Neewer 32mm f1.6 - lens review

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 My first fast prime was the Fujian 35mm f1.7, a lens made for security cameras with a quite unique look, and today we are trying out another small and cheap lens but, this time, specifically made for APS-C cameras.

Neewer 32mm f1.6

 The lens comes in a nice and padded black box that contains the lens itself, obviously, a pouch, a microfiber cloth and some documentation.

 The body is made of metal and only weights 165 grams; it is 59mm long when fully extended with a 49mm front thread. It has 6 optical elements ins 4 groups.

 The iris has 12 blades, the aperture is stepless and very smooth, with an nice resistance so you won’t accidentally move it, and it goes from f1.6 to f22.

 The focusing ring turns 180° and minimum focusing distance is 25 centimeters.

 Not needing and adapter is a nice change of pace for me, and the combination of this small and lightweight lens and my Sony APS-C camera bodies makes for a really compact and nimble setup.

 There are two reasons that drew me to this lens: it costs less than 50 euros and it is basically build like a vintage lens, so it got me curious. To be honest, though, I wasn’t expecting much. I was wrong.

 Sharpness is very good even wide open, but it does fall off towards the edges. Even stopping down the corners still get blurry. Background blur is soft and creamy and, thanks to the 12 blades in the iris, boke balls are round all the way through the aperture. Chromatic aberration is very well controlled and hardly ever noticeable; same goes for flaring, even shooting straight towards the sun without sun hood.

 I thought this les was going to be mediocre at best, but it turns out it… good. Sure, it’s not great, but the performance id way above the price tag. I guess that they managed to get better optics by leaving out the focusing and aperture motors, which to me sounds like a good deal.

 So, if you are looking for a good, affordable fast prime with some of that vintage feel, you might want to consider this lens.

 Now, if you got all the way to the end of this post, here’s a little gift for you: 15% off of Neewer products on their site with the code “MARCOARIES”. (affiliate link)

 As always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments and don’t forget to check the full video for all the samples.



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