I became the happy owner of my first 7Artisans lens for the SL2 recently. A lovely portrait lens, 85mm. I don’t normally post about ‘gear’ but I will make an exception as the build ‘feel’, optical results and price are a unique combination. The only thing missing is weather sealing – but then, it is a portrait lens.
7Artisans have been making highly regarded manual focus lenses for a while, selling at most affordable prices, and getting stellar reviews. It is a Chinese company, founded by 7 photo-geeks. Their lenses are optically well engineered and coated, and barrels are metal, not plastic, giving a very nice in-use experience.
The company has now moved into autofocus territory with 50mm and 85mm (F/1.8) lenses for Nikon, Sony, and Leica L. I could not resist trying the 85mm to use with the Leica SL 2.
I just ran a few ‘real world’ tests, using different apertures, and I was very pleased with results right across the range. All of these images were taken RAW (DNG) with auto ISO and aperture priority, and then simply converted to JPG for online. No processing, noise or colour correction. Click on the images to see them full screen.
First, F/16.
Then, F/8.
Now, F/5.6
Next, F/4.0.
And F/2.8.
Here is F/2.
And finally, wide open at F/1.8.
Stunning results across the range. Gorgeous colour, beautiful rendering, stylish and clean bokeh, pin sharp focus where targeted.
Of course, don’t expect these lenses to capture that flying insect as well as a native Leica lens, even though the autofocus is surprisingly nimble. But with results like this, for £269 (85mm) or £216 (50mm), 7artisans are a serious contender in the fun and creativity stakes.