Introduction
The APS-C 35mm focal length is equivalent to 52mm on a Fullframe camera, therefore it is in the ‘standard’ category and very close to the classic 50mm lenses on fullframe cameras. With an angle of view offering none of the ‘perspective distortion’ associated with wide angle or telephoto lenses. It is TTArtisan’s third autofocus lens after the 27mm f/2.8 and the 32mm f/2.8, but their first AF lens with a max aperture of f/1.8. Its focal length sits between Nikon’s own 28mm and 40mm lenses, which on an APS-C camera would be the FF equivalents of 42mm and 60mm, hence filling the gap for the missing 50mm (eqv). Let’s have a deeper look at it!
This lens will be released on Monday, November 20, 2023 and will be available on TTArtisan’s onlie store for 119 USD (right now), from 11am GMT+1 (Stockholm, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Madrid time). The first batch will be in Fuji X mount only, Nikon Z and Sony mounts will be available later.
Sample Images
Most of the sample images in this review and many more can be found in higher resolution here.
Buy from: TTArtisan Shopify Official Store $149 ($119 Black Friday sales 20/11-24/11) (Affiliate links)
Specifications
| Focal Length | 35mm |
| Format Size | APS-C |
| Equivalent Focal Length on FF | 52.5mm |
| Aperture Range | f/1.8 – f/16 |
| # of Aperture Blades | 9 |
| Min Focus | 0.6 m (specified) |
| Filter Size | 52 mm |
| Lens Mount | Fuji X, Sony E, Nikon Z |
| Weight | 199 – 205 g |
| Size (D x L) | 64 mm x 61 mm |
| Elements/Group | 10 / 8 |
Disclosure
This pre-production lens, in Sony E mount version, was kindly provided by TTArtisan for test and reviewing purposes.
You can buy TTArtisan AF 35mm f/1.8 new directly from manufacturer’s official store.
NOTE: The first production batch will be only with Fuji X mount, Sony E and Nikon Z mount versions will be arriving soon after.
All tests were done on a Nikon Z fc camera. For adapting the Sony E lens version to Nikon Z mount, I used a Megadap ETZ21 PRO, which was kindly provided by Megadap for testing purposes.
(Affiliate links)
Handling
The lens seems to be well built and to the same standard as TTArtisans manual lenses, which is a good mechanical standard. It is fully made of metal – even the lens hood is. Not something that all the manufacturers do, nice. The lens hood has an unorthodox design with a rectangular window in front though. The focusing ring is relatively large and turns evenly and smoothly. The AF is reasonably fast and accurate, although the sample I’ve got is not a native Nikon Z mount lens, but a Sony E mount.
It was not possible to program the focusing ring on Nikon Z fc, but according to TTArtisan it will be programmable if a Z mount lens is used on Nikon Z fc, or if this lens was used on a Sony camera. There are electric contacts for lens-camera communication, which makes it possible for AF to work properly and also the EXIF info be registered in the image meta data. Although I used an adapter, everything was registered correctly, focal length, max aperture, working aperture, and even the name and make of the lens. There are no other controls on the lens, not even an AF On-Off button, which is a pity.
The rear lens cap is a dock with a USB-C contact, which also can be used for updating the lens firmware.
Optical Features
Sharpness (Infinity)
- f/1.8: Very good sharpness in the center and good sharpness in the midframe and corner
- f/2.8 Excellent sharpness in the center. The sharpness in the midframe and corner has also improved a little
- f/4: The center sharpness is outstanding now. Midframe and corners have improved more.
- f/5.6: Still outstandaning sharpness in the center and now the midframe is very good to excellent. Corner is good and better than before.
- f/8: The center sharpness goes back to excellent due to diffraction effect, corner and midframe, good to very good.
- f/11: Diffraction effect is showing more but still from excellent to good sharpness from center towards corner.
- f/16: Same story as at f/11.
It is a very sharp lens, which is extraordinarily sharp in the center.
Sharpness (Portrait)
Let’s look at the points of interest for portraits at the portrait distance: the very center, the center’s inner periphery (1/3 rule intersection), and the center’s outer periphery (1/4th intersection).
Very good sharpenss in all the three points at f/1.8.
At f/2.8 the sharpness in the three points is excellent even.
Sharpness (Close-up)
At f/1.8 the lens has very good sharpness, which steadily gets better by stopping down. At f/4 it is excellent and remains excellent until f/11. At f/16 we see a little dip due to diffraction.
Lens Distortion
No reservations here as the TTAartisan AF 35/1.8 is nearly distortion free with straight lines along the edges.
Vignetting
The vignetting is not good, but not that bad either wide open. What is not good at all is that it does not improve a lot by stopping down and even by f/5.6 there is more than half a stop vignetting.
Vignetting values on APS-C camera:
- f/1.8: 1.7 EV
- f/2.8: 1.3 EV
- f/4.0: 0.7 EV
- f/5.6: 0.6 EV
I have also added an image showing the vignetting on a FF camera.
Focus Shift & Aberrations
The good news is that there is neither any focus shift nor any lateral chromatic aberration. The less good news is that there are some longitudinal chromatic aberrations, which are somewhat persistent. LoCA reduces by stopping down, and most of it is gone by f/5.6, but if you want them to completely disappear you have to stop down more.
Flare Resistance
This TTArtisan 35/1.8 has difficulties to control flare as soon as the sun or other strong light sources are near the edges of the image. Here you can see that both veiling flare and lens flares are introduced into the image with the light source somewhere near the edges. I also include an image without flare from the same scene, where I tried to avoid flare by choosing a better photographing angle. Unfortunately the lens hood did not help much in these situations.
Coma
We looked at coma from max relative aperture (f/1.8) and then stopped down by one stop until f/7.1 We also look at f/2 just for future comparison with other lenses.
This TTArtisan suffers from coma but it is not huge. Although the coma is small, it does not improve quickly. You should stop down to f/5 to get rid of most of it and at f/7.1 it is completely fixed. It is not bad but it is there.
Sunstars
This TTArtisan 35mm can create sunstars at smaller apertures but they are not well-defined sunstars. If this is an important feature for you, you should look elsewhere. Here you can see some examples.
Focus Breathing
The TTArtisan 35/1.8 suffers from heavy focus breathing, which might not be good news for film makers.
Bokeh
Let’s see how much out of focus background and how nice bokeh we can get from this 35mm at it is max relative aperture (f/1.8) on an APS-C camera. Let’s have a look at the bokeh balls first!
The bokey balls look nice but there is a colored rim. There is also some lens vignetting but it is not worse than the average, and not cat’s eye shaped either.
Close Distance
Nice and soft bokeh both indoors and outdoors with the more challenging busy background with foliage.
Medium Distance
Even here the bokeh is nice and not disturbing
Long Distance
We should not expect too much of a 35mm lens at f/1.8 on APS-C camera, but you can still get nice out of focus blur without disturbing bokeh with this lens even in this situation, in my eyes.
To my liking, the bokeh is nice and creates a pleasing background blur. Have a look yourself at the images in this section and in other parts, where I have put many images with background blur and see how you like it.
Conclusion
| I LIKE | AVERAGE | I DON’T LIKE |
| Sharpness Price Distortion control Focus shift LaCA |
Coma correction Vignetting LoCA Min Focusing Distance Sunstars |
Flare Resistance Focus Breathing |
The TTArtisan AF 35mm f/1.8 is a compact and handy standard lens (on APS-C) with excellent sharpness in the center and very good sharpness everywhere else. It also offers quick and precise AF and a pleasant bokeh. Its compact format makes it easy to have on the camera and carry in the bag at all times. Its affordable price makes it difficult to look much elsewhere and makes it very competitive, especially for Nikon Z users, as there is no equivalent available.
This TTArtisan’s main issue is its weak flare resistance, which you could avoid by choosing you composition wisely and avoid the sun or very strong light sources in certain positions. So if you are looking for a fast standard lens with an affordable price for your APS-C camera and can handle the flare issue, here you have it.
If you are interested in buying this lens or any of the lenses in the Alternatives section, you can support our efforts by using the links below or given under each lens. It won’t cost you a penny and it won’t affect the price, but it will help us a little.
Affiliate Links:
Buy new:
TTArtisan Shopify Official Store $149 ($119 Black Friday sales 20/11-24/11)
amazon.com, amazon.de, amazon.co.uk, amazon.fr, amazon.com.au for $149 (Affiliate links)
Alternatives
As usual not an exhaustive list of alternatives.
Viltrox 33mm F1.4
Autofocus, it also offers 2/3 of a stop faster aperture, is slightly larger and heavier. Double the price. Available in Nikon Z, Sony E, and Fuji X mounts.
Buy New: Viltrox Store,
amazon.com, amazon.de, amazon.co.uk, amazon.com.au, for $269 (Affiliate links)
Laowa Argus 33mm f/0.95 CF APO
Manual focus, without any electric contacts, offers amazing f/0.95 aperture but it is larger and 3 times heavier and costs about 3 times more. Available in Nikon Z, Canon RF, Sony E, EOS M, and Fuji X mounts.
Buy new: Laowa official Store,
amazon.com, amazon.de, amazon.co.uk, amazon.fr, amazon.com.au, for $450 (Affiliate links)
Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary
Autofocus, offers 2/3 of a stop faster aperture, is a little larger, heavier, and $120 to $250 more expensive. Available in L-Mount, Sony E-Mount, FUJIFILM X Mount. Nikon Z Mount, Micro Four Thirds Mount, and Canon EF-M Mount.
Buy new: amazon.com, amazon.de, amazon.co.uk, amazon.fr, amazon.com.au for $270 – $399 depending on mount (Affiliate links)
Voigtländer Nokton 35mm F1.2
Manual focus, but with electric contacts, a full stop faster, smaller but about the same weight. Quite expensive, costs about 4 times, you will be able to buy 3 or at least 2 more affordable lenses for that price but excellent mechanical build quality. Available in Nikon Z and Fuji X mounts.
Buy new: amazon.com, amazon.de, amazon.co.uk, amazon.fr, amazon.com.au for $649 (Affiliate links)
More Sample Images
Most of the sample images in this review and many more can be found in higher resolution here.
Further Reading
- REVIEW: LAOWA 33MM 0.95 CF APS-C
- REVIEW: VILTROX 75MM 1.2 AF E PRO APS-C
- REVIEW: NISI 9MM 2.8 APS-C
- REVIEW: LAOWA 9MM 2.8 APS-C
Support Us
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If you are not interested in buying any of the lenses, but you still found this article useful, just liked reading it or it saved you some money: treat us to a coffee!
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TTArtisan Shopify Official Store $149 ($119 Black Friday sales 20/11-24/11)
amazon.com, amazon.de, amazon.co.uk, amazon.fr, amazon.com.au for $149 (Affiliate links)
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Martin
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I can’t imagine the tax duty on that truck!
The idea of getting this much lens for just 120USD is hard to believe. It’s smaller and half the price of the Viltrox 33mm which was already a fantastic value. It’s so cheap that every Nikon, Sony, or Fuji shooter without a 50 already should probably just autobuy this.
Coming from a Fuji perspective, I guess I’m not particularly impressed, and that’s not comparing it to the 35/2 (I have the WR version). I’m unimpressed comparing it to the TTArtisan 27/2.8.
There was a bit of strange alchemy to the 27. The heavy vignetting and extreme cats eye might be a turn-off to some, but the purpose of the lens for others. Well, me at least. I love that it’s a lens with a very pre-modern rendering. The swirls it offers are unlike anything else you can get in a lens this wide or with autofocus.
This 35mm seems like… it’s just a lens. Decent enough, but not really special. I guess the flares are a plus, if you’re into that. Lack of aperture ring isn’t as much fun (particularly since the A and f/1.8 will be at opposite ends when scrolling with a little thumb wheel). My dream was for something that leaned harder into vintage character. Perfection would have been a Biotar design for good center sharpness (by film standards not digital ones) but extreme cats eye and swirl, just with modern AF and aperture controls. From a lot of these samples, it just doesn’t go far enough. Perhaps less clinical than the 35/2, but it doesn’t really lean into vintage flaws hard enough.
There’s a lot of good lenses for Fuji. The OEM 35/2, 35/1.4, and 33/1.4, 30/2.8 macro. The Viltrox 33/1.4 is bigger, but also appears to be a decent performer. What I want are more flawed lenses, but looking at a few sample galleries, this feels too normal.
Meanwhile, the TTArtisan 27 was a big price savings over the Fuji 27, while this is only a small saving over the XC 35mm. I’ve bought a lot of TTArtisan lenses in the past, but can’t see myself getting one of these.
Obviously a nice lens. The elephant in the room here is Nikon’s own lens 35/1.8 AF-S DX adapted. Hard to beat that lens, price included. Looking at your photos I guess or I bet for a very similar signature 😉
It could very well be as you say, but that Nikon lens is a DSLR lens, which requires the FTZ adapter. That adds a lot of bulk, weight, size, and hassle.
Even if both lenses are on par optically, practically they are not comparable on a Z body. This TTA wins hands down.