Should You Buy This $300 TTArtisan 28mm F5.6 Lens for Your Leica?

[@crispin8888]

Very nice, informative and humble review. Reassuring for those who can only, currently, aspire to own Leica lens.

[@btonelli]

Thanks!

[@mwales2112]

I picked this up a while back for use on my M240 and very happy with the images it produces. It has a bit of character that I like in the images shot with it and very small and sexy... The TTArisan 50mm 1.4 is also a very nice lens from them. Would it be nice to have Leica glass? Sure, but with my old eyes I'm not going to pay that much and not be able to tell the diff. in my images... my 2 cents...

[@btonelli]

Fair points and for most they may not see much of a difference as well

[@louis5352]

Admit I am a Leica fan, but bought this lens for $300 before trying the Summaron @ $3000. I have it in black. BTW the Leica Summaron 28/5.6 DOES accept filters of 34mm. Nice review and practical thoughts too.

[@btonelli]

Thanks for watching. Much appreciated

[@GastonShutters]

Great one Tony. Own the Leica Summaron and the TTArtisan out of curiosity and this lens while is a straight copy has more vintage character than the re release (because of the aberrations it has, the most obvious one flaring). The build quality is great but the lens loses focus calibration very easily making it frustrating to rely on.Elmarit 28mm f2.8 still my fav 28mm that doesn't break the bank and offers tons of value for the money.

[@btonelli]

Thanks for watching. The Elmarit is a great little lens. I have one myself but unfortunately I don’t shoot with it as much as I thought I would.

[@d30gaijin]

Any Leica person that does not celebrate the arrival of this lens is a fool. It's an excellent tiny lens that fills a void for those of us that don't wish to pay thousands of dollars for each lens that goes on their Leica. I own a good number of Leica lenses but I also use Voigtlander and a few TT Artisan lenses. And, as you said, it's a great bargain for those new to Leica rangefinder and a chance to expand their lens selection. Thanks for a nice video.

[@btonelli]

Thanks for watching. I agree 😊

[@Notwilliamafton441]

Just ordered one for my fuji based on your recommendation as i shoot primarily street...thanks for the review... My fave photo sample of yours was the guy sitting while holding his chin...stay safe..

[@btonelli]

Thanks for watching and Glad the video helped you out on it. Yeah that was one of my favourite pics of the series.

[@gnuhapi]

The Q2Mono took me back to my Nikon F2 & Tri-X days when a 28mm lived on the body, but eventually I wanted to do color and also reach out. So I bought an M-10R, a 90 Elmarit and a 50 Summicron but still needed something wide. Enter the TTArtisan 28/F5.6 which has practically lived on the M until today when a TT Artisan 21/f1.5 arrived. After a shakedown I have no regrets about the 21, but it will stay in the bag until needed and the TTA 28 will resume its normal spot on the M body. I find it is a great all-around lens and f5.6 doesn't matter with the M10s ISO range.

[@btonelli]

Good points. Absolutely love the F2 😊

[@xulab]

love the perspective on bringing people into the RF world and not being a "legacy snob". thanks!

[@btonelli]

Thanks for watching. Much appreciated

[@TTArtisan]

Thanks a lot for support!

[@btonelli]

Congrats on the lens. Nicely done

[@patricktung9001]

The external lens design looks like the Summaron, however the optical design appears to be different from the Summaron. Nonetheless, it’s really a nice little lens.

[@btonelli]

Yes optically different but a fun lens that doesn’t break the bank

[@Photojouralist123]

Hi Bobby , love the colors of the TTA. I do have the Leica Sumarron and its amazing but huge money. My buddies have the TTA and love it . I agree with you

[@btonelli]

Hi John! Yeah the colors are nice on it. It’s a fun lens that won’t break the bank

[@Jalan84]

Great review. I have been looking for something just like this for when I want to take my M camera somewhere, but don't want to be bothered with focusing and just want to use it as a point and shoot. In a perfect world, i would buy a Leica 28mm, but just doesn't make economic sense for occasional use. One question: It looks like it has an infinity lock, is that correct? I had an old Leica 50mm that had one and found it very annoying. Maybe it's not so bad on this lens since your primarily zone focusing?

[@btonelli]

Thanks Jeffrey. Yes it does have an infinity lock but easy to press the button and move. It’s not as annoying as some other lenses I’ve tried.

[@donjagoe]

Nice review and great images-thx.

[@btonelli]

Thanks

[@IDaumI]

I like fast lenses but they can be big and heavy. The size and price of This TTartisans lens makes it perfect for casual shooting. If I really want to "make art" I'll whip out my 35 Lux FLE. But to be honest, most days I reach for this tiny little guy.

[@btonelli]

Good point. It’s a great casual shooting lens

[@raymondtay5512]

I agree with the comments made. Definitely value for money.

[@btonelli]

Thanks for watching watching

[@RobertFalconer1967]

The results are pretty good, I gotta say...maybe even "good enough" for most applications. Pretty much only a daylight shooting option if you photograph with it on film bodies, though. Probably would be more versatile on a recent digital M. An interesting stress test for the optical performance would be to see how well it performs on the M11.

[@btonelli]

Yes agree. I chose the R5 due to ease of manual focusing and accurate focus peaking and also the pretty decent high ISO performance which I believe matches the M11 in some ways.

[@masacamera1]

Good point! I agree with you. I’ll try the lens first. I’ve subscribed !😊 in Singapore, too.

[@btonelli]

Thanks for the subscription!

[@ezekielkok1848]

I wonder how it would fare on the m9

[@btonelli]

Probably pretty good 😊

[@ezekielkok1848]

It’s just that the max possible useable iso is 800 or 1000 for the m9. With aperture of 5.6 might be hard

[@btonelli]

@@ezekielkok1848 if you shoot in the day no issues. Nighttime will be different though

[@Rusty1995_]

If you shoot social documentation, like wide and use your range finder to zone focus this at F8/F11 is great. best lens for the price.

[@btonelli]

True. Basically everything is in focus.

[@mr_cramberry]

Where's the black anodised version TTartisans?

[@btonelli]

That would be nice!

[@carlosmcse]

What was the last Leica lens you shot? (Not Leica mount, but made by Leica)

[@btonelli]

50 Rigid version 2

[@calvinchann1996]

Price, great. Looks great. However, I am disturbed by the need to have to calibrate an increasing number of lenses from these newer producers. I’ve got over my Leica only lens phobia with the Voigtlander 35 and 50 APO’s which are great for an occasional M shooter that I am. Unless I won the lottery, I would never be in the market for the Leica versions anyway. Even so, I think I’ll restrict my M mount lens options to Leica, Zeiss and Voigtlander.

[@btonelli]

Yes the calibration aspect is prob frustrating for some but its not difficult from what I hear from others. But valid points

[@klausmoritzpeitzsch690]

@@btonelli Howto calibrate the lens with only M film cameras at home? Naah, I expect my lenses to be calibrated by the manufacturer.

[@btonelli]

@@klausmoritzpeitzsch690 I agree, but in reality even some leica lenses need to be calibrated with the camera.

[@klausmoritzpeitzsch690]

@@btonelli yes, that is true e.g. for the Noctilux lenses but not for a f5.6 lens. But don't get me wrong, I am happy that TTartisan and others exist and keep selling Leica M lenses. And thank you for introducing them and sharing your thoughts on them! thumbsup!

[@simonkimber1152]

I bought one and image quality it’s just so so…. Sharp enough but when you zoom in… it’s urgh… nice feel…. But not great. Will try calibrating…. Build quality is good

[@btonelli]

Yeah try calibrating but I also noticed the same so could just be the character of the lens

[@duncaninvest]

thank you for sharing

[@btonelli]

Thanks Duncan

[@coolmax584]

Totally agree with you point on the replica, there is nothing wrong with it, as long it’s not illegal to do so and they also just sell it as Leica mount not ‘Leica ‘ brand 😉, I personally own Leica glasses also lots of Voigtlander, ttartisan, to be honest they are just different kind of kids in the house, but they are all great and deserve our love😘

[@btonelli]

Thanks for the comment. I feel the same way

[@RandomLifeProductions]

Sod that I’d buy a contex Zeiss vintage 28 for that price…

[@btonelli]

Also a good option

[@juliussternfeld428]

I think it’s not worth it. For a couple of hundreds more, you get an ultron 28 , a much better lens, even better than the summicron, I heard.

[@btonelli]

Hi Julius yes the Ultron is prob a better lens and at f2 does give one some flexibility in regards to the aperture, but the 5.6 and size of this 28 does make it easier for some to use on a rangefinder.

[@Hector_Malot]

Ok for a digital M, not for an analog M, you won't be able to recalibrate it.

[@btonelli]

You can as there are tools to but with film m may need to calibrate both which I don’t see the point. The service alone is more than the lens haha

[@dennisa5881]

👍 𝔭𝔯𝔬𝔪𝔬𝔰𝔪

[@blende5.693]

I would never buy this lens or any TTArtisan lens at all. It’s ridiculous to buy a 8k camera and use a low budget lens. Would you buy a Bentley with wheels from a Kia? Camera and lens should be in a same quality. TTArtisan for a cheap camera, why not, for a Leica ? Never. My experience with TTArtisan are bad, a broken klick on viewfinder, unsharp 1.4 35mm lens, … No more TTArtisan!

[@btonelli]

Not everyone buys a brand new leica. No harm In getting a lens to start off with or test out a focal length then graduate to a leica lens when one has the budget. Some lenses are better than others for sure, but that’s why we do reviews is to let potential buyers know

[@blende5.693]

@@btonelli I agree, buying used for a good price is not reason for TTArtisan, what is about Voigtländer or Zeiss. Much better quality for less money. What I really hate is, copy the Leica lens 1:1. That’s typical for china-products. Never TTArtisan for me.

[@Lonnie.G]

@@blende5.693 it's not a copy -- they don't have the same optical formula. They don't even have the same number of glass elements. They aren't the same weight, nor are they the same length and size. You should prob calm down a little bit.

[@blende5.693]

@@Lonnie.G Thanks for the tip to calm me down, but you're wrong. Correctly the inside glasses are not identical, should be to expensive to copy that. But the design and even the font are very well a 1:1 copy. This is not a coincidence, it is and remains a cheap copy of a Leica product. Just a China product. I’m using Leica products for more than 25 years. Zeiss and some Voigtländer are definitely an alternative to Leica lenses, TTArtisan, 7Artisan, … absolute not. I expect high quality from Leica products, but for some guys Leica is for posing. There is a cheap copy very welcome. This is not my way

[@Lonnie.G]

@@blende5.693 It's not a "1:1 copy" if the insides are completely different. Particularly because the insides are what actually makes a lens a lens. Do you know what 1:1 means?