It's definitely not a landscape lens. I use it for B&W street photography and have been quite pleased with it's performance, especially given it's price.
Excellent Dustin, i asked for this review ;-) Now i have this lens since serveral weeks, it sits on my X-M1 forever now, giving the TTA 23/1.4 back to my E1. Have a great day.
I have this lens, its added a new “life” to my spare (aka least used) A6000 body and its a ton of fun to shoot street and travel with, and def punches above its price point IMO.
This compact cheap lens was a nice surprise for me. On my Olympus OMD M-10II does a good job, usually as street photo setup. Price / performance ratio is excellent.
Brilliant review. As much as I like your detailed reviews, I suppose I only need to know "Is it sharp in the centre and corners", and "is there something weird with the lens" when I'm buying a cheap manual focus lens. I think this reveiw type suits more for under $200 MF lenses. Thanks!
Thank you for this review! I received mine and am using it on a Sony APS-C body. I’m suffering heavy vignetting at f/2, f/2.4, f/2.8, and light vignetting at f/4. TTARTISAN said this is completely normal, but I don’t believe them because I haven’t seen this mentioned anywhere. The vignetting is reminiscent of using an APS-C lens on a full frame body. The lens is pretty unusable at lower apertures. Are experiencing this at all? I think my unit is bad.
I saw under three stops in the corners in my tests, so I'm not quite sure what your standard is. It sounds like you are experiencing something more than that
Hi all, In my opinion, the price of this lens means you can't complain too much but if you were thinking of using it for street photography using zone focusing, think twice. At first glance the construction looks good; good weight and all metal. However the focus ring screws seemed too weak to me. Regardless of the fact that its diaphragm range is probably not f2 to f16 but darker, the biggest problem with this lens is that the focus is poorly calibrated. Not only in my case, I have found more users with the same complaint. Focusing by focus peaking at 1 meter the ring marks 0.8 approximately, focusing by focus peaking at 3 meters the focus ring marks 1.5 approximately. This makes certain types of street photography impossible. The one where you rely on the focus marks on your lens to pre-focus when you don't want to use the viewfinder to avoid drawing attention to yourself. In principle this problem should be easily solved by loosening the focus ring and adjusting it. But the TTArtisan 25mm f2 has another big problem, even if you loosen all the focus ring screws the focus ring is still attached to the focusing mechanism and cannot be adjusted. At least it can't adjust smoothly as it should, I don't know if reaching the end of the range and applying more force it could be adjusted. Finally, although the friction of the diaphragm ring is correct, the friction of the focus ring is too soft and there is no doubt that you will lose focus with the slightest touch. All in all, a good buy if you rely on the focus assist of your mirrorless camera but a bad buy if you want to zone focusing.
I just got this lens in today for my Fuji X-T2, for the money this lens isn't too bad. Is it perfect? No, can it compare to my Nikon lenses(50mm 1.8, 70-200mm 2.8)? Not by a long shot, but, again for the money it has a very good build quality, smooth focusing and the one feature I was looking for to keep my fuji compact is it's size. It doesn't protrude too much so I can keep the camera tucked under my coat and avoid carrying my Nikon D500.
Unfortunately on full frame Z mount this lens has a smaller image circle not being able to cover 1:1 crop (3:4 is ok). I got this lens primarily for shooting in 1:1 crop, small and cheap. At @0:42 It appears to cover the square format however it is not the case for nikon. Great videos. Edit: I realized the footage shown, for how much vignetting you get on full frame, is in 16:9 ratio rather than 3:2.
everybody knows its not a landscape lens, and it works best on fuji, i use it as a pocket camera lens when my Leica Q2 is to big. you have to test it for what its ment for... and learn the lens. i use Sony,Nikon Z and Leica , Fuji and it can not compare with this cameras and lenses, its a pancake lens, you nerver use pancakes for landscape if you are serious about Photo... its like bying a cheep Chinese car and say it dont goes as well as my expensive Mercedes.... use it for street on a small Fuji cam and it works exelent with analog feel, or on a small Sony . Thanx for the review anyway, i think it can help someone who thinks its good for nature Photo...
@@DustinAbbottTWI ok most people know it, if they read about the lens. i use both fuji and sony and the fuji colors and files helps the lens to give better results. i still think people knows a pancake is not for landscapes. never been...
These cheaper lenses might be a good option for beginners, hobbyists & anyone into B&W street & architectural photography. If this was a perfect lens for 69 bucks then I guess it would be sold out.
Nice review. One thing, you said that manually focusing is easy with mirrorless cameras, as opposed to mirrored? Because SLR's are much easier to focus, with optical viewfinders, and focusing aids like split image and real microprism. Digital simulations of either don't even come close.
Looks like junk. Not worth buying. Might as well just use your cel phone which likely has a better lens around the same exact focal length. Save up money to buy a better lens than this.
It's definitely not a landscape lens. I use it for B&W street photography and have been quite pleased with it's performance, especially given it's price.
That's probably the best application.
I have it since release (early bird via Aliexpress) but haven't used it so far, i must admit. 🙂 Would try it for street also onto my X-M1
Excellent Dustin, i asked for this review ;-) Now i have this lens since serveral weeks, it sits on my X-M1 forever now, giving the TTA 23/1.4 back to my E1.
Have a great day.
I have this lens, its added a new “life” to my spare (aka least used) A6000 body and its a ton of fun to shoot street and travel with, and def punches above its price point IMO.
I'm glad you are enjoying it.
I ordered this lens, and it came as TTartisan 27mm F2.8 autofocus lens. A pleasant "upgrade" nevertheless.. But I still like to try out this lens.
That is a VERY nice upgrade!
This is done so well! Your photos are gorgeous! Thank you so much 😊
Thank you so much!
I recently bought this lens as a pancake option for my Fuji XT3 and I’m happy with it. Great review!
Nice. Enjoy!
This compact cheap lens was a nice surprise for me. On my Olympus OMD M-10II does a good job, usually as street photo setup. Price / performance ratio is excellent.
I'm glad you've enjoyed it.
This lens seems like it makes a lot of sense on m43. A nice compact nifty fifty, and the worst of the corners won’t be an issue.
This was exactly the review i needed. Thank you
Glad it was helpful!
Was waiting for this review. Thank you for this.
Thanks for watching!
Nice review as usual. I think that most people would be willing to pay twice as much for much improved quality.
Very possibly, though there are always complications when trying to evaluate the market.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Thanks for replying.
Brilliant review.
As much as I like your detailed reviews, I suppose I only need to know "Is it sharp in the centre and corners", and "is there something weird with the lens" when I'm buying a cheap manual focus lens.
I think this reveiw type suits more for under $200 MF lenses. Thanks!
That was my thoughts as well. My definitive type reviews are a bit of overkill for budget options like this.
Nope we need reviews like this!
Thank you for this review! I received mine and am using it on a Sony APS-C body. I’m suffering heavy vignetting at f/2, f/2.4, f/2.8, and light vignetting at f/4. TTARTISAN said this is completely normal, but I don’t believe them because I haven’t seen this mentioned anywhere.
The vignetting is reminiscent of using an APS-C lens on a full frame body. The lens is pretty unusable at lower apertures.
Are experiencing this at all? I think my unit is bad.
I saw under three stops in the corners in my tests, so I'm not quite sure what your standard is. It sounds like you are experiencing something more than that
I saw it listed as an APS-C lens on the website I was shopping from. Are you sure this is a true full frame lens?
@@Strideo1 The 50mm is a Full Frame lens, and the 25mm is an APS-C lens. I was trying the 25mm on an APS-C camera.
Hi all,
In my opinion, the price of this lens means you can't complain too much but if you were thinking of using it for street photography using zone focusing, think twice.
At first glance the construction looks good; good weight and all metal. However the focus ring screws seemed too weak to me.
Regardless of the fact that its diaphragm range is probably not f2 to f16 but darker, the biggest problem with this lens is that the focus is poorly calibrated. Not only in my case, I have found more users with the same complaint. Focusing by focus peaking at 1 meter the ring marks 0.8 approximately, focusing by focus peaking at 3 meters the focus ring marks 1.5 approximately. This makes certain types of street photography impossible. The one where you rely on the focus marks on your lens to pre-focus when you don't want to use the viewfinder to avoid drawing attention to yourself.
In principle this problem should be easily solved by loosening the focus ring and adjusting it. But the TTArtisan 25mm f2 has another big problem, even if you loosen all the focus ring screws the focus ring is still attached to the focusing mechanism and cannot be adjusted. At least it can't adjust smoothly as it should, I don't know if reaching the end of the range and applying more force it could be adjusted.
Finally, although the friction of the diaphragm ring is correct, the friction of the focus ring is too soft and there is no doubt that you will lose focus with the slightest touch.
All in all, a good buy if you rely on the focus assist of your mirrorless camera but a bad buy if you want to zone focusing.
And you may have figured out why it costs so little…
Er, newsflash! It's a $60 lens.
I just got this lens in today for my Fuji X-T2, for the money this lens isn't too bad. Is it perfect? No, can it compare to my Nikon lenses(50mm 1.8, 70-200mm 2.8)? Not by a long shot, but, again for the money it has a very good build quality, smooth focusing and the one feature I was looking for to keep my fuji compact is it's size. It doesn't protrude too much so I can keep the camera tucked under my coat and avoid carrying my Nikon D500.
Fair enough!
Thanks for the detailed review! Does it focus beyond infinity? Have the 23 1.4 from TTArtisan and it does that which makes it hard to zone focus
I suspect that it does. Most of these lenses do
A REAL review tnx
Thank you
Unfortunately on full frame Z mount this lens has a smaller image circle not being able to cover 1:1 crop (3:4 is ok). I got this lens primarily for shooting in 1:1 crop, small and cheap. At @0:42 It appears to cover the square format however it is not the case for nikon.
Great videos.
Edit: I realized the footage shown, for how much vignetting you get on full frame, is in 16:9 ratio rather than 3:2.
It's definitely not really a full frame lens.
I feel like this is more of a street shooters lens, not a landscape photographers lens.
Possibly.
It is what you use it for
It's perfect for portraits but I have gotten some good photos with landscape bit I'd say it's better st portraits
Appears blue & magenta are wild but sharp & compact / fun / affordable
Well, okey dokey. Thank for sharing your feelings 🫠
Hi sir, i would like to use this for video as my first prime lens. Is this lens good for this? Does focus breathing cause issues?
It's been too long since I've done this review; I can't really comment.
Is this wide enough to shoot interiors for real estate videos? I always find my shots are a little too tight for my liking. Thanks!
You can definitely find wider lenses for interiors. I would find something under 20mm (more like 12-15mm) if you want to do a lot of interiors.
Recommend 16mm range, instead..or maximum 20mm
Thanks, really glad I watched your concise review prior to not buying this lens
My pleasure.
everybody knows its not a landscape lens, and it works best on fuji, i use it as a pocket camera lens when my Leica Q2 is to big. you have to test it for what its ment for... and learn the lens. i use Sony,Nikon Z and Leica , Fuji and it can not compare with this cameras and lenses, its a pancake lens, you nerver use pancakes for landscape if you are serious about Photo... its like bying a cheep Chinese car and say it dont goes as well as my expensive Mercedes.... use it for street on a small Fuji cam and it works exelent with analog feel, or on a small Sony . Thanx for the review anyway, i think it can help someone who thinks its good for nature Photo...
Everybody knows...interesting take. You say it works best on Fuji, but why?
@@DustinAbbottTWI ok most people know it, if they read about the lens. i use both fuji and sony and the fuji colors and files helps the lens to give better results. i still think people knows a pancake is not for landscapes. never been...
These cheaper lenses might be a good option for beginners, hobbyists & anyone into B&W street & architectural photography. If this was a perfect lens for 69 bucks then I guess it would be sold out.
That's true.
Thank you!!!
You're welcome!
Nice review.
One thing, you said that manually focusing is easy with mirrorless cameras, as opposed to mirrored? Because SLR's are much easier to focus, with optical viewfinders, and focusing aids like split image and real microprism. Digital simulations of either don't even come close.
Hmmm, I definitely don't agree, but to each their own.
Its a nice lens but i find the color's can be dull sometimes
That's fair.
I doubt anyone will buy this lens for great image quality. I bought it for street photography at f8 zone focusing and for the vintage like rendering
Enjoy!
Is it available in Nikon f mount?
No - this is only for mirrorless mounts.
@@DustinAbbottTWI do they make a small one like that for f mount?
Its got a bit swirl to it, interesting.
I think its the same lens as Pergear 25 1.8, just in another body
Nope, it's not. I own the pergear 25/1.8, it does have a different vintage rendering, also it flares less than this new TTA 25/2.
It is actually quite bad 😆Can be very useful for shooting B&W street photography though. Thanks a lot for sharing the result!
LOL.
haha love the 50 peso u got :D
This lens is a total shit.
Ergo the $64 price tag.
Looks like junk. Not worth buying. Might as well just use your cel phone which likely has a better lens around the same exact focal length. Save up money to buy a better lens than this.
It's a fair point, though you can still do depth of field things with a "real lens" like this that are hard to do with a cell phone.