TTArtisan 50mm F2.0 Large Aperture Full Frame Lens

I’m still playing around with this lense, this is my first time with a real camera and first time buying lense. Even though there is a learning curve to focusing and whatnot, I find this way more engaging and fun for me.

Excellent product. Very good value for money.

Let's start with the obvious: what this lens is not. This is not a high-end, fully automatic lens. It does not offer automatic focus. The camera cannot control the aperture setting. It is not the cutting edge of optics, and it doesn't pretend to be. This is not a macro lens. It does not offer zoom. If you're looking for that in a lens, you'll need to pay far more.This lens is a well-engineered, well-built, fast lens with outstanding optics for its price point.Design, Construction, and Operation:As with all such manual lenses, this lens contains no internal electronics. The ideal way to use it is in aperture-priority mode (or manual mode), setting the aperture via the ring at the front of the lens. A separate (much larger) dial behind the aperture ring provides manual focusing, best used with Sony's focus peaking method of focusing. The lens features mostly (if not all) metal construction, well-damped focusing, and a very functional aperture control. Focus range is from 0.5m to infinity, and aperture ranges from f/2.0 to f/16. The mount is well-machined, though I did find it a little snug when attaching it to the camera. The lens cap is also metal, and screws into the filter threads on the end of the lens. This isn't particularly convenient, but I don't dislike it, either.Optics and Image Quality:I took a number of test images on a Sony Alpha 6000 mirrorless to test this lens. Some were technical test shots (a semi-scientific approach using a printed test target) as well as a few run-of-the-mill test shots of plants and cats and such. Since all images are manually focused, I only looked at sharpness when the center seemed optimally sharp. I did not get a chance to test flare or shooting into direct sunlight, so I won't comment on this.I found the lens to be impressively sharp at the center at almost all f-stops. At f/2.0, the entire image suffers from a significant drop in sharpness, though the images at this setting are completely usable. Stopping down just a single click reduces this significantly, and by f/8.0, any loss in sharpness is completely gone. By f/16, diffraction starts to reduce sharpness, but it's actually in line with most other lenses I've used.Corner sharpness doesn't fare as well, but is actually better than I expected -- it's also in line with most zoom lenses I've used, though not really as good as most primes would be from major brands. At the corners, color-fringing is fairly strong, and depending on the situation, unattractively so. Vignette is relatively strong, both wide-open and stopped down. I'm a sucker for vignette, though, so I actually count this as a good thing.Overall Impression:If you own a thousand+ dollar high-end 50mm prime, this lens is probably not for you, unless you're looking for some of the quirkiness or just want to play. But if you're looking for a cheap, fast, 50mm prime, and you don't mind manually focusing, it's hard to go wrong with this lens. I was really impressed with the value it offers at such a low price point.(all attached images taken directly from camera and converted from RAW in photoshop at default settings)

Honestly, this lens is a really great deal for someone who is budget conscious and looking for a nifty 50. I think it's important to note that this is a fully manual lens. You have to manually set the aperture and manually focus. However, if you can manage that, then overall this is a really nice lens. This lens is small and lightweight. It's easy to put on and take off of my camera. The aperture ring has nice stops along the way and is easy to adjust. There's some slight vignetting around the edges but it's not heavy and can easily be corrected in in post processing. The aperture changes are noticable and appropriate. Basically for someone on a tight budget, this lens is a steal. It's also made of mostly metal pieces so it's not something that's plastic and likely to break too easily. This is a great deal on a nice, basic, manual lens!

At this price, I'm very impressed.I didn't order this lens because I was expecting the sharpest photos I've ever taken. I ordered it simply because I'm a cheapskate. I use a Sony NEX-6, and as I like interesting lenses but refuse to spend big bucks on them I usually use old Soviet lenses with a bulky adapter, and after a few years of this I'd grown rather tired of it. When I saw that this was a native E-mount 50mm lens under $100 I couldn't help but give it a try.Is it a good lens? Well, only time will tell. After a few hours of playing around with it in dimming afternoon light I'm pretty happy with the performance, but I'm not ready to shout from the rooftops. It's certainly competent, and capable of producing a sharp image, and with a reasonably wide f/2 aperture it's acceptably fast though hardly world beating. In my limited tests the bokeh is quite smooth and fairly uninteresting, but amazing bokeh is probably too much to ask from a budget lens such as this.The one thing it really has going for it is size. After years of bulky lenses and chunky adapters this lens seems tiny, finally making my NEX-6 easily pocketable. It's also a very good looking lens. Other than the unforgivably ugly typeface used for the brand name on the screw-on lens cap this is a very nice looking thing indeed, and it feels well made to boot. Both the focus and aperture rings are smooth and precise.I never expected this lens to blow me away, but at this price I can't help but recommend it.Update: after testing this lens in optimal light conditions I'm satisfied that it's capable of an impressive degree of sharpness, and the bokeh is a little better than I at first thought.