Joined in 2023 
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63 About this deal
For the price, it’s worth buying even if you already have one of the above Fuji lenses, and it complements my 35mm f2 well despite having the same focal length.
It hits a sweet spot between being very creamy, and presenting some imperfections such as semi-harsh edges on the out of focus specular highlights. It also skews the OOF blur near the edges, which gives a little “zoom in” effect to your images. This is all of course when shot wide open (which is what I guess you will probably do when shooting bokehliciousness) when you stop down the 9 curved aperture blades ensure specular highlights that are still semi-round. Also the skewing of the edges will subside. Now, the f/0.95 on the APS-C will give you a depth of field close to that of an f/1.4 lens on a 35mm full frame camera. So handling this lens will not be any harder in terms of nailing focus than using said 1.4 lens. But it does have a huge advantage over the f/1.4 lenses… When shooting the 7artisans and Mitakon side-by-side the 7artisans exposure seem just a tad darker. It’s so minute that it could also just mean that there is added contrast in the lens. For me to match the exposures one-to-one I had to add 3% extra exposure in post-processing. So it is indeed very minute. Maybe the 7artisans is a T1.0 lens. The XF50mm f/1 R WR has autofocus, and obviously the IQ from that lens will run circles around the TTartisan 50mm f/1.2. But in reality these two lenses can’t really be compared based on anything other than their shared focal length.
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The lens exhibits and insane amount of barreldistortion. I don’t think I’ve ever seen examples of it that is that pronounced! It’s correctable in post, obviously, but still it is very pronounced. Just look at the windowlines in this image below. X-Pro3 | 7artisans 35mm f/1.2 @f/1.2 | Notice the VERY pronounced barrel distortion I have both a 7artisans 35 and one of the last pre-aspherical Summicrons. I only use film Leicas, and I can’t consistently tell which lens made which 16×20 print, without looking at my notes. Sometimes the unique Sonnar look of the Chinese lens gives it away, but that’s not a matter of quality. All Sonnars have a signature look in some circumstances. My lens was calibrated correctly out of the box. I did not need to mess around with the focusing screwdriver it came with.
That being said, the build quality of this lens is fantastic! I was quite surprised when I pulled the lens out of the box for the first time and felt its substantial (but not cumbersome) heft. The lens weighs in at 205g which is 5g heavier than the Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 M-Mount lens by comparison. The lens housing is made from anodized aluminum with the internal focusing helical being made of brass (this is where a majority of the weight is coming from). What’s that? Your clothes, computers, phones and cameras say they’re made elsewhere? Fantastic, do yourself a favour and find out where their components and materials are sourced. Chances are that upwards of 50% of the products you own and use every single day have some or all of their source materials and components made or designed in China or made by Chinese businesses elsewhere. When I first held this lens, my lizard brain screamed, “this thing has serious build quality. It is heavy. Holy cow that aperture ring is sweeet. The tabbed focusing ring is as smooth as anything in that closet of yours downstairs. Build quality = good. Hey buddy, so much for that “you get what you pay for” nonsense you have been talking about for 30 years.” I told my lizard brain to shut the hell up and stop getting in the way of my objectivity.
The TTartisan 50mm f/1.2 is an instant recommendation for anyone who likes to use the 50mm focal length on an APSC camera.
It’s not the sharpest lens I’ve ever shot, far from it, but it is by far the sharpest fast aperture lens that I’ve ever shot in this segment. And this actually applies when shooting it wide open too!! Yes, it is so satisfyingly sharp at f0.95 that I never even consider stopping it down during day to day use. From f1.2 to f2.0, you can see that there’s a very distinctive look to the character of the blur in the top left corner, where the light is shining through the leaves. The bokeh balls are outlined, but mainly towards the centre of the image, such that they almost seem like fish scales. If you’re so obsessed with avoiding “Chinese crap”, please do everyone a favour and stop buying products made in part or in full in China, or by Chinese businesses. FYI, this includes but is not limited to:When I first heard about the 7Artisans 35mm f/1.2 lens, I must admit I was a little bit disappointed that it wasn’t a full frame lens. The first images I saw of it looked a little odd too – they certainly didn’t do the design of the lens any favours. I’ve also not been massively overexcited about the CSC lenses 7Artisans produce, with my main interest really being in what they make for M-mount cameras. As such, I’ve found myself all the more surprised with how smitten I am with the 35mmc 1.2 – it’s a crazy little lens, but I can’t help but really like it. It’s cheap I lost my first battle with this lens during the unboxing stage. I know I said, I won’t talk about build quality because neither me (nor most anyone else) really knows what is going on inside a lens by just feeling it. All we can possibly know from the outside is that it is heavy or light, and the twisty things twist smoothly or they don’t. Voigtlander lenses compared: Left to Right – Skopar 2.5, Ultron f2, Nokton 1.4, Nokton 1.2 v3, Nokton 1.2 v2
Now, I will try a do a walkthrough of what I like and dislike about this lens, and I will also compare it to the Fujinon XF35mm f/1.4, the Mitakon 35mm f/0.95 mk2 and the Voigtländer Nokton 35mm f/1.4 M-mount. Those are the 35mm lenses that I have narrowed my collection down to, since I feel that they all bring something interesting to the table. But more on that later. For now, let’s start looking at the 7artisans 35mm f/1.2. Build and feel Colorcast and contrast with the 7artisans 35mm f/1.2 is actually quite balanced. In this digital day and age where the auto white balance and film simulations will alter any optical traits of any given lens into something completely different, it can be quite hard to notice when lenses differ in this regard. What I tend to do is measure how much extra “oomph” I have to add in post processing compared to the modern Fujinon lenses. With the 7artisans a raw file will tend to be less contrasty compared to a modern Fujinon, but also very well balanced in colorcast. This makes the lens very well suited for B&W shooting, since you retain much more detail in darker areas when the lens has less contrast. You can alway punch in contrast in post, but its damn hard to pull contrast from the image if the optics added that at the time of recording. I have no affiliation with TTartisan. They sent me the lens to review. I’m not getting paid by TTartisan in any form.
Besides the expected vignetting, there was a very noticeable softness in the corners of the 7Artisans images when shot wide-open. The center, however, was sharp across the board! Without 6-bit coding, I manually chose the Leica 35mm Summilux pre-ASPH lens profile for the 7Artisans lens. My processing software, ON1 Photo Raw 2022, did not recognize, nor correct, that lens profile. Your results may vary in Adobe Lightroom or Capture One. Also, there was a very noticeable difference in the color rendering due to lens coatings. Again, I had fixed the white balance to “Daylight” and there were no clouds present. The second image below, from the Sigma lens, did benefit from automatic distortion correction. The main differences were edge softness and a greenish color cast with the 7Artisans lens. But don’t give up on this lens quite yet! 7Artisans 35mm f/1.4 lens @ f/1.4 Sigma 35mm f/2 DGDN lens @ f/2 Real World Images There are many nice 50mm lenses out there, with which one could compare this lens to, but they would mostly be full frame lenses for other systems that would have to be adapted, for example Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux, Voigtländer Nokton 50/1.5, 50/1.2 or 50/1.1. TTartisan even has their own 50mm f/0.95, and 50mm f/1.4 for M mount, and 7artisans made the 50mm f/1.1 as well as the Kamlan 50mm f/1.1 – So there are PLENTY of options for fast fifty lenses in a lot of different price ranges. I don't expect to take great photos with this lens but that's missing the point. This is a lens that makes you want to photograph even the mundane, bringing a bit of soul to a Sony camera that is otherwise pretty much devoid of passion. My a7 III is an expensive box designed by a huge, faceless corporation (and Sony really is the hugest and most faceless), and teasing a touch of the analog into its cold, digital functionality has been a real joy. If you want the simple joy of f/1.4 on something tiny and idiosyncratic, this lens is an excellent choice. What I Liked ZoomConsultations/ Mentor– Not sure what camera or lens to buy or need help with your photography? Act today and book a 1:1 Zoom call! As I wrote further up, I have gone through many 35mm lenses, but these lenses are the ones that are staying in my arsenal because they bring something unique to the table. The “fast four” | Shot on GFX50R | GF63mm f/2.8
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