Thypoch recently released the Simera 28mm f/1.4 lens for Sony E-mount. Let’s see if it’s worth buying.
To start, I’m fairly new to the world of manual focus lenses, but after learning more about how to add Sony a7C R With my bag as an everyday carry type of camera, having a lens that has more nuance in its handling has been interesting to me. And since my camera has a bit of a more vintage feel to it’s tone, the aesthetic of a vintage style manual lens like Thypoch Simera 28mm f/1.4 Lens also no harm done.
Right from the start, when I received this lens in the mail, I was surprised by its build. It has a bit of a heft to it with its all-metal design. Add to that the metal lens hood and metal front and rear caps, and it’s not my lightest lens choice. However, my Sony a7C R still feels very balanced, and even with its hefty weight, the camera isn’t front-heavy at all, and can even sit properly on a table without tipping forward like some of my other lenses. This means that when you hold it in your hand, you won’t have to deal with an uncomfortable twist in your wrist when using it for long periods of time, which is exactly what you want in an everyday carry camera.
When it comes to accessories, I was pleased to see that Thypoch didn’t skimp on what they included. Not only do you get a full metal front and rear cap, but you also get a full metal lens hood as well as a secondary metal lens hood designed to be used with the lens. So if you find that you want to always use the lens hood, you can still use the square lens hood without having to constantly remove and install the lens hood. Likewise, if you never want to use the lens hood, you still get a traditional round lens hood to use with the lens hood.
This attention to detail is also evident in the overall design of the lens. One thing I like is that instead of a traditional hyperfocal scale, there are small circular windows that represent the scale. When you select f/1.4, only the first of these windows is red. As you adjust the aperture and increase the scale, more of these windows are red. This visual representation is a cool little design element that I haven’t seen in a lens before.
From there, I also really like the way they implemented the aperture click switch. Instead of having a bulky on-off switch like most lenses, this switch is built into the aperture ring in a way that if you don’t know it’s there, you might miss its presence altogether. But this minimalist design element is still very easy to use, and despite it being on the aperture ring, I never accidentally pressed the switch or had it suddenly change.
Aside from the aperture ring, the only other moving part of this lens is the focus ring. Since this is a fully manual focus lens, this ring is arguably one of the more important features. Thankfully, in my opinion, the ring is perfectly damped. It’s not too tight and not too loose. The focus lever is also well positioned and the curvature of the ring is almost perfect. I was able to easily move from closest focus to infinity without moving my hand much. It was only when focusing to infinity that I had to stretch my hand a bit to turn it all the way around. However, if you have smaller hands, you may not be able to move from closest focus to infinity in one clean motion when using the focus lever. However, focusing the lens in a more traditional way is still easy, although a bit difficult because the thumb lever is not removable. But I personally prefer the thumb lever and like the design and overall usability of it.
Aside from build and handling, I don’t really like to spend much time delving into optical performance. But I realize that this is an important factor for some people. Especially if you’re looking for a lens that can be used wide open while still maintaining sharpness all the way around. If that’s you, then this lens probably isn’t for you. When set to f/1.4, the lens is quite soft in the corners and has quite a bit of vignetting. Vignetting is pretty well controlled when you stop down to f/2, and corner sharpness is good for me at around f/5.6. As for distortion, again, I don’t really care about it unless it’s really bad. The results I saw were fine for me and what I shoot. But you can check out the sample images here and make up your own mind on that. But even so, I feel that at the lens position, the distortion is small enough to be easily handled in post-production.
Before I end this review, I would be remiss if I didn’t state the obvious. This lens is easily compared to something like the Leica 28mm Summilux in terms of classic styling, focal length, and minimum aperture. But this lens is only 10% the price of a comparable Leica lens. And while I can’t speak for the Leica’s build and optical quality, I find it hard to believe, given how good the Thypoch lens is, that the Leica is worth spending more than $7,000. Plus, this lens is available in both Leica M and Sony E mounts, opening the door to a much wider range of photographers. And with that price gap, you might be tempted to use the word cheap when describing this lens. But given the build quality and excellent performance, this lens is not cheap. Instead, if you’re interested in a manual focus lens at this focal length, Thypoch Simera 28mm f1.4 lens This lens is a steal. My only wish is that the Sony version of this lens also comes in silver (like the M mount version) instead of just black.
