First 7Artisans 35mm f/2 Lens Review

[bayernfan]

Looking at the Emulsive review sample shots - distortion seems to be... (looking for a proper word) massive.

Maybe if you shoot digital and you correct for distortion anyway, but on film... it would drive me nuts on a carry-always semi-fast 35mm lens.

several of the samples i've seen have made me think the same thing. the barrel distortion really stands out in certain circumstances.

 

[geoffnik]

35mmc.com and £220 - one of the first batch of 20 which Hamish had ordered.

 

[dourbalistar]

Looking at the Emulsive review sample shots - distortion seems to be... (looking for a proper word) massive.

Maybe if you shoot digital and you correct for distortion anyway, but on film... it would drive me nuts on a carry-always semi-fast 35mm lens.

several of the samples i've seen have made me think the same thing. the barrel distortion really stands out in certain circumstances.

Does it look better or worse than the CV Nokton 35mm f/1.4? They don't share the same design, but the CV is often mentioned in compact, budget (i.e., less expensive) 35mm lens discussions. It also exhibits some obvious barrel distortion.

 

[emulsive]

"..Build quality is solid and compared to my Leica and Voigtlander lenses it feels somewhere between both, although closer to Voigtlander. I’ve no M-mount Zeiss lenses to compare, sadly."
Owning all those brands, Zeiss Cosina is no better than CV. Which makes sense as they are made in the same factory.
I agree with your rant, and like my 50 1.1 so much that I bought one in each finish. I did get them both used, which helped. It's my go to 50 even though I have others from Leica, Zeiss etc. One of them had the focus so far off I think that's why the owner sold it, and I also think it's because he tried to adjust it and failed.. It takes just a teeeny bit of movement to make a change.

Your photo of the close up of the Enfield gas tank with the bicycle in the back ground really is excellent. I'd get this lens if I didn't have as many 35mm lenses as I already do..

Thanks Huss!

 

[emulsive]

It shows right away what 7A has nothing in common with "CC" mentioned in the article.

Good points, thank you. Quick question: what's "CC" you mentioned above?

 

[emulsive]

What's it like on a digital camera like M10 or even the m240?

No idea, I own neither! I did complete a dozen or so test shots on a borrowed A7 just to see what it would look like and they look "normal" to me, for what that's worth.

IMO the best example of shots taken on a digital body are in Hamish's pre-production test. The production lens' rendering isn't particularly different.

 

[emulsive]

CC; Chinese crap
well, mr Fe could be one of the 'u know who u are' in your 'promised rant'

I love distortion, but I don't shoot film, I'm going to get one w an m to m4/3 adapter, my camera correct distortion thou...

Thanks for the great review, most of your photos were shot in...Taiwan?

Ah yes, makes sense. Mr Fe was definitely not the one my rant was aimed at. That was for some special folks over on social media. I've found the distortion not to be a distraction and yes, the shots in the review were shot in Taipei on a recent trip - 你的眼睛太厲害！ 🙂

 

[krötenblender]

I love distortion, but I don't shoot film, I'm going to get one w an m to m4/3 adapter, my camera correct distortion thou...

If you are referring to a µFT camera, it won't correct distortion for this lens, since it doesn't know the lens...

 

[emulsive]

I assume the lens barrel is made from brass? At 320 grams (per official literature) it's quite heavy for a 41mm long lens with a 43mm filter ring.

I'm not exactly sure where that spec came from. The weifght stated on the packaging is 205g. I measure it at 207g.

I've just updated the article with a full specification including a bunch of other measurements (with cap / filter / shade). Hope you find it useful.

Link: https://emulsive.org/reviews/gear-reviews/lens-reviews/lens-review-the-7artisans-35mm-f-2-leica-m-mount-lens-first-production-batch-exclusive-review#specifications

 

[emulsive]

Mine was delivered today - Build quality seems no different to my VM 35/1.7 - solid, smooth damped focus and no slight wobble aperture ring that Emulsive has.

Nice! My wobble is lateral between stops, not front to back (in case I didn't make that clear). Also, by "wobble" I was referring to the slight lateral movement when you grip the ring to set aperture...maybe I was being too picky 😉

 

[presspass]

Two quick questions. First, is it available in the United States? If so, what's the price? Thanks.

 

[geoffnik]

Heres a pic on the MP

 

[ACullen]

Despite preferring 35mm over 50mm I have far more of the latter than the former. I've a 35mm ZM Biogon f2 and an LTM Canon 35mm f2. The Zeiss is dead sharp if a little larger than I'd like whereas the Canon is tiny, image quality is poor until f4. I might therefore be tempted by this new Chinese offering as it's clearly pretty small, has character yet is sharp enough centrally. I'll be all ears for the opinions of others as it gets into more hands.

 

[brbo]

My Canon 35/2 LTM is as sharp as it gets (for non-asph lenses) wide open in the center. Distortion is nowhere near as bad and it costs less or the same as 7Artisans 35/2. It's got character, too.

But (there always is a "but"), MFD is 1m!

 

[ACullen]

My Canon 35/2 LTM is as sharp as it gets (for non-asph lenses) wide open in the center. Distortion is nowhere near as bad and it costs less or the same as 7Artisans 35/2. It's got character, too.

But (there always is a "but"), MFD is 1m!

As far as I understand it the Canon 35mm f2 varies , mine is dreamy wide open with smeared edges. At f2.8 centre is good with edges good by f4. Edges continue to sharpen to f8. So for me it's a fair weather day or stopped down on a tripod. I've had some nice near IR shots one Retro80s using the Canon.

 

[Dante_Stella]

Hey, Pavlov's Dogs -

Just because something is a "Sonnar-type" doesn't mean that it is good.

• Sonnars were a workaround for a lack of coatings in the day. That they disappeared with the advent of modern coatings should tell you something.
• Sonnars are normal- to long-length lenses, and there is a reason that modern wideangle lenses use highly corrected aspherical, retrofocal, and/or symmetric designs. The shortest mainstream "Sonnar," as I recall, is the 40mm for the Tenax.
• Sonnars have some appeal for people pictures not because they are good but because within certain parameters, they are bad. The the shorter they get the more distortion they have.
• Sonnars (real ones) don't have great bokeh unless they are seriously uncorrected like the ZM.

By the way, this actually looks more like a design, ahem, homage to the UC Hexanon.

Is it interesting? Yes. Is it compelling? Who knows. The sample pics were nothing to Internet home about.

 

[davidnewtonguitars]

I agree the sample pictures don't impress.
My Canon 3.5 f2 is sharp.

 

[Archlich]

Hey, Pavlov's Dogs -

Just because something is a "Sonnar-type" doesn't mean that it is good.

• Sonnars were a workaround for a lack of coatings in the day. That they disappeared with the advent of modern coatings should tell you something.
• Sonnars are normal- to long-length lenses, and there is a reason that modern wideangle lenses use highly corrected aspherical, retrofocal, and/or symmetric designs. The shortest mainstream "Sonnar," as I recall, is the 40mm for the Tenax.
• Sonnars have some appeal for people pictures not because they are good but because within certain parameters, they are bad. The the shorter they get the more distortion they have.
• Sonnars (real ones) don't have great bokeh unless they are seriously uncorrected like the ZM.

By the way, this actually looks more like a design, ahem, homage to the UC Hexanon.

Is it interesting? Yes. Is it compelling? Who knows. The sample pics were nothing to Internet home about.

I don't think it paid any homage to the UC-Hexanon, which is a modified Xenotar.

It looks like a modern, retrofocal design.

 

[agoglanian]

Hamish secured another batch so I decided to try one out. I had the Canon 35 previously and I liked it but I didn't love it. The price-point is under $300 which I think is pretty incredibly for a newly-manufactured f/2 lens in Leica M mount.

I'm looking forward to trying it out, I'm sure it's not perfect, but when I need perfect I will use my Summilux FLE.

 

[Dante_Stella]

I don't think it paid any homage to the UC-Hexanon, which is a modified Xenotar.

By external design, not optical formula. Right down to the filter size.

Dante