This entry is a bit more significant and surprising to me for a few reasons.
- 50mm is my favorite prime focal length.
- Unlike previous entries I still own it.
- Unlike previous entries it is MF.
- There are other low price 50mm lenses I thought I would choose first.
Which ones? I am glad I imagined you asked.
The good.
- Sony’s last firmware updates made this lens’ performance passable.
- It is the least expensive Sony made 50mm FE lens.
- Small and light.
The meh. (None are what I would call bad.)
- It is just passable. There is nothing special about this lens.
- Plasticky.
The good.
- Inexpensive, especially used.
- I really like the IQ.
- If I were a reasonable man this lens would do just fine.
The meh.
- Build may be worse than the Sony above. That is not good.
The good.
- I adore this lens.
- Because it is an M mount it is very flexible adapted.
The meh.
- As much as I adore this lens it costs too much for what it is.
The first two lenses are the most “sensible” options in this post if you are looking for a rational, inexpensive choice. Close this tab, go get one of those, and all the best to you.
But if, like I, you have a predilection for things a bit nonsensical or wonky read on.
The case for the TTArtisans Tilt 50mm f/1.4.
- While not f/1.1 it gets close enough at f/1.4.
- Unlike the 7Artisans f/1.1, which is is a bit sketchy build wise, the TTArtisan is far more solid than it has and business being.
- It looks the part of a proper vintage MF lens.
- More fun than any of the lenses above courtesy tilt with 360 degrees of rotation.
- Be mindful to buy a later copy since early models exposed a gap on tilt and only rotated 90 degrees. As outlined in this 35mmc post that referenced my first post and product pic on this lens both of those issues were resolved with no notice or version number update.
- At $199 new and even less used it is quite the good deal.
Below I will largely repost my review of this lens with edits.
I have bought yet another FE mount 50mm lens. Had no plans to purchase one. Stumbled across it while trolling KEH’s website for lowest price FE lenses.
I may regret this post later on. I usually wait a while, but I was immediately taken by this lens. May just be my initial low expectations talking. I guess I should not be surprised. I am a fan of other TTArtisans lenses.
Anyhoo. Preamble sorted. Here we go.
A used TTArtisans Tilt lens. It is $199 new and the one I bought was $170 in Like New condition. Did I need this lens? Not at all. Why did I buy this lens? Welp. It was:
- $170.
- Weird.
- All metal.
- Cool looking.
- 50mm.
- f/1.4.
In other words, I was defenseless against such an onslaught of lens nerdery.
Reviews I read (Mainly here and here.) had three complaints.
- Not sharp wide open.
- Has a light leak when tilted all the way one way or the other.
- Only rotates 90 degrees instead of 360 so certain tilt angles are not available.
This was from reviews from Philip Reeves from 2022 and Hamish Gill at 35mmc earlier this year. Then it arrived and:
- Seems plenty sharp enough given its humble provenance and low price.
- No light leaks, as was shown in the Philip Reeves review, as far as I can see. (See below.)
- 360 degrees of rotation was added.
I emailed Hamish and he said this is normal for TTArtisans. They quietly make major changes to their lenses to address issues and do not change the version or price.
Good for new purchasers or folks who luck up on a recent copy used, but this stinks for early adopters.
So, I just lucked up in getting a newly updated copy of the lens used. Honestly, at this reduced price I would have been happy with an older version (and likely none the wiser), but this definitely worked out in my favor.
About that softness. Hamish stated:
“I ended up feeling like the only person on the internet who didn’t mind the softness.”
Well, you can add me to that number.
I am with Hamish on this one. I do not know what folks are on about regarding sharpness. It is fine. What is to be expected from a $200, all-metal, f/1.4 tilt lens? Zeiss sharpness? Certainly not. But as Hamish has pointed out perhaps it has to do with being another silent upgrade.
A Lensbaby tilt lens in Sony E mount goes for more. I have nothing against that lens. Built for a different audience than I. To each their own. But I would rather the TTArtisans lens.
Corner sharpness was also brought up here and there. Landscapes were mentioned in particular. My solution is simple. This is not the tool for that task. If I plan to take landscape images, I will grab a boring, likely wider focal length, slower aperture lens.
Even putting the tilt functionality aside I genuinely like this lens. Operates perfectly well as a bright 50mm lens under normal conditions. It is not overly large. Solid all metal buld has a nice heft to it. And unlike some inexpensive all metal lenses I have had in the past nothing feels cheap or if it is at risk of falling off or falling apart. It feels good in hand and has a nice weight to it without feeling heavy. And with that it looks rather good sitting out in front of my little A7C. To my eyes a better aesthetic fit than the standard A7 bodies in the reviews.
What? That matters. To me anyways.
But it has a fun tilt hat trick available for when the mood strikes you.
Nice.
This is a day one preview. Let us see what the future holds. As of right now, barring any unforeseen circumstances I am planning to tool around with this lens a bit. If things continue as they have so far this is a definite keeper. We will see. Here are some product pics.
Here are the first samples taken as I was hanging out with my better half. I will keep it brief for this one. More or less to show my early tests of the lens untilted and tilted.
Untilted.
0 degrees rotation (horizontal tilt)/tilted to the left.
0 degrees rotation (horizontal tilt)/tilted to the right.
All three pics above were taken from the same place holding the camera (hand held) the same way.
Untilted.
270 degrees rotation (vertical tilt)/tilted (I do not remember if this was tilted up or down).
For these next few I was snapping away all over the place and have no recollection of what I did for any of them. Had fun though.
Then the food arrived and all attention went to chatting with my wonderful company…
…whilst stuffing my face.
Next up I found myself a rooftop and other elevated settings to get my forced perspective miniaturization on.
Next some fun at the local Gardens.
Then out and about.
A lot of words. But it comes down to this.
Without tilt this is a sub $200 lens, especially used, that is 50mm, f/1.4, reasonably sharp, well built, good looking, with pleasing IQ. That right there is more than I would expect. Add in the tilt function and this lens goes on my no-brainer list.
Well done TTArtisans… again.
Happy capturing.
-ELW
Eric L. Woods 