Mitakon [Zhongyi] Creator 85/2 (Second Version)

The first version of the Chinese Mitakon [Zhongyi] Creator 85/2 lens was plastic, cheap, with a 52mm filter thread and 6 aperture blades. The second version became metal, with a 55mm filter thread and 10 aperture blades, but noticeably more expensive. I have right the second version with the Nikon F mount.

Yes, the filter thread is 55mm.

The pure Nikon F mount with no electronics and no aperture actuator.

The aperture is controlled by a ring directly. There are clicks in the 2-2.8-4-5.6-8-11-16-22 positions (16 is not marked), but you can set intermediate values quite smoothly:

The aperture has 10 blades, but no rounding. Even at f/2.8 it already looks angled:

There is a built-in metal hood that can be pulled forward:

The lens covers the full-frame format. The optical design is 6 elements in 6 groups ("separated" Planar), which is very rare:

The lens feels weighty and metal, in the style of older lenses. Focusing is smooth and fine, but I can see focusing beyond infinity, which may be due to the Fotga adapter used.

First impressions (with my Sony a7c, FF 24Mp):

1. Not bad mechanical.

2. Very poor corners, which slowly improve as you close the aperture. There is also a tilt of the focal plane (some decentering of the lens elements): one corner is better than the other three. This is a common complaint about this lens. There seems to be no quality control.

3. Soft unusual out of focus blur. It looks like a software rendering. This seems to be the nature of the lens. I hope to present sample images later.

4. Resolution in the center isn't bad, especially with the aperture slightly closed.

5. Unexpectedly, good sunstars due to 10 straight blades.

I have another Chinese 85mm lens: Vivitar [OEM] 85/1.8, which also has 6 elements in 6 groups, although it's cheaper. And it has a quite different rendering. Perhaps I will do a comparison of these two 85mm lenses.

See also related notes:

• Mitakon Creator 85/2 II: Samples [2] - 135 film - f/2 (2025-08-11)
• Mitakon Creator 85/2 II: Pentax K mount (2025-07-07)
• Mitakon [Zhongyi] Creator 35/2: Samples [1] - FF - f/2 (2025-06-15)
• Mitakon Creator 85/2 II: Samples [1] - FF - f/2 (2024-06-16)
• K&F Concept Pro: Nikon F - Sony FE/E adapter (2024-03-25)
• Mitakon Creator 85/2 II vs Vivitar 85/1.8: out-of-focus area blur (2023-12-21)
• Lenses without cemented elements (2023) (2023-10-12)
• Mitakon Creator 85/2 II vs Vivitar 85/1.8 (2023-04-11)

Image albums:

• Mitakon [Zhongyi] Creator 85/2 (II)