TTArtisans 23mm f/1.4 lens review with samples

[@paulhickey6896]

Thanks!

[@christopherfrost]

Thanks!

[@EricGibaud]

I also reviewed the lens and found the same softness. By the way, strangely there is no f11, it goes from f8 to f16. Good review

[@jairaj7592]

@Eric Gibaud, am subscriber of your channel and thanks that you noticed and mentioned about f11. 👋

[@EricGibaud]

@@jairaj7592 ohh Thank you so much 😀😀😀

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

There is an f11, it's just...oddly between f8 and f16.

[@ftk-alt]

i bought this, sold my 7artisans 25mm f1.8. reason is this lens is 1 stop faster, slightly wider at 23mm. its heavier than 7art 25mm 1.8 but in terms of center shots they are great. not many people will even bother to check your corner softness. if you doing mostly portraits, night/low light shots, this lens is worth it.

[@JennyDarukat]

Sounds like a great webcam lens honestly, that's the first thing that came to my mind - you don't need much/consistently good sharpness for 1080 video and you'll get a good amount of bokeh and light capture out of this at the same time for not much money or weight.

[@trym2121]

Not a good one if you have contrasting background. Unless you want to be a aura scammer by having purple aura.

[@SyntheticFuture]

I thought the same. I use the Sony 28mm F2 on my A7ii in APC mode and it's rather perfect. I got mine cheap though in a good second hand deal. If your budget can't afford that this seems like a very solid option. And when you are in a zoom meeting your picture will probably be much smaller than full screen in most cases so that softness is not an issue at all.

[@JoeWithTheGlasses]

Did you end up getting this as a webcam lens? I've been trying to find a cheap alternative to the stock 16-50 lens.

[@vyathaen]

Was also thinking the same, sounds like the perfect webcam lens on paper. Sharpness isn't an issue at 1080p or even 4K, but the bokeh and extra light at F1.4 and 23mm would be perfect. However outside of that its not a good lens, so I am thinking between it and the Sigma 30mm F1.4 (which I will use not just for webcam but for photos too).

[@NathanaelNewton]

Oh hi.. I might buy one lol

[@eddyg1794]

That is the most diplomatic way of saying "this lens is sh*t" that I've ever heard. Well done.

[@AntonyBall-h9g]

Thank you Chris I bought the Lens used it yesterday and really enjoyed using it the images are fine that I got from it God Bless.......

[@D3lor34n]

Just want to thank you for your reviews, i appreciate your huge catalog of lens reviews. It's the perfect format, conveys everything i want to know without bogging down into too much detail. Thanks for contributing so much useful knowledge to us. When it comes to video based reviews you're right up there for me, together with Dustin Abbotts more detailed reviews and Chris Niccolls more casual real life reviews. Keep up the good work!

[@teedeww5049]

I love your lens reviews! Thanks

[@kornasteniker3939]

I got mine today. I like the close up image performance even wide open. The bokeh is wonderful. And regarding the mid section blurriness: I couldn't tell a significant difference to the center sharpness. It deteriorates evenly to the outer corners. Could it be, that you probably got a "monday-manufactured" model?

[@marcp.1752]

The Sharpness at F1.4 into the center is good usable, according to Richard Wongs Review of the TTA 23/1.4. I will get mine into January. For just 99 bucks, there is no better 23mm(35mm FF-equal) focal length, with F1.4, and all metal build. It's an APS-C Lens. Just like all the TTA brothers, 17/1.4, 35/1.4 & 50/1.2 Lenses. It's a Lens with character, nothing for pixel poopers, err, -peepers. ;-) I'd like this lens on my X-E2 much. Did you use the matching Lens Hood from TTArtisan? The Sunstars on lightsources have been really cute @F5.6, F8....according to Richard Wongs Video.

[@marcp.1752]

Update: I had mine received Mid December 2021, and i am quite happy with the Lens. Reviews are usually nice, for landscape photography, one needs to stop down to F5.6 or F8, for street, or avialable light, you can just use the faster apertures.

[@Goat.Herder]

I use the 25mm and 60mm macro and I'm always surprised how sharp they are for the price.

[@izzieb]

I wonder if the quality control is lax for these lenses. Be interesting to see if other copies of the same lens exhibit the same issues. If it is that bad, it's strange that they'd send it to you willingly for review!

[@grdprojekt]

Well firstly, it's cheap. And you could argue this is just the style of older lenses favoured by hobbyists

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

@@grdprojekt I'd argue its for the street shooters who are often at f8/11 where it doesn't matter too much.

[@SeanMcGown]

Christopher, have you heard anything about issues on this lens with field curvature where the edges of the bokeh area become in focus? I noticed this on another creator's site and was curious if you'd experienced it at all.

[@ErebosGR]

Looks like a perfect low-budget lens for street photography, especially for someone buying a used Fujifilm a couple generations old.

[@TK421-53]

XE2 + 23/1.4 and you are set

[@ErebosGR]

@@TK421-53 Yeah, that was what I thought.

[@fotoamgamgfoto3695]

I have the 35mm f1.2 but not wide enough, I ordered teh 17mm f1.4 now but just found out maybe this 23mm would be enough and it is cheaper too :)

[@mastaw]

Ooooh Ive been wondering about this one

[@Leon-dt8uo]

Hiya, another brill review to add to your great & extremely helpful channel, thank you! Out of interest what is the very best cheap Chinese manual focus APSC lens you've ever reviewed? Specifically for Fujifilm X. By best I guess I mean a combo of all metrics, but particularly sharpness, IQ, contrast & bokeh. Perhaps you could make a new video on it...?! All the best

[@yukonchris]

Given the syrange in and out quality issues as you move from the centre towards the edges, I'd be very curious to see how that test chart looks with a m43rds version. I bet the corners would be better but still not perfect.

[@someguyumet2469]

any chance you could try the full-frame 50 /0.95 for us?

[@FloKorp86]

Could you compare this to the Voigtlander Nokton 23mm f1.2? I'm very curious to see a review of that lens!

[@techtt6213]

I own the 50mm 1.2 ttartisan, so far the only lens that was really tempting for me. I love the bokeh that lens produces.

[@albert_gyorgy]

I also have that lens for Micro Four Thirds, it's by far my most used lens. It's a great deal if you don't mind manual focus.

[@manichaean1888]

Kamlan 50mm 1.1 ver. II is much better. I have both.

[@trym2121]

@@manichaean1888 600grams? No thanks

[@carlosandreviana9448]

Yes. It's amazing for the price. I use it with full frame and it almost fills it

[@go_rideyourbike]

Christopher, thank you for yet another good review. You seem to be as good as any other person to ask this question. If you were in need of a good fast prime that yields a 35 mm effective length. Which lens would you get to achieve this on the a6400? Would you consider also a 23 mm FF to use on this body for best results? Currently on Sigma’s 30/1.4 which is great but I need to go wider. Thank you!

[@davidjb9199]

You commented that the aperture ring is odd and uncomfortable. I want to point out that this is not odd for TTArtisan lenses in general. They all seem to have this design element incorporated into their design. This really is a throwback to the old range finder lens designs from the 40's & 50's, I believe. My copies of the 35 & 50mm have aperture rings like my Nikon, Canon, Leica and Jupiter rangefinder lenses. Not so odd compared to that, but definitely different compared to more modern SLR lens designs. The mid-section softness has been noted by other reviewers (Dustin Abbott for one).

[@VOKASINEMA]

Great job! Nice video!

[@scott-ish404]

Just my two cents, I just want to call your attention to the typo in the title (which may impact search results), which should say 'TTArtisan' instead of 'TTArtisans'. PS: Any plans of reviewing its sibling, the 25mm f.2 lens?

[@jcyoungmusic]

I have been using this for a week on my xt3. It has fantastic character. Lacks in sharpness. Especially if you have a shakey hand like me but where it lacks it makes up for in character. Only issue is that it blows the whites up a bit. This could be my skill set though

[@kingsamvisuals]

That uneven sharpness might make some great character. I was impressed by the 35mm which I own.

[@tangibleplanetvisualmedia1138]

I'm using this on a little Canon M100 that I carry around. I just want something better than a phone, it doesn't have to be perfect, which makes this perfect for my use case

[@ahmonon4352]

I would love to try this with Fuji X-T1

[@СвоёМнение-э2т]

Thanks for review, perhaps you could release the photos somewhere for people who want to download and see them.

[@STAR0SS]

I'll also start calling my living room my "test lab" ;)

[@fedrik686]

Hi, why manual lens is experiencing focus puling? I’m new to this

[@djchips]

Mid-frame softness is definitely field curvature, not sure how you missed this but it was simple to confirm for myself. Extreme corners are always a mess though, there's no saving them. Edit: After using the lens extensively for 2 months, I can say that nearly all of the softening is due to extreme field curvature, yes even in the corners. The focal plane is a "W" shape with the edges curving out to the back of the frame, you can see this by shooting carpet or some floor with texture at 1.4 near MFD. Taking portraits in a landscape environment will result in distant extreme corners always being in focus at 1.4 even if the subject in focus is close to the camera.

[@mrbassett4388]

Hi, love the reviews :)

[@aaronreichow5822]

Do you have the aperture series available somewhere?

[@belalang90]

Hi, any issues with its infinity focus? Own 35mm 1.4 TTartisans lens and it is quite a known issue.

[@kermitage]

You can easily adjust the infinity focus of your 35/1.4, did that with mine. You just need a very small screwdriver.

[@andresmuts7796]

The mid section softness you see in the test shot is due to motion blur.

[@7evive]

For mft you get really good sharpness

[@MrKoalalan]

Hmm I bought the 23mm because I own the 17mm,35mm and 50mm . I am a bit confused the 23mm impressed me not like the holy trinity above .....but why .....I looking forward to test it

[@mem5922]

I bought this lens 2 weeks ago and was really surprised how SOFT the detents (clicks) are on the aperture ring. To me, it is nearly click-less. Any other TT owners experience this as well? I am wondering if I got a bad copy or if this is the way this lens is designed.

[@haz7461]

that is intentional design

[@obscurelight]

Is it worth it for some milkyway shots?

[@kornasteniker3939]

I guess if the milkyway is just in the center of the image then yes, otherwise: there are much better options for astro-photography out there, which are almost as cheap as this lens if bought on the used marked: e.g. the Samyang 12mm f2.0. :)

[@thecaveofthedead]

A bit surprising this. I have the 50 f1.2 and the 17 f1.4 and the quality for the money is wonderful - especially if you like vintage, film-like images in a lightweight, compact APSC package (and their customer service was like nothing I've ever experienced). But this one doesn't seem to stack up either in image quality or ergonomics. I wonder if they rushed it out for Christmas... I'm lucky I'm not a fan of this field of view or I'd be very disappointed.

[@marcp.1752]

I prefer Lenses with character, imperfections, rather than 100% perfect sharpness for pixel-poopers, err..-peepers nowadays, it's a craze with digital, we've had never back into the Film days. I prefer 3D Pop also vs. flat rendering, from current lenses, mostly.

[@marcp.1752]

It's a lens with character, and perhaps Chris got a bad melon. I've seen much better samples on the web. And for what it's worth, for

[@oatwdk4029]

Probably hardly anyone uses their right hand to rotate the focus ring

[@ogjbot]

The Leica L doesn't make much sense given there are only the very expensive CL and T cameras for that mount (APSC).

[@LuigiVN]

You can use it as a body cap for those 😂

[@kornasteniker3939]

Well Canon RF makes no sense too, if you see it from that perspective. Until they finally release an APS-C RF Body you are stuck to crop your image, which is not that much of a prob. at all ;-)

[@goodmythicalmukbang3757]

Why is being a manual focus a downside?

[@HogbergPhotography]

Why in gods name are you using it on a full frame camera?😄

[@cosmaracorosu]

I was very excited with the looks, focal length and analog vibe and got the lens but I will be returning. That strange image quality variation over the frame: sharp center - soft mid segments - softer than further out in the periphery (and always soft extreme corners) is annoying and can be noticed in real life at anything less than f5.6 or better f8. It can be mitigated enough at f8, but then what is the point if having an f1.4lens if all that is more than 1/2 out from center is unreliable for decent sharpness. As a (not entirely equivalent) comparison Sigma 30mm 2.8 is shaper for most of the frame with no variations than TT artisan at 2.8.

[@432productions6]

Pergear 25mm f1.8 is the one you need. Way wayyyyyy better than these 7s and TTs.

[@matthewneleigh567]

I might be tempted to get one of these for the bokeh, as it's so inexpensive. BUT... as an EOS-M user, I already have the smaller, autofocusing 22mm f/2 which is pretty neat (it was my first EF-M lens- the thing that sold me on the system, in fact...) so we'll see if that ends up happening, in the end.

[@gperpetuo]

EOS-M system is worth of having just because of that lens 🤣 I gave my eos-M3 to my mum and even with her the 22F2 is the most used lens.

[@matthewneleigh567]

I got a used M3 with that lens, and for a while it was my ONLY EF-M lens. It remains the lens most likely to be found on my M6 even now. :)

[@voorachter2733]

Still frustrated Fujid didn't make the 27mm an f2 to compete with that lens.

[@kiwipics]

@@gperpetuo ... Strange that, as my M, M200 and M50 share all of M lenses along with all of my 16 EF / EFs lenses ... that includes 5 L glass lenses. The results are from the M bodies (and M lenses .. 22, 11-15mm, 15-45mm, 35mm, 24mm macro, 55-200mm) are far better than the youtube reviewers make out. Maybe it a lack of skill on the testers or owners part.

[@leonarddavis8449]

It seems like a lot of young filmmakers are using cheap new glass or vintage lenses for special effects, like bokeh, blur and flare. It saves smearing Vaseline on the lens or filters.

[@SyntheticFuture]

Would def. recommend not smearing it on the actual lens glas but using a cheap filter xD

[@caesarisestube]

Great. I thought you were a fuji user

[@k1k13004]

I think for this price I prefer the 25mm 1.8 7artz

[@jeremyyoung5906]

I'm on a debate between the two right now.... would u recommend the 25 over the 23 if they were the same price?

[@k1k13004]

@@jeremyyoung5906 of course no, I havent tried the TT. The 7artisans is unbeatable for the price and I'm always surprise of IQ. I have no complain. This is my cheapest lense

[@bburchellphotos]

The only cheap chinese lens I'm tempted to get is that Zonlai 22mm. Everything else just across as manure in my opinion. One lens I would like to see tested, but is hard to get, is the Samyang 21mm f1.4

[@bburchellphotos]

@S Tra No, it’s Korean. I should have mentioned that 😬😅It’s just one lens I would like to see tested by Chris.

[@StymyParsley]

@BrSo-no3vzI don’t think it’s people justifying their purchase, I think people just aren’t into that 2010-2015 obsession with perfect image sharpness. It’s a generational thing more than anything. I don’t see many people in their 40’s wanting anything other than perfect sharpness. Young people seem to like the feeling of something more than technical aspects. I drilled a hole into a body cap and put a disposable camera crappy lens in it to see how the pictures would come out. Unsurprisingly they’re soft and look like photos from a disposable camera. I wouldn’t use it for a wedding but for fun random stuff it reminds me of the 90’s and I like that. Without the inconvenience of having to use an actual disposable camera and limited photo count.

[@dante7228]

I guess for that price tag there are a few vintage lenses that are a better option

[@MrCcfly]

like ?

[@itimonium9062]

Not really 24mm was always the premium wide-angle option in 35mm film days (compared to the 28mm lenses) and they mostly came in F/2.8 versions. There are awesome lenses of that kind out there like the Minolta MD Version. But consider these vintage lenses are heavier, two stops darker and are likely to cost more. So basically vintage is no option when it comes to sub 40mm on modern APS-C mirrorless cameras.

[@itimonium9062]

@S Tra it's seems like we have very different interpretations of useable. I would be totally fine with the 1.4 performance 😅

[@TK421-53]

@@djstuc just the usual all or nothing pixel peeping. If it does not meet technical perfection wide open it is unusable. This disqualifies the majority of older fast last designs, but ignores all other character traits. Luckily lens manufacturers still cater for other tastes and styles or we would only have generally expensive, but often boring, technically “perfect” lenses. There are always exceptions.

[@dante7228]

@@MrCcfly you're right, I thought about MD oe rokinon but those are f2.8

[@vbc2059]

This should be advertised as 2.0 lens. As most of the Chinese products its specs are grossly exaggerated..

[@geoffreypiltz271]

Another review for the pixel peepers. Still there's enough of them out there to keep you in business.

[@SyntheticFuture]

I think Christopher balances "pixel peeping" with "everyday use" rather well. He has his test shots and in between shows "normal use case" shots and video and usually his verdict is more based on the user experience and everyday use than the "pixel peeping" part of the reviews.

[@fcurcic]

Review the Samyang 24-70 2.8 and their new 50mm 1.4 mark 2

[@angeloop]

I think these lenses don't even deserve your review at all. I'd love to see Panasonic or Olympus lenses in your channel

[@lorenzogattaldo3764]

These TTArtisan people still have to figure out how to build a proper photo lens.

[@shawnj8765]

Zonlai 22mm f1.8 is sharper, has better build quality, looks nicer, focuses closer and better. I can't see why anyone would buy the ttartisan over the Zonlai except a bit more flare.

[@falale4797]

Ttartisan is 30% cheaper, a bit faster, has a click aperture ring

[@marcp.1752]

Zonlai 22mm F1.8 suffers much from field curvative, before F8. And i can say so, i have this Lens basically since it's release date, it sits on my black X-E1.

[@marcp.1752]

See this, FYI: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmbFeXyIrpKNl8k And there are also much samples onto the Web, even some on Flickr nowadays. I first thought the Zonlai 22/1.8 is great, but for the price i paid (around 180-200 EUR) it's not. And better build, are you serious? lol. Nope. Perhaps you've never seen the TTA 35/1.4, 50/1.2 TTA Lenses. Very nice build, for just 60 to 100 EUR! And so is the 23/1.4 TTA also. all metal.

[@quikee9195]

​ @Marc P. At 200€ you're almost in the Viltrox 23mm 1.4 territory

[@marcp.1752]

@@quikee9195 Wrong. The Viltrox costs in germany at minimum 337 EUR, that's the cheapest price i could find only - way far off cheap 200 EUR into contrast. :)

[@goodmythicalmukbang3757]

I have this, Its one of the worst ttartisan lens made. Color is bad, soft and hazy.

[@blekfut5763]

Focus zone scale on this lens is totally fucked up, worthless shit if you want to use zone focusing - what I always do with manual focusing lens!

[@rrasch8125]

These Chinese lenses sound good on paper but I can get better quality putting a wine glass on my sensor.

[@swawekvandermeer99]

You get what you pay for...

[@woodkidlee]

Maybe TTArtisans develops more sharp lenses than that. This one is totally a disaster.

[@Duo64]

This thing is total junk. If you're using Fuji spend a bit more for the AF capable Viltrox 23mm f1.4 instead.

[@kingsamvisuals]

I have the viltrox 56mm. Solid lens but I have the 23mm f2 and am tempted to switch to the viltrox

[@nAcolz]

Where I live the Viltrox costs $500 whereas the TTArtisan costs $150... That's a huge difference and to call this lens total junk at this price point is just flat out dumb.

[@stephanweiskorn6760]

Excellent video 😊!