The Best Budget [$298!] 35mm lens for Leica? | NEW 7Artisans 35mm f/2 II Review

[@RichardStroffolino]

I have the V1 and it's soooo good for the money. Just a perfect everyday kind of lens. One way for film shooters to maybe get around calibration, buy it used. Had luck just asking a seller if they had calibrated it, and got a fully working lens for my M5.

[@FFVoyager]

I have the original (also bought used) and it's an astonishingly good lens.

[@SourPlanet]

Can confirm, this lens is perfect on the M240. I hate EVF and Focus Peaking and Focus Magnify, etc, so I finally pulled the trigger and sold all my gear to switch over-- but my budget was very very limited. This lens was $150 used. So I've been shooting the M system and absolutely loving it.. all because i had a budget option to get up and running. These reviews help people find that joy. Edit: 6 Months later, still have it. I got a Voigtlander 35 and it was just super saturated and too crispy. Sold it and kept the 7Artisns. Build is immaculate, looks/handles exact same despite daily use all over NYC. It has this soft natural rendering that just hits the spot. I don't think I'll be switching, honestly.

[@marcp.1752]

Fine review, Ben ! I keep my 7Artisans 35/1.4 Wen, which i bought way cheap last year.

[@NorCal-yeti]

Benj First I want to say thanks for previewing these more affordable OTL. "other than Leica" lens. I have been an Electrician for 35 years, and I do Photo's on the side mostly to make my hobby pay for it self. I have bought Voigtlander 50mm f1.5 classic, TTartisans 90mm f1.25, and the 7artisan , M75mm f1.25 and I want to say that my customers love their pictures. !!! I really appreciate your reviews.

[@warrenc2306]

I need that hand grip!!! Nice review!!

[@filmlabapp]

Love these reviews, thanks for making them! I'd be curious to hear about flaring, as that seems to be a weak point of cheaper lenses. Also, I believe it should be possible to calibrate the lens on a film camera by opening the back, putting scotch tape or another frosted material where the film would be, and focusing with a magnifying glass or loupe.

[@hiramabiff885]

I just received this lens yesterday. Not only did I received a complete lens cleaning kit including a very nice blower, I also received two of the the dandy lens cases which are large enough to fit my 28-35-50 Tri Elmar lens. I put the lens on my M-P240, walked out the front door and shot one image of my wife putting out her bird feeders in the rain. I went in the house and opened the DNG file in Photoshop and was poleaxed. Against the gray trees the colors of my wife and her Jimi Hendrix tie-dye shirt exploded. Resolution is incredible. If the fine folks at Leica get hold of one of these lenses a few will be opening their veins in the bathtub. This lens is going to be fixed on my Leica for a thorough workout forthcoming. The quality of this lens, focus, aperture ring and general build hold their own again ANY lens I have ever owned and I have been a photographer for 50 years.

[@LukeTaylorPhotography]

Thanks for the review, Ben! Love the song choice!

[@zguy95135]

Did they update the optics? I had the original and liked it a lot, but the extreme flaring is what made me sell it. It was pretty soft in the corners too (not a IQ nerd) where subjects on the same plane, but to the sides would be noticeably soft and distorted.

[@Miniaminism]

Hello Benj, Little request of a victim of your channel : would you by any chance include a GFX coverage for each M-Lens that you test :) ? Yeah I bought a 50R because of you (so worth it) Take care ;)

[@benjhaisch]

hahahahah when I saw *victim* I was worried. But yes, I'll put it on now, I didn't even think to!

[@neophyte3]

also a victim with the same request!!

[@Eliehbk]

We love you Ben!!!

[@neophyte3]

Can it cover a GFX medium format sensor?

[@stefan_becker]

Thanks for the great review! Can you confirm that it doesn't fit the Leica M3?

[@mamabonthere]

heyy benj! i was thinking of getting a leisure camera as ive alr got a sony for my work related stuff. Was actually thinking of getting either a M10 or M11, wasnt sure if using a voigtlander lens would make sense? what are your thoughts? i can probably buy a Leica lens but i just dont know if the price tag justify anything.

[@eveanddell]

Haha what's wrong with the M9? Just got one with sensor that was replaced and looking for a budget 35mm. Great review!

[@colinosullivan]

Thanks Benj! I've had my mouse hovering over the buy button on the VG Ultron ii for a year now. Black, paint.. brace! Some would argue a better character than the current cron! Very interested if cost was no issue which one you would select!!! Given you've used both I think you can make that call. In my latest video, I'd the 28mm and 50mm Zeiss with me in the fog and I think 35mm is the lens that would stay on my camera most of the time I suspect! Love your videos.

[@urbanfinland1692]

It would be interesting to know how much more expencive these would be if they were calibrated at the factory. I mean for me the calibration issue is the only reason i don't have any of these 7Artisan and TTartisan lenses, even though i want them.

[@stefan_becker]

@@user-jp3vl5jx1j Do you really need a digital camera to calibrate the lens or would it be possibly sufficient to calibrate the lens for infinity (that means making sure the rangefinder image is "sharp" on infinity if the lens is focused to infinity)?

[@stefan_becker]

@@user-jp3vl5jx1jThank you! Unfortunately I don't know anybody with a digital Leica (not even anybody with a analog Leica). Most of my friends shoot Sony, Nikon or Canon full frame mirrorless. So I'll check, if I can use it for film (maybe I can calibrate it well enough). If not I'll put it on my Nikon Zf that has great support for manual focus lenses.

[@_willfunk_]

From a Summilux and Summicron user - great video as always

[@danielgontar6743]

Looks dope.

[@arpitkumargahlot]

Optical formula of this lens is very similar to XF 35mm f2, but this lens is sharper, and has much wider coverage. The MTF chart shows good coverage upto 30mm from center, which implies it easily fits GFX format. Please test on GFX as well - it will be fun to see the bokeh and separation on medium format. F2 is pretty fast for GFX I guess.

[@markfisher299]

Just bought the 35mm mk2 f2 after watching your vid..It’s perfect on my m240p but it won’t lock onto my M6 The locking pin doesn’t click and it moves when I focus.I wondered if anyone else had this problem..Cheers

[@kiwipics]

Nothing wrong with a bit of girth on a lens, and it suits the camera body ... It's good looking and I'm definitely not a lens snob, as my only lenses for my £20 (ask snd I will tell) Leica M6 Titanium are a 28mm f5.6 Wen and a Voightlander 35mm f2.5 Color Skopar.

[@T-Prime848]

Dose the lens need to be calibrated if I want to use on a Fuji XE-1 for example ??? And I know that I need an adapter to use on Fuji X Mount

[@benjhaisch]

Nope! Works totally fine

[@T-Prime848]

@@benjhaisch can you please tell me which adapter I should use because there are three adapters I found for 7Artisans Leica M to FX Mount ???

[@benjhaisch]

@Layne846 any adapter from Leica M to Fujifilm XF should work fine. There are better ones than others, just depends on how much you want to spend

[@KingGameReview]

I'm always tempted to try these new 35mm lens alternatives, but I already have a Zeiss Distagon 35mm f2 and I don' t think it makes sense for me to spend any more money at that focal length. I love that lense, but I also love experimenting :)

[@backfilms1953]

The Zeiss distagon 35mm f2 is universally accepted as the greatest 35mm ever made. Far superior to any cheap plastic canon lens and even Leica. Dont sell it

[@KingGameReview]

@@backfilms1953 oh yeah, I never will. I love that lens. I rarely take it off my GFX 50R. It's a great combo.

[@freekdeniro8623]

why the shade on the M9?

[@benjhaisch]

Slow buffer, Terrible LCD screen. Just wasn't up to snuff for my professional workflow

[@kevlarnegative]

Good review, as expected. Not being calibrated is a deal breaker for me unfortunately😢

[@naytinlieu]

Is that a black Leica sticker or did you black it out yourself? 🤔

[@yuxi2424]

Thanks for sharing. but you never use these cheap ones for wedding samples lol

[@Stealther]

The fact that you have to calibrate these lenses keep me from buying them. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@patrickjclarke]

It’s really not that hard and took me 5 minutes on my TT 50mm f/1.4 ASPH.

[@DasAnnihilator]

Crazy difficult to do if your only M mount is film too. I got lucky and mine was perfect out of the box

[@Coolmemorydude]

@@patrickjclarke can you calibrate it on a non Leica digital with an adapter or issues with that? I’d like to get the TT myself

[@patrickjclarke]

@@Coolmemorydude on a non-rangefinder no need for calibration as you are seeing thru the lens. You might not be able to get infinity focus tho

[@larryng]

Mine was calibrated out of the box

[@tonyhayes9827]

I don't hate the video. I just don't understand it. The whole point of the Leica look is the lens. It's the lens that differentiates the `Leica look' from the crowd, not the sensor, unless I'm mistaken of course in which case I stand very happily corrected. Why buy a Leica body only to put a no-Leica lens on it. You've just defeated the whole point of buying Leica which is to get the`Leica look.' (I'm not saying I know what the Leica look is or even if it exists or even if it does exist whether its anything special or not). The body wont give it to you. Its the lens that makes it. I can understand putting a Leica lens on a non-Leica body because you'll still get the `Leica look'. If its the sensor that gives the `Leica look' and not the lens then why buy a Leica lens at all. Just put any lens on it and you'll get the same look right? If I've missed the point please correct me. Back in the day all bodies used the same film. The Leica lens was the thing that made the better image on any given film. I'll grant there's other reasons to buy Leica not the least of which is build quality and that's a real issue. Also I take your point about buying maybe a Leica body first with a view to getting a lens later after you save more money and in the meantime putting a cheap lens on so you can start using it. That's a good point.

[@FFVoyager]

In your opinion. Others would like to shoot a Leica and have a bagful of lenses for the price of a new 35mm Summicron. Neither is definitively 'right' but your lack of understanding tells us more about you than anything about lenses.

[@tonyhayes9827]

@@FFVoyager Fair enough too. Thanks for explaining that. I understand now.👍

[@christiancyfus7651]

@tony Thats what I’m talking about. You nailed it.

[@SourPlanet]

I do agree that the Leica experience is definitely in part due to their fantastic lenses... but, that's just one third of it. The rangefinder experience and the amazing Leica color science finish out the kinda "Leica trifecta." I'm only able to afford a budget lens after spending for the body, and I'm happy having access to the most important side of the trifecta: the shooting experience. For me, that's what counts.

[@ezekielkok1848]

First! 😊

[@bwest6275]

I realize a Leica M lens is a costly investment, but IMHO saving on the lens is defeating the point of shooting a Leica M. If strapped for cash, i'd rather get a Leica M lens and adapt it to a less expensive body instead. But if money isn't the reason to go this route, I guess then the goal is optical experimentation. But just my opinion of course.

[@DecentGatsby]

A Leica 35mm *summicon* ! Lol Terrible jokes aside-huge fan of the 28mm 5.6 copy. I can’t justify the summaron price, the copy is just as good, IMHO. Great video

[@Old-School-Liberal]

Say NO to cheap Chinese knockoffs 👎

[@FFVoyager]

You don't have to buy one. Doesn't make the lens any less interesting to others.

[@Old-School-Liberal]

Still disagree

[@SuperByzantium]

Can it fit M3, ? or the back of the lens hit the lens release lever?