Up next in 10
Photographer Dustin Abbott takes a deep dive look at the second lens in 7Artisans MAX series - the AF 10mm F2.5 Fisheye (full frame) for Sony E, Nikon Z, and L-mount. | Read the Text Review: https://tinyurl.com/7A10FishDA | Purchase the 7Artisans AF 10mm F2.5 Fisheye @ 7Artisans https://tinyurl.com/Buy10mmFish | Vitopal https://www.vitopal.net/products/7artisans-af-10mm-f2-5-fisheye | B&H https://bhpho.to/45eyVAi | Adorama https://prf.hn/l/9Okqz89/ | Amazon https://amzn.to/4qDjtHz | Amazon Canada https://link.amazon/B0h4GcLm3 | Amazon UK https://link.amazon/B0fUKKG1K | Amazon Germany https://link.amazon/B04faZFLX
Check out the DA Merch here: https://bit.ly/TWIMerch | Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/dustinabbott | On the Web: http://dustinabbott.net/ | Sign up for my Newsletter: http://bit.ly/1RHvUNp | Instagram: http://bit.ly/DLAinsta | Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1nuUUeH | Flickr: http://bit.ly/1UcnC0B | 500px: http://bit.ly/1Sy2Ngu Follow Craig @ https://www.instagram.com/craigstoffersen/
Want to support this channel? Use these affiliate links to shop at:
B&H Photo: http://bhpho.to/1TA0Xge
Adorama: https://howl.link/nt4zdz1goa7ql
Camera Canada: http://bit.ly/DLACameraCan
Sony Canada: https://www.thesonyshop.ca/?ref=abbott
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HrY64d
Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/3qG1p18
Ebay: http://bit.ly/DustineBay
Into the AM Clothing: https://bit.ly/intotheAMda and use code DUSTIN10 for 10% off
Fioboc Clothing: https://tinyurl.com/FiobocDA20 and us code DUSTIN20 for 20% off
Make a donation via Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/dustinTWI
=============================
Table of Contents:
=============================
0:00 - Intro
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Hi, I'm Dustin Abbott. Several months ago when I reviewed the 7 Artisans AF 135mm f1.8
0:17
I didn't realize that it was the first of a new series of lenses from 7 Artisans
0:23
That has become a little bit more clear with the release of a second lens in that series
0:26
which is also another extreme lens, this new autofocusing 10mm f2.5 fisheye from what is
0:34
7 Artisans' new Max series. These Max series are a little bit higher level lenses than ones that
0:40
they've released in the past with higher performance and thus far a little bit more
0:45
extreme type lenses than what 7 Artisans has released in the past. Now while I love the optics
0:50
from the 7 Artisans AF 135mm f1.8, I was somewhat critical as there were just some remaining quirks
0:58
left in the lens and it felt like it needed a bit more polish, some firmware updates. I'm happy to
1:03
report that this new lens from them arrives much more polished and much more ready to go to market
1:09
Now clearly fisheye lenses aren't for everyone and I am shooting this intro with it and so that you
1:14
can get a little fisheye wackiness, I'll shoot the rest of the review with a more conventional lens
1:19
but they are a lot of fun and can produce some really unique results for the right kinds of
1:25
applications this is maybe not a lens for everyone but as far as fisheye lenses go
1:31
it's actually a surprisingly easy lens to use and we'll detail a little bit more about that as the
1:36
review goes forward before we jump into all of that though first of all i do want to say a big
1:41
thank you to seven artisans for sending me a review sample as always however they have had
1:47
zero input in this review. My findings are my own. It is a completely independent review
1:51
All of that aside, let's jump in and take a look. Today's episode is sponsored by the all-new
1:57
Phantom Tracker 2.0. Phantom has not only seriously upgraded the visual look of the card
2:02
but now we have a superior build quality made with tempered glass and metal alloys
2:07
This credit card size tracker can be locally tracked via a 90 decibel beeping noise
2:11
but also on a global level via Apple's Find My Network and its map
2:16
The addition of NFC means that you can also use the card to trigger an automation
2:20
Just tap it. The tracker fits perfectly in any wallet or bag and assures you won't lose your valuables
2:26
It has a built-in rechargeable battery that can be easily charged via any wireless charger
2:31
and a single charge can last up to six months. The Phantom Tracker 2.0 makes for a seriously cool gift
2:37
So visit store.fantomwallet.com and use code DUSTIN20 at checkout for 20% off
2:43
That's store.fantomwallet.com and use code DUSTIN20 for 20% off. Okay, let's take a closer look at the lens
2:51
First of all, price point $449 USD is what the MSRP is going to be
2:57
This does explore a slightly higher price point for 7Artisans than a lot of their lenses
3:01
but of course, it's a more professional grade. I wouldn't yet call it a professional lens, but more professional grade than what most of those are, and it's an extremely nice lens
3:11
In fact, the first thing that stood out to me is that when I opened the packages, I thought
3:15
this is the nicest looking 7 Artisans lens that I have ever seen before, and I stand by that after spending some time with it
3:22
It feels like they've just gotten a better balance here of the materials and finishes on it, the accent points on it
3:30
It just is a very comprehensive design, and I think a very handsome one. Now, a lot of the opposing fisheye lenses are manual focus only
3:39
And so this price is going to see them a little bit higher than those lenses. But this is really a different kind of lens
3:45
This has a massive at 10 millimeters with a fisheye. It has a massive 185 degree angle of view
3:52
So just to give you a little point of comparison, if I use one of the wide angle zooms that I love
3:56
the LK Samyang 14 to 24 millimeter f2.8, you can see this is the framing in the room
4:02
Then here's a look at the new Tamron 12 to 20 millimeter f2.8 zoom at 12 millimeters
4:08
And then when you compare it to this, it opens up all kinds of horizons
4:12
And of course, there's lots of distortion. That's part of what makes a fisheye a fisheye, but it adds a view into two other separate
4:18
rooms that just aren't even visible with the other lenses. And so that makes it very, very interesting
4:23
In fact, in this shot, when I was doing the testing for the autofocus pulls, I was interested
4:29
and is seeing, if I set that Tamron lens all the way up the counter, as you can see from this shot
4:34
it's a long way away. And yet when I shoot from just a short distance away to my target subject
4:40
you can see that it includes that Tamron lens in the frame. Just that shows you how wide it actually
4:45
is Now as far as the feature set here we have a clicked aperture ring There is no D click option but there are nice definite clicks at every one third stop and then a longer detent between F 16 and automatic And as mentioned there is no D click
5:01
option. We have an AF MF switch, and then we actually have two function buttons here. The
5:07
first one is your typical function button that will access whatever value you have assigned in
5:12
camera for a function button. And then the second function button is for AB focus. And so you can
5:19
set that by holding down at your focus point and then you're selecting a new focus point and holding
5:25
down and then you should be able to click back and forth between those two positions. Now I will note
5:29
that this second button by purpose it's much flusher and so it feels different and so you're
5:34
not mistakenly hitting the wrong button. However it is a little bit harder to depress because it is
5:40
so flush and if you're wearing gloves it's going to be next to impossible. In terms of size the
5:45
lens is 76 millimeters or right under three inches in diameter. And it is a total of 84
5:51
millimeters or 3.7 inches in length. And it weighs in at 504 grams or 17.78 ounces. That weight is a
5:59
little heavier because it does have a dense all metal construction. It feels though very nice
6:04
very well made. And just for perspective, the last fisheye lens that I reviewed was the Sigma
6:10
15 millimeter f1.4 fisheye and that lens weighed in at 1400 grams and so this is a lightweight and
6:19
very small and svelte by comparison and it is a fairly compact lens it's not quite palm size but
6:24
you can see it's not really hanging much out of my palm and looks pretty compact mounted on the
6:29
camera itself. Now part of the design with fisheyes is that you get a fixed front lens hood
6:35
and a curved front element, so no traditional filtering. It also means that the lens cap is going to be this style that has to fit over the top
6:43
However, I will say it fits nice and tight. There's no issue with it falling off by accident
6:50
And so a good design overall there. And it's plastic and lightweight, but it feels like it's fairly thick plastics
6:58
and I have no issue with that. Looking at the back of the lens, we do see a weather sealing gasket here
7:05
There is no mention of other seals inside, but at least a weather sealing gasket at this important point is very, it's great to have that
7:12
There is a USB-C port for firmware updates. The actual aperture iris here is nine blades
7:20
It is a little bit noisy as the aperture changes, I noted, but it's, you know, while you're not going to create much in terms of bokeh here
7:27
you are able to get a decent looking 18-pointed Sun Star out of it
7:31
Now, your minimum focus distance here is just 15 centimeters. So that is nice and close, but this is an incredibly wide lens. And so you're not going
7:39
to get a very high maximum magnification as you can see here. And so obviously don't buy this lens
7:44
to do macro type work. However, that minimum focus distance is close enough that at least for video
7:49
there's going to be very few situations where you're going to exceed the minimum focus distance
7:53
because you can get so close to subjects. And so at the end of the day, this is a fairly feature
7:58
rich lens. I love the look of it. I like the design. And in terms of the handling of it
8:03
It's a very functional, easy lens to use, which makes fisheye photography a little more accessible
8:09
So let's talk autofocus. I was a little bit critical of the 7Artisan's 135mm because of some autofocus glitches
8:18
Like I said in the intro, it just felt a little bit unfinished. Fortunately, here, this autofocus system feels much more complete, and it feels like it's retail ready, which I couldn't say for the 135mm
8:30
It's probably still an SDM type focus motor, though 7Artisans is not specific, but autofocus in general is smooth, quiet, and in my experience, certainly fast enough for everything that I needed to do with it
8:42
In my formal test, you can see that while there's a lot in focus with such a wide angle of view, autofocus does move back and forth in a noticeable way and moves back and forth with good speed
8:52
There also isn't a lot of autofocus noise. The focus motor itself is nice and quiet so no issues with it there on that front
9:01
I also found that when I did a basic test here of seeing if it could track action, had my son run along, jump off a wall and just kind of track him throughout that shooting at a fairly high burst rate
9:13
I was able to track him without any kind of issue. Likewise, I tried something similar indoors. People were playing cornhole. We were having an event and unfortunately we were getting rained out
9:22
so we moved indoors instead and again i was able to track action okay in that kind of setting though
9:28
in this case it was more the beanbag moving through the air and less the people and so
9:32
not really the same kind of challenge that being said i feel like autofocus is sufficiently good
9:37
that some of the applications for a lens like this say shooting uh skateboarding or similar
9:43
type sport i feel like it probably would keep up in that kind of setting it obviously helped by the fact that so much is going to be in focus at all times but autofocus does seem to move along pretty well What more I did find that tracking was accurate
9:56
If I got close to Nala, for example, you can see that this shot is nailed and beautifully sharp, by the way, as well
10:03
And so, you know, again, most of the time I've reviewed lenses in the past
10:07
fisheye lenses in the past, they tend to be manual focus outside of the big, heavy, and expensive Sigma 15mm f1.4
10:14
and so this obviously probably isn't as good as that Sigma for autofocus but I would say that
10:20
this is actually one of the better focusing 7 Artisan lenses that I've used at this point so
10:25
no complaints on that front. Now when it comes to the video side of things again for video kind of
10:30
work unless you're right on top of a subject most everything is going to be in focus most all of the
10:35
time and so I would say that particularly if you're shooting a little bit smaller aperture even you
10:41
know f4 f5.6 you probably aren't going to have to worry about autofocus very much but i did find
10:47
that autofocus was stable and when i did my focus pool test back and forth again helped by being so
10:53
incredibly wide there isn't any kind of noticeable focus breathing because again focus changes are
10:58
pretty insignificant in fact you have to kind of pay attention to realize that focus is changing
11:03
in fact in those my hand test didn't go so good mostly for the simple fact that so much is in the
11:08
frame at all times. It was kind of hard to block out much of anything in using my hands. But I would
11:15
say that, you know, for most type of work, I think for video as well, this is going to do just fine
11:21
Again, it would be fun for shooting, you know, skateboarding action where you can get fairly
11:25
intimate with it and, you know, use that distortion to something that's a little bit more useful
11:31
And my basic video clips that I took, however, I had no kind of focus issues. I didn't see any
11:35
kind of pulsing or hunting or anything like that. And so I feel pretty satisfied on that front as
11:40
well. All right, let's take a quick look at the optics. You see here the optical design, which
11:45
is 11 elements in eight groups. We've got one spherical lens and then a couple of extra low
11:50
dispersion elements as a part of the design. Looking at the MTF chart, particularly the third
11:56
the red lines, and that's going to show us what's probably more relevant today's modern resolution
12:01
cameras. You can see that the lens is actually extremely sharp in the center of the frame
12:05
still very strong in the center of the frame. Then of course, with a fisheye design, by the
12:09
time you get to the extreme corners, you have, well, basically no image quality left. It's that
12:15
extreme distortion is going to remove kind of objective sharpness from the equation. And that
12:20
lens is ridiculously wide. As you can see, even just with the camera held just slightly over waist
12:25
level and pointing down, you can see how far down it looks towards my shoes and how much gets into
12:31
the frame. So that means doing traditional test chart work is impossible. And if I tried to set
12:37
up to frame the chart, you can see that there's a lot of field curvature. And so what we can see
12:43
here of what's in focus, just this little area here, it's nice and sharp and high contrast
12:49
but of course it's really falling away. So we'll look at some other rural metrics for checking out
12:54
some areas of performance. Now, as far as that distortion goes, it's going to vary depending on
12:59
where you actually set up. And so the more that you have the center tilted, the more you can either
13:03
exaggerate that and the more that you flatten it, the less you're going to see. So here in the
13:08
second shot, you can see that, you know, there's much less of that distortion when I'm composed
13:14
with a more central kind of setup. And you can also see that there are, like for example, this
13:20
was done just in Photoshop. There are options for de-phishing as it's called a lens like this
13:25
So obviously you're losing a fair bit of the image. However, if your objective is to get, you know, straighter lines, it is possible
13:33
Though frankly, if you want straighter lines, you probably should just, you know, buy a lens that is rectilinear rather than trying to defish a fisheye
13:41
So here at f5.6, this gives us a look at, you know, a real world subject that will allow us a little more working distance to see how resolution holds up
13:50
So in the center of the frame, looking really fantastic here in the mid zone, looking really, really great
13:55
and as we move off towards the edge of the frame by f5.6 you can actually see that it's quite sharp
14:00
other than maybe that last percentage point in the corner as I look up here you know in general
14:06
other than the extreme corners I actually think that this is quite a sharp lens and if you know
14:12
if you're wanting really kind of sharpens across the frame in this situation if you cropped in just
14:18
a little bit that's exactly what you would have as far as some other metrics you can see here up
14:22
close that you know pretty decent detail and contrast there but I'm more looking for any kind
14:27
of fringing in this and it's hard to do on tests because of what we've already seen but as I look
14:32
at this image it seems like longitudinal style chromatic aberrations are well controlled even at
14:37
f2 now lateral style chromatic aberrations that show up near the edge of the frame we can see that in this image there is a little bit of fringing that I see in a couple of high contrast areas these bare branches that is removable you know fairly easily with
14:53
one click, but it's not extreme, but it is there a bit
14:58
Now, even at F 2.5 in the center of the frame, we can see that sharpness and contrast is
15:03
really, really excellent. and we've looked at this shot already in our autofocus section, but taking a look again
15:10
here at 100% magnification, you can see how crisp and nicely detailed the shot of Nala is
15:17
And you can also see a little bit of bokeh here. It's kind of nervous in this kind of setting
15:22
Almost everything's going to be in what we would call the transition zone. And so I wouldn't buy this lens for bokeh. You can see some outlining there
15:29
Here's another shot where we can see bokeh a little bit more. And in this case, it's a little bit more favorable scenario
15:36
So, the subject is, you know, basically this is minimum focus. And then you can see towards defocus
15:41
But there definitely is a fair bit of outlining. So, again, that's not what I would buy the lens for
15:46
Though certainly you can take shots like this if you want. Now, when it comes to flare resistance, we can see that there is a little bit of flare artifacts
15:56
Obviously, with a view this wide, a lot is going to be in the frame. And so, there's a little bit of ghosting there
16:01
Here as I stop it down, that ghosting pattern is a little more pronounced, but it's mostly
16:05
kind of those a few teardrops there. It's not too bad. You can see it again here
16:10
Here we see that 18-pointed sun star, at least part of it. And so I would say that flare resistance is not flawless, but it's not like terrible either
16:19
If I pan back and forth in terms of the wide open flare, I mean, there's that little bit
16:25
of ghosting pattern that's coming off, but not too pronounced there. and then if we look at it with it stopped down you see a little bit more of the sun star and
16:34
just a slight bit more of a ghosting pattern but again i don't think this is too much of a problem
16:39
finally some people will use a fisheye lens for shooting the night sky now in this situation
16:44
it's a little bit harder for me i live in ontario and i live in a place where it's where it's heavily
16:49
forested so trying to get away from trees when you have 185 degree of view is tough here however
16:56
I've got enough here to take a look at. In the center of the frame, star points are nice and
17:01
crisp. No problem there. As I move towards the corners, you can see a little bit of coma stretching
17:06
And obviously, with a lens like this, particularly at f2.5, the corners are softer than what the rest
17:13
of the image is. I can definitely see some coma down in this area. And so it's not perfect for
17:19
that. But again, if you wanted to use it for shooting the night sky, I've seen far worse than
17:24
this as well and it could make for some unique and interesting images. And so fisheye lenses are a
17:28
little bit different to evaluate in terms of the optical properties, but in general I would say
17:33
that Seven Artisans has actually done a good job with this lens. So what's my conclusion? Well you've
17:38
probably picked up from my general tenor in this review that I am definitely more upbeat about Seven
17:43
Artisans' newest lens than what I was for their last lens, despite the fact that I did quite like
17:49
the optics from that lens. This just feels like a more mature product. And what's more
17:54
I think that the design language is just, you know, it's pretty great looking. And while the
17:59
price point of $450, it's definitely more than what you're paying for a lot of the manual focus
18:04
alternatives. The reality is, is that this is a much more complete lens. It's not only got
18:10
autofocus, but it's got at least some weather sealing. It's got a full feature set. It's got
18:14
an aperture ring. I feel like this might be the kind of lens that makes the whole fisheye type
18:20
of photography more accessible to the average photographer. And on top of that, it does have
18:25
a slightly brighter maximum aperture of f2.5. Now, obviously it's not nearly as an extreme
18:30
instrument as that Sigma 15 millimeter f1.4, which was the last fisheye lens that I'd reviewed before
18:36
this. But of course it costs a whole lot less. It weighs nearly a third of the weight. And so at
18:43
the end of the day it is a much more accessible lens and so if you have been intrigued with the
18:48
idea of playing around with fisheye for different purposes but you're maybe put off by the idea of
18:54
a fully manual lens that has no xf data and no easy manual focus aids with it i think that this
19:02
is a lens that might just be your perfect gateway into fisheye type photography i'm certainly glad
19:08
to see 7 Artisons branching out and giving us something unique and different here. And, you know
19:14
while the price is a little bit higher than the average 7 Artisons lens, in the big scheme of
19:19
things, it's still quite affordable. If you want more information, you can check out my full text
19:24
review, which is linked in the description down below. As always, thanks for watching. Have a great
19:28
day and let the light in. Thank you