Atcs TV viewers it's Dave from the Camera store today we're going wide and Economical this is the seven artists in 12 millimeter 2.8 version 2. [Music] [Music] Hey thanks for joining us today this is The seven Artisans 12 millimeter 2.8 Version 2 lens for aps-c size sensors Now when you think Ultra wide angle Lenses we often think architecture and Big sunsets and cloudscapes and that Kind of stuff so we decided to explore Downtown here and capture some really Cool architecture photos hopefully it's A nice big buildings really show off the Capabilities of this lens now we're Going to talk about image quality and What to expect when using this lens but First let's talk about the lens itself It's build quality what to expect when You're actually using it as I mentioned At the start this is a very economical Lens I mean it's coming in about 200 Canadian so I really don't have high Expectations as far as build quality Goes but I'm pleasantly surprised when I Get my hands on a seven Artisan lens What we're finding is that this lens is Relatively small but quite dense it's Only 66 centimeters long or just a Little over two and a half inches at About 70 centimeters wide with this Filter ring we do have a really nice
Knurled focusing ring that goes from 0.15 meters all the way to Infinity with About a 90 degree throw so you can Quickly go from one to the other just Quite nice because this is a manual Focus lens of course now closest to the Body we do have an aperture ring that Takes us from F 2.8 of course all the Way up to F-16 now is a clickless Aperture and I would prefer the option To be able to click or declip yes I get It it's a very economical lens but I Would spend the extra 10 honestly if They put a clickable or d-clickable Switch on this lens and make it that Much more effective something that's new And improved in my opinion over the Original 12 millimeter is the integrated Filter ring this is a 67 millimeter Filter ring the older generation lens You'd have to have an additional Attachment from Seven Artisans to attach To the lens to put filters on with this Lens it's built right in it's fully Metal allows you to put 67 millimeter Filters on great if you want to run NDS Or circular polarizers and finally the Weight of this lens is really quite nice It's only 300 grams and it balances very Nicely today of course we're using this Lens on the Fujifilm xd5 but it is Available for Nikon Zed Mount Canon RF Mount micro four thirds and Sony e-mount As well it's nice to have this option
For multiple different lens mounts now Keep in mind that this is a fully manual Lens meaning there's no electronic Contacts between this lens and your Camera body in the case of this xd5 I Had to set it up go through the menu Systems find where it says shoot without Lens because the camera doesn't Recognize that there's even a lens Attached to it that means there's no Metadata except what you can store in Your camera as far as shutter speed and ISO now of course we know what the focal Length is but the aperture is not Recorded So if I want to recreate my Settings I have to do it by memory is What I'm working with so now let's get To what we all want to find out about How good is this economical 200 Canadian Lens let's check out the image quality And run some fast all right so when it Comes to image quality what can we Expect from this very economical lens I Mean I have to keep reminding myself This is a 200 Canadian lens what can we Expect for it especially when wide angle Lenses are some of the toughest to Manufacture and design well I can tell You that the image quality is good but I Can't call it great if you take a look At these sample images here of me shot Against the wall here this is at F 2.8 And you see the center sharpness is good But it's not great and the edges fall
Off fairly harsh except especially when You go to the extreme Corners now if you Stop it down to f8 we certainly see Noticeable Improvement between both the Center and the edges now something that I'm kind of surprised about with the Generation 2 of this lens is a step down In aperture blades we went from seven Aperture blades down to five with this Particular lens and they're not circular So your sun stars are okay looking but They're not great and when it comes to Depth of field with this lens it is an Ultra wide angle lens so depth of field Is very very broad but as you get much Closer and minimum focusing distance you Can get some very sort of pleasing bokeh It's good and once again it's not great The other big issue with more economical Lenses is how they deal with chromatic Aberration I'm actually pleasantly Surprised with this I I thought it'd be Significantly worse than it is if you Take a look at this sort of torture test Example here when we're shooting Chrome Or that difference between light and Dark is Extreme it's not nearly as bad As I thought it would be the other big Factor when it comes to shooting Ultra Wide angle lenses is how badly they are Distorted how straight your lines are From one side to the other and once Again I'm actually pleasantly surprised With how good this lens is it especially
Since there's no in-camera correction That you would get if you were running An original manufacturer lens the one Thing I'm finding is that I love the Fact that there's a 67 millimeter filter Thread on here keeps the camera nice and Small and allows me to run things like Neutral density filters which I love for Slowing the action down a lot for Waterfalls and cloudscapes and that kind Of stuff I am finding though if you're Going to run a polarizer be very Cautious because the polarization effect Will vary from one side of the frame to The other this lens does cover 100 Degree angle so your polarization effect Is going to change from one side of the Frame to the other to be very cautious When you're using with a circular Polarizer for me I'm finding it I love It with an indie this lens is available In multiple different mounts however We're going to concentrate on the Fuji One today the reason is I want to show a Comparison between what your options are And in fujifilm's case you have a couple Options for wide angles we don't have a Wide angle Prime but we do have the very Popular 10 to 24 F4 lens we give up a Little bit of light Gathering capability We have the very impressive 8 to 16 F 2.8 lens we're going to concentrate on The top and why not we have a lens That's worth 10 times the amount of this
Seven Artisan lens at about two thousand Dollars Canadian but it's an 8 to 16 F 2.8 aperture lens now significantly Bigger than the seven Artisan lens but What is the difference what are you Going to achieve when you shoot one side By side take a look at these two shots Side by side but the 8 to 16 versus the Seven Artisan lens and you can see There's a drastic difference in Sharpness and it's even more apparent if You go up into the corners and it only Gets better when we stop it down to f8 With both these lenses here there is a Dramatic difference between image Quality between these now keep in mind We're talking about a 200 lens versus a Two thousand dollar lens so it's a bit Of an unfair our comparison I mean the Fujifilm 8 to 16 lens is literally 10 Times the value of the seven Artisan Lens so I wanted to be able to show you The difference between what a good lens Is what a great lens is and see for Yourself what to expect when using it so Overall what do I think of this lens Well I had to keep reminding myself that This is a very economical lens it's only 200 Canadian but I'm feeling I'm getting A more than a 200 experience out of it I Have to admit I'm actually having a lot More fun than I thought I'd be with I Mean that 12 millimeter Ultra wide angle Viewpoint works really well downtown
Here we have these great buildings and Behind me for instance are a couple Structures here that are really popular With photographers I like the framing I Like the Viewpoint of this lens even Though the quality isn't as good as I Have with other options but kind of Refreshing to use a lens that is folding Manual I don't have to worry about Autofocus for instance I can just I have To focus myself I have to work a little Bit harder for the shot but I think you Have to look at this lens as a very fun Lens if you occasionally need an ultra Wide angle lens you have an option with This lens and it delivers good results But if you're going to use it for more Professional needs I would certainly Invest that extra money in the higher Quality Optics I of course want to know What you guys think of this lens does This 12 millimeter 2.8 appeal to you Whatsoever at any price are you willing To spend more money to get a higher Quality optic now make sure you leave Comments down below follow us on Instagram and please subscribe hit the Notification Bell we'll catch you again Next time Thank you [Music] Hey thanks for checking out this episode If you want to check out more of our Recent content click up here and if
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