters (often erroneously reported as 0.3 meters), maximum magnification ratio approximately 1:10
The weight	103 grams (measured, lens without caps and adapter) 128 grams (measured with front cover and Sony E adapter)
Optical design	4 elements in 4 groups Drawing not found, most likely similar Risespray 35mm F1.6
Lens hood	Must be screwed into the front filter thread; marking unknown
Manufacturer country	Made in China (there is no data on the country of manufacture on the lens itself)
Period	Around 2016
Price	View on Aliexpress

F / 1.6 is 2/3 stops brighter than the more common F / 1.8 on many other similar lenses, such as the original lens Sony 35mm F / 1.8 OSS. At the same time, the new original Sony 35mm F / 1.8 OSS has a price tag of around $500.

Many amateur photographers want a fast prime, especially in addition to their stock/kit lens. Aperture F / 1.6 almost 3 steps wider aperture F / 4.5, which is used in 'dark' whale lenses at 35 mm focal length. In numerical terms, this means that the Fujian 35 / 1.6 is approximately 8 times brighterthan, for example, regular lenses 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 35: 1 over a 4.5 mm focal length. The calculation of the difference in the relative aperture (count the aperture) is performed elementarily: (4.5 * 4.5) / (1.6 * 1.6) = 7.9, which is rounded to the value '8'.

It's important: F/1.6 aperture here is 'true', with light transmission around T/1.8. I compared Fujian 35 / 1.6 with a lens Sigma 30mm 1: 1.4 DC DN C (Contemporary). Lately I've been careful about the maximum relative aperture, there have already been many cases of cheating with the indication of the real maximum aperture by some Chinese manufacturers: 7Artisans 35 / 0.95, 7Artisans 50 / 1.05, Pergear 35 / 1.6 etc.

Assembly

The lens came to the review completely new, in a sealed box. The box contains the lens itself with front and rear caps and a macro ring with a C-NEX adapter.

In general, the lens is assembled well, although it is noticeable that it is a little rough. Fujian 35/1.6 has metal mount for bayonet, and the lens case itself is completely made of metal.

The front lens cap is plastic, with latches.

The weight of the lens is just over 100 grams. In the hands of the lens feels like a nice thing. Red decorative ring near the front lens looks good.

The filter diameter is only 37 mm.

The diaphragm consists of 12 petals and forms a round hole at any values, while in the photographs in the blur zone, rather round discs of blur are obtained at any aperture. The diaphragm can only be controlled manually using a special ring. Aperture ring rotates smoothly no clicks and fixed values, you can set any intermediate value in the range of F / 1.6-F / 16, which is very useful during movie shooting.

The aperture control ring rotates rather tightly, it will be difficult to accidentally knock down the set value. There was no place at all for the F / 11 mark on the aperture control ring.

It's important: when mounted on the camera, the focusing distance scale and the aperture scale are located on the bottom of the camera (most likely a problem due to the adapter).

Focusing

The focus ring is metal, ribbed, comfortable. The ring spins on 60 degrees. Focusing is smooth.

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, but only in meters. The minimum focusing distance is 50 centimeters, and the maximum magnification ratio is approximately 1:10. The lens comes with a special macro ring, which allows you to achieve a magnification of 1:2. The macro ring is screwed onto the mounting thread of the lens and the 'C-MOUNT -> desired system' adapter is already installed on top of the ring. On sale, I saw kits with two of these macro rings to achieve higher magnification ratios.

Fujian 35/1.6 has a slight 'Focus Breathing' effect. During focusing towards the MDF, the viewing angle decreases.

Focus Shift (change in focusing distance due to aperture) is missing.

Hard stop (hard infinity mechanical stop) for fast and accurate focusing under any operating temperature conditions, the lens does not have. With adapter C-mount -> Sony E/NEX (included) there is a small flight of infinity at the extreme position of the focus ring.

Focus peaking with Fujian 35/1.6 and cameras Sony a3500 and a Sony NEX-6 works well at F / 1.6.

Image quality

On covered apertures Fujian 35/1.6 easily handles 20 megapixels APS-C sensor Sony a3500 and 16 MP Sony NEX-6. In the center of the frame, Fujian 35 / 1.6 is quite good already at F / 1.6.

The lens is built on a fairly simple optical scheme, from which it is difficult to expect anything special. The scheme also has a negative effect on the bokeh, which is rather 'nervous' in the Fujian 35/1.6.

Sharpness

1. F / 1.6 lens has quite tolerable resolution in the center of the frame, at the level of other inexpensive similar lenses
2. with aperture down to f/2.8 resolution becomes excellent
3. there is a catastrophic drop in sharpness to the edges and corners of the frame
4. First of all, the drop in resolution to the edges and corners of the frame is due to large field curvature, as well as the fact that this lens was not originally designed to work with APS-C sensors
   
5. mediocre contrast
6. palpable coma

Distortion

1. there is a small barrel-shaped distortion
2. distortion is unified, easy to edit in the editor

Vignetting

1. weak vignetting at f/1.6 (which is odd considering it's a CCTV lens originally designed for use with smaller sensors)
2. vignetting decreases with focus towards MDF. Most noticeable when focusing on infinity
3. vignetting almost completely disappears at F / 4.0
4. vignetting easily fixable in the editor

Aberration

1. there is a noticeable amount of chromatic aberration
2. there is a noticeable frigging (the color of contrasting elements in the out-of-focus area is purple or green)

Rest

1. on covered apertures it is difficult to achieve a beautiful effect of a 12-ray star
2. from bright light sources you can get a huge amount of glare, while they can be of enormous size (this is the main drawback of the lens)

Important: at the time of writing this review, there was no Fujian 35/1.6 profile for popular RAW converters. You can create a profile yourself or wait for its release.

Sample Photos

Sample photos on Sony NEX-6 (sensor Sony Exmor APS-C HD CMOS 16 MP), specially for this review, prepared Natalia (Instagram)... All photos are JPEG from the camera.

Original JPEG images can be view / download from this link (50 files, Google Drive gallery).

My experience

This is a tiny and funny lens. Strongly afraid of light. Chinese lenses from more famous brands such as TTArtisan 35 / 1.4, 7Artisans 35 / 1.4 or Meike 35 / 1.4, will be much more interesting.

Fujian 35 / 1.6 refers to the so-called CCTV lenses, they are also called TV LENS, which are most often used in CCTV cameras. Most often, such lenses are designed for cameras with a sensor no larger than an inch and cannot cover large sensors (like APS-C). In the same case, the Fujian 35/1.6 easily copes with the APS-C sensor without perceptible vignetting at F/1.6.

Alternatives

Fujian 35 / 1.6 is a super-mega-ultra budget replacement for autofocus cropped lenses for mirrorless cameras:

1. Sony 35 / 1.8 OSS (for Sony E mount)
2. Canon 32 / 1.4 STM (for Canon EF-M mount)
3. Zeiss 32 / 1.8 Toit (Planar) (for Sony E and Fujifilm X mounts)
4. Sigma 30 / 1.4 DC DN (for Sony E, Canon EF-M and Micro 4/3 mount)
5. felttrox 33 / 1.4 STM (for Sony E, Canon EF-M, Fujifilm X, Nikon Z mounts)
6. fujinon 35 / 1.4 XF R (for Fujifilm X mount)
7. fujinon 35/2 XF R WR (for Fujifilm X mount)
8. fujinon 35/2XC (for Fujifilm X mount)
9. tokina 33 / 1.4 atx-m (for Fujifilm X, Sony E mounts)
10. Panasonic и Olympus do not make fast 35-current under Micro 4/3
11. Do you know any other similar high-aperture autofocus lenses for cropped mirrorless cameras? Please indicate them in the comments, I will add to the list

Similar manual focus lenses and similar aperture for mirrorless crop cameras with APS-C sensor, there are already quite a few. Alternatively, I would point out the following options:

1. TTArtisan 35 / 1.4
2. Meike 35 / 1.4 и Meike 35 / 1.7
3. Pergear 35 / 1.6
4. 7Artisans 35 / 1.4
5. 7Artisans 35 / 1.2 и 7Artisans II 35 / 1.2
6. 7Artisans 35 / 0.95
7. Zhongyi SpeedMaster 35 / 0.95
8. Samyang 35 / 1.2
9. Neewer 35 / 1.2, Neewer 32 / 1.6 и Neewer 35 / 1.7
10. Brightin Star 35 / 1.2 и Brightin Star 35 / 1.7
11. Laowa 33 / 0.95

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
• NEX-6, NEX-7
• a3000, a3500
• a5000, a5100
• a6000, a6100, a6300, a6400, a6500, a6600, a6700
• ZV-E10, ZV-E10 II
• FX30
• QX1
• Hasselblad lunar

All Sony E lenses for APS-C

Fix Lenses:

1. Sony 11 mm f/1.8 (announcement) [2022, black, BHphotovideo]
2. Sony 15 mm f / 1.4 G (announcement) [2022, black, BHphotovideo]
3. Sony 16 mm f/2.8 (overview) [2010, silver, BHphotovideo]
4. Sony 20 mm f/2.8 (announcement) [2013, silver, BHphotovideo]
5. Sony 24 mm f / 1.8 ZEISS ZA (overview) [2011, black, BHphotovideo]
6. Sony 30 mm f / 3.5 MACRO (overview) [2011, silver, BHphotovideo]
7. Sony 35 mm f / 1.8 Health Care (announcement) [2012, black, BHphotovideo]
8. Sony 50 mm f / 1.8 Health Care (announcement) [2011, black/silver, BHphotovideo]

Zoom Lenses:

1. Sony 10-18mm f / 4 Health Care (announcement) [2012, black, BHphotovideo]
2. Sony 10-20mm f / 4 G PZ (announcement) [2022, black, BHphotovideo]
3. Sony 16-50mm f / 3.5-5.6 PZ Health Care (overview) [2012, black/silver, BHphotovideo]
4. Sony 16-50mm f / 3.5-5.6 PZ OSS II (announcement) [2024, black/silver, BHphotovideo]
5. Sony 16-55mm f / 2.8 G (overview) [2019, black, BHphotovideo]
6. Sony 16-70mm f / 4 Health Care ZEISS ZA (overview) [2013, black, BHphotovideo]
7. Sony 18-50mm f/4-5.6 (overview) [2014, black]
8. Sony 18-55mm f / 3.5-5.6 Health Care (overview) [2010, black/silver, BHphotovideo]
9. Sony 18-105mm f / 4 G PZ Health Care (overview) [2013, black, BHphotovideo]
10. Sony 18-110mm f / 4 G PZ Health Care (announcement) [2016, black, BHphotovideo]
    
11. Sony 18-135mm f / 3.5-5.6 Health Care (overview) [2018, black, BHphotovideo]
12. Sony 18-200mm f / 3.5-6.3 Health Care (overview) [2010, silver, BHphotovideo]
13. Sony 18-200mm f / 3.5-6.3 Health Care LE (overview) [2012, black, BHphotovideo]
14. Sony 18-200mm f / 3.5-6.3 PZ Health Care (announcement) [2012, black, BHphotovideo]
    
15. Sony 55-210mm f / 4.5-6.3 OSS (announcement) [2011, black/silver, BHphotovideo]
16. Sony 70-350mm f/4.5–6.3 G OSS (announcement) [2019, black, BHphotovideo]

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

• Sigma: 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
• felttrox: Viltrox 13 / 1.4 | Viltrox 23 / 1.4 | felttrox 27/1.2 | Viltrox 33 / 1.4 | Viltrox 35 / 1.7 | Viltrox 56 / 1.7 | Viltrox 56 / 1.4 | felttrox 75/1.2
• Tamron: 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
• tokina: Tokina 23 / 1.4 | Tokina 33 / 1.4 | Tokina 56 / 1.4 | Tokina 11-18 / 2.8
• Zeiss: Zeiss Touit Distagon 12/2.8 | Zeiss Touit Planar 32/1.8 | Zeiss Touit Makro Planar 50/2.8M
• Hasselblad: 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
• yongnuo: Yongnuo 11 / 1.8 | Yongnuo 16 / 1.8 | Yongnuo 23 / 1.4 | Yongnuo 33 / 1.4 | Yongnuo 50 / 1.8 | Yongnuo 50 / 1.8 II | Yongnuo 56 / 1.4
• TTArtisan: TTArtisan 27 / 2.8 | TTArtisan 35 / 1.8 | TTArtisan 35/1.8 II | TTArtisan 56 / 1.8
• SIRUI: Sirui 16/1.2, Sirui 23/1.2, Sirui 33/1.2, Sirui 56/1.2, Sirui 75/1.2
• Brightin star: Brightin Star 50 / 1.4
• Meike: Meike 33 / 1.4 | Meike 55 / 1.4
• 7Artisans: 7Artisans 27 / 2.8
• Samyang: Samyang 12 / 2
• Ulanz: 27/2.8
• Jintu: 27/2.8

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

Price

Fujian 35/1.6 costs around $20. The easiest way buy Fujian 35/1.6 at Aliexpress.comFor example, here at this link.

Results

Fujian 35 / 1.6 - a tiny lens. Very cheap. The quality of the image is not impressive, but at the same time it makes it possible to touch the work with a fast aperture.

10 main advantages

1. very low price tag (only approx. 20 dollars)
2. maximum aperture F/1.6
3. convenient focal length for working on cameras with an APS-C sensor (EGF about 50 mm)
4. good build quality: the lens body is completely made of metal, including a metal mount
5. very compact dimensions, filter diameter of only 37 mm
6. twelve aperture blades
7. smooth aperture adjustment
8. there is a focus distance scale
9. there is a macro ring in the delivery set
10. quite tolerable sharpness in the center of the frame starting from f / 1.6

10 main disadvantages

1. in fact, this is a NO-NAME lens (lens without a name), which does not inspire any confidence
2. the focus ring rotates only 60 degrees, the ring pitch is poorly stretched in the range from 2 meters to infinity
3. no CPU pins to form the correct EXIF
4. there is no back cover for the selected adapter
5. there is no F / 11 value on the aperture control ring. The distance scale is marked only in meters.
6. a threaded (not bayonet) hood must be used, a hood is not included in the package (although sometimes a hood is still part of the package, for example, here)
7. there is no lens profile for popular RAW converters, the lens is not 'hardwired' into modern cameras
8. strong glare in the backlight, a strong drop in contrast in the side light
9. critical drop in sharpness at f / 1.6 at the edges and corners of the image (on APS-C)
10. large curvature of the field

This is the first full review on Radozhiv since the start of the war. After creating a Fujian 35 / 1.6 review, the lens was sold, the proceeds went to humanitarian aid to victims of the war. You are welcome, support Radozhiva.

Comments on this post do not require registration. Anyone can leave a comment.

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval.