This was hands down the finest product review I've seen on RU-vid. Yes, the lens is interesting. Very interesting! Yet, I am more amazed by the review. Simon, you have taken your skills as photographer, an artist, an enthusiast, and a narrator and have created such a compelling video. Most product reviews on RU-vid are a simple unboxing, a few minutes of commentary and an affiliate link. What you've done here is given people a genuine feeling of experiencing the lens in a multidimensional way. Your early lens reviews were great too, but this is next level. Inspiring. Well done!
Thank you so much for your kind words. I really appreciate your comments, especially as this was my first go at reviewing a brand-new lens. I took you advice (from last year), and took the lens for trips into central London, as there are so many wonderful sites to photograph. And it was a lot of fun! All the best, Simon
Oh Simon you sweetheart you! Having moved from M42 to Minolta vintage glass for my BMPC 4k, I finally 'sprang' for the 7 Art 4mm one hour ago. Now, five minutes ago I saw this video's thumbnail. Excellent, excellent many times over! I'm subscribed... Which I should have long ago.
Simon, I enjoy your thoughtful remarks and reviews. I have a 6.5 mm circular fisheye, and like you also enjoy the perspective it delivers, great fun and unique opportunities.
Hi Simon! Love your channel! I just picked one of these up, and I'm really enjoying it so far. I'm also using it on e-mount. One thing I've found extends the uses of this lens (at least on Sony mirrorless) is that you can use clear image zoom to "flatten" the sphere into a more conventional field of view (with varying degrees of curvature and ultra-vignetting depending on the degree of zoom).
Although 7Artisans didn't pay you to make this, they should send you money after the fact for making such a great video of their product. more a thank you for your work and not paying for a positive review.
Your video was very interesting for me coz I am interested in buying the glass. So...Thanks for your informations :) The pictures of the church are impressive!
I'm not generally a fan, but I must admit those borders have piqued my curiosity a tad. And some of these images are indeed, as Mrs Simon's Utak says, quite beautiful.
Fascinating video, Simon. I have been playing with a Nikon 10.5mm fisheye (with the hood chopped off!) on a Fuji GFX 50s. Similar results and similar problems with getting fingers etc in the edges of the image! I had decided against using a tripod, as unless looking straight up, legs would always appear in the image. I have always hated seeing people holding their camera away from the face to take photos, but with this combo, it is perhaps the best way of getting images without unwanted body parts!
I was excited when YT showed me a that a new of video yours was published. And what a disapointment when I saw what the video is about. But now you made me check ebay for aps-c cameras, so I can use this lense :D
Great video and I love the creative photos you captured with it. Sadly the lens won’t fit on my Leica SL, even with an adaptor. It’s just 0.75mm to short a flange distance. Great to see you back!
I bought this lens based entirely on this video. No remorse at all. I'm an armature photographer that mainly takes macros and landscapes to post on Flickr. Views, likes and comments are are the only reward. One of the first photos I snapped with this lens did rather well in that regard so it was worth the $150.00. In fact I have started considering the purchase of a used micro four thirds camera and another copy of this lens so as to have a dedicated setup.
there are some interesting tools to help you use this lens that you might not have thought of. You can get an arca swiss plate for your tripod. They come in lengths up to a foot. I got a 7 inch one off amazon for 11 bucks. A selfie stick, or you can turn one of those L bracket handle grips with a cold shoe, 90 degrees. Have the handle behind the screen.
Very beautiful images! I have a great idea for a shot for this lens. Use this from a drone pointing nadir and you get a horizon forming a circle at the edge. This creates a 'mini globe' on the sky. I have seen such images done with panoramic photo stiching. This would allow you a camera to acquire such images naturally and you could then do after effects on the frames, like expand the sky to the whole, or mask the edges out have the sky be the athmosphere of your Globe in dark space.
That might be a contributory factor, but then it the over-exposure would probably happen more consistently. With me, it only happened at seemingly random times and only occasionally (in bright contrasty conditions).
Imma be so honest, i hate this video. The review was so great and so informative and so motivating that i went out and bought the lens after seeing beautiful photos again and again and again. it looks so fun to use and i cannot wait till it comes in the mail. Thank you for the video but curse you for making me spend money 👿
A very interesting and well-made video, Simon. My problem with using a lens like this is the same problem I have with any prime. Once it's on the camera you're committed to it unless you want to carry a second camera and lens or risk getting dust on the sensor by changing lenses "outside". And how often do we wish that we had a different focal length on the camera when out shooting? You demonstrate that the lens produces very fine results, and the price is certainly very attractive. It's an APS-C lens but I imagine it could be used on a full-frame camera to get the full 4mm effect but with a smaller image, but how much smaller? I'm currently awaiting a Minolta 17-35mm f3.5 G lens and expecting to have a lot of fun with the wider perspective.
Yes, I agree. It's a lens I probably wouldn't take on a walk around trip on its own. But I seldom go out with only one lens anyway. All I can say is that when I was walking around London I was so intrigued with the circular fisheye perspective I kept the lens on my camera for virtually the whole time. Enjoy your new Minolta!
Hi @@Simonsutak - i am thinking to get this fun lens for my Sony a7iii. I see that it is for APSC, but can you share some images taken on a sony FF body?
@@AnkitGupta12 Hi Ankit, I have used the lens on a Sony a7iv, but only on the camera’s crop (APS-C) mode. It works well on the crop. FF simply places the same image further into the frame, and doesn’t noticeably change the angle of view in the image. If you'd like me to send you comparison shots, please email me at simons.utak1@gmail.com with your email address. Hope this helps, Simon
I agree; it's hard to tell if you've nailed the focus even in magnified live view. For infinity shots (based on looking at downloaded photos on a computer screen) I now know were to set the focus - slightly before the infinity mark on the lens.
@@Simonsutak I'm using a Laowa fisheye and have a similar issue, at infinity it drastically looses sharpness, every with 10-12 meters is fine. I find myself counting meters 😅 maybe I buy a laser range finder.
Nice video! Was curious about this lens. I do notice quite a bit of the height of the sensor doesn't get used. The circle could be bigger, without getting cut off. Is that the case, or does it just look like that in the video?
Yes, you're right - the circle doesn't extend to (near) the top and bottom of the frame - indeed, for some images I've cropped the frame nearer the circle. However, the details are good enough to cope with this crop.
Hello, Simon. Fantastic review and video. I do have a bit of constructive criticism to contribute. I've noticed you seem to split your audio files and sprinkle them throughout the videos, but since your microphone has a bit of hissing/static, it just sounds a bit awkward with it popping in and out. Maybe consider filtering out those white noises if background music isn't your style. Apart from that, excellent content.
@@Simonsutak I have the Nikon 10.5mm and that sufferers quite a bit from fringing, and in comparison makes the results from this 7Artisans lens look quite remarkable.
