In this blog, I will briefly discuss the Pergear 25mm F1.7 for Sony E. This lens was sent to me by Pergear to use and review, but no specific direction was given.
Pergear 25mm F1.7 is a manual lens. So let's do it differently this time. Let's start with the price.
As of the date of writing this blog, this lens costs $69!
Does it have any flaws? It has. Is it worth the price? It is.
Build quality and ergonomics
Its greatest asset in terms of design is its light weight.
Pergear 25mm F1.7 weighs only 165 grams. In addition, it is incredibly compact. It is mainly made of plastic and metal. It has two rings. One from the focus and the other from the aperture.
The front glass is tiny and the filter size is only 37mm.
Let's not forget about the overall vintage look it presents.
Image quality
I haven't had the opportunity to test this lens in the daytime yet. At night, the image quality is satisfactory. At F1.7 it is slightly milky. From F2.8 it shows its true face. And from F4 it is razor sharp.
The big downside in my opinion is flares, which can really make life difficult. Regardless of the type of light, the lens can sometimes show a really big flare that it is impossible to edit it out.
With its fast F1.7 aperture, the bokeh looks really decent.
Manual focus
From a manual lens like Pergear 25mm F1.7, I'd expect precision when it comes to the markings - because that's what it's all about. After a few blurry photos, I noticed that the infinity marking on the lens body is inaccurate.
If you want to take pictures with the focus set to infinity, you need to move the focus ring to a few mm before the infinity sign. That's not ideal.
Pergear 25mm F1.7 summary
The biggest advantage of the Pergear 25mm F1.7 lens is its affordable price-to-performance ratio, especially for budget-conscious photographers. Robust and durable retro-style build is combined with light weight and small size. It is definitely a very good option for street photographers.
Its incredibly ambitious low price certainly makes up for the flaws it presents. I'd recommend it to anyone who is looking for something budget-friendly and basic.
