7artisans 35mm f1.2 Review: Sonnar on a budget
Overview

7artisans has made quite the name for itself as a manufacturer of third party manual focus glass. While its releases have generally been hit or miss, we have seen some very interesting lenses from them, like the 35mm F2 for M-Mount, the upcoming 28mm f1.4 (also M-Mount), and this lens.

Let’s get something straight right off the bat: this lens won’t win any awards for sharpness. Or CA. Or contrast, or almost any other technical measure of a lens’s optics for that matter.

What this lens is, is a character lens. Featuring an optical design that is based off that of a Sonnar, it delivers rendering and bokeh with characteristics not unlike those of a Jupiter-3 or Zeiss ZM Sonnar (although I wouldn’t say it performs up to the standards of the latter).

Build Quality

While this lens is cheap for its specifications, it feels solid and dense in the hand. A full-metal build and a smooth focus helicoid and aperture ring make using this lens an enjoyable experience. It balances well on the Fujifilm X-E3 I’m using, which was the body used for all the sample photos in this review.
['Aloysius Chow']
['Review', 'Photography', 'Gear', 'Technology', 'Lenses']