TTArtisan has added two new manual focus lenses to its full-frame lineup. The optics manufacturer based in China has announced one $69 50mm F2 lens for mirrorless cameras and a $468 35mm F2 lens for Leica M-mount cameras.
Let’s start with Leica shall we?
M-mount 35mm F2 APO ASPH Lens
The 35mm F2 M-mount lens is an APO ASPH design. The APO (apochromatic) is meant to suppress chromatic aberration while the ASPH (aspherical) element corrects distortion. Combined with 12 elements in 9 groups, a clicked aperture ring, and an all-metal body weighing roughly 510 grams, this lens is created for premium impact.
The lens is M-mount only, but can be used with adapters on other cameras. It has a 52mm front filter thread size and the closest focusing distance is 0.7m. Retail price is $468 which translates roughly to 406 GBP (source: per Aliexpress on July 15, 2022).
TTArtisan has a page of more sample photos you can view here.
Mirrorless 50mm F2 “Pancake-Like” Lens
Moving onto the 50mm F2 lens, this is also a full-metal body which has a clicked aperture ring and a 43mm front filter thread size. The closest focusing distance is 0.5m. Designed to be a small and portable lightweight carry, the manual focus lens weighs in at roughly 190-212 grams depending on the specific camera brand mount chosen.
The biggest advantage of this lens is the price. It will be retailed for $69, roughly 60 GBP (source: per Aliexpress on July 15, 2022). This makes it the cheapest available lens in the TTArtisan full-frame store to date.
See more sample photos from TTArtisan here.
Where to Shop
Both lenses will be sold on TTArtisan’s online shops at Amazon, Shopify, or Aliexpress, along with this list of other retailers on their website here. At the time of writing, I did not see the products yet on Amazon (UK). They are available however on the Aliexpress and Shopify TTArtisan stores.
At the time I checked the Shopify website, they have a $5 USD discount code available for the 50mm F2 and a free shipping discount code on the 35mm F2 M-mount lens.
The 35mm seems almost comically large IMO. 510G according to TTARTISANS website, making it heavier than the 90mm APO Sumicron, the Zeiss ZM 35 1.4, and the Voigtlander 35mm f2 APO, all of which I would consider big and heavy lenses for the M mount already. Not sure many M shooters will like using it, but I guess they’re shooting more for the adapted lens crowd
Agreed about the size, I’m not sure I understand the point of creating such a huge lens for a system prioritized around compactness and unobtrusiveness, whilst maintaining image quality. That said, I think it’s also fair to question certain offerings from Leica (e. g. 21mm/1.4 ASPH, 90mm/1.5 ASPH) or Zeiss (e. g. ZM 35mm/1.4) from a similar vantage point.
I’m not sure I get the idea of creating rangefinder lenses for those adapting lenses to other systems. If that were the case, wouldn’t it be even more affordable to create all mechanical lenses without rangefinder coupling?
Hi Ivan, Thanks for reading and your thoughts! It is large respectively like you said and will be interesting to see how popular it is amongst m mount users versus adapted lens users! Some might not think its that large and some might find it huge depending on perspective and preference. I definitely prefer smaller lenses, but maybe someone would see it as a trade off for the lower price point.