Camera Lens Wish List: My “Perfect” Normal Lens.
TTArtisan, may I speak to the manager? It is a good thing, I promise.
A recent post about a portrait lens got me thinking. TTArtisan may have made the perfect day to day portrait lens for the A7C form factor for me.
- All metal.
- Solid IQ.
- Solid AF performance.
- Relatively small.
- Affordable.
- Aperture ring.
- f/2 or faster.
- 40mm or 45mm would be my preference.
As mentioned in that last post some have one or more of those attributes but TTArtisan was the only one to check all of those boxes. Here is my basic request:
Now someone please do that for the 50mm focal length.
TTArtisan seems to be the most likely candidate given the winning formula 75mm. You may be asking, “Well, what about…?”.
Again. Some have met some of those requirements but none have met all. That is why I punted after coming very close…
…and went with a zoom lens.
While an excellent performer a few things let the Sony 40mm down as compared to the Tamron 20-40mm.
- It was not all that small for what it was.
- The Remaster Slim kit was what I was looking for.
- It was not all that fast for what it was.
- At the long end the spec was nearly identical to the not that much larger Tamron 20-40mm.
- It was not what one would call inexpensive.
I still stand by the 40mm as a solid choice if you must have a prime lens. But the Tamron zoom made more sense for my purposes and the Sony 40mm was too dear to just keep around not being used often.
SIGMA came close also with two offerings.
I had the 45mm for a while.
But in the end, they fell short for the same reasons as the Sony 40mm. While this may go down as user error I was not a huge fan of the colors which surprised me.
Another close but no thanks goes to the Rokinon/Samyang 45mm f/1.8.
While a win when considering the price and optical performance,…
…its meh construction and lack of an aperture ring let it down. While those last characteristics do not make for a better picture they are important to me.
The aperture ring thing is also what let down the excellent Sony ZEISS 55mm f/1.8 along with the price and slightly longer 55mm focal length.
7Artisans took a swipe at it with their AF 50mm f/1.8 lens. A strong effort. But the TTArtisan 75mm puts a fine point on why I have not purchased one… yet.
It nailed (per Dustin Abbott) the spec, IQ, metal build, and aperture ring even adding an AF/MF switch but the longer 75mm is:
- Smaller.
- Lighter.
- Slightly less expensive.
Very close. I may get one eventually.
Why do I want to talk with TTArtisan management? I am glad I imagined you asked.
Not only have they seemingly nailed the 75mm spec lens they have another lens that is just an AF motor away from what I am looking for.
I like this lens so much that I kept it. It is most of the way there:
- Metal build.
- Aperture ring.
- Solid IQ.
- Reasonable size and weight.
- Fast aperture at f/1.4.
- Inexpensive.
- Looks the business.
While I gather it is far more complicated than this, TTArtisan could get there in two steps.
- Remove tilt mechanism.
- Add AF.
That is all for now. If TTArtisan does not step up, I might fall back and grab that 7Artisan 50mm f/1.8. Uh oh… 7Artisans has it on sale on their website right now. My inner Celestine Woods (My Mom and bargain hunter extraordinaire.) is rising up…
TTArtisan. Your move…
Or not. You are grown.
Since I already have the mother of all 50mm lenses, why do I even need this? Fair question. Easy answer. Similar to the premium 105mm vs. relatively pedestrian 75mm discussed in a recent post, I do not want to use a sledgehammer to drive in a thumbtack. The fancier lenses are overkill while being large and heavy for day-to-day use, in my opinion. Also, why put them at risk of drops or growing legs? Additionally, I did add above that I had the A7C in mind. A smaller lens makes for a better fit there also.
Am I being picky? Yes. Maybe even ridiculous? Perhaps. It is what it is. Easy to be this way when I am so spoiled for choices. Anyhoo.
That is enough for this ramble.
Happy capturing.
-ELW
Eric L. Woods 