7artisans Photoelectric 35mm f0.95 First Impressions

7artisans Photoelectric 35mm f0.95 First Impressions:

If you’re after beautiful bokeh, you probably want a fast lens, and the good news is, there are quite a lot to choose from these days, especially if you’re in the Fujifilm X Series system.  Best of all, they aren’t all as insanely priced as they once used to be, which is always good.  Take for instance, the 7artisans Photoelectric 35mm f0.95 Lens.  Priced at just $249, it’s not only significantly cheaper than Fujifilm’s own 35mm f1.4, it’s even slightly lower in price than the f2 version as well.  I was able to get the 35mm f0.95 in to review, and I’ve been shooting it just a bit.  Here are my first impressions of it.

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So, let’s start off with the ergonomics, and in this area, I feel this lens scores huge points.  One of the downsides sometimes to a lens with a large maximum aperture is it can be bulky, and heavy but the 35mm f0.95 is actually compact and light.  It’s around the size of the Fujifilm XF 35mm f1.4, so it’s definitely something that can be discreet for street shooting, for example.  It also weighs just 369 g, so combine that with the size, it’s definitely something that will balance beautifully with a Fujifilm camera body.  It’s not too light where it feels cheap but at the same time, it’s not too heavy where it’s just something you don’t want to carry along with you.  The size and weight are just about right where you can leave it in your camera bag permanently or use all day long without feeling fatigue.

↑ Here’s the 7artisans Photoelectric 35mm f0.95 mounted on my Fuji X-T3.

As for the build quality, the 7artisans Photoelectric 35mm f0.95 Lens is one solid lens.  After playing with it, it’s hard to believe the 35mm f0.95 only costs $249.  Even if this lens was double the price, I would still feel the build is pretty impressive.  We have the all metal construction to partially thank for it’s nice, hefty feel.  The focus ring is extremely smooth with just the right amount of dampening for feel, which is important, since focusing will need to be more critical with an f0.95 lens.  One thing I am not a huge fan of though is the de-clicked aperture ring but that’s a preference.  I definitely can’t fault the feel and quality as it is just like the focus ring in terms of smoothness, and feel.

↑ This was taken using f0.95 and 160 ISO.

↑ Here’s a photo taken with f8 and 160 ISO.

↑ This was taken using f5.6 and 640 ISO.

Let’s talk a bit about the image quality now.  Again, I still can’t get over the price of the 35mm f0.95 because in addition to the excellent build, the image quality has been very impressive so far.  It’s very sharp, and this includes images that are taken at f0.95.  The color and contrast rendering are great.  Yes, it’s a lens with a max aperture of f0.95, and you should definitely use it at that setting because what would be the point in even getting an f0.95 lens but I’m happy to report that it can produce great results stopped down as well.   This along with its size and weight means you don’t necessarily need a smaller aperture 35mm lens in addition to this one.   The 7artisans Photoelectric 35mm f0.95 Lens can literally serve as your “go-to” 35mm lens for pretty much everything, which means it is quite versatile.

↑ Here’s one taken with f0.95 and 160 ISO.

↑ Here’s another taken with 160 ISO and f0.95.

↑ This was taken using f5.6 and 800 ISO.

Of course, with that f0.95 lens, and a 12 blade diaphragm, you can bet that bokeh is simply stunning and smooth.  There is nothing harsh here.  I’ll definitely post more bokeh filled images in my review but so far, I am very happy with the results.  I’ve reviewed quite a few lenses for the Fufjifilm system, and to me, this lens produces some of the best bokeh that you can get for the system.  If you plan to shoot this lens only at f0.95, you will be very happy with the results, trust me.

↑ Here’s a photo taken using f0.95 and 160 ISO.

↑ I took this photo using f8 and 6400 ISO.

↑ Here’s one more photo taken using f0.95 and 160 ISO.

Now, all of this is achieved through manual focus, which is either perfectly fine or a negative depending on your preferences.  I will say that the focusing is pretty easy though for a lens with such a large aperture.  I still have my occasional misses, and I would prefer autofocus but overall, the experience has been similar to the one I had with the Mitakon 35mm f0.95 Mark II I reviewed a while back.  The focus throw is short on the 7artisans Photoelectric 35mm f0.95 Lens, so it’s something that can be used in daily shooting.  This along with the focus peaking, and the magnification features in the Fujifilm cameras makes the job pretty easy.

↑ Here’s one more photo of the 7artisans 35mm f0.95 lens attached to the Fujifilm X-T3.

So, that’s about it for my first impressions of this lens.  I’ve been a bit busy lately but wanted to at least post something up about the 7artisans 35mm f0.95.  I will probably get a model shoot going to further test this lens, so stay tune for the full review, which should be coming out soon.  I have to say, when you factor in the build, price, versatility, focal length, and of course, that f0.95 aperture, this lens is pretty impressive.  Anyway, thanks for stopping by!

7artisans Photoelectric 35mm f0.95 Lens at B&H Photo