First 7Artisans 35mm f/2 Lens Review

[Yossy]

...from someone who probably wants to hype the lens.

I have one of these in front of me, and as soon as Hamish answers my questions about a couple of things, I'll share my comments. It has promising aspects and baffling ones. I get the sense in some initial testing that the steeply curved RF cam in this will be troublesome.

On the quality issue, calling it "Chinese crap" would be a stretch, but for something that sells under $300, I would advise you to keep your expectations about the fit/finish in the "realistic" range. The black sandblasted finish does not have the elegance in real life that the teaser photos suggest. Nor are the engravings as legible. They seem to have taken a page from the CV book on thin-weight, condensed numbers. Which is baffling, since the median age for users of this will be well into the "reading glasses" phase of life.

Also, it's not a Sonnar.

Dante

 

[Yossy]

D

...from someone who probably wants to hype the lens.

I have one of these in front of me, and as soon as Hamish answers my questions about a couple of things, I'll share my comments. It has promising aspects and baffling ones. I get the sense in some initial testing that the steeply curved RF cam in this will be troublesome.

On the quality issue, calling it "Chinese crap" would be a stretch, but for something that sells under $300, I would advise you to keep your expectations about the fit/finish in the "realistic" range. The black sandblasted finish does not have the elegance in real life that the teaser photos suggest. Nor are the engravings as legible. They seem to have taken a page from the CV book on thin-weight, condensed numbers. Which is baffling, since the median age for users of this will be well into the "reading glasses" phase of life.

Also, it's not a Sonnar.

Dante

Despite your statement lapidary, Sonnar Brian says the opposite, we have reason to believe he is solemnly right: Considering the 7Artisans 35mm f2

 

[former member]

The 7Artisans 35mm F2 v1, using 43mm filters- Sonnar based design. The same is true of the 7artisans 50/1.1 and Zeiss C-Sonnar 50/1.5. Multi-coated optics allowed elimination of "filler glass" that differentiated the Ernostar for the Sonnar.

The replacement 35mm F2, using 55mm filters- not a Sonnar.