Okay so here we are. My first impressions of the Pergear 35mm F1.6. A lens I bought from Amazon for the insanely cheap price of 70(!) euros. There isn’t much else out there for your Fujifilm X-system that costs you less money.
While researching the lens online, I couldn’t find much out there that talks about the lens in depth so I’m considering writing a proper long-term review. It’s too soon for that now though so here are a few of my earliest impressions and thoughts:
- It’s heavier than my 18mm f2 but also smaller
- It’s also heavier than my XF35mm f2
- The front element is very… spherical. Especially for a 35mm lens.
- It focuses past infinity.
None of these observations are dealbreakers and perhaps some of them, like the weight, are actually a benefit? I’m not sure. It sure causes the lens to feel more premium in your hands. The curvature of the front element was surprising as that’s mostly something you see with wide-angle lenses. The lens is so tiny though, I think Pergear couldn’t get around this almost circular front element to allow for a 35mm field of view. It’s a small miracle you don’t see the effects of that in the form of heavy distortion! Finally, focussing past infinity is a lesser issue to me than not being able to achieve infinity at all.
Here are a few random shots I’ve taken in the one day I’ve had the lens in my possession:
