7Artisans 35mm F0.95 – Fuji, please have a look at this trend and join it!
Disclaimer: The text you will read below is based on my own thoughts and experience with my copy of the 7Artisans 35mm F0.95. The lens was bought as used but in mint condition. I’ve also bought an unbranded lens hood in aluminum, partly because it keeps the front glass element safer, but also because this lens has some major struggles with direct sunlight. I recommend everyone to buy a lens hood to get the best result out of the 35mm f0.95.
With that said, I will give you a background story that ended up with this Chinese little thingy. Back on August 5th 2015, I got my first vintage-lens for the Fujifilm X-M1 I had back then. After using the standard XC15-45mm and XC50-230mm for almost a year, I was hyped to try my very first F1.4 prime.
The lens I bought was a Yashica ML 50mm F1.4, and that just opened up a whole new world for me. It helped me to get some bokeh on my images, and the lens wasn’t made out of plastic. Don’t get me wrong, the XC lenses have some great glass if you’re on a budget. But they’re slow compared to the f1.4 prime, obviously.
I took these two back in 2015 when I went on a trip to Kos – Greece.
After that Yashica, I bought some more vintage primes in different focal lengths. But that Yashica 50mm was my daily choice for a long time. Everyone that bought a vintage lens knows that it comes with a history. The glass can be dirty, and the aperture blades can have some oil on them. And then we have the focus/aperture rings, some are really tight, some are kind of loose, and the travel distance can differ a lot.
Overall you will always feel that a lens has its history. That’s not a bad thing, it will give some characteristic shots. For a photographer like me, that started with a Fujifilm in the mirrorless era, the focusing ring equals to a vintage lens. In other words, the manual focus has never been ”perfect” for me, if a perfect focus ring means smooth handling and a good degree of travel.
So, I had some preconceived notions about a manually focused lens. And with a Fujinon 35mm F1.4 as a daily driver, I needed some motivation to spend my hard-earned money on yet another 35mm lens, that’s not pin-sharp and has manual focus.
When I put the Fuji 35mm on my camera today, I miss something… okay, I know exactly what I miss. I miss that mechanical focus ring. I wanted it so bad that I had a hard time going back to the Fuji lens. To be honest, I didn’t think this would ever happen.
When I decided to buy the 7Artisans, I thought I would use it from time to time when I wanted to play around and have some creamy bokeh. But it has been my daily driver since day one. I’ve taken it to photo walks, weekends, hikes, vacations etc. I’ve had it to shoot nature, family, portrait, street and documentary photos. If I put it this way, I’m in love!
I can’t say that the 35mm from 7Artisans is a better lens than Fuji’s 35mm F1.4. Actually, the Fuji XF35mm F1.4 has better sharpness, contrast, chromatic aberration and almost anything else. But the 7Artisans has something else. I can’t tell exactly what it is, but that hidden thing makes me use it day after day! As I said in the first section, I recommend a lens hood to protect the front element from direct sunlight.
You can get some crazy flares without it, and to be honest, you can get them even with the hood on, but it’s not that common, and some flares don’t hurt anyone. But that aperture ring, it’s clickless, and that’s probably… no, that IS the worst thing about the lens. If you want a specific aperture, you need to look at the lens, and that really grinds my gears (to refer to Peter Griffin for no reason).
RIGHT: RAW file @F0.95
F0.95
F1.4
F5.6
My photography skills have evolved since 2015, and the confidence I have out shooting now helps a lot with the manual focus. And now I can see the advantage of a manual lens. As autofocus relies on a specific spot on the sensor or some AI that chooses what to focus on, manual focus gives you the whole frame. And with focus peaking, you can fast and easy directly find the focus anywhere within the fame lines.
It’s also easier to set the focus where you want it if something, or someone, will cross that point in some way. I can’t say it’s always better than a pin-sharp AF in a critical situation. But for most of the time, I have zero problems with that manual focus, even down to F0.95 (even if it’s easier to miss an eye on this wide aperture).
RIGHT: Fujifilm X-Pro3 . 7Artisan 35mm f0.95 . 1/55″ . ISO 160
So I’ve gone from XC-zooms to fast vintage primes, to Fuji’s XF-primes to a third party Fuji X manual lens. And now I have a conclusion. And from here on, it could be good for you to know I’m an X-Pro shooter. I own an X-Pro3 and an X-Pro1. The latter is more of a B&W toy. I would love to write something more about another time.
You all know about the F2 primes from Fuji. I would say that they’re designed for the X-Pro series. The small form factor is great for street and documentary photography. The tighter front makes it easier when using the OVF. If I had the opportunity to change one thing on those lenses, I would make them manual (or at least give them a mechanical focus ring).
After I bought the 7Artisans, that’s the ONLY thing I wish from Fujifilm, a manual prime with data transfer, like the new Voigtländer 35mm F1.2. And if they would do such a lens, it would be insane if they made some software tweaks to get some focus peaking/digital parallax focus for the OVF. It would be a dream to have a manual lens that was fully functional with the OVF! Do I really need to buy a Leica to get that feature?
Summary
The 7Artisans 35mm F0.95 is not the best lens for the Fuji X system on paper, not even on that specific focal length. But it changed my thoughts about everything when it comes to capturing a photo. How I want my camera to feel when composing a frame and get that focus on point. So please Fujifilm, please join this trend and do it the Fujiway!
RIGHT: Fujifilm X-Pro3 . 7Artisan 35mm f0.95 . 1/8000″ . ISO 12800
“I’m born and raised in the cold land up north where we still have Kings and Queens, just like the old medieval days. Talking about the kings, Our King and I share the same name, Gustaf. I’m a full-time employed photographer for fun, and a full-(free)-time Fuji X photographer for passion! At work, I shoot products in all kinds of situations. With my Fuji setup, I focus on things that make me feel good, like my family, the streets of Gothenburg and the nature of Scandinavia. “
Khürt L Williams
September 1, 2021 @ 1:26 am
Do you think that this is a lens that will make Fuji lots of money? How many units do you think they will sell?
Gustaf Jansson
September 1, 2021 @ 9:42 am
I’m not in to specific numbers. But I asked the question in a Swedish Fuji-group on facebook, and people want this kind of lense. Look at X-Pro 3, all the criticisms it got at launch, and now. People love it! It’s simple, it’s basic. That kind of costumer want a quality manual lense.
Everyone wants a fast 35/33mm that’s WR, fast and quite. It works for everything, just like an X-T4. But some really want a manual focused first-party lens that have something unique, just like X-Pro 3. It’s not for everyone, as the X-T-series.
Khürt L Williams
September 7, 2021 @ 3:11 am
Without specific numbers, this is just your opinion on demand. My opinion is that the market demand for this lens does not exist.
Gustaf Jansson
September 7, 2021 @ 4:05 am
That’s a 100% correct analysis, and I can’t remember where I wrote the opposite.
Fela
September 3, 2021 @ 7:18 am
this lens is not produced by Fujifilm, but 7Artisans
Gustaf Jansson
September 3, 2021 @ 7:53 am
You say? That explains a lot! 🤷♂️
OLE MARTIN HELGESEN
September 1, 2021 @ 10:35 am
I just got the 7Artisans now. I had the similar Mitakon earlier, and loved its character, but I often needed autofocus and had to stop down to 1.4 to get sufficient depth of field, so I got the XF35 1.4 which is a brilliant lens! But I missed the Mitakon, and how it forced me to work slower and harder, and image character. So I was lucky to find a 2nd hand 7Artisans, which has similar optics to the Mitakon, great build but half the price! So far it seems very good, except the aperture ring which is too easy to twist, and I would prefer clickstops. Now I often change aperture instead of focus… But results are great, and it is very compact. Same filter diameter as the XF 35 and my Viltrox 23 1.4, so I can share special filters (Mist filter is ordered, ND filter is also needed)
Gustaf Jansson
September 1, 2021 @ 7:49 pm
I’ve never tried the Mitakon, but the differences looks very small, and as you say, half the price. The aperture ring on the Mitakon is also click less?
Fujis 35mm f1.4 is absolutely awesome, no doubt about that. But it miss the feeling you get in the 7artisan. As you say, somethings missing and a slower phase is not always bad 😀
OLE MARTIN HELGESEN
September 7, 2021 @ 2:34 pm
Yes, clickless aperture on all f0.95 lenses it seems. But a bit stiffer and not so easy to accidentially change it on the Mitakon. The 7Artisans has got a raised ring, which makes it easy to mix up with the focus ring, but I guess I will get used to it.
Gustaf Jansson
September 7, 2021 @ 2:39 pm
Okey, I hope so much someone will make a click-Aperture ring soon. That would probably sell alot! 😂
Albert Smith
September 1, 2021 @ 5:29 pm
I went on line and YouTube to see if this lens would be useful to me. I came up on manual focus, so that would not have been an issue for general photography as I practice it, but one thing that I saw on two sites made me not buy this.
Two different reviewers did side-by-side comparisons between this lens and the Fujifilm XF 35mm f/1.4, which I own and love. The difference in background blur while there is not dramatic. If you factor in the speed and accuracy of the Fuji lens’ autofocus, the trade off of a slightly (very slightly in the examples posted) softer blur but speedier operation, I’ll take the speed. The Fuji 35mm already gives me almost vintage-like images with that immeasurable factor- character.
I’m looking forward to reviews for the 33mm f/1.4 Fujifilm lens to see if they retain the good things from the 35mm, while modernizing the mechanics.
Gustaf Jansson
September 1, 2021 @ 7:58 pm
I guess the new 33mm will get a clean pixel peeping look as it’s made for 40mp sensors with new optics.
I would say it depends on the situation and personal preferences. I have, and love, the fuji 35mm f1.4, but I’ll almost never use it after purchasing the 7artisan.
Phong
September 3, 2021 @ 7:54 am
What is your experience using mf focus? I came across your 35mm 7art review and I already own them. At 0.95 it’s quite difficult to mf, the dof is too thin, and in the article I saw you mentioned easy focusing, please share it, thank you.
Gustaf Jansson
September 3, 2021 @ 8:02 am
I think it depends a lot on your camera. I have a X-Pro 3 and Xpro 1. I’ve never tried this lens on the X-Pro 1, but with the EVF on X-Pro 3 It’s not that bad. Of course it’s a lot easier at f2 and higher but I can get focus right at f0.95 on my children, not everytime maybe. I think it’s just a practice thing, and the better EVF you have, the easier you get focus on point. (I guess you know this, but if you have the time you’re get a lot more accuracy zooming in to check focus before taking the image. 🙂
Ole Martin
September 7, 2021 @ 2:45 pm
Hi, on most Fujifilm cameras you have two important manual focus tools you should know, to make best use of lenses like this.
First, make sure you set your camera to manual focus (usually the MCS switch on the front, or in menu)
To check focus, you can now quickly press/click the rear thumb wheel. This will zoom in on your focus point (so set it first!) This is extremely useful to pinpoint focus. Just press shutter halfway to zoom back and adjust composition.
You also have different focus help by pressing and holding the same rear thumb wheel for a few secs. Repeat to switch between different modes. The most useful one is Focus peaking, where the area in focus is highlighted. You can select which color in the menu. You can also select a screen mode that displays a zoomed in focusarea on the side.
All in all there are great tools to help you obtain correct focus, please try them out!
Gustaf Jansson
September 7, 2021 @ 6:34 pm
What Ole said 🙂
Blake
March 6, 2022 @ 1:28 am
I agree completely. Sold all my Fuji lenses not just because of the crap manual focus, but also because I don’t share the common wisdom that such lenses as the xf 35mm 1.4 is so wonderful. In fact compared to my various vintage lenses, as well as 7art and ttart ones, I find it to have a soulless look that gives me no positive emotions. If you haven’t yet you might also try the ttartisans 23mm 1.4. between it and the 7artisans 35mm one could spend a lifetime of photography happily. Also,I don’t understand the need for focus “aids ” turn the ring until the desired focus is achieved visually. Or does everyone have terrible, uncorrected eyesight?
Gustaf Jansson
March 6, 2022 @ 7:33 am
To be honest, after using this lens some time I actually sold all my fuji gear (including my X-Pro 3) and bought a Leica M10 with TTArtisans 50mm f1.4.
This is the experience i searched for when I bought the Pro 3, but Fujifilm didn’t take it all the way which make the pro 3 an X-T model with a Rangefinder design. 🙂
Blake
March 6, 2022 @ 6:00 pm
Wonderul! Wish I could do as well. I am also not mesmerized by “those amazing Fuji colors.” And I’ve never understood the idea of the xpro models, since they aren’t actually rangefinders. The only real advantage I find with these Fujicams is their oldschool dials. Anyway, a friend is getting great results with the TTArtisan M 28mm F5.6 on his Leica. If you haven’t yet, it’s worth checking out.
Gustaf Jansson
March 6, 2022 @ 7:00 pm
I loved the files from my pro 3, It has taken some time to learn the leica files. But I’ve used Fuji since I started so 🙂
Now I have a hard time to choose between a 28 or 35mm but I want a fast lens, at least f2. I’m looking at the Voigtländer Ultron, 35mm f2, but will borrow a 28 f1.4 from a friend if mine 🙂
Blake
March 6, 2022 @ 7:06 pm
Since I got rid of all my Fuji lenses I am also loving my files. 🙂 While I’ve been using Fuji since 2012 I’ve also Nikon since 2004, and Canon, and preferred the colors from those cams. But now I think perhaps it is mostly about lenses. This 7Artisans has really improved things. Well, someday maybe try the 5.6. You might be surprised what can be done. Up close on portraits, some very nice, surprisingly shallow DOF.
Gustaf Jansson
March 6, 2022 @ 8:29 pm
Nice to hear, it’s a nice looking lens for sure! But I live in northern Europe (sweden) so 6 month a year it’s to dark for 5.6 🙁
(I have canon 5D mark IV, and I love the fuji-files much more! I’ll try to get a GFX 100 when we will make a change 😅🤷♂️
Juan Antiguo
June 23, 2022 @ 12:02 pm
Gustaf, do you mind sharing what lens hood are you using for this lens and sharing the link to it?
Gustaf Jansson
June 23, 2022 @ 12:24 pm
Sorry, don’t remember the exact one, it’s a no-name hood with the right filter thread. Search for XXmm circular lens hood or something 🙂
vasilievas
March 13, 2023 @ 3:35 pm
Yes, cheap Chinese camera lenses project were started by Fujifilm employee, when we bought some patents for the cheap mirorless lenses.
Tanya
May 10, 2023 @ 7:23 pm
Hi Gustav,
Thanks for this article. Have you tried the TTArtisan 35mm f0.95 as well? I am wondering how does it pair up with this 7Artisans 35mm f0.95.. Would love to hear your thoughts! Thank you.