Bluetti Handsfree 2 Portable Power Backpack Review
Dustin Abbott
December 9th, 2024
Portable power stations are all about getting power off grid. But the Bluetti Handsfree 2 takes it to the next level by incorporating a 512Wh battery pack with a 700W inverter into a 60L backpack. You can have both AC and DC power in abundance right on your back. But, of course, big batteries aren’t light, so you’ll be starting with 16.5lbs (7.5kg) on your back before you store anything else in there. Does this whole concept make sense? Find out in my video review below or by reading my review notes in this article here.
There’s no question that this is an intriguing concept on paper, but does it hold up in actual use?
Power Station Specs
Current price = $399 USD
REMOVABLE Power station
512Wh battery storage | Lithium Iron Phosphate)
rated for 4000 charge cycles to 80% (More than ten years of daily full recharge cycles)
700W inverter with 1200W lifting power (lasts for quite a while)
Has Bluetti powerlift technology for running certain higher draw items
AC Charge up to 600W (45 minutes to 80% or 1.3 hours to 100%)
Can charge via car input (12v 5.8 hours or 3.1 hours at 24V)
Can charge via solar up to 350W via XT60 in 2 hours
No IP Rating, but rain hood in backpack.
About 16.5 lbs / 7.5kg |
305 (L) x 105 (W) x 385mm (D)
Screen is small, but clear and bright
5 year warranty
Bluetooth app control
UPS mode and power passthrough
Includes backpack, power station, AC and solar charging cables
Can get a combo with portable solar panel that can attach to the backpack.
Ports
5 total ports
AC x 1 (700W)
USB-C x 2 (100W)
USB-A x 2 (15W)
Backpack Specs and Features
60L (backpack itself weighs just 5 pounds)
Well designed zips for access to power station (hold out of the way)
Some rubberized protection
Backpack designed for up to 30kg load (22.5kg – 50 pounds)
Essentially four layers – rear section where the power station goes + more storage
Photography and laptop section
Free section for other clothing or gear
Outer pockets and attachment points.
Built in waist pouch
Splash-resistant fabric, waterproof zippers, plus rain cover.
Tests
Demonstrate power lift with kettle (tea, coffee, oatmeal)
Good charge rates
Can charge photography gear or other tech on the move
Could run things like my blender for a smoothie because it can run at peak output for nearly 45 seconds.
Things I Like
Not light, but easiest way to carry power to a campsite
Well executed backpack
A lot of storage
Useful amount of inverter power
Powerlift technology extends usefulness
Good charging speeds
Things I Don’t Like
Current battery technology = heavy
Photography section is fairly shallow
Conclusion
The Bluetti Handsfree 2 backpack power station is a great idea to take portable power to the next level. I suspect that future technology will probably make this first generation seem clumsy and bigger than necessary, but it’s still pretty cool in the present tense. This only makes sense, however, if you really need this specific case use. Do you need to use a backpack to get to an inaccessible destination? If not, a more conventional power station probably makes more sense.
Keywords: Bluetti, Bluetti Review, Bluetti Handsfree 2, Hands Free, Handsfree, Review, 60L, 700W, 512Wh, Jackery Explorer, UPS, Bluetooth, Solar, Demonstration, Test, Photography, Solar Power, Portable, Camping, Hiking, Video Lights, Back up Power, Coupon Code, Discount, Coupon
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Just a few years ago, I had never reviewed a Sirui lens. I had reviewed a few tripods from the company, but I didn’t think of them as a lensmaker. They then approached me about covering a few of their cine lenses, and while that isn’t my forte, I agreed to do so out of some interest in the unique materials they were using in their lens design (carbon fiber, in this case). Since that point I’ve reviewed about a dozen lenses from them, including cine lenses, their Nightwalker series, an anamorphic lens, and all five lenses in their Sniper autofocus series. But I’ve never been more excited to do a Sirui review than the one I’m doing today, for a number of reasons. First of all, this is their first full frame autofocus lens, and I would presume that the Aurora 85mm F1.4 is the first in a new series of Aurora lenses. Secondly, while Sirui has always utilized some really cool materials in their designs (they know how to make a unique lens!), the Aurora series if the first time they’ve really kicked up the feature set, with the Aurora 85mm sporting a set of features that would compete with Sigma or even a first party lens. Thirdly, they’ve managed to make a full frame 85mm F1.4 lens that is smaller and lighter than what anyone else has done. Finally, I was a bit slow getting my review copy, so a few reviews are already out, and I found that I really, really liked the look of the rendering from the lens. Add to that the fact that Sirui is discounting the already inexpensive price of $600 down to $500 for the holidays…and throwing in a few bonus filters, and they’ve definitely got my attention. Did they pull off the value 85mm on Sony, Nikon, and Fuji? You can find out my full thoughts by watching the video review, reading the text review, or just enjoying the photos below.
Thanks to Sirui for sending me a review sample of this lens. As always, this is a completely independent review. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with my Sony a7RV or Sony Alpha 1 cameras.
One other area that I was interested in was being able to evaluate Sirui’s autofocus on a platform other than Fuji, which is where I’ve reviewed the Sniper series. Fuji’s autofocus is quite a bit behind that of other major brands like Sony, Canon, or Nikon, so I feel like my impression of Sirui’s autofocus has been held back a bit by the limitations of the camera. I’m doing this review on Sony, where no such limitations exist, and it will give me a more accurate view of the “state of play” with Sirui’s autofocus.
I’ll give Sirui high marks for presentation. There’s a clever little tab made of material that allows the box to be easily opened, and inside they packed the lens in a zippered and padded nylon case (like Sigma’s lenses), which actually adds real protection value, unlike, say, a Canon L series drawstring pouch. The lens is shrinkwrapped inside to help it to be perfectly sealed during shipment. I’m not a big “unboxing” kind of reviewer, but I was impressed as I unboxed the Aurora 85mm.
It’s great to see another 85mm F1.4 option on the market, particularly one that does have a number of nice strengths. It’s probably not going to dethrone my Sigma 85mm F1.4 DN for me personally, but I’ll also note that it costs half as much.
This is a very nice full frame portrait lens for $500. Check out the photos to see if it checks the boxes for you.
Keywords: Sirui, Aurora, 85mm, F1.4, Sirui Aurora Review, Sirui 85mm Review, Aurora 85mm F1.4 Review, f/1.4, Review, Sony alpha 1, Sony a7RV, Wireless, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, let the light in, weathersealing, #letthelightin, DA
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Just a few years ago, I had never reviewed a Sirui lens. I had reviewed a few tripods from the company, but I didn’t think of them as a lensmaker. They then approached me about covering a few of their cine lenses, and while that isn’t my forte, I agreed to do so out of some interest in the unique materials they were using in their lens design (carbon fiber, in this case). Since that point I’ve reviewed about a dozen lenses from them, including cine lenses, their Nightwalker series, an anamorphic lens, and all five lenses in their Sniper autofocus series. But I’ve never been more excited to do a Sirui review than the one I’m doing today, for a number of reasons. First of all, this is their first full frame autofocus lens, and I would presume that the Aurora 85mm F1.4 is the first in a new series of Aurora lenses. Secondly, while Sirui has always utilized some really cool materials in their designs (they know how to make a unique lens!), the Aurora series if the first time they’ve really kicked up the feature set, with the Aurora 85mm sporting a set of features that would compete with Sigma or even a first party lens. Thirdly, they’ve managed to make a full frame 85mm F1.4 lens that is smaller and lighter than what anyone else has done. Finally, I was a bit slow getting my review copy, so a few reviews are already out, and I found that I really, really liked the look of the rendering from the lens. Add to that the fact that Sirui is discounting the already inexpensive price of $600 down to $500 for the holidays…and throwing in a few bonus filters, and they’ve definitely got my attention. Did they pull off the value 85mm on Sony, Nikon, and Fuji? You can find out my full thoughts by watching the video review below…or reading on.
Thanks to Sirui for sending me a review sample of this lens. As always, this is a completely independent review. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with my Sony a7RV or Sony Alpha 1 cameras.
One other area that I was interested in was being able to evaluate Sirui’s autofocus on a platform other than Fuji, which is where I’ve reviewed the Sniper series. Fuji’s autofocus is quite a bit behind that of other major brands like Sony, Canon, or Nikon, so I feel like my impression of Sirui’s autofocus has been held back a bit by the limitations of the camera. I’m doing this review on Sony, where no such limitations exist, and it will give me a more accurate view of the “state of play” with Sirui’s autofocus.
I’ll give Sirui high marks for presentation. There’s a clever little tab made of material that allows the box to be easily opened, and inside they packed the lens in a zippered and padded nylon case (like Sigma’s lenses), which actually adds real protection value, unlike, say, a Canon L series drawstring pouch. The lens is shrinkwrapped inside to help it to be perfectly sealed during shipment. I’m not a big “unboxing” kind of reviewer, but I was impressed as I unboxed the Aurora 85mm.
It’s great to see another 85mm F1.4 option on the market, particularly one that does have a number of nice strengths. It’s probably not going to dethrone my Simga 85mm F1.4 DN for me personally, but I’ll also note that it costs half as much.
This is a very nice full frame portrait lens for $500…so let’s dive in and get the details.
Aurora 85mm Build and Handling
As noted in the intro, the Aurora series is a step up for Sirui in build quality and feature set. In some ways, however, the design language of the Aurora series is more stereotypical than their typical recent designs. Thus far the only color scheme seems to be black, so no white or silver. The overall appearance is nicely clean though with bolder fonts and bigger writing than most lenses. They want you to understand that this is a full frame lens, for example. How do I know that? Because they wrote it right on the barrel.
The fonts on the side, too, are quite bold. This is like the “large print” edition of lenses.
The Sirui badge on the right side of the barrel is probably the most subtle thing here.
The front face is more clean and simple. I always like when there is lens information on the front of a lens.
The lens itself is definitely on the small side for an 85mm F1.4. Not as small as the Sony FE 85mm F1.8, but definitely smaller and lighter than any of the F1.4 options save the Samyang Series II (which I reviewed here). The lens is 80.3 (3.2″) in diameter x 102 mm (4″) in length. It manages to get by with a 67mm front filter thread compared to the 77mm of the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DN or the 72mm of the Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 II. It weighs 540g (1.4lb), which is slightly more than the 509g of the Samyang but less than the 625g of the Sigma. You can see that while the two lenses are similar in length, the Sigma lens is definitely wider in diameter.
The included lens hood (pictured above) is fairly plain. It is a cheaper feeling plastic (relative to the more robust aluminum alloy housing of the lens) that is distinguished mostly by a ribbed grip ring. It bayonets on a little tighter (the tolerances could be a little better here) but at least won’t be jarred free.
This is a fairly feature rich lens. It has a robust approach to aperture control, including a manual aperture ring that can be controlled with clicks (at one third stop detents) or clickless by changing the position of the switch on the right side of the lens.
You also have the option of switching into A (automatic) mode if you prefer to control aperture from within the camera. This isn’t an iris lock, but there is a nice long detent in between F16 and A mode that should keep you from accidentally straying in either direction.
The aperture iris itself is beautiful, with 15 rounded blades, which is well more than any of the competitors.
On the left side of the barrel there is a Function button that can be programmed to a wide range of functions from within the camera along with an AF | MF switch.
The manual focus ring has a nice feel to it overall. The damping is good, and focus smooths well without any apparent lag between input on the ring and the actual focus action. The active focus area will be automatically magnified if you have that setting enabled.
At the rear of the lens you’ll find a USB-C port that allows for quick and easy firmware updates.
You’ll also find a weathersealing gasket located there, and Sirui adds that there is a fluorine coating on the front element. There seems to be some other seals as well. Sirui actually used the word “waterproof” in their marketing, but I’m not aware of any lens actually being waterproof. Weathersealed is probably a better term, meaning that you can use it when it is raining, but don’t drop it in a pool or the ocean and expect all to be well!
Right now Sirui is including two filters as a bonus. One is UV protection filter, which I personally don’t use but some photographers swear by.
The second is more interesting to me, as it is a “Black Mist” filter. This gives you a little more of a glow to an image, a slightly more dreamy look that can be interesting in certain situations. Here’s a quick comparison of a scene with and without the filter. Note that it affects not only the subject but also the bokeh, too.
It’s a nice bonus on a portrait oriented lens, and we’ll come back to that in the image quality section.
The lens barrel is made of metal (aluminum alloy), and it has a nice, anodized black satin finish. Overall I would call it a nice looking lens even if I do find the badging/writing a little overwrought.
85mm lenses are rarely known for great levels of magnification, and that’s true here. Minimum focus distance is 85cm, which is pretty much dead on with what the Sigma and Samyang allow. That will give maximum magnification figure of right at 0.12x, which is obviously very average.
While the Sirui Aurora 85mm F1.4 isn’t precisely the smallest and lightest 85mm F1.4 lens out there, it is very close, and unlike the Samyang, it gives you a metal body and more features, which feels like a nice tradeoff for the additional 31g of weight. Overall I’m happy about what we have here. I love to see when companies “level up” in their lens design.
Stills Autofocus
Sirui has equipped the Aurora 85mm with an STM or stepping motor. While I consider STM motors to be the lower tier of modern mirrorless AF motors (with Linear and Voice Coil motors in an upper tier), the truth of the matter is that there’s a pretty broad range of performance with STM motors. The Sigma 85mm F1.4 DN also has an STM motor, for example, and it costs twice as much. Obviously the Sirui won’t be able to compete with the Sony 85mm F1.4 GM II, which has incredibly fast autofocus thanks to having two XD Linear motors, and those are the largest of their kind that Sony has made to this point. If your plans for an 85mm prime include capturing sports action, you’ll probably want to stick with something like the Sony or, if you’re shooting Nikon, perhaps consider the Z 85mm F1.8 S instead. But for most people in most situations, the autofocus performance on the Aurora 85mm is going to work just fine.
You can see from the shots above that the lens delivered nicely accurate results on either my Sony a7RV or my Alpha 1, with good precision on any kind of trackable subject even if the subject (like Ferrari here) was in profile.
Focus is very accurate on the eye itself, not anything else.
There is almost no noise to be heard even if I put my ear next to the lens barrel. There is the slightest buzz from the motor, but so quiet as to be nearly undetectable. Focus speed is good in most situations, too, though I did notice a little lag when going from a very close to a very distant subject. I would say that in most ordinary situations focus speed will be sufficient. It’s nowhere near as fast as the Sony 85mm F1.4 GM II, but probably only a hair slower than the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DN.
I used the Aurora 85mm to record a birthday celebration for my assistant, Craig, and I got well focused results throughout.
I shot a series of portraits with the Aurora 85mm, and it proved very capable of accurate focus in that setting, whether I was shooting through branches:
Shooting at a closer distance:
…or shooting from further away.
Focus was also good for holiday type celebrations.
Focus for general purpose subjects was just good, delivering good accuracy with no drama.
As with most third party lenses, if your goal is tracking fast action, you might want to go with a first party lens, but for most people in most situations, autofocus for stills was pretty great.
Video AF
On the video front I found mostly good results. Focus pulls were smooth and quick with no visible steps. Focus breathing is fairly obvious, but not unusually so for an 85mm lens.
The Aurora 85mm did fine with my “hand test” as well, where I alternately block the view to my face with my hand and then remove it. Focus transitioned nicely from my hand to my face every time with no lag or misses.
Video footage generally looked good. The Aurora has a different look to the optical glass than competing lenses, including lower contrast and a different color signature. If you like it, you like it, but it isn’t quite like other full frame 85mm F1.4 lenses.
I also had fairly good results with video clips where I slowly moved the camera to force change from one subject to another at varying depths of field. Focus transitions were fairly well damped, and overall autofocus feels pretty capable.
Aurora 85mm F1.4 Image Quality Breakdown
The Aurora 85mm has an optical design of 14 elements in 9 groups, which includes some exotic elements like high refractive elements, extra low dispersion elements, and a aspherical element.
The MTF chart shows a fairly consistent performance across the frame with a dip right past midframe, a correction after than, and than a drop right in the very corners. The stopped down performance is almost flat on the sagittal plane, but the tangential plane shows a big dip, speaking to a bit less contrast.
My optical tests are on the 61MP a7RV, which is currently the most demanding resolution point for a full frame camera. I suspect that my testing results will be a little more punishing than a few of the reviews I’ve seen on lower resolution platforms, as you can see from the blue lines in the MTF chart above that the lens looks great on lower resolution points and a little weaker on higher resolution platforms.
There’s one other clue in the MTF chart that may help you to understand my results. Their MTF chargts were developed at 3.4 meters, which is a little over 11 feet. That’s a bit further than standard. The distance to my test chart, for example, would have been more like 2 meters. This is relevant because I really felt like this was a lens that is optimized for portrait distances. I felt like the lens was less impressive at close focus distances, like here at roughly minimum focus distance (F1.4):
…or at infinity/landscape distances (here at F2.8):
But put it in that sweet spot of 8-20 feet (2.5-5 meters) and it is very sharp even at F1.4:
You may have noticed the real strength of the lens in my first and third examples above. This lens has gorgeous rendering and bokeh. It isn’t the sharpest 85mm out there, but it compensates by having really gorgeous bokeh rendering. And, if you are shooting either in A) the optimized shooting distance or B) on a lower resolution camera, you will also get really great sharpness and contrast as well. This doesn’t surprise me, though, as I felt like this was also the relative strengths and weaknesses of the Sniper series as well.
The Aurora 85mm shows some light color fringing before and after the plane of focus (LoCA, or Longitudinal Chromatic Aberrations), though nothing excessive in my standard tests. You can see some fringing on my chart, but nothing too bad.
One of the key areas that I see fringing is in the imprinting on lenses and cameras, and this only Pentax combination of my Dad’s often will show major fringing if this is an area a lens struggles with. The Aurora 85mm does surprisingly good in this test even at F1.4.
I didn’t see any fringing around the bright specular highlights here (bokeh balls) either.
But this shot at distance was a different story. I see fringing around bare branches, around the geese on the water, and on a few other textures. It’s as if the colors are not quite properly focusing together, and the result is lost contrast and definition on the textures.
This style of fringing is called lateral chromatic aberrations (LaCA), and after what I saw in some real world shots, I was unsurprised to see it pretty strongly on my test chart as well.
Reducing the color fringing isn’t tough (the “Remove Chromatic Aberration” button on your favorite editing software should take care of that without problem), but what you won’t see restored is the lost detail in your images. That makes this a slightly underwhelming lens for landscapes. In many ways the Aurora 85mm F1.4 is the optical polar opposite of the recent Sony 85mm F1.4 GM II. That lens has some of the best microcontrast that I’ve ever seen, able to resolve amazing detail at both close and distance (some of my landscape images at F1.4 amazed me on that lens). But I was bit underwhelmed by the overall rendering and quality of the bokeh. The Aurora is the opposite. I’m completely underwhelmed by the fine detail rendering in many situations, but absolutely love the overall rendering of the bokeh from lens.
There’s a case to be made for both approaches, but if you’re making the case for the Aurora’s approach, it is that clients and viewers will rarely see the pixel peeping results, but they will always see the big picture rendering results.
The Aurora 85mm is a bit like the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DN in that there is a lot more pincushion distortion than expected. It’s as if both companies left some uncorrected distortion as a engineering trick to reduce the size of the lens. The Sirui isn’t as bad as the Sigma, however, as I used a -7 to correct the nicely linear pincushion distortion and only a +38 to correct the vignette (I needed to max out the vignette slider with the Sigma).
A bit of pincushion distortion can be flattering to portrait subjects, but this is probably excessive. You’ll want to correct at least some of it, though you can probably get away with not correcting the vignette.
Unfortunately the Aurora 85mm does not seem to be getting in-camera correction support. I pulled the JPEG file of the chart test above off my second card and it looked just like the RAW file.
So how about resolution and contrast? My tests have been done on a 61MP Sony a7RV, and crops are typically shown at 200% magnification. Here’s the test chart:
Here are F1.4 crops at roughly 200% from across the frame (center, mid-frame, and lower right corner).
I see mostly good detail across most of the frame (a bit of a drop in the corners, as predicted), but contrast is unexceptional. This is mirrors my findings in real world shots, too, though again the contrast results are better in the “sweet spot” of 2.5-5 meters (8-20 feet).
Stopping down even to F1.8 produces more contrast, particularly in the black levels.
You can see that in this real world example comparing F1.4 and F2 as well.
This is one of those lenses that offers you some choice in how you want things rendered. It’s a nice option at F1.4, as it is still sharp enough for portrait work, but still has a flattering quality to the rendering.
For portrait work I felt that there was plenty of sharpness. Even a fairly deep crop at F1.4 shows nice detail.
You can see that there is a very noticeable bump in sharpness and contrast at F2.8:
From 2.8 to F4 is an even bigger jump, and you can see that now even the corners look impressively sharp.
Peak performance in terms of consistency will be from F4 to F8, where sharpness is most consistent for landscape style work (even if that isn’t the lens’ greatest forte.)
Diffraction will start to soften the image after that, with a mild amount at F11 but a more obvious amount by F16:
But the absolute strength of this lens is in the overall rendering. Images just look really fantastic, with enough sharpness and contrast to be compelling, but it is all complimented by very soft, very creamy bokeh.
Geometry is pretty decent, with some geometric deformation near the edges of the frame, but overall the impression is of big, soft bokeh circles.
There is a bit of swirly busyness in those specular highlights, however, which is probably the biggest negative about the bokeh.
I found the backgrounds nice and creamy in a wide variety of situations, however.
This image has a lot in the transition zone, but it still looks pretty good.
Even the foreground bokeh is nice, which is really important for when you want to use out of focus elements to create natural frames for your subjects.
Flare resistance is mostly good. I had good results where the sun was very brightly right out of frame. You can’t really tell it from this image, but this scene was flooded with window light from a bright, directional sun.
This wide open F1.4 shot was shot into very bright sun around this tree, and while you can see some localized veiling at the epicenter of the sun, contrast has held up well in the image.
Stopping down to F11 reduced the veiling but adding just a little ghosting spot.
With the sun right out of frame and at a certain angle, you will get a glowing veil effect, which fortunately is extremely artistic. Here’s a freeze frame from a video clip:
I’ve added that exact effect to a LOT of images in post because I love the warm glow effect.
The Aurora 85mm is a pretty easy lens to get nice looking images with.
I’m also partial to the rendering from the Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 II, leaving us with two pretty great options. Looking back at my review results, I would argue that the Samyang is a hair sharper, but I think the Sirui has nicer bokeh. If you’d like to see more image samples, check out the image gallery here.
Conclusion
The Sirui Aurora 85mm F1.4 is an interesting step forward for Sirui, as it covers a lot of new territory. It moves into covering the full frame sensor, adds weather sealing, more features, and even ups the included accessories to include filters and a case. Doing all of this at the current price of $499 USD is impressive. And it seems like this lens is getting a lot of glowing reviews from those in the target audience – portrait photographers. The optics are optimized for portrait zones, and the gorgeous rendering/bokeh helps make images really look great. There are sharper options if you are just looking for pure sharpness for landscapes or general purpose, but if your priority is the look of images and having great bokeh, then the Aurora 85mm checks a lot of boxes.
It doesn’t hurt that this becomes the least expensive full frame 85mm F1.4 option on Sony and Nikon, and also offers a more feature rich lens than competitors on Fuji.
Sirui is clearly upping their game and moving into a more mainstream market with the Aurora series. There is perhaps the least amount of competition on the Nikon Z space, but here on a Sony there are a lot of alternatives. Some of them are sharper, but none of them are cheaper, and I’m not sure that any have quite as nice of rendering, so if that matters to you, the Sirui Aurora 85mm F1.4 is a winner. It’s a lot of lens for $500!
Keywords: Sirui, Aurora, 85mm, F1.4, Sirui Aurora Review, Sirui 85mm Review, Aurora 85mm F1.4 Review, f/1.4, Review, Sony alpha 1, Sony a7RV, Wireless, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, let the light in, weathersealing, #letthelightin, DA
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
I’m back with another Yongnuo (YN) review. I was interested in covering their most recent lens on the strength of what I’ve seen from the 11mm F1.8 WL Pro I’ reviewed on Sony and the 50mm F1.8 DSM Pro that I reviewed on Fuji. 33mm is a very important focal length on APS-C, giving you roughly 50mm (49.5mm) full frame equivalent angle of view once you add in the 1.5x APS-C crop. Add a fast maximum aperture of F1.4, a host of features, and a good optical performance, and you’ve got an interesting lens. The Yonguo 33mm F1.4S DA SAM WL Pro can be had for well under $300, and it arguably adds a lot more features and versatility than any other lens that it competes with. Should this be your new “normal lens” for your Sony E (tested here), Nikon Z, or Fuji X-mount camera? You can find out my full thoughts by watching the video review below, reading the text review, or enjoying the photos in the galleries below.
Thanks to Yongnuo for sending me a review sample of this lens. As always, this is a completely independent review. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with the APS-C mode (26MP) of my Sony a7RVcamera.
As noted, this is a fast “normal” lens. Normal lenses are so called because they cover an angle of view similar to what your eye sees, thus the kinds of images you can get look “normal” or easily relatable, which is why the 50mm focal length is so popular.
The YN 33mm (as we’ll call it for brevity) is a very feature rich lens, as we’ll see, but one of those innovations requires purchasing an inexpensive (under $25) remote control unit that leverages a 2.4gz wireless module built into the lens. Far from just being a basic remote control unit, this remote control allows you to remotely control focus, do aperture racking, set up A-B focus pulls, and more basic functions like take photos, start video, and do whatever you have the function button programmed to do. It’s a very clever little device particularly for video functions as you can do some of these key movements without touching the lens and introducing vibration.
The 11mm F1.8 was the first of a new series of lenses from Yongnuo that they call the “Commander Series”, and this 33mm will be joined by a 23mm and 56mm F1.4 lens.
If you don’t speak Yongnuo, let me break down what those letters mean in the 33mm F1.4S DA DSM WL Pro lens designation. In many ways this follows the Fuji naming convention which puts a list of features right in the name.
S = Sony, or Sony E-mount
DA = APS-C
DSM = Digital Stepping Motor
WL = Wireless control
Pro = upscale build, additional features
The YN 33mm has a lot going for it, including a great focal length, great functionality, and fairly strong image quality.
There are also a few weaknesses along with many strengths, which you can discover in the reviews…or just enjoy the photos.
Keywords: Yongnuo, YN, 33mm, F1.4, Yongnuo 33mm F1.4, DSM, WL, F1.4, Pro, APS-C, Review, Sony a6700, a6000, a6400, Sony a7RV, Wireless, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, let the light in, weathersealing, #letthelightin, DA
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
I’m back with another Yongnuo (YN) review. I was interested in covering their most recent lens on the strength of what I’ve seen from the 11mm F1.8 WL Pro I’ reviewed on Sony and the 50mm F1.8 DSM Pro that I reviewed on Fuji. 33mm is a very important focal length on APS-C, giving you roughly 50mm (49.5mm) full frame equivalent angle of view once you add in the 1.5x APS-C crop. Add a fast maximum aperture of F1.4, a host of features, and a good optical performance, and you’ve got an interesting lens. The Yonguo 33mm F1.4S DA SAM WL Pro can be had for well under $300, and it arguably adds a lot more features and versatility than any other lens that it competes with. Should this be your new “normal lens” for your Sony E (tested here), Nikon Z, or Fuji X-mount camera? You can find out my full thoughts by watching the video review below…or reading on.
Thanks to Yongnuo for sending me a review sample of this lens. As always, this is a completely independent review. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with the APS-C mode (26MP) of my Sony a7RVcamera.
As noted, this is a fast “normal” lens. Normal lenses are so called because they cover an angle of view similar to what your eye sees, thus the kinds of images you can get look “normal” or easily relatable, which is why the 50mm focal length is so popular.
The YN 33mm (as we’ll call it for brevity) is a very feature rich lens, as we’ll see, but one of those innovations requires purchasing an inexpensive (under $25) remote control unit that leverages a 2.4gz wireless module built into the lens. Far from just being a basic remote control unit, this remote control allows you to remotely control focus, do aperture racking, set up A-B focus pulls, and more basic functions like take photos, start video, and do whatever you have the function button programmed to do. It’s a very clever little device particularly for video functions as you can do some of these key movements without touching the lens and introducing vibration.
The 11mm F1.8 was the first of a new series of lenses from Yongnuo that they call the “Commander Series”, and this 33mm will be joined by a 23mm and 56mm F1.4 lens.
If you don’t speak Yongnuo, let me break down what those letters mean in the 33mm F1.4S DA DSM WL Pro lens designation. In many ways this follows the Fuji naming convention which puts a list of features right in the name.
S = Sony, or Sony E-mount
DA = APS-C
DSM = Digital Stepping Motor
WL = Wireless control
Pro = upscale build, additional features
The YN 33mm has a lot going for it, including a great focal length, great functionality, and fairly strong image quality.
There are also a few weaknesses along with many strengths, and we will break down it all in our review.
Build and Handling
The 33mm focal length has been a fairly popular one over the past few years, with a variety of releases from first party brands (Fuji) and third party brands like Viltrox, Tokina, and Meike. The YN 33mm shows well in this class, however, with the lowest price and more features. This does come at the cost of some weight, however, as the Yongnuo is the heaviest lens at 370g (13oz), though the Fuji lens is a close second at 360g. The Viltrox and Tokina lenses seem to essentially be twins, and have identical dimensions and weight (270g).
The extra weight is due to have a little extra girth and length. The YN 33 is 69mm in diameter (2.7″) x 87mm (3.4″) in length, which is over 13mm longer than the Fuji 33mm lens. The front filter threads are a common 58mm size.
You’ll note the “Wi-Fi” radio signal logo next to the lens designation. Yongnuo continues to be the only company I know of utilizing this, though I have seen Bluetooth in a few Viltrox lenses.
That extra length is at least well used. The other three lenses I’ve been mentioning have an aperture ring (as does this lens), but the Yongnuo adds several other features, including the ability declick the aperture, a custom/function button, and a two mode-custom switch that allows you tweak the behavior of the ring.
As noted, this is a very feature rich little lens. We have a function/focus hold button on the left side of the barrel. That function can be assigned from within the camera.
There’s also a custom switch that allows for a few different functions. In one mode, it serves a an AF | MF switch, with mode I being AF while mode II will switch to MF.
The manual focus ring has a nice feel to it overall, though the weight is on the lighter side. There is no obvious stepping, however, so focus moves fairly smoothly as I use the MF ring. You can program the custom switch to this function by turning the camera off, setting the position to II, and then holding the custom button down. Then power the camera back on, and you will feel a click in the lens.
To use the optional remote control, turn the camera off, set the switch position to I, and then hold down the function button while turning on the camera. Now position “I” will mean that wi-fi is turned on for remote communication while position “II” will mean that it is turned off. I would recommend keeping it in the off position when it is not in use. I haven’t noticed a battery drain issue, but you can essentially assure that this won’t be an issue by turning it off.
The YN 33mm also has a robust approach to aperture control. It has an aperture control ring with one third stop detents between F1.4 and F16 along with an automatic position that can be accessed past F16 (there is a firmer detent there to keep from accidental switches between the two). The feel of the clicks is good, with clear delineation of each position but without being rough.
There is also a declick option with a switch on the right side of the barrel. Click that switch and you can smoothly rack through the aperture, which is particularly useful for video work.
The aperture iris itself has 9 rounded blades to help ensure circular specular highlights when stopped down.
The lens barrel is made of metal, and it has a nice, anodized black satin finish. The lens design is very clean and modern.
A petal-shaped lens hood is included. While it isn’t anything particularly special, it is sturdier than some and bayonets into place with a reasonably precise feel.
There is a USB-C port for firmware updates covered by a small rubber gasket. Be careful when pulling it out, as it is small and wouldn’t be hard to lose. It’s also nearly impossible to pry out unless you have a small prying tool, like a very small flat screwdriver.
The USB-C port will allow for quick and easy firmware updates, which is a smart move by Yongnuo considering that they are a third party lens maker, so they may have to rely on firmware updates to maintain compatibility with cameras in the future. The lens does include a USB-C cable in the box in case you don’t have one.
There is a metal lens mount with a weather sealing gasket attached. Yongnuo also claims a fluorine coating on the front element to resist fingerprints and moisture.
A number of these lenses all share a rather poor minimum focus distance, with only the Fuji 33mm allowing for a closer 30mm distance. The Tokina and Viltrox are both 40cm, with the Yongnuo right under that. That will give maximum magnification figure of right over 0.10x, which is not very good.
The remote control has a small LCD screen and is primarily controlled through the main knob that can be clicked to switch through various functions and rotated to control those functions. There are two buttons for programming A and B focus pulls (just set the focus position, hold down the corresponding button for one second, and either “A” or B” where appropriate will light up. There’s a power switch on the side and also a custom button on the side that corresponds to the custom button on the lens. Clicking it will enable whatever function is programmed to that button on the lens.
Using the remote isn’t always intuitive, but if you’ll spend a few minutes with the included user manual it becomes easy enough to use. Range is up to 30 meters, which definitely gives you some flexibility for controlling off camera.
The fact that the Yongnuo is both the cheapest ($268 USD) and most feature rich lens in the bunch is pretty impressive, though it is also the biggest and heaviest. This is all relative, however, as the lens isn’t abnormally large or anything.
Autofocus and Video
Yongnuo has equipped the 33mm F1.4 with what they call a “digital stepping motor” (DSM). I’m not entirely sure how a digital stepping motor varies from a typical stepping motor, so I suspect this is mostly their own marketing language. My copy of the lens (prerelease) did need a firmware update to ensure full compatibility, but after the firmware update has functioned well. Focus speed is pretty good, and I’ve gotten good accuracy even in narrow depth of field situations.
There is almost no noise to be heard even if I put my ear next to the lens barrel. There is the slightest buzz from the motor, but so quiet as to be nearly undetectable. Focus speed is good, too, with near instant transitions from one focus point to another either indoors or out. This is one of the speedier STM motors that I’ve tested, which is great for a third party lens from a smaller brand.
I found that real world precision was good, whether I was shooting a human subject:
…or with a simple subject like these lingering red leaves late in November.
It’s worth noting with the shot above that I was testing the Megadap ETZ21 Pro adapter with my Nikon Z8 and using the Sony FE 50mm F1.4 GM (one of my favorite lenses) on it. I was a little frustrated as the Megadap combo was being reluctant to focus on the foreground subject and kept sticking on the background even though, for the most part, autofocus was quite good. I also had the YN 33mm mounted on my a7RV, and so I took the same shot (the one above) right after that, and was amazed at how effortlessly the YN 33mm grabbed the right subject and focus properly on it.
I did a series of available light portraits, and was really pleased by how effectively the lens focused. I used a lot of foreground branches for natural frames, but autofocus was consistently good.
If we zoom into that last photo, for example, we can see that focus is accurate and that the lens produces very usable sharpness even at F1.4:
As with most third party lenses, if your goal is tracking fast action, you might want to go with a Sony lens (not that there are many in this focal range), but for most people in most situations, autofocus for stills was pretty great.
Video AF
On the video front I found mostly good results. Focus pulls were smooth with minimal steps. Focus breathing is definitely present, but it isn’t egregious.
The YN 33mm did mostly fine with my “hand test” as well, where I alternately block the view to my face with my hand and then remove it. Focus transitioned nicely from my hand to my face, though there was a time or two when it didn’t move from my face to my hand.
Video footage generally looked good, though, and having fairly confident focus helps to keep details crisp when operating at large apertures. Here’s a freeze frame from one of my clips:
I also had fairly good results with video clips where I slowly moved the camera to force change from one subject to another at varying depths of field. Focus transitions were fairly well damped, and overall autofocus feels pretty capable.
Yongnuo 33mm F1.4 Image Quality Breakdown
The YN 33mm has an optical design of 11 elements in 9 groups. The majority of these are exotic elements, including high refractive elements and ultra low dispersion elements. A lot of fancy glass for an inexpensive lens!
The MTF chart shows a very consistent performance with a nearly flat performance across the frame. The F8 graph levels out some of the dips and rises, but only offers a few percentage points of improved performance. That speaks to a pretty great wide open performance.
The biggest practical negative I saw was some fringing in certain situations, but overall I was pretty impressed with the general optical performance.
Now, interestingly, in this particular image I felt like fringing was pretty well controlled, with minimal amounts of green fringing on a few of the textures. In other images, however, I saw much more pronounced LoCA, or Longitudinal Chromatic Aberrations that come before and after the plane of focus. Here, for example, you can see fringing in the lettering on the lens, on edges of the SLR, and then green fringing around the specular highlights.
That fringing was evident on my chart as well, so just be aware that this is probably the most significant optical issue with the YN 33mm.
Lateral chromatic aberrations (LaCA) were not at all an issue, with nice and clean transitions from black to white near the edges of the frame unmarred by fringing.
For those hoping to get some kind of stealth full frame lens, prepare to be disappointed. You can see that a lot of the full frame image circle is mechanically obscured by the lens.
This is an APS-C lens, period. It will still work fine in APS-C mode on Sony cameras for either stills or video, however. As is almost always the case, you would be better served by buying a full frame lens if you want full frame coverage.
There’s a bit more barrel distortion than I expected in a normal lens along with some vignette.
I used a +9 to correct the barrel distortion. It was fairly linear in correction, so even with a manual correction I could get a good result. The vignette is moderate, requiring a +57 to correct, or in the two stop range. Both of these are well within the range of easily correctable.
So how about resolution and contrast? My tests have been done on a 26MP APS-C mode of my Sony a7RV. Here’s the test chart:
Here are F1.4 crops at roughly 200% from across the frame (center, mid-frame, and lower right corner).
On a flat chart like this, the sharpness results are good but not exceptionally good at F1.4. I’m actually more impressed with real world results, which is good news for the real people who shoot real subjects.
In this real world shot, there is a tangle of dead branches that has coverage near the edge of the frame as well, and we can see that while contrast isn’t top notch, there is plenty of detail across the frame.
But field curvature shouldn’t be as much of an issue when shooting at infinity, and in real world results I noticed the corners being softer (as noted).
For portrait work I felt that there was plenty of sharpness. Even a fairly deep crop at F1.4 shows nice detail.
There’s a mild contrast boost at F1.8 that grows a bit further by F2:
There’s a more obvious bump from F2 to F2.8. where contrast and detail are obviously improved.
If we swap back to a real world subject, we can see at least part of the reason. The aberrations that produce fringing (and thus reduce contrast) are vastly reduced, allowing the native sharpness of the lens to shine a little more obviously.
There is a bit more to be gained at F4, and then another jump at F5.6. Now even the corners are looking pretty crisp.
Real world landscape shots from F4 to F8 will look nice, with good detail across the frame.
Sharpness peaks around F5.6, with F8 being very close to the same. Diffraction will start to soften the image after that, with a mild amount at F11 but a more obvious amount by F16:
Often the tradeoff for a bit of uncorrected fringing is softer bokeh. I wouldn’t consider the bokeh quality to be absolutely top shelf, but it is pretty nice overall.
Here’s another shot with a nice, soft rendering.
Here’s a shot where the subject is further, so nothing is completely blurred out, but it shows how you can still create some subject isolation at this distance.
Flare resistance is mostly good. I had good results where the sun was very brightly right out of frame.
You can see some ghosting in this landscape shot, as the sun hit the elements at obviously a more difficult angle for them.
My review period landed in a season in November when the sun was rather shy. A lot of grey days, so I didn’t get a lot of bright sun to contend with. I did take a quick peek at Christopher Frost’s review, however, and it seems like he had a fairly decent flare outcome, so I feel like what I did see was representative of the overall performance.
Yongnuo’s optical glass is fairly good but not top notch. Colors were mostly good, however, though not quite as special as what you’ll get from higher end lenses.
But it’s important to remember that this is a lens that costs under $270. I would say that the overall rendering is pretty great for the money. When compared to other lenses in this price class I think the optics are competitive and the feature set is clearly much more robust than what competing lenses offer. If you’d like to see more image samples, check out the image gallery here.
Conclusion
The Yongnuo 33mm F1.4S DA DSM WL Pro is a pretty attractive option if you’re looking for a 50mm equivalent lens on your APS-C camera. It is a feature rich, focuses well, has weather sealing, and delivers a pretty strong optical performance, too.
It certainly bests the competition that I’ve seen from Viltrox and Tokina, and prices in much lower than any competing first party lens that I can think of.
Although I was shooting in a difficult season of the year (in between autumn and winter), I felt like I didn’t have a hard time getting images that I liked. I’m pretty amazed by how good budget lenses are these days. In 2016 I reviewed a Samyang 21mm F1.4 fully manual lens that had zero features, and that lens cost $450 at the time. Flash forward eight years and all the inflation that we’ve seen, and you’re still getting a lens with autofocus, weather sealing, a declickable aperture, a custom button, the ability to wirelessly control the lens…and paying nearly $200 less. That’s really pretty astounding when you stop and think about it. That makes the Yongnuo YN 33mm F1.4 well worth consideration.
Pros:
Nice looking lens with nice build
USB-C port for firmware updates
Good manual focus ring and experience
Very feature rich
Weather sealed
Declickable aperture
Wireless remote control
Custom button
Autofocus motor is quiet and fast
Good sharpness wide open
Excellent sharpness stopped down
Fairly good bokeh
Great price to performance ratio
Cons:
Some fringing issues
Gasket for USB-C is hard to remove and easy to lose
Keywords: Yongnuo, YN, 33mm, F1.4, Yongnuo 33mm F1.4, DSM, WL, F1.4, Pro, APS-C, Review, Sony a6700, a6000, a6400, Sony a7RV, Wireless, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, let the light in, weathersealing, #letthelightin, DA
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Neewer NW-ETZ vs Megadap ETZ21 Pro | Sony E to Nikon Z Adapter Showdown
Dustin Abbott
November 29th, 2024
Neewer NW-ETZ vs Megadap ETZ21 Pro | Sony E to Nikon Z Adapter Showdown
When I first started using Sony E-mount, I was coming off a period of more than a decade where I had used the Canon EF ecosystem exclusively. It was a delight to find that there were adapters that would allow me to use my Canon lenses on my Sony camera as well. I used and reviewed a number of popular adapters from brands like Metabones, Sigma, and Vello, but found that they all came with some serious limitations. Over time I tired of used my EF lenses adapted for two primary reasons: 1) size and weight. 2) Inadequate performance. My favorite of the adapters proved to be the Sigma MC-11, but it added 125g to the weight of every lens attached to it and added another 26mm in length. This was necessary to adapt a DSLR mount to a mirrorless design. The optical path needs to be in a completely different place, so the optics need to be moved further away from the sensor to achieve proper infinity focus. I found that there was a huge spectrum of performance, too, with some lenses working fairly well and others being very inconsistent. Video AF, in particular, was pretty rough where it existed at all.
But over a series of reviews, I’ve been looking at very different types of adapters that now adapt one mirrorless lens mount (Sony E-mount) to another mirrorless lens mount (Nikon Z-mount). The rules are a bit different this time. For one, the “flange distance” between the two mounts is similar, so now the adapter itself is just a few millimeters thick (2mm, to be exact), adding almost no additional bulk to lenses. There is a bit of weight, but, at 43g for the Megadap ETZ21 Pro on my scale and 46g for the Neewer NE-ETZ, it’s a third of what we dealt with the EF to FE adapters. In my tests, the Megadap EZ21 Pro (my review here) has a few advantages over the Neewer NW-ETZ that I reviewed here, but also costs about $100 more. So which is the better buy? Find out my thoughts by watching the head to head video, or you can see a quick summary in the article below.
Thanks to Neewer for providing a review sample of the NW-ETZ and to Megadap for providing a review sample the ETZ21 Pro. As always, this is a completely independent review. All opinions and conclusions are my own.*The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with the 45MP Nikon Z8, which I reviewed here.
Both of these adapters have a simple premise – allow you to use Sony E-mount lenses – WITH AUTOFOCUS – on Nikon Z mount cameras. The claim includes transmitting EXIF data and information for VR (if your camera is so equipped). At their best, both adapters work really quite well, delivering some of the best autofocus I’ve seen from an adapted lens, though there’s always limits. Both add almost no bulk – just 2mm of additional thickness – and very little weight (43g for the Megadap, 46g for the Neewer).
So does they work? The answer is mostly yes, though with a few minor caveats which I detail in the individual reviews.
Reasons to Buy the Neewer NW-eTZ
Price – Costs $160 vs $250
Has a weather sealed option for $20 more
Provides focus confirmation for manual focus lenses even when they have no contacts (M42, M mount, etc…)
Reasons to buy the Megadap ETZ21 Pro
Better firmware process
Properly reports EXIF data
Provides more consistent autofocus performance
Works on APS-C/DX bodies
Works with more lenses
Conclusion
Both adapters have some unique strengths, but for most people I think the extra money for the Megadap is worth it. The Neewer shows promise, but it is a first gen adapter while Megadap is on the second variation of their second generation, and that longer development cycle shows. Megadap has squashed more bugs, and delivers a more consistent performance across a broader range of lenses. Megadap is an adapter company, period, and while Neewer has a great reputation for delivering excellent products at a strong value, their company is far more diversified. To me the Megadap adapter feels worth the extra $90, but it’s not my money to spend. It’s yours, and I hope the information in these comparisons has helped you make a more informed decision.
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
When I first started using Sony E-mount, I was coming off a period of more than a decade where I had used the Canon EF ecosystem exclusively. It was a delight to find that there were adapters that would allow me to use my Canon lenses on my Sony camera as well. I used and reviewed a number of popular adapters from brands like Metabones, Sigma, and Vello, but found that they all came with some serious limitations. Over time I tired of used my EF lenses adapted for two primary reasons: 1) size and weight. 2) Inadequate performance. My favorite of the adapters proved to be the Sigma MC-11, but it added 125g to the weight of every lens attached to it and added another 26mm in length. This was necessary to adapt a DSLR mount to a mirrorless design. The optical path needs to be in a completely different place, so the optics need to be moved further away from the sensor to achieve proper infinity focus. I found that there was a huge spectrum of performance, too, with some lenses working fairly well and others being very inconsistent. Video AF, in particular, was pretty rough where it existed at all.
But over a series of reviews, I’ve been looking at very different types of adapters that now adapt one mirrorless lens mount (Sony E-mount) to another mirrorless lens mount (Nikon Z-mount). The rules are a bit different this time. For one, the “flange distance” between the two mounts is similar, so now the adapter itself is just a few millimeters thick (2mm, to be exact), adding almost no additional bulk to lenses. There is a bit of weight, but, at 46g on my scale, it’s a third of what we dealt with the EF to FE adapters. In my tests, the Megadap EZ21 Pro has a few advantages over the Neewer NW-ETZ that I’m, reviewing today, but also costs about $100 more. So is the Neewer NW-ETZ and its $160 price a better choice if you’re on a budget? Find out my thoughts by watching the video review below…or just keep reading.
Thanks to Neewer for providing a review sample of the NW-ETZ. As always, this is a completely independent review. All opinions and conclusions are my own.*The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with the 45MP Nikon Z8, which I reviewed here.
There will be some continuity between this review and another of the Megadap ETZ21 Pro, as I’ve spent time with both in an attempt to get up to speed as to which adapter works better.
There are two versions of the NW-ETZ adapter; a regular version (like the one I’m testing here) and a Pro version that costs about $20 more. The primary difference to the Pro version seems to be the inclusion of a weather sealing gasket, which is a negative point I raised about the Megadap adapter in my review of that lens.
For some reason, however, user reviews tend to be higher for the cheaper adapter without the rubber gasket. Perhaps the fit is a little better without it, as functionally these should be the same.
The premise of the NW-ETZ adapter is pretty simple – it interprets the focus algorithms from the camera (Nikon Z) and translates them to the language of the lens (Sony E), and carries EXIF data and focus information back to the camera. The byproduct is that you can get effective autofocus from Sony E-mount lenses on a Nikon Z mount body…and there’s a lot of great Sony E-mount glass out there!
So does it work? The answer is a little more complicated than what I saw with the Megadap ETZ21 Pro in my review, as I saw a wider variety of performances. Initially, I actually thought that it might work better for stills, as I found that autofocus with the first two lenses that I used (Sony FE 35mm F1.4 GM and Tamron 35-150mm F2-2.8 VXDE) was arguably better than the Megadap.
But as I expanded out the pool of lenses that I used, I found that my results varied more widely. I’ll detail more about that in the review below.
Build and Design
As noted previously this is a pretty simple device in some ways. Essentially it feels like a metal lens mount detached from a lens.
At just 2mm thick, it essentially just goes onto the lens like a second mount.
You really won’t notice that the adapter is there once mounted, and I found that in the half dozen lenses that I tested with it, mounting and unmounting lenses remained relatively simple. The fit of lenses will vary a bit, with some being tighter than others, but I never felt like I really had to force things.The adapter is very, very thin. Always be sure to power down the camera before removing anything, however.
The release mechanism is different from the Megadap’s, as that release needs to be depressed while the NW-ETZ requires sliding the mechanism clockwise.
The magic of the adapter is the dual sets of electronic contacts front and back. On the backside you will see the electronic contacts for communicating with the Nikon camera. There is a second set of contacts that says, “Update” above it, and this is for doing firmware updates. There is an included cable that magnetically attaches to the larger circles and then data is transferred to the adapter. The other end of the cable is a USB-A connector.
I did do a firmware update, and found that the magnetic attachment wasn’t quite as strong as what I would have liked. You need to be sure that the cable doesn’t hang down in between the adapter and your computer, as it will pull the contacts away from having a firm connection. I actually held the cable tight to the adapter during the review.
The actual update was just a matter of dragging the firmware update file into the folder for the adapter that pops up once the connection is made. There isn’t really any kind of reaction, but if you let it sit for a minute, then eject the folder and reconnect, you’ll find that the update has in fact happened.
The front of the adapter has the pins that will come in contact with the Sony E-mount lenses.
Presumably there is some kind of processor hidden in there to do the focus algorithm conversions.
The Megadap adapter definitely bests the Newer in one regard: it accurately delivers the EXIF information, whereas the Neewer seems to try to find a Nikon equivalent.
Both of the images in the comparison were shot with the Tamron 35-150mm F2-F2.8 VXD, and the Megadap shows the proper lens designation (including A058, Tamron’s internal code for the lens), while the Neewer reported VR 35-150mm F2-2.8G, which is clearly not accurate (this is not a G lens, nor does it have VR). The Megadap also reported properly for the two Sony lenses I tested, the Sigma lens, and the Viltrox lens. The Neewer reported the Sony lenses as VR 35mm F1.4G and VR 50mm F1.4G, while the Megadap properly recorded them as FE 35mm and 50mm F1.4 GM, respectively.
Still, for a relatively low amount of money, you can mount your E-mount lenses on your Nikon camera and enjoy autofocus.
Manual Focus Aids?
The Neewer NW-ETZ has an additional trick up its sleeve that the Megadap lacks. If you attach manual focus lenses (even those without electronic contacts), the NW-ETZ serves to provide electronic communication, giving you focus confirmation and even allowing Nikon’s focus guide to work (which prompts you which direction to turn the manual focus ring to achieve proper focus).
I had a lot of fun with my Thypoch Simera 28mm F1.4 (an M-mount lens), but utilizing an adapter from M-mount to E-mount, and then using the NW-ETZ to complete the journey to Z-mount. It was easy to nail focus, and the focus confirmation proved very accurate.
You can see just how precise that focus was here:
Somewhat disappointing, however, is that even while my Z8 camera allows me to manually enter the EXIF information for a lens like this (and I went to the trouble to do so!), the adapter reported the lens as 50mm F1G – not correct in any detail!
But this was unquestionably a nice hidden feature, as this worked for any fully manual (no electronics) lens that I tried, whether it was E-mount, M42, or M-mount. Just use an additional adapter to E-mount (if needed), and the NW-ETZ provides the electronics. Pretty cool!
Stills Autofocus with the NW-ETZ
When reviewing the Megadap ETZ21 Pro, I found that my focus results were pretty consistent. Lenses with faster focus motors focused faster, obviously, and more confident autofocusing lenses worked better at the extremes. My findings are more nuanced with the NW-ETZ, as some lenses worked fantastically, while others didn’t really work particularly well.
I tested the Sony 35mm and 50mm F1.4 G Master lenses, the Tamron 90mm F2.8 Macro, 28-200mm RXD, and the 35-150mm VXD, the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DN, and the Viltrox AF 16mm F1.8 and 135mm F1.8 LAB.
What’s wild is that my results were not consistent within brands. Let’s start with the two Sony lenses. The 35mm F1.4 GM works pretty much like a native lens, with fast, accurate results.
The very similar 50mm F1.4 GM behaved very differently. It focuses slowly and gradually, and with close focus targets I almost exclusively got results like this:
I would have to use manual override (which works great on Nikon, by the way) to get focus in the right zone, where autofocus would mostly do its job, getting me this properly focused result.
So your perception of the adapter is really going to depend on which lens you have attached to it. My initial impression (based on the 35mm) was the Neewer adapter might be better than the Megadap, but when I switched the 50mm, I was changing focus options, checking connections, and wondering if I was using the same adapter.
So, on the positive list. Outside the 35mm GM, I had very good results with the Tamron 35-150mm VXD. We used the combination for a church service and baptism, and I got fairly similar results to what I would have gotten normally with the lens on a Sony body. Very slightly slower, perhaps a hair less accurate, but perfectly usable.
The Tamron 90mm F2.8 Macro VXD also worked brilliantly, delivering results not far from what I would expect from a native lens.
I even found that I didn’t have the issues with focus not wanting to grab a foreground subject, so in this regard I found that it worked better than what I saw with the Megadap.
But when I put the Tamron 28-200mm RXD, I got absolutely terrible results, with focus basically not happening regardless of what I did to try to coax it along. I basically was resorting to manual override to get anything in focus.
In the case of Tamron lenses (at least the three I tested), it seems like the adapter likes the newer VXD motor, but doesn’t like the older RXD motor of the 28-200mm.
Ironically, however, the STM focus motor of the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DN (definitely not the latest and greatest technology) worked fine, with the Sigma delivering good speed and precision.
Finally, the Viltrox 16mm F1.8 worked perfectly, delivering accurate results even against strong backlighting.
The new 135mm F1.8 LAB lens sports a VCM motor that is similar in technology to the Tamron VXD focus motor, but the 135 LAB refused to focus at all, instead emitting a whine and refusing to do anything.
In the video review you can see my formal tests with the 35GM and 50GM, and how radically different the result with these two similar lenses is.
In other words, the results were all over the map. When a lens works on the Neewer NW-ETZ, it tends to work really well, but results are obviously much more inconsistent. It’s still generally true that better focusing lenses are going to make the transition better. That makes sense, as really the adapter’s job is to send the correct communications from the lens to the AF system via the contacts, so a fast focusing lens should continue to be a fast focusing lens, with the only real slowdown being from the need to “reinterpret” the focus algorithms from one language (Sony) to another (Nikon). The wild card in the mix here is that a fantastically focusing lens like the Sony FE 50mm F1.4 GM isn’t really all that great via the Neewer adapter, but was pretty great via the Megadap adapter.
Now, to be fair, you could eventually get the focus results you wanted with most lenses (save those that just really refused to work), like this lovely shot with the 50GM below.
But in many situations I felt like I could achieve greater success with the Megadap adapter.
Video Autofocus
*These results will be easier to see in the video review for obvious reasons.
The good news is that if you have a lens that focuses well for stills, you will also get fairly decent video AF. I did a series of test with the two GM lenses, and found that AF didn’t pick me up at all as I walked towards the camera with the 50mm F1.4 GM attached via the NW-ETZ.
With the 35mm F1.4 GM the combo tracked me perfectly, and even quickly picked me when I stepped out and back into frame.
I then tested focus pulls with the more functional lens (35GM), and found that I could generally get decent focus pulse, but I found that I encountered more pulsing during focus pulls, which is generally a byproduct of focus not being confident enough to lock.
So, as before, you’ll get your best results for video AF when using more confident lenses. I wouldn’t call video AF “native” in performance, but I would call it good enough…so long as you are using one of the lenses that the adapter likes.
Conclusion
Switching to a new camera brand can be a daunting experience, as the sheer cost of selling what you have (typically at a significant loss) and then rebuying everything for the new brand is expensive. The Neewer NW-ETZ is an inexpensive ways to bridge that gap. You can keep using the lenses you love without adding any bulk and only minimal weight, and that weight is right up close to the camera where you won’t notice it anyway. I also really like the potential benefit for manual focus lenses and the idea of getting a focus confirmation chip as a free bonus.
After a stellar start, I was disappointed that I got somewhat inconsistent results as I widened my pool of lenses. On the lenses where the adapter worked well, it worked really well, delivering fast, accurate autofocus.
But in other cases, I was obviously much less impressed. The Megadap seems like the safer choice to me, though you will have to pony up an extra $100. Perhaps that’s because the Megadap is two generations in, while this is Neewer’s first shot. I think there’s a lot of potential here, because when it works, it works really well, but there are definitely some bugs left to squash.
Pros:
Love how compact the adapter is
Manual focus electronic confirmation is a nice bonus
Autofocus for stills (with lenses it likes) is generally very good
Was able to track some action during video capture
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Megadap ETZ21 Pro Sony E to Nikon Z Adapter Review
Dustin Abbott
November 25th, 2024
Megadap ETZ21 Adapter Review
When I first started using Sony E-mount, I was coming off a period of more than a decade where I had used the Canon EF ecosystem exclusively. It was a delight to find that there were adapters that would allow me to use my Canon lenses on my Sony camera as well. I used and reviewed a number of popular adapters from brands like Metabones, Sigma, and Vello, but found that they all came with some serious limitations. Over time I tired of used my EF lenses adapted for two primary reasons: 1) size and weight. 2) Inadequate performance. My favorite of the adapters proved to be the Sigma MC-11, but it added 125g to the weight of every lens attached to it and added another 26mm in length. This was necessary to adapt a DSLR mount to a mirrorless design. The optical path needs to be in a completely different place, so the optics need to be moved further away from the sensor to achieve proper infinity focus. I found that there was a huge spectrum of performance, too, with some lenses working fairly well and others being very inconsistent. Video AF, in particular, was pretty rough where it existed at all.
But here we are again looking at a new type of adapter, in this case adapting one mirrorless lens mount (Sony E-mount) to another mirrorless lens mount (Nikon Z-mount). The rules are a bit different this time. For one, the “flange distance” between the two mounts is similar, so now the adapter itself is just a few millimeters thick (2mm, to be exact), adding almost no additional bulk to lenses. There is a bit of weight, but, at 43g on my scale, it’s a third of what we dealt with the EF to FE adapters. And the performance seems to be better, too, with even some usable (though not flawless) performance for video. So is the Megadap ETZ21 Pro worth a $250 investment? Find out my thoughts by watching the video review below…or just keep reading.
Thanks to Megadap for providing a review sample of the ETZ21 Pro. As always, this is a completely independent review. All opinions and conclusions are my own.*The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with the 45MP Nikon Z8, which I reviewed here.
There will be some continuity between this review and another of the Neewer NW-ETZ adapter, as I’ve spent time with both in an attempt to get up to speed as to which adapter works better.
I’m reviewing the more recent ETZ21 Pro. There was previously an ETZ21 adapter as well that some of you may already own. What’s changed from the standard adapter to the Pro adapter?
There are two significant improvements. One is that rather than having to do firmware updates through a separate process, you can now run firmware updates through the camera body just as you would a Nikon lens. The second major improvement is to the mechanical design to allow for a better fit for Tamron lenses (and other third party lenses as well). There’s also a redesign to the lens release button to allow for a smoother mount/unmount process. Megadap repeatedly emphasizes that the performance of both adapters is the same, so this isn’t going to change the autofocus performances in any appreciable way.
In my research, I found that Megadap has released 5 firmware updates in the past year, which is encouraging, as that shows an ongoing commitment to improving their product not just via new releases. Improvements include squashing bugs with certain lenses, improving function, adding compatibility with new brands, and helping to eliminate issues like battery drain.
So does it work? The short answer is “yes”, and in many situations autofocus is remarkably ordinary. The shot above was taken with the ETZ21 Pro allowing my Sony FE 50mm F1.4 G Master (a beautiful lens!) to work on my Nikon Z8. And how precise is that focus at F1.4? Take a look here:
So let’s dive a little deeper.
Build and Design
As noted previously this is a pretty simple device in some ways. Essentially it feels like a metal lens mount detached from a lens.
At just 2mm thick, it essentially just goes onto the lens like a second mount.
You really won’t notice that the adapter is there once mounted, and I found that in the half dozen lenses that I tested with it, mounting and unmounting lenses remained relatively simple. Lenses fit well without any wobble. I prefer to remove the lens from the camera before removing the adapter from the lens, as there isn’t much left to grab from the camera mount once the lens is removed. The adapter is very, very thin. Always be sure to power down the camera before removing anything, however.
The improved release mechanism works nicely, and isn’t hard to depress for removing lenses.
The magic of the adapter is the dual sets of electronic contacts you can see at the back of the adapter. One is the backside of the Sony contacts, while the most prominent contacts (on the top of the image below) are the Nikon Z-mount contacts.
The front of the adapter has the pins that will come in contact with the Sony E-mount lenses.
Presumably there is some kind of processor hidden in there to do the focus algorithm conversions, though I wasn’t able to find any information on that.
The Megadap adapter definitely bests the Newer in one regard: it accurately delivers the EXIF information, whereas the Neewer seems to try to find a Nikon equivalent.
Both of the images in the comparison were shot with the Tamron 35-150mm F2-F2.8 VXD, and the Megadap shows the proper lens designation (including A058, Tamron’s internal code for the lens), while the Neewer reported VR 35-150mm F2-2.8G, which is clearly not accurate (this is not a G lens, nor does it have VR). The Megadap also reported properly for the two Sony lenses I tested, the Sigma lens, and the Viltrox lens. The Neewer reported the Sony lenses as VR 35mm F1.4G and VR 50mm F1.4G, while the Megadap properly recorded them as FE 35mm and 50mm F1.4 GM, respectively.
Megadap reports that at the moment their adapter is the only one to work with Nikon DX (APS-C) cameras, though that will almost certainly change in the future.
One final observation – you will be covering the weather sealing gasket on your Sony FE mount lens, if so equipped, and the adapter itself has no gasket, so there is some possibility that your weather sealing may not be as complete with the adapter in place, so bear that in mind.
Stills Autofocus with the ETZ21 Pro
I’ve been interested in seeing how these adapters work with good Sony lenses, including the 35mm and 50mm GM lenses, but also how they work with some third party lenses, including popular lenses from Tamron, Sigma, and Viltrox.
Let’s start with a practical test. I took the the Sony 50mm F1.4 GM on a hike using the ETZ21 Pro on my Z8, and also had an inexpensive Yongnuo YN 33mm F1.4 mounted on a Sony body. Both combos, in theory, shake out to about the same thing, as the YN 33mm is an APS-C lens, leaving a 50mm equivalence. Autofocus in bare form would obviously favor the GM lens, which has multiple XD (Extreme Dynamic) linear motors whereas the Yongnuo has a more basic single STM focus motor. In many situations the adapted Sony lens worked about as well as the Yongnuo (which actually focuses quite well), with one exception that stood out to me. When attempting to focus on a close subject, the Megadap combo would often stick on the background, requiring me to try to find a more obvious (bigger, higher contrast) subject in about the same focus distance I wanted and then going back to the desired subject. If I didn’t do that, focus looked like this:
The correct focus (which I achieved by pointing the camera basically at the ground first and then returning to correct subject. Focus would lock accurately then.) looks like this:
It’s worth noting that the Yongnuo in shooting the exact same shot immediately locked on the correct focus point.
Now clearly the GM lens delivered a superior looking image than the cheaper lens, but it does go to show that even an inexpensive native lens is going to autofocus a little better than an adapted lens in this situation.
Still, however, I was able to get all the shots that I wanted on my hike, and the end results were accurately focused. Shots like these ferns that still provided a pop of green in the mid-November death of vegetation.
Or this bare branch with just enough moss growing on it to provide a nice subtle color contrast against the background.
These shots were all at F1.4, but I also had good results when shooting landscape shots at smaller apertures.
So, I think I can safely say that autofocus accuracy is not a problem. At the margins, however, I think you’ll find a few places where autofocus doesn’t quite match what’s possible with a native lens.
What’s interesting, however, is that if you have a high speed autofocus system on Sony, you will continue to get fast autofocus on Nikon via adapter. I compared the focus speed of the Nikkor Z 50mm F1.4 lens and that the of Sony 50mm F1.4 GM lens via adapter back to back on my Z8, and there was no question that the focus speed (and arguably confidence) in this test actually favored the GM lens.
That makes sense, as really the adapter’s job is to send the correct communications from the lens to the AF system via the contacts, so a fast focusing lens should continue to be a fast focusing lens, with the only real slowdown being from the need to “reinterpret” the focus algorithms from one language (Sony) to another (Nikon). So a faster focusing lens (Sony GM) bests a slower focusing lens (Nikkor Z 50mm) even if there is a slight slowdown due to focus algorithms.
But what about the same lens? I had a unique opportunity to compare the Z-mount version of the Viltrox AF 16mm F1.8 with an adapter E-mount version of the same lens since I happened to have both of them on hand. In a pure focus test, I definitely found that the Z-mount version focused faster, with the adapted E-mount version being a little slower. Both would be fast enough for real world use, however.
I was also interested in seeing if the adapter affected the optical performance. In theory, it shouldn’t really affect sharpness, as there is no optical elements in the adapter themselves. No elements should mean no effect upon sharpness. As far as what I actually found, I don’t think there is any optical degradation. When I did a side by side comparison between the E-mount and Nikon Z-mount version of the Viltrox 16mm I found that there was just some give and take. I found the Z-mount version was a little sharper in the center…
…but the corner favored the E-mount version:
In other words, no consistent difference. I shot at different apertures and got similar results.
What I did find on a practical level was that when I was using the adapter I tended to get a bit of underexposure. I saw this when I compared the Viltrox 16mm lenses (the adapted lens metered at 1/400th, while the native mount lens metered at 1/250th), but I also saw it when just shooting during my hike. I ended up using exposure compensation for the second half of my hike and found that using 2/3rds of a stop of exposure compensation actually produced what I considered accurate exposure.
I didn’t see any kind of additional issues with flare or aberrations.
I was able to successfully use the Sony FE 35mm F1.4 GM (fast focus due to being a fast focusing lens), and got good results with the Tamron 35-150mm F2-2.8 VXD (fast, but not GM level fast), with good but slightly slower results coming with the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DN due to having a single STM focus motor.
Bottom line: the autofocus speed for stills you’ll get will depend a lot on the initial autofocus speed of the lens you’re adapting. Everything is slightly slower, but the better focusing lenses are fast enough that they are still fast even if you slow them down a bit.
At the same time, I wouldn’t want to rely on this combination for tracking fast action. Even with Nala trotting towards me at a moderately fast pace, I found that photos were fairly close but almost always backfocused a bit.
I think it is important to stay realistic about what adapted lenses can and cannot do. For most tasks, autofocus is plenty good enough. For fast action, with long telephotos, or for things like birding, I would say that using a native mount lenses is a smarter choice.
Video Autofocus
*These results will be easier to see in the video review for obvious reasons.
The good news is that you can still get autofocus during video capture, though there is a bit less confidence overall. I found that I encountered more pulsing during focus pulls, which is generally a byproduct of focus not being confident enough to lock. It would do a quick micropulse in the wrong direction sometimes.
I did a few tests walking towards the camera, and found that the results varied a bit. I did spot one principle difference with the Neewer NW-ETZ adapter, as I saw A) more reliable subject tracking with the Megadap adapter and B) seemed to get profile corrections in video with the Megadap but not the Neewer.
Using the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DN and its slightly slower autofocus motor I found that I got fairly decent tracking even at F1.4 as I walked towards the camera. Autofocus moved mostly smoothly with me and footage looked great. When I stepped out of frame, however, and focus moved to the background, autofocus did not pick me back up when I stepped back into frame.
I switched to the faster 50mm GM lens, and it was much more successful at picking me up when I stepped back in the frame.
So, as before, you’ll get your best results for video AF when using more confident lenses. This is definitely a far cry from the video AF experience I got back in the day adapting Canon EF lenses, though just know that if you put these adapted lenses in demanding situations you may be a bit disappointed, but for most work you’ll be just fine.
Conclusion
Switching to a new camera brand can be a daunting experience, as the sheer cost of selling what you have (typically at a significant loss) and then rebuying everything for the new brand is expensive. The Megadap ETZ21 Pro is a great way to bridge that gap, however, if you happen to be coming from Sony E-mount to Nikon Z. You can keep using the lenses you love without adding any bulk and only minimal weight, and that weight is right up close to the camera where you won’t notice it anyway.
Or perhaps you just have certain lenses that you love on E-mount but there isn’t an equivalent lens on Z-mount. The Megadap is a great way to use a favorite lens on two systems, or just keep an old friend to enjoy on a new platform.
Either way, this little adapter seems worth the money. It works effectively for stills other than not wanting to focus on a close subject periodically, and it even works surprisingly well for video, too, though perhaps not quite as seamlessly. My expectations were largely set by experience with former adapters, and I would say that the the Megadap ETZ21 Pro easily exceeded those. It’s a better adapting experience than any that I’ve personally experienced, matching even what I saw when adapting Canon EF to Canon RF mount using a Canon adapter. The fact that a third party adapter has pulled that off is pretty impressive, and I’ll personally enjoy using some of my favorite E-mount lenses on my Nikon camera(s) moving ahead.
Pros:
Love how compact the adapter is
Seems to enjoy a certain amount of first party support (firmware updates, lens profiles).
Improved lens release button makes adding or removing a lens easier
Autofocus for stills is generally very good
Was able to track some action during video capture
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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