this lens is a no brainer. it really has a very special colour rendition comparing it with my other lenses. Other third-party lenses like Samyang ones have a very weird kinda yellow cast, that I personally don't like so much. this TTartisan 50mm has a lot of character, flares beautifully and paired with my xe3 is an excellent performer (not for pixel peepers though). good job reviewing this little and cheap gem
Got mine last week and just started to use it. As we’ve all been saying for the price is a nice lens to have. I’ve noticed it really shines using the Acros and Monochrome film simulation.
I always love the vibe of his reviews of budget products. The combo of his voice and presentation basically says, "it's not great, but it's fine, and fine is probably good enough, right?" Stiff upper lip, carry on, save some money
I've been a working photographer for fifty years. After I bought my first TTArtisan lens I bought another and another and another. I now have eight of them on Fuji X-Mount, Leica R-mount and Leica M. Every one of them has been superb in its' own way. My full frame M Mount TTArtisan 35mmf1.4 lens is so good I sold my beloved Leitz 35mm f2 (German) lens on eBay for $4500. Nobody influenced this comment aside from owning these lenses. This 50mm lens is a gift from The Photo Gods.
Mine just arrived yesterday, £87 on ebay. It's a nice lens, paired with xt30 takes nice pictures. For a cheap manual that takes nice portraits with good build quality you can't go wrong.
Thanks Damian, to he honest without pixel peeping ( which I don't really do much anyways) it looks like the lens performed pretty well. I think most people would not be able to tell of the images were taken on a cheap or more expensive lens. Hope it's not too cold in the UK. Cheers from Oz.
I really wanted the Kamlan 50mm f/1.1 mk 2 but at this price and only being a tad slower than the Kamlan, I think this is the option for me :) Nice review as always.
Hi. I don’t know this one, but I made a lot of portraits color & BW with the Kamlan 50/1.2 mkII and I can say this to you, the Kamlan is incredible at all points of view. I need to test the TTartisans but I’m not sure this one is same level .....
I bought this lens 1 week ago and I can’t get enough of it....it’s a beast for the price...i took some very interesting and beautiful photos...you get a little bit of chromatic aberration with it, but with some editing in photoshop, you can solve the problem.
I thought the images looked nice and clear and crisp where needed. Portraits looked great. Incredible to think you can get a new production lens with this character and quality for the price. Thanks for the review and sharing the photos.
Thanks Paul. Totally agree! I'm always happy to see capable lenses at this end of the market. You'd hope it would push the other end some more to stabilise pricing instead of getting more expensive.
Great review. I was going to get the 35mm but this video sold me on this lens. I'm not a big fan of wide apertures, and damn you're a good photographer so I can finally see the actual potential of this lens. Not all reviewers take good pictures.
Hello from Portugal. Really appreciate your videos. May I ask which you'd recommend more for a cinematic look and in general? This or the Meike 50 mm f1.7? Thanks in advance.
Great question and greetings! I was in Portugal just once, so far, and loved it in Oporto. Anyway, maybe the TTArtisan for character and that tiny bit more light, for cinematic styles.
I got a fuji xt3 almost a year ago and a 23mm f2 with it. have really enjoyed the camera and lens and all my outings with it and have been itching to pick up a second lens to try some different stuff. I have been torn between the fuji 56f1.2 and going for something more zoomy. I think im going to give this a shot because honestly ive spent 100 bucks on worse things and every article and video of this lens I have liked the images from it. I described it to my mum as like taking photos through a dirty pane window that you tried to clean and for some reason i just like it. Still plan to get the fuji version later this year
Thanks! Well, for me the Viltrox is more practical overall but the TTArtisan does have a special character to the images that the other doesn't. BUT that's a personal taste thing more than anything. I never really thought about the two side by side.
I've got one on order. I did a best offer on eBay and got it for £60+tax. Regarding the aperture ring position, Olympus Zuiko lenses have used this configuration for years without complaints as far as I know.
Thanks for the review of this, I picked one up after watching a few reviews like yours, I paid £65 which is a steal and absolutely love it. Like you say not amazing close up at 1.2 but move back a bit and it is realy sharp! Love the feel of the focusing and after just a little bit of practise its easy to nail focus on still subjects. Next challenge is moving subjects!!!!!
I love the TTArtisan 35 f1.2, and have been thinking about the 50mm. Thanks for the info. I like the manual focus, but the focus by wire on Fuji lenses, is not usable to me, so I gone to these Chinese manual lenses.
I really like those lenses. The thing is, do you need it, if you already own a similiar AF lens? It is so much more convenient to have AF, espacially in a fast lens, so in my experience the manual lenses mostly keep sitting in the closet...
Some love manual, some can't afford autofocus. I'd say if you need af and can afford it, sure you probably don't need this unless you like something a bit slower, or a different focal length, to play with. It's cool that we have the choice in the market.
Who wants a razor sharp portrait lens??? Like this lens a lot - nice bokeh, sharp enough. Wish the close focus distance was around 20cm, but otherwise, great.
@@DamianBrown While Ordering this and also the 35mm version from B&H it as coming and out of stock instantly. I did back ordered on January 13th and finally stock fulfilled at 26th Jan and got the product. I was fascinated with the 50mm but kind of disappointed with the focusing. My camera focus peaking somehow was not syncing with the lens focus ring. Took some portrait and I think it has it's own place but at 50mm with such a narrow depth of field - I think it should only applied with roper light and close up subject as portrait. On the other hand the TTartisan 35mm was F A N T A S T I C. I loved that.
This Lens is not clinically sharp. With that said, It gives me the most film like look of any lens I've used on my Fuji camera. It really shows mostly in print. I would recommend it to anyone.
I have the TTArtisan 35mm f/1.4 for Fuji (also a Sonnar) and love it. Sure, it vignettes and has meh corners, but it's sharp enough in the center, less glow-y than an adapted Sigma 30/1.4, and just a tiny dream to use. Nice clicked aperture, smooth focus, lovely small size. Just a joyful land fun lens. My only qualm for this 50mm is the not-that-short minimum focus distance. It it was 35cm or so, I'd have ordered this already.
The TTArtisan 35mm 1.4 is a Planar, completely different design than Sonnar. I own it and there is a second Planar available for Fuji, the Zeiss Touit 32mm, which you get used for 4 times the price of the TTARTISAN. There is a difference in quality for sure, but I shot some very pleasant shots with the TTARTISAN as well
@@lxhk3595 Correct them, not me. All the materials for it describe the lens as a Sonnar. Check out their own website, or the B&H entry. I'll agree though, however TTArtisan describes it, the optical design looks more like an old Planar. But TTartisan certainly calls it a sonnar.
@@thebitterfig9903 Most likely the optical scheme of the classic Planar 7/6 was taken as a basis. I read somewhere else that the TTArtisan 35 / 1.4 was inspired by the Voigtländer Heliar 50 / 3.5, where I have my doubts. I'm only saying this, but because I think these backgrounds make those lenses even more interesting to guys like us.
This is a shorter focal length and let's in a touch more light but what you probably mean is iq etc. Both are pretty useable but this one appeals to me more after using both. Probably a personal choice though, not that much in it.
Hi Damian, I'm a retired photojournalist who really enjoys and generally agrees with your reviews and perspective on lenses. On this one however I have to disagree. I had one for a couple of weeks and REALLY wanted to like it if for no other reason than the clicked aperture. What I discovered however was that at anything past wide open with any kind of lights of highlights in the background, the bokeh is extremely ugly and geared looking. I presume this is a result of the strange blade design that seems to be on all of their lenses that I've seen. It's very decent wide open, but pretty useless for anything above about f/2 for any type of general shooting that I'd do. Best regards and keep up the fine work.
