I do already own 3 of their lenses (7.5, 17 and 35) and I must say I'm getting hooked on them. The vintage feel and look, good built quality and very nice pictures you get out of them makes it quite easy to fall in love with those lenses, especially at these prices! Thanks for your very good overall review of the 23mm which I'm thinking on buying next (together with the 50mm). It really seems like another can't miss lens out of the TT Artisan factory! 👌🙂
Many thanks for your feedback! I wish you a lot of fun and many good pictures with your nice set of TT Artisan lenses. By the way, I never tried the 7.5mm so far - it's like 15 years ago that I shot a fisheye lens at all! Maybe I should give it a try once again :)
@@tomscameras You're very welcome, thank you for nice reply. The all manual TT lenses just perfectly fit the mindset of a Fujifilm user and form a great vintage tandem look with the bodies. The 7.5mm deserves a shot, I believe it's even the most expensive of the series, once you see it you understand why. If you ever buy it too, would like to see you make a review on it :))
Same, I have much more expensive lenses but I keep coming back to my 35mm Tt over and over. It's not as sharp as my Canon brand but there is something so warm and satisfying about the images.
Thanks Paul! By the way, if you're in the market for this lens, also note there is the brand-new TT Artisan 25mm f/2. It's a little bit less fast and has 2mm more focal length. I just posted my review of that lens a few days ago: ruclips.net/video/A3rQESxbo6A/видео.html I'm also working on a direct comparison video with the 23/1.4 and 25/2.
@@tomscameras That's extremely helpful to know, I'll check that video link straight away 👍 Keep up the great work, and have an enjoyable weekend 😊 Paul
I knew i'm going to add this lens to my TTA collection but i just have to watch your videos everytime i'm going to buy one. Really like how you explain the design elements, MTF curve and the interesting "ring" character of the lens, which other reviewers failed to mention. Your night shots samples are as good as always.
Many thanks for your feedback, I greatly appreciate it! Christopher Frost also mentions the "ring" character / the sharpness "roller-coaster ride" in his review of the TT Artisan 23/1.4. I have to admit, I did NOT watch other reviews before I made my own one, because I don't want to be influenced beforehand, and I prefer to make up my own mind about a lens!
I've just ordered the zebra version. Can't wait to try it out. A pity I couldn't find it from a dealer here in the UK or even EU. Had to order from US or China. Ordered from US as I've had a couple of bad experiences with China. Come on Ttartisan. There must be a big enough market here to make it worth your while.
I think in EU there will be some dealers. We have a photo store in Düsseldorf (Foto Leistenschneider) that sells TT Artisan lenses. I didn't check back with them but I'm sure they'll also offer the 23/1.4 ... and surely there must be other photo dealers in Europe that sell TT Artisan lenses? Even if they might be 10-20 Euros more expensive than online, it might be worth it that you can pick it up locally and also have a competent person to speak to in the unlikely case you've got any problems with your lens!
Danke für dieses wirklich ausführliche und informative Video, Tom. Du zeigst fantastische Motive. Selbst wenn einen das Objektiv nicht interessieren würde, kann man dieses Video als optischen Genuss weiterempfehlen.
Hi Thomas, I have most of the TTartisan APS-C lenses and love them. I had decided to not get the 23MM, but in a moment of GAS ordered it anyways. I have to say I love this lens! It has a lovely focus ring and a short focus throw. It is the nicest handling lens yet from TTartisan and the images are good. Better colour cast than the 50mm. My only complaint with all TTartisan is that the infinity hard stop is not always focused at infinity. I have to check and sometimes back off infinity. Keep up the great videos. Thank you.
Hi David! Many thanks for your feedback! About the infinity stop - actually all TT Artisan lenses in my test were pretty well adjusted to infinity. In case yours is off, there are three tiny set screws in the focusing ring. What you then do is: 1) you focus to infinity, at f/1.4 (most precise) 2) carefully loosen the small screws. In my case it was only 2 screws that needed to be loosened ... 3) now the focus ring can be turned, without changing the actual focus. So you move it to the hard stop and then carefully tighten the screws again. I tried that on my 23/1.4 even though I didn't need to - just to confirm that you can adjust the hard stop for yourself, if needed!
Hi I really like all of your reviews because you are probably the only person who mentioned lens speed! I just got this lens 2 days ago. I bought it because I want fast compact 23-25mm lens for night time. So far I like the colors and contrast over 7artisan 25 mm f1.8. Apparently like you said 23mm speed is slower than actual 1.4. But my real problem is it is not sharp at 1.4 like many reviews said. Idk if it’s because my copy is bad or it’s normal. I want to check if my lens is normal. Can you tell me if your copy has the same issue? My copy is not necessarily unsharp, but it has this glow bloom effect in some light conditions. Sometimes it doesn’t do that but most of the time it has the bloom effect at 1.4 when I zoom in. Some reviews mention color fringing. I’m not sure if it is the case. I’m not too familiar with the terms of all lens aberrations. If it is just a normal aberration this lens has, what is the condition I should avoid? It seems like under well controlled light this lens doing ok. And it seems like nothing really in focus when they are far away. Like if I try to put a subject at 10 feet away in focus, it won’t be sharp.
Super video Thomas! I've been looking forward to this for weeks.Your photography is beautiful. You really have a knack for intriguing architectural shots. Since you mention the Zonlai 22mm, could you tell me a bit more? I have that lens and have found it acceptable but always slightly disappointing for some intangible reason. Would you say that this lens is better? If so, in what way? I have the TTArtisan 35mm and 50mm lenses and think they're superb. Thanks again!
Hi Donald! Did you see my Zonlai review video? I think lenses like the TT Artisan 23/1.4 are a better option today! A follower of my channel generously sent his Kamlan 21/1.8 for a couple of weeks so I'm currently doing a comparison between these three lenses: TT Artisan, Kamlan, Zonlai. And I can already say that the Zonlai won't get my vote anymore ...
First vid I have probs ever watched from you, but I really like the content and, as an extra bonus, your background music choice (that is, it only plays in the background whenever necessary, not all the bloody time, like some vloggers see fit to do and anoy the heck out of us viewers LOL). Dutifully subscribed! Congrats and thanks from a fellow street photog from Brazil!
Awesome review, thx a lot. But don’t forget the Samyang 21mm f1.4 lens in your comparison video, my personal choice for that focal range. Live long and prosper.
The Samyang, yes, that's a great lens. It's in a different price league however. So for now, I'm gonna concentrate on the sub USD150 / EUR150 price range. Maybe I'll get the opportunity to pitch one of the cheap 21/22/23's against the Samyang and/or an original Fujinon as well in another comparison!
I am looking forward to your compar. of ttartisan 23 with Kamlan 21. I used to own Kamlan and now I own ttartisan 23 and plan to buy Meike 25mm f2. My first copy of Kamlan was decentered. The second one was really good. Flare with Kamlan was really strong and it had also midzone dip - but if I remember well, the Kamlan lens was very good ..
Thanks for your feedback! The problem of all reviews (also my own ones) is off course that we can only check out one copy of each lens, sometimes maybe two but even that is kind of rare. So there is maybe always a chance to get a decentered copy. On the one hand, TT Artisan, Zonlai, Kamlan etc. they all make very simple designs - which is good, as the chance for production errors is lower! On the other hand, they do have very low prices so quality control can't be Zeiss or Leica standards.
@@tomscameras Oh, my comment was positive actually. 😃 What I wanted to say is that I watched Christopher Frost's review with pixel peeping included and if watching only that one can assume that this lens is not usable at all, but your review shows a real world usage and it is easy to conclude that it is very usable and the image quality is nice, for the price it is actually very good. I believe a good photographer could make it look great as it looks great in your photos, however the rest of us who can not be so sure about ourselves it is more secure to buy a lens that do everything well, then we can be sure that it is our fault and not the lens. 🙂
@@BojanBojovic Well, many thanks for your detailed feedback! I get that I shouldn’t make lenses look too good maybe.I am not one of the „laboratory test“ channels and o just shoot lenses in real world and share my experience. But yes many lenses are far from perfect. Maybe I can adjust to that very easily but I can try to be a bit more critical in the future for my videos :)
Incredible lens! I have it permanently mounted on my Sony a6000. I love the build quality and the vintage look at wider apertures, but this lens also produces very sharp (modern) images at f/8 and f/16. And the focal is just perfect for everything (35mm equivalent). I have only a couple of gripes: 1) the focus ring isn’t true to its distance scale, making zone focusing impossible without using the EVF… the infinity mark is far from accurate (I found the infinity point somewhere between the 5m and the infinity mark). 2) that’s very technical but is important for those who want this lens for the 1.4 aperture. Given the small diameter of the lens, don’t expect to see in the darkness at f/1.4. The actual light transmission is way lesser than a bigger f/1.4 prime since the f stop is a subjective measure. It has to do with the opening in relation with the diameter of the lens (a main reason that cinema lenses are using T stops instead). I found it very strange one morning, just before the sunrise, that i needed to crank the ISO up to 640 for the shot at f/1.4, while in the same lighting conditions I used ISO 800 with my Sony 18-105 f/4 (!!!) at f/4, which is 3 stops narrower! The reason is the actual diameter of the 18-105 which is monstrous next to the TTArtisan, so it transmits almost the same light at f/4! Generally speaking, this lens is not ideal for low light. But for general photography is just perfect.
Hey, many thanks for your comprehensive comment! 1. you can adjust the infinity stop on TT Artisan lenses by loosening (not completely removing!) the three very small setscrews that sit in the focus ring. So first you'd focus to infinity carefully, then loosen the set screws (make sure you don't move the focus ring) and then move the ring to the infinity position and tighten the screws again. Note that sometimes the focus ring is also fixed with some glue so you need to "break it loose" carefully after you loosened the three screws. It's not the most convenient procedure but it can be done! 2. I directly compared this lens to the newer TT Artisan 25mm f/2 and the 7Artisans 24/1.4 lenses. It is about 1/3 stop slower than the 7Artisans and about 1/3 stop faster than the 25/2 ... My assumption is that the 25/2 is very bright for an f/2, maybe it's f/1.8 more in reality. So, yes, the TT Artisan 23/1.4 is a bit less fast than it says, maybe in reality it's more like an f/1.6 lens or something like that. But I also have to say that compared to all my lenses (no matter which brand) when set to f/4, the TT Artisan 23/1.4 will be much faster than that!
I compared it with my Panasonic kit lens (12-60mm f/3.5-5.6) at f5.6, the Panasonic is brighter, but the difference is about a half stop. And yes, f/1.4 is brighter only with a half stop than at f/2, so the f/1.4 setting would be f/2 at bigger brands. I could adjust infininity with help of the three little screws and Thomas.
Thank you very much for this excellent review. I plan to buy a Fuji X-E4. Being accustomed with my X100F to 35 mm which I find ideal for street photography, this TT Artisan 23 mm, with its aperture of 1.4, tempts me a lot.
Thank you very much! Do you already have any experience with manual focus lenses? For street photography, that's a very different shooting experience to AF. Some love it, others prefer AF ...
@@tomscameras Yes I had a Zeiss 35mm f2.0, a very good manual lens that I used on a Canon 5DMarkII. It took me a little time to adapt but after that you quickly get used to it. Thank you again Tom and greetings from Paris.
Thanks for making this review Tom. I wanted to ask if this lend is good for video? Does this have any focus breathing issues? Appreciate you covering manual focus lenses. Should This be my first manual focus lens only for video ? Would love a reply. Im an apsc video shooter.
I would maybe prefer the 7Artisans lenses for video because they have stepless aperture rings. But myself, I'm a photographer, not specialized in video!
Actually it's easier to make an awe-inspiring 50mm lens than 23mm. That's just because at 50mm (for APS-C) you're sitting in that sweet spot with amazing bokeh capabilities and that portrait-lens look! I think the 23 and 50 do compliment very well together! I wouldn't hesitate to go on a journey around the world with just these two lenses!
Way nice review, Tom! But about the money, a small note, as written via community page before - it's ca. 91-95 EUR without lens hood, and about 107-112 EUR with lens hood, if one is buying (shipping free worldwide) via Aliexpress, there are many sellers there. I preordered it before it was even announced, i had a special contact, and received it still into december 2021. Nice pictures also from Düsseldorf, i was working there for some years.
Thanks for pointing out! I hope that when watching my video, it becomes clear that these lenses are very inexpensive. I mean, e.g. if they appear on the second-hand market, they will be even more cheap than this ...
@@tomscameras Exactly. You know - i really like the Lens Reviews from Christopher Frost, but your video here is being so much better for this particular Lens, it's like being said before a character lens, and comparing brick walls or looking for perfect sharpness is somewhat silly therefore. But @5.6-F8, like i said before the video, pretty good useable - and avialable light photography is never about clinical sharpness @F1.2, F1.4 or F1.8... ;) I like this small TTA 23/1.4 way much.
@@marcp.1752 many thanks for your comment again! I am not even sure if it’s a pure “character” lens! Yes it is far from perfection but it is still very capable overall. It performs a bit like a (good!) lens from the 1970s … with flaws but overall still capable of technicality perfect shots!
@@tomscameras Just right! I thought the same. And i prefer character or "clinical sharpness" which is boring as hell, Tom. I've known shortly after preordering the lens from the Richard Wong Video, that the lens is capable of great 10-point Sunstars. I mentioned back then further, it's a bit sad, the lens markings are not being laser-etched, like the new TTA 28mm F5.6 M Leica Lens, but it's 270 vs. ~95 EUR, so one really can't complain for that little money. I would have liked also a bit more space for the past 4-5 aperture stops on the aperture ring, but one can't have it all for so little money. :)
Nice work on getting such a variety of photos, subject and conditions to demonstrate this lens! I know Fuji has some weird focus by wire lenses with no infinity setting but are there other lenses like that? Does seem weird. All my other brand lens I’ve had (Pentax, Zeiss, Sigma, Tamron, Minolta) all have a hard stop of infinity. The aesthetic design of this lens doesn’t fit with the look of the other TTArtisan lenses got APS-C. I’ve for the 17mm, 35mm and 50mm and they all have a family look
Yes it's true that this lens does not match the 17, 35 and 50 for looks. Yet it is so different and unique that it sort of deserves its own space in the lens lineup :)
2 года назад+1
Gracias, muy detallado. Me gusta por qué es un poco más amplia que el 25 en mft
Thank you Tom for a wonderful video. Do you focus with the screen or are you just composing the image , the reason I ask is because I wear glasses and would like to get a camera and work about using the view finder to focus.
Hey! For landscapes or architecture as you see in the video, I don’t use the screen or viewfinder to focus. I just set the lens to infinity. But when I take a photo of something more close (people, pets, etc.) then I focus using the screen or viewfinder. If you need e.g. reading glasses or have any trouble to look at things that are close: the viewfinder of all the modern cameras has a diopter adjustment! So you can adjust it to your eyesight! So for many people it is easier to use the viewfinder instead of the rear screen …
Really good review of a lens I really like. If we could only talk Fuji into making much smaller faster lenses with more aperture leaves for better bokeh,with classy vintage looks and more reasonable prices in the worst economy we've ever seen ! Also, a monochrome X PRO and XE would make me cry with gratitude because I know they could do it better than Leica and it would be affordable to we mere mortals ! Keep up the great videos, really enjoying them. I have most of the fast Chinese lenses you have been teaching about and have bought a few because of your videos. Regards, LarryMac
Oh yes, I totally agree with you. Actually, my personal #1 favorite Fujinon lens is the 35/1.4, which has truly beautiful optics and also it's not as big as some of the more modern offerings! And I'd definitely love to see a monochrome camera that's not a Leica! But I fear that the "big" manufacturers (not just Sony, Canon, but also Fujinon ...) don't dare to offer niche products like that anymore.
Good evening Thomas, first of all thank you very much for the videos you do really good work. I would like to ask you a question about the TT Artisan lenses and that is if they can be used on the Fuji Xpro 1. Since I own one and I would really like to know if they can be used with it. Thank you very much and greetings.
Thank you for your feedback! About the X-Pro 1: You can use it with manual lenses but it will work the best in EVF mode, that means when you are using the electronic viewfinder. If you switch to the optical viewfinder, you won't have any possibility to check the focus setting. What you can do is use the lens at infinity (for example for far-away landscapes) or you can also use zone focusing (like: you set the lens to 3 metres and of course then you make sure that your subject is about 3 metres away). If you want to try this, my advice is to set f/8 or even f/11 so you have a bigger depth of field. Again, when you switch to the electronic viewfinder, then the X-Pro1 will work as well with these manual lenses as any other Fuji body. I hope this helps!
@@tomscameras Thank you very much for your answer Thomas, and yes, of course it has been very helpful. And well I'll try to buy some TT Artisan. Greetings from Venezuela and thanks again for the support.
I am currently using both these lenses a lot, the 23 and the 50. I think it's a great couple and for that price you can't go wrong with both of these. But if you want to check out alternatives to the 23/1.4, have a look at the Kamlan 21/1.8! Did you already see my video about it? ruclips.net/video/VUxQ1W3NFlg/видео.html
I have the Pergear 25mm f/1.8 and this TTArtisan 23mm f/1.4 replaced it. In a way I find the Pergear 25mm f/1.8 optically better, however I carry two cameras (the other with the excellent TTArtisan 50mm f/1.2....) Where the 23mm is better is the focus is the same direction as my 50mm. So when I pick either camera up, my hand motion for focusing is the same. You have some field curvature with the 23mm. In that what you focus at the center of the image, the edges will be soft. A lot of lenses do this. So as long as you are aware of it. Unless I need a different f-stop, I always shoot it at f/8. So in summary, I like this lens a lot. Run it on an X-E3 mostly, the other which I have the 50mm is the X-T30.
@@EricPalmerBlog Nice, the pergear seems difficult to handle, the size make it a nice travel lens, I guess both are really nice alternatives but will depend on the handle experience.
Thanks Thomas! You make me want to grab my wallet once more haha even though my kamlan is a good one too, I am sure. That is why I am looking to that review as well:) nice photos and loved the architecture shots in Düsseldorf! Seems we have another Ttartisan winner here!
Great video. Thank you very much. Personally, I still prefer the Kamlan 21 over this lens, but the design of this lens is just beautiful. I just wish they didn't do the lens cap this way. Forget using any filters until you get a different cap.
Thanks for your feedback! You're right about the filters - I so rarely use an ND or polarizer on my digital cameras. But yes, overall a standard snap-on lens cap is maybe just the best solution! We've already finished shooting my review video about the Kamlan 21 and it will be uploaded soon, by the way!
Hi Tom, i'd like you to review also the Meike 28mm F2.8 Lens - it's a small pancake lens design, think of a (lower quality) Fujifilm 27mm F2.8, without AF, all mechanical also, but fine build quality, it's F2.8 seems a bit too optimistic for my taste, more like a F3.5-3.8 Lens, but it's nice and sharp, very small & handy, does have some character, vintage-esque rendering, and did i say it's cheap? I paid
Yes, it's fun to see how the low-price end of the market is filled by now with either some older and really basic lens designs like the Meike 28 as well as much better designs such as e.g. the TT Artisan 35/1.4. There's also all those old 25/1.8 lenses, I guess these were still directly derived from C-mount glass - and adapted C-mount lenses are IMO what initiated this whole market sector: cheap manual-focus fast glass for APS-C mirrorless! Maybe if I find such a Meike 28/2.8 or any of those 25/1.8s for a really low price, or also if some visitor of my channel (preferably in Germany or the Netherlands, due to the cost of shipping) can spare his lens for 2-3 weeks, then I'll review it. :)
@@tomscameras Excellent, Tom! :) Yes, at least some 25/1.8 Lenses are so ultra cheap, like 25 EUR on Aliexpress, and barely fitting the MFT circle, but i do think, this Meike 28/2.8 was being created for APS-C, not coming from C-Mount therefore. At least, it's all glass & metal, the lens cap was metal too, but the current version comes with a plastic lens cap, and the part besides the front lens element and the rest of the front diameter is plastic - with the tiny lens into the middle section.
@@marcp.1752 Thanks for the infos! I have to check out all these lenses and maybe yes there's an interesting one for one of my videos. BTW I did own and shoot the Fuji 27/2.8 at some point in the past. It was a gorgeous lens but around the same time I also got the Fujinon 23/2 and ended up shooting that lens all the time :)
@@tomscameras Yes, i totally understand Tom. For myself, only the later 27/2.8 II WR would be interesting - but i am not willing to shell out 450 EUR for a F2.8 27mm pancake lens. Albeit it does have now weathersealing, and a aperture ring - which i consider standard, well, sadly all these manual focus lenses aren't being weathersealed, this would be perfect :)
I would select between the newer 25/2 (over the older 23/1.4) and the 35/1.4. Here, the 35/1.4 has the even better optics, but then you can't compare 25 to 35, the field of view is just very different ... and that's of course a matter of your preference!
Hey! I would personally prefer the new 25/2 over the 23/1.4 unless you really want the additional background blur that the f/1.4 can offer. The 25/2 is sharper over most of the frame and doesn’t have that strong mid frame dip that the 23/1.4 shows. However, the four extreme corners of the frame will never sharpen up completely with the 25/2 when shooting landscapes so please don’t expect perfection here either. I finished shooting sample photos and also we already did the shooting for the review video. It will be released in the next few days. I’m a bit behind schedule but we just had two weeks of almost continuous rainy and dull weather, and I always want to show some nice real-world samples, hence the delay. Sorry I can’t comment on the 7Artisans, it’s an older design. I don’t like the clickless apertures of most 7Artisans lenses for photography so I’d rather opt for the TT Artisan offerings in this case anyway.
@@tomscameras Hi Tom, i preordered into the first December 2021week the Zebra design, and received it before X-Mas. :) I like this much more, than the all black one. But i've wished - TTA APS-C/DX Lineup would be more consistent - means, this Lens would fit into the 17/1.4, 35/1.4 and 50/1.2 Design...which isn't the case.
If you use Adobe Lightroom, there's a distortion correction that goes from -100 to 0 to +100. Here you enter the values, in this case +4 or +6 etc. Other RAW converters also have similar distortion correction functionalities.
There are several 25/1.8's. I never checked out any of these. They are all older designs. I think all those 25/1.8's the first generation of lenses that the Chinese manufacturers designed for APS-C mirrorless cameras, before that it was mostly just converted C-mount lenses. Not saying they're bad - but I admit, I prefer f/1.4 :)
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I do already own 3 of their lenses (7.5, 17 and 35) and I must say I'm getting hooked on them. The vintage feel and look, good built quality and very nice pictures you get out of them makes it quite easy to fall in love with those lenses, especially at these prices! Thanks for your very good overall review of the 23mm which I'm thinking on buying next (together with the 50mm). It really seems like another can't miss lens out of the TT Artisan factory! 👌🙂
Many thanks for your feedback! I wish you a lot of fun and many good pictures with your nice set of TT Artisan lenses. By the way, I never tried the 7.5mm so far - it's like 15 years ago that I shot a fisheye lens at all! Maybe I should give it a try once again :)
@@tomscameras You're very welcome, thank you for nice reply. The all manual TT lenses just perfectly fit the mindset of a Fujifilm user and form a great vintage tandem look with the bodies. The 7.5mm deserves a shot, I believe it's even the most expensive of the series, once you see it you understand why. If you ever buy it too, would like to see you make a review on it :))
Same, I have much more expensive lenses but I keep coming back to my 35mm Tt over and over. It's not as sharp as my Canon brand but there is something so warm and satisfying about the images.
This is a super helpful review, thanks so much for taking the time, and for covering so many areas in a comprehensive manner. Subscribed !
Thanks Paul! By the way, if you're in the market for this lens, also note there is the brand-new TT Artisan 25mm f/2. It's a little bit less fast and has 2mm more focal length. I just posted my review of that lens a few days ago:
ruclips.net/video/A3rQESxbo6A/видео.html
I'm also working on a direct comparison video with the 23/1.4 and 25/2.
@@tomscameras That's extremely helpful to know, I'll check that video link straight away 👍 Keep up the great work, and have an enjoyable weekend 😊 Paul
I have been watching tonnes of reviews for this lens, and this has been the most helpful one. Many thanks!
Many thanks! Did you also see my comparison of this lens with the TT Artisan 25/2 ?
@@tomscameras Yes, I did. I'm in Hong Kong now and will take my final decision after trying them at the store.
I knew i'm going to add this lens to my TTA collection but i just have to watch your videos everytime i'm going to buy one. Really like how you explain the design elements, MTF curve and the interesting "ring" character of the lens, which other reviewers failed to mention. Your night shots samples are as good as always.
Many thanks for your feedback, I greatly appreciate it!
Christopher Frost also mentions the "ring" character / the sharpness "roller-coaster ride" in his review of the TT Artisan 23/1.4.
I have to admit, I did NOT watch other reviews before I made my own one, because I don't want to be influenced beforehand, and I prefer to make up my own mind about a lens!
Beautiful shots!
Thanks a lot! :)
I've just ordered the zebra version. Can't wait to try it out. A pity I couldn't find it from a dealer here in the UK or even EU. Had to order from US or China. Ordered from US as I've had a couple of bad experiences with China. Come on Ttartisan. There must be a big enough market here to make it worth your while.
I think in EU there will be some dealers. We have a photo store in Düsseldorf (Foto Leistenschneider) that sells TT Artisan lenses. I didn't check back with them but I'm sure they'll also offer the 23/1.4 ... and surely there must be other photo dealers in Europe that sell TT Artisan lenses? Even if they might be 10-20 Euros more expensive than online, it might be worth it that you can pick it up locally and also have a competent person to speak to in the unlikely case you've got any problems with your lens!
Great photos. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for your feedback! I appreciate it!
Your videos are getting better and better. And nice shots with the lens (e.g. the Severinsbrücke with "stars")!
Well, many thanks! I really appreciate your feedback!
Great video Thomas. This lens seems like a great addition to my ttartisan 35mm. Looking forward to the comparison video.
Thanks a lot for your feedback!
Danke für dieses wirklich ausführliche und informative Video, Tom. Du zeigst fantastische Motive. Selbst wenn einen das Objektiv nicht interessieren würde, kann man dieses Video als optischen Genuss weiterempfehlen.
Oh, danke für das Lob! Freut mich wirklich sehr!
Hi Thomas, I have most of the TTartisan APS-C lenses and love them. I had decided to not get the 23MM, but in a moment of GAS ordered it anyways. I have to say I love this lens! It has a lovely focus ring and a short focus throw. It is the nicest handling lens yet from TTartisan and the images are good. Better colour cast than the 50mm. My only complaint with all TTartisan is that the infinity hard stop is not always focused at infinity. I have to check and sometimes back off infinity. Keep up the great videos. Thank you.
Hi David! Many thanks for your feedback! About the infinity stop - actually all TT Artisan lenses in my test were pretty well adjusted to infinity. In case yours is off, there are three tiny set screws in the focusing ring.
What you then do is:
1) you focus to infinity, at f/1.4 (most precise)
2) carefully loosen the small screws. In my case it was only 2 screws that needed to be loosened ...
3) now the focus ring can be turned, without changing the actual focus. So you move it to the hard stop and then carefully tighten the screws again.
I tried that on my 23/1.4 even though I didn't need to - just to confirm that you can adjust the hard stop for yourself, if needed!
Hi I really like all of your reviews because you are probably the only person who mentioned lens speed!
I just got this lens 2 days ago. I bought it because I want fast compact 23-25mm lens for night time. So far I like the colors and contrast over 7artisan 25 mm f1.8. Apparently like you said 23mm speed is slower than actual 1.4. But my real problem is it is not sharp at 1.4 like many reviews said. Idk if it’s because my copy is bad or it’s normal. I want to check if my lens is normal. Can you tell me if your copy has the same issue? My copy is not necessarily unsharp, but it has this glow bloom effect in some light conditions. Sometimes it doesn’t do that but most of the time it has the bloom effect at 1.4 when I zoom in. Some reviews mention color fringing. I’m not sure if it is the case. I’m not too familiar with the terms of all lens aberrations. If it is just a normal aberration this lens has, what is the condition I should avoid? It seems like under well controlled light this lens doing ok.
And it seems like nothing really in focus when they are far away. Like if I try to put a subject at 10 feet away in focus, it won’t be sharp.
Wonderful PHOTOS ! Massimo
Many thanks Massimo !! :)
Samples are really great, keep sharing
Thanks a lot! :)
Super video Thomas! I've been looking forward to this for weeks.Your photography is beautiful. You really have a knack for intriguing architectural shots. Since you mention the Zonlai 22mm, could you tell me a bit more? I have that lens and have found it acceptable but always slightly disappointing for some intangible reason. Would you say that this lens is better? If so, in what way? I have the TTArtisan 35mm and 50mm lenses and think they're superb. Thanks again!
Hi Donald! Did you see my Zonlai review video? I think lenses like the TT Artisan 23/1.4 are a better option today!
A follower of my channel generously sent his Kamlan 21/1.8 for a couple of weeks so I'm currently doing a comparison between these three lenses: TT Artisan, Kamlan, Zonlai.
And I can already say that the Zonlai won't get my vote anymore ...
First vid I have probs ever watched from you, but I really like the content and, as an extra bonus, your background music choice (that is, it only plays in the background whenever necessary, not all the bloody time, like some vloggers see fit to do and anoy the heck out of us viewers LOL).
Dutifully subscribed! Congrats and thanks from a fellow street photog from Brazil!
Thanks Scott for your feedback ... also about the music ... and welcome to my channel!! 😊
Awesome review, thx a lot. But don’t forget the Samyang 21mm f1.4 lens in your comparison video, my personal choice for that focal range. Live long and prosper.
The Samyang, yes, that's a great lens. It's in a different price league however. So for now, I'm gonna concentrate on the sub USD150 / EUR150 price range. Maybe I'll get the opportunity to pitch one of the cheap 21/22/23's against the Samyang and/or an original Fujinon as well in another comparison!
I am looking forward to your compar. of ttartisan 23 with Kamlan 21. I used to own Kamlan and now I own ttartisan 23 and plan to buy Meike 25mm f2. My first copy of Kamlan was decentered. The second one was really good. Flare with Kamlan was really strong and it had also midzone dip - but if I remember well, the Kamlan lens was very good ..
Thanks for your feedback! The problem of all reviews (also my own ones) is off course that we can only check out one copy of each lens, sometimes maybe two but even that is kind of rare.
So there is maybe always a chance to get a decentered copy. On the one hand, TT Artisan, Zonlai, Kamlan etc. they all make very simple designs - which is good, as the chance for production errors is lower! On the other hand, they do have very low prices so quality control can't be Zeiss or Leica standards.
Without pixel peeping the images looks great. :)
Haha! Sounds like you‘re not that convinced about this lens?
@@tomscameras Oh, my comment was positive actually. 😃
What I wanted to say is that I watched Christopher Frost's review with pixel peeping included and if watching only that one can assume that this lens is not usable at all, but your review shows a real world usage and it is easy to conclude that it is very usable and the image quality is nice, for the price it is actually very good.
I believe a good photographer could make it look great as it looks great in your photos, however the rest of us who can not be so sure about ourselves it is more secure to buy a lens that do everything well, then we can be sure that it is our fault and not the lens. 🙂
@@BojanBojovic Well, many thanks for your detailed feedback! I get that I shouldn’t make lenses look too good maybe.I am not one of the „laboratory test“ channels and o just shoot lenses in real world and share my experience. But yes many lenses are far from perfect. Maybe I can adjust to that very easily but I can try to be a bit more critical in the future for my videos :)
@@tomscameras I would not say the video was not critical, just another angle to view the reality from. 🙂👍
Thank you very much! 😀
Incredible lens! I have it permanently mounted on my Sony a6000. I love the build quality and the vintage look at wider apertures, but this lens also produces very sharp (modern) images at f/8 and f/16. And the focal is just perfect for everything (35mm equivalent). I have only a couple of gripes:
1) the focus ring isn’t true to its distance scale, making zone focusing impossible without using the EVF… the infinity mark is far from accurate (I found the infinity point somewhere between the 5m and the infinity mark).
2) that’s very technical but is important for those who want this lens for the 1.4 aperture. Given the small diameter of the lens, don’t expect to see in the darkness at f/1.4. The actual light transmission is way lesser than a bigger f/1.4 prime since the f stop is a subjective measure. It has to do with the opening in relation with the diameter of the lens (a main reason that cinema lenses are using T stops instead). I found it very strange one morning, just before the sunrise, that i needed to crank the ISO up to 640 for the shot at f/1.4, while in the same lighting conditions I used ISO 800 with my Sony 18-105 f/4 (!!!) at f/4, which is 3 stops narrower! The reason is the actual diameter of the 18-105 which is monstrous next to the TTArtisan, so it transmits almost the same light at f/4! Generally speaking, this lens is not ideal for low light.
But for general photography is just perfect.
Hey, many thanks for your comprehensive comment!
1. you can adjust the infinity stop on TT Artisan lenses by loosening (not completely removing!) the three very small setscrews that sit in the focus ring. So first you'd focus to infinity carefully, then loosen the set screws (make sure you don't move the focus ring) and then move the ring to the infinity position and tighten the screws again. Note that sometimes the focus ring is also fixed with some glue so you need to "break it loose" carefully after you loosened the three screws. It's not the most convenient procedure but it can be done!
2. I directly compared this lens to the newer TT Artisan 25mm f/2 and the 7Artisans 24/1.4 lenses. It is about 1/3 stop slower than the 7Artisans and about 1/3 stop faster than the 25/2 ... My assumption is that the 25/2 is very bright for an f/2, maybe it's f/1.8 more in reality. So, yes, the TT Artisan 23/1.4 is a bit less fast than it says, maybe in reality it's more like an f/1.6 lens or something like that.
But I also have to say that compared to all my lenses (no matter which brand) when set to f/4, the TT Artisan 23/1.4 will be much faster than that!
I compared it with my Panasonic kit lens (12-60mm f/3.5-5.6) at f5.6, the Panasonic is brighter, but the difference is about a half stop. And yes, f/1.4 is brighter only with a half stop than at f/2, so the f/1.4 setting would be f/2 at bigger brands.
I could adjust infininity with help of the three little screws and Thomas.
Fantastic Lense review Tom, very interesting video thank for sharing
Many thanks Tony! I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)
Thank you very much for this excellent review. I plan to buy a Fuji X-E4. Being accustomed with my X100F to 35 mm which I find ideal for street photography, this TT Artisan 23 mm, with its aperture of 1.4, tempts me a lot.
Thank you very much! Do you already have any experience with manual focus lenses? For street photography, that's a very different shooting experience to AF. Some love it, others prefer AF ...
@@tomscameras Yes I had a Zeiss 35mm f2.0, a very good manual lens that I used on a Canon 5DMarkII. It took me a little time to adapt but after that you quickly get used to it. Thank you again Tom and greetings from Paris.
Thanks for making this review Tom. I wanted to ask if this lend is good for video? Does this have any focus breathing issues? Appreciate you covering manual focus lenses. Should This be my first manual focus lens only for video ? Would love a reply. Im an apsc video shooter.
I would maybe prefer the 7Artisans lenses for video because they have stepless aperture rings. But myself, I'm a photographer, not specialized in video!
Nice video Tom! Think it's a fun lens, still think the 50mmf1.2 is their best lens despite the slightly lower light transmission.
Actually it's easier to make an awe-inspiring 50mm lens than 23mm. That's just because at 50mm (for APS-C) you're sitting in that sweet spot with amazing bokeh capabilities and that portrait-lens look! I think the 23 and 50 do compliment very well together! I wouldn't hesitate to go on a journey around the world with just these two lenses!
Very informative review, thank you
Thanks for your feedback! Glad you liked it!
Way nice review, Tom! But about the money, a small note, as written via community page before - it's ca. 91-95 EUR without lens hood, and about 107-112 EUR with lens hood, if one is buying (shipping free worldwide) via Aliexpress, there are many sellers there. I preordered it before it was even announced, i had a special contact, and received it still into december 2021. Nice pictures also from Düsseldorf, i was working there for some years.
Thanks for pointing out! I hope that when watching my video, it becomes clear that these lenses are very inexpensive. I mean, e.g. if they appear on the second-hand market, they will be even more cheap than this ...
@@tomscameras Exactly. You know - i really like the Lens Reviews from Christopher Frost, but your video here is being so much better for this particular Lens, it's like being said before a character lens, and comparing brick walls or looking for perfect sharpness is somewhat silly therefore. But @5.6-F8, like i said before the video, pretty good useable - and avialable light photography is never about clinical sharpness @F1.2, F1.4 or F1.8... ;) I like this small TTA 23/1.4 way much.
@@marcp.1752 many thanks for your comment again! I am not even sure if it’s a pure “character” lens! Yes it is far from perfection but it is still very capable overall. It performs a bit like a (good!) lens from the 1970s … with flaws but overall still capable of technicality perfect shots!
@@tomscameras Just right! I thought the same. And i prefer character or "clinical sharpness" which is boring as hell, Tom. I've known shortly after preordering the lens from the Richard Wong Video, that the lens is capable of great 10-point Sunstars. I mentioned back then further, it's a bit sad, the lens markings are not being laser-etched, like the new TTA 28mm F5.6 M Leica Lens, but it's 270 vs. ~95 EUR, so one really can't complain for that little money. I would have liked also a bit more space for the past 4-5 aperture stops on the aperture ring, but one can't have it all for so little money. :)
Nice work on getting such a variety of photos, subject and conditions to demonstrate this lens!
I know Fuji has some weird focus by wire lenses with no infinity setting but are there other lenses like that? Does seem weird. All my other brand lens I’ve had (Pentax, Zeiss, Sigma, Tamron, Minolta) all have a hard stop of infinity.
The aesthetic design of this lens doesn’t fit with the look of the other TTArtisan lenses got APS-C. I’ve for the 17mm, 35mm and 50mm and they all have a family look
Yes it's true that this lens does not match the 17, 35 and 50 for looks. Yet it is so different and unique that it sort of deserves its own space in the lens lineup :)
Gracias, muy detallado. Me gusta por qué es un poco más amplia que el 25 en mft
Yes, 23mm is a very nice "wider standard" focal length for MFT as well!
Thank you Tom for a wonderful video.
Do you focus with the screen or are you just composing the image , the reason I ask is because I wear glasses and would like to get a camera and work about using the view finder to focus.
Hey! For landscapes or architecture as you see in the video, I don’t use the screen or viewfinder to focus. I just set the lens to infinity. But when I take a photo of something more close (people, pets, etc.) then I focus using the screen or viewfinder. If you need e.g. reading glasses or have any trouble to look at things that are close: the viewfinder of all the modern cameras has a diopter adjustment! So you can adjust it to your eyesight! So for many people it is easier to use the viewfinder instead of the rear screen …
Really good review of a lens I really like. If we could only talk Fuji into making much smaller faster lenses with more aperture leaves for better bokeh,with classy vintage looks and more reasonable prices in the worst economy we've ever seen ! Also, a monochrome X PRO and XE would make me cry with gratitude because I know they could do it better than Leica and it would be affordable to we mere mortals !
Keep up the great videos, really enjoying them. I have most of the fast Chinese lenses you have been teaching about and have bought a few because of your videos.
Regards, LarryMac
Oh yes, I totally agree with you. Actually, my personal #1 favorite Fujinon lens is the 35/1.4, which has truly beautiful optics and also it's not as big as some of the more modern offerings!
And I'd definitely love to see a monochrome camera that's not a Leica! But I fear that the "big" manufacturers (not just Sony, Canon, but also Fujinon ...) don't dare to offer niche products like that anymore.
im doubting between zebra or black (I have a black xe3 just like yours)... Is the silver in the focus ring just paint? Will wait to watch your review
No, it's blank metal. Exactly the same as with all those 1960's lenses that had the same finish!
@@tomscameras Great review!!! Greetings from Mexico. Thank you!
Good evening Thomas, first of all thank you very much for the videos you do really good work.
I would like to ask you a question about the TT Artisan lenses and that is if they can be used on the Fuji Xpro 1. Since I own one and I would really like to know if they can be used with it.
Thank you very much and greetings.
Thank you for your feedback!
About the X-Pro 1: You can use it with manual lenses but it will work the best in EVF mode, that means when you are using the electronic viewfinder. If you switch to the optical viewfinder, you won't have any possibility to check the focus setting.
What you can do is use the lens at infinity (for example for far-away landscapes) or you can also use zone focusing (like: you set the lens to 3 metres and of course then you make sure that your subject is about 3 metres away). If you want to try this, my advice is to set f/8 or even f/11 so you have a bigger depth of field.
Again, when you switch to the electronic viewfinder, then the X-Pro1 will work as well with these manual lenses as any other Fuji body.
I hope this helps!
@@tomscameras Thank you very much for your answer Thomas, and yes, of course it has been very helpful. And well I'll try to buy some TT Artisan.
Greetings from Venezuela and thanks again for the support.
@@jcarlosperez712 You’re welcome! If you have any further questions, just let me know. Regards to Venezuela!
Thanks Tom. Now i'm in doubt about tje 23mm of the 50mm of ttartisan 😂
I am currently using both these lenses a lot, the 23 and the 50. I think it's a great couple and for that price you can't go wrong with both of these.
But if you want to check out alternatives to the 23/1.4, have a look at the Kamlan 21/1.8! Did you already see my video about it?
ruclips.net/video/VUxQ1W3NFlg/видео.html
Great review, thank you!
Many thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
thank you for great review!
You're welcome, thanks a lot for your feedback!
Nice review! ... Would be nice to see how it compares with the pergear 25mm f1.8 ...
I've now got the chance to compare with the Zonlai 22/1.8 and Kamlan 21/1.8, but sadly not with any of those very inexpensive 25's yet ...
I have the Pergear 25mm f/1.8 and this TTArtisan 23mm f/1.4 replaced it. In a way I find the Pergear 25mm f/1.8 optically better, however I carry two cameras (the other with the excellent TTArtisan 50mm f/1.2....) Where the 23mm is better is the focus is the same direction as my 50mm. So when I pick either camera up, my hand motion for focusing is the same.
You have some field curvature with the 23mm. In that what you focus at the center of the image, the edges will be soft. A lot of lenses do this. So as long as you are aware of it. Unless I need a different f-stop, I always shoot it at f/8. So in summary, I like this lens a lot. Run it on an X-E3 mostly, the other which I have the 50mm is the X-T30.
@@EricPalmerBlog Nice, the pergear seems difficult to handle, the size make it a nice travel lens, I guess both are really nice alternatives but will depend on the handle experience.
Thanks Thomas! You make me want to grab my wallet once more haha even though my kamlan is a good one too, I am sure. That is why I am looking to that review as well:) nice photos and loved the architecture shots in Düsseldorf! Seems we have another Ttartisan winner here!
You've got the Kamlan 21/1.8? A great lens! But maybe also watch one of my next videos where I'm comparing it with the TT Artisan 23/1.4! :)
@@tomscameras yes it is me, Wouter;)
@@WVMUSIC_NL Haha! For a moment I thought there’s a second owner of that lens somewhere out there 🤣
@@tomscameras haha nobody I guess even though I think is what a bad purchase
Great video. Thank you very much. Personally, I still prefer the Kamlan 21 over this lens, but the design of this lens is just beautiful. I just wish they didn't do the lens cap this way. Forget using any filters until you get a different cap.
Thanks for your feedback! You're right about the filters - I so rarely use an ND or polarizer on my digital cameras. But yes, overall a standard snap-on lens cap is maybe just the best solution!
We've already finished shooting my review video about the Kamlan 21 and it will be uploaded soon, by the way!
Nice review...
Thank you for your feedback!
Hi Tom, i'd like you to review also the Meike 28mm F2.8 Lens - it's a small pancake lens design, think of a (lower quality) Fujifilm 27mm F2.8, without AF, all mechanical also, but fine build quality, it's F2.8 seems a bit too optimistic for my taste, more like a F3.5-3.8 Lens, but it's nice and sharp, very small & handy, does have some character, vintage-esque rendering, and did i say it's cheap? I paid
Yes, it's fun to see how the low-price end of the market is filled by now with either some older and really basic lens designs like the Meike 28 as well as much better designs such as e.g. the TT Artisan 35/1.4.
There's also all those old 25/1.8 lenses, I guess these were still directly derived from C-mount glass - and adapted C-mount lenses are IMO what initiated this whole market sector: cheap manual-focus fast glass for APS-C mirrorless!
Maybe if I find such a Meike 28/2.8 or any of those 25/1.8s for a really low price, or also if some visitor of my channel (preferably in Germany or the Netherlands, due to the cost of shipping) can spare his lens for 2-3 weeks, then I'll review it. :)
@@tomscameras Excellent, Tom! :) Yes, at least some 25/1.8 Lenses are so ultra cheap, like 25 EUR on Aliexpress, and barely fitting the MFT circle, but i do think, this Meike 28/2.8 was being created for APS-C, not coming from C-Mount therefore. At least, it's all glass & metal, the lens cap was metal too, but the current version comes with a plastic lens cap, and the part besides the front lens element and the rest of the front diameter is plastic - with the tiny lens into the middle section.
@@marcp.1752 Thanks for the infos! I have to check out all these lenses and maybe yes there's an interesting one for one of my videos.
BTW I did own and shoot the Fuji 27/2.8 at some point in the past. It was a gorgeous lens but around the same time I also got the Fujinon 23/2 and ended up shooting that lens all the time :)
@@tomscameras Yes, i totally understand Tom. For myself, only the later 27/2.8 II WR would be interesting - but i am not willing to shell out 450 EUR for a F2.8 27mm pancake lens. Albeit it does have now weathersealing, and a aperture ring - which i consider standard, well, sadly all these manual focus lenses aren't being weathersealed, this would be perfect :)
And like you said, 23mm (35mm FF equivalent) is my #1 focal length since the late 80s. :)
For canon RF R7 which one is better ttartison 25f2, 23f1.4, 35 f1.4 ???
I would select between the newer 25/2 (over the older 23/1.4) and the 35/1.4. Here, the 35/1.4 has the even better optics, but then you can't compare 25 to 35, the field of view is just very different ... and that's of course a matter of your preference!
Which one is better compared to TT Artisan 35mm f1.2 Mark II?
I mean 7 Artisan*
You can't directly compare any 23mm lens to a 35mm lens because the field of view is very different.
Hi tom, could you give some advice if I have to pick one for m43? Thanks.
Ttartisan 23 1.4
Ttartisan 25 2.0
7artisan 25 1.8
Hey! I would personally prefer the new 25/2 over the 23/1.4 unless you really want the additional background blur that the f/1.4 can offer.
The 25/2 is sharper over most of the frame and doesn’t have that strong mid frame dip that the 23/1.4 shows.
However, the four extreme corners of the frame will never sharpen up completely with the 25/2 when shooting landscapes so please don’t expect perfection here either.
I finished shooting sample photos and also we already did the shooting for the review video. It will be released in the next few days. I’m a bit behind schedule but we just had two weeks of almost continuous rainy and dull weather, and I always want to show some nice real-world samples, hence the delay.
Sorry I can’t comment on the 7Artisans, it’s an older design. I don’t like the clickless apertures of most 7Artisans lenses for photography so I’d rather opt for the TT Artisan offerings in this case anyway.
@@tomscameras Thanks very much for the advice. Sorry to hear the weather. Looking forward to your video.
The lens does look fine on your E3, Tom. I moved it currently to my M1, from the E1.
Did you also get the "zebra" version or the all-black one?
@@tomscameras Hi Tom, i preordered into the first December 2021week the Zebra design, and received it before X-Mas. :) I like this much more, than the all black one. But i've wished - TTA APS-C/DX Lineup would be more consistent - means, this Lens would fit into the 17/1.4, 35/1.4 and 50/1.2 Design...which isn't the case.
👍
Thanks! :)
How to do the corrections plus 4 or 5 with Lightroom ??
If you use Adobe Lightroom, there's a distortion correction that goes from -100 to 0 to +100. Here you enter the values, in this case +4 or +6 etc.
Other RAW converters also have similar distortion correction functionalities.
These are awesome lenses. Sadly for me I do require some weather seal so I cant buy any of these lense.
Yes, sadly there's by the way no manual-focus lens at all with weather sealing!
thanks Thomas, good reviews, i buy that lens for my daughter and she's xe1 and i don't see any more reviews because yours absolutely sterling
Many thanks for your feedback! I hope your daughter will have a lot of fun with the lens!
Their is 7artisans 25 f1.8 which is very sharp and very cheap, check it out.
There are several 25/1.8's. I never checked out any of these. They are all older designs. I think all those 25/1.8's the first generation of lenses that the Chinese manufacturers designed for APS-C mirrorless cameras, before that it was mostly just converted C-mount lenses.
Not saying they're bad - but I admit, I prefer f/1.4 :)
Sure. It's wonderful but let's not get carried away here.
You think my review is not critical enough? If you like, tell me your thoughts in more detail!