The 7Artisans 35mm f/1.2 is a fully manual lens designed for APS-C sensor mirrorless camera systems. It comes in all the usual mounts. The lens is a beautifully crafted chunk of metal and glass that feels great in the hand and on the camera. It is not very big, but provides just enough room to reach both the aperture and focus rings comfortably. The focus throw is pretty short [around 150 degrees], but it turned out to be plenty. The lens has a wide-open aperture of f/1.2 and closes down to f/16. Using this lens was an entirely new photographic experience for me - at least it feels that way, in the age of “auto-everything”.
The lens is not without a few image quality issues at f/1.2. There is a lot of field curvature, with a ton of off-center softness at f/1.2. This resolves about f/2 or f/2.8, and the lens is reasonably sharp throughout the remaining range. A little diffraction softening becomes apparent at f/16. There are significant lens aberrations visible at f/2 and wider, with some heavy longitudinal chromatic aberration in areas of high contrast and visible barrel distortion in some images. I would add that all of these issues were trivial to correct in Lightroom.
One problem that couldn’t be fixed in Lightroom was the lens flare, which was a constant threat while shooting on the bright afternoon of my tests. I actually like the occasional subtle splash of multicolored lens flare, but there is nothing subtle about this. The flare from this lens is an image-destroying blast of red and pink. It was easy to correct by adding a small DIY lens hood, made of step rings and screwed onto the filter mount.
Vignetting was present with the aperture wide open, but disappeared quickly when moving to f/2.0. The bokeh was nice during the day, and really lovely as the light began to fade. The depth of field was fun to manage with the aperture ring, and with a little practice it was a simple matter to isolate the subject from the surrounding ocean of soft defocus. Very nice.
The 7Artisans 35mm f/1.2 is not a perfect lens and, for a technical photographer, the quirkiness of its performance at f/1.2 might be off-putting. But perfection is not the point of this lens, and when I embraced its idiosyncrasies and forgave its optical imperfections, I soon realized how much fun I was having. There is something freeing about using a fully manual lens, adjusting the aperture instinctively, for effect, and without much thought about f numbers and “correct” settings. I am a very technical photographer - you have to be, in the macro universe - but letting go of my rigid approach to image capture and yielding to the odd character of this little lens, I was soon remembering just how much fun photography can be.
And then, in an instant, I had an idea and the macro-photography geek in me took over…
What if I reversed this cool lens on some extension tubes?
Watch the video to see what happened - you might be surprised!
In summary, the 7Artisans 35mm f/1.2 lens for mirrorless APS-C cameras is not a perfect lens, but it is a tremendously enjoyable lens to use. Add to that the fact that it appears to be a fairly capable macro-optic when used in reverse and on bellows, and you have an inexpensive, fast, normal prime that I can recommend with enthusiasm!
If you are interested in getting a closer look, these links will take you there. Be aware that some of these links are paid, and that as an Amazon Affiliate I may earn a small commission from qualified sales.
I’ve been meaning to do a 7Artisans 35mm f1.2 II lens review for a while now but I thought I haven’t used the lens enough to justify it. So here I am not doing a review but giving you my first impression of this beautiful and affordable 35mm APS-C [50mm full frame equivalent] classic prime lens from 7Artisans.
There is a saying that cheap things are never good, but this lens begs to differ. Priced at just Php 6,999 [$131 USD], the 7Artisans 35mm f1.2 mark II is a bargain considering its fast aperture and superb built quality. Chinese lenses from 7Artisans, TTArtisans, and Meike are surprisingly built like a tank. This particular lens looks and feels solid while maintaining its compact form factor. One of the reasons I bought this lens is that it has a clicked aperture, a must for a photography enthusiast like me. Although you can buy a de-clicked version if you are more into videography. Oh, I forgot to mention that this is a full-manual lens hence, it cannot communicate with the camera body for the settings and metadata. No autofocus either.
Since shifting to mirrorless cameras, I found myself fond of using manual lenses because of focus-peaking. This opened a lot of options for me since I’m cheap but still wanted to justify my gear purchases. At f1.2, focusing could be tricky but once you hit the spot, well, it hits the spot well. I’m no pixel peeper so I can’t scientifically assess the sharpness, but for me, this lens is sharp enough at f1.2 and improves a lot when stopped down. I think the sweet spot is at f2.8 if you want a balance between bokeh and sharpness.
Aside from its performance, this lens also looks good on a small-sized mirrorless camera. There are options to attach a focusing tab and a lens hood which will not only make the lens look even better, but also adds to its ease of use and performance. The hood does add a significant bulk to it, but hey, we all sacrifice something to be prettier right? Tell me in the comment section below if you prefer it with the lens hood on or not.
7Artisans 35mm f1.2 II with and w/o lens hood [lens hood sold separately]
I mostly use this lens on portraits and in low light situations, but this is also a good street photography/documentary lens because of its classic focal length. For me, I think I prefer a much wider perspective for my everyday carry. But like I said, I haven’t used this lens that much so I might change my mind later. Color renditions are also pleasing and there are no noticeable distortions in the photos.
Overall this is a great lens with fantastic value and I can’t wait to put it through its paces and write a full-on review.