7artisans 35mm f1.2 Too Good To Be True?8 min read

Have you ever been disappointed how your APS-C camera performs in bad lighting? Oh boy… If only there was as a small and cheap F1.2 lens you could buy. There is! When I first saw this 7artisans lens online I was blown away, by the price which is a little less than a $100 and the potential. But does this lens live up to the hype?

Perfect match for APS-C cameras

I am obsessed with small mirrorless camera bodies. I love the Ricoh GRIII even the Fujifilm X-T30 and of course my old X-T1. The size of a camera is pretty vital for street photography, travel photography and even for regular life. 

There is a problem, small sensors struggle in low light. This is a bigger issue for some photographers, than others. I love low light photography so personally that’s where I struggle with these small mirrorless cameras. 

This wonderful little 35mm lens or 50mm equivalent goes quite far to help with this, but it doesn’t quite overcome the challenge.

Does it look good?

We probably care how good our gear looks more than we’d like to admit. So let’s settle this one right away. This lens is small and compact and looks great. The lens hugs the camera and is very discreet.

The lens does have a retro style that suits Fuji cameras.It does not look like a budget lens. The build quality is close the native fujinon lenses.  It’s solid, the focus ring and aperture ring are easy to find and responsive. There is no clicking to upset your video shooting either. 

A comfortable feel is important, especially when it comes to the focus ring.  It’s a manual lens, so it ain’t gonna do the focusing for you.  

Great cameras to pair with

The lens looks fantastic on either my X-T30 or the X-T1. Of course my X-T1 is knackered so I can’t comment on it’s performance. 

I should imagine this lens look fantastic on:

• X-S10
• X-H1
• X-T10, X-T20
• X-T30II
• X-E4 (I’m still looking for one of these)

It will look especially gorgeous on the 

• X-Pro1
• X-Pro2 
•  X-Pro3 
  

Good but not great

I have had this on my Fuji X-T30 for about two years, which is longer than my last girlfriend. This little lens performs wonderfully in good light, it has pleasing bokeh.

Of course you don’t have auto focus, and when you’re wide open it does get soft. This is a bit annoying because that f1.2 is what I’m looking for in low light scenes. There is also some vignetting around the corners especially at: f/1.2 to f/2.0.

At f/1.2:

• It’s a bit soft
• It does have creamy bokeh 
• Vignetting

At f/2.8:

• Sharpness and everything improves wonderfully 
  

Manual focusing

If you’re fine with manual lenses you will love this I think. I’m not great at judging distances. I tend to pre focus on a subject let’s say 2 meters away, and go up to something like f6.0 and hope most things are in focus. I will adjust it from time to time.

Personally the way I shoot I find it hard to fast focus manually especially in fast moving street scenes. That’s me though not the camera.

The overall sharpness is good though and I have captured some of my favourite images with this lens.

Manual focus problem with the X-T30

This isn’t the issue of the lens itself.  It’s the Fuji X-T30. For me the EVF isn’t sharp enough for manual focusing. I tried different highlights and red, white and even when you punch in, it’s still hard to adjust for sharpness.  Maybe I’m going blind but that is my experience.

Spec stuff

I’m not one for specs but you might be, so here are some:

• Focal Length: 35mm (APS-C = ~50mm equivalent)
  
• Max Aperture: f/1.2
  
• Mounts Available: Fuji X, Sony E, Canon EOS-M, M43
  
• Focus: Manual only
  
• Build: All-metal construction
  

What’s it best for?

It performs really well for street photography, especially if you can get good with manual focusing or zone focusing. 

The lens is small and discreet and people react to the lens well. It’s easy to put into a small bag. It’s very easy to hold in the hand, the lens has almost no weight. 

I have did get a chance to shoot some product photography at a coffee shop for their new menu and it was fantastic for that. It kept colours very nice and the bokeh was smooth. I could imagine this lens would also suit portraiture very well  as well.

For low light 

I’m probably just going to stick with my Nikon D600 for lowlight with its nifty 50. I have had some reasonable shots with this lens but it is a challenge. 

Final thoughts

At this price this lens is a steal. it’s great to use, it has fantastic image quality, It’s just a bit soft at f1.2, f1.4. It performs quite well in lowlight and you can get some decent shots if the target is not moving around too much. It does have some distortion when open wide.

This lens is so lightweight and compact if you carried it a whole day you wouldn’t even notice the extra weight. It’s perfect for street and travel photography. I do wish it was weather sealed but there again my Fuji X-T30 isn’t either.

Would I  recommend this lens hell yes! This is one of my favourite little lenses and it’s a great partner to smaller retro looking Fuji cameras. 

There’s definitely a place in my kit and maybe yours for a good small lightweight manual focus lens that produces lovely images and price you can afford.