Of any of the big three camera brands, I feel like Nikon and Canon truly do understand when photographers don’t want the sharpest lenses on the market. Sony still has some way to go. But this is also why the third party manufacturers have risen up so much. New brands, like Artra Lab, make beautiful pieces like their 50mm f1.1 and 35mm f1.4 80’s edition. I could use the word “beautiful” over and over again while still not feeling like I did it justice. So, instead, I’ll say this: The Artra Lab 50mm f1.2 is a pearl in the sea that everyone can go for, and that will teach humanity to slow down and savor the moments. That’s to say that even a legally blind guy love this lens.
A few editor’s notes before I go on:
- Artra Lab has sent us lenses in the past to keep. We keep them or typically donate them to students. But this doesn’t influence how our review comes out; and in our 15 years, it never has.
- I’m currently writing this article and reviewing this lens while recovering from two major eye surgeries. I will eventually be able to see 20/20 again with contact lenses. But as the legally blind Editor in Chief of an online photo magazine, I can tell you that this lens has something special
- We’re not writing this like our normal camera and lens reviews because I don’t think that it warrants such order and regimen. Instead, a lens like this deserves to be set free of any restraints. To that end, the review that we’re doing here also does.
- Google likes to say that articles should look a specific way. Articles like this are done in protest to those algorithms. One company shouldn’t be dictating what journalism is.
Is This Love?
Admittedly, as I’m writing this review, I haven’t touched it or used it for a prolonged period for maybe a few weeks. But it’s still occasionally on my mind like a past situationship. Additionally, I’m writing it while listening to Sabrina Carpenter’s Nonsense. There are a few poetic and wonderful lines in this song:
- Baby, my tongue goes numb, sounds like blah, blah, blee
- I don’t want no one else
- Lookin’ at you got me thinkin’ nonsense
- I’m talkin’ wild wild thoughts
And I feel all of these as I’ve used the Artra Lab 50mm f1.2 lens.
It took me years of therapy, deep meditation, and a more holistic connection to myself to realize that I can feel this way about lenses at times. That’s rare in today’s world because brands try to make lenses to handle a ton of different things. They’re indeed making jacks of all trades instead of the things that we can truly call masters of a domain.
Holding this lens in my hand is a romantic experience. Turning the aperture ring feels like I’m holding a friend’s hand and inspecting the diamond piece on their left ring finger. Placing my thumb and index finger on the metal focusing ring transports me back to a time when I never felt as scarred by what the photography world has become. As I write this sentence, it’s synonymous with the first time that I picked up a Yashica Electro 35 GSN. That camera was stunning. And when I first reviewed it, I had no idea that the little $35 camera I bought off Craigslist would’ve made the internet charge so much money for it now.
Yes, a lens acts like a time machine. Of course, I can’t go back and speak kindly to past Chris and prepare him for the different ways that the photo industry grabs him by the happiness, the gaslighting from camera brand reps, the bullets that he’d take for his staff, or looking around and realizing that he’s eventually going to be one of the last survivors in the photo industry as a great publisher. No, it doesn’t do any of that. But for just a moment, it gave me the sensory experience that I was missing, like a partner or friend who was taken away from me at a time that felt way too early in life.
Am I in love? No. But when I pick this lens up and attach it to the right Nikon Zf camera, it feels almost as nice as when ladies buy me flowers.
Oh, and it’s also not weather-resistant.
Artra Lab 50mm f1.2 Image Quality
This is going to sound odd to most people who have 20/20 vision. But the Artra Lab 50mm f1.2 lens has image quality that mimics a lot of how I see the world. I have keratoconus, and it looks so similar. Most of society says that I have a malady of some sort because of my blindness. But artistically speaking, I’ve learned that it’s a gift. That’s to say that the Artra Lab 50mm f1.2 will take your high-megapixel camera and smear the details, so to speak. So you’ll still get details and nice color — but nothing like the super clear and crisp images that come from other lenses. And times, that’s so much better. People look better with this lens. General things look nice with this lens. As you manually focus it, you’ll see the bokeh and subject matter dance with one another in the banquet hall of the scene you’re shooting.
That’s really all that I have to say here. The colors are things that I got right in-camera from the start and otherwise, I’d probably just apply a preset to the images and let them live their most glorious life. Of course, Nikon doesn’t let you embrace this look anywhere as well as Canon, Panasonic, or Leica do. But that doesn’t mean that the image quality isn’t stunning at all.
The Phoblographer has been huge on transparency with our audience since day one. Nothing from this review is sponsored. Further, many folks will post reviews and show lots of editing in the photos. The problem then becomes that anyone and everyone can do the same thing. They’re not showing what the lens can do. So, we have a section in our Extra Image Samples area to show edited and unedited photos. From this, you can decide for yourself.
Edited
Unedited
Artra Lab 50mm f1.2 Review Conclusions
The Artra Lab 50mm f1.2 is a stunning optic that will keep putting smiles on your face. It’s a holistic experience that starts with when you pick it up and start manipulating the rings to get the image you want. You’re going to love the bokeh that it can deliver and when you apply your favorite edits, we think that this lens will become something that you bring out when you really want to deliver a special look.
The Artra Lab 50mm f1.2 receives 5 out of 5 stars. Want one? Visit their website for more information.