TTArtisan 21mm F1.5

[helen.HH]

to me
the Best 21
Leica's most Atmospheric lenses... the 21 Super Angulon
so full of character.... a size that gives you no grief
The only problem, it does not work on certain cameras... i am not talking about metering, who cares, but the back element is so elongated that You cannot use on various digital cams... boohoo !

This new lens at f1.5 sounds Divine but the size puts me off...
realistically speaking
even though I still use film I don't need a 1.5 with a 21mm

here is a photo at night at f3.4 with Miss Angulon ...YUM !

The 21 SA snaps a View by Helen Hill, on Flickr

 

[nzeeman]

why leica fans has such a hard time accepting the fact that others also can make great lenses for a fraction of price?

 

[helen.HH]

‘Nzeeman ‘
Tsk, tsk, labeling me ... I don’t just use leica

I have no problem accepting other lenses
the Artisan fast 50 mm is YUM!!!
Just not a 21 that’s all , too big , not as much character

I Agree with You, Great Price and fast... I am sure for some it will be utterly fantastic
Nothing wrong with that 🙂

 

[Toastybunzz]

I'm really considering this lens, it would be a good match to add to the rotation of my 35/50 combo. The size isn't really an issue, and it looks like it would work on an M5, the rear element doesn't seem to protrude much at all. I'm glad to see some more reviews coming out.

 

[Kent]

Got my copy last Monday.
Unfortunately, the week was packed at work.

First impression:

well built, a tad soft wide open (no wonder!), quickly sharp when stopped down

But I need to shoot a lot more before I can say more...

 

[raid]

Kent: let us know how you view your lens and images from it on a digital camera.

 

[raid]

‘Nzeeman ‘
Tsk, tsk, labeling me ... I don’t just use leica

I have no problem accepting other lenses
the Artisan fast 50 mm is YUM!!!
Just not a 21 that’s all , too big , not as much character

I Agree with You, Great Price and fast... I am sure for some it will be utterly fantastic
Nothing wrong with that 🙂

Helen: It is easier to find suitable 21mm lenses for film cameras than lenses for digital cameras, as you know. I like the Canon 19mm 3.5 ltm and also the 20mm 4 Rokkor that I use with an ltm adapter. These two lenses are non retrofocus lenses that will not work well with digital cameras.


The lens size and weight is important to me too. My Hologon 16mm lens is tiny. On my film M cameras I get a 16mm lens while on my M8 I get a 21mm lens with some but not much color "smears" , On the M9, this lens really smears badly in color, but B&W images look vert cool from it. I could just view my Hologon as my 21mm lens.

 

[ranger9]

What are all you guys using for viewfinders?

 

[Kent]

What are all you guys using for viewfinders?

I am using a 20mm viewfinder which fits pretty well.

 

[raid]

I also use a 20mm Russian finder.

 

[valdas]

What are all you guys using for viewfinders?

I am using Bessa R4M. Finders, what finders? 🙂

 

[Mudman]

I just ordered one from hopefully a US seller in NJ. Their feedback seems to be hit or miss on shipping, but it said they had 5 in stock. Hoping that it gets here ASAP, my son is due March 20th, and I want this for the delivery room.

 

[Doug]

^^^ Congratulations on the upcoming joyful addition to the family! Expect you'll probably share your impressions on this interesting lens too...

 

[Mudman]

Thanks Doug! I will. The labor rooms are tiny, I figured this would be a great one to have for in there, and for my wedding photography as well.

 

[Mudman]

Well scratch me getting the lens 🙁. The seller isn't from the US, they're in Hong Kong, and are backordered, not 5 in stock. Frustrated and hoping I get my money back sooner rather than later. Very annoying. Don't deal with t-dimension / eurocart / trendystar / gadget on eBay.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I get items faster from HK, than from USA. BH is the only exclusion.

I used 28-75 and macro lenses in delivery room. Babies are small objects.

 

[Mudman]

That's good to know Ko.Fe. Regardless of if HK is faster for you, Minimum 2 week wait before shipping means I wouldn't have it in time.

 

[presspass]

I realize this is an old thread, but I am curious if anyone has bought and kept this lens and if so what’s your opinion? Has anyone shot it with a Bessa R4? Any finder blockage with this combination? Thanks.

 

[thafred]

Hi,

I bought this lens last Summer and really like it! Mostly use it on my Leica M9 with a VC 21mm finder and allthou the lens is big, the combination works very well for me.

The IQ on my M9 is amazing too. Very very sharp in the center and reasonably sharp on the edges, minimal color fringes and no Italian Flag. Maybe its not the best for straight on architecture but amazing for landscape, interiors and especialy people!

It easily beats my VC 21mm f4 Color-Skopar in all aspects but size/weight. Still on Film I´m glad that the Skopar is so small and portable, allways loved the images.

Only downside I see with the TTArtisan 21mm f1.5 is that sometimes, shooting against the sun, there is a quite distinct flare (very sharp round flare). I´m seeing this in a few pictures but it´s not a deal braker for me, just make sure to allways check the preview (only on digital) if shooting against the sun.

 

[Toastybunzz]

I realize this is an old thread, but I am curious if anyone has bought and kept this lens and if so what’s your opinion? Has anyone shot it with a Bessa R4? Any finder blockage with this combination? Thanks.

It's got a lot of glow wide open, a half stop down helps quite a bit. It's very sharp at f4 and beyond. It's a big lens so it'll block your VF some but it's not terrible. For the money it's very good IMO.

I don't bother to use an external VF, granted I mainly use it on my M10 but it's easy to approximate the framing without it.