It was just a few months ago that I was reviewing a much more extreme instrument from TTArtisan – the 50mm F0.95.  That lens was designated for use on APS-C, but it did a reasonable job of covering the full frame image circle as well, with heavy, though correctable, vignette and just a small percentage of the image circle that did not resolve properly.  I found that the soft, unresolved corners often didn’t matter in many kinds of images, making it an intriguing option for those who prefer in more “dreamy” photography.  The TTArtisan 50mm F2 is a more traditional lens that is designed for the full frame image circle and has a much smaller maximum aperture (F2 is more than two stops smaller than F0.95).  But it also follows a trend I’ve seen with many TTArtisan lenses, namely that these inexpensive options give a higher optical performance than what I would expect.  And when you consider that the new TTArtisan 50mm F2 costs only $70 USD but can give you images like this:

…you get a sense of what I mean!

The TTArtisan 50mm F2 is an extremely compact lens (not much bigger than a “pancake” lens).  It weighs only 200g in the Sony E-mount version I tested (it also comes in Canon RF and M mounts, Fuji X-mount, Nikon Z-mount, Leica L-mount, and Micro 4/3rds mounts.). The length is about 35mm, and the diameter is somewhere around 55mm (it’s not specified) with only a 43mm front filter thread.  This is a lens that will easily fit in a pocket and can come along easily.

The list of features is rather short.  This is a manual everything lens with no electronics or autofocus motor.  Aperture is controlled by a tiny aperture ring near the front of the lens.  The ring is clicked, with detents at ½ stops through F5.6, whereafter only full stops are available.  The focus ring is made of metal (with fine ribs) and moves very smoothly though about 110 degrees of focus rotation.   The lens extends a very minor amount during focus.  There are both distance and hyper focal markings etched on the barrel.  Everything is made of metal and actually feels very nicely made.  My one complain about the build is that the front cap is of the screw on variety, and while that allows it to be very thin, it is also a pain to thread it on and off each time as that could cause you to miss a moment.  There is no lens hood.

Manual focus is smooth and fairly precise, though you’ll want to utilized focus aids on your camera body like focus overlays and/or magnifying the image to visually confirm focus.  My focus accuracy was nice and high when utilizing these techniques.

As noted, image quality is surprisingly good.  There’s a very useable amount of sharpness in the center 2/3rds of the frame with some drop-off towards the corners at F2.  For many images that won’t be a problem as you will have sharpness where you need it.

When stopped down, the lens becomes very sharp and gives you plenty of detail all across the frame.

The aperture iris has 10 blades and does a fairly good job of retaining a circular shape when stopped down.  The quality of the bokeh is fairly good, too.

Optical weaknesses include some heavy vignette concentrated in the corners (the TTArtisan 50mm F2 obviously barely covers the full frame image circle) along with a lot of sensitivity to flaring (and no lens hood is included).

There is a definite “look” to the rendering with slightly lower contrast and unique colors, but for the most part I liked the look of the rendering.

Minimum focus distance was 50cm, which is on the long side for a 50mm lens.  I couldn’t get as close as what I would like, so magnification was subpar.  I still got some nice looking “close” images despite this limitation, though.

Despite these limitations, however, there was certainly plenty of optical performance to allow me to get a number of beautiful images with the lens despite its low budget origins.  You can get my full breakdown by watching the video review below…or just enjoy the beautiful photos in the galleries below that!

TTArtisan 50mm F2 Review | $70 Lens on a $6500 Camera?

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Thanks to Lisa Wen from Foto Vision for providing the review copy of this lens. As always, this is a completely independent review. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with the Sony a7IV along with the Sony Alpha 1 which will serve as my benchmark camera for the foreseeable future (my review here).

Images of the TTArtisan 50mm F2

Images taken with the TTArtisan 50mm F2

Pros:

• Extremely inexpensive lens
• Excellent price to performance ratio
• Nicely made lens
• Good center sharpness from wide open
• Good sharpness across the frame when stopped down
•  Nice bokeh quality
• Focus ring moves smoothly and accurately

Cons:

• Heavy vignette
• Somewhat flare prone
• Low magnification level

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