CA, vignetting, and even lack of corner sharpness can be positives in the right context. I hate it when people review portrait lenses by shooting brick walls and comparing sharpness in the corners. Good review. Subscribed.
Yes, but all these things are known and universal. What's unknown is how a particular lens is in these fields. So the problem is not the reviewers, but buyers of portrait lenses that look for traits like maximum sharpness.
You can always easily add vignetting and reduce corner sharpness in software, but correcting them in a RAW photo is a difficult to impossible task. So OF COURSE people want their lens to have as little vignetting and the best sharpness possible.
@@gamechannel1271 not everyone. Some people like personality to a lens. Depends on your taste and what you are looking to do. Photography is as much an artistic pursuit as much as scientific one
It feels good to see Chinese companies come up with their own design and not just copying expired patent like what yongnuo did with the canon lenses. Sincerely hoping that Laowa and 7artisans alike may come up with AF lenses in the future.
Brilliant. I've read a good number of reviews on this lens and you get it! You don't buy it to "pixel peep" the corners wide open; you're most likely using it for speed, bokeh and periphery effects. Having 12 aperture blades helps as well. It's nice to see they used some brass in the construction as well - no-one talks about that. I like the comment below saying "i use this lens all the time, I leave my noctilux in a safe deposit box." 📷😁📷
It does what it was made for. Aside from shallow focus, the really large max aperture is really for shooting in low light. If it can, then it is. Great sensible review, and in the proper context of what this lens is.
I'm thinking of picking one of these up for my A7II and using an adapter to mount it. As you say, you dont buy this lens for ultimate sharpness but to create those amazing bokehlicious type shots :) Nice video.
Howie Mudge Photography if you’d be interested in skipping the adapter, check out the mitakon 50mm f/0.95 for e-mount. Definitely more expensive, but a truly incredible lens for the price. I’ve had one for over a year on my A7ii and I’ve loved it. Check out some reviews and test shots!
Yes, I've seen the Mitakon and been very impressed with the images taken with it. Guess I might need to save a bit more before deciding on the Mitakon or the 7artisans :)
I got the Nikon full frame 50mm f/1.8 for my D5500 (so equivalent 75mm) and I'm loving it so far, especially since the lens costed a little over $200. Getting handheld shots at night is slightly possible, I can't wait to get a speedbooster to get the full 50mm f/1.8 experience.
The best reason to try differen lenses is because it puts pressure on the big manufacturers to keep their lens prices down as well. Same reason why Walmart puts Great Value brands on their shelves.
I really agree with you on all of this. What I like about 7artisans lenses is the creativity challenge they push you to. It's a kind of paradox for a Leica user, but I like it. 7artisans colors are just far off. Especially cause I can't afford the exxy glass. Ah ah !
Just bought one for my M10 and am loving it. For $246.00 incl. tax and shipping I think it's the deal of the century! Great review, Jimmi-Kai, and thanks for showing how to calibrate focus.
Aps-C isn't necessarily bad, assuming the same focal length (not the same crop w/ different focal lengths). On FF, some APS-C image circles nearly cover, others are strictly 1.5 crop, so on a 42mp FF sensor you might have anywhere between 18 - 36mp of coverage, incl. 24x24mm at 28mp, etc. Use a feature like Sony's Clear Image Zoom (CIZ) mode, & even a dinky NEX lens can be made very serviceable, esp. w/ 5-axis OSS for causal videography. CIZ is jpeg-only, but it is better than cropping or using a TC.
The Leica Summarit is a much better buy and I just got one on a eBay bid for 290 bucks, immaculate. Better quality lens for sure. New paint don’t sell to me lol 😂 IQ does
Who buys a Leica with 'Best Deals' in mind?. This thing can't be compared to Leica glass in anyway. Your video is very well done though, please do more on original Leica Lenses, I will be an avid follower. Good job.
Your review of this lens reminds me of the saying, “The Bitterness of Poor Quality Remains Long After the Sweetness of Low Price is Forgotten.” The contrast and sharpness of the Canon 50mm is clearly superior in your shots. But, you get what you pay for.
I partially agree. But if the sharpness and contrast of the photo was really that important, you wouldn't even be considering lenses in this price range. Also the intended market for this lens is the Leica M shooters. A big portion of them are film shooters who can't benefit much from the extra sharpness of the Leica lenses that cost many (usually 20-30) times more. If you're just shooting for fun, or taking it as a hobbie, the difference it makes is really really small.
Nicely done. And I'm with you on the corner softness issue that people moan about, when it's not relevant to certain types of photography - Portraiture, macro, any kind of close up where you want the subject to 'pop' or stand out .... I think the only people who really complain about this are the ones who watch all the wrong 'reviewers' **cought** Northrups, Jared Polin, Jason Lanier ** cough** the type who give atrocious information at the best of times and are also paid off shills for Canon, Nikon and Sony respectively
I bought this lens because of this video. At f1.1, heavy vignette, ghosting, swirly football bokeh in the corners, not my taste. All these problems remain until f2.0. My $75 Sears M42 50mm f1.4 from ebay also fixes these issues at f2.0. Whats the point? I'm returning this.
You probably would hate the Leica Noctilux 1.1 for exactly the same reasons. It simply means that this is not a lens for you. Right you are to return it.
eyes wide open. ., another advantage comparing this lens to noctilux ,...you will not be afraid to take this lens to the streets because you did not pay 12,000.00 for this lens. i use this lens all the time, I leave my noctilux in a safe deposit box.
looked awesome till the bokeh shape- still fantastic and of course for the price a steal, but i think, for portraiture, i would ditch the 1.1 in favor of maybe vintage Leica glass with fewer aberrations and distortions.
People bitching abt sharpnes etc...plz stop. This lens is for black and white, subject isolation in LOW LIGHT conditions and on film! Thats it. Thats what it is designed for! Stop tryin to make it a $10k noctilux etc, its not. Its a specific tool for a specific time and setting during the day. Treat it as such and you will be happy.
Is this better than the Voigtlander 50mm f/1.1? The Voigtlander is so soft my a9+Techart adapter really has trouble finding focus - a phenomenon which is non existent with my other Nikon manual focus lenses.
I was thinking the same thing! But, they don't seem to make any speedboosters for Leica M lenses :( More interesting videos coming though, stay tuned : )
If you don't need it to be compatible with a speed booster, the 7 artisans is generally better. But in the other hand, the FD has rounder bokeh balls when not paired with a speed booster.
the problem with cheap lens that are only sharp wide open in the center is that you can only frame with your subject in the center, that is a big limitation. if you need to close this lens to f2.8 the be sharp elsewhere then you'd better buy a much cheaper f2 lens that is sharp across the frame.
This is a real lens and didn't feel cheap, so far it's a super fun lens. Love this lens, mine here for samples: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bb9v4LYeEU0.html
Does it lock into place on your M4? It's known to have mounting issues and said to be incompatible with Leica M4 cameras. It won't lock into place on my M4 at all but works perfect on my M6.
I'm confused 😕 a lens? Aps-c lens? I thought aps-c is the size of the actual sensor? Meaning a 50mm lens in a aps-c camera is equivalent to 75mm in a full frame camera. Never heard of a 50mm aps-c lens that becomes 75mm in a full frame equipment. @ 0:56 Enlighten me.
This is just a nit pick of an otherwise great review. At 1:02.... Wait, what? To get the 50mm f:1.1 APS-C equivalent in a full frame camera you're going to need a 75mm f:1.1, not f:1.7. I understand the conversion factor application to visualize the equivalent image magnification relative to the sensor size, but that has nothing to do with the f/stop. Focal length/lens opening represents the same relationship whether the focal length is 20mm or 600mm. It's the ratio between the measured focal length measured at infinity focus, divided by the lens opening. A lens with a focal length of 50mm with an opening measuring 45mm is going to be marked f:1.1, a 75mm lens with an opening of 68mm is going to be marked f:1.1. Moving a lens from one format to another only changes the "effective" image magnification as defined by the crop size. The actual measured values of image magnification, focal length or aperture values do not change. Only the crop has changed. Focal length is focal length and an f/stop is an f/stop. Those values do not change because you put the lens on a different sensor. Only the image/crop relationship is changed.
Mark Trued you're completely correct. But if you shoot with a APS-C lens, you'd have to use a APS-C sensor, which mean the bokeh would be also reduced. So the amount of bokeh you get from a f1.1 lens on APS-C would be equal to a f1.7 lens on full frame.
F stop tells you how much light gets through and that doesn't change. Also depth of field does not scale the same as the crop factor. You are saying a 50mm f1.1 has same depth of field as a 75mm f1.7 which is not correct. You would need the 75mm set at f2.4 to get the same depth of field as a 50mm f1 for example.
So help: Canon nFD 50mm f1.4 with Pixco/Roxsen focal reducer on XT1 (yeah the cheap speed boosters) or The incoming 7Artisans 35mm f1.2 on XT1? Response will be highly appreciated. Thank you. :)
I can't say for certain since I haven't gotten my hands on the 35 1.2 yet. But you would get more light from the speedbooster setup. Also, I recommend the lens turbo 2 vs the cheaper ones. Its much better in all aspects.
Thanks for responding. Sadly there's no FD-FX Zhongyi Lens turbo as of this moment. I just ordered the 35mmf 1.2. Kinda scary since the lens is new and there are no reviews and other info on the internet but I'll see it once it arrives. It's cheap but I hope it's good. It'll arrive next week. I'm just gonna decide wether to buy a focal reducer for my FD or sell my FD depending on the incoming 7artisans 35mm f1.2. Anyway cheers bro! Keep it rolling. Happy Holidays!
