TTArtisan 50mm f2 – A Tiny Portrait lens

I think TTArtisan has a soft spot for “50mm” and they released the 50mm f0.95 not too long ago. And now, TTArtisan had just released its third 50mm lens and it is the most compact 50mm lens TTArtisan ever made but it is the slowest in the lineup yet.

But there is something different about this lens from the other 50mm lenses and that is this lens is designed as a full-frame lens but can also be mounted with various APS-C lens mounts (i.e. X-mount, M-mount, E-mount, RF-mount, Z-mount and M43-mount).

Does that mean the image quality is better because the optical glass is bigger than the APS-C sensor size? Let’s find out.

Before I start, I would like to thank TTArtisan for sending me this lens for review and it is my privilege to do so. But you can rest assured that this review will be based on the lens I received and it is purely on my own opinion.

Design & Build Quality

The design is different from that of 50mm f0.95 and 23mm f1.4. You will not see the zebra-like design in this lens. Having said that, it gives a minimalistic and more modern-look design.

The aperture ring and the manual focus ring are still the same quality as any other TTArtisan lenses. The enjoyable clicky feedback on the aperture ring is one of my favourites among other 3rd party manufacturers while the manual focus ring is giving a satisfying smooth experience.

Speaking about the lens cap, it is also the common screw-in type, similar to most TTArtisan lenses. Love it or hate it. It depends on the individual.

The weight is 189 grams and that is without both front and rear lens caps. For comparison, XF27mm f2.8 WR is only 84 grams.

Another thing to note: the filter thread is 43mm.

Image Quality

In my opinion, the sharpness is decently sharp at wide open. Speaking of shallow depth of field, f2 gives a considerably good separation between subject and background. Of course, it is not as shallow as other faster prime lenses can give. Shooting at f2.8 or smaller apertures gives a better rendering of sharpness and contrast. However, I am pretty satisfied with the image quality at f2.

In my testing, chromatic aberration and vignetting are surprisingly better (based on my past experiences with other TTArtisan lenses). Although they are slightly observed especially when you are shooting wide open. Nonetheless, they can be fixed in post-processing, so this is the last I should worry about.

The sunny star shot is not the sharpest I have seen, but it is okay. Do note the rainbow flare if you want to avoid it.

Focusing

From MFD to infinity, the focus throw is approximately 160°. In my view, this compact lens gives quite an ample amount of “distance” for more precise focusing.

Like most manual lenses, the result is might not at its sharpest at the infinity marking. Rotate slightly backwards on the focus ring to get a better result.

Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)

At 75mm (in full-frame equivalent), the 50cm MFD is no different from other 50mm lenses. I was expecting that the MFD will be further because of the compactness of the lens but I was wrong. At least this is something I think is quite a remarkable achievement from the TTArtisan engineers.

When shooting at MFD, I do notice a little softness in the image. From my standpoint, I think it is totally acceptable.

Price Point

At 69 USD, this is one of the most affordable lenses TTArtisan offers. There is another 69 USD lens (at least at this moment in writing this review) from TTArtisan and that is 35mm f1.4.

Who is this for?

For 69 USD, the amount is not that painful to spend. If you are new to photography and also wish to have some hands-on with a full pledge manual lens. If you want to attempt to try some portrait shots, this is also a good lens to try. Besides that, this lens can also be used for other genres like street, documentaries, landscapes, cityscapes and product shots.

There is another group of photographers who should consider this lens too. And they are photographers who are still using the older camera models and can consider getting this lens to spice up some love with the cameras and shoot.

Conclusion

TTArtisan never fails to surprise photographers with their new lenses. They always have something to fill in those “gaps” in their lenses lineup. This makes me think about what is up on their sleeve.

Personally, I love to use this lens simply because of its compactness, nice-looking design and not compromising on the image quality that much. I think this lens is best matched with the X-E series and X-A series for achieving the most compact package.

Meanwhile, I am still hoping TTArtisan will release the first autofocus lens for Fujifilm.

Thank you for reading.

Disclaimer:
1. All the shots taken here are shot by me.
2. Some of the shots are slightly edited in Lightroom Classic to my preferences. Otherwise, the shots are straight out of the camera.
3. The opinions are based on my experience. If there is any mistake, please kindly drop me a message and I will gladly make the amendment.
4. I reserve ownership of these images, if you wish to use my images, please notify me.

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