7Artisans 35mm f/2.8 Review - A modern pancake for LTM and Leica M

In this episode, I review the 7Artisans 35mm f/2.8 which was released in April this year and immediately caught my attention. I was drawn to it because it is offered both for the Leica Thread Mount and the Leica M mount and because it combines modern manufacturing with a vintage double gauss design and compact form factor. Given its price point of only 428 USD I was honestly a bit sceptical at first but reached out to 7Artisans to get a chance to give this lens a try. The brand was kind enough to send me two versions of the lens. One for LTM and one for Leica M so that I can give both a dry run. I am not being paid for this review, just sharing my honest impressions as usual.  7Artisans obviously aims to fill a niche for an ultra-compact, sharp 35mm prime lens tailored for rangefinder enthusiasts. In my perception, the lens directly competes with the Voigtländer lenses that come in a very similar style and form factor. The lens is promoted as being very sharp and well-corrected which makes it particularly interesting for film shooters like myself. Naturally, such a modern lens is also a welcome alternative to a vintage 35mm f/2.8 Summaron or my Sankyo Kohki with similar specs.  The lens is ideal for street photography, traveling and everyday shots. I received the M mount lens in time for my trip to Japan and ended up shooting it in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. The LTM version arrived once I was back home where I took it through its paces on my Canon L2. In Japan, I shot some Ilford FP4 and Fuji Neopan Acros to test its resolution and sharpness as well as some Fujicolor 100. If you would like to purchase this lens and get 5% off, please use the code ANALOGINSIGHTS during checkout here: https://7artisans.store/products/m-35... Gear used: Leica M6 with 7Artisans 35mm f/2.8 (M version) Canon L2 with 7Artisans 35mm f/2.8 (LTM version) Films used: Fuji Across 100 II Fujicolor 100 Ilford FP4 Ilford Delta 400 All films developed and scanned by my trusted ON FILM LAB in Frankfurt: https://onfilmlab.de/ If you enjoy our videos and like to follow us on Instagram, find us here:   / analog_insights