It’s The Cheapest Autofocus Lens EVER, and it’s Amazing!

*** LENS LINKS (affiliate) ***

GEAR I USED TO MAKE THIS VIDEO

VIDEO GEAR (affiliate links):

AUDIO GEAR (affiliate links):

LIGHTING (affiliate links):

COMPUTER AND EDITING (affiliate links):

* Some links are affiliate links, you do not pay any extra, but I may get a small commissions. Using these links allows me to make more videos like this one.

00:00 - How Bad Is It?
00:32 - Build Quality
01:07 - Crazy USB-C Lens Cap
01:29 - Sharpness
02:05 - Bokeh
02:56 - Chromatic Aberration
03:32 - Lens Coatings and Contrast
04:47 - Lens Flare
05:25 - Vignette
06:18 - Distortion
07:08 - Should YOU Buy This Lens?

[KeithValler]

I have the Fuji version which is staggeringly good, never misses focus, beautiful colours and is tack sharp. I bought for £160 second hand (same price as this TTArtisan). I never leave home without it.

[isbestlizard]

It's a 27mm f/2.8 for those still wondering a few minutes in

[DmitrijPaskevic]

It's an awesome little lens and I cannot stop getting surprised every time I get an amazingly sharp image at times when I'm not expecting it. I bought it for my street shooting on the budget for my X-E3. The footprint of this combo is just right for the job.

[jameswburke]

I have their 50mm all (manual) for my Sony A7iii. Great lens too. Set the aperture and shutter speed, then let the camera sort out the ISO. Range focusing is perfect for street photography. You can forget about the camera and concentrate on the shot.

[zf_boi]

This is my main lens! The focal length is pretty decent for most things, and the form factor makes my XT-3 easily packable.

[neilmontgomery]

Literally the best value photographic purchase I've ever made. It's short comings are the vignette which can be minimised by stopping down or eliminated in post, easily enough. The flaring is common in a lot of cheap Chinese lenses for sure. You can see the flaring in the view finder/rear lcd and recompose to minimise or eliminate it or even use it artistically if you want. Once you are aware of its shortcomings it can produce excellent images which are sharp edge to edge and have a really nice colour rendition. I even prefer to use this lens to use this lens over the highly rated Fujinon XC 35mm f2 on occasion. I have taken test shots at similar apertures and the TT Artisans has superior edge sharpness when stopped down a bit.

[photo_n_art]

I own Fuji 27mm f2.8 and I love it. The Fuji version has much better micro contrast and is almost permanently attached to my X-E1. It makes the camera almost pocketable and is fantastic on the go/street photography kit.

[pt]

I have one, it's awesome! It's my go-to for daily use.

[kevindiossi]

This is a lens for everyone using APS-C cameras. If you’re a Fuji owner, I think it’s a lens you just have to pick up. When compared directly to the Fujifilm XF 27mm f/2.8, I found this lens to be better overall, sans weather sealing. If this lens had weather sealing, then I would honestly see no reason to own the Fuji version. I personally didn’t like that lens because of the significantly higher amount of focus breathing and seemingly shorter minimum focusing distance. I know that on paper they claim they’re the same, but I always had trouble taking photos of things in my hands on the Fuji lens and I never had a problem with this lens. Great video. You’re extremely well spoken and articulate.

[kgeo]

The quality of products coming out of China has improved drastically over the last 15 years. (In part due to corporate espionage it should be said.) I first noticed this with Fender and Squire guitars built in China. You can buy an excellent electric guitar made in China for $450. That wasn’t the case in the early 2000s. I own the Viltrox 75mm f/1.2. Aside from the minimum focusing distance, which is a bit crap, everything else about the lens is on par with the Fujifilm 56mm f/1.2. There are some complaints about the sun stars and flaring with the Viltrox but for the price I think that can be overlooked for most users. I’ve never owned a TTArtisan lens but at $150 there’s almost no reason not to give it a try.

[ebouwens]

Just for kicks I compared portrait shots taken in low light with the TTArtisans at f2.8 on a Fuji with the Nikon 40 f2 and the 35 f1.8 taken at f4 on the Nikon Zf for similar depth of field. I was blown away that the TTArtisans image was far and away sharper with good contrast. It was not even close.

[ThomasMuller-fgyo]

I bought this one in Thailand for 70$ (second hand) and I am really enjoy this with my X-E3. Good choice, especially compare with Fujinon 27mm ver.2 (300$)

[HelamanGile]

Now it's $160 so not the cheapest autofocus now 😂

[FrankHolub]

Hey Mark! Super interesting lens, I wonder if they'll bother making it in a Canon M mount at this point, I hope they do.

Off topic question for you, I have heard that one of the "problems" with the Canon M6 Mark II is that a lot of the M mount lenses lack the ability to fully resolve all the megapixels on that sensor. Do you think the Viltrox primes are "enough lens" for that sensor, or should I invest in the Sigma primes, or another option entirely?

[DoubleA]

I just snagged my first camera from OfferUp, Sony a6100 w/ kit lens for $300 US! Steal! Because I got such a great deal I'm looking at alternatives to the Kit lens. Thanks for putting this ttartisan lens on my radar! I would love to see a comparison of this lens to a big brand pancake lens, specifically the Sony 20mm pancake lens. Have you experience with that lens? It would be great to hear your thoughts because one can justify getting the Sony pancake on the used market as I've seen them around $200 US.

Thanks for making a great a video!

[daledude]

Great video and review, I didn't catch your introduction to this lens, the name or focal length of this product until I clicked on the link in the description. Was that intentional? Anyway, not a problem, very informative.

[ChadWilson]

I have and love this lens on my Fujifilm X-M1. It gives me great result with black and white.

[zeissiez]

I have a tiny TTArtisan 32 F2.8 full frame lens for my Nikon Z7 for $100, I was shocked that this lens is so sharp, not just in the centre, but right to the corners, wide open. The only downside is lens flare against light sources, which is quite severe. I actually like the slightly lower contrast of these cheap lenses, because I think modern lenses are too contrasty, especially in bright sunny day, which leads to blown highlights and dead shadows, these lenses produce images which look more natural to me, and also give me more headroom shall I need to do post-processing.

[Alish]

in terms of optical quality (especially in landscape photography) which do you think is better: the TT Artisan MF 25mm or the AF 27mm that you review in this very interesting video? Thank you, Alberto from Italy

[elvinlawcc]

The rear lens cap has design flaws. The pin broke easily. Managed to exchange another new set from the dealer but the same problem happened. Besides that it is a very good lens! The optical performance is good. Best paired with my ZVE10. The autofocus performance is good in video mode.