Some photographers are 100% in tune with their surroundings, and they’re the ones using the best manual focus lenses available.
There are photographers who just never understand how to use manual focus lenses, and photographers who know that using them requires you to be in tune with your environment. Think about the way Leica M shooters think and about how they’re able to predict something before it happens. Being in tune with his surroundings is how Robert Capa was able to capture some of his best images. Indeed, the best manual focus photographer can be quicker than one using autofocus. Manual focus lenses are not only great for photojournalism, they’re also for moments where slow photography allows you to make genuinely better photos. So, we went into our Reviews Index to round up some of our favorites.
IRIX 150mm F2.8 Macro
Pros
- 11 aperture blades for super creamy bokeh
- Weather sealing
- Great for portraits
- Fantastic for actual macro
- When using the Canon EOS R, the system recognizes the AF/AE contacts and aids with focus peaking using the rangefinder system
- Very sharp
- It’s really affordable
Cons
- I wish they made this for mirrorless cameras
Buy Now $595 (Adorama)
Leica 28mm F1.4 Summilux
Pros
- Solid build quality; it’s heavier than my M4-P and about the same weight as the Leica M10 I tested it on.
- Sharp optics
- Beautiful bokeh
- The gorgeous look only Leica lenses tend to render
- Incredibly simple to use the zone focusing scale
Cons
- Leica M lenses like this don’t have weather sealing
- The sound of your wallet crying at the over $6,000 price point
Buy Now $6,595 (Adorama)
Zeiss 35mm F1.4 Milvus
Pros
- Fantastic image quality
- Such low distortion that it surely can be used for portraits
- Great skin tone rendition helps this lens work for loads of different skin types and tones
- Sharp
- Zeiss micro-contrast will have everyone in shock at how beautiful the images are
- Precise focusing
- Weather sealing
- Solid build quality
- My personal favorite focal length and aperture
Cons
- I really wish they made this lens for Sony FE cameras or Fujifilm GF format cameras
- Heavy and big
Buy Now $1,999 (Adorama)
Rokinon 85mm F1.2 SP
Pros
- Nice bokeh
- This pretty unique matte like-color rendition I wish lots of other manufacturers engineered into their lenses
- Sharp image quality
- Tough build quality, but no weather sealing
- F1.2 aperture, which is still tough to work with
Cons
- No autofocus, which I think for a lens like this would put it over the top
- I wish it had weather sealing
Buy Now $799 (Adorama)
Voigtlander 17.5mm F0.95
“I have fallen head over heels and absolutely in love with this lens.”
Buy Now $899 (Adorama)
Lensbaby Velvet 85mm F1.8
Pros
- Fantastic build quality
- Super smooth focusing
- Clicked apertures
- 12 aperture blades
- Lightweight
- When stopped down this lens becomes super sharp
- Muted colors to help counter the tons of saturation Sony tends to output
Cons
- Wish it were just a bit sharper wide open
- I personally wanted more lens flare
Buy Now $459 (Adorama)