7Artisans is well known in modern photography circles for producing affordable and compact manual-focus lenses for various camera systems. Most of their products are created with a vintage aesthetic, catering to photographers seeking affordability. We’ve tested a few of their lenses and have been surprisingly impressed by some. But one thing that’s stayed constant among all their lenses so far is that they’ve only released manual focus models. Users of their lenses have had to utilize techniques and aids like zone focusing and focus indicators to nail sharpness. A new report suggests that this could change soon though.
PhotoRumors has reported that a new autofocus lens from 7Artisans is to be launched within the next few weeks. Along with the tagline “The First Step Is Never The Last,” it appears that 7Artisans is heralding a new era for their product line. There aren’t any further details on this lens’s focal length is, or whether it will be a prime or zoom lens. That leaves it entirely to our imagination about what this lens might be. Here are our thoughts on some possibilities and approximations.
A Nifty Fifty
50mm lenses are always safe bets when it comes to lens manufacturers. Almost everyone has one in their product lineup today. In fact, a 7Artisans model made it to our roundup of affordable 50mm lenses earlier this year. In our review of their 50mm f1.1 lens, we said:
“Yup, there’s tons of bokeh here. The best bokeh from this lens obviously comes at f1.1 and when you’re focused closely to the subject. But given that this is a rangefinder lens, the closest focusing is around 3 feet. The bokeh is creamy, dreamy, gorgeous, there is so much to say about it that simply can’t be put into words. But in addition to that it’s also unlike any bokeh that I’ve seen before. Some say that this lens is a copy of a Voigtlander, but I’m not sure that I see that. Portrait photographers will surely be pleased here.“
I’ve often advocated the replacement of every standard amateur kit lens with a 50mm f1.8. In my opinion, there’s no faster way for an upcoming photographer to understand the effects of aperture on a photograph. 50mm lenses are probably among the best first lens options that a photographer can have. They’re often sharp (not always when wide open), have speedy autofocus, and can help you get super creative with your photos. If 7Artisans could get all these qualities into their first lens as a 50mm (possibly f1.8), I think they’d have a real winner on their hands.
An Ultrawide Lens
Sure, every smartphone has an ultrawide lens mode now. But if you’ve tried that for serious photography, you know what kind of distortion and flare it often brings. A 14mm f2.8 or a 20mm f1.8 would be a great addition to any landscape and cityscape photographer’s bag. 7Artisans could really put themselves on the wishlist of many photographers with an autofocus ultrawide lens like this. Rokinon did a decent one some years ago with their 14mm f2.8 autofocus lens.
A Street Photography Lens
They’ve got a 28mm f1.4 lens in their lineup already, which also received a five-star rating from us. It’s great for the most part, as long as you use it within its limitations. Then, it can produce some very pleasing results. But this particular one is best used by trained street photographers familiar with old-school focusing systems. I wish they’d release an autofocus version of this lens to give photographers a more budget-friendly choice in street photography. It’s also very similar to the standard smartphone lens focal length, so it might tempt you to keep your phone in your pockets and shoot with your dedicated ILC instead. It may even be a 35mm f1.8 lens, another favored street photography focal length.
A Macro Lens
I’ve come to realize that Chinese lens manufacturers seem to love releasing macro lenses. Like Laowa, who has at least a couple of them that we love using. Or AstrHori, who made a tilt macro lens. These lenses are unique in their usage requirements, but they have a growing number of buyers nowadays. While macro photography requires some amount of focus stacking to get incredible closeup photos, some still get great pics without doing this. And for many of them, an autofocus lens option would be beneficial. 7Artisans could produce a relatively inexpensive macro photography lens that amateur photographers could greatly appreciate.
An 85mm Portrait Lens
7Artisans doesn’t have a photography-oriented 85mm currently in their lineup. There’s one that’s part of their cine line, available in various mount options. It can be maddening to manually focus while shooting portraits and headshots, which is quite possibly why they haven’t released such a manual lens to date. Their new autofocus technology could bring out a good-performing 85mm portrait lens. And the below image shows that this could very well be the case.
A Sample Image From This Lens
7Artisans has already begun teasing us with a picture shot from this upcoming lens. Shot on the Sony A7 IV at ISO 400 and 1/60 shutter speed, the 12 here in the text at the bottom translated to December. Given the depth of field falloff and the choice of subject here, my money is on this lens being a 50mm or an 85mm lens.
Let’s be transparent about something here. People don’t necessarily buy into low-priced lens brands because of their astounding results or superior build quality. Most do so that they can get a feel of a particular focal length and shoot for longer, sacrificing some elements like sharpness or tactile experiences while not spending too much. That’s not to say that 7Artisans makes mediocre lenses; they make relatively good ones. But we don’t think they’re doing anything extraordinary now. At least not unique enough to be challenging the big brands. With the introduction of AF lenses, we might see things change in their favor. Just as long as the AF is snappy and doesn’t do a lot of focus hunting.
The lead image for this article is a screenshot from PhotoRumors