7Artisans 28mm 1.4 — Review & Photowalk #ShootWideOpen

A bit of a departure from my usual vintage lens reviews, I purchased the 7Artisans 28mm 1.4 after looking at some of the sample photos online.

I love a good wide aperture prime, and while 28mm isn’t my preferred focal length, if there’s a wide aperture version I’m very much intrigued.

I was especially interested in being able to create a shallow depth of focus with such a large angle of view.

With the aperture at the front (in Leica fashion) and with the f/1.4 and f/2.0 being so far from each other, I wasn’t likely to accidentally knock the aperture out of place. The focus ring is smooth and pleasing. Honestly, construction wise, I have zero complaints about this lens.

So how does this lens stack up visually? I have to say — I’m incredibly impressed by it. Sharp, saturated, contrasty, not prone to veiled flaring — it’s definitely worthy of the M-Mount.

All photos taken at f/1.4 unless otherwise specified. Looking back through the photos, I missed focus a lot more than I thought. On the rear screen of the A7 the photos looked in focus, but at f/1.4 I should have been taking a moment to zoom in to check.

Focused on the distant buildings.

Focused on the piece of wood (focus & recompose).

Playing with the 28mm field of view & the larger aperture. Focused on the back townhouse.

Sharp when I do take a moment to nail focus.

A quick snap, I may not have nailed focus. Again playing with the wide aperture.

Some chromatic aberration in the railing at the top of the building, but it’s quite well behaved. Some barrel distortion blah blah blah — sorry I don’t do technical reviews.

Again, playing with the 28mm at a wide aperture. I may not have nailed focus, this was a quick moment between people crossing the street. This was the kind of photo I bought this lens for.

Ghosting wide open — interestingly it goes away from the center. Note the A7 has a very shiny sensor so the the ghosting may be reflections from the sensor — it’s impossible to say.

With the focus on the sculpture, the subject separation it gets from the nearby buildings is excellent.

Popular spot for photo taking.

10 seconds at f/16. Again the ghosting that goes away from the light source, but very well controlled.

I may not have nailed focus — I was dodging tourists selfies.

Sharp when I do have a moment to focus. I was focused just above the windows above the entrance.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO THE HULK!?!! It’s subtle but look at the subject separation. Iron Man looks he he has to pee.

Bokehballs in the background — not something you’d typically get with a 28mm. Really love the cinematic quality of being able to shoot wide open at f/1.4

Meta.