Expensive VS Budget Lens… Can You Tell? 

for the plastic mount thing : I've had the XC 35 pretty much ever since it came out, and I've used it on a lot of different cameras along side other lenses. I'm a prime lens guy, and I change lenses often. There is NO problem with the fact that it's a plastic lens mount. If anything, it just makes the lens lighter and cheaper. There is no tightness issue, no particles coming out of if (funny enough, there is much more micro particles coming out of my metal lens mount lenses since there is a lot more friction with the lens mount itself). When it comes to how strong it is, it's made out of a very strong poly carbonate which is extremely resilient. A friend of mine had this lens on his X-H1 for a roller shot and the camera fell off the car, the plastic lens mount on the lens broke (bent) the metal mount of the X-H1. The only concern that you should have with such a plastic mount is weather sealing. That's all.

I must admit that I prefer the TTartisan images in daylight. There is so much depth in the images, people pop out of the frame. That's really the advantage of simple low element count glass vs expensive lenses that are corrected to death.

I've been shooting with an $80 25mm manual lens for the last year and have really enjoyed the results. It's forced me to slow down, compose and dial in my shots, and the pictures are sharp enough. Sometimes the vignetting is bad, but that's always fixable in post.

I think a lot of people put a lot of focus on how sharp a lens is over how much character it has and how easy it is to use. Especially when you're only posting images on Instagram, you're hardly going to see much of a difference.

Hope to see your thoughts on the Fuji 27mm F2.8 as well.

I bought the TTArtisan 27mm a few months ago and have been very happy with it. The image quality is excellent (I am NOT a pixel peeper) and the build quality is actually very good for the price. At the time, the Fuji version was sold out everywhere and I was able to find a good used unit for around $100. I have no idea how long it will last but I certainly believe I will get more than $100 in value from this lens over the next few years.

been using a Viltrox 23mm f1.4 for video for about a year now. it's a lovely piece of gear - well made and great IQ

Very useful especially about the TT Artisans 27mm. A lot of RU-vid reviews have only hinted at the problems wide open

I own the fuji xc 35mm f2 lens and honestly its a really really good lens. I'm not a pro photographer but I shoot every week and I use it for street photography and portraits, it's an excellent choice.

I absolutely love the TTartisan 25mm f2.0 for its compactness and weight. It was actually my first prime lens and I combined it with a used Sony a5000 (whole bundle was

I shoot indoor events and needed more reach in low light conditions than the Fuji 56mm would produce. I considered the Fuji 90mm f/2 which is close to $1000. I found a Viltrox 85mm f/1.2 at KEH that did everything I needed at a beautiful price.

Very balanced reviews! Good job!

I recently picked up a viltrox 56 and absolutely love it. I also have a 23 on the way and can’t wait to try it out

Thank you for your review Roman! I was considering purchasing TTartisan in the near future and this video is helpful.

Thanks fot the video Roman!

The 27mm TT is my go to fun/light travel lens for my XT3. Yeah, it has really bad vignetting wide open, but I'm actually really happy with the results in most scenarios if I'm just snapping away in full auto mode. I have the Fuji 33mm for when IQ is everything.

Cracking content. Keep it going!!

I agree with your comments about the Viltrox 27mm which I am also now using for macro as you can get really beautiful photos at f1.2 and can hold the lens very close to the subject and still focus. I have been using it on the XH2 which allows me to crop heavier than normal due to the higher resolution so it is an extremely useful all round lens.

Fantastic video, thank you. You defo know your stuff. I have the XC 35, 7artisans 50mm f.95, 7artisans 25mm f1.8, Lawa 65mm f2.8. Plus a selection of 10mm - 400mm range of Fuji X lenses. I love the manual focus lenses the most, for the shooting experience, the image quality is mostly outstanding.

Generally with the budget lenses you compromise on something, either softness in the corners and wide open, weather sealing, quality of autofocus, size, weight and particularly flaring and bokeh. I’d rather buy the quality item once if I wanted a lens to last and the cheaper lenses if I’m on a whim. I’d like the Viltrox 27 for image quality. The dealbreaker is the size and weight.

The Viltrox 75mm F1.2 Pro and 27 1.2 pro are 🔥

Nice info!

Personally I think the compact weather-sealed (WR) primes that Fuji makes are a very nice middle ground between the big, heavy and expensive fast Fuji primes and the cheap plastic off-brands.

Thanku , interesting food for thought

Yes it’s good to try out new equipment, would like to try before buying

Thank you Roman for a very interesting topic as there are so many lens options outside the Fuji brand. Perhaps something to consider is the weather sealing of the lens, as most of the cheaper lenses are not weather sealed: what do you think?

The 7artisans 35mm1.2 mark2 is my favourite lens for when I want to have fun. Especially with the XE1 or XT2

Interesting review especially as I've been considering buying either the Viltrox 75mm f1.2 or a used Fuji 90mm F2, plus the TTartisans 50mm f2 as looks like it could be fun for price.

I tend to buy higher end glass but I will buy 3rd party glass that is suitable for my needs. I think a couple issues need to be kept in mind: what do you shoot and what can you afford. Because of some of things I shoot I need decent low light performance and Viltrox primes are good option for me. For other shots I do a good general purpose zooms is what I need. Plus I do some macro photography so a good macro lens is needed.

The Fuji LM WR lineup may be more expensive than Viltrox Pro 1.2 lineup, however: 1. You can and should get them used 2. They are significantly lighter 3. The 18 1.4 is just a wonder lens barely having any competitors However I hope Fuji will get even more competition because the customer wins!

when you have latest and greatest best of the best - you can’t blame the gear and you can’t hide behind lack of gear. If you suck - you just suck. You must then try to get better. Thats my approach:) Otherwise I saw myself always complaining “oh if only I had X, and if only I had Y…” No - now I have it and where is the best of the best photos? Oh I still can’t deliver? Then get better!:)

I am SUPER impressed with Viltrox as a cost effective quality lens. I agree that I wish they were able to put all that quality into a smaller lighter package. I shoot nikon and for the street work I'm using their 24mm 1.7 DX and sometimes the 12-28mm 3.5-5.6 but I hae the Viltrox 18mm 1.4 for when size and weight isn't a factor and have been highly impressed. great video !

Ultimately it’s the ability of the photographer that matters most.

The 25 mm has amazing 3d pop on zeiss level due to field curvature at wide open, one of my fav lenses

Thanks for your gear review sacrifice Roman. Know you don't like them too much. Nonetheless, I enjoyed hearing your opinion on that topic.

At first, getting a Fuji lens meant getting autofocus. I had picked up an inexpensive manual focus lens when I first got my camera but I wasn't confident or quick enough to photograph the way I wanted to - "instantly" lol. Now I'm in a place where I am both more confident with manual focusing and able to find highly reputed third-party lenses with autofocus. So I have more options. I just traded in my Fuji 50mm f2, which took great pictures and was light and on and on but which I never was able to connect with, for a Viltrox 13mm f1.4. It's so new that I'm still at the "ooh, look at how wide!" stage but the sample images I saw around the internet were really appealing. Hoping I can make some of those fine images myself before too long!

One important thing here is the lens character. Sometimes we may prefer the look of a less accurate (and cheaper) lens. On other occasions, a precise and more clinical performance is desired, and we usually pay a premium for that. That's why some people also invest in vintage lenses, they're cheap and provide a variety of character.

Sur mon XT5, j'utilise souvent le Fuji 27mm F2.8 et les sigma 56mm 1.4 / 10-18mm 2.8. J'en suis très satisfait

I just bought a TTArtisans 28 mm f/5.6 M-mount lens and it feels ridiculously good, like a solid piece of brass. I love my Voigtlander and Leica lenses but some of these budget lenses are amazing for the price. Not exactly budget except when compared with Leica, but the Light Lens Lab stuff is great, too.

I've been incredibly happy with the 13mm Viltrox, it's sharp as anything and such an INTERESTING focal length. Been much LESS happy with my XC 35mm, the lack of Aperture ring makes it much less fun to shoot with, which means I'm just not reaching for it as often as anything else.

It’s fantastic to have all those budget options around, especially the Viltrox lenses really rival the Fujis at a much lower cost. I disagree with your assumption about a huge gap between linear and stepper motors, though. Most reviewers overemphasise the speed difference, rather than evaluating accuracy in which both systems perform great. I get a very similar hit rate on my linear motor driven Fuji lenses as I do on the stepper motor Viltrox lenses.

I would love to hear your opinion about the Fuji 27mm F2.8, preferably in a comparison to the Voigtländer 27mm F2 :) One of those will likely be my next lens for when I don't want to care the 18mm and the 35mm.

I bought 2 vintage MF lenses for a fiver each today in Oxfam - a 28mm and a 135mm, now just got to get an adaptor for my Z6!

The Viltrox 13mm is highly regarded for video… I also have the TTArtisan 27mm 2.8. I hear the AF motors are actually more quiet than Fuji

the 25f2 ttartisans really is a banger for the price

Would you say it’s worth it using my old Nikkor lenses with an adapter on an XT-5? Thinking of switching from my Nikon d7000 slr to this and was wondering if I could use my 50 mm f1.8 for a start before replacing it with a proper Fuji one.

The TTArtisan 27mm f2.8 is indeed challenging wide up, but it is mostly metal, not plastic.

I've got the ttartisan 50f2 manual lens which is an identical look with the 25mm. Then bought the Voigtlander afterwards. And honestly, didn't feel more premium in build quality on Voigtlander at all.

the TTartisans 25mm f2 is such a steal if you are not a pixel peeper

Viltrox 27mm is totally different than other lens you mentioned in video, it is probably the sharpest prime for XF now, if not then the sharpest is Viltrox 75

Did the TT Artisan 25mm f/2 come with that focus tab? Mine doesn't have one and I'm a bit confused as I can't find reference to one anywhere

Random fact: Today I had the most fun using a FD 28mm f2.8 fully manual vintage lens (used on a crop sensor, so it was around 44mm eq) Old glass is both budget and hi quality (pros of the time were using these lenses, if it was good enough for them, I'll be more than enough for me)

I like the form factor of my ttartisan 27mm but the colors look weird, that lens definitely has a look :/ If I had the money I definitely would buy the Viltrox 27mm f/1.2 🤤

"Quality is Remembered, Long after Price is Forgotten" Aldo Gucci.

Those manual lenses are also great for zone focus as they are not focus by wire

Where are you guys finding budget lens? I use a Sony and i genuinely can't find budget lens outside Tamron or equivalent.

... which makes the selection process all the more about "What do I need?", "What are my use cases?", "Which limitations do I set as acceptable?" and --- research! Nothing easy or shortcut about it. (sigh). Thank you for your checking these examples and your insights.

The exposure definitely does not match in your examples of night photograph. We now these lens have aberration wide open but the photos are overexposed......

Why don’t you shoot with the GFX system?

I always buy the top line Fuji lenses. I have a good range of focal lengths now and am perfectly happy with them. I was considering the Viltrox 75mm f1.2 but in the end, after watching many videos, went for the Fuji XF90mm f2 instead. And I love it. Not ruling out the Viltrox completely. Someday I'm sure it'll be added to my collection. Admitted some of the cheaper lenses have what you call artifacts when wide open. I think there's something to be said for that though. There is character in it that some might like.

A worthwhile review Roman, real usage as opposed to the lab test type. I suppose the XC lenses may have to be new as opposed to used regarding the lens mount wear and tear.

There is a lot more that goes into a good lens than autofocus and how sharp and image is wide open. Contrast, distortion, flare, coma levels, chromatic aberration, vignette, minimum close focus performance, and the list goes on and on and on. The thing that really tick’s me off is how bad majority of Fuji lenses are! And they are not cheap! 33mm f1.4 and 18mm f1.4 are decent, but that rest are very very average. If you have experience with Sony or canon glass you’ll see the difference of performance, even a f2 sigma lens is miles better than some Fuji lenses! So I enjoy shooting Fuji for fun, but I’m disappointed in the quality of glass available for the price!

You Don't Freaking Need the lastest camera and lens gear to make good images. Before taking image you should see it in your head. The problem is all the influencers in social media they get paid by Sponsors and pretend get lastest gear is Best choice. When people will dig that shit?

alt title: posh man visits the masses and their budget lenses

You're kinda contradicting yourself by saying that you want the best performance, and that's it. Why don't you use the Sonys A7CII that's 514 grams vs XH2's 630 grams? I know you like the 33 F1.4, that's 360g vs Sigma Contemporary 50 mm F2(same or even better ISO performance at night, and it got the aperture ring) that's 345g? You'd save a good amount of weight and get way better image quality, better dynamic range and less ISO noise at the same ISO. I just got the Nikon ZF, comparing it to the fujis isn't even fair. Talking purely about performance here though. I won't sell my fujis.

1st

Nice video but your calculation made no sense. A lens that is 10x more expensive will not give you a 10x better result. As they say, the last mile is the most expensive .

Th plastic lenses don't last quite as well. But the WORST lens is a Pancake lens, Don't be fooled like me THEY ARE NOT SUGAR AND LEMON PROOF!

Vintage Minolta 50mm f2. The first lens I bought foe dirt cheap price for my mft camera, and at that time I didn't know that mft system doubles the focal length. It's a beautiful manual lens that I use for portrait photography