Bokeh fanatics love their wide-aperture lenses that can turn backgrounds into nothing more than gooey swaths of colors, but they know those capabilities are generally not cheap. So, is there something to be said for a sub-$200 lens with an ultra-wide aperture of f/1.2? This great video takes a look at just such a lens.
Coming to you from Christopher Frost Photography, this excellent video review takes a look at the 7artisans Photoelectric 35mm f/1.2 lens. At $145 (for a wide range of APS-C formats, with an f/1.4 version available for full frame), the 7artisans lens is well past inexpensive and into the realm of remarkably cheap, making it an intriguing option for lots of shooters looking for shallow depth of field or lots of low-light capabilities. As you might be unsurprised to hear, the lens is manual focus, though the assistance features of modern mirrorless cameras certainly make using it a bit easier. The lens comes with features like a multi-layer coating to reduce flares and ghosting and nine rounded diaphragm blades for smooth bokeh. Of course, while it won’t win any awards of outstanding sharpness, it is still a very interesting piece of glass. Check out the video above for Frost’s full thoughts.