There aren’t too many modern lenses these days that make you enjoy the process of photography. This is why many new manufacturers are giving younger camera owners the vintage experience by releasing beautiful manual focus lenses. Giving you some classic retro feels and results and reconnecting you with the overall joy of making photos is the Artralab 50mm f1.1 Lunalumen Z-mount lens. It’s been a while since any lens has made me want to carry it around for use and for others to admire.
The Big Picture
Hot on the heels of their NoNikkor 35mm f1.4 80s, which was styled on the – you guessed it – Nikkor AI and AI-s versions of their 35mm f1.4 lens, is the Artralab 50mm f1.1 Lunalumen. However, it doesn’t look like any Nikon lens this time, taking its styling cues more from Voigtlander than anywhere else. Thankfully, it doesn’t take on the pricing scale of this brand, keeping matters light on your pocket as well as your camera. All this while delivering pretty decent image results. More than anything, the experience of using this lens kept me wanting to go out so often with it. It pairs perfectly with my Nikon Zf, a camera that delivered almost everything I hoped it would.
This lens makes you want to keep creating images from scenes you often pass by without a second glance. But most of all, it gives you great satisfaction from few other experiences than the joy of a tactile, manual photography experience. Embrace the softness at f1.1 and relish the results you get from this lens.
I’m so glad to be able to use a manual focus lens on the Nikon Zf without adding the noticeably large FTZ adapter on the camera. Artralab deserves high praise for bringing out affordable lenses that give you pleasing images. It could have bagged a full five-star rating had it included the conveniences of electronic contacts and weather resistance. But it’s still one of the most enjoyable lenses I’ve used in the last few years. I’m giving the Artralab 50mm f1.1 Lunalumen Lens four out of five stars.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Pros
Creamy bokeh but understandably soft results at a wide f1.1 aperture.
Beautiful construction. An all-metal body that’s so pleasing to hold. The body looks like it’s made of scratch-resistant material.
Smooth manual focus ring giving you precise control over your focus techniques
At $345 it’s a lot more affordable than any Voigtlander lens in the same focal length
Visually pairs perfectly with retro-looking cameras like the Nikon Zf and Zfc
Decent flare control
Accurate color renditions
The lens coatings on the front element really remind you of classic lenses from the film era. Modern lens coatings don’t give such colorful reflections
If you enjoy a more relaxed, connecting approach to photography, you’ll want to carry this lens around everywhere
Cons
No electronic contacts. So no aperture data EXIF value gets saved to your images
Images shot at f1.1 can be noticeably soft
Ergonomics
The Artralab 50mm f1.1 Lunalumen lens is an absolute delight to use. It’s inspired by the Voigtlander APO-LANTHAR 50mm F2 Aspherical lens but comes in almost two stops faster.
The manual focus ring is large and very comfortable to grip. I thoroughly enjoyed the manual focus experience on this lens, as you get exact adjustments while using it. You’ll also notice a similar construction for the aperture ring, which has a beautiful click each time you adjust it. The red dot is the lens line-up mark for mounting this to your Z-mount camera.
Artralab has also kept a handy distance scale. Not something you’d really need if you use your camera’s focus peaking assist
The filter thread is 52mm, but we didn’t use any during our tests. I just stuck the beautiful metal hood on the top and left it there. The lens cap stayed off all the time because it was a screw-on type.
Build Quality
Straight out of the box, I could tell this lens was well-machined. At least on the outside. It took quite a few knocks while I took it around town, and it managed to overcome all of them. It’s a real delight to see a lens made with such good finishing across the length without any apparent compromise to quality.
The whole tactile experience was pure joy, and that’s not just in part due to the solid construction of the lens.
I can’t help but mention how beautiful the reflections from the front element coatings are. They remind me of many of the older Nikkor lenses I have with me.
The one issue I faced with this lens, which technically isn’t a problem with the lens itself, was the rear mount cap. It fits perfectly on the Artralab 50mm f1.1 lens, but I often find it won’t tighten on my Nikon Z 24-120mm F4 lens. Each time I swapped out the 24-120 for the Artralab 50mm, I had to be extra careful to ensure I wouldn’t lose the rear cap.
Ease Of Use
Back in 2015, we wrote about why lens manufacturers need to bring back the distance scale. This lens has one, and if you’d like to learn more about using it to your advantage, check out the article. Remember to slow down, take your time, and make some of the most memorable photography experiences you’ve had in recent years. This lens is all about the process, and embracing the fact that you have to slow down to use this is the first part of that process.
Focusing
Unless you want to drive yourself nuts while looking for the green focus-confirmation dot inside your Nikon camera’s EVF while gingerly trying to adjust the focus ring, turn on focus peaking for the best experience with this lens. In the new Nikon Zf, you also get eye-AF with manual focus lenses like this, which can help you quickly zoom into the eyes (at the touch of a button) to nail your focus even quicker. It’s not just the size of the focus ring which helps you adjust it more precisely. The design is quite different from your average lens’s focus ring.
Be extra patient when trying to take a picture at f1.1; the depth of field is super narrow.
Image Quality
All images taken with this camera were on the Nikon Zf, which transports you back in time when paired with this lens. Aside from the softness at f1.1, which is understandable, I can’t say I have any complaints with the results. The colors came out extremely accurate. Overall, the Artralab 50mm f1.1 Lunalumen lens exceeded all my expectations with its performance.
Bokeh
If you’re buying an f1.1 lens, one of the primary reasons, if not the ultimate reason, is for the results at f1.1. While you must sacrifice some sharpness (noticed only if you zoom in all the way), you get some creamy, soft, out-of-focus areas at f1.1. It reminds me of my results when reviewing the Laowa 45mm f0.95, another excellent manual focus lens. You can get very cinematic results if you study the lighting conditions that present themselves well.
Sharpness
Slide to see what the sharpness at f1.1 looks like at 100%
Modern mirrorless lenses are almost always clinically sharp. We’ve often said that such lenses are devoid of the character that used to be a signature of film-era lenses. I’m happy to report that the Artralab 50mm f1.1 while being sharp when stopped past f2.8, has a fair amount of character when used wide open. It’s not like it’s unusably soft below f3.2; you can easily make the images pop with some editing. But if you aren’t embracing the softness at wide apertures, then it beats the point of owning such a lens.
Lens Character
The occasional oval-shaped sun flare did make its way to my images. Be prepared to add some contrast to your photos while editing them.
Vignetting is quite noticeable when using the lens hood.
Extra Image Samples
From day one, The Phoblographer has been huge on transparency with our audience. Nothing from this review is sponsored. Further, lots of folks will post reviews and show lots of editing in the photos. The problem then becomes that anyone and everyone can do the same thing. They’re not showing what the lens can do. So we have a section in our Extra Image Samples area to show edited and unedited photos. From this, you can make a decision for yourself.
Unedited
Edited
Who Should Buy The Artralab 50mm f1.1 Lunalumen Lens?
I’m not going to say that this lens is solely for those with vintage-looking cameras. It’s priced well enough for anyone wanting a really fast 50mm lens that won’t cost them the moon. But it’s definitely more of a conversation starter when paired with a Nikon Zf or Zfc, adding to the styling of those cameras. It’s also available in Leica M, Sony FE, and Canon R mount variants. If you’re not a stickler for sharpness when shooting open wide and also want a very well-constructed lens, head over to their website to order one today. The Artralab 50mm f1.1 Lunalumen is a very good performer in the hands of a patient photographer. I am really looking forward to seeing what else they have lined up for 2024.
Tech Specs
Taken from the Artralab 50mm f1.1 Lunalumen lens product page:
Focal Length50mmMaximum ApertureF1.1Minimum ApertureF16Optical Design8 Element In 6 GroupsAngle of View46 DegreesDiaphragm Blades11 BladesNearest focusing distance0.35mFilter ApertureΦ 52mmMaximum CalibreΦ 62.9mmHeight67.88mmWeight418 gBayonetNikon Z-MountRear intercept26mm
Artralab 50mm f1.1 Lunalumen Review: A Beautiful ExperienceHot on the heels of their NoNikkor 35mm f1.4 80s, which was styled on the – you guessed it – Nikkor AI and AI-s versions of their 35mm f1.4 lens, is the Artralab 50mm f1.1 Lunalumen. However, it doesn’t look like any Nikon lens this time, taking its styling cues more from Voigtlander than anywhere else. Thankfully, it doesn’t take on the pricing scale of this brand, keeping matters light on your pocket as well as your camera. All this while delivering pretty decent image results. More than anything, the experience of using this lens kept me wanting to go out so often with it. It pairs perfectly with my Nikon Zf, a camera that delivered almost everything I hoped it would.
This lens makes you want to keep creating images from scenes you often pass by without a second glance. But most of all, it gives you great satisfaction from few other experiences than the joy of a tactile, manual photography experience. Embrace the softness at f1.1 and relish the results you get from this lens.
I’m so glad to be able to use a manual focus lens on the Nikon Zf without adding the noticeably large FTZ adapter on the camera. Artralab deserves high praise for bringing out affordable lenses that give you pleasing images. It could have bagged a full five-star rating had it included the conveniences of electronic contacts and weather resistance. But it’s still one of the most enjoyable lenses I’ve used in the last few years. I’m giving the Artralab 50mm f1.1 Lunalumen Lens four out of five stars.
