The 7artisans 35mm f/1.2 - My Thoughts

I recently added another lens to my lineup for my Fujifilm XT-3. I had been looking into a smaller lens around 50mm that would have a wide aperture but also not break the bank. What I stumbled upon was the 7artisans 35mm f/1.2. For those who may not be aware, the 35mm focal length on a crop sensor camera like mine roughly equals a little over 50mm, about 52mm. Though it can open all the way up to f/1.2, letting in a ton of light. Now I’ve been using this lens on and off for about a month now, mostly using it for my own enjoyment rather than as a professional lens. I have to say with how much I spent on it, I am impressed with the quality of it. This lens goes for a little less $150 and it can let in that much light? No way, too good to be true. It cannot be good. Well, I want to share some images and give you my overall thoughts on this lens. I am not a full blown reviewer by any means, I am here to simply give my thoughts and let you know my experiences with this lens. All photos below are jpegs that have not been altered in any way.

First off, I have to say the bokeh produced from this lens is actually super appealing to me. This is a portrait of my friend Ravi, and this lens surprisingly produces smooth bokeh in the background. I do think these images from the lens turn out best in black and white, feeling a bit more on the vintage side. Maybe it’s the images, but it’s also how the lens is built. Fully metal, with full manual aperture and focus rings. No auto focus at all, and with this lens, it feels very natural. Since I switched to Fujifilm I got used to their autofocusing so this was a welcomed change.

Though a couple things I noticed that may be a drawback for certain people is that this lens seems to give off a bit more grain than normal, even at low ISO like 500. For example, this photo of the pizza. If we zoom in just a bit, and you look in the upper left part of the second photo, you’ll notice the grain. Not a horrible thing, just something to point out.

Also, there can be some pretty crazy flaring, which again, in some situations isn’t a bad thing, but sometimes it can over power the whole photo.

I have to mention that even for $140, this lens is SHARP. It’s not as sharp as my other lenses, however, for something that is so affordable, it’s hard to not praise the quality that it brings to the table.

Here are some other sample images that I gathered during my time of testing out the lens.

Overall, it is quite the unique little lens. For something so small to carry around with you, that still can be pretty sharp, for the price point of under $150, it’s hard to beat that. I’m personally really happy that I picked it up. Like I stated above, I really love using this lens with an Acros film simulation (or turning the images black and white in post). It gives off a very vintage feel to the images it produces and it looks incredible. I’d get another 7artisans Lens in the future based off of this. Down below I’ve provided a link to it if you want to check it out or get more info.