ArtraLab Similar Steel Rim 35mm F1.4

My first impressions of this lens were less than great. Perhaps expectations were a little too high after the Nocty-Nonikkor delivering everything I have come to expect from ArtraLab — fit and finish indicative of a premium lens and most of all the signature Noct look promised. Now the only question left is “how close does the Similar Steel Rim get to that legendary ‘Lux?”

Usually I refrain from such immediate impressions but it carried with me into the first shoot “If the focus tab is this slippery, how do I focus?” No knurling on the focus tab, and the usual tactile ArtraLab helicoid replaced for a cam coupled experience, yet in practise it wasn’t so bad. I have a lot of experience with the little brother to what inspired this lens — the Leica Summaron 35mm F2.8, and it’s not quite as nice as that. The Summaron tab had enough texture to nudge with a fingertip, knurling on the sides to help pinch, with the ArtraLab you end up doing a combination of both pinching and nudging. I’m one of the few left who really champions how a lens operates, as it is an intrinsic part of the image making process. With the Similar Steel Rim I was hoping for better. Not bad, but room for improvement. the same goes for the overall fit and finish too, less than what I am used to seeing from ArtraLab. I understand that Leica lenses are more complex to design, and they certainly did not skimp on the optics but if I had received this lens earlier in the development cycle (they told me about this lens around six months ago) I could have fixed this issue for them. This is where false economy of influencer review structures come to play, hurting both brand and consumer. Lets also address the elephant in the room, yes I shot combat sports wide open on a manual lens — that’s why my feedback actually matters. It makes much of this review that much harder to write, it’s a major weak link and right at the front of the chain.

I could take this lens out and test it in its natural habitat, chasing Bresson-esque decisive moments, but what scenario would yield more telling results than a Muay Thai match? What street scene would be worse lit, faster paced and hold as much emotion in a single frame? I’ve proven that this lens can render organic, clean files under sub-optimal conditions, and that despite my gripes — it does indeed focus. Alongside the Thypoch 28mm, the Similar Steel Rim is proof that when the image leads, operation follows. Yet unlike the Thypoch, this lens is not handicapped by the sensor behind it, but a very simple tooling fix. A deeper crescent, rougher texture and knurled pattern would elevate this to a true “users” lens. Not to mention that the choice to release in native Leica M means natural comparisons to Voigtlander (perhaps even Zeiss). Then things like focus tabs and scratchy focus become all the more apparent. I thought hard about shooting it more, but if we take the review out of the equation — I wouldn’t. Not for my work, not with such a glaring problem. Which is the natural and most honest verdict I can land on. It’s also worth noting that I debated contacting ArtraLab about this privately, but decided that if the lens is available to buy, then this information should be available.

Should time allow I will endeavour to bring open reviews of the Nonikkor line to DRobertsPhoto, in the meantime you can find my thoughts on them in FUJILOVE Magazine issues 108/111 and Fuji X Passion Virtual Magazine. Below is the full sample gallery, and I have penned a semi-adjacent Substack post: Prize Fights & Knock Outs

Addendum: After the review ArtraLab requested granular feedback on the issues with the focus tab and focusing, which I obliged. I look forward to them putting the feedback to use, be it on a revision or future lenses. I also feel remiss that I did not talk about the lens optically, as I stood my ground on the fact that glaring usability issues make the point moot. But the reality is for many the cost disparity between a vintage Steel Rim Summilux (or modern reissue) and the ArtraLab in question may be cause enough to “suck up” the flaw. The images I have provided (over 40) are indicative of its visual fingerprint, apparent even under sub-optimal conditions.