A cheap little lens has intrigued me for a while.
The TTArtisans 35 f1.4, a $75au budget lens (in L-mount), designed for APS-C and MFT cameras came into my life a few years ago. It was one of those times I was looking for something a little out of the box, something different, for video mainly where I was keen to get away from the usual. I do lament the many wondrous lenses I let go over the years. I hope they are being used by other shooters.
Shooting stills with an S5 means cropping after the fact, because this is an APS-C lens, no doubt, but I have shot full frame video with it and “letter boxed” the crop like an anamorphic and cropped square for stills and the coverage is fine.
Even square there is a hint of vignette.
Sharpness is the expected mixed bag of decent to dreamy wide open central sharpness, razor sharp stopped down and the corners fall into the “character” camp.
At f2.8 it is as sharp as I would ever want for 4k video.
Sharp with smooth rendering. No processing applied.
Wide open, it is lovely, with obvious vignetting and slightly dreamy.
Not super sharp, but attractive, desirable even. Between wide open and 2.8 I have effectively two different renderings.
Wide open again at a longer distance, so maybe sharpness varies at different distances?
A nice 3d rendering.
My main application for this lens would be video, something it is far from ideal for mechanically, but the optics are worth it. A lens with a retro vibe shot full frame and cropped to suit. I have done this and it works.
The comic reality of this tiny little brick with a matt box in front on a full video rig aside, I am a little excited.