TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8: $149For Sony, for Nikon Z & for Fuji (40mm equivalent, 2023-)Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8 for Fuji (also comes in titanium color and in mounts for for Sony and for Nikon Z, takes 39mm filters, 3.2 oz./90g, 1.1'/0.35m close-focus, $149). bigger. I'd get mine at B&H for Sony, for Nikon Z and for Fuji (also in titanium color) or at Amazon, or at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay. This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.
July 2023 Better Pictures Canon Nikon Sony Fuji OM SYSTEM LEICA Zeiss HASSELBLAD All Reviews Fujinon XF 27mm f/2.8 R WR (2021-) Fujinon XF 27mm f/2.8 R (2014-2021)
Sample Images topSample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing More samples throughout this review at Bokeh, Falloff, Macro and Sunstars. These are just snapshots; my real work is in my Gallery. These are shot hand-held as 26 MP LARGE JPGs, no tripods, FINE JPGs or RAW files were used or needed.
Crooked Chinese Plate, 12:57 PM, Thursday, 26 July 2023. Fuji X-T30, TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8 wide-open at f/2.8 at 1/58 at Auto ISO 320 (LV 7.5), Perfectly Clear (now sold as Radiant Photo). bigger or camera-original 26 MP © 8 MB JPG image.
Crooked Chinese Carving, 12:57 PM, Thursday, 26 July 2023. Fuji X-T30, TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8 wide-open at f/2.8 at 1/70 at Auto ISO 320 (LV 7.5), Perfectly Clear (now sold as Radiant Photo). bigger or camera-original 26 MP © 8 MB JPG image.
Introduction topSample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
This is a cheap Chinese copy of the Fujinon XF 27mm f/2.8 R WR (2021-). It has very similar specifications and appearance, but inferior optical performance and sells for 62% less money. This TTArtisan lens also comes in titanium color and also comes in mounts for Sony and for Nikon Z, and it's made of all metal rather than plastic and metal like the legitimate Fujinon XF 27mm f/2.8 R WR. It works surprisingly well on my Fuji X-T30; all data communication and autofocus work as well as a real Fujinon lens. I'd get my TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8 at B&H for Sony, for Nikon Z and for Fuji (also in titanium color) or at Amazon, or at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8. bigger.
New since Fujinon XF 27mm f/2.8 R WR intro top
Good intro top
Bad intro top
Missing intro top
Specifications topSample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
I'd get my TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8 at B&H for Sony, for Nikon Z and for Fuji (also in titanium color) or at Amazon, or at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Optics specifications top
TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8. High refractive-index glass. 6 elements in 5 groups, a common double-Gauss variant extremely popular for normal lenses since about 1950. No aspherical elements and no ED glass.
Diaphragm specifications top
TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8. bigger. 7 rounded blades. Electronically actuated. Stops down to f/16.
Filters specifications topMetal 39mm filter thread.
Angle of View specifications top56º diagonal on APS-C DXSee also Crop Factor.
Focus Scale specifications topNo. Not on lens, but may be displayed in-camera.
Infinity Focus Stop specifications topNo. You have to focus somehow to get precise focus at infinity, just like at every other distance.
Depth of Field Scale specifications topNo. Not on lens, but may be displayed in-camera.
Infrared Focus Index specifications topNo.
Close Focus (distance from subject to image plane) specifications top1.1 feet (0.35 meters).
Reproduction Ratio Scale specifications topNo.
Image Stabilizer specifications topNONE, but works with in-camera stabilization if you have it.
Caps specifications top39mm snap-in front cap, included. Rear cap, included. At least with the Fuji version, it has a USB-C jack and contacts, presumably to update firmware:
Included Rear Cap, Fuji version. bigger.
Hood specifications topIt comes with a tiny screw-in metal hood:
Size specifications top2.38" ø maximum diameter × 1.22" extension from flange. 60.5 mm ø maximum diameter × 31 mm extension from flange.
Weight specifications top3.165 oz. (89.8 g) actual measured weight. Rated 3.3 oz. (94g). Hood: 0.125 oz. (3.6 g) actual measured weight. Lens & hood together: 3.290 oz. (93.2 g) actual measured weight.
Quality specifications topDomestically made in China by a Chinese company.
Announced specifications topEarly 2023.
Included specifications topLens. Metal hood. Caps.
Price, U. S. A. specifications topJuly 2023$149 for Sony, for Nikon Z and for Fuji (also in titanium color) at B&H and at Amazon.
Box, TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8. bigger.
Performance topSample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Bokeh Distortion Ergonomics Falloff Flare & Ghosts Lens Corrections Macro
I'd get my TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8 at B&H for Sony, for Nikon Z and for Fuji (also in titanium color) or at Amazon, or at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Overall performance topThe 27mm f/2.8 is an all metal lens. While it's more crudely made than the more plasticy lenses from camera brands, it does feel like it will last longer. It focuses and handles about as well as the Fujinon XF 27mm f/2.8 R WR, however its simpler optics lead to lesser lab performance.
Autofocus performance topAll focusing is via a stepper motor that makes the usual quiet hum. Autofocus is fast enough; it's typical for a stepper-motor lens. It's fast, but not instantaneous.
Focus Breathing performance topFocus breathing is the image changing size as focused in and out. It's important to cinematographers that the image not breathe because it looks funny if the image changes size as focus gets pulled back and forth between actors. If the lens does this, the image "breathes" by growing and contracting slightly as the dialog goes back and forth. The image from this 27mm f/2.8 grows slightly as focussed more closely.
Bokeh performance topBokeh, the feel, character or quality of out-of-focus areas as opposed to how far out of focus they are, is pretty good, even though with a lens this short the background rarely gets that far out of focus. Here's a photo from headshot distance wide-open. I'm focused on the DAVIS logo. Click for the © camera-original file:
Made-in-U. S. A. Davis 6250 weather station, 2:03 PM, Thursday, 27 July 2023. Fuji X-T30, 27mm f/2.8 at f/2.8 at 1/2,700 at Auto ISO 320, +1.0 stops exposure compensation (LV 12.8). bigger or camera-original © file. As always, if you want to throw the background as far out of focus as possible, shoot at f/2.8 and get as close as possible.
Distortion performance topThe TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8 has no visible distortion, which is good because no camera can correct for it if it had any significant distortion. For more critical scientific use at 30 feet (10 meters), use a correction factor of +0.8 (minor barrel distortion) in Photoshop's lens correction filter to JPG images.
Ergonomics performance
This tiny lens has a focus ring and a dedicated aperture ring. The aperture ring has third-stop clicks. The A setting and full stops have the same clicks as everything else; they aren't deeper and there is no lock at A. My superb product photos show many more details than visible to the naked eye. While the blue f/2.8 mark is almost visible here, it's mostly invisible in actual use. No worries; you know where it is. The included 39mm cap's center-pinch isn't designed properly so it tends to pop out of your fingers when you pinch it, but at least it also attached to the front of the hood.
Falloff performance topFalloff is always present, but not particularly visible except at f/2.8. No camera has coefficients to allow it to be corrected as with camera-brand lenses. I've greatly exaggerated the falloff by shooting a gray field and placing these on a gray background; it will not look this bad in actual photos of real things:
Flare & Ghosts performance topThis lens is reasonably free from ghosts and flare. See examples at Sunstars.
Lens Corrections performance topThere are no lens corrections available; what you've got is what you've got.
Macro Performance performance topThis lens does not focus closely (but neither does the Fuji 27mm f/2.8):
Casio G-Shock Solar Atomic Watch at close-focus distance, 27 July 2023. Fuji X-T30, 27mm f/2.8 wide-open at f/2.8 at 1/4,000 at Auto ISO 160 (LV 14.4). bigger or camera-original © file.
1,200 × 900 pixel (5.2× magnification) crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file. If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your phone, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 11 × 16" (0.9 × 1.3 feet or 25 × 40 cm). If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 21 × 31" (1.7 × 2.6 feet or 50 × 80 cm). If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 42 × 62" (3.5 × 5.2 feet or 1.05 × 1.6 meters).
Mechanical Quality performance top
TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8. bigger. This is an all metal lens, just like all real lenses used to be.
FinishBlack anodized Aluminum.
HoodScrew-on metal, 39mm thread.
Front BumperNone.
Filter Threads39mm metal filter threads.
Hood Mount39mm metal filter threads.
Focus RingMetal. BarrelMetal.
IdentityPrinted around front of lens.
InternalsSeems like mostly metal.
Dust Gasket at MountNo.
MountMetal.
MarkingsPainted.
Serial NumberLaser engraved on bottom of barrel.
Date CodeNone found.
Noises When ShakenAlmost no clicking.
Made inChina.
Sharpness performance topLens sharpness has nothing to do with picture sharpness; every lens made in the past 100 years is more than sharp enough to make super-sharp pictures if you know what you're doing. The only limitation to picture sharpness is your skill as a photographer. It's the least talented who spend the most time worrying about lens sharpness and blame crummy pictures on their equipment rather than themselves. Skilled photographers make great images with whatever camera is in their hands; I've made some of my best images of all time with an irreparably broken camera! Most pixels are thrown away before you see them, but camera makers don't want you to know that. If you're not getting ultra-sharp pictures with this, be sure not to shoot at f/11 where all lenses are softer due to diffraction, always shoot at ISO 100 or below because cameras become softer at ISO 200 and above, avoid shooting across long distances over land which can lead to atmospheric heat shimmer, be sure everything is in perfect focus, set your camera's sharpening as you want it (I usually set mine to the maximum) and be sure nothing is moving, either camera or subject. If you want to ensure a soft image with any lens, shoot at ISO 1,600 or above at default sharpening in daylight of subjects at differing distances in the same image. People worry waaaaay too much about lens sharpness. It's not 1968 anymore when lenses often weren't that sharp and there could be significant differences among them; ever since about 2010 all new lenses are all pretty much equally fantastic. This lens isn't as gloriously sharp as Fuji's own lenses. This is what you get for $149. It works fine, but if you count every pixel, man-up and get the camera-brand lens.
Claimed MTF. My sample doesn't perform this well.
Sunstars performance topWith a 7-blade rounded diaphragm it makes decent sunstars on brilliant points of light. Here's a backlit tree. Click any to enlarge:
Click any to enlarge. Ignore the crazy rainbow dots at small apertures; these are sensor artifacts caused by taking a picture directly of the sun and exposing for the dark underside of a huge palm tree, and using that same palm tree to hide the sky to accentuate the stars.
Recommendations & Comparisons topSample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing I'd get my TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8 at B&H for Sony, for Nikon Z and for Fuji (also in titanium color) or at Amazon, or at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay. For $149 this 27mm f/2.8 works fine, and its all metal construction is a welcome upgrade from most of what comes out of the east these days. If you count pixels, then duh, the real Fujinon XF 27mm f/2.8 R WR (2021-) or my favorite XF 18-55mm f/2.8~4 OIS are sharper (and the XF 18-55mm adds optical stabilization), but for normal photos, they all work fine. I use a clear (UV) protective filter instead of a cap (exactly like an iPhone) so I'm always ready to shoot instantly. I only use a cap when I throw this in a bag with other gear without padding — which is never. The UV filter never gets in the way, and never gets lost, either. The multicoated B+W 39mm MRC 010 is swell. Of course perfectionists will settle for nothing less than the LEICA 13030 E39 UVa II (black) or LEICA 13011 E39 UVa II (silver), which are as good as the B+Ws — but perfectionists aren't buying this lens. I've never tried it, but the Formatt 39mm Firecrest UV filter should work as well for less money. Filters last a lifetime or more so there's no reason not to buy the best as it will last you for the next 40 years. Filters aren't throwaways like digital cameras which we replace every few years, like it or not. I'm still using filters I bought back in the 1970s! I'd get my TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8 at B&H for Sony, for Nikon Z and for Fuji (also in titanium color) or at Amazon, or at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay. This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.
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All metal construction.
Small.
Sloppier and simpler optics than the real 
Only stops down to f/11.
