{"id":42979,"date":"2023-09-10T07:38:24","date_gmt":"2023-09-10T06:38:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/?p=42979"},"modified":"2024-04-21T11:50:43","modified_gmt":"2024-04-21T10:50:43","slug":"review-ttartisan-100mm-f-2-8-macro-2x-ts-a-jack-of-all-trades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/review-ttartisan-100mm-f-2-8-macro-2x-ts-a-jack-of-all-trades\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: TTArtisan 100mm f\/2.8 Macro 2x TS – A Jack of All Trades"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/span><\/h2>\n

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Short telephoto macro lenses around 90mm-105mm are very popular and the market is crowded with them. Being macro lenses, they can give you great magnification (2:1 in this case), and at the same time, they can also be used as portrait lenses. But of course, they also are good for compressed landscape images and candid photography. The advantage of this lens is that it also offers a 2x magnification instead of the traditional macro 1x magnification, and besides, it is a tilt and shift lens, good for architectural and product photography, not something you see every day. Let’s see how it performs!<\/span><\/p>\n

Sample Images<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Nikon Z6 | TTArtisan T&S 100\/2.8 Macro 2X | f\/11 (stacked 68 images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TTArtisan
Nikon Z6 | TTArtisan T&S 100\/2.8 Macro 2X | f\/2.8 (untilted)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TTArtisan
Nikon Z6 | TTArtisan T&S 100\/2.8 Macro 2X | f\/11 (untilted)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TTArtisan
Nikon Z6 | TTArtisan T&S 100\/2.8 Macro 2X | f\/2.8 (tilted)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

\"TTArtisan
Nikon Z6 | TTArtisan T&S 100\/2.8 Macro 2X | f\/2.8 (untilted)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TTArtisan
Nikon Z6 | TTArtisan T&S 100\/2.8 Macro 2X | f\/8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TTArtisan
Nikon Z6 | TTArtisan T&S 100\/2.8 Macro 2X | f\/5.6 (stacked 2 images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TTArtisan
Nikon Z6 | TTArtisan T&S 100\/2.8 Macro 2X | f\/2.8 (untilted)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TTArtisan
Nikon Z6 | TTArtisan T&S 100\/2.8 Macro 2X | f\/8 (stacked: 37 images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TTArtisan
Nikon Z6 | TTArtisan T&S 100\/2.8 Macro 2X | f\/2.8 (tilted)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TTArtisan
Nikon Z6 | TTArtisan T&S 100\/2.8 Macro 2X | f\/2.8 (untilted)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TTArtisan
Nikon Z6 | TTArtisan T&S 100\/2.8 Macro 2X | f\/2.8 (tilted)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most of the sample images in this review and many more can be found in higher resolution here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Specifications<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Focal Length:<\/td>\n100mm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aperture Range:<\/td>\nF\/2.8 – F\/22<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
# of Aperture Blades:<\/td>\n12<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Min Focus:<\/td>\n0.25 m (2:1)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Filter Size:<\/td>\n67 mm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lens Mount:<\/td>\nSony E \/\u00a0 Canon RF \/ Fuji X \/ Nikon Z \/ L-mount\/M43 (Fuji GFX, Nikon F, Canon EF: ONLY macro, no Tilt\/Shift)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Weight:<\/td>\n852 g (Nikon Z version)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Size:<\/td>\n\u00d8 72 mm x 153 mm (Nikon Z version)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tilt:<\/td>\n8\u00b0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shift:<\/td>\n\u00b16 mm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Elements\/Group:<\/td>\n14\/10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\"TTArtisan<\/p>\n

Handling<\/span><\/h2>\n

TTArtisan T&S 100\/2.8 Macro 2:1 is built entirely of metal. The lens is completely manual; manual focus and manual aperture setting on the lens, with no electric contacts. It comes with a metallic lens cap that fits securely over the front. There is no lens hood included though. The lens looks beautiful and seems to be designed beautifully when you hold it in your hands. But when attached to my Z camera it has some small play and wobbles on the camera a little, it is a bit annoying. This lens is made in two versions, with and without tilt\/shift. Same lens with the same optical construction. The lens is prolonged for the tilt\/shift version to accommodate said tilt\/shift mechanism. This has made the tilt\/shift version a bit too long and unnaturally front-heavy. I had the L-bracket attached to the camera to compensate, but it did not help much.<\/p>\n

\"TTArtisan<\/p>\n

There is no weather sealing. The aperture ring has variable distance click stops at every half an f-stop from f\/2.8 to f\/11 and only full-stop clicks between the three smallest apertures f\/11 to f\/22. The focusing ring has only 100 degrees throw. This is a too small throw for a macro lens even with a 1:1 magnification and it is way too small for a 2:1 macro lens. This makes focusing at closer distances a challenge, especially as the ring turns very stiffly. You have to put a good amount of push on the ring to make it start turning, as it’s been stuck. You want to turn the ring very gently, due to the small throw and big magnification, it simply does not move by gentle handling. As you put more pressure, it is easy to overdo it and you pass the focus point to the other side. In other words, focusing is difficult to perform precisely. \"\"<\/p>\n

There are 6 knobs at the end of the lens near the camera: one for tilting, one for shifting, and one for rotating the lens 90 degrees, plus three at the opposite side of each of these knobs to lock the tilting, shifting, and rotating mechanism.<\/p>\n

There are four female screw holes at the very end of the lens barrel, near the front lens element (over, under, left, and right side of the barrel), where you can attach an included flash cold shoe for special macro arm lights or small led lamps, a very nifty and nice feature, pity that there is only one shoe included.<\/p>\n

\"TTArtisan
Nikon Z6 | TTArtisan T&S 100\/2.8 Macro 2X | Cold shoe (lamp not included)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tilt & Shift<\/h2>\n

Let’s look at the extra features this lens offers, the tilt and shift functions. The tilt and shift can not be adjusted independently, they are perpendicular to each other, but that is the case for most tilt & shift lenses, except for very few ones.<\/p>\n

Tilt<\/h3>\n

You can tilt this lens 8\u00b0, upwards or downwards, which is less than but not far from the competitors; Canon TS-E 90mm (8\u00b0),\u00a0 Nikon PC-E 85mm\u00a0 (8.5\u00b0), and Canon TS-E 90mm L (10\u00b0). Bear in mind though, that the longer the lens is, the less dramatic the tilt effect will be at the same tilt angle. When you unlock the tilting, the lens tilts down in free fall to the end position. You can gear up the lens by the knob but there is no resistance to hold the lens at all. There is no click-stop at the center position either, so you have to align the lens in the center by your judgment.<\/p>\n