Late 2023/early 2024 has thus far proven to be the season where a number of newer lens makers have taken the plunge and transitioned from less complicated fully manual lenses to more complex autofocus designs. I’ve spent time in the past three months with autofocus lenses from no less than four brands who previously made only manual lenses. One of those is the new 7Artisans AF 50mm F1.8 lens – a serious leap forward for the brand 7Artisans, who have, to this point, mostly made relatively inexpensive manual focus lenses to this point. Taking the plunge into autofocus is always a big deal, as both the risks and rewards elevate. So has 7Artisans pulled it off? Find out my thoughts in the video review below or by reading my text review here.

Follow Me @ YouTube | Patreon |  Instagram | Facebook | DA Merchandise | Flickr | 500px | X

Thanks to 7Artisans for sending me a review sample of this lens. As always, this is a completely independent review. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with the Sony a7RV along with the Sony Alpha 1 that serve as my benchmark cameras for Sony lenses.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

In times past, 7Artisans has supported a wide variety of lens mounts as with manual lenses it is just a matter of changing the mounts so that the lenses will mount on the various cameras, but when you introduce autofocus it means developing the various focus algorithms necessary to make autofocus work correctly each camera platform. For that reason, the 7Artisans AF 50mm will come initially for Sony E-mount (tested here), though I suspect the lens will be rolled out for other camera brands.

You can probably tell from the image above that this isn’t really a small lens, particularly for a lens with a maximum aperture of F1.8. It is actually a bit longer than the Sony 50mm F1.4 G Master lens and dwarfs the Samyang AF 45mm F1.8 lens.

You might also notice that it looks like a quality lens, with a nice looking design and some features. The 7Artisans AF 50mm F1.8 is coming to market at $228 USD, $309CAD, $359AUD, £216.00, or €251.00. That makes it slightly more expensive than the Sony FE 50mm F1.8 at the moment (normal price is $250, but it is discounted to $200 at the moment), but this is also a much more serious lens optically (and in build) than the Sony. The more comparable Viltrox AF 50mm F1.8 (my review here) costs nearly $375 USD, making the 7Artisans AF 50mm F1.8 a relative bargain.

Enjoy the photos of the lens and those taken by the lens to get a feel for whether the 7Artisans AF 50mm F1.8 is the lens for you.

Photos of the 7Artisans AF 50mm F1.8

Photos Taken with the 7Artisans AF 50mm F1.8

_________________________________________________________________________

GEAR USED:

Purchase the 7Artisans AF 50mm F1.8 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

___________________________________________________________________

Purchase the Sony a7RV @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Sony Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany 

__________________________________________________________________

Purchase the Sony a7IV @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Sony Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany 

_________________________________________________________________

Purchase the Sony Alpha 1 @ Camera Canada | B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Sony Canada | Amazon Canada |  Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay 

_________________________________________________________________

Want to support this channel? Use these affiliate links to shop at: B&H Photo | Amazon | Adorama | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Ebay | Make a donation via Paypal

Buy DA Merchandise https://bit.ly/TWIMerch

Keywords: 7Artisans, 7Artisans 50mm, AF, 50mm, F1.8, STM, 7Artisans AF 50mm F1.8, Full Frame, Review, Sony Alpha 1, Sony a7RV, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, let the light in, weathersealing, #letthelightin, DA