REVIEW: 7ARTISANS 35MM f/0.95
Introduction
Earlier this year, after much research, I decided to buy into the micro four thirds (mft, m4/3) system, with the Olympus e-m1 mark ii as my main camera body for video.
Olympus e-m1 mark ii with the 7Artisans 35mm f/0.95
My lens choices were rather practical. I bought the Panasonic 12-60mm as a “do-it-all” lens, an Olympus 40-150mm f4-5.6 (See my review here), and the small Panasonic 14mm f2.5 as a street photography option (a great lens at $200 brand new).
Although these lenses are great, the one downfall they all share is they are not particularly fast in terms of aperture. I wanted at least one lens that could give me shallow depth of field and could bring in extra light for shooting in the dark.
Most of the native m4/3 options in my budget weren’t particularly interesting to me, so I went looking at offerings from 3rd party manufacturers. After watching endless YouTube reviews, my interest peaked on the 7Artisans family of optics. I had wanted to try a 7Artisans or TTArtisans lens for some time, but had never had the opportunity. A few days later, I found a used copy of the 7Artisans 35mm f0.95 mft-mount on ebay for $180 and I snatched it up.
Build Quality
By the time my lens arrived, I had probably watched/read 50+ online reviews about various 7Artisans lenses, so I knew what to expect.
I knew the lens would not be light due to its all-metal build, but the weight still surprised me when I took it out of the box. This 35mm weighs 369g or .81 lbs. That isn’t unusual on most full frame systems, but it was a bit shocking when I put it on the front of my Olympus e-m1 mark ii. The Panasonic 14mm and Olympus 40-150mm combined weight 40 grams less than the 7Artisans.
7Artisans 35mm f.95 after a year of use.
That said, I don’t fault the lens for its weight because the designers made a conscious tradeoff of weight for build quality. The lens is beautifully made with a black metal body and engraved distance scale filled with white and red paint. It feels like a lens that will last a lifetime and the styling is classic enough to endure. One feature I particularly like is the gunmetal mounting plate on the rear of the lens. As far as I know, it only serves aesthetic purposes, but I appreciate the sharp look.
There are only two things I don’t love about the build. First, I wish the focus ring was a little more dampened (personal preference). Second, the font on the ring surrounding the front element. The font on the distance scale and aperture ring seem tastefully chosen, but the font choice around the front element looks like someone used the default setting in Microsoft Word. It isn’t my favorite but I think I can live with it lol.
I wish 7Artisans had used the same font on the front element as they used on the aperture ring.
Image Quality
For the remainder of this review, I want to share with you my disappointments about the image quality and, how in a turn of events, this lens became one of my FAVORITE LENSES I’ve ever used!
When my UPS man dropped off the lens, I immediately put it on my Olympus and started taking shots at f0.95 (of course). Upon reviewing them, I found that the bokeh was better than I expected, but the images were on the soft side. At first I thought it was user error because this was my first manual focus lens, but a few photographs later, I was relatively certain I wasn’t the problem.
I thought the focus peaking may have been off a little bit, but it didn’t take me long to confirm that wasn’t the problem. In the end, after several more test shots, and hundreds since that time, I have come to realize the lens just isn’t that sharp from f0.95-f1.4. At the time, I was really disappointed with the performance.
So why did I keep the lens? And why am I doing a review on it nearly a year after my disappointment? And why have I taken hundreds of additional images with it?
Let me tell you three lessons I learned from the 7Artisans 35mm f0.95 that changed me as a photographer.
The red and white text compliment each other nicely.
Although the lens makes the camera a bit front heavy, it sure makes it look good.
The gunmetal mounting plate of the 7Artisans 35mm f/0.95 is a nice touch
Lesson 1: Clinical Sharpness Isn’t Everything
I admit, when I first got into photography and videography I was obsessed with sharp lenses. I watched endless pixel peeping reviews and lens comparisons and would only buy optics that would offer the highest image fidelity.
While I still love tack sharp lenses, this lens taught me sharpness isn’t everything. I kept shooting with this lens despite my initial disappointment and I’m very glad I did. To this day I remember the exact image I took that taught me I could love a soft lens. It isn’t a particularly special image, just my wife doing her hair in the morning, but it changed me as a photographer.
I love this photo and it taught me there is more to photography than sharpness.
An old out-of-business fuel station in Vlorë, Albania.
The new gas station on the main road.
Lesson 2: Wide Aperture Lenses Aren’t Everything
Along with my addiction to sharpness was my obsession with wide aperture lenses. People gush over the f1.4, f1.2, and f1.0 lenses of the world, and many reviewers are quick to tell readers why a wide aperture lens is better than a slow aperture lens always and forever.
Initially, I, like many amateur photographers, thought blowing out the background of photos into creamy bokeh blurriness was all it took to be a great photographer. I still have a lot to learn, but since owning the 7Artisans 35mm f0.95 I’ve learned wide apertures aren’t everything… for 2 reasons:
It is very difficult to shoot any kind of dynamic scene with an aperture below 1.4. When shooting at super low apertures, your depth of field is so narrow that if your subject moves at all, you’ll end up with an SD card full of bad photos if you aren’t careful. When shooting on the street (or anything moving for that matter) it makes a lot more sense to shoot above f1.4. If you are a manual focus master and can lock in on a moving target at f1.4 or lower, I tip my hat to you, but if you are a mere mortal like myself, it might be better to spend the majority of your time above f2.8 when the shooting gets tricky.
As I’ve matured as a photographer, my composition techniques have improved and I’ve relied less on bokeh blowout. To my eye, photos shot at higher apertures are typically richer in depth and more meaningful to the memory than isolated subjects against blurry backgrounds. I’m finding that as my photographic skills improve, I’m using bokeh less and less and my average apertures in my EXIF data are climbing. When purchasing glass, I’ve started considering lenses traditionally considered “slow” for the benefits they bring to the table.
Don’t misunderstand me, fast lenses certainly have their advantages (light gathering), but having an f0.95 has taught me aperture alone won’t make all your dreams come true.
Autumn is around the corner
The 70mm equivalent gave me just enough reach to capture this small beach visitor.
Two fishermen out on a quite afternoon in the bay of Vlorë.
A cat admires my 7Artisans lens from atop a wall… He is jealous!
The 7Artisans 35mm f/0.95 sharpens up as you stop down the aperture, which is to be expected from any lens.
Lesson 3: I Didn’t Know I Would Like Manual Focus
I purchased this lens for a very utilitarian purpose. I wanted a lens that could offer a wide aperture just in case I needed it. I never expected to use this lens with any regularity because I was very happy with my camera’s autofocus. Before buying the 7Artisans, I never considered investing in manual focus lenses because I thought they were relics of ancient history used exclusively by Leica snobs who couldn’t give up the past and those strange people who decided it was a good idea to bring 35mm film back into vogue in 2022 (I kid, I kid, I joke, I joke lol).
But images like the 2 above helped me understand that manual focus does have some compelling advantages over auto focus in specific situations. Since owning the 7Artisans 35mm, I’ve been shocked to discover I like manual focus lenses… for 2 reasons:
Manual focus puts precision decision making into the hands of the photographer. Autofocus is great… when it works. But sometimes it takes the human touch to make the right decision. The two images above illustrate this point. The image of the cat was a tricky one. I only had a split second to focus on the cats eye before he ran away. The space between the fence was so narrow that it would have been difficult for an autofocus system to recognize I wanted the cat sharp and not the metal bars. But using manual focus I was able to lift the camera to my eye and quickly dial in focus on my intended subject. In the second photo, I wanted to focus on the pebbles underneath the water. When I’ve attempted similar shots with autofocus, the camera almost always focused on the contrast on top of the water. With manual focus you don’t have to guess what your camera will select as your subject, you can do the decision making yourself.
The second reason I like manual focus is the “pure” experience. I’m not going to wax eloquent about the “good-old-days” of photography because I wasn’t around back then, but I will say I enjoy limiting the amount of technology necessary to take photographs. I take photos as a way to relax, often on my afternoon walks away from my desk, and as much as possible, I like to enjoy the sea, the forest, and the city where I live. The less I have to fiddle with electronics, the more relaxing I find my photo walks. I found this to be especially true when I tried film. Although I don’t currently shoot film because I don’t like the development process, I absolutely loved the fact that I could take photos with a camera that required no electronics whatsoever. It was a delight to not have to charge batteries, or worry about forgetting SD cards, or dreading that your electronics would be out of date in 5 years. While I’m not ready to return to film, shooting manual lenses restores some of the simplicity of photography. I spend all day looking at a computer screen. The less time I have to spend looking at my camera screen the better.
You can see how narrow the depth of field gets, even on a micro four thirds sensor.
This horse lives by the dump… not sure who he belongs to.
Recommendation:
As I wrap up this personally subjective review, let me offer my subjective recommendation as to whether you should buy this lens.
I would buy this lens again in a heartbeat, and I will buy other 7Artisan lenses without reservation, not because they are technical masterpieces (some might be) but because they are creative masterpieces. The 7Artisans 35mm f0.95 taught me several valuable lessons (which my wallet appreciates).
If you are looking for a lens that will be sharp stopped down and will give you the highest resolution output… I would skip this one.
If you are looking for a lens that help you mix things up creatively… I would buy this one.
If you hate it, you can resell it and lose hardly any money. If you love it, it might save you from spending thousands of dollars on gear you don’t need.
If you are interested in buying a 7Artisans 35mm f0.95 please consider buying through my affiliate link on Amazon: here
The affiliate link cost you nothing extra and I get a little commission for recommending the product… Thanks!
