Lens 7ARTISANS 35mm F2 for Leica M (LM)

Group of Chinese camera enthusiasts gathered together for a dinner in Summer 2015. They were discussing their passions over the dinner table. Some were interested in optical design, while others were more skilled at running factory production lines, and one was an avid Leica lens collector. Everyone participated came to same conclusion; “If we involve our skills and work together, we can create new original camera lenses.” That is how 7Artisans Project began.

At the early stages, many different people joined the project gradually forming the initial team. It expected to be long journey to reach their dream. That story began with testing prototypes and identifying problems, improving the design as well as streamlining assembly and identifying further issues. We used the opportunities to fix problems as a way of further improvement of our ideas. Try and error cycles never stopped.

Years passed since our initial prototype. By September 2016 we reached a total of 100 mass production unit samples of the 50mm f/1.1 lens. We originally started with many members, but part of them left the project due to long product development cycle. By the time production completed only 7 members remained.

And now each production packaging of the 50mm f/1.1 lens says, “7Artisans (Chinese: Seven Craftsmen)”. This is in honour of the members who believed in the project from the beginning and embodied the spirit of "Craftsmen". For this confidence and determination, we are named 7Artisans.