Analog Therapy/New Lens to Me Film Test: TTArtisans 21mm f/1.5 for M

As stated in my last post on this lens:

…I need to stay the heck off of used gear websites.

But here we are. I will leave that last post to state the why. But as stated at the end I was running a roll of film behind this lens. This is the post about that roll of film.

Had confirmed proper lens adjustment with a more than 10 year old, fresh from KEH calibration spa lens adjustment checker.

Instead of visiting the same old nearby gardens I brought the camera about on my daily travels.

The film of choice was my current bargain champ Fujifilm Superia X-Tra 400 which was developed at home with Cinestill CS41 2 bath kit.

Spoiler alert. As expected the lens worked well with film as well. Here are 27 of 36 samples. The other 9 lost to hubris driven user error were tossed in the round file.

Result? Once again a success.

The performance aligns with the other Artisans lenses I have and had in the past. Perfectly fine to outstanding depending on circumstances. Downright phenomenal when you factor in the fact they are usually well built, do not look half bad, and cost a mere fraction of the lenses from other, more established manufacturers.

And then the 21mm f/1.5 adds a bit more than I would expect.

• Very good value at less than half the price of Voigtlander’s option and 1/20th the price of the Leica option.
  • I saved a bit more by picking up a using copy.
• Impressive accessories.
  • Case.
  • Adjustment kit.
  • Three hood/cap options.
    • Metal, vented rectangular hood and cap.
    • Metal cap.
    • Circular screw-on hood/filter adapter.
      • Necessary since the lens protrudes past the threads of the lens.

• Nice metal build and clicked aperture ring.
  • Oddly the clicks are numerous and do not align with the markings.

Image Quality

Solid. With a lens this wide I am not looking for pin sharp across the frame, but it is acceptable for me. Which is impressive since I shot this lens wide open almost always. If I did want a sharper result that could be easily obtained by stopping the lens down a bit. The same goes for vignetting. Acceptable wide open, and better stopped down. No complaints here.

What next?

A post of this lens adapted to non-native mirrorless digital.

Wrap Up

That is about it for now. Will report back with more posts in the near future. I am expecting good results.

Happy capturing.

-ELW