How accurate is zone focusing with the TT Artisan 25mm f2?

[@K3zz21]

"Sharp enough" is one of the most refreshing things I've head on a KZbin video. So tired of excessive pixel peeping reviews.

[@thechosen1421]

Agreed lmao.

[@sophievautour8573]

@@thechosen1421 absolute

[@albertsmith9315]

Back in the film days when we all used lenses with scales and DOF marks for the apertures, we learned how to zone and hyper focus. One thing to understand is that depth of field is an illusion based on ACCEPTABLE sharpness. The absolute sharpness is on the thing or distance the lens is focused on. The parts that fall gradually outside of that distance are within the acceptable DOF based on an assumption of viewing distance and enlargment. FWIW, when a lot of us wanted better sharpness, we set the infinity mark to one less aperture than what we have the lens set to. For example, lens set to f/11, infinity mark set to f/8... this will really assure good sharpness and enlargability.

[@joelp2419]

Exactly, back in the film days ;-)

[@iRasmus4]

That’s a great point about closing down one stop further than the DOF-scale being used! I’ll keep in mind to give that a try! 👍

[@JLStreetDoc]

@@albertsmith9315 thanks for the comment. That’s interesting.

[@apoorvj1]

Got my copy yesterday and I’m very impressed with the sharpness in areas where it is able to focus! Experimented a bit by keeping objects at .5m intervals from the camera and photographing at different apertures and zone ranges. I could only get reasonable sharpness for objects placed at distances corresponding to the second half of the zone. Eg. If the aperture is set to f8 and zone upper limit set to infinity, then the zone lower limit falls at ~.9m and the zone center at ~2m. I could only get sharp images of objects at 2m and beyond. Anything between .9m and 2m was totally blurry! I think this is what happened at 3:50 in the video. Jason mentioned earlier in the video that he shot all images at f8 and upper limit of the zone at infinity. The woman was slightly blurry but the trash can was in focus. Jason said he was 6ft (2m) away, right at the middle of the zone.

[@apoorvj1]

The lens is still totally usable and I doubt I’ll be too close to people on the street either ways. But all the more reason why f11 would have been great on this lens. That could have provided a little wider DoF instead of going all the way to f16 and losing so much light. I might just order another copy to see if I get better focus and return one.

[@JLStreetDoc]

I would say that a majority of my subject are beyond the 2m mark. F8 has a range of 1.5m to infinity. (5 feet) I would say most are 8 feet from me. Plus there is the whole thing about acceptably sharp. Street photography is about emotion and capturing the rawness of life that moves in front of us. Tack sharp sterilizes the image. We don’t want all out blurry, but perfection isn’t always necessarily either.

[@rutlegs]

Mine hasn't arrived yet but it will live on my Fuji Xe2s as a dedicated street/B&W kit. You video has me even more excited!

[@BFNLIONBUZZ]

Keep doing the great work; this world needs more of it.

[@JLStreetDoc]

Wow, thank you.

[@thechosen1421]

Thank you for this realistic review!!

[@jasongins]

Thanks for this discussion on zone focusing. I have an old Olympus EPL-1 M43 that I received as a gift back when it was new, really only used it a little in the various auto modes. I dug it out all these years later curious to do more. I find street photography interesting, I picked up the TT Attisans 25 f2...and ran into a struggle to focus it on the little lcd (no viewfinder). Now I understand what to do.

[@hugomartinsphoto]

This was great, Jason! Thank you for the showcase!

[@JLStreetDoc]

Thank you very much, Hugo!

[@hugomartinsphoto]

@@JLStreetDoc my pleasure!🙌😉

[@joelp2419]

It is very sharp when you look at photographs the way it's supposed to be looked at, exactly ! Pixel peeping is not the way to look at photographs, never been.

[@glenh2159]

I have a Sony NEX-5 and was using the TTattisan 25mm f/2 during a recent trip. I found either I was totally misunderstanding the concept of zone focusing or the markings on the lens were not quite accurate. I got better focus using f/8 and on camera settings using the focus peaking level set to red to guide me to better focus. Once set that way and leaving the focus alone after that the images were as you say- acceptably well. No going back and checking focus unless I had diddled the focus ring.

[@stevenanthony578]

I love this lens--it's my go-to for street photography. My only issue is that every month or so, I need to tighten the 3 screws on the mount.

[@JLStreetDoc]

@@stevenanthony578 thanks for that. I haven’t noticed those screws being loose, I’ll have to examine that.

[@5teve5hilling]

Mines coming in the post in a couple of days, going to use it with a sony nex c3, been using a fujian 35mm cctv lens, i love that lens, but i need a clicked aperture ring.

[@JLStreetDoc]

I agree, has to click. Enjoy the lens!

[@5teve5hilling]

@@JLStreetDoc I'm surprised at how sharp it is and the close focus is great, I can already tell this is going to be my favourite lens for a while, thanks for putting out the video.

[@JLStreetDoc]

@@5teve5hilling yeah, it’s so good. I literally sold all my Fuji lenses. This one is the only lens I use.

[@yogipath]

I picked up the 25mm and l love it! I then bought the 50. I have the 25 on my X-T30 II and the 50 on my X-T3. My AF lenses haven't seen light since, 56 f1.2 and 35 f2. I am glad you made this video, I thought I was the only one loving these lenses.

[@JLStreetDoc]

Nice! I’m curious about that 50!

[@jorgepareta5813]

How much thinner is it than the 15-45 kit lens?

[@Jermzybarra]

Thanks man!! Yeah, so far I love the lens. The build quality is extremely good for a 60-70 lens. I appreciate you making a video demonstrating how you use the focus scale and the results you get.

[@JLStreetDoc]

You’re welcome! Glad you love the lens!!

[@manickvelu2047]

Love the vids you've made on the TTArtisan 25mm F2! ^^

[@JLStreetDoc]

Glad you like them!

[@caferacer9939]

Nice video! There’s a sale going on Amazon right now so I just ordered the 25mm for my X-E2. I’m very happy with their 27mm 2.8 lens, but I have been wanting a manual lens for a while. Cant believe this lens replaced all your Fuji lenses, that’s awesome!

[@JLStreetDoc]

Yeah, and no regrets. I love having no other option.

[@caferacer9939]

@@JLStreetDoc I like that approach, they say necessity is the mother of invention. I have thought about limiting myself to one lens.

[@QuicknStraight]

If you zoom in 600%, just about ANY lens will break down! People need to realise that this is a $60 lens and, bang for the buck, it's excellent.

[@Andydubya]

I did a similar thing, I bought an olympus em5 mkii for cheap and this 25mm f2 and am only going to use this combo for street for the foreseeable and challenge myself to practice zone focusing and capturing as many moments as I can to learn learn learn.

[@JLStreetDoc]

Awesome. It’s so freeing to not have to think about what lens to use. And zone focusing is the absolute way to go on the street. Wish I started this years ago. Thanks for watching!!

[@houghwhite411]

What I like from this lens is actually the soft rendering, not a deep friend rendering the phone camera gives.

[@JLStreetDoc]

It definitely has a nice filmic quality to it.

[@oneshotoneclick]

Echoing your sentiments on the lens. Happy with mine on a Canon RF mount.

[@steveharbolt935]

Dude at 6:12 looks just like another KZbinr that I followed back in the day his channel was ScrambledO, he was from the Columbus area.

[@JLStreetDoc]

Haha, maybe it is!

[@kigabuma]

Does it also depend on sensor size? For example (for a 25mm lens) hyperfocal distance is 3,93 meters at f8 for a Fujifilm APSC sensor camera but 2,63 meters at f8 for a full frame camera.

[@JLStreetDoc]

I would say since the lens is made for crop censor, then the focal distance would be accurate. As well as the results from my own testing.

[@aga7423]

I may be completely misunderstanding the concept of zone focusing, as using the scale on the focusing ring is leading me to unacceptable results. However, even when I use a DOF calculator, the numbers I get are completely different from those on the focusing ring.

[@JLStreetDoc]

@@aga7423 I can make a video explaining if that would be helpful.

[@aga7423]

​@@JLStreetDoc Yes, please. I believe i'm not the only one in trouble :)

[@HogbergPhotography]

Great video! But I do not get how you can zoom 600% without the image getting pixelated? It looks like the image is vector graphics as it not deteriorates at all at that extreme zoom.. Kinda weird.. My images look pixelated at 150% zoom..

[@nachbarsjunge7419]

Hi Jason would you recommend this lens for a beginner (using fuji xe2) in a streetfotography scenario? Or is it to hard or to frustrating to figure out how to focus like you

[@JLStreetDoc]

You should absolutely get this lens. It’s simple to learn. I could make a tutorial video?

[@sophievautour8573]

Have you had problems with sunlight stains?

[@JLStreetDoc]

Can’t say that I have. Nothing I’ve noticed.

[@sophievautour8573]

@@JLStreetDoc interesting. When I directed lens to a building, the sun made an inconvenient stain. Maybe this is normal, I will have to check with other lenses. Or I can buy a hood

[@JLStreetDoc]

@@sophievautour8573 let me know what you discover. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that.

[@kevyan76yt]

How do shoot with F8 with low light conditions?

[@JLStreetDoc]

@@kevyan76yt I don’t shoot f8 in low light conditions. I also don’t shoot street in low light conditions. In low light conditions I would shoot wide open. Not only to allow more light in, but the environment doesn’t play a factor because of lack of light.

[@kevyan76yt]

@@JLStreetDoc Thank you for replying

[@d30gaijin]

I use zone focusing with my TT Artisans 25mm f/2 also and it works just fine. A suggestion; if you like the TT Artisans 25mm f/2 you might want to check out its big brother, the 50mm f/2. They look nearly identical (about the same size) and performance is just as good as the 25/2. It gives you a little more reach should you need it and the cost is about $70.

[@JLStreetDoc]

Been thinking about picking it up. But I’m really liking not having a choice of lenses.

[@d30gaijin]

@@JLStreetDoc I understand that. Simplicity is key.

[@grahamniven]

A difference between the 25 and 50 is the length of the focus throw, the 50 is longer so not as responsive as the 25 in my experience. Superb lenses, so glad I got them. Am hanging on to my 18-55 for sentimental reasons but I think the rest of my Fuji lenses will be finding new homes soon.

[@bbpolltergiest]

1 year later. How do you feel about it now?

[@JLStreetDoc]

Still love it. It’s the only lens I use on my xpro2.

[@bbpolltergiest]

@@JLStreetDoc glad to hear! I took it to Japan last month and I used it more than my 23 f2. Definitely a must have for the streets

[@JLStreetDoc]

@@bbpolltergiest absolutely! That’s so awesome, would love to shoot in Japan. Something I’ll never do, but would love it.