{"id":53993,"date":"2024-06-03T06:00:33","date_gmt":"2024-06-03T05:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/?p=53993"},"modified":"2024-06-03T14:02:27","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T13:02:27","slug":"review-ttartisan-250mm-f-5-6-reflex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/review-ttartisan-250mm-f-5-6-reflex\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: TTArtisan 250mm f\/5.6 Reflex"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

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From time to time, TTArtisan creates unconventional but very interesting lenses not typically found in other lens manufacturers’ offerings. (e.g. the 100\/2.8 bubble bokeh<\/a>, or the 100mm 2x macro Tilt\/Shift<\/a>). This time they have come up with a telephoto lens. A light and compact full-frame mirror lens<\/span> with an unconventional focal length of 250mm. On an APS-C camera it has an equialent focal length of 375mm, which touches the realm of super telephoto lenses. Let’s have a look!<\/p>\n

I tested this lens on a Nikon Z 7II mirrorless camera, which has a 46Mp full-frame sensor. Sample images were taken in both FX (full-frame) and DX (APS-C) formats. Whenever the image was captured in DX format, I noted it in the caption.<\/p>\n

Sample Images<\/span><\/h2>\n
\"TTARTISAN
Nikon Z 7II | TTArtisan 250mm f\/5.6 Mirror | FX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TTARTISAN
Nikon Z 7II | TTArtisan 250mm f\/5.6 Mirror | FX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TTARTISAN
Nikon Z 7II | TTArtisan 250mm f\/5.6 Mirror | FX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TTARTISAN
Nikon Z 7II | TTArtisan 250mm f\/5.6 Mirror | DX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TTARTISAN
Nikon Z 7II | TTArtisan 250mm f\/5.6 Mirror | DX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

\"TTARTISAN
Nikon Z 7II | TTArtisan 250mm f\/5.6 Mirror | DX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TTARTISAN
Nikon Z 7II | TTArtisan 250mm f\/5.6 Mirror | DX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TTARTISAN
Nikon Z 7II | TTArtisan 250mm f\/5.6 Mirror | FX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TTARTISAN
Nikon Z 7II | TTArtisan 250mm f\/5.6 Mirror | DX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TTARTISAN
Nikon Z 7II | TTArtisan 250mm f\/5.6 Mirror | DX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TTARTISAN
Nikon Z 7II | TTArtisan 250mm f\/5.6 Mirror | DX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TTARTISAN
Nikon Z 7II | TTArtisan 250mm f\/5.6 Mirror | FX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

<\/span><\/p>\n

Specifications<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Focal Length<\/td>\n250mm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Angle of View<\/td>\n10\u00b0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
# of Aperture Blades<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Max Aperture<\/td>\nF5.6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Min Aperture<\/td>\nF5.6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Min Focus Distance<\/td>\n2 m<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Filter Size<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lens Mount<\/td>\nM42<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Weight<\/td>\n380 g<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Size (D x L)<\/td>\n72\u00a0 x\u00a0 65 mm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Elements\/Group<\/td>\n6\/5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\"TTARTISAN
TTArtisan 250\/5.6 Reflex | Lens Construction<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Buy new:<\/strong> TTArtisan Store<\/a>, Amazon<\/a>, B&H for $298 (Affiliate links)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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TTArtisan 250mm Mirror on a Nikon Z 7II<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Disclosure<\/span><\/h2>\n

TTArtisan kindly provided this lens for test and review purposes.<\/p>\n

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

There are two main reasons to manufacture a mirror lens, and these reasons also make them appealing compared to more traditional lenses. One advantage is their significantly reduced size and weight compared to traditional lenses with the same focal length, a point on which this TTArtisan 250\/5.6 does not disappoint. For a 250mm fullframe lens, this TTArtisan lens is extremely light and compact. Here is a size comparison between TTArtisan 250\/5.6 and Nikon AF-S 70-200\/4 G.<\/p>\n

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The other advantage is their much lower price compared to traditional lenses with the same focal length. This is mainly due to the fewer glass lens elements used in their construction. The TTArtisan 250\/5.6 is a fully manual lens without any electrical contacts. It is constructed entirely of metal and glass. The manual focus ring, also made of metal, is large with pyramidal texture and comfortable to grip. It is very well damped and rotates about 190\u00b0. You can turn the focus ring significantly past the infinity mark. In my tests something that was about 200 m away was just very slightly past infinity marking on the ring, and there was still a lot space until the ring actually stopped turning. In other words, the infinity marking is very off. The package includes a small metal lens hood, which may not significantly reduce flare, but serves as good protection.<\/p>\n

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TTArtisan 250\/5.6 with Lens Hood and Lens Caps<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Given the lens hood’s small size, the compact size of the lens, and the fact that the front cap can be put both on the lens and the lens hood, you can leave it attached at all times. While the lens is incredibly small and compact for the focal length, due to its availability only in M42 screw mount, you\u2019ll need a mount adapter to use it on modern digital cameras, which adds to the size of the lens on your camera. Due to the screw mount, and depending on the mount adapter used, the lens distance scale may not align perfectly on top. I\u2019ve used adapters from two different manufacturers, and while the alignment varied between the two, neither of them aligned the lens perfectly with the distance indicator on top.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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TTArtisan 250\/5.6 with the Lens Hood (and mount adapter) on Nikon Z 7II<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The lens seems and feels well built with a tight assembly. There is no weather sealing of any kind visible. There is no real aperture in the lens, as the aperture is fixed at f\/5.6, hence no aperture ring on the lens either.<\/p>\n

Optical Features<\/span><\/h2>\n
\"TTARTISAN
TTArtisan 250mm f\/5.6 Reflex | MTF Diagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sharpness (Infinity)<\/span><\/h3>\n

For this lens this is the main (and possibly only) sharpness area that is important. I took 2 test scenes, in the first one (the church), I took 3 different shots of the same round widow of the church, I just moved the camera to put the round widow in the right area of the frame. For the second test (the old building) i took one shot and cropped 3 different areas of interest.<\/p>\n

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First scene (the church)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Second scene (the old building)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Nikon Z 7II | TTArtisan 250mm\/5.6 | Infinity sharpness chart<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the center of the image the sharpness is good on the verge of very good. The midframe sharpness is good, the corner is just OK. The contrast is very low over the whole frame. By adding a little contrast in post-processing you will get the optimal result.<\/p>\n

Sharpness (Portrait)<\/span><\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s look at the points of interest for portraits at the portrait distance: the very center, the center\u2019s inner periphery\u00a0 (1\/3 rule intersection), and the center\u2019s outer periphery (1\/4th intersection).<\/span><\/p>\n

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Portrait Sharpness Points of Interest<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TTARTISAN
Portrati Sharpness | Nikon Z 7II | TTArtisan 250mm f\/5.6 Reflex | f\/5.6<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is not a portrait lens, but for completeness I make this test too. The distance was about 5-5.5 m away from the subject. The center sharpness and the inner circle is good and the the outer circle sharpness is OK\/good.<\/p>\n

Sharpness (Close-up)<\/span><\/h3>\n

Not sure if anybody would use this lens for closeup photography, but for completeness I added this test and took a shot at my standard Dollar note. At MFD the sharpness is good but contrast is very low.
\nI have added the image as it comes out from the camera and the same image with added contrast to compare. I didn’t make any other adjustments to the raw image from the camera.<\/p>\n