Leica TTArtisan to announce a 50mm f/1.4 M-mount lens!

[Jonathan F/2]

New TTartisan 50mm f/1.4 lens for Leica M-mount to be announced on Friday (pre-orders now open) - Leica Rumors

I was looking at the TTArtisan 50mm f/.95 or re-buying the 7Artisan 50mm f/1.1, but this looks like it hits the sweet spot of performance, size and price (retailing for $370 USD)!

Samples look very good as well:

TTartisan 50mm f/1.4 lens for Leica M-mount sample photos

TTartisan 50mm f/1.4 lens for Leica M-mount sample photos

flic.kr

 

[serhan]

Are you buying? Size is similar to Zony 55mm. The photos looks good... A little softer on color ones (maybe wide open) vs B&W portraits stopped down.... It looks like SA might be the reason which is similar to CV 1.2 lenses but with less fringing on this one...

 

[Jonathan F/2]

Are you buying? Size is similar to Zony 55mm. The photos looks good... A little softer on color ones (maybe wide open) vs B&W portraits stopped down.... It looks like SA might be the reason which is similar to CV 1.2 lenses but with less fringing on this one...

I'm tempted. I like how RF lenses render compared to more traditional lens designs. I don't have an M-mount body, so I'll be adapting it to my Sony bodies plus Techart adapter. The price is also attractive if it's a decent performer. TTArtisan lenses also don't seem as dreamy as 7Artisan glass. They approach their lenses differently despite having similar names!

 

[BrianS]

I wonder how it compares with the Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton. I paid about the same for mine in LTM, used and near mint condition.
I believe that is the lens to compare with this one. Different optical design, the Nokton being more of a traditional Double-Gauss with an aspheric element.

This new lens looks like it starts out as a Double-Gauss and adds elements for field corrections. Will be interesting to read some test reports.

The 7Art 50/1.1 is a Sonnar, basically the Zunow 5cm F1.1 of the 1950s reincarnated with modern coatings instead of glass fillers. I go for the Noktons went I want well-behaved. With a Sonnar- never comes out the same way twice.

 

[mike3996]

TTArtisan is on fire! Great things

 

[rayvonn]

With a Sonnar- never comes out the same way twice.

. No focus shift on mine wide open, how fortunate is that?

 

[mike3996]

. No focus shift on mine wide open, how fortunate is that?

It's quite simple. Your copy is calibrated for wide open use.

 

[rayvonn]

It's quite simple. Your copy is calibrated for wide open use.

Thanks for that! Now I know.

 

[mike3996]

A great thing about these Chinese lenses is how they supply good tools, and make it accessible to adjust the focus yourself. Would be wonderful if Zeiss and Voigtländer and Leica for that matter made it equally easy and accessible.

 

[akuiper]

Results as given in Flickr look very good on the M10-Monochrome. Great for portrait, I see no hectic shift in sharpness. And in the pictures the detail contrast stopped down like the EXIF says, to 2.8 or 3.2 - is very good too.
The mTF charts look good. I say, great. As such, it betters my Summicron (pre-), often said to be the sharpest lens ever for 35mm

So - yes, high class, I was looking at a used Summilux V1 @ 500,- but I'm afraid I will put my money here . . They are not killing Leica but the second hand market

Only big uncertainty is quality of focus; (tools given to amateurs lead to disaster ) and the Leica Rumors guy > a year ago had quite some effort in finding the perfect adjustment for a .95 lens, he wrote as I remember.

Haven't found the details - does it come with the 6-bit code (pre-filled in)?
And is that coded as the R-adapter and not as Summilux [naughty me - I looked at the EXIF of the sample shots on the M10-Monochrome - it said F2.8 & coded as R-adapter X-1000, so the sample pictures might not be genuine ... )
Was a version with a mount for another camera used?

 

[mike3996]

Summilux V1 at 500 is a pretty nice deal tbh

 

[BrianS]

It's quite simple. Your copy is calibrated for wide open use.

I have two 1936 5cm F1.5 Sonnars made probably in the same week as each other.
I calibrated 1 for wide-open on the M9 and the other for wide-open with a Y3 filter on the M Monochrom.

 

[Jonathan F/2]

UPDATE - Out of stock: The TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 M-mount lens is in-stock at B&H:

TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH. Lens for Leica M

Buy TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH. Lens for Leica M featuring Leica M-Mount Lens, Aperture Range: f/1.4 to f/16, One Aspherical Element, One AD Element, Eight HR Elements, Manual Focus Operation, Minimum Focusing Distance: 2.3', 12-Blade Diaphragm. Review TTArtisan null

www.bhphotovideo.com

 

[Jonathan F/2]

It looks nice but I am a bit disappointed - I had understood that its size compared to the Sonnar 1.5. And now it looks a lot taller, more like the Summilux. But I see no weight/size data yet.

TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 review — Focus shift: a street photography blog

The 50mm 1.4 prime lens is a staple of any camera system. It the TTArtisan proposition good enough to earn a place in your bag?

www.47-degree.com

I found this early review. The TTArtisan lens appears to have quite a bit of flaring. This is something I noticed with 7Artisans lenses as well. Compared to other M-mount glass, these DJ Optical manufactured lenses seem to flare quite a bit when pointed at light sources.

I actually have one on order coming this week and can report back when it arrives!

 

[serhan]

TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 review — Focus shift: a street photography blog

The 50mm 1.4 prime lens is a staple of any camera system. It the TTArtisan proposition good enough to earn a place in your bag?

www.47-degree.com

I found this early review. The TTArtisan lens appears to have quite a bit of flaring. This is something I noticed with 7Artisans lenses as well. Compared to other M-mount glass, these DJ Optical manufactured lenses seem to flare quite a bit when pointed at light sources.

I actually have one on order coming this week and can report back when it arrives!

Yes, flaring is the common theme with the Chinese lenses... There is also onion ring bokeh, otherwise it has nice bokeh....

I am more interested in the new CV 50mm 1.5 II due to its size similar to ZM 50mm 1.5, but it is more expensive than older used CV or ZM lenses. It is also priced $200 more in US then Japan.
The New Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Produces Gorgeous Swirly Bokeh
Voigtlander 50mm f1.5 II Vintage Line: shop.CameraQuest.com

 

[Jonathan F/2]

Yes, flaring is the common theme with the Chinese lenses... There is also onion ring bokeh, otherwise it has nice bokeh....

I am more interested in the new CV 50mm 1.5 II due to its size similar to ZM 50mm 1.5, but it is more expensive than older used CV or ZM lenses. It is also priced $200 more in US then Japan.
The New Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Produces Gorgeous Swirly Bokeh
Voigtlander 50mm f1.5 II Vintage Line: shop.CameraQuest.com

I also noticed that with 7Artisans lenses in regards to flaring. Since TTArtisan and 7Artisans both use DJ Optical to manufacturer their lenses, I'm wondering if it's a design issue or the glass coating used by DJ Optical or a combination of both? Even with older Voigtlander M-mount lenses, flare was better controlled. That new CV 50mm 1.5 II looks beautiful. Also I like the combination of subtle swirl bokeh, sharpness and compact design. It seems like all these lens manufacturers are stepping it up even in a shrinking market!

 

[serhan]

Bastian's review:
Review: TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 - phillipreeve.net

 

[Jonathan F/2]

Quick sample shot with the TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 shot @f/2 mounted on the Techart Pro AF Adapter and Sony A9:

Optically this lens is VERY modern. The way it renders, the contrast and colors just pop on a digital camera. OOF backgrounds at f/1.4 are CREAMY. Compared to my Nikon 50mm f/1.2 AI-S lens, it just wipes the floor versus that lens in regards to subtle creaminess (the Nikon 50mm f/1.2 AI-S has very fidgety bokeh). The center is sharp wide open especially at head shot and half length portrait photos. Build quality is just as good as any Voigtlander lens with smooth focus ring and hard click aperture stops. Barrel has a nice all-metal touch. Also I tried pointing the lens towards the sun, and it actually handles flare pretty well, unlike what other reviews have stated.

Saying that, I don't think I'll be keeping this lens. It's compact, but really heavy. It feels about the same weight as my Nikon 50mm f/1.2 AI-S with M-mount adapter attached and they're also about the same height w/adapter. The barrel is smaller, but it's a dense little lens. In regards to mid-field sharpness, this lens is best at centered focus shots. For full length portrait oriented shots, the mid-field is soft'ish when near or wide open. It also appears that way on Leica RF bodies from the Phillipreeve.net review, so I guess it's more of a design limitation based on the mount.

Since there are so many good modern 50mm lenses, I think I'd prefer something like the 7Artisans 50mm f/1.1 that is soft, but just gives you something different from all the modern 50mm lenses out there. If you're after a modern 50mm f/1.4 with excellent rendering, this lens is a good option. Saying that I'll probably just keep my Nikon 50mm f/1.2 AI-S due to it's faster aperture and more unique look despite not having nice OOF rendering.

 

[serhan]

So what is next?

Juha's CV 50mm 1.5 II samples on A9 from Japan:
Voigtländer Nokton 50/1.5 II MC on Sony A9 (SOOC JPEGs)

 

[Jonathan F/2]

So what is next?

Juha's CV 50mm 1.5 II samples on A9 from Japan:
Voigtländer Nokton 50/1.5 II MC on Sony A9 (SOOC JPEGs)

Actually I just picked up a bargain bin Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX HSM (non-Art) for Nikon mount. It's buggy as heck on my Nikon bodies (probably due to having older internal lens firmware), but when it works it's actually focuses spot on unlike the two other copies I tried of this lens! It's relatively compact for a fast DSLR 50mm and has a quick and silent HSM motor. On my Sony bodies mounted on a discontinued Neewer Nikon to Sony AF adapter (basically a Commlite ENF-E1 Pro adapter knock off), focus is spot on wide open and it focuses fast for an adapted lens! I seriously have an adapted 50mm lens sickness!