ROBIN WONG : TTArtisan 75mm F2 AF Lens

TTArtisan sent me their 75mm F2 AF lens for Nikon Z mirrorless full frame mount cameras. I tested the lens on my own Nikon Z5, and boy oh boy, was I surprised. The lens performs incredibly well despite its compact form factor and light weight, and for the asking price of merely USD178, I thought this is too good to be true! I have also brought this lens to shoot several paid jobs, though I can't share my images from my private clients, but I also have done some street shooting with it and you will see these images here in this blog. I have also made a video sharing my thoughts about this lens here (click).

I still can't believe how small the lens is, and how light it feels in hand for a full frame lens.

Full disclaimer - I am not connected or affiliated to TTArtisan. They did send me this lens and I can keep it after my testing, but I made sure it was clear to them they have no influence over my content here as well as on my YouTube video. This is not a review of the TTArtisan 75mm F2 lens, I am merely sharing my personal experience having used the lens for several shoots.

I am not going into a lengthy analysis or discussion about this lens, I will try to break it down and be as straight to the point as possible.

What I really like about the TTArtisan 75mm F2 AF Lens?

Super compact size - I cannot believe how small the lens actually is, it is significantly smaller than, say the Viltrox 85mm F1.8 that I do have, and it is only about 10mm shorter and F0.2 darker. I still use the 75mm lens like an 85mm lens, I just move myself a step or two nearer or I crop the frame if I have to, at the same time enjoying the much smaller form factor. If you know me you know I love small lenses.
Very light - The lens weighs only 328g, that is truly impressive for a medium telephoto full frame mirrorless lens with relatively bright aperture of F2.
Full metal housing construction - The lens has full metal construction, the lens barrel/housing and the mount are all solid metal, and this makes the point 2 even more impressive, as they managed to keep the weight down.
Clicked aperture ring - The lens features clicked aperture ring which allows tactile feedback as you change the F-stops on the lens itself, which is much appreciated for photographers who prefer a lot of physical manual controls.
Fast and Reliable AF - Having used the lens for several paid shoots, and also shooting some street photography I must say I was pleased with the autofocus peformance of the lens. It performed as expected from any Nikon mirrorless Z lenses, the AF was fast and reliable. The human face/eye tracking on Nikon Z5 also worked very effectively with the lens.
Image quality - The lens can render impressively sharp images at wide open F2, producing excellent fine details and good contrast. The sharpness is also consistent from edge to edge and corner to corner, I won't hesitate to use the lens wide open if I have to.
Bokeh - The lens produces beautiful looking out of focus area, the bokeh is pleasing, smooth and creamy, free of any harshness or nervousness. Images look natural and has a certain realistic 3D pop to them.
Budget price tag - All of the above, and the asking price is only USD178, that is truly unbelievable and I think we need more lenses like this!

Of course, not everything is perfect, the TTArtisan 75mm F2 has some lens flaws if I am to be really critical. Shooting in harsh lighting, at high contrast areas chromatic aberration can be evident. If you point the lens against strong sources of light, say the sun, you will get some haze and flare issues. None of these are dealbreakers, the chromatic aberration can be corrected in post, it was not that severe to begin with and the flare/haze can be avoided by changing the lens position a little bit or stand at different areas.

I am quite astonished by what TTArtisan can come up with in the 75mm F2 AF lens. A cheap lens with good construction and high-quality optics, if we get more of these similar lenses in the future, photography can truly be affordable once and for all! Great job TTArtisan!