by Sara Long & Anthony Gyzen
I’ve spent the last few months getting to know the 7artisans 75mm f/1.25 lens for Leica M-mount. It’s an extremely versatile lens that can be used in all lighting conditions. I often use it for portraits because of its outstanding image quality and reasonable price. I primarily used this lens on a Leica M6, using Kodak Ultra Max 400, 400Tri-X, and Portra 160, 400, and 800. Thank you 7artisans for sending me this lens to review.
The lens has a 12 bladed aperture for a smooth transition from sharp to the bokeh, and an aperture range of f/1.25-f/16, with a nice tactile click to each stop. The max aperture of f/1.25 is extremely handy in low light or nighttime conditions, especially when shooting film.
This type of fast aperture lens is often used to shoot wide open. Many of my film shots with the 75mm were taken at f/2 to f/8, but when lighting conditions were low, I was able to use f/1.25 to f/2. Most of my other rangefinder lenses, such as the 7artisans 35mm for Leica M-mount and the Jupiter 11 85mm, only get as wide as f/2, so I’m unable to capture the low lighting shots that I was with the 7artisans 75mm lens.
It is important to note that the majority of my testing was on film, so there will naturally be some variation in the results. That said, I found the image quality of the 75mm to be exceptional. From f/1.25 to f/2, the contrast is low, and the images are sharp in the center with soft edges and vignetting. There is some noticeable chromatic aberration depending on lighting conditions, and I would note that manual focusing is more difficult in this range. From f/2 to f/16, the images have more contrast with no noticeable vignetting. They’re generally quite sharp from center to edge.
Some other things to note:
The 7artisans 75mm f/1.25 retails for $449. The comparative Leica lens is the 75mm f/1.25 Noctilux-M, which is $14,095.
It only took me a few small adjustments to get this lens properly calibrated. I have heard that over time you may need to adjust the lens, but after three months of shooting with the 7artisans lens, I have not yet needed to recalibrate.
This lens’s minimum focus distance is 0.8 meters or 2.6 feet. On a digital body with the close focusing adapter, you can focus at 1.5 feet. The focusing is smooth and precise, with a short travel distance from minimum to infinity.
When shooting on a rangefinder, like the M6, you will notice that the lens blocks some of the viewfinder in the bottom right of your frame. So, when you’re composing an image, keep that in mind.
This lens is not weather sealed. There are no gaskets on the back to block water from getting in. Please exercise caution when shooting in weather. I would NOT take this out in moderate to heavy rain or snow.
During the winter holidays, I brought both the 75mm and the 35mm 7artisans Leica M-mount lenses on our trip to Redmond, Washington. These two lenses made a perfect kit. The compact 35mm is able to shoot the wide angle, and the 75mm has a tighter shot for portraits and indoor low light. I was so impressed by the image quality, especially for such a reasonable price, that after returning from our trip I continued reaching for the 75mm lens. It’s in my kit now as my main portrait lens, and I won’t go out of town without it.