Why This 135mm f/1.8 Might Be the Year's Biggest Surprise

A 135mm f/1.8 that retails for under $1,000 is not something you expect to perform like a premium lens. The 7Artisans 135mm f/1.8 for L-Mount does exactly that, and it changes the math for anyone who has wanted this focal length but balked at the cost.

Pav SZ tested the 7Artisans 135mm f/1.8 on the Lumix S1II, with quick checks on the S5II, S5IIX, and S9. Every photo in the video came from the S1II. The lens is also available for Sony E and Nikon Z. Wide open, it's sharp enough that stepping down for critical detail never felt necessary, and the contrast and color hold up against far more expensive glass. The bokeh leans slightly swirly, closer to a vintage character than the clinical rendering you get from modern premium primes.

That character extends to the flaring, which he frames as the lens' biggest quirk. Shoot toward bright light sources and you can pull rainbow-like flares that some people will hate and others will chase. Chromatic aberration is almost nonexistent, which is notable given how often it shows up in lenses costing much more. The 12 aperture blades produce a distinct 12-point starburst when stopped down, and the minimum focusing distance of 68 cm lets you get close enough for near-macro shots. The tradeoff is that focus has a long way to travel between its closest point and infinity, so autofocus can hunt a little, though he describes this as normal behavior for a lens like this.

The build is all metal and hard plastic, weighs just over 1 kg, and carries an 82mm filter thread, a manual aperture ring with clicks, a focus mode switch, a function button, and a USB-C port for firmware updates. Weather-sealing sits at the mount only. On the Lumix bodies, changing the aperture produces an audible clunk during stills and video, which matters if you're recording audio on-camera. Pav points out that at 135mm your subject sits far enough away that an on-camera mic wouldn't capture much of them anyway, so the noise is more irritation than dealbreaker. For video, there's no visible focus breathing, which is rare at this price and one of the stronger reasons to consider the lens for filmmaking.

The wider story here is what happens when a third-party maker outside the L-Mount Alliance ships a lens this good before the companies inside it do. 7Artisans beat Viltrox to a 135mm for L-Mount, and the Sigma 135mm f/1.8 DG DN Art, long the default choice, is both bigger and heavier at around 1,200 g, plus it's more expensive. The pattern mirrors what happened with 50mm and 35mm primes over the past few years, where budget-friendly options from independent brands pushed a focal length from specialist territory into everyday reach. If you've treated 135mm as a lens you'd rent or borrow rather than own, this release is the kind that shifts a focal length from wishlist to shelf. It fits portrait shooters who want compression and separation without committing to a four-figure purchase, and it makes the most sense for people who love the look but don't shoot it daily.

Pav is clear about where the Sigma still wins. For high-end commercial work, he'd reach for it. For quality portraits at a fraction of the cost, he sees no reason to look past the 7Artisans, and he calls it the first lens from the brand that puts them alongside Viltrox and Lumix rather than in the budget-okay category with their earlier 24mm, 85mm, and 50mm autofocus efforts. Watch the video above to see the flares, the bokeh, and the near-macro shots that pushed him to recommend it.