Meike 50mm 1.8

[BFR]

Hello everyone. Here I share my impressions of the Meike 50mm 1.8 lens as a review:

 

Introduction

The Meike 50mm 1.8 is a very light and inexpensive autofocus lens. It is available for different mounts. I have been using it for the last few months on my Sony a7IV, and I want to share my impressions.

View: original size

Construction

While most of the Meike lenses have a full metal construction and robustness, the Meike 50mm 1.8 is made of plastic except for the bayonet, which is metal. Even so, the plastic is of good quality, and thanks to it, the lens is very light and portable and very cheap (right now, on Amazon, it costs around €200: https://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B0CTGX8HBN ). It is not weather sealed, has a detachable hood and a button to switch from manual to automatic focus quite convenient. It lacks a diaphragm ring, having to control the aperture from the camera.

Image Quality

The image quality of the Meike 50mm 1.8 has impressed me. Although its sweet spot is around f 5.6, even at full aperture it has excellent sharpness, especially in the centre of the image, which is surprising for a lens of this price.

This fact, together with its beautiful bokeh, which I will talk about later, make the lens a very good choice for portrait and event photography, also at a professional level.

Regarding aberrations, they are very well controlled. When shooting against the sun, purple and green chromatic aberrations are slightly noticeable, but they are not serious and fully correctable in processing. Flares are also quite well contained, so the lens allows us to include light sources in our shots without problems.

View: original size

View: original size

Bokeh

One of the most important features for this type of lens is its bokeh. In this case, the Meike 50mm 1.8's bokeh is smooth and creamy and, with light sources, it produces quite rounded balls. So, despite being an inexpensive lens, it performs as a high-quality portrait lens.

Focus

The focusing tests I have done, both in photography and video, have been very good. The focus is activated and deactivated with a side button. It is fast and accurate, quiet and does not fail often. It is still good in low light conditions, where lenses, in general, tend to perform worse.

Conclusion

The Meike 50 mm 1.8 is a lens with a very very good performance, at a very low price. It stands out for its great sharpness, even at full aperture, its blur/bokeh, its low weight and portability. In my opinion, it is difficult to find a lens with these features for this price, so it is highly recommended.