M mount 50mm 1.1 for $368 new! (made in China by 7Artisans)

Has anyone here ordered such a lens? It is a Sonnar design.

I may order one any day. No guarantee that it is excellent.

Interesting, Thanks! I might have to give it a shot for the old M 3.

 

From a few minutes ago -- Quick search -- none come up for sale.

Edited July 2, 2017 by Sandy Vongries

Just Google it either on e bay or on amazon. Same cost.

7artisans 50mm 1.1

Many sellers have it.

 

Description:

7artisans 50mm / f1.1 is made for your Leica M mount Cameras. Also, it is available for Sony E-mount camera by an extra adapter.

It is optimized for working on full aperture with the great sharpness and contrast as on smaller apertures by Sonnar formula and high

refractive optical glasses (greater than 1.9). At the same time, it features fast aperture and lowest chromatic aberration, producing

pleasing portrait style quality for any general purpose application. The twelve diaphragm blades are crucial to favorable rendition of

highlights in the fore and background. It provides high quality of the transition as well as nice bokeh for the lens, keeping the background

intentionally blurred to keep the attention of the observer on the main subject. 7artisans 50mm / f1.1 weights as light as 400g. It is

portable for your photography.

 

Features:

1. With great performance, 7artisans 50mm / f1.1 is made for your Leica M mount Cameras. Also, it is available for Sony E-mount

camera by an extra adapter.

2. Super Optical Quality: 7artisans 50mm / f1.1 is optimized for working on full aperture with the great sharpness and contrast as on

smaller apertures by Sonnar formula and high refractive optical glasses (greater than 1.9). At the same time, it features fast aperture

and lowest chromatic aberration, producing pleasing portrait style quality for any general purpose application.

3. Ideal Aperture with Twelve Blades: The twelve diaphragm blades are crucial to favorable rendition of highlights in the fore and background.

It provides high quality of the transition as well as nice bokeh for the lens, keeping the background intentionally blurred to keep the attention

of the observer on the main subject.

4. Portable Aluminum Mount: Aluminum-made body and copper bayonet designed with a Sonnar formula, 7artisans 50mm / f1.1 weights

as light as 400g, portable for your photography.

5. Compatibility: Leica M-M, Leica M240, Leica M3, Leica M6, Leica M7, Leica M8, Leica M9, Leica M9p, Leica M10; it can be auto-focus

when used with Sony A7II/ A7RII by your adapter.

 

Specifications:

Full frame available: Yes

Compatible camera mount: Laica M mount (available for Sony E mount by an adapter)

Focal length: 50mm

Aperture range: f/1.1-f16

Angular field: 46 degree

Closest focus distance: 0.7m

Blades Number: 12 diaphragm blades

Construction: 7 elements in 6 groups

I'm happy if I nail focus with my wide open 50mm Summicron. If that becomes too easy some day I could give the 90mm another go. I neither have the means and patience to try calibrating such a 1.1 lens to my RF nor enough bodies to spare one tweaked only to that lens. I also don't own a MILC that makes shooting M glass tempting. So far I got more than my share of no DOF from moderately fast glass so I see no real need to buy into the f1.4 & faster league. - Yes there are nice Noctilux shots floating around. But who knows through how many frames their authors went to nail them?

$368 are still a lot of money for a weekend of fun struggling & dabbling and another paper weight in the end. At least I'd wait till somebody posts a lot of sample pixels and their success story. What I saw so far looked more like thumbnails.

This link to some sample images was posted elsewhere: 试镜 国产七工匠LEICA口50/1.1 - 旁轴相机

I'll wait a bit to see how they turn out, but I could use it on the M 3 and the GXR with Leica module. Tempting.

I would rather spend the majority of that money on the Leica bag made by Billingham. I have a feeling in the long run the bag is a better buy than this lens.

... but how will you take photos with your bag? A camera with a lens would be the better way to go.

Amazon now has a couple of brief reviews:

 

Amazon.com : 7artisans 50mm F1.1 Leica M Mount Fixed Lens for Leica M-Mount Cameras Like Leica M-M Leica M240 Leica M3 Leica M6 Leica M7 Leica M8 Leica M9 Leica M9p Leica M10 - Silver : Camera & Photo

 

Amazon.com : 7artisans 50mm F1.1 Leica M Mount Fixed Lens for Leica M-Mount Cameras Like Leica M-M Leica M240 Leica M3 Leica M6 Leica M7 Leica M8 Leica M9 Leica M9p Leica M10 - Black : Camera & Photo

... but how will you take photos with your bag? A camera with a lens would be the better way to go.

 

Got plenty if M lenses to take any picture I want. If I want 'em to look like what this lens probably does, i can just use my 50mm f2 Summicron and turn the clarity down ro -75 or more in ACR.

Greg -- got lots of cases, including fitted Leica and Nikon as well as half a dozen others I remember. Some excellent, some no longer used because they no longer fill my needs. Billingham makes fine cases, as does Leica, but unlike lenses, cases have a relatively short lifespan. Glass contributes to photographic efforts -- cases not so much,

Glass contributes to photographic efforts

 

Only if they work well. I have more than my share of cheapo lenses sitting in some of those similar cases because they were more than a little disappointing.

I haven't bought a cheap lens in the last four decades -- I have gotten some excellent lenses at very reasonable prices. Unfortunately, though that is possible with Nikons, not so much with Leica. Worth a try to use on my Dad's, now my M 3.

A wide open lens which Leica would charge a small fortune for.

 

The endless moaning about the price of Leica lenses and now an alternative...

 

And what do we have.... a Leica M mount lens wide open for the price of a cheap Nikon.

 

It may or may not be a superior quality lens but for folks with ancient poor performing low light cameras it must be a serious consideration.

 

For my M8 and M2 it is a serious consideration.

 

PS the M2 is a superior camera to the M3 in every way.

Particularly the Press model M 2 equipped with the Leicavit advance. I inherited M 3 and my Dad allowed me to use it as a young teen, so the old camera has considerable sentimental value!

"so the old camera has considerable sentimental value!".

 

Same for me my M8.

My M8 in action....in the real world not the world of techy ( how do you use a camera...anyone! ). ...hype marketing.

 

Supposed be okay for BW rubbish for colour....really.

Edited July 8, 2017 by Allen Herbert

$370 is not a lot of money if you want to experiment. Achieving f/1.1 is not hard. Achieving good image quality at f/1.1 is another matter. It takes a lot of effort in design and manufacturing. I recall the f/stop wars in the early 60's - f/0.95 and quality be damned. A friend showed me an f/0.95 lens from WWII. The image quality was about adequate for starting a campfire using the sun. (Something to think about with a cloth, focal plane shutter.)

 

For about the same money, you can get an early Summicron 50, which produces outstanding image quality at f/2, and is diffraction limited at f5.6 on a Leica M9. Mine is still tight and smooth after 50 years, without a CLA.

 

I have an M2 and M3 too. The M3 is a more polished camera, with a bright finder limited to 50/90/135. In that sense the M2 is better, since the finder accommodates 35/50/90 lenses. The M2 was my first professional camera, and served me well for many years. Functionally, there is no difference.

"For about the same money, you can get an early Summicron 50, which produces outstanding image quality at f/2",Ed.

 

I think prices have moved on since you last looked Edward.

 

We are talking about a brand new lens designed for a niche product without the worries of a second hand 20 year old Leica lens. I doubt with modern computer designs it would be a dog of a lens.

 

"I have an M2 and M3 too. The M3 is a more polished camera, with a bright finder". Ed.

 

I bow to your greater experience regarding these two cams. I just purchased mine because I want to do some film for the fun of it and I have a respect for the art of the almost eternal build quality....hey, it looks cool to. Get the feeling it will still be taking photos in a 100 years time.

 

I had a choice of 4 M3s and 3 M2s the build quality of the M2 felt more substantial with a heavier feel. All performed almost identically with little difference .I did not get the feeling the M3 was more polished or had a smoother operation than the M2. Just my take.

...We are talking about a brand new lens designed for a niche product without the worries of a second hand 20 year old Leica lens. I doubt with modern computer designs it would be a dog of a lens.

 

This is exactly what appeals to me even though I have the 5cm F2 Summicron collapsible that came with the camera when Dad bought it. The original is still in fine shape, but his 3.5 f3.5 Summaron has fogged -- so, two strings for the bow for not a lot, plus use on the Ricoh GXR for low light. Seems a good deal.

When I bought the M9, I found the dual-range Summicron 50 would not fit. I purchased a used lens of the same vintage (c1964)* for $485 from KEH. That was three years ago. With the advent of mirrorless cameras with adapters, used Leica M lenses are getting hard to find at any price.

 

If you want something close to Leica quality, get the Zeiss Planar f/2 ZM ($900). If you live from paycheck to paycheck, look at Voigtlander.

 

* 2017 - 1964 = 53

Gosh, it must be nice to just not worry about "paycheck to paycheck" Ed, wowzers! Us Deplorables just motor along.