I've been using 7Artisans' Infinte cine lenses and I'm shocked

Cine lenses can be prohibitively expensive to own, one of the reasons for a lively rental market. The last few years have seen the beginnings of change, though, with a number of manufacturers producing cine glass at reasonable costs, at least for the smaller production houses and keen hobbyists.

7Artisans has a long reputation for making good quality photography lenses at the budget end of the scale, and they have had some success with super35 cine lenses too, so I was very keen to get to grips with their new Infinte cine lenses (spelled Infinity on their website but Infinte on the hardware). I’ve spent some time with the standard set, consisting of a 35mm, 50 mm, and 85mm, all at T2.1. To note, I’ve been using the PL set with an adapter for my L-mount Pyxis.

7Artisans Infinte: Specifications

7Artisans Infinte: Price

The Infinte lenses vary in price a little, starting at $719 / £650 for the 50mm and topping out at $889 / £796 for the 16mm (which is also a T2.5 lens), although you can make some savings by opting for one of the sets. No matter which lens or set you choose, the price is very competitive. They are available to preorder directly from 7Artisans or major camera resellers.

7Artisans Infinte: Design & Handling

First thing to note is that, as you’d expect, all three lenses share the same look and feel; however, the 85mm is a couple of millimeters longer. It doesn’t affect rigging and the gearing for both iris and focus, line up for those using a follow focus.

Construction is all metal, with a slightly textured surface and deeply embossed markings. Speaking of which, the Infinite lenses have both metric and imperial measurements, and all markings have a nice bright white, making them visible in all conditions.

Lens caps are metal, friction fit, covering the 82mm filter thread. You’ll also find support mounting threads on both the top and bottom of each lens, although they probably won’t be used by many, unless used with heavier clip-on matte boxes, but nice to have.

7Artisans talk about their micron construction, and I’ve no way to measure this, but everything feels very well put together. All the materials feel great, and the gearing feels wonderful, with just the right amount of damping. The focus throw is 330degrees, which is ideal for follow focus use, although pulling by hand could be trickier.

These lenses come in either PL or EF mount, with both supplied. They are user-swappable and full metal.

Being all metal, you can expect some weight, and while they’re not light, they aren’t unwieldy at all, in fact giving a feeling of confidence. That little extra heft can be beneficial in certain situations, too. If you’re a handheld shooter, a little weight can reduce microjitters.

It's a pleasant surprise to find some high-quality craftsmanship at this price level. 7Artisans' previous 'Vision' cine lenses were good, but these Infinte lenses feel properly professional.

7Artisans Infinte: Performance

I’ll start here by describing any differences between the lenses, then you can assume that they are all the same from then on. Firstly, the 50mm and 85mm both exhibit the same amount of vignetting, which is noticeable against a plain subject but is gone by T2.8, while the 35mm shows slightly stronger vignetting, which takes about a third of a stop more to clear up.

Sharpness of all three is excellent at all focal lengths in the centre of the frame, with some slight softening at the edges, this time more noticeable on the 35mm, but they all look sharp across the image from T2.8.

Interestingly, while the 35mm and 50mm have a very clean and neutral image, the 85mm is warmer. Whether it is true for all lens sets, I can’t say, but it’s worth mentioning.

The only other difference is chromatic aberration, which is minimal on all three lenses but stronger on the 85mm, towards the corners. It cleans up by T4, at which point all three are equally good.

It’s worth pointing out that these are full-frame lenses, so if you shoot Super35 or crop into your sensor, you will gain excellent results, with great sharpness across the image.

The short clips below show a couple of things. Firstly, the out-of-focus areas and focus falloff which is very pleasing. Secondly, the vignetting, which, when stopped down just a little, cleans up nicely. These were shot at 4K on a Pyxis, with a basic Gen5 to video LUT and no other processing.

Infinte tests - YouTube

Watch On

These lenses aren’t what I call characterful, in a good way. While I like a bit of personality, it can sometimes be beneficial to add that in post, and working from a more clinical starting point means that you can shoot clean. Swirly bokeh, colour casts, and fringing, etc, can all look lovely for the right project, but if they’re baked into your image, it’s much harder to remove.

Speaking of bokeh, the Infinte lenses have very soft, smooth out-of-focus areas. The amount of distortion toward the edge is minimal, so cat's eyes aren’t overly strong here. This may be a little different if you opt for a complete set, as the majority have 11 aperture blades, whereas the 16mm has 10 blades and the 135mm has 17, which may result in slightly different bokeh.

One thing that was on my mind was focus breathing. I had thought that at this price point it might be an area of concern, but there’s barely any on my three lenses, which I’m impressed by. For some, this may not be a concern. Just look at a lot of Netflix narrative content from the last couple of years, and it’s everywhere, so maybe not an issue, but I prefer as little as possible.

I don’t know the science behind lens coatings, so when I read things like nano and anti-glare, I don’t understand the mechanics, but I can certainly see the results, and I’d say what 7Artisans has done here works well. Shooting into the sun, or at glancing angles, doesn’t mean much drop off in contrast. There is some flaring, of course. I doubt that will ever be completely eliminated, but it’s not too intrusive, and when it does happen, it’s actually quite pleasant.

On to the physical performance of this set, and they really are a joy to use. They are substantial but not overly large or weighty, and the quality of the machining is excellent. Both focus and iris rings are silky smooth, and the standard M0.8-pitched gears work flawlessly. I tried a couple of manual follow focus, my DJI Focus Pro, and Tila Nucleus Nano II with no issues whatsoever.

The 82mm filter thread means you can use screw on NDs or a clamp-on mattebox with ease, which is important for me.

All in all, these lenses are superb to use. They are solid while not being unwieldy, operate smoothly, and have details, like dual markings, to ease the life of the operator. Seeing all of this, along with the optical performance at this price, should bring many more filmmakers into the fold for 7Artisans.

7Artisans Infinte: Verdict

A combination of excellent build quality and handling, along with very good image quality, makes these lenses a great option for any filmmaker, especially the small production houses or indie operators who don’t want to stretch to some of the more expensive options out there. They make a lot of sense for owner operators, and building up a set could prove less of an outlay than a single lens from other manufacturers. Sure, they aren’t perfectly sharp at all apertures, and there’s a little inconsistency in certain areas, but they are small compromises that many will be willing to make.

Alternatives

If you don't need full frame coverage then 7Artisans' own Vision cine lenses are a strong budget option

DZOfilm's vespid range is a bit pricier but they are very well thought of.