Updated: 7Artisans Launches Affordable 50mm f/1.4 Tilt-Shift Lens
7Artisans has announced an exciting new prime lens, a tilt-shift 50mm f/1.4 for mirrorless cameras, including those with E, X, and Micro Four Thirds mounts. On a full-frame camera, it has a 50mm focal length, while it is equivalent to 75mm and 100mm on Fujifilm X and Micro Four Thirds cameras, respectively.
Update 4/19: Pergear has reversed course. The 7Artisans 50mm f/1.4 Tilt-Shift lens is an APS-C lens, after all. 7Artisans’ comment saying it could be used on a full-frame Sony E-mount camera was saying that it can be used any E-mount camera, not that it covers the full-frame image area.
Update 4/18: Although 7Artisans still lists the lens as an APS-C lens on its website, online shop, Amazon storefront, and on YouTube, the company has commented online that the lens is, in fact, a full-frame lens. The story has been updated to reflect this new information.
As for the lens itself, 7Artisans’s marketing is focused primarily on creating exceptionally shallow depth-of-field images with “miniature” effects, a capability unique to tilt-shift lenses. However, it is also worth noting that tilt lenses can also go to the other extreme and capture photos and videos with a vast depth of field. Tilt-shift lenses can also help keep straight lines straight, even when pointed up or down, making tilt-shift optics a popular choice among architectural photographers.
While Canon EOS R and Nikon Z shooters can adapt existing Canon and Nikon tilt-shift DSLR lenses, respectively, Sony, Fujifilm, OM System, and Panasonic have never released a tilt-shift lens for their mirrorless camera systems, making 7Artisans’ new optic a distinctive but not unique offering.
A TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 tilt-shift lens is also available. Despite the similar name, 7Artisans and TTArtisan are not the same company. The TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 Tilt lens is available for E, X, and Micro Four Thirds cameras, plus Z, RF, and L-mount cameras. So that is something to keep in mind. The TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 Tilt is $199.
Returning to the new 7Artisans lens, it includes seven lens elements arranged across six groups. It has a 12-bladed aperture diaphragm and weighs 364 grams (12.8 ounces). Like all other tilt-shift lenses, it is a manual focus lens, and its aperture is also controlled manually via a dedicated aperture control ring.
The 7Artisans 50mm f/1.4 Tilt lens is available now for Sony E, Fujifilm X, and Micro Four Thirds mirrorless cameras. The lens is $226, although if purchased through Pergear, it’s available for 10% off using the discount code “7AR50MMF1.4TILT.” The discount code expires on April 30, 2024.
Image credits: 7Artisans
