Here's a link to Alik Griffin's Fuji lens list:
https://alikgriffin.com/a-complete-l...-mount-lenses/
It appears to me that most of these lenses copy older designs by Leitz and Zeiss. My bottom line is that these lenses do not threaten to unseat my preferences for Nikon, Fuji, Voigtlander and Zeiss lenses on my cameras but they are definitely worth the time and money investment.
Generations of Chinese lense AFAIK:
The one from before the 1980s are usually copies or closely derived designs of Russian lenses (and the cameras they sold with, like the Shanghai 58, were mostly FED and Zorki copies), which again were largely descendants of Zeiss designs. Rule of thumb is if it's 58/2 it's a Biotar. Same applies to numerous 50/2.8 lenses - Tessars and Triplets. The Chinese touted the
Red Flag 20 to be an achievement - that they managed not only copying a M4, but also the Summilux and Summicrons, albeit at an exorbitant cost that rendered the entire project impratical. At the time, anything more than 6 elements seemed to be a challenge for the technicians of
Shanghai Camera Factory (later Seagull) to reverse engineer by hand. Oh well.
Came the 1980s saw Japanese makers (and a couple of German ones, like Balda) outsourcing cheap models like the X-300 (aka Seagull DF-300) to China, sometimes as licensed copies. Resulted in a sea of Minolta, Pentax and Ricoh lenses under Chinese labels. Rule of thumb is if it's 50/1.7 it's usually of Japanese origin.
With the advent of mirrorless cameras in the late 2000s, Chinese lens makers that used to make CCTV lenses for western clients began to adapt their designs onto M43 cameras en masse for a quick money. An ocean of 35/1.6, 25/1.8, 28/2.8, of varying but usually so-so quality.
Post-2015: a new generation of Chinese lens designers joined the scene, coinciding with Chinese lens manufacturing growing sophisticated enough to make very complicated, original designs instead of just repackaging generic lenses off the shelf of Shenzen's extensive supply chain. I'd say except the original Yongnuo Canon EF mount lenses, few from this period were blatant copies
optically (the exteriors though, is another story). Laowa, the Artisans and Viltrox began churning out dedicated designs for various mounts. I gather that they're still lagging behind on like the coatings and cutting-edge AF motors, but niche makers like Laowa really is hitting some balls out of the park. The capability is there and ever-growing.
So, hard to sum the Chinese lens scene up with one sentence as it had morphed extensively. Think: when's the last time you've heard of a
new Japanese lens maker?
Again, I hope they can hire some proper product designer instead of just copying the Leica look (and font, for God's sake).
