7artisans has been teasing the launch of a new lens – and I have been trying to work out what it is from the limited information provided by the silhouetted image and the Chinese writing.
The first thing that's clear is that this will be second lens in 7artisan's MAX range. The first was the AF 135mm f/1.8 Max – a fast, metal-bodied autofocus prime for Sony, Nikon, and L-mount full-frame mirrorless cameras. It is safe to assume that the newest addition will also be a fast prime and available in these three mounts.
If you use Google to decipher the characters, you then get this rough translation "Automatic ultra wide-angle. A new starting point." The petal-shaped lens hood in the image also reaffirms this is a super-side lens – as is the suggestion that it would be a good lens for astrophotography.
Reading on, the teaser says "The secret will be revealed soon", and then adds the enigmatic last line, "In its eyes, there are no right angles."
I might be reading too much into this, but to me this strongly suggests this is a fisheye lens - ie non-rectilinear prime that purposely doesn't correct for distorted lines in order to fit more into the frame.
Rumor site Asobinet.com additionally tells us that the model number for this new lens 012456 - and that these six digits will contain both the focal length of the lens, and its maximum aperture. It offers 10mm f/4, 12mm f/4 or 14mm f/2 as possibilities – all of which could easily be diagonal (non-circular) fisheye lenses of the type I am imagining.
What we also know is that the first Max lens was competitively priced… The 7artisans AF 135mm f/1.8 Max is now on sale for $689/£615 in Sony FE, Nikon Z, or L-mount fittings.
Hopefully we really will get full details soon…
