Film Chinese Manufacturer produces Fast Lenses

深圳七工匠光电科技有限公司

And at prices that won't break the bank

Amazon.com: 7artisans

7Artisans unveils range of low cost, fast lenses for mirrorless cameras
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The 25mm for my Sony a6000 is calling me...55 quid or so for a 38mm eq f1.8 has to be worth a go. Interestingly this also seems to be rebadged as a "DISCOVER HD" lens for slightly more (but from Ireland not China).
 
The 25mm for my Sony a6000 is calling me...55 quid or so for a 38mm eq f1.8 has to be worth a go. Interestingly this also seems to be rebadged as a "DISCOVER HD" lens for slightly more (but from Ireland not China).
It's an interesting concept Martin, I'm, sort of unsure but when I read the article it seemed worth linking, and I assume that the lenses are equally suitable for film or digital cameras?

This was the other optic newcomer, however somewhat more expensive
Handevision
 
Hi Kenneth, I'm far from an expert either. I suspect there are adapters, but these lenses may be designed to work with the shorter flange distances that mirrorless cameras use, and would not focus on a film camera. Just a guess and it depends which camera you had in mind.
 
Not everything will be adaptable; the first problem is image circle, the second will be flange distance and infinity focus, the third focus technology (not a problem in this case). The M mount lens will be adaptable to all other mirrorless systems, the E mount lenses might be adaptable for :mu43: since they're manual focus, so they might even be usable (adapting AF lenses doesn't work - focus by wire - i.e. electronically - will fail). But the reverse is not feasible - if a lens is calculated for a small image circle, using it on a bigger sensor (in terms of surface area) will result in heavy vignetting or even complete shading (i.e. a round image). It's not something I'd waste my money on.

And adapting can also be tricky. I own a pretty interesting lens that was made for C mount, but calculated for APS-C. It works fine on Sony APS-C mirrorless cameras; so it should work on :mu43: - no such luck: The adapter won't allow the lens to be screwed in far enough to be workable on :mu43:. Pretty bad case of deceptive selling policies - they actually didn't state anywhere the setup would work, they only sold it. Duh ... Not a lot of money lost, but still, it pays to be cautious (or rather, you'll lose money if you aren't).

M.
 
Yes, I had a very nice c mount lens that I used with my m43 camera. When I bought a pentax DSLR I got a c-mount to PK adapter.. but the thing just would not focus. Caveat emptor is always the watchword in these cases.
 
I saw this the other day as well. The 50/1.1 does come in a Leica M mount. Not that I have a Leica body... but I do have a Techart Pro for my Sony A7II :D
 
Regarding the price, the 50mm is the least interesting of the bunch in my opinion, except for the ".1" thing (and that's saying nothing about its optical quality). Pending testing, I think if I was looking for a fast 50mm with manual focus at a decent price, I'd rather go with Samyang; the 50mm f/1.4 is a solid lens optically (though not perfect) and available for just about any mount - and it's cheaper than the 7artisans. There's even an AF version for Sony shooters that's very good optically, and if you have an APS-C (or smaller) camera, you can get the 50mm f/1.2 which is a fantastic performer (though at f/1.2, it needs very careful handling when focusing). The 50mm f/1.2 is the same price as the 7artisans, and the 50mm f/1.4 AF is not a lot more expensive.

The 7artisans lens that looks quite appealing to me is the 25mm f/1.8 - not for :mu43: mainly (because there's the Panasonic 25mm f/1.7 which is not very expensive and a fantastic lens), but as Martin has said, it's filling a niche for Sony APS-C shooters. And to see the performance of the 7.5mm f/3.5 will be interesting because of another competitor, the wonderful Samyang 7.5mm f/3.5. All this pending quality, of course ...

Bottomline: New and cheap doesn't always mean fun, and brightness/speed doesn't translate into optical performance. That's even true for much more sophisticated lenses - my Voigtländer Nokton 35mm f/1.4 MC is nice enough, but capricious wide open (soft and smooth - nice to look at, but definitely not very crisp, not even at the focal plain).

M.
 
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