TTArtisan 23mm F1.4 APS-C Wide-Angle Prime Lens Manual Focus Fixed Lens Compatible with Fuji X-Mount Camera

I own a handful of expensive fast AF lenses, and I still reach for this lens on occasion, because it is genuinely fun to use.The focus ring is very smooth and has the right amount of resistance. The aperture ring has a very satisfying click.It doesn’t perform well in the cold and gets fogged pretty easily. I had an early morning of shots that didn’t come out because they were all cloudy looking. I was using other cameras with different lenses that morning, and they did not suffer from the same issue. But those lenses are weather resistant, and 5x the price.The lens cap does not “clip” on, it just kinda sits there, holding on by friction and perhaps a bit of suction, I guess? The cap is clearly engineered to fit snuggly, and you can feel the resistance of air filling front of the lens when removing it. It feels very premium. I tend to carry my Fuji camera without a case, just hung off a shoulder strap at my side. I have not had this lens cap fall off yet. But it also doesn’t feel super secure either.I would definitely recommend this lens. image quality is really good (when the weather is temperate), and it’s small and easy to pack.

what can i say? it has some flaws, but luckily in my copy it just seems to just feel like an older lens. nothing bad like distortion different on one side. vignetting can be noticeable at f1.4, but it feels solid, is fairly compact, and i won't worry if i damage it. iirc, i got this on sale about 20% off a couple of years ago. good purchase. i have an older (cheaper!) fuji camera and a newer one, and i love to put this on the older camera and just take it around town. i feel that it's a great compromise of price, performance, and looks. :)

If you have the patience to carefully nail the center sharpness, it excels at it. Otherwise, you might want to focus your lens collection that has auto-focus.The manual focus throw range is very short at about 50-60 degree of rotation. Fuji's focus highlight feature works very well to accomplish this feat.This lens I use for more subject and environmental shots. Not a good enough lens for the most discerning of landscape shooters, even stopping it down.Sun stars will appear at around f4 if you have a strong pinpoint light source in the frame.Light flares patterns will show up with any amount of direct light hitting the lens (it doesn't come with a lens hood.)Pros -1. Center sharpness if you can nail the focus.2. Very lightweight and compact3. Nostalgic outer lens aesthetics4. Cheaply priced5. Very close minimum focus distanceCons -1. Short Focusing throw2. Corner/edge is soft3. No lens hood/ push on lens cap easily falls off.4. No anti-glare coatings to reduce flaring.

This lens is completely loveable. I am a very serious photographer who loves to play around with inexpensive gear. By the time this lens gets to f4 and f5.6, it will amaze you. It’s completely useable wide open. Stupid brilliant lens. Whoever designed this lens, please keep making more.

Not really a technical review but I really enjoyed using this lens, after receiving it an hour ago, w/ the fuji xt4 and a custom classic chrome film recipe. Photos are sooc (straight-out-of-camera) jpegs. Great focal length for street photography. I used to have the fujinon 33mm f1.4 and a mitakon speedmaster 35 f0.95 but they were too tight of a crop for certain situation and 16 or 18mm too wide. Lens fits nice and tight w/ a nice metal construction and feel. Keeps the camera light for handheld and travel purposes. Can’t wait to use it for my trip to Chicago.

The TTArtisans 23mm 1.4 is a good version of a native APS-C lens. The lens nails most of the built quality and feel of a manual film lens with some modern improvements that make it worth the asking price.Overall fit and finish is good. Font and paint are crisp and even. Writing is clear and legible. The action of the focus barrel and aperture barrel are solid, with no play. There are stops at full increments in the aperture are well as some partial unlabeled steps. It does not focus to infinity at the end of the throw which is disappointing but the throw itself is smooth and reasonably long. Grip is good for focus and the aperture ring is small but has enough grip to work easily in front of the focus ring. The lens mounts firmly to the body with no play.At the 120ish dollar price point this lens competes well in the context of adaptable vintage manual lenses to which there is no direct competitor in the vintage realm (23mm 1.4). It is way smaller and lighter than most adapted lenses on a Fuji body.The 23mm has a very short minimum focusing distance at a little over 5 inches which makes it really easy to get close to a subject in the foreground. This is a good feature for framing or things like food.The bokeh is usually good, with some circle highlights but overall smooth and not too jittery. This is partially do to a fairly well controlled CA that can creep into bokeh and make it unpleasant. It was hard to get a whole lot of CA unless it was under extreme circumstances. Even though the lens is multi-coated, some kind of lens hood should be used to reduce flare in very bright situations. The 10 bladed aperture can produce some pretty fun sun stars in the right situations.Barrel distortion is not super great but pretty easily fixed in post. The smear at the corners at 1.4 until 2.8 is a negative though. It cleans up pretty well at f4 and is honestly expected at 23mm in this price range and the ability to use the lens under f2. The same is true with the vignetting which also clears up by f4 but can be fixed in camera or post if so desired. There are plenty of slower lenses that are sharper but that's not why you buy a f1.4.Given the price point and the overall results from this lens, it seems like a good purchase. Being native mount, it would be great to throw on a smaller Fuji body or for a manual experience on an X-Pro. I wouldn't necessarily buy this lens for landscape work or super high detail needs, but for needing a fast lens that is pleasant to use.The caveats are expected at this price point but as a fast APS-C there isn't that many options without spending quite a bit. If you are looking for a modernized vintage style manual lens, the TTArtisan is great pick.