New old add: 7Artisans 25mm f1.8

I’ve just mounted the 7artisans 25mm f/1.8 on my Sony a6000, and before even pressing the shutter for the first time, I already feel this is a different kind of relationship.

I did have the same lens (not completely the same becuase this appears to be a second edition) mounted on the Fujifilm XPro2. This lens is completely manual: no autofocus, no electronic communication, no excuses. Just glass, metal, and my hands. The experience is stripped down, raw, and that’s exactly why I wanted it.

On the APS-C sensor of my Sony a6000 the 25mm translates into about a 37.5mm equivalent, which sits right between classic 35mm reportage and the “normal” 40mm field of view. I like that: it feels natural for street work, slightly intimate but still wide enough to include atmosphere.

I bought it with one purpose in mind: work in hyperfocal. The plan is simple: stop down to f/8 or f/11, set infinity on the depth-of-field scale, and forget about focusing. Everything from roughly a meter and a half to infinity will be sharp enough. It’s a return to the zone-focus discipline of the old days, when cameras didn’t help you and you had to know your tool, your distance, and your timing. I learn a lot by working that way. And it gives you a nice taste in knowing that you focused manually.

What excites me most is the tactility. The aperture clicks, the focus ring’s resistance, the engraved distance scale: all of it invites me to slow down and take ownership of the process. This isn’t about speed or convenience, it’s about being present.

I haven’t yet taken a single photo with it. That will come. For now, this is just a first contact, like shaking hands with someone you know will be a travel companion. Soon I’ll take it out into the streets of Mexico City, let it breathe, and see how it translates light and chaos into images.

Sometimes a lens isn’t just a piece of gear: it’s a way of forcing yourself back into a state of awareness. I think this little 7artisans might be exactly that.