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7artisans 50mm F1.1 Leica M Mount


AntonioF

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Unless you have a very short memory or are very new to Leica M, you might like to do some research on the HyperPrime 50mm f.95 fiasco of a few years ago.  A number of people ended up buried up to their nostrils in egg and found the truth in the old saying that if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is.

 

You have a 35mm summicron asph to be going on with, so why settle for something new but unknown and very likely inferior when you can have something used that is known and far better. Save a bit more money, leave the junk behind and get a 50mm lens worth having such as a 50mm summicron or 50mm f2.8 elmar-m or a 50mm summarit.

 

I totally agree: it is a 300 bucks lens and it is going to be very much inferior to any Leica lens. 

I did some research as suggested and the hyperprime was a 5000 dollars lens, so it was more like a huge bet than something cheap to play around.

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Despite the lens project I ask which kind of glass could be used to sell this lens for such sum, I can't trust this company sorry. ZM lenses gave very good results and cost a third of a new Leica lens moreover as someone pointed out some old Leica lenses are still good and cheap.

 

It was my first question as well. Some background of this company was unveiled and they seems to have access for optical glass. Still, how good is the 200$ glass of 1.1 lens?

 

About old Leica lenses to be still good and cheap. Correct and most up to date writing is "good or cheap". 

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The Canon EF 50/1.2 L is just about 1000 pounds these days, and it certainly has more quality optical glass elements in it with its 72mm filter thread size and 8 elements in 6 groups structure. I find it hard to believe that with that price the company is not making a profit, despite apparently using this many optical glasses. The 7 artisans lens, in comparison, is only 55mm in filter thread size and has 7 elements. And there are many other moving parts that influence the pricing of a lens. The cost of labour is one of them. 

 

And let's face it, much of the price of a lens lies in the prestige associated with its brand rather than in its manufacturing cost. 

 

About this lens, I'd worry more about QC and manufacturing tolerance rather than the price of optical glass. 

 

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If you need some speed, the Nikkor 50/1.2 AIS, still manufactured new, can be nicely adapted to an M240/M10 and focused with LV. Won't set you back more than US$500. Dreamy WO, it is probably one of the sharpest 50mm Nikkors by f/2.8-4.

 

Should prove far superior to the provenance of "7artisans", a trademark of Shenzhen Qigongjiang Photoelectric Technology Co., Ltd., manufacturer of LED lighting.

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As mentioned in my previous comment, looking for something to test and play around. Ended up to Canon 50 1.4, with m39,from 1957,mint condition, 250euros. "Japanese Summilux". Let' play with this as first and later come back to 7artisans.

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I'm a sucker for fast characterful glass ; so ordered one via Amazon for a bit of fun ( and comparison with the MS Sonnetar 50/1.1 ).

 

When I looked at some of the cheaper Chinese built MF lenses at the Photography show earlier this year I was impressed by the feel and quality of production for prices well down on others. I'm keeping an open mind because optics, like digital sensors, appear to be undergoing a shift forwards with new plant and expertise I can see some interesting products coming out of China. We may find this disconcerting and QC on high quality lenses IS going to be the issue which dictates whether they really do perform well, but if their manufacturer's understand this and take steps to address the need for high levels of QC then there may well be some interesting lenses appearing on the market. I'm awaiting some feedback from users.

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Got mine today. I have had the CV, and have the Sonnetar. I've had the Mitakon Dark Knight Speedmaster  0.95 for E-Mount, which was what gave me the faith to try this: that's a surprisingly well-made lens that's great for certain kinds of shots. Someday we're all going to wake up to some cheap Chinese lens that blows us all away, so I like to keep abreast of these things...

 

Anyway: barrel distortion, and soap buble bokeh. Those are the knocks on this. Otherwise, surprisingly sharp in the middle. Contrast isn't awesome, but they have a slider for that now. Given I've only taken a handful of photos, but my feeling is I'm far more likely to put this on my M10 than my 5cm Summitar or 50mm 1.5 Summarit. which go for similar or more on ebay. It's a better lens than those.

 

Smaller than the CV by a lot, and I like the bokeh better. More usable than the Sonnetar, which is a usability ... challenge. Smooth aperture ring.

 

Samples:

 

L1009983

 
The above shows the weaknesses of the lens.
 

L1009985

 
I like the sharpness seen here, and the OOF. Nailed the dog hair halo on my sock, via viewfinder.
 

L1009988

 
Pitch black room, lit by a TV several feet away, handheld, via viewfinder. So, it can do this.

 

Edited by hteasley
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I ordered one too. I have relatively low expectations in terms of IQ, build quality and durability, so that I can only be pleasantly surprised. Sometimes it's good to have a fast, modern lens that you don't need to be particularly careful about.

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Thanks for the link. In the article there is a link to a jpeg image of the instructions where it shows how to adjust the calaberation of the lens itself: https://u.cubeupload.com/biogon/focus.jpg

 

The lens arriving out of adjustment was something I was expecting. So to be able to adjust the lens yourself is wonderfull and would make me thing about getting the lens.

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Unless you have a very short memory or are very new to Leica M, you might like to do some research on the HyperPrime 50mm f.95 fiasco of a few years ago.  A number of people ended up buried up to their nostrils in egg and found the truth in the old saying that if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is.

 

You have a 35mm summicron asph to be going on with, so why settle for something new but unknown and very likely inferior when you can have something used that is known and far better. Save a bit more money, leave the junk behind and get a 50mm lens worth having such as a 50mm summicron or 50mm f2.8 elmar-m or a 50mm summarit.

Another way of looking at it is if you buy a 50mm summicron or 50mm f2.8 elmar-m or a 50mm summarit and they need a CLA, what will your total bill be? Plus dont forget shipping. At £350 the 7Artisans is nearly a disposable lens. If it needs fixing, buy a new one!

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Another way of looking at it is if you buy a 50mm summicron or 50mm f2.8 elmar-m or a 50mm summarit and they need a CLA, what will your total bill be? Plus dont forget shipping. At £350 the 7Artisans is nearly a disposable lens. If it needs fixing, buy a new one!

 

Are you being serious?

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Sadly, he is.

Materials like the types of glass, glued elements, plastic gearing and other assembly components as well QC have to be atrocious given the price point. The sample variability, unless completely assembled by robots, may exceed even that of Cosina in its earlier M lenses.

Edited by james.liam
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Materials like the types of glass, glued elements, plastic gearing and other assembly components as well QC have to be atrocious given the price point.

 

Having dismantled some dead, independent AF lenses I can confirm that with the exception of the glass types which I couldn't give any information on, this is common build practice for cheaper AF lenses which deliver surprisingly high quality images. In some ways a MF Leica fit lens is far simpler to build and the price point significantly higher than many AF zooms. Its a conventional design with no aspheric elements by the look of it.I therefor see no reason to think that assembly or QC have to be poor even at this price.

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