Leica lenses have excellent image quality combined with a solid build. Zeiss and Voigtlander also produce some stellar optics. I have always been interested in other “cheap” third party options for the Leica M mount. Several manufacturers produce M mount lenses, but most are not rangefinder coupled (for example Meyer-Optik-Görlitz). Handevision was one of the first brands to produce a series of rangefinder coupled Iberit lenses for Leica M. Recently, another Chinese manufacturer came up with the 50mm f/1.1 lens for Leica M-mount (Sonnar design) that is sold under the 7artisans and DJ-Optical brand names.
The 7Artisian 50mm f/1.1 lens for Leica M-mount costs $370 and can be purchased at Amazon US, Amazon DE, Amazon UK and eBay. I received a lens for review from the manufacturer – here is my preliminary report that will be updated in the next few weeks as I have more time to shoot with the lens (fyi: the lens is shipped from Asia and I did not have to pay any import duties in the US):
General
The first thing you notice is how heavy this lens is – 426 g with both caps:
Here is the viewfinder blockage on a Leica M10:
The aperture markings are not spread symmetrically over the aperture ring – the big aperture numbers are very close to each other. The f/11 marking is missing completely:
Because this 50mm f/1.1 is so thick, some may find it difficult to access/push the lens release button:
The 7Artisans 50mm f/1.1 lens is 6 bit coded as a Leica Noctilux 50mm f/1 lens:
The lens doesn’t come with a lens hood – you can try some of the third party available lens hoods (55mm) at B&H and eBay but I did not have the time to do the research. I will update this post once I find a good lens hood. The lens comes with a solid, heavy metal push-on lens cap – something you don’t see with many lenses today.
Next is a size comparison between the 7Artisans 50mm f/1.1, Iberit 50mm f/2.4 and the Leica Summilux 50mm f/1.4 ASPH lenses:
The 7Artisans 50mm f/1.1 lens also comes with instructions on how to adjust/calibrate the focusing with a small screw on the lens – my lens did not need any adjustments, but I am curious to play with this one day:
The lens appears to be coated but I am not sure. The 7Artisans 50mm f/1.1 fits also on film cameras (M6. M7, MP) but I did not get a chance to shoot film with it (there are some mounting issues on a Leica M4 camera, which will be fixed in the next batch):
Technical Specifications
- Full frame lens for Leica M-mount (rangefinder coupled)
- Focal length: 50mm
- Aperture range: f/1.1-f/16
- Angular field of view: 46°
- Minimum focusing distance: 0.7m
- Number of aperture blades: 12
- Lens design: 7 elements in 6 groups
- Aluminum body and copper core, Sonnar design
- Filter thread: 55mm
- Weight: 14.1 oz / 400 g
- Dimensions: 49mm x 60mm
- The box contains: lens, two lens caps, lens pouch, instructions:
Sharpness
Using the 7Artisans 50mm f/1.1 lens wide open at f/1.1 delivers some soft/glowy images – open the full resolution image for a better view (more sample photos are available on flickr):
Here is a 100% crop from the image above – you can clearly see the glow and the lack of sharpness/contrast:
The lens sharpness improves at f/2:
Next are some wide open (f/1.1) vs. stopped down (f/5.6-f/8) comparisons – click to see the larger resolution on flickr:
Wide open (f/1.1):
Stopped down (f/5.6-f/8):
Wide open (f/1.1):
Stopped down (f/5.6-f/8):
Wide open (f/1.1):
Stopped down (f/5.6-f/8):
Vignetting
Some noticeable vignetting is present up to f/2 (lens detection/correction set to Noctilux 50mm f/1.0):
f/1.1
f/1.4
f/2
Bokeh
Some pictures to illustrate the bokeh of the 7Artisans 50mm f/1.1 lens (all shot wide open at f/1.1):
Barrel distortion, lens flare, chromatic aberration
The 7Artisans 50mm f/1.1 has a minimal lens flare (first picture) and some noticeable chromatic aberrations (check out the boat lights and some of the tree branches in the second and third picture):
I did not see any focus shift. The barrel distortion is noticeable:
Comparison
Next is a quick comparison between the 7Artisans 50mm f/1.1 ($369.90), Handevision Iberit 50mm f/2.4 ($590) and Leica Summilux 50mm f/1.4 ASPH ($3,895) lenses:
Wide open
7Artisans @ f/1.1 – you can again see the glow and the lack of sharpness/contrast I mentioned above:
7Artisans @ f/1.4 – things look already better at f/1.4:
Leica 50 Summilux @ f/1.4:
Handevision Iberit 50mm @ f/2.4:
f/2.8
7Artisans @ f/2.8:
Leica 50 Summilux @ f/2.8:
Handevision Iberit 50mm @ f/2.8:
f/4
7Artisans @ f/4.0:
Leica 50 Summilux @ f/4.0:
Handevision Iberit 50mm @ f/4.0:
The complete set of full resolution JPG files from this comparison is available on flickr:
Sample photos
All sample photos were taken with a Leica M10 camera (the jpg files are straight from the camera, no correction or post processing applied, full resolution available on flickr):
Conclusion
Pros (what I like):
- Smooth focusing ring
- 6 bit coded
- Solid build, nice fit and finish
- Minimum focusing distance of 0.7m
- Excellent price/performance ratio (bargain at $369.90)
Cons (what I don’t like):
- Soft/glow when wide open
- De-clicked aperture
- No lens hood
- No focusing tab
The bottom line: not a perfect lens, but well worth it considering the price, especially if you stop it down.
Additional coverage of the 7Artisans 50mm f/1.1 lens can be found here.
The 7Artisian 50mm f/1.1 lens for Leica M-mount can be purchased at Amazon US | Amazon DE | Amazon UK | eBay.
