My hopelessly optimistic affinity for cheap, third party lenses...

 

Is it sharp enough???

I've been chilling, laying around on the couch and reading novels since last Wednesday. I'm recovering emotionally from finding out that I might not be immortal. That as I age some shit is just bound to go wrong and I guess I have to accept that. But only grudgingly. I visited my dermatologist. He used a scalpel to remove a pesky cancer spot on my face. It didn't hurt much, at least physically, but I'm still waiting (im)patiently for the wound to heal enough to please my medical staff so they give me the thumbs up to get back into the pool. I'd like that patch of my face to regain it's imperviousness to water before I jump into the Texas water...

Having an imperfection in the system erupt to the surface always depresses me because I interpret each of these physical stumbles as a sign of deterioration; entropy, incipient chaos. 

Today B. and I went out for lunch. We had a wonderful smashed guacamole dish and then split a plate of fried shrimp that was accompanied by a warm corn relish and cole slaw. Being the conservative and austere kind of people we are we had ice tea as a beverage, forgoing the jeroboam of Champagne or the line up of tequila shots. B. took the time to "talk me off the ledge" pointing out that I had survived and would probably be in the pool as early as Wednesday. Yes, early on there was talk about getting back in on Tuesday but my face isn't ready yet. 

In the meantime I've stayed quite busy, focused on two different, vital projects. One of the projects is watching videos about cameras, lenses and lighting on YouTube (interspersed with videos about the Ukrainians spanking the Russians over the weekend). I think I've watched enough Peter McKinnon to hold me until the fourth quarter. And James Popsys seems to be doing not much more than treading water these days. My other project seems to be the capricious buying up of weird and wonderful, dirt cheap, Chinese made lenses for my L system cameras....   Oh how dangerous it is to miss swim practice.

But that brings me to my preferred subject today. My mild passion for these lenses that are changing the choice paradigm for photographers. And presenting folks with a different cost/benefit ratio than those offered by the lens products from long established brands. 

You'll probably remember just a week or so ago when I was writing about the 7Artisans 50mm f1.8 AF lens I bought for my L mount cameras. While both 7Artisans and TTArtisan have been making simple, straightforward, manual focus "dumb" lenses for various mounts for at least the last five years, 2024 was the year that both companies (and one wonders, honestly, if indeed they are the same company....) brought a handful of autofocus lenses with full lens-to-camera communication to a waiting audience. This is different! This is direct competition.

I was looking longingly at the Leica APO Summicron 50mm SL lens (about $6,000 USD) when I stumbled across the 7Artisans 50mm f1.8 AF. It was priced at a whopping $228; if you got the L mount version. Knowing I couldn't really rationalize the purchase of the Luxe/Veblen/Budget-Buster Leica lens I decided to award myself the 7Artisans lens as a consolation prize. When I got the cheap ass lens and shot it on a big Leica camera the universe did not implode. German marketers didn't come to the studio to confiscate my cameras for my sacrilege. And the cheap lens didn't explode in my hands as I was led to suspect all cheap lenses might. 

Instead it fit onto the camera with a satisfying amount of tight-fit-ness and instantly communicated with the camera. And you know what? It makes really nice photographs. It's sharp enough wide open and head-to-head competitive with most other 50mm lenses by the time you get to f4.0. I considered it a win. And I wondered what other bargain might lie out in the real world; masked by our own innate and snobbish brand filtering. 

So I started looking around. There are three Chinese lens makers that seem to enjoy having good chunks of the cheap lens market. These are Meike,  7Artisans and TTArtisan. The first two make competing lenses and both recently launched 85mm AF lenses for most of the popular lens mounts. I looked at these but since I already have the Sigma 85mm f1.4 Art lens I crossed them off my list of potential purchases. But while I was looking around I came across the 75mm f2.0 AF lens from TTArtisan. It gets pretty good reviews from all the usual characters. Nearly all of the inexpensive lenses get dinged by reviewers for having slow C-AF but most of the reviewers agree that the single AF performances of most of the new, Chinese AF lenses are just fine. On par with inexpensive, main brand lenses from the established Japanese brands.

I looked around for the 75mm f2.0 AF for the L mount and found that they are generally available and at a price of under $200 USD; brand new. Since this falls beneath the danger zone for budget destruction I decided to take a chance and order one. It came today. 

The thing that is most striking about the TTArtisan 75mm f2.0 is its remarkably small size. Much smaller than the 7Artisan 50mm and about the size of an old style DSLR era nifty-fifty. It's almost cute small but it features 10 elements in 7 groups (one extra low dispersion element and four high index elements) and feels dense and well made. It focuses down to 2.5 feet and the filter size is 62mm. Overall, the lens is such a nice complement to a bigger and heavier camera body such as a Leica SL2 because its small profile reduces the total volume of the overall package. 

Two interesting touches: One is a typical plastic lens hood but instead of being a rounded tulip shape it's more squared off. Maybe a bit more efficient without being any bigger than it needs to be. Second interesting thing is that the rear lens cap has a USB C connector on its external side and the interior of the rear lens cap has contacts to match up with the contacts on the back of the lens. This should make for easier firmware updates. As long as one doesn't lose that back cap.

While I haven't had time to exhaustively test the lens (just got it half an hour ago) I've chimped it a lot here in the office and it seems pretty well buttoned down. I'll take it for a walk tomorrow and see just how much I like it. But for now it had me at "Hello" with its size and build quality. A nice, refreshing change to the usual, huge lenses. Weather sealed? I think not. No rubber ring at the rear of the lens.

So, since I'm a professional photographer and also still solvent and somewhat successful, why do I buy these crazy cheap lenses when I can afford to get the brand name lenses or the Sigma Art lenses or the etc. etc. lenses? Mostly I am pushed into it by a unique memory from about 45 years ago. 

I was shooting with a Canon film camera. I bought a used Tamron Adapt-All 35-80mm f3.5 zoom lens for not very much money. I brought it along with me when I was meeting some friends for a drink at a lovely little restaurant. B. was there. She was facing an east facing window at sometime just pre-dusk. She was talking to one of my other friends and had her face turned just a bit. The light coming through the window was gorgeous. She was gorgeous. I focused as carefully as I could and tripped the shutter at 1/30th of a second. I was using ISO 100 color transparency (slide) film. I love the photo. I loved the look of it and the way it rendered colors. I've kept the slide safe ever since. When I pull it out or rescan the image I'm always amazed at my visceral response to the photo. It's gorgeous.

In the day that lens was considered to be a crappy, low performing lens. I think I paid $60 for it. I didn't realize at the time that the resulting photo would stick in my consciousness for nearly 5 decades with such strong adhesion. At some point long ago I sold the lens and moved on to newer, "better" lenses but every time I pull out the original slide I wish I hadn't.

I think, when I buy some of these new Chinese lenses, I'm hoping to have the same luck. To discover in an inexpensive lens some hidden level of magic that I am somehow able to unlock. To make happen. I think the makers consider these new lenses the way retailers think of loss leaders. Or introductions to new products. They pull out all the stops they can in the design and manufacturing process hoping to have products that people can afford but which also establish the bonafides of the maker. A way of getting a foot in the door. 

Sure, an early adopter might get burned from time to time. We have no idea if these lenses are going to be reliable over time. We have no guarantee when we buy an early model if the unit we get will be a good performer or something that slipped through quality control with a few pimples. But there is always the chance that in making something different from the mainstream the product will resonate with users who are ready for some differentiation and looking forward to discovering a special rendering or character that results from a different approach to lens design and manufacturing. 

Lens making is both hard and easy. It's a 20th century craft for the most part. CNC machining helps level the playing field so that inexpensive lenses and pricy lenses aren't so far apart, when it comes to performance, as lenses could be in the 1950s and 1960s. 

Chinese manufacturing is, I believe, on par with every other highly developed economies' industries. They are wedging a shoe in the door with the cost effect, but even more image effective, lenses. I'm excited. Ultimate sharpness is no longer the thing that matters most in photography. We've moved on. Now it's all about access and imagination. And it's nice to have choices that we can play with without breaking the bank. 

I can afford to buy a Leica APO 75mm SL but I certainly choose not to. Why? Because my passion is portraiture and sharp enough is good enough. A fun, new focal length lens positioned between 50mm and 85mms? Sounds fun to me. And I think, at $199, this one  is going to be a winner

In the end? It's about making portraits. Not testing lenses. Unless you are a lens tester and then that would be legit. 

Coffee break.