The 7Artisans 50mm f/1.1 is a very cheap super fast 50 mm lens that hit the market in 2017. The price of only $370 makes it very attractive for those who want a super fast lens but have a limited budget, but how well does it perform?
Continue reading Review: 7Artisans 50mm f/1.1 – Fast, cheap but also good?
PR: Dear Mr. Li, let me thank you for this opportunity to ask you some questions about your work and the process of designing a lens.
But first we would like to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a little bit about your background and your position at 7Artisans?
Continue reading The Man behind the Lens: Li Qing (7artisans 28mm 1.4 FE+)
Many of you might not even know that Minolta also produced M-mount lenses and even an M-mount camera (Minolta CLE). The M-Rokkor 90mm 4.0 is the longest of the three lenses and thanks to a reader who allowed me to use it for a few weeks I can present you this review now.
After Voigtlander gave us the 40mm 1.2 we now also get a 50mm 1.2. Is it just a slightly longer version of the 40mm or actually a better lens in the end? Read on to find out.
Update Oct. 2023: general update of the whole review
This lens is also part of my Comparison of 6 Super Fast 50mm M-mount Lenses together with the Leica 50mm 0.95 Noctilux-M, the Zhong Yi 50mm 0.95 M, the Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.0 Nokton, MS-Optics 50mm 1.0 ISM and Mr. Ding 50mm 1.1.
We have become used to old lens formulas being revived and sold for occasionally huge sums of money to collectors and photographers hoping to create images with a magical vintage look. All of us here have been very sceptical about this. Mostly they have been simple lenses in simple bodies with poor technical qualities being sold for more than the price of the latest and greatest glass. From one perspective the legendary C-Sonnar from Zeiss is like this. It’s a classic design dating from 1932 whose principal design goal at the time was to reduce the number of air glass surfaces because the coatings of the day were so primitive. Why do we need it now? But Zeiss bought it back in 2006 in M mount as part of the ZM series. The optical design is not much changed, but it comes with modern coatings. Many prize it for magical rendering and flattering portraiture, others think it shows that not even Zeiss is above trying to rip off nostalgic hipsters. Read on and find out who is right!
| Diameter | 56 mm |
| Length | 45 mm |
| Filter Thread | 46 mm |
| Weight (w/o adapter) | 250 g |
| Max. Magnification (w/o close focus adapter) | 1:15 |
| Close Focusing Distance from the sensor (w/o CFA) | 0.9 m |
| Number of aperture blades | 10 |
| Elements/ Groups | 6/4 |
Continue reading Carl Zeiss C-Sonnar T* 50mm f1.5 ZM: A Detailed Review