First 7Artisans 35mm f/2 Lens Review

C

Chuffed Cheese

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I've only just perused the article but figured some here might be interested in some more info on this upcoming lens. Looks promising, and after the stellar reception of their 50mm 1.1 I'm guessing a lot of people will be interested in this lens.

https://emulsive.org/reviews/gear-r...-lens-first-production-batch-exclusive-review

A small bit in the opening paragraph may bother some of you so proceed with caution if you are prone to being upset.
 
Chuffed Cheese said:
A small bit in the opening paragraph may bother some of you so proceed with caution if you are prone to being upset.
Click to expand...

I thought you must have been referring to the 'sorry for the crap photos' bit. There was a thread about gear reviewers being poor photographers recently haha

Really intrigued by the lens though, thanks for the review!
 
AHA! Right. Yes, I was toying with the idea of removing it but was so disgusted at the attitude of a few people on social media that I left both that and the extended rant about its origin in - the rant is at the foot of the page.

I'm totally with you.

Again, thanks for reading. I focus more on film stock reviews than gear but have had a few nice opportunities recently. My opinion: if it's useful, it's worth it!
 
grouchos_tash said:
I thought you must have been referring to the 'sorry for the crap photos' bit. There was a thread about gear reviewers being poor photographers recently haha

Really intrigued by the lens though, thanks for the review!
Click to expand...

Ahahaha! There were probably about a dozen useable (for the review), shots on the two colour rolls - mostly because I chose a few VERY boring scenes for some impromptu aperture tests (2 through 16). The reason for the "crap" comment was mostly because this was the first 35mm lens I've shot with in around four years. I'm still very much getting used to it.

Thanks for reading :D
 
Chuffed Cheese said:
I just wish the price reveal wasn't so cagey. I understand the reasoning but it'd be nice to know exactly what I'll have to shell out. I'm guessing It will go up a bit as 50mm 1.1 was underpriced when it first released as seen by it's immediate scarcity.
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I really only have a gut feel about the price right now and I didn't feel it fair to speculate. That said, I'm with you; it'll likely be a little more than the 50/1.1, although the scarcity of that lens was more to do with 7artisan's available production volume than it being underpriced!
 
I suspect the price might be less than the 50/1.1, just because that was a flagship lens in some sense. Interesting to see a modern Sonnar in action - there aren't many around.
 
Even from single and so-so income, big family budget perspective, I'm not sure why price has to be less than 50 1.1, which was already next to for free in terms of M mount lenses pricing.
If this 35/2 will not suffer from focus shifts, it might be good alternative for my 35 2.5 ASPH (which is super lens on M-E) to keep this 35/2 on film M as the only lens.
Yes, distortions are very visible close to the edges, but to me it is not big deal. I like provided examples.
It looks like modern classic M lens, with ergonomics for RF photography. And they kept calibration part. I admire them for all of it.
RF coupling DIY adjustment is new standard. It shows right away what 7A has nothing in common with "CC" mentioned in the article.
 
I liked the sample photos taken with that lens, they have a 1950s lens bokeh quality to them.
 
"..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..
 
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.
 
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.

The 7 elements, 5 groups lens diagram looks extremely similar to the ZM C-Biogon 35/2.8 and CV Color-Skopar 35/2.5, which means it's a (prewar Sonnar-derived, not the symmetrical retrofocus one from the 1950s) Biogon. Performance should be good, especially on a digital M, as neither of the other two lenses suffer from focus shift.
 
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.
 
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