Choosing The Best Prime Lens: Size Matters

There are so many fabulous prime lenses that have been launched these past 12 months—and continue to be launched—it’s hard to know which direction to go if you’re looking to buy a new one. The choice can be overwhelming and confusing. 

An example that has stood out for me recently is 35mm primes. Viltrox has an astoundingly good, yet large, 35mm f/1.2 LAB. In comparison, there’s Artizlab’s tiny Classic 35mm f/1.4. Two 35mm lenses new to market, both shoot very fast. One weighs around 970 g—the other, a mere 157 g. It is quite a difference.

Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.2 LAB for Z and E

The Viltrox is a serious lens. It gets the job at hand done quickly, without fuss, and without compromise to quality. It’s perfect for event and wedding photographers.

It’s state-of-the-art, with lightning-fast autofocus subject tracking powered by a Quad HyperVCM motor. It features:

• Programmable function buttons to improve workflow speed
• A customizable color LED screen
• Firmware updates via a built-in USB-C port
• Weather sealing
• Multi-layer nano coatings that reduce flare and ghosting
• Lens elements (15 total), including high-precision UA aspherical elements and ED low-dispersion elements, delivering exceptional resolution and smooth bokeh

This lens is a technological beast, currently available for Z and E mounts. If speed and image quality are important, this is about as good as it gets for the price.

The Artizlab, in contrast, is none of these things.

Artizlab Classic 35mm f/1.4 for M

The Artizlab turns the technology clock back 60–70 years. It’s a replica of the iconic Leica Summilux 35mm f/1.4 pre-ASPH version 2 from the 1960s. It’s a fun lens that allows you to be part of the image-making experience. It’s perfect for general photography when slow and thoughtful is the priority, or when you need to zone focus and grab quick candid shots on the street.

This little 35mm is manual focus, and there’s none of the delicate focus-by-wire nonsense here; it’s a good old-fashioned, solidly made helicoidal design. It features a locking infinity ring—that’s as high-tech as things get. In fact, that feature was on the original Leica version when it first came out in the 1960s and was subsequently dropped from future versions. I found out why.

The Classic is available in black or silver. Its build quality is solid, made from aluminum and copper. The distance markings are engraved and filled with paint—I miss that functionality on modern autofocus lenses. The thing that impresses me most is the size of this lens for an f/1.4.

The only annoying issues I encountered with this little lens are the minimum focus distance of around one meter and the infinity lock. I took a portrait of two friends at a restaurant and had to move back from them to get focus, and when I did, I found myself fighting the lock. Slightly annoying, but certainly not a deal-breaker. The minimum distance is typical of older M lenses—something Leica users have to get used to.

The Artizlab Classic 35mm f/1.4, unlike the Viltrox 35mm f/1.2 LAB, is far from perfect optically. It’s soft in the corners and has vignetting and aberrations. But honestly, I couldn’t care less. If you want technically perfect, clinical results, buy a modern lens. Buy the Viltrox. This lens, and all its imperfections, gives you character. I love it.

Dilemma

We have two extremes here. Which route do you go?

Do you buy a big, heavy lens perfect for low light, with quick autofocus and exceptional image quality—a lens that draws attention, shouting “pro camera gear”?

Or do you go the tiny, optically imperfect, manual focus route—a lens with character that barely gets noticed when out on the street because it’s so small?

Being presented with so much choice, this has become my dilemma, but I do have an answer.

Get both.

Street Photography

I’ve been using the Artizlab for street photography on my Nikon with an optional adapter—and on my Leica film camera. It works really well in both cases, and it’s a bundle of fun, too.

Manual focus is the better option for street photography if you use zone focusing, which I do most of the time. I set my focus distance and forget about it. When I take this lens, I’m traveling light and don’t need anything more than a tiny shoulder bag with me—perfect for walking the streets. I don’t really need a very fast lens for street photography, as I prefer to shoot at f/8 or f/11 when zone focusing. Although, being an f/1.4, it’s very handy for low-light shooting, and I’ve taken advantage of the wide aperture many times already.

Travel Photography

For general travel photography, I don’t need to be quite so stealthy a lot of the time and tend to use autofocus more than I do for street photography. I also shoot in low light when traveling, indoors and at night. So having a faster lens is more essential than it is for street photography.

I’ve used the Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.8 for the past few years and really love it, so does it make sense to increase my weight and use the f/1.2 LAB version instead? This beast gives me an extra 1.2 stops of light, which is a very significant amount. And if I need to separate my subject using depth of field, this is the lens to use.

If I’m traveling with just one lens, I don’t mind taking the f/1.2. If I want to take 2–3 lenses, then it becomes a problem, but most of the time, I would still choose it. The size and weight I can accept, because the ease of use and resulting image quality is so good.

The Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.2 LAB Z/E mount retails at $899.

The Artizlab Classic 35mm f/1.4 M mount retails for $539.