7Artisans MF 35mm f/1.4

This is a manual-focus 35mm prime for APS-C mirrorless cameras, introduced in 2021. It comes in Canon EF-M, Canon RF, Fujifilm X, Micro Four Thirds, Nikon Z and Sony E versions. Pick the one made for your system.

On APS-C, 35mm gives a natural, walk-around view. That suits street photography, candid portraits and everyday indoor scenes. The bright f/1.4 maximum aperture keeps it working when light runs short.

The trade-off is focusing. You set distance by hand on the focus ring, with no autofocus, so it rewards deliberate framing over fast-moving subjects.

The Canon EF-M version weighs 8 oz (228 g) and is 1.66 in (42.2 mm) long. It barely registers on a small camera. Other mount versions differ. It scores 57/100 on our physical specification measures.

Every version takes a 49mm screw-in filter at the front thread. One filter can therefore serve every mount version of this lens.

On APS-C, 35mm behaves as a standard lens. You can frame a head-and-shoulders portrait by stepping close, or a whole café corner by stepping back. It also frames small rooms and table groups without crowding. That working distance suits relaxed, unposed pictures of people. Moving yourself, rather than a zoom ring, sets the composition.

At f/1.4 the lens takes in a lot of light. Indoors, in restaurants or after dark, you can keep ISO low rather than raise it. Backlit evening street scenes stay within reach without a tripod. The same setting throws backgrounds well out of focus, separating a portrait subject from a busy street.

Nine aperture blades help out-of-focus highlights stay round as you stop down. Evening streetlights and shop windows therefore render as soft circles, not obvious polygons. Stopped to f/2 or f/2.8, depth of field also grows, so more of the subject stays crisp.

Close focus sits at 1.1 ft (35 cm), so tabletop subjects, plants and small details stay within easy reach. At that distance, wide open, backgrounds fall away quickly around a still-life arrangement. The EF-M version's maximum magnification is 0.13x; figures for other mounts differ.

This lens has no image stabilization. In dim light, the f/1.4 aperture is your tool instead, because a wide opening allows a faster shutter speed at the same exposure. In daylight, the omission rarely matters.

There is no weather sealing, so rain, spray and dust call for care. A fluorine coating is absent too, so the front element does not shed water or smudges on its own, and gentle cleaning matters.

For handheld video, no stabilization means every small movement shows in the frame. A tripod or a braced stance fills the gap when the light drops further.

Inside are 8 elements arranged in 5 groups, a straightforward layout for a fast 35mm prime. The Canon EF-M version uses no aspherical or low-dispersion glass, so all eight of its elements are conventional spherical types. Other mount versions differ.