2024 has been a new seasons for relatively new lensmaker 7artisans. Until this point, 7artisans had largely produced inexpensive manual focus lenses along with a few cine lenses, which were also manual focus only. But in 2024, 7Artisans has made the jump to autofocus, and this is the third autofocusing lens that I’ve reviewed from them over the past 4 months! They are serious about getting into the game! Thus far the AF lenses from 7artisans seem to fall into two baskets. One is very small, lightweight budget lenses for APS-C like the AF 27mm F2.8 that I reviewed here. The second tier are slightly more upscale lenses that are for full frame, physically larger, have more features, and also have higher (but still inexpensive) price tag. The 7artisans AF 50mm F1.8 lens was the first in that category, and this new lens is a natural extension of that series, adding the essential 85mm focal length to the equation. The new 7artisans AF 85mm F1.8 STM is a very strong lens optically, and is fairly reasonably priced at $299 USD. But it also comes into a market full of viable 85mm F1.8 options. Is there a reason to choose the 7artisans 85mm over the others? Find out my thoughts in the video review below or by reading on…

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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.

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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. 7artisans initially brought out the AF 50mm F1.8 only for Sony E-mount, but they have already expanded that to include Nikon Z-mount as well, so I suspect that we’ll see the same here. I’m doing this review on Sony E-mount as before.

As with the 50mm F1.8, this is a fairly large lens, which will probably limit interested parties, though, as before, 7artisans’ focus seems to be on optical quality rather than compact size. Think of these lenses as being akin to a budget Sigma ART alternative. Now, to be fair, it is considerably smaller an lighter than the Sigma ART 85mm F1.4 DN, and while that lens is an F1.4 lens, I also consider it to be fairly compact for an 85mm F1.4.

The 7artisans 85mm comes to market at an MSRP of $299 USD, which is roughly $70 higher than the 50mm F1.8. When I look at alternative lenses I find that prices vary from $350 (Yongnuo) to $1250 (Zeiss Batis), with options from Viltrox and Sony coming at $399 and $598 respectively. The only cheaper autofocusing 85mm lens that I can point to on Sony E-mount is the Meike AF 85mm F1.8, which I reviewed here, but I can safely say that even though the Meike lens is cheaper at $199 USD, it isn’t anywhere near as nice or functional lens as the 7artisans lens. I feel like I can safely say that the 7artisans AF 85mm F1.8 STM represents a pretty strong value.

So is this a lens that you should seriously consider? We’ll explore whether or not that is the case in this review.

Build and Handling

When 7artisans introduced the 50mm F1.8, the most common question was centered around the size of the lens, namely, “why is it so big?” The 85mm is very slightly smaller, though it is actually a bit heavier due to the larger glass elements in this focal length. The 85mm measures 72mm (2.83″) in diameter and 96mm (3.77″) in length, or about 8mm shorter than the 50mm. It weighs 421g (14.85oz). The front filter threads are the same relatively uncommon 62mm size as the 50mm, though I do applaud keeping a consistent filter size between these lenses. It encourages people to buy multiple lenses with the idea that they can share filters across them.

The most obvious competitor is the Viltrox AF 85mm F1.8 STM II, which I reviewed back in 2020. That lens was also very good optically, though it has fewer features and yet still weighs about 60g more. That, combined with the age of the Viltrox, might make the 7artisans lens a more compelling buy in 2024.

The lens barrel is made of metal, and it has a nice, anodized black satin finish. The lens design is very clean and elegant.

The lens hood is improved from what I saw on the 50mm F1.8. I complained that the finish of the plastic hood didn’t quite match the finish of the lens’ barrel (the hood was more matte, while the lens’ barrel was satin). The 85mm’s hood is a better match, and the look of the lens is more cohesive now. I also feel like the precision of the bayoneting and locking is improved. 7artisans is starting to nail the little details, which is a sign of maturation.

The 50mm F1.8 had an AF | MF switch and an aperture ring, and the 7artisans 85mm adds a function button as well.

I also felt like the action of the AF | MF switch was improved. There’s a more definite “click” into the selected mode, and the switch doesn’t feel like it can be inadvertently bumped out of position anymore.

The new function button is well placed and clicks with nice precision. It doesn’t feel rubbery or unresponsive at all.

Also included is a declicked aperture ring, though this is one area where some of the quirks from the 50mm F1.8 unfortunately remain. The aperture iris is fairly noisy as you change aperture settings, so this is something that still needs refining. The aperture ring shows the one third stop markings, which is great, but it shows a full three one-third stops between F1.8 and F2, which is a bit odd since F2 is only one third stop past F1.8. There are also one third stop markings from F16 to A, though F16 is actually the minimum aperture. It’s not a real issue, but there shouldn’t be any markings there.

These feel like easy things to clean up, and I hope 7artisans does before their next release.

The aperture iris itself is lovely, with 11 rounded blades that create a nice, circular aperture.

Fortunately one excellent trait carried over from the 50mm to the 85mm lens. The manual focus ring is nice and wide and is made of metal with fine ribbing. The damping is firm and the focus simulation is excellent (mirrorless lenses are “focus-by-wire”, where input from the focus ring passes through the focus motor). It feels like a real manual focus experience. The damping is firm but feels very precise. The action and feel reminds me a lot of the Sony Zeiss Planar 50mm F1.4, which is a good thing. It takes about 600° of rotation (two full wrist rotations) to get from minimum to infinity focus.

The feel of the lens and focus action is premium; there’s nothing cheap about this action!

7Artisans has adopted the important standard of building in a USB-C port to the lens mount that will allow for future firmware updates. The firmware update process is very similar to that on Viltrox lenses and isn’t complicated at all.

What is missing from that lens mount is any weather sealing gasket. This is not a weather sealed lens.

The minimum focus distance is 80cm, which is the same as Sony’s own 85mm F1.8. I estimate the maximum magnification figure to be roughly 0.13x, which looks like this:

That’s about middle of the pack for 85mm lenses, and better than many. While the magnification level isn’t high, the ability to strongly blur out the background is there due to having a longer focal length and relatively fast maximum aperture.

At first glance, the 7artisans AF 85mm F1.8 feels very similar to the AF 50mm F1.8, but after spending some time with the lens, I can appreciate that the attention to detail has improved here. The feeling of the switch, the better execution of the lens hood, and the inclusion of a function button allow the 7artisans 85mm to compete fairly directly with the Sony FE 85mm F1.8 with the exception of not having weather sealing. This is a pretty impressive package for the money.

Autofocus and Video

The 7artisans AF 85mm F1.8 features the ubiquitous STM motor that you are most likely to find in lenses under $500 that are designed for mirrorless. This motor feels relatively smooth and quiet. I can faintly hear a little scratching and whirring during focus if I listen closely. Focus smoothness and general accuracy is all good.

Focus speed is about average for an STM focus motor, which is to say quick but noticeably slower than a top notch linear focus motor.

A few of the AF problems from the 50mm have been solved, though a significant one persists.

You are able to focus on a moving object and nail precise focus…for one shot.

But if the subject is moving towards you, the autofocus motor simply doesn’t keep up with even slow movement. Focus seems to stick on the original point of focus and doesn’t continuously autofocus. In this burst of Nala, focus is impeccable in the first frame (though she was already in motion), but focus doesn’t seem to change from that first focus point in the burst (I’ve selected a few other from the sequence).

This is clearly not a lens to purchase if you intend to capture action in bursts.

Fortunately a secondary issue has been solved. With the 50mm F1.8, I observed a quirk where a burst of photos with a still subject (a posed human, for example) would experience focus drift as the focus moved away from the subject throughout the burst. That is no longer the case, as I had my wife shoot a burst of photos of me, and even when critically evaluating focus at 100%, it remains accurate throughout the burst.

You see that focus is indeed very accurate on the iris rather than the eyelash, brow, or something else.

I had excellent focus accuracy across a series of shots detailing a friend’s wedding. I had good results both during their civil ceremony and with posed photos afterward, which I shot exclusively with this lens.

So autofocus for stills works just fine so long as you aren’t trying to capture action in bursts. If you don’t want to do that, you probably need to look elsewhere. Focus precision for non action shots was excellent.

On the video front I found mostly good results. Focus pulls were smooth and quick in the initial transition, with no visible steps. I didn’t see any pulsing or settling like I did with the 50mm. Focus breathing is fairly strong, however.

The 7artisans 85mm did well with my “hand test” however, where I alternately block the view to my face with my hand and then remove it. Focus transitioned nicely from my hand to my face with good precision.

In summation, I see some clear areas of improvement in autofocus. Focus is pretty much excellent outside of bursts during action sequences.

7Artisans AF 85mm F1.8 Image Quality Breakdown

The 7Artisans AF 50mm F1.8 has an optical design of 10 elements in 7 groups, and this includes some ED (low dispersion) and HRI (high refractive index) elements. Like the AF 50mm F1.8, this is a very impressive optical instrument for the money.

This is a sharp lens all across the frame even at F1.8, and I was immediately impressed by the real world performance. Here’s a real world shot at F2, and you can see that the detail is strong right across the frame (shot on a 50MP Sony Alpha 1). Note also my shot…which almost rolled in for a hole-in-one!

This is a lens that shows a very nice mix of sharpness and bokeh, and provides images that look much more expensive than the price tag of the lens.

We’ll break down the performance on a more technical level. One area where the 85mm trumps the 50mm is when it comes to longitudinal chromatic aberrations, or LoCA. Fringing on my test chart is extremely low.

But real world results were also nice and neutral, and I never really saw any issues with fringing.

There’s a bit more of lateral chromatic aberrations that are visible in the transitions from black to white at the edges of the frame.

Both distortion and vignette are well controlled on the 7Artisans AF 85mm F1.8.

I corrected a tiny amount pincushion distortion (-2 to correct) and just a hair over one stop of vignette (+35). Both of these were mild enough that I didn’t notice them in real world shots. Interestingly, those two figures are EXACTLY the same as I recorded with the 50mm.

That’s a very strong start optically!

So how about resolution and contrast? My tests have been done on a 61MP Sony a7RV. Here’s the test chart:

Here are F1.8 crops at roughly 180% from across the frame (center, mid-frame, and lower right corner).

That’s a great performance at F1.8, and when I looked back over the last six 85mm lenses I’ve reviewed on Sony E-mount, I found that only the Sigma 85mm F1.4 ART (which costs 3.5x as much) was sharper, though the 7artisans is actually better in the corners than the Sigma. The Viltrox lens is close, but the only cheaper option (Meike 85mm F1.8) looks absolutely terrible by comparison. Very impressive!

There is only a minor improvement to contrast at F2, but there is a more obvious improvement from F2 to F2.8.

Landscape apertures (F4-8) look great. There’s plenty of information there to deeply crop on a high resolution camera.

But real world contrast and detail is high enough at F1.8 already that you probably can just use stopping down to control depth of field rather than for a need for more sharpness.

Diffraction will start to soften the image after F8, with a mild amount at F11 but a more obvious amount by F16:

Despite having excellent sharpness, the 7artisans 85mm manages to deliver really gorgeous bokeh as well.

A shot of the early morning dew shows some geometric deformation, but the look of it is pretty pleasing to me.

Look at how softly blurred the background is on this shot of unripe blackberries.

Colors were also good for such an inexpensive lens. Images just look great, period.

I did notice a bit of flashing with the sun right out of the frame.

Shooting into the sun in the evening went fine, however, with nothing destructive.

Nothing too extreme to me, however. I didn’t particularly notice anything obvious about flare issues during ordinary use, so I’m not not too concerned.

In general, I just thought images looked great for this kind of price tag.

This is a very impressive optical performance in general. I don’t think I’ve ever used a 7artisans lens that compares to this lens optically. If you’d like to see more image samples, check out the image gallery here.

Conclusion

7artisans has only been making autofocus lenses for about four months, but I already see a tremendous amount of growth in their products. I felt like the AF 50mm F1.8 STM was a solid lens with real strengths, but it also had a few rough edges. The 7artisans AF 85mm F1.8 STM shows definite refinements in areas like build, autofocus, and even the optical performance. This is a LOT of lens for just $299!

Even autofocus is fairly good here, though focus speed isn’t top tier and obvious the ability to capture moving action is limited. Still, for most people the autofocus will provide everything that they need (just don’t buy this lens to take photos of toddlers or young children who are constantly on the move!)

Yes, there are already a number of 85mm options available for Sony E-mount, but I can safely say that none are providing this level of performance at this kind of price. I already own a premium 85mm lens, personally, but, if I didn’t, I wouldn’t mind using this lens myself. It’s that good.

Pros:

• Nice looking lens with nice build
• Includes aperture ring, function button, and AF/MF switch
• USB-C port for firmware updates
• Good manual focus ring and experience
• High aperture blade count
• Autofocus motor is quiet and accurate
• Excellent sharpness wide open
• Very low vignette and distortion
• Good control of fringing
• Nice bokeh
• Good colors
• Excellent price to performance ratio

Cons:

• No weather sealing
• Aperture makes some lot of noise while opening and closing
• Autofocus speed is only average
• Doesn’t track action well

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GEAR USED:

Purchase the 7Artisans AF 85mm F1.8 @ Vitopal (use code DUSTINABBOTT for 10% off) | B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

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

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

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

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

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