If you have the itch for a Helios 44-2 but own an APS-C camera, the 7artisans 35mm F1.2 Mark II is your best bet. It has everything a Helios 44-2 aficionado would want: swirly bokeh, tons of flaring and ghosting, and equivalency of a 58mm at F2 if slightly crop. What’s better is that it even comes with a 12-month manufacturer’s warranty.
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Regardless of sensor size or autofocus capability, large aperture lenses come with a hefty price tag. For example, the Voigtlander Nokton 35mm F1.2 Aspherical SE, a manual focus lens for APS-C sensors, retails for $749. However, 7artisans offers a very similar lens to the Voigtlander, the 35mm F1.2 Mark II, for only $139. This significant price difference suggests that the 7artisans lens probably won’t match Voigtlander’s quality, but in which areas and by how much? Will it still be good enough for most use cases?
| THE GOOD | THE BAD |
| – Small and light – Low price – Swirly bokeh | – Irritating lens cap – Focus throw too short – Below-average image quality |
Design
The 7artisans 35mm f/1.2 Mark II is a compact lens with an all-metal construction. It weighs just 218 grams but feels quite solid in hand. Due to its small size, the focus and aperture rings cover most of the lens body. The focus ring has distance markings in both feet and meters. Interestingly, while my lens has both markings in white paint, I’ve seen photos online where the feet markings are in red. I’m not sure why this difference exists, but I wish mine also had red paint for the feet markings. Behind the focus distance markings are the hyperfocal distance markers. These are especially handy for street photography. For example, according to the hyperfocal distance markers, setting the aperture to F16 and the focus distance to about 1.8 meters allows everything from 1 meter to infinity to be in focus. The aperture ring also has markings for each stop and clicks at every stop as you rotate it.
Usability
There are a couple of issues stemming from its compact size. First is the mounting problem. Since most of the body is covered by either the focus ring or the aperture ring, you have to grab one of the rings to mount the lens. I found it more comfortable to grab the aperture ring, which results in the aperture being set to F22 every time I mount the lens. Additionally, applying pressure during the mounting process has caused the aperture ring to loosen over time. While the ring is still perfectly functional, it raises concerns about the lens’ longevity.
The second issue is related to the lens cap. It’s designed to slip onto the front of the lens barrel, rather than clip on like most normal ones. Although I’ve had positive experiences with slip-on lens caps before (e.g., first-generation Leica 50mm Sumicron, Fujifilm X100 series, and a few more), the 7artisans 35mm F1.2 Mark II is different. This lens does not internally focus, so the lens barrel moves in and out as you rotate the focus ring. When the focus distance is set to 2 meters or more, the lens barrel doesn’t stick out far enough to hold the lens cap in place. You’ll either risk losing the lens cap or need to adjust the focus distance every time you put it on. Consequently, I’ve developed the habit of tucking the lens cap away during a shoot and only putting it back on when the whole session is completely over. Thanks, 7artisans… I think.
There are a few more issues, such as the focus throw being too short, which makes perfect focus difficult, and the minimum focus distance being less than ideal at only 35cm. However, these issues are mere annoyances and don’t pose a serious problem to the lens’ intended uses.
Image Quality – Contrast and Sharpness
The image quality of the 7artisans 35mm F1.2 Mark II is quite a mixed bag. Center at F1.2, both the contrast and sharpness are notably low, especially at close distances, where it looks as if a smearing filter has been applied. As with any lens, stopping down the aperture improves image quality, and by F2, it falls into the adequate range. While further stopping down the aperture enhances both sharpness and contrast, it never reaches the so-called “clinically sharp” level.
The image quality also improves as you step away from the subject. At portrait distance (about 1.5 meters), contrast and sharpness at the center becomes usable even at the widest aperture. Corner follows a similar pattern, but you’d need to stop down past F4 for acceptable quality. Overall, the lens’s contrast and sharpness is okay, as long as you avoid wide-open aperture at close range.
Image Quality – Chromatic Aberration, Geometric Distortion and Vignetting
Longitudinal chromatic aberration, while almost impossible to fix in post-processing, is not a problem with this lens, but lateral chromatic aberration (purple fringing) is. While purple fringing is quite easy to fix with in post-processing, it’s still an extra step of work, and there are many people that doesn’t do any post-processing. Best to avoid high contrast scenes when using this lens.
Standard (also called “normal”; generally 24~40mm range for APS-C) focal length lenses often have very good geometric distortion control, but that is not the case with this lens. While it is not severe, barrel distortion is apparent in scenes with many straight lines. Vignetting is something common among small fast primes and that is also the case with 7artisans 35mm F1.2 Mark II. There is some vignetting at F1.2 which I personally find pleasing. If you don’t want any vignetting though, F5.6 and onwards got you covered.
Image Quality – Flaring, Ghosting and Sunstar
Out of flaring, ghosting and sunstar, let’s start with the better one: the sunstar. Despite the 10 rounded aperture blades, the sunstar produced by this lens isn’t that bad. The spikes have a nice shape with edges being a bit blunt and lacking definition. If a scene could benefit from a sunstar, then I would close the aperture to F16 for sunstar in exchange of loss in sharpness. Then again, I might just give up taking photo in such a scene, because this lens has a serious ghosting problem. Like, A SERIOUS GHOSTING problem. It produces enormous purple blob when you point it towards the sun, and that is the trade-off for a $139 brand new F1.2 lens. Flaring is also an issue, greatly reducing contrast when a strong light source is near the edges or just outside of the frame.
Image Quality – Bokeh
So this lens has bad ergonomics, bad contrast and sharpness at close distance, corner sharpness is not that great at any distance, has lots of purple fringing, even has barrel distortion, ghosting just punches you in the face and flaring makes every noted problem even worse, but who cares? In the end, the only thing that is going to matter is BOKEH—the real draw of this lens. In short, the bokeh of the 7artisans 35mm F1.2 Mark II is full of swirls. In the center, bokeh balls are round with soft edges. As you move towards the corners, the aperture shape gradually transforms into a cat’s eye that spins around the frame. This creates a beautiful swirly bokeh effect, reminiscent of the post WW2 lenses such as the Helios 44-2.
Is the bokeh good? Yes, but be mindul of the swirl. Swirly bokeh can be fun, especially with specular highlights in the background, but it can also make viewers feel dizzy if the subject isn’t placed in the center of the frame. A portfolio with the subject only in the center? That is going to get boring pretty fast, unless you are Wes Anderson, though he would just use F16 for all the shots which makes bokeh quality irrelevant. While the bokeh is unique, it does limit the lens’s usage.
Overall
Generally, standard focal length lenses are great for most types of photography due to their atural look and excellent image quality. However, the 7artisans 35mm F1.2 Mark II doesn’t quite fit that mold. This lens is full of character that mimics pre-1980s lenses, and its optical design makes it clear: this lens is essentially a modern Zeiss Biotar clone.
I wouldn’t recommend this as your first, second, or even third lens. However, if you already have a solid collection of modern autofocus lenses and want to add a vintage-style portrait lens, then 7artisans 35mm F1.2 Mark II is worth considering. Personally, I prefer better sharpness and eye-AF over swirly bokeh, so I was ready to let this one go.
However, I have found a new use for this lens and that is video. For some reason, people have started to call lenses with lots of ghosting, flaring and swirly bokeh as cinematic and it has raised the popularity of vintage galss, such as Helios 44-2, in the recent years. While the Helios 44-2 would be equivalent to 87mm on APS-C, making it too long for general use, the 7artisan 35mm F1.2 Mark II sits perfectly. It is the perfect Helios 44-2 alternative for APS-C video shooters.
Alternatives
Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC DN : $314.00
The all-around best standard prime lens for APS-C sensors, available in most mirrorless mount. It’s compact, offers smooth bokeh, and delivers excellent sharpness corner to corner. My top choice over over first-party options for any mount.
Sony E 35mm F1.8 OSS : $423.00
The first-party option for Sony APS-C cameras. It’s a bit slower than the Sigma, but features OSS, which can be useful for bodies without IBIS, though I didn’t find it particularly beneficial on my A6400. Also, this lens has minor, but noticeable longitudinal chromatic abberation. So you’d really want OSS to go with this lens over the Sigma.
Sony FE 35mm F1.8 : $648.00
The Sony FE 35mm F1.8 is designed for full-frame cameras, but it’s just as compact as an APS-C lens and works great on APS-C bodies. If you intend to use both full-frame and APS-C Sony cameras, it’s a good option, though pricey – you could almost buy the Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC DN and first-generation Samyang 35mm F1.4 for the same price.
