Typoch Simera 28mm f1.4 Z mount

I am intrigued to try out manual focus (specifically zone focusing) type lenses for street photography and this Chinese range finder style lens has caught my attention, particularly after seeing videos about it by Youtubers such as Bokeh therapy and Samuel streetlife.

Does anyone have a lens like this (either 28mm or 35mm) and how do they find it in use especially for street style photography?

Replying to my own thread, I'm finding out more about this lens and this has prompted me to buy a used mint one. It has only recently been made for Z mount and a lot of people on Youtube and other photo blogs were using the M mount version with a converter. The converter enables it to be used with Nikon's AF and to record all shooting information. There are also now converters for the Z mount version which enable AF.

robmarshall77 said:

Replying to my own thread, I'm finding out more about this lens and this has prompted me to buy a used mint one. It has only recently been made for Z mount and a lot of people on Youtube and other photo blogs were using the M mount version with a converter. The converter enables it to be used with Nikon's AF and to record all shooting information. There are also now converters for the Z mount version which enable AF.

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I can understand using an M mount lens on Z mount with a converter.

How can one fit a converter between Z mount lens and a Z body? What am I missing here?

Thanks.

I posted a few samples and initial impressions on Fred Miranda:



I since brought the lens with me to Denmark and Sweden, but only used it for some nighttime shooting. I found myself reaching for my 14-30 and 24-120 a lot more just due to the flexibility of using a zoom, the convenience of AF, and that I was shooting during the daytime most of the trip. The lens hood not locking in place continued to be an annoyance. The optical performance was in line with my expectations and what I had read online. Ultimately, I don't think a 28mm prime fits my style and I decided to return my copy.

I used it with the z7 for a few months and the quality was quite good: sharper than I expected, nice bokeh (although on such a wide lens maybe not that important), great build quality. Ultimately I decided to sell it since 28mm is not my preferred focal length. Cons are that it doesn't have any electronic contacts to transmit EXIF info and it won't give you the green focus confirmation indicator, but this might not be a show stopper for some. I guess ultimately if you are into manual focus lenses, it's a good option.

Sorry I don't have any street photos from this lens to show you, but here are some initial tests of the Z-mount Thypoch 28/1.4 I did with my cat as the subject where you can see the effects of backlighting and the quality of the bokeh. Even though it's a wide angle lens, with sufficient background distance, you can get a nice blur. The backgrounds were maybe 10-12 feet away in most of these photos. It has a really nice looking rendering and has me at times considering the Simera-Cs for video lenses. The photos are formatted for posting on Instagram as square frames, which is why there's a lot of white framing. These were all shot on the Z6III before we had MF subject detect.





















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robmarshall77 said:

I am intrigued to try out manual focus (specifically zone focusing) type lenses for street photography and this Chinese range finder style lens has caught my attention, particularly after seeing videos about it by Youtubers such as Bokeh therapy and Samuel streetlife.

Does anyone have a lens like this (either 28mm or 35mm) and how do they find it in use especially for street style photography?

Click to expand...

I do not have that lens but I have three old Canon Fd mount lenses (28mm f/2.8, 25mm f/3.5, and 50mm f/1.4) that I occasionally use for street photography use zone focusing methods. They are mounted to my Z5 with an Fd to Z adapter.

For street photography using zone focusing I find f/5.6, f/8, and f/11 to be the most useful apertures with my 24MP sensor. I tend set focus based on the DOF markings of one stop wider than my set aperture (e.g use DOF markings of f/4 when lens is set to f/5.6) but that is something you need to figure out yourself for your preferences. If I go wider than f/5.6 then I tend towards dialing in focus via the EVF.

I find this to be a challenging and entertaining way to photograph. I also find that I am more likely to stick with it if I don't take any autofocus lenses with me for the outing.

Wezre said:

I posted a few samples and initial impressions on Fred Miranda:

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1896188/5#16899236

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1916210/0#16897603

I since brought the lens with me to Denmark and Sweden, but only used it for some nighttime shooting. I found myself reaching for my 14-30 and 24-120 a lot more just due to the flexibility of using a zoom, the convenience of AF, and that I was shooting during the daytime most of the trip. The lens hood not locking in place continued to be an annoyance. The optical performance was in line with my expectations and what I had read online. Ultimately, I don't think a 28mm prime fits my style and I decided to return my copy.

Click to expand...

You actually used it on a trip and then returned it?

robmarshall77 said:

I am intrigued to try out manual focus (specifically zone focusing) type lenses for street photography and this Chinese range finder style lens has caught my attention, particularly after seeing videos about it by Youtubers such as Bokeh therapy and Samuel streetlife.

Click to expand...

An F1.4 lens is overkill for zone focusing IMO. As others wrote in this thread, you can't reliably focus with such large apertures and shallow DoF, but will end up using the lens mostly at f8.

And at F8, almost any decent 28mm lens will perform well - even a vintage 28mm manual focus Nikkor for a fraction of the price.

Ian Mc said:

Wezre said:

I posted a few samples and initial impressions on Fred Miranda:

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1896188/5#16899236

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1916210/0#16897603

I since brought the lens with me to Denmark and Sweden, but only used it for some nighttime shooting. I found myself reaching for my 14-30 and 24-120 a lot more just due to the flexibility of using a zoom, the convenience of AF, and that I was shooting during the daytime most of the trip. The lens hood not locking in place continued to be an annoyance. The optical performance was in line with my expectations and what I had read online. Ultimately, I don't think a 28mm prime fits my style and I decided to return my copy.

Click to expand...

You actually used it on a trip and then returned it?

Click to expand...

I took a whopping 20-25 photos with the lens and it otherwise sat wrapped in a lens wrap and inside a camera bag. It’s in pristine condition. I’ve heard of lenses and cameras getting far more use and then returned, which I don’t agree with. I’m fully complying with the store’s return policy. I’ve bought many things from them over the years and have never returned anything prior to this.

dsteiner said:

I used it with the z7 for a few months and the quality was quite good: sharper than I expected, nice bokeh (although on such a wide lens maybe not that important), great build quality. Ultimately I decided to sell it since 28mm is not my preferred focal length. Cons are that it doesn't have any electronic contacts to transmit EXIF info and it won't give you the green focus confirmation indicator, but this might not be a show stopper for some. I guess ultimately if you are into manual focus lenses, it's a good option.

Click to expand...

So the Z mount doesn't have the contact to tranmist the EXIF data? That's a shame they would not add that. Heck, my cheap TTArtisian AF 40mm F2 has it and it only cost $160. I was considering their 35mm f1.4 but if it doesn't include the green focus confirmation I'll look elseswhere.

Thanks for the info.

FYI, Thypoch just announced their Black Friday sale for the Simeras, and it's a 33% discount. The Simera-Cs are supposed to follow soon: this sale is only for their stills lenses.

Thanks everyone for your replies. The reason why I was attracted to this lens was this video from Walk like Alice Youtube channel (I'm not sure but I'm guessing the strange name for the channel means as photographers, like Alice, we should walk through the world with a sense of wonder). He often frames his shots blind without using the viewfinder but using his knowledge of DOF and aperture. I think he's very knowledgeable and he also explains why 28mm is such a good focal length for the kind of shooting he likes to do. The result is that he has a very strong photographic style and some of his images are inspirational.

The other thing I want to try is using an adapter so you get the green focus box when you do use the viewfinder and even eye detection on some models (but I don't know if this is possible on my Z5).

Interesting to hear about the sale. I just got the 28mm 1.4 for a good price used but it looks like I could've got a new one for about the same.

mcantsin said:

robmarshall77 said:

I am intrigued to try out manual focus (specifically zone focusing) type lenses for street photography and this Chinese range finder style lens has caught my attention, particularly after seeing videos about it by Youtubers such as Bokeh therapy and Samuel streetlife.

Click to expand...

An F1.4 lens is overkill for zone focusing IMO. As others wrote in this thread, you can't reliably focus with such large apertures and shallow DoF, but will end up using the lens mostly at f8.

And at F8, almost any decent 28mm lens will perform well - even a vintage 28mm manual focus Nikkor for a fraction of the price.

Click to expand...

Re your last point, this is where I have a lot to learn as a relative newbie. I have to admit a bit of what appeals about this lens is the aesthetics and build quality. Also, the way it shows zone focusing using red dots on the lens barrel is pretty cool.

robmarshall77 said:

The other thing I want to try is using an adapter so you get the green focus box when you do use the viewfinder and even eye detection on some models (but I don't know if this is possible on my Z5).

Click to expand...

AFAIK, this is only possible with newer Nikon Z cameras with the Expeed 7 chip, i.e. Z8, Z9, Z6iii, Zf, ZR and Z5ii.

And, as said, you can't do blind zone focusing with f1.4 or anything brighter than f8. For that purpose, lenses like Voigtlander's Color Skopar lenses are much more suitable.

Consider that Thypoch is, directly or indirectly, sponsoring all those YouTubers and has been running a massive social media influencer campaign.

Andre Yew said:

FYI, Thypoch just announced their Black Friday sale for the Simeras, and it's a 33% discount. The Simera-Cs are supposed to follow soon: this sale is only for their stills lenses.

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Very nice, I had my eye on the 28/1.4 Simera Z for a while, and the discount promotion removed my last resistance.

Chipped would have been better, and focus confirmation and RSF/RSF Hold functions are not available on non-CPU lenses, but since I also use various other non-CPU MF lenses and have decades of experience with MF, this is acceptable given the substantial discount.

Very fast, moderate wide angle, ideally 28mm, especially for environmental portraits.

One of the few gaps in my lens portfolio.

Just ordered the silver Z-mount version, but since it's not in stock, it will probably take a few days to arrive.

It will make a beautiful MF duo with my CZJ 58/2 Biotar Pre-Set, which also has a silver-colored body.

Mine's just being shipped now, looking forward to getting it. Have you tried street photography using the hyperfocal technique and even shooting from the hip in the style described by Walk like Alice? And if you have, how were the results?

As I said, I just ordered it; the silver Z-mount version was not in stock at my dealer, so it will probably take a while for it to arrive.

However, I'm not really into street photography, so with such a fast lens, I would probably go for the Voigtlander 28/1.5 Nokton, if street were my priority, at least when used frequently with the aperture wide open.

Simply because it's chipped and therefore comes with focus confirmation/focus box frame turns green.

Also, the recall shooting function on my Z8 isn't compatible with a non-CPU lens, which can be really useful as a subject detection kill switch when working with MF subject detection, of course also for various other possible RSF/RSF Hold configurations.

Be it as an “emergency action button setting” or to be able to assign spot metering to one of the FN buttons on a Z8, and much more.
So there is a clear loss of convenience with a non-CPU MF lens.
This is not a deal breaker for my intended use, but for street photography and the need to act very quickly, it would be a significant disadvantage, especially the lack of focus confirmation.

I'll mainly be using the lens for environmental portraits, mostly family and friends,

and carefree and very conscious travel photography.

So photographic situations where I don't really have to work with zone focusing technique.

What appeals to me about this lens is its use in the open aperture range, close-range and medium range, so I will mainly be working with EVF and magnification.

But I can also imagine using it for street photography, zone focusing, or the double distance method, but not so much wide open and less in the close-up and medium distance range.

I was really impressed with the rendering and bokeh for this price range from what I could see and the current discount was sufficient to dispel concerns about the disadvantages of non-CPU lenses.

In this price range, now after the discount, $369 at B&H, there is really nothing comparable in 28mm f/1.4 in terms of rendering quality, especially for environmental portraits.

https://phillipreeve.net/blog/comparison-fast-28mm-f-1-2-f-1-4-f-1-5-fullframe-lenses/

Andre Yew said:

Sorry I don't have any street photos from this lens to show you, but here are some initial tests of the Z-mount Thypoch 28/1.4 I did with my cat as the subject where you can see the effects of backlighting and the quality of the bokeh. Even though it's a wide angle lens, with sufficient background distance, you can get a nice blur. The backgrounds were maybe 10-12 feet away in most of these photos. It has a really nice looking rendering and has me at times considering the Simera-Cs for video lenses. The photos are formatted for posting on Instagram as square frames, which is why there's a lot of white framing. These were all shot on the Z6III before we had MF subject detect.

Click to expand...

I like the pictures, they look great! I have this lens for my Leica M6 and I’ve used it on my Fuji X-T50 with an adapter. It’s not a technically perfect lens but it has character that I can see in the posted photos. I like it a lot. Mostly for the 35mm experience but I get nice photos on my Fuji X-T50 as well. I always zone focus. I haven’t gotten good a quick manual focusing but I’m sure that will come with more use. Glad you like the lens!