Meike 35mm f/1.8 Pro: A Budget-Friendly Prime Lens for Sony E, Nikon Z, and L-Mount Cameras
New addition to Meike's high-end Pro Series: a 35mm prime lens capable of full-frame photography, compatible with Nikon, Sony, and L-Mount cameras, offers an f/1.8 aperture.
The Meike 35mm f/1.8 Pro is a new addition to the market, offering a manual focus prime lens for Sony E-mount, Nikon Z-mount, and L-mount photographers seeking an affordable, fast aperture lens with respectable optical quality for portraits, street, and general photography.
This lens is part of Meike's flagship Pro Series, featuring the NanoDrive Precision Silent Drive System and STM stepping motor for quiet and rapid autofocus. It is constructed from 12 elements in 10 groups, including extra-low dispersion elements and aspherical elements to reduce aberrations. A multi-layered nano coating is used to reduce ghosting and flare.
The lens boasts minimal focus breathing for excellent video performance and has a minimum focusing distance of 0.35m. Its fast f/1.8 maximum aperture, controlled via a 9-bladed diaphragm, allows for versatile low-light shooting and creative depth-of-field control.
Third-Party Lenses for Each Mount
While the Meike 35mm f/1.8 Pro is a budget-friendly option, there are several top-rated third-party lenses for Sony E, Nikon Z, and L-Mount cameras. These include the Sigma Art Series, Tamron zooms, and the Panasonic Lumix S 100mm F2.8 Macro for L-Mount cameras.
For Sony E-mount, Sigma’s Art series and Tamron zooms offer superior autofocus, optical quality, and build, though at significantly higher prices. Nikon Z users have growing third-party options, with the recent release of Tamron lenses officially supported offering autofocus and firmware update capability.
For L-Mount, the Panasonic Lumix S 100mm F2.8 Macro stands out for macro and portrait work, combining excellent optics with a lightweight design and good autofocus.
Balancing Price and Features
The Meike 35mm f/1.8 Pro serves the budget niche well, providing good optical performance at a lower price point. However, it lacks the autofocus and top-tier image quality of lenses from Sigma, Tamron, and Panasonic for these mounts.
If you're a cost-conscious photographer willing to shoot manual focus, the Meike 35mm f/1.8 Pro is a solid option. On the other hand, if you're looking for a lens with advanced autofocus and better image quality, third-party offerings by Tamron, Sigma, and Panasonic are preferable.
Manufacturing Location and Its Impact
The Meike 35mm f/1.8 Pro, like many camera lenses, is manufactured in China. However, the debate surrounding the manufacturing location of camera gear and its impact on quality and performance is a complex one, with opinions divided among photographers.
Mike Harris, a photography expert with a background in photography, Adobe Photoshop, and studio and darkroom work, has written extensively on this topic for various publications, including Digital Camera, PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, Practical Photography, Digital Photographer, iMore, and TechRadar. In his upcoming review for the Meike 35mm f/1.8 Pro, he delves into the performance, features, and price of this budget-friendly lens and discusses its potential appeal to APS-C photographers. Stay tuned for his insights on this intriguing new release.
- The Meike 35mm f/1.8 Pro lens, with its manual focus and fast aperture, is suitable for portraits, street photography, and general photography.
- The lens's NanoDrive Precision Silent Drive System ensures quiet and rapid autofocus.
- Construction of the lens includes extra-low dispersion elements and aspherical elements to minimize aberrations.
- A multi-layered nano coating is used to decrease ghosting and flare.
- The lens offers minimal focus breathing, making it suitable for video performance.
- The third-party lens options for Sony E, Nikon Z, and L-Mount cameras include Sigma Art Series, Tamron zooms, and Panasonic Lumix S 100mm F2.8 Macro for L-Mount cameras.
- Sigma’s Art series and Tamron zooms for Sony E-mount have superior autofocus, optical quality, and build, though at higher price points.
- Nikon Z users have growing third-party options with Tamron lenses now available, offering autofocus and firmware update capability.
- The Panasonic Lumix S 100mm F2.8 Macro for L-Mount stands out for macro and portrait work, combining excellent optics with a lightweight design and good autofocus.
- Mike Harris, a photography expert, will review the performance, features, and price of the Meike 35mm f/1.8 Pro and discuss its potential appeal to APS-C photographers in his upcoming review.
