7Artisans DJ-OPTICAL 50 / 1.1. Review from Rodion Eshmakov

Review of the lens 7Artisans DJ-OPTICAL 50 / 1.1 specially for Radozhiva, prepared Rodion Eshmakov (subscribe to Instagram!).

Appearance of 7artisans 50 / 1.1.

Appearance of 7artisans 50 / 1.1. increase.

In 2017, the now well-known Chinese optics manufacturer 7Artisans introduced the 7Artisans DJ-OPTICAL 50 / 1.1 manual lens (7artisans 50 / 1.1 for short) for full-frame mirrorless cameras. This lens is currently apparently being replaced by a one in production from fall 2020. 7artisans 50 / 1.05... But it is still on sale at a price in the $ 300-400 range.

Manufacturer open declaresthat 7artisans 50 / 1.1 is a rethinking of the classic Sonnar scheme (Sonnar 5 cm F / 1.5 - 1932). Glass with a refractive index of 1.9 is used in two lens elements (this is a class of super-heavy flints; and here, perhaps, they are lying a little) to improve image quality and reduce dimensions. It is noted that special attention was paid to the development of the residual aberration profile in order to obtain a kind of pleasant bokeh with good image quality in the focal plane. Similar lens - 7artisans 35 / 1.2 - was developed for crop cameras as well.

The review presents 7artisans 50 / 1.1 in a classic black case, which I acquired specifically for personal use after my positive experience with the Soviet high-aperture fifty-kopeck piece. Jupiter-3 50/1.5.

Specifications [source]:

Optical design - 7 lenses in 6 groups (Sonnar-like);

Basic optical scheme

Basic optical scheme

Curves of the frequency-contrast characteristic of the lens.

Curves of the frequency-contrast characteristic of the lens.

Focal length - 50 mm;
Relative aperture - F / 1.1;
Frame size - 36 * 24 mm;
Angle of field of view (with a frame of 36 * 24 mm) - 46 °;
Focus type - manual (no autofocus);
The minimum focusing distance is 0.7 m;
Stabilizer - no;
Aperture mechanism - manual control, no preset and no clicks;
The number of aperture blades - 13, round matte;
Weight - 398 g;
Dimensions (W * H, from the plane of the camera mount) - 58 * 49 mm;
Filters thread - 55 mm;
Camera mount - Leica M, supports pairing with a rangefinder.

Design features

The lens is made in a "leuke-like" aluminum body and is available in several color options: large-scale matte silver and black lenses are known, as well as limited editions in in gold и red anodized (typical Chinese gypsy). The title ring proudly bears the inscription "DJ-OPTICAL" - the best incentive to put on the lens as soon as possible protective filterso as not to see her again.

Like Henry Ford, I believe that a lens can be any color as long as that color is black. That is why (and in fact, because Sony A7s is also black) I purchased the lens in this particular design.

The kit comes with a lens cover (back for the bayonet and front, metal - very inconvenient, not friendly with filters), a screwdriver and a ruler for adjusting the pusher to the camera rangefinder, instructions.

7artisans 50 / 1.1 in caps with AliExpress, UV MC HD KnightX filter and Leica M - NEX adapter.

7artisans 50 / 1.1 in caps with AliExpress, filter UV MC HD KnightX and with adapter Leica M - NEX.

The 7artisans 50 / 1.1 has a Leica M mount, which does not mean that it is intended for owners of Leica cameras. In fact, due to the large flange distance, the M bayonet is the most versatile mount optics among mirrorless systems. The manufacturer itself recommends using the lens on Canon, Sony and Nikon mirrorless cameras using adapters; moreover, focusing on the existence of autofocus adapters.

View of 7artisans 50 / 1.1 from the bayonet side. Left - Leica M-NEX adapter combined with a macrohelicoid.

View of 7artisans 50 / 1.1 from the bayonet side. Left - Leica M-NEX adapter combined with a macrohelicoid.

The AF system of my Sony A7s is not outstanding, so the idea of ​​using a lens with an AF adapter was not inspiring. But the large working distance made it possible to compensate for one significant drawback of 7artisans 50 / 1.1: a large MDF (0.7 m is not suitable for a fifty-ruble note). As an adapter, I chose the LM-NEX macrogelcoid, which achieves both focusing at infinity and an acceptable MDF of the order of 0.4 m.

Changing the dimensions of 7artisans when focusing: 1 - focus to infinity, 2 - focus on the MDF with the lens helicoid, 3 - focus on the MDF with the lens helicoid and the LM-NEX adapter.

Changing the dimensions of 7artisans when focusing: 1 - focus to infinity, 2 - focus on the MDF with the lens helicoid, 3 - focus on the MDF with the lens helicoid and the LM-NEX adapter.

7artisans 50 / 1.1 is significantly larger in size and mass than old Jupiter-3. At the same time, however, it is more compact than planar-like counterparts: Zenitar 50 / 1.2s (for APS-C SLR cameras) and 7artisans 50 / 1.05 (for full frame mirrorless cameras).

Here they are from left to right (c): Jupiter-3, 7artisans 50 / 1.1 and Zenitar 50 / 1.2s. Zenitar looks even larger on the UPC because of the massive adapter.

Here they are from left to right (c): Jupiter 3, 7artisans 50 / 1.1 and Zenitar 50 / 1.2s... Zenitar looks even larger on the UPC because of the massive adapter.

The advantage of 7artisans 50 / 1.1 is its beautiful and, most importantly, round aperture at any relative aperture. The downside is the rather crude, inaccurate scale markings: usually, compliance is achieved by placing a round mark on the right edge of the number on the ring. The F / 1.1 value attributed to the full aperture of the lens appears to be close to true and performs no worse than the Zenitar 1.2 / 50s F / 1.2. Comparison of the lens with Jupiter-3 in terms of shutter speeds proves the same.

View of the 7artisans 50 / 1.1 circular aperture from the front lens side.

View of the 7artisans 50 / 1.1 circular aperture from the front lens side.

If you look at the lens from the rear lens side, you will notice a wide black bevel on the inner lens. Apparently, this was done to introduce geometric vignetting, which cannot but affect the optical properties of the lens.

Rear lens view of the lens.

Rear lens view of the lens.

7artisans 50 / 1.1 lenses have a beautiful multi-layer coating. Light transmission appears to be neutral.

Coating color of the front lens elements.

Coating color of the front lens elements.

7artisans 50 / 1.1 can be considered an ideological continuation of L. Bertele's developments: it is a compact lens, endowed with high aperture; and both of these properties are a consequence of the application of the rethought optical design of Sonnar.

Schematic optical diagrams of Jupiter-3 (Sonnar 50 / 1.5, 1932) (top), 7artisans 50 / 1.1 (2017) (middle), Carl Zeiss C Sonnar ZM (2005) (bottom).

Schematic optical diagrams of Jupiter-3 (Sonnar 50 / 1.5, 1932) (top), 7artisans 50 / 1.1 (2017) (middle), Carl Zeiss C Sonnar ZM (2005) (bottom).

Through the use of modern optical glass, Zeiss engineers were able to abandon the difficult-to-manufacture front glued triplet of the original 1932 lens while improving the characteristics of the new lens. The Chinese "artisans" went further and resorted to splitting and complicating the rear group of objective lenses while "lightening" (getting rid of thick lenses) of the front group, while at the same time reaching a greater aperture ratio by almost one step.

Thus, 7artisans 50 / 1.1 (cost $ 300-400) is a faster and more modern competitor to the currently produced Carl Zeiss C Sonnar 50 / 1.5 lenses (cost about $ 1200) and KMZ Zenitar 50 / 1.5 (former Lomography New Jupiter-3 + , the cost is about $ 800 in the CIS). The Chinese manufacturer offers not only "tasty" parameters, but also pretends to preserve the characteristics of the formed image characteristic of the classical optical scheme.

Optical properties. Comparison with Jupiter-3 and Zenitar 50 / 1.2s.

The graph of the frequency-contrast characteristic of the lens indicates a rather high level and complex profile of residual aberrations.

MTF curves for 7artisans 50 / 1.1. A source

MTF curves for 7artisans 50 / 1.1. Source.

Even at F / 8, the modulation transfer coefficient (simply speaking, the contrast) at a frequency of 30 lines / mm (the level of fine details) does not exceed 0.7 in most of the field (for such apertures, it is typical to achieve a KPM of 0.8-0.9). The curves have a non-linear, non-monotonic course - high resolution is definitely not the strong point of 7artisans 50 / 1.1. For those who like sharpness, they came up with a "mainstream" planar 7artisans 50 / 1.05.

Actually, 7artisans 50 / 1.1 really has a very mediocre image quality at open aperture. In the center it is limited by spherical aberrations, along the field - by a coma, pronounced astigmatism and curvature of the field (the focal point for the edge is closer than for the center). Sharpness in the center of the frame and near field is sufficient for many scenes, but there is no sharpness at the edge of the frame at all. In addition, the lens does have very strong full frame vignetting, visible up to f / 2.

At f / 1.4, sharpness improves significantly both in the center and across the field.

With F / 2-F / 2.8 it is difficult to make claims to the image quality in the center of the frame.

At F / 5.6, there is a significant improvement in edge resolution within a curved focal surface.

Really good sharpness at the edge of the frame can be achieved only at F / 8-F / 11 (the position of the mark is between 8 and 16 on the aperture ring), while the influence of the curvature of the image field is leveled.

Chromatic aberrations have practically no effect on the image. Apparently, they are masked by monochromatic distortions.

The contrast of the image under normal conditions is very good compared to the old manual optics. In the backlight, the lens catches a dense veil, beautiful hares and a rainbow, in general it does not hold up much better than the old manuals. "Special effects" in the back disappear with aperture up to F / 1.4-F / 2 (similar to Zenitar 50 / 1.2s).

Color rendering is neutral.

It turned out to be interesting to compare 7artisans 50 / 1.1 with the old Jupiter-3 and the relatively new Zenitar 50 / 1.2s. The latter, of course, is not a stock lens - it is designed for an APS-C sensor and does not cover the full frame. But in some approximation, it can be considered that reaching an angle of 45 ° and obtaining a back focal length for SLR cameras are approximately equal trade-offs in terms of their impact on image quality within the same level of technology and scheme.

Below are examples of photographs taken with 7artisans 50 / 1.1 lenses, Jupiter-3 (ZOMZ, 1970, yellow enlightenment), Zenitar 50 / 1.2s in the near field. 1, 2 and 4 lines: photo at open aperture. 3 and 5 lines - photos at F / 1.4 (F / 1.5 for Jupiter-3). 6 line - photo at F / 2. 7 line - photo at F / 2.8 (it is better to look at the desktop version of the site). Three photos per line, photo 7artisans 50 / 1.1 in the middle (on the left - Jupiter-3, on the right - Zenitar 50 / 1.2s) - for ease of comparison:

It is easy to see that, for example, with a 3: 2 format, Zenitar does not cover the field of the 36 * 24 frame even at distances close to the MDF. It also has a noticeable chromatism around the edges of the frame. However, among the three lenses, it is he who provides the best contrast and image sharpness. Look at the photos taken by him, after Jupiter and 7artisans - how to rub your eyes (the difference will be even better seen later). Frankly, I was surprised.

At F / 1.4, 7artisans 50 / 1.1 is ahead of Jupiter-3 in image quality in the center of the frame, but at 2-2.8 it is noticeably inferior to it! The differences in the behavior of the lenses are especially well seen when examining comparative crops from test photographs.

It is clearly seen from the given crops that the leader in sharpness is definitely the KMZ product for cropped DSLRs, and 7artisans has an advantage over the old Jupiter only in the aperture range up to F / 2 - a consequence of the complex profile of residual distortions of the Chinese lens.

Actually, when comparing at infinity, the problems of 7artisans 50 / 1.1 only get worse. Among the three lenses, it has the worst correction in the center and in the field in the range of apertures from open to F / 5.6 - much inferior even to the old Jupiter-3. Below are comparative photos (on the left - Jupiter-3, in the middle - 7artisans, on the right - Zenitar 50 / 1.2s) and their crops.

Thus, from a technical point of view, 7artisans 50 / 1.1 outperforms old manuals like Sonnar in the F / 1.1-F / 2 range, but loses in all respects to modern planar-like fixes at any aperture. And even an old simple fifty-kopeck piece will probably work better at F / 5.6-F / 8 than a Chinese one.

But the vinaigrette of aberrations gives 7artisans 50 / 1.1 a rather extraordinary bokeh, which is quite difficult to find with modern lenses. Within the APS-C frame, it is very similar to the good old Jupiter-3 50 / 1.5 bokeh, but due to the different profile of field aberrations and vignetting, the shape of the focus discs along the edge of the frame is very different from the usual "Zonnar" one. Whether or not you like this type of background blur is everyone's business. Below are examples of bokeh portraits taken with Jupiter 3 (left), 7artisans 50 / 1.1 (middle) and Zenitar 50 / 1.2s (right) in diffuse and backlighting.

I liked the picture of 7artisans. Despite the disadvantages described, this lens gives a more predictable result than the old Jupiter-3. In addition, it is also more than a stop lighter (including by exposure). Although, in addition to the 7artisans 50 / 1.1, it definitely does not hurt to have a lens that gives a stable and generally higher image quality, for example from the large family of planar optics. I have Zenitar 50 / 1.2s, and 7artisans has a good full-frame 50 / 1.05 (in fact, it's F / 1.2, rather, but okay).

Below are examples of photos on 7artisans 50 / 1.1 and Sony A7s.

UPDATE:

All 7Artisans lenses:

For mirrorless cameras with APS-C or Micro 4/3 sensor:

  1. 7Artisans 4 mm F/2.8 (announcement) [EF-M, E, X, M4 / 3]
  2. 7Artisans 7.5 mm F/2.8 Fish-Eye (overview) [EF-M, E, X, M4 / 3, versions 2017 и 2019]
  3. 7Artisans 7.5 mm F / 2.8 Fish-Eye II (announcement) [EF-M, E, X, Z, M4 / 3]
  4. 7Artisans 12 mm F/2.8 (overview) [EF-M, E, X, M4 / 3]
  5. 7Artisans 12 mm F / 2.8 II (announcement) [EF-M, RF, E, X, Z, M4/3]
  6. 7Artisans 18 mm F/6.3 (announcement) [EF-M, E, X, M4 / 3]
  7. 7Artisans 18 mm F/6.3 NEW (announcement) [E, X, Z]
  8. 7Artisans 24 mm 1:1.4 (announcement) [EF-M, RF, E, X, Z, M4/3]
  9. 7Artisans 25 mm F/1.8 (overview) [EF-M, E, X, M4 / 3, black / silver]
  10. 7Artisans 25 mm F/0.95 (overview) [EF-M, Z, E, X, M4 / 3, RF, L]
  11. 7Artisans 35 mm F/0.95 (overview) [EF-M, Z, E, X, RF, M4 / 3]
  12. 7Artisans 35 mm F/1.2 (overview) [EF-M, E, X, M4 / 3, black / silver]
  13. 7Artisans 35 mm F/1.2 II (overview) [Z, EF-M, E, X, M4 / 3, other optical design]
  14. 7Artisans 35 mm F/1.4 (overview) [Z, EF-M, E, X, RF, M4/3, black/silver]
  15. 7Artisans 50 mm F/1.8 (overview) [EF-M, E, X, M4 / 3, versions with 10 and 12 petals]
  16. 7Artisans 50 mm F/0.95 (overview) [EF-M, Z, E, X, RF, M4 / 3]
  17. 7Artisans 55 mm F/1.4 (overview) [EF-M, E, X, M4 / 3, Leica L, black/silver]
  18. 7Artisans 55 mm F / 1.4 II (announcement) [EF-M, E, X, Z, M4 / 3]
  19. 7Artisans 60 mm F/2.8 Macro (overview) [EF-M, Z, E, X, RF, M4 / 3]
  20. 7Artisans 60 mm F / 2.8 Macro II (overview) [EF-M, Z, E, X, RF, L, M4/3]

For mirrorless full frame cameras (Full Frame):

  1. 7Artisans 9 mm F5.6 (overview) [RF, Z, E, L]
  2. 7Artisans 10 mm F / 2.8 Fisheye ED [RF, Z, E, L]
  3. 7Artisans 15 mm F/4 ASPH [RF, Z, E, L]
  4. 7Artisans 28 mm F/1.4 (overview) [Leica M only, two versions]
  5. 7Artisans 28 mm F / 5.6 wen [Leica M only]
  6. 7Artisans 35 mm F / 1.4 [IS]
  7. 7Artisans 35 mm F / 1.4 wen [Leica M only, different optical design]
  8. 7Artisans 35 mm F/2 (overview) [E, X, black / silver]
  9. 7Artisans 35 mm F/2 (overview) [Leica M only, different body design]
  10. 7Artisans 35 mm F/2 MARK II (announcement) [Leica M only, different body design]
  11. 7Artisans 35 mm F/5.6wen (overview) [Leica M + E, Z, L, RF, black, black & gold, silver & black, silver & gold]
  12. 7Artisans 50 mm F/1.05 APO (overview) [RF, Z, E, L]
  13. 7Artisans 50 mm F/1.1 (overview) [Leica M only, black / silver + 'Limited Gold'+'RED DRAGON SPECIAL EDITION']
  14. 7Artisans 50 mm F / 1.8 AF STM FE (announcement) [E/FE]
  15. 7Artisans 75 mm F/1.25 [Leica M only]

For SLR cameras with APS-C sensor:

  1. 7Artisans 7.5mm 1:3.5 FISH-EYE (announcement) [only for EF/EFS]

Cinema lenses [E, L, Z, RF, X, M4/3]:

  1. APS-C: 12mm T2.9, 25mm T1.05, 35mm T1.05, 50mm T1.05
  2. S35: 24-96mm T2.9 (EF/PL)
  3. Full Frame: 14mm T2.9, 35mm T2, 50mm T2, 85mm T2

Drone Lenses:

These lenses are the easiest to find on Aliexpress from the official dealer 7Artisans.

Conclusions

The 7artisans 50 / 1.1 is definitely not something for a fan of impeccable image quality. The lens is frankly tailored to work at F / 1.1-F / 2 apertures in order to obtain any "special effects" in bokeh, backlight artifacts, etc. And all this he gives out excellently, on-the-mountain! 7artisans 50 / 1.1 is a very attractive replacement for UPC owners for a large number of old manual fixes: it will cope with its task on an open aperture better than them, much better. But, moreover, it is extremely difficult to achieve an ideal picture from a technical point of view from 7artisans 50 / 1.1 - for this you will have to aperture it more than even some simplest Industar-61. "Arts" - F / 1.1-F / 1.4. "Quality" - F / 11.

The 7artisans 50 / 1.1 is designed for the universal mount Leica M. This makes it affordable for hobbyists: today you can find a wide range of different types of adapters (from inexpensive conventional to macrogelcoid or even autofocus adapter) for any mirrorless system. Finally, this lens in 2-4 times cheaper their direct competitors from the store.

You will find more reviews from readers of Radozhiva here... All Rodion reviews in one place here.

Add a comment: Arkady Shapoval

 

 

Comments: 20, on the topic: 7Artisans DJ-OPTICAL 50 / 1.1. Review from Rodion Eshmakov

  • Oleg

    At the widest aperture, open Chinese need more light, as indicated by longer shutter speeds. This is the number.

    • Rodion

      It is not significant there, because the lighting changed - the sun came and went, and I mow with the exposure, using a non-optimal exposure metering method. I looked at the real situation with shutter speeds in comparison with other lenses separately, in greenhouse conditions.
      + found that in the comparative galleries the order was a little wrong, corrected it.

      • Jea reth

        Rodion, what kind of metering method is this?

        • Rodion

          Crooked hands)

  • Oleg

    Photos are good

  • Rashid

    To be honest, I don’t know what the Chinese are inventing there, I don’t have a single one, but all this was invented long ago in the USSR and still costs much and much cheaper, optically not only not inferior in anything, but also winning ...)

    • Rodion Eshmakov

      Let's be honest to the end: this was invented not in the USSR, but in pre-war Germany. And optically Jupiter-3, as we can see, at open apertures (for which it is taken) is no better. In terms of overall contrast and color rendition, it is noticeably worse. There are no other similar lenses. The original Sonnar 50 / 1.5 T is no better than the same Jupiter. Jupiter-3 in the “as new” state costs more than $ 100 as a rule. If you get confused with the type of enlightenment (extremely important), the manufacturing plant, the year of manufacture, you can give even more. The Chinese offer a lens almost twice as light (1.86 times), it is NEW, it has much better contrast in most cases, it gives a reliable and predictable result. And it is not particularly expensive, even in comparison with subsequent lenses of the same 7artisans.

    • Victor

      Nice try, Rashit, but no.

      • Novel

        Well, maybe in the basements of the Lubyanka some sharashka developed an autofocus 50 / 1.2 back in the forties, but they will all be on the Angars, which will be used to bomb Florida, so not this time.

  • B. R. P.

    Nikkors 55mm 1,2 are also good. Well, or FD. And cheaper)

    • Rodion

      Well, they have a very unpleasant coma profile on the open, and HA are extremely pronounced. And the bokeshka, however, is not at all the same, again)))

      • Maxxs515

        It is there in the form of "butterflies" or "birds") And given the extreme clarity of the forms in the blur zone, they are very pronounced. Maybe that's why they in due time 50ki Noct and came up with - get rid of the coma. There is an opinion - the most “uncompromising” glass. Haven't used it?

        • Rodion

          No, it didn’t.

    • Arkady Shapoval

      And under the mirror and only used.

  • IL-76

    A very useful review, especially by comparing the picture with similar lenses. Thank you very much for such reviews, Rodion, I study with interest!

  • Denis Korzun

    Rodion, Brightin Star 50mm F0.95 was recently announced, the scheme in my opinion Sonnaro-like price is comparable to 7artisans 50mm 1.1:
    https://aliexpress.ru/item/1005002065020871.html

    There are already video reviews on it, I would like to see a review and comparison on it, as well as on 7artisans 50mm 1.05 - although the latter is noticeably more expensive and the scheme seems to be Planar-like.

    How good do you think they are?

    • Rodion

      No, this one is also a planar with a booster, like other similar lenses. The presence of a glued triplet does not mean that it is a zonnar yet. The rear lens group is similar to the rear biometar + booster group.

    • Rodion

      A very detailed review of Artisans 1.05 from Arkady is here on the website. I don’t presume to judge anything else: if they give a lens for a test, then I’ll tell you.

  • Stanislav

    Overall I liked the lens, as I am a fan of all kinds of bold bokeh. But I won’t buy it, since I have Yu-3 and Zeiss Opton Sonnar 50/1.5. They are small and can be used on the Techart Pro AF adapter. As for open-pressed lenses, it is better to use lenses with F0.95-1.2 on an open lens no further than the waist-length portrait, since neither the eyes nor the face can be seen further, but with F2-2.8 you can move further away.

    • Rodion

      Is there a fundamental difference between Opton-Sonnar 1.5 50 and Jupiter-3? In addition to enlightenment, for example.

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