7Artisans, Leica M, Review

Review: 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II

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Introduction

review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II on Leica M10

Released in 2019, the 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 was actually one of my favorite 7Artisans lenses so far, especially due to its nice bokeh rendering. Now the 7Artisans are back with this improved and at the same time lighter 75mm 1.25 II. Let’s find out in this review what has changed compared to the predecessor and what the pictures taken with this unusually fast 75mm lens look like!

Sample Images

review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/2.0

You can find most of the sample pictures in this article in full resolution here.

Specifications/Version History

The first generation 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 was the second M-mount lens by 7Artisans when it was released in 2019. On paper the only difference is the new version’s lower weight (by 90g), 7Artisans claims that also the optical performance has been improved by the usage of one ED and one HR element though.

This is a review of the updated 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II for M-mount from 2026 which has the following specifications:

    • Diameter: 65 mm
    • Field of view: 32.8° (diagonally)
    • Length:  71 mm
    • Weight: 513g (without caps)
    • Filter Diameter: 62 mm
    • Number of Aperture Blades: 12 (rounded)
    • Elements/Groups: 7/6
    • Close Focusing Distance: 0.8 m
    • Maximum Magnification: 1:8.9 (measured)
    • Released: 2026
    • Mount: Leica M

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Disclosure

7Artisans lend me a sample of this lens for reviewing purposes. Thanks a lot!

Handling/Build Quality

review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II

When it comes to M-mount lenses, 7Artisans has not really been consistent with their casing designs. The 28mm 1.4 and the first generation 75mm 1.25 took a lot of inspiration from Leica’s M-mount lenses with yellow and white lettering and a similar font choice. In the meantime we have seen three lenses from the “Wen” series (28mm 5.6, 35mm 1.4 and 35mm 2.0) which looked quite a bit different. Now this 75mm 1.25 II goes back to the roots with yellow and white lettering again.  

The focus ring rotates ~120° from infinity to the minimum focus distance of 0.8 m. The resistance is even and actually really nice – neither too soft nor too hard.

The aperture ring features full-stop click-stops but they are not equidistantly spaced. As was already the case for the first generation 7Artisans 75mm 1.25, also here you can move the aperture ring a bit past the marks at both ends, so slightly beyond f/1.25 (makes no difference, I also saw this on the Leica-M 35mm 1.4 FLE by the way) and a bit past the f/16 marking, where you can actually stop down the lens a bit further.

  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Rangefinder blockage

There is some rangefinder blockage here even within the 75mm framelines. The amount is very similar compared to the Thypoch 75mm 1.4 Simera and the Voigtländer VM 75mm 1.5 Nokton though.

review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
bayonet

The calibration of the rangefinder was quite alright on this sample (tools to fine tune it yourself are included), but as you will see in the sharpness infinity section it wasn’t possible to focus at true infinity with this combination of lens and camera.

There is no official hood for this lens available. A generic 62mm screw-in hood might fit and offer some protection from stray light, but I did not test any.

review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | Thypoch 75mm 1.4 Simera | Voigtländer VM 75mm 1.5 Nokton | Voigtländer VM 75mm 1.9 Ultron

Compared to the Thypoch 75mm 1.4 Simera and the Voigtländer VM 75mm 1.5 Nokton this 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II is a bit bigger and heavier, the difference is not huge though and they did in fact manage to reduce size and weight compared to their first generation 7Artisans 75mm 1.25.

review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II via Techart 6-bit adapter on Nikon Zf

You can of course adapt this M-mount lens to all kinds of other mirrorless cameras. Above you can see it attached to a Nikon Zf via the TTArtisan M->Z 6-bit adapter, which activates all of Nikon’s focusing aids.

7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II

There is one more thing: the distance scale as well as the aperture scale feature glow-in-the-dark paint. It is a rather faint glow, but it can actually be helpful changing settings in the dark. I do wonder why not more lenses make use of that. 

Personally, I very much like the casing design of this second generation 75mm lens. The constant diameter looks way more appealing to me than the tapered design of the first generation. It also looks similar to the Leica 90mm 2.0 Summicron-M pre Asph and the first generation Leica 50mm 1.4 Summilux-M Asph – which are to my eyes among the most beautifully designed M-mount lenses.

Vignetting

Light falloff

review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting

f/1.252.3 EV
f/1.42.2 EV
f/2.01.2 EV
f/2.81.0 EV
f/4.00.8 EV
f/5.60.6 EV
f/8.00.4 EV
f/110.3 EV

The vignetting figures are very similar to other fast 75mm lenses like the Voigtländer VM 75mm 1.5 Nokton and the Thypoch 75mm 1.4 Simera. I also see an improvement of about 0.6 EV compared to the original 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 which I didn’t expect but gladly take.

review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II

It is recommended to have a look at this article first to get an idea how this brightness graph works.

Optical vignetting

Fast lenses usually show a significant amount of optical vignetting. Without going too much into technical details optical vignetting leads to the truncation of light circles towards the borders of the frame.
In the center of the frame almost every lens will render a perfect circle, but only lenses with very low optical vignetting will keep this shape in the corners.
So in the following comparison we move from the center (left) to the extreme corner (right) and see how the shape of the light circle changes.

  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • thypoch simera 75mm 1.4 fast portrait leica m10 m11 m9 m8 m10r review 42mp 24mp 61mp contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting
  • thypoch simera 75mm 1.4 fast portrait leica m10 m11 m9 m8 m10r review 42mp 24mp 61mp contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting
  • thypoch simera 75mm 1.4 fast portrait leica m10 m11 m9 m8 m10r review 42mp 24mp 61mp contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting
  • thypoch simera 75mm 1.4 fast portrait leica m10 m11 m9 m8 m10r review 42mp 24mp 61mp contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting
  • 7artisans 75mm 1.25 noctilux leica sony review 42mp sharpness resolution contrast a7riii a7rii a7riv a7iii 24mp 61mp ttartisan ttartisans bokeh rendering out of focus oof smooth
Leica M10 |1.2 m focus distance

I did not shoot these lenses side by side , so the size of the circles is not directly comparable.

Despite being the fastest 75mm M-mount lens I reviewed, this 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II holds up very well compared to the competitors, as it actually shows the lowest amount of optical vignetting of all these, I did not expect that. 

And also in this category we can see a small improvement over its predecessor. 

Sharpness

Focus Shift

  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7rII | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 | 50% crops

The first generation had some issues with focus shift and not much has changed here. This should not come as much of a surprise: this is still a unit focus lens that can only be properly optimized for one focus distance.

Still, this is not great news if you are brave enough to try and focus a 75mm 1.25 lens via a rangefinder. I definitely recommend to use liveview for getting consistent results with lenses like this.

infinity (24mp Leica M10, 42mp Sony A7rII)

  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/11

There is a bit to talk about here. Let’s start with the most obvious thing: why do we see a lot of CA on the Sony’s pictures but not the Leica’s? This is because the calibration of this lens sample’s hard stop doesn’t fit perfectly well with my sample of the Leica M10. The focal plane with the highest contrast (and more loCA) would have been past the infinity hard stop. 

On both cameras we see a slight midzone dip at wider apertures whereas the corners look surprisingly good for a lens this fast made from only 7 elements.

Peak across frame performance is reached around f/4.0 to f/5.6 which is actually a pretty good result for a lens with these specifications. 

At wider apertures the Thypoch 75mm 1.4 Simera and Voigtländer VM 75mm 1.5 Nokton show a more impressive performance, but if you don’t mind stopping down to f/4.0 or further this 7Artisans lens also does a good job at infinity.

portrait distance 2.0 m (24mp Leica M10, Sony A7III)

positions of crops in the frame

I refocused for every shot and aperture to get the best possible result at different locations in the frame (center, inner midframe and outer midframe).
The circle of the dollar bill is more or less the size of a human eye.

We will be looking at 100% crops from the 24mp Sony A7III and the Leica M10. Both cameras do not have an anti aliasing filter in front of the sensor. Focus distance was 2.0 m.

Leica M10 <—> Sony A7III

  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
7Artisans 75mm 1.25  II| 100% crops

As said before this is a unit focus lens and these lenses can only be optimized for one distance. Personally I would expect a lens with these parameters to be optimized for portrait distances and that also seems to be the case here.

This lens is a bit softer at f/1.25 compared to f/2.0, but it is still a solid performance. In many cases it looks better on the Sony A7III compared to the Leica M10, which – as usual – is most likely due to the Sony camera offering superior liveview, which makes focusing easier. 

Also here the slightly slower Thypoch 75mm 1.4 Simera and Voigtländer VM 75mm 1.5 Nokton perform slightly better at f/1.4 than this 7Artisans lens at f/1.25, but that was to be expected. Again I see some improvements over the first generation 7Artisans 75mm 1.25.

close 0.8 m (42mp Sony A7rII)

  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7rII | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 | 100% crops from center

While up until now in many categories we saw improvements over the first generation lens that is not the case here: nothing has changed compared to the predecessor, meaning the pictures are very soft at f/1.25 and f/1.4 here. 

The Thypoch 75mm 1.4 Simera not only focuses closer (0.6 m), thanks to its floating elements design it also performs much better at f/1.4. The Voigtländer VM 75mm 1.9 Ultron offers the shortest minimum focus distance (0.5 m) among the 75mm M-mount lenses, but it is also a bit soft at f/1.9 here.

Flare resistance

In many of the sections above we have seen improvements over the first generation 7Artisans 75mm 1.25. When it comes to flare resistance improvements would have actually been needed, but were the engineers able to achieve that? 

  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 | f/1.25

Well, this is not a good performance. With the sun inside the frame we see a lot of veiling flare and also some internal reflections. With the sun outside the frame it is very easy to catch huge rainbow artefacts. 

  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 | f/11

Stopped down not much has changed. Having a strong point light source outside the frame still leads to huge artefacts.

As far as I know there is no lens specific hood available for this lens, but I do think it would have made a lot of sense to design one.

None of the fast 75mm M-mount lenses has shown an amazing performance here. The Voigtländers VM 75mm 1.5 Nokton and 75mm 1.9 Ultron as well as the Thypoch 75mm 1.4 Simera do look slightly better to me at the end of the day though.

Coma

  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 | 100% crops from extreme corner

The first generation 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 had strong Coma at f/1.25 to f/1.4. I did not expect to see any improvements in this category, but actually there are. This second generation lens shows noticeably smaller artefacts in the f/1.25 to f/2.0 range which is always welcome.

The Voigtländers VM 75mm 1.5 Nokton and 75mm 1.9 Ultron show a bit smaller artefacts at their maximum aperture whereas the Thypoch 75mm 1.4 Simera actually performs similar – despite being slower and featuring an aspherical element.

I was positively surprised by the performance of this 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II lens here.

Distortion

  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 | f/4.0

There is a slight amount of barrel distortion which will hardly be field relevant. If there are a lot of straight lines running through your picture you can correct it by dialing in +2 in Lightroom/Camera Raw. Nothing has changed here compared to the predecessor.

Bokeh

review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25

75mm lenses as fast as f/1.25 are still very rare birds and interestingly only available in the M-mount world at the moment. I really liked the bokeh created by this lens’ predecessor, so let’s see if that is still the case for this MK II version.

Close Distance

review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25

At closer distances this 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II obviously creates a lot of smooth background blur. The lower contrast and resolution at f/1.25 can be noticeable here though: the focal plane is not as well defined compared to the Thypoch 75mm 1.4 Simera with its floating elements design.

Mid Distance

review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25

At mid distances I think this lens makes most of its faster aperture compared to the slightly slower 75mm M-mount lenses. The focal plane is well defined here and the depth of field unusually thin. The bokeh is not the smoothest though, it is a bit more structured compared to the Thypoch 75mm 1.4 Simera or the Voigtländer VM 75mm 1.5 Nokton. What you prefer is a personal matter.

Long Distance

review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Nikon Zf | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25

Also at longer distances the bokeh is not as “polished” as that of the Thypoch 75mm 1.4 Simera or the Voigtländer VM 75mm 1.5 Nokton, as it can be a bit harsher with double edged structures when dealing with complex backgrounds. I certainly cannot call it bad though and while I could not do side-by-side comparisons to its predecessor, I do think its character has been preserved – which I think is a good thing in this case – while contrast and optical vignetting have been improved. 

As usual: have a look at the sample images in this review and also check out my reviews of the other fast 75mm M-mount lenses and then decide for yourself, which rendering fits your photography style best.

Sunstars

  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25

Just like its predecessor also this improved 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II features 12 rounded aperture blades that strike a wonderful balance of nicely round out of focus highlights slightly stopped down and well defined, symmetrical sunstars.
If you want to know more about sunstars have a look at this article.

I wish more manufacturers would go for an even number of rounded aperture blades like Thypoch and 7Artisans both did for their 75mm M-mount lenses, as these lenses show that you don’t need straight aperture blades for nice sunstars. 

Chromatic aberration

lateral

This lens show only minimal lateral CA, nothing to worry about.

longitudinal

  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7rII | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | 50% crops

The addition of special glass elements could potentially lead to improvements in this category, but it doesn’t look to me like there are improvements over the first generation of this lens.

The amount of bokeh fringing is not all that bad though – certainly better than most vintage f/1.2 lenses and maybe even the f/1.2 Voigtländer VM lenses – and actually comparable to the slower Voigtländer VM 75mm 1.5 Nokton. The Thypoch 75mm 1.4 Simera performed a bit better here and so far is the best performer among the f/1.4 and faster 75mm M-mount lenses I reviewed.

  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
  • review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7rII | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | 50% crops

The situation is similar when it comes to purple fringing: definitely noticeably at f/1.25 to f/1.4, less of a problem stopped down to f/2.0 or further.

Conclusion

good

  • bokeh with low optical vignetting
  • good contrast and resolution at portrait distances from f/1.25
  • nice casing design with luminous markings
  • nice sunstars stopped down
  • handling/build quality
 average

  • coma correction
  • distortion (low and easy to correct)
  • vignetting
  • minimum focus distance
 not good

  • flare resistance
  • longitudinal CA
  • focus shift

Some of you may not be aware of this, but I am actually a huge fan of manufacturers trying to improve their already existing lenses. 

This 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II actually shows many improvements over its predecessor – including some unexpected ones. The weight has been reduced by 15% while at the same time contrast, optical vignetting, light fall off and even Coma correction have been improved. Quite the engineering achievement.

I could – once more – complain about flare resistance and focus shift is also not something I like to see in rangefinder lenses, but for shooting portraits at f/1.25 in dimly lit environments – and this is obviously what this lens has been made for – these things hardly matter.

I already liked the first generation of this lens, I like this improved version more and if you are into fast short tele lenses you should definitely have a closer look at this one – even if you are not an M-mount user.

buy from manufacturer’s shop | amazon.com | amazon.de | ebay.com | ebay.de | B&H (affiliate links) for $469

Alternatives

7Artisans 75mm 1.25:
I already compared the first generation 75mm 1.25 to this MK II version in all of the categories above. I see improvements in almost all of those categories, so there are not a lot of reasons to still recommend the first generation lens. Even if you already have the first generation and you like it, it might be worth getting the newer one for all its improvements.
buy from amazon.com | amazon.de | B&H | ebay.com | ebay.de for $449/499€ (affiliate links)

Thypoch 75mm 1.4 Simera:
While I consider this 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II as being a bit of a special tool for portraiture with a distinct look, the Thypoch 75mm 1.4 Simera is to me currently (2026) the best allround 75mm M-mount lens. It has very clean and smooth bokeh at f/1.4, it focuses closer (0.6 m) and thanks to its floating elements design it performs very well across the whole distance range. It is almost double the price and it is also debatable whether its advantages actually matter for portrait photography.
buy from manufacturer’s shop (use code PRNET for free shipping) | ebay.com | ebay.de | B&H (affiliate links) for $849

Voigtländer VM 75mm 1.5 Nokton:
If you are looking for a more lightweight yet still fast 75mm M-mount lens the Voigtländer VM 75mm 1.5 Nokton might be for you. These days I do not see a lot of reasons to pick the Voigtländer over the aforementioned Thypoch lens.
The Thypoch features a better minimum focus distance and thanks to its floating elements design it generally performs better at closer distances. On top of that it also creates a more appealing bokeh to my eyes.
The Voigtländer is 40g lighter and features better ergonomics, but that alone wouldn’t be enough for me to sway the scale if I was deciding between these today. 
I also put my money where my mouth is and replaced my Voigtländer VM 75mm 1.5 Nokton with a Thypoch 75mm 1.4 Simera.
buy from amazon.com | amazon.de | B&H | ebay.com | ebay.de for $899 (affiliate links)

Voigtländer VM 75mm 1.9 Ultron:
Out of all these 75mm lenses the 75mm 1.9 Ultron focuses closest (down to 0.5 m), but it lacks the floating elements design, so at closer distances you will often find yourself stopping down a bit for really crisp pictures. It is more than 200g lighter and also smaller than this 7Artisans which might make a big difference to you.
buy from amazon.com | amazon.de | ebay.com | B&H (affiliate links) for $699

Voigtländer 75mm 1.8 Heliar Classic:
I used this the Heliar Classic in the past, Phillip wrote a review, neither of us was impressed with its performance or rendering. Better get one of the modern 75mm Voigtländer lenses or the Thypoch – and if you consider their rendering to be too boring, get this 7Artisans lens.
buy from ebay.com | ebay.de for ~$400 (affiliate links)

Leica 75mm 1.4 Summilux-M:
This Leica lens is very big and heavy, very expensive and a design from the late 1970s. It doesn’t create a modern/smooth bokeh but more of a vintage/busy one. Now personally I see no reason to get this over any of the modern 75mm M-mount lenses, but not everyone shares my opinion and one of this lens’ fans wrote a guest review here on the blog, so have a closer at it and decide for yourself if it is worth to you spending 3.5 k on it.
buy from ebay.com starting at $3.500 (affiliate links)

Leica 75mm 1.25 Noctilux-M:
In late 2017 Leica released the first 75mm 1.25 M-mount lens as successor to the aforementiond lens. It looks like a very sharp lens from some measurements lensrentals conducted, but from the few samples I have seen it seems to suffer a lot from very strong optical vignetting and personally I really wonder how much sense a 1.0 kg lens that barely even works with the rangefinder makes for the M-mount system.
Unlike this 7Artisans lens it features a floating elements design, so I would expect better performance at closer distances.
For the same price of this lens you can also get any high-end fullframe camera with the latest and best eye AF in combination with any AF portrait lens you desire, a setup which will get you better results with less hassle. Your pick.
buy from amazon.com | amazon.de | B&H | ebay.com | ebay.de (affiliate links) for $14.395

MS-Optics 73mm 1.5 Sonnetar:
If you are looking for the smallest and lightest (~200g) lens in class that would be the MS-Optics 73mm 1.5 Sonnetar. The build quality and handling is not nearly as nice as what either of the Voigtländer, Leica, Thypoch or 7Artisans lenses has to offer, it isn’t as sharp and has more CA and flare issues.
Some people really enjoy the Sonnar rendering of this one though, personally I saw it more as an f/2.0 lens because of some aberration issues at f/1.5. If you are looking for something special it might still be for you.
you can sometimes find this lens on ebay.com (affiliate link) for about $1000

Sample Images

review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/2.0
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/2.0
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Nikon Zf | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/4.0
review 7artisans 75mm 1.25 ii f/1.25 china leica m lens contrast resolution m11 m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Nikon Zf | 7Artisans 75mm 1.25 II | f/1.25

You can find most of the sample pictures in this article in full resolution here.

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BastianK

My name is Bastian and I am your expert here when it comes to ultra wide angle lenses, super fast portrait lenses (ranging from a 50mm f/0.95 to a 200mm f/1.8) and I also have reviewed way too many 35mm lenses. Don't ask me anything about macro or wildlife shooting though.
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