TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH
für LEICA M & all mirrorless cameras
Performance Compared Recommendations
TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH für LEICA M und all mirrorless cameras (metal 49mm filter thread, 14.0 oz./398g, 2¼'/0.7m close focus, $369). bigger. I got mine directly from Pergear. I'd also get mine at Amazon or at B&H, or eventually used 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.
January 2021 Better Pictures LEICA LEICA Lenses Zeiss Canon Sony Nikon Fuji Hasselblad All Reviews
LEICA SUMMILUX 50mm f/1.4 (1961 ~ 2004)
LEICA SUMMMILUX-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH (2004 ~ )
Sony vs. Nikon vs. Canon Full-Frame
Why Fixed Lenses Take Better Pictures
Sample Images top
Performance Compared Recommendations
More samples at Bokeh, Distortion, Macro, Spherochromatism and Sunstars.
These are just snapshots; my real work is in my Gallery.
Agave, 8:38 AM, 11 December 2020. Nikon Z6 II in square-crop mode, TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH on Megadap M to Z autofocusing adapter at f/1.4 at 1/200 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 8.6), Perfectly Clear. bigger, full resolution or camera-original © BASIC ★ JPG file.
Agave, 9:54 AM, 19 December 2020. LEICA M9, TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH at f/8 at 1/180 at Auto ISO 160 (LV 13⅔), Perfectly Clear. bigger or full resolution JPG image from DNG data processed in Apple Aperture 3.6.
Fall Color, 8:46 AM, 11 December 2020. Nikon Z6 II, TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH on Megadap M to Z autofocusing adapter at f/8 at 1/320 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 13.3), Perfectly Clear. bigger or camera-original © BASIC ★ JPG file.
Introduction top
Performance Compared Recommendations
I buy only from these approved sources. I can't vouch for ads below. |
This TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH is a superbly well-made lens, and it's sharper than my LEICA SUMMILUX 50mm f/1.4!
It's all metal, with even more metal than LEICA's SUMMILUX-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH, and feels, handles and looks very much like a LEICA lens. Its silky-smooth, zero-play focus is as smooth or smoother than my LEICA lenses.
Compared to the expensive plastic rubbish offshored to China by Nikon and Sony, this is a gem of domestic Chinese precision at a bargain price. This lens is like a breath of fresh air after reviewing countless high-priced throwaway plastic lenses from the big names. This lens should last at least a lifetime; there's nothing to break or go obsolete.
I got mine directly from Pergear. I'd also get mine at Amazon or at B&H, or eventually used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH für LEICA M. bigger.
Good intro top
Sharper than my LEICA SUMMILUX 50mm f/1.4!
All-metal construction. Even the focus tab is metal, which is only plastic on the LEICA SUMMILUX-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH!
Feels and works at least 90% as well as the real LEICA SUMMILUX-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH for one-twelfth the price.
Precise, smooth focussing with zero play — just like a real LEICA lens and even smoother than the stiff focus of the LEICA SUMMILUX-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH!
Same-colored engraving and similar cosmetics as a real LEICA lens.
Same half-stop clicks as a real LEICA lens.
Deeper aperture-ring engraving than the LEICA SUMMILUX-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH.
Same obvious red mounting-index ball as a real LEICA lens.
12-blade diaphragm.
Keys the proper 50mm viewfinder frame on LEICA M cameras.
Surprisingly accurate opto-mechanical rangefinder focus, especially at f/1.4, on LEICA M cameras.
Comes with a great felt-lined metal front cap — not the crappy plastic one LEICA includes!
$4,026 less expensive than the LEICA SUMMILUX-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH!
Bad intro top
Not really a LEICA lens.
49mm rather than LEICA-standard 46mm filters. The only LEICA lenses that take 49mm filters are the current APO 75/2, the 1980-1998 90/2 and the current APO 135/3.4. This means for Shooting Film you'll need to carry another set of filters in this 49mm size since you won't be able to use your 46mm set that fit pretty much every other LEICA lens.
Moderate pincushion distortion.
Missing intro top
Keine Stammbaum (no heritage, no pedigree and no bloodline).
No "6-bit" code; set the lens profile manually if needed.
No image stabilization. (Real men don't need image stabilization.)
No case included.
No hood or built-in hood included.
Format top
Performance Compared Recommendations
I got my TTArtisan 50/1.4 ASPH directly from Pergear. I'd also get mine at Amazon or at B&H, or eventually used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
This is a full frame lens and I'm reviewing it as such.
It also works great on APS-C cameras, on which you may make the usual inferences.
Compatibility top
Performance Compared Recommendations
I got my TTArtisan 50/1.4 ASPH directly from Pergear. I'd also get mine at Amazon or at B&H, or eventually used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH on LEICA M7 0.85×. bigger.
This TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH has a LEICA M mount. Focus and metering work perfectly on every LEICA M camera, from 1954's LEICA M3 through today's newest LEICA M-A, LEICA MP, LEICA M10 Monochrom, LEICA M10-P and LEICA M10-R.
It cannot mount on any LEICA screw-mount camera.
This TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH is a completely manual lens, with manual focus and manual aperture setting. It has no electronic communication to anything.
It's easy to adapt to any mirrorless camera because LEICA invented the 35mm full-frame format over 100 years ago. As the Master Mount for all 35mm cameras, it's easy to get a passive $15 mechanical adapter to go from LEICA M to your mirrorless camera, and you're good.
If you want autofocus on Nikon Z, the Megadap MTZ11 autofocusing adapter has its own built-in autofocus motor. Bravo!
TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH on Megadap M to Z autofocusing adapter on Nikon Z6 II. bigger.
Specifications top
Performance Compared Recommendations
I got my TTArtisan 50/1.4 ASPH directly from Pergear. I'd also get mine at Amazon or at B&H, or eventually used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Name specifications top
TTArtisan calls this the TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH ∅49:
ASPH: One Aspherical element to help control spherical aberration for sharper pictures at f/1.4.
∅49: 49mm filter thread.
Optics specifications top
TTArtisan 50/1.4 ASPH internal optical construction. High refractive index, Aspherical and Anomalous partial dispersion (ED) elements.
10 elements in 8 groups.
1 Aspherical element.
1 Anomalous partial dispersion (ED) element.
8 High refractive index elements.
Unit focussing (no floating elements).
Multicoated.
Filters specifications top
Metal 49mm filter thread.
Coverage specifications top
Full-Frame (24 × 36mm), 35mm film (24 × 36mm) and APS-C (16 × 24mm).
Diaphragm specifications top
|
|
At f/1.4. bigger. |
At f/5.6. bigger. |
12 blades.
Stops down to f/16 with 1/2-stop clicks.
You may set any intermediate aperture.
Focal Length specifications top
50mm.
When used on an APS-C camera, it sees the same angle of view as a 75 mm lens sees when used on a full-frame or 35mm camera.
See also Crop Factor.
Focus specifications top
Traditional unit focus.
Focus Scale specifications top
Yes.
Infinity Focus Stop specifications top
Yes.
Depth of Field Scale specifications top
Yes.
Close Focus specifications top
2¼ feet (0.7 meters)
Maximum Reproduction Ratio specifications top
Not much, probably about 1:12 (0.08×).
Reproduction Ratio Scale specifications top
No.
Image Stabilizer specifications top
None.
Caps specifications top
Includes a superb all-metal, felt lined front cap and a regular plastic rear LEICA M cap.
TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH für LEICA M. bigger.
This cap is marvelous if you don't use a filter, but may not fit or stay on if you do use a filter.
Hood specifications top
None.
Real men don't use hoods.
Case specifications top
None included.
Size specifications top
2.24" ø diameter (excluding focus tab) × 2.32" extension from flange.
57 mm ø diameter (excluding focus tab) × 59 mm extension from flange.
Weight specifications top
14.020 oz. (397.5g) actual measured weight.
Rated 14.1 oz. (399g).
Quality specifications top
Made domestically in China.
Announced specifications top
15 September 2020.
Included specifications top
Fancy box, TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH für LEICA M. bigger.
Includes lens, caps and paperwork.
The little brass thing to the upper right of the lens is a screwdriver you can use to mis-adjust the focus. I would not touch this.
TTArtisan's Model Number specifications top
A09B.
Price, U. S. A. specifications top
December 2020
$369.
Performance top
Performance Compared Recommendations
Overall Focus Breathing Bokeh Coma Distortion
Ergonomics Falloff Finder Blockage Flare & Ghosts
Lateral Color Fringes Lens Corrections Macro
Mechanics Sharpness Spherochromatism Sunstars
I got my TTArtisan 50/1.4 ASPH directly from Pergear. I'd also get mine at Amazon or at B&H, or eventually used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Overall performance top
The TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH is better-made than the plastic rubbish offered by Nikon and Sony, and is sharper than my LEICA SUMMILUX 50mm f/1.4.
It looks and feels 95% the same as my LEICA Lenses, and only coast about 8% as much as the LEICA SUMMMILUX-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH it can replace for people who actually shoot.
Focus performance top
Manual focus is fantastic. It's silky-smooth and has no play. The ring glides smoothly with two fingers, or with just a fingertip with the focus tab — just like my LEICA Lenses!
It's much easier to turn than the unusually stiff focusing of the LEICA SUMMMILUX-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH.
It's smooth and perfectly damped and easy to turn, and has no play. It feels so nice it's hard not to just fiddle with it all day.
Focus on my LEICA M9 at f1.4 was surprisingly accurate at all distances, and the infinity stop was perfectly calibrated.
BRAVO!
Focus Breathing performance top
Focus 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.
As a conventional unit-focus lens, the image grows a bit as focussed more closely.
Bokeh performance top
Unusual for an aspheric lens, and similar to the LEICA SUMMMILUX-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH, bokeh (the feel, character or quality of out-of-focus areas as opposed to how far out of focus they are), is excellent.
Here are photos from headshot distance wide-open.
Click any for a full resolution JPG image from the original DNG data file processed in Apple Aperture 3.6:
Made-in-U. S. A. Davis 6250 weather station, 19 December 2020. LEICA M9, TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH at 1/4,000, 1/4,000, 1/2,000 and 1/750 at ISO 80, 160, 160 and 160, Perfectly Clear.
Click any for a full resolution JPG image from the original DNG data file processed in Apple Aperture 3.6.
As always, if you want to throw the background as far out of focus as possible, shoot at f/1.4 and get as close as possible.
Coma performance top
Coma, or sagittal coma flare, is often seen with fast normal to wide lenses as weird batwing shapes on bright points of light in the corners at night.
Coma is minimal in this lens at f/1.4, which is excellent.
Distortion performance top
The TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH has mild to moderate pincushion distortion.
Use a correction factor of -1.60 in Photoshop's lens correction filter for shots made at 10 meters (30 feet.)
Utility Plate, 9:43 AM, 19 December 2020. LEICA M9, TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH at f/8 at 1/500 at Auto ISO 160 (LV 15⅔). bigger or full resolution JPG image from DNG data processed in Apple Aperture, uncorrected.
Ergonomics performance top
|
|
All lenses should be this good. There are only two controls: silky-smooth focus and the aperture ring.
The aperture ring is a little more damped than most LEICA lenses, but feels the same, with the same half-stop clicks, if moved slowly. You'll feel the damping if you try to flick it from 1.4 to 16 quickly.
Focus is wither with two fingers on the ring for precise setting, or one finger on the tab for fast work.
The red mounting-index ball is visible in low light, and easy to feel in total darkness. Every lens should be be like this, but too many others hide the index marks and don't make them feelable, as if they're deliberately trying to hide these very important marks.
Bravo!
Falloff performance top
Falloff is minor. It's barely visible at f/1.4 and goes away as stopped down.
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:
Falloff on full-frame mit 50/1.4 ASPH (11891/11892) profile on LEICA M9.
© 2020 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved. |
Falloff on full-frame, no profile on LEICA M9.
© 2020 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved. |
Finder Blockage performance top
Findr blockage is minimal:
Actual view through LEICA M9 finder. bigger.
Flare & Ghosts performance top
See examples at Sunstars.
Lateral Color Fringes performance top
I see none.
This is excellent performance.
There is some spherochromatism, which is a different aberration in a different dimension.
Lens Corrections performance top
LEICA digital cameras may have a lens profile, which do some minor corrections for falloff and corner color shading for LEICA's lenses, and that's it. I use the SUMMILUX 50mm f/1.4 ASPH (11891/11892) profile on my LEICA M9, which works fine.
No camera corrects for distortion or other aspects of this lens.
Macro Performance performance top
This lens does not focus closely. It has no macro ability. For macro, use the LEICA SUMMICRON 50mm f/2 mit near-focussing range or the LEICA MACRO-ELMAR-M 90mm f/4.
Here's as close as it gets on full-frame:
Casio G-Shock Solar Atomic Watch at close-focus distance, 19 December 2020. LEICA M9, TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH at f/1.4 at 1/4,000 at ISO 80, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full resolution © JPG image from DNG data processed in Apple Aperture 3.6.
Even wide-open as I've shot here, it's pretty sharp. Of course it gets sharper as stopped down.
1,200 × 900 pixel (4.3× magnification) crop from above. bigger or full resolution JPG image from DNG data processed in Apple Aperture 3.6.
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at 8⅔ × 13" (22 × 33 cm) at this same magnification.
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at 17⅓ × 26" (44 × 66 cm) at this same magnification.
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at 35 × 52" (0.9 × 1.3 meters) at this same magnification.
Mechanical Quality performance top
TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH für LEICA M. bigger.
This is an impeccably well made lens. It's all metal and very dense. It's a breath of fresh air compared to the crappy plastic that too many people accept today from Nikon and Sony.
Finish
Black anodized aluminum.
Front Bumper
None.
Filter Threads
Metal.
Hood Bayonet Mount
None.
Front Barrel Exterior
Metal.
Aperture Ring
Metal.
Focus Ring
Metal.
Focus Tab
Metal. (It's plastic on the LEICA SUMMMILUX-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH!)
Focus Helicoids
Brass and aluminum: smooth and silky with no play.
Rear Barrel Exterior
Metal.
Identity
Laser engraved on ring between front element and filter threads.
Red Mounting Index Ball
Plastic.
Internals
All metal!
Dust Gasket at Mount
No.
Mount
Chromed metal.
Markings
All engraved and filled with paint.
Serial Number
Laser engraved on ring between front element and filter threads.
Date Code
None found.
Noises When Shaken
None. It's as solid as an iron ingot.
Made in
Made domestically in China.
Sharpness performance top
Lens 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 or smaller where all lenses are softer due to diffraction, always shoot at ISO 160 or below because cameras become softer at ISO 200 and above, be sure everything is in perfect focus, set your camera's sharpening as you want it and be sure nothing is moving, either camera or subject. If you want to ensure a soft image with any lens, shoot at f/16 or smaller at ISO 1,600 or above at default sharpening in daylight of subjects at differing distances in the same image.
At large apertures, this TTArtisan lens is significantly sharper than my LEICA SUMMILUX 50mm f/1.4.
I didn't have my LEICA SUMMMILUX-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH handy for a direct comparison, but as I recall this TTArtisan lens is about the same.
That's the good news. The bad news is that neither f/1.4 LEICA 50mm lens is very sharp at 1.4 in the corners. The SUMMILUX 50mm f/1.4 was designed for speed, not for sharpness, and the SUMMMILUX-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH and this lens are oprtimized for bokeh over sharpness. For sharpness the LEICA MAN uses his f/2 SUMMICRON.
In practical terms all of these lenses is sharp in the center where we need it, at every aperture. The LEICA SUMMMILUX-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH and this lens are particularly sharp in the center at f/1.4. however all these f/1.4 lenses become softer towards the sides in the lab at f/1.4. Much of this can be caused by field curvature.
At about 4 meters (12 feet) and closer this lens has a reasonably flat field, however at longer distances the field of best focus curves-in a bit towards the sides so that things a bit closer are in better focus at the sides.
All these lenses improve as stopped-down to be perfectly sharp.
If you want the sharpest images for lab use, use a SUMMICRON, otherwise this lens is more than sharp enough unless you're looking in the corners with test charts.
TTArtisan's MTF Curve.
Spherochromatism performance top
Spherochromatism, also called secondary spherical chromatic aberration or "color bokeh," is an advanced form of spherical and chromatic aberration in a different dimension than lateral chromatic aberration. It happens mostly in fast normal and tele lenses when spherical aberration at the ends of the color spectrum are corrected differently than in the middle of the spectrum. Spherochromatism can cause colored fringes on out-of-focus highlights, usually seen as green fringes on backgrounds and magenta fringes on foregrounds. Spherochromatism is common in fast lenses of moderate focal length when shooting contrasty items at full aperture. It goes away as stopped down.
It has a bit of spherochromatism, but it's never particularly obvious.
Here's a shot wide-open at the closest focus distance:
Mondaine A132.30348.11SBB at close-focus distance, 19 December 2020. LEICA M9, TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH at f/1.4 at 1/4,000 at ISO 80. bigger or full resolution © JPG image from DNG data processed in Apple Aperture 3.6.
1,200 × 900 pixel (4.3× magnification) crop from above. bigger or full resolution JPG image from DNG data processed in Apple Aperture 3.6.
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at 8⅔ × 13" (22 × 33 cm) at this same magnification.
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at 17⅓ × 26" (44 × 66 cm) at this same magnification.
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at 35 × 52" (0.9 × 1.3 meters) at this same magnification.
Sunstars performance top
Its 12-bladed diaphragm gives 12-pointed sunstars on brilliant points of light at moderate and small apertures.
Ignore the the vertical smears at large apertures, this is is a sensor artifact called interline transfer smear and not a lens defect.
Likewise ignore the crazy halo circle effect at f/1.4. I've only seen that in this one image, and it's a chance hitting of some internal part that led to this big reflective flare circle.
Click any to enlarge:
Click any to enlarge.
Compared top
Performance Compared Recommendations
I got my TTArtisan 50/1.4 ASPH directly from Pergear. I'd also get mine at Amazon or at B&H, or eventually used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
On LEICA
This TTArtisan lens is optically superior to the original LEICA SUMMILUX 50mm f/1.4 and about the same as today's LEICA SUMMMILUX-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH.
With the exception of a non-standard 49mm filter thread, it handles better than the SUMMMILUX-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH because the SUMMMILUX-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH's focus is stiff, while this TTArtisan lens focuses like a dream like most other LEICA lenses.
Of course if you want the very sharpest images from a 50mm lens, choose an f/2 SUMMICRON of any vintage, not an f/1.4 SUMMILUX. Neither of LEICA's 50mm SUMMILUX have ever been that sharp in the lab compared to the SUMMICRONs, although they all work great in actual shooting.
Anni |
1961-2004 |
2020- |
2004- |
"6 Bit" Coded? |
no |
no |
Usually |
Hood |
Clip-on, later telescoping |
Screw-in |
Built-in, iffy locking |
Filter |
43mm or 46mm* |
49mm* |
46mm* |
Focus feel |
Glides smoothly |
Glides smoothly |
Turns more stiffly |
Focus ring style |
Fluted, later ribbing extends above level of focus scale |
Ribbing cut down below level of focus scale |
Ribbing extends above level of focus scale |
Internal diagram |
 |
|
 |
Optics |
7 elements in 5 groups
|
10 elements in 8 groups 1 Aspherical element 1 ED element |
8 elements in 5 groups One aspheric surface One floating group |
Actual Focal Length |
Standard |
Seems a tad shorter (wider) than the LEICA 50mm lenses |
Standard |
Diaphragm |
12 blades |
12 blades |
9 blades |
Construction |
All metal |
All metal w/metal focus tab |
Mostly metal (focus tab is plastic) |
Sharpness |
Good |
Very Good |
Very Good |
Distortion |
|||
Markings |
All engraved and filled with paint |
All engraved and filled with paint |
All engraved and filled with paint |
Aperture ring engraving |
normal |
normal |
shallow |
Made in |
GERMANY |
China |
GERMANY |
Included case |
varies |
none |
genuine leather |
Weight |
301 ~ 380g 10.6 ~ 13.4 oz. |
398g 14.0 oz. |
335 ~ 460g 11.8 ~ 16.2 oz. |
Price, 12/2020 |
$1,400~2,500 used if you know How to Win at eBay |
* 46mm is standard across many LEICA lenses, so one 46mm set of filters will fit all your lenses. Filters are important when Shooting Film, but less so for digital. If a lens takes a different size, you now have to carry another set in that size just for that one lens.
On Mirrorless
It's trivially easy to adapt this to any mirrorless camera, even with autofocus on Nikon Z.
While the resulting all-metal combination feels rock-solid, sadly this lens doesn't perform as well on mirrorless as any native mirrorless lens, or a DSLR lens on an adapter.
While this lens is at least as sharp as any LEICA 50mm f/1.4 lens, that's not saying much as neither of LEICA's 50/1.4s have ever been that sharp compared to Nikon and Canon's lenses. They're all sharp at normal apertures, while all of the LEICA-mount f/1.4 lenses get softer in the corners wide open.
Nikon's AF-S 50mm f/1.4G on an FTZ adapter is sharper in the corners at f/1.4 than this lens as shot on a Z camera, and autofocuses and handles so much better. Adapted lenses are kludgy at best, and the autofocus LEICA to Z adapter is more of a science experiment than anything for practical, serious shooting.
For Nikon Z, get the AF-S 50mm f/1.4G or AF-S 50/1.8G on an FTZ adapter, or the Z 50/1.8 or Z 50/1.2.
On Canon EOS R, get the spectacular RF 50/1.2L or the excellent RF 50/1.8, or any EF 1.8 or 1.2 lens on an EF to RF adapter. Oddly the only lens to avoid on Canon is the classic EF 50/1.4, which is a old design that, like the LEICA 50/1.4s, was never all that sharp, even if it has always been very popular.
On Sony, stick with any of the Sony or ZEISS 50mm lenses. Adapted lenses never work as well as native ones on any of these brands.
Recommendations top
Performance Compared Recommendations
I got my TTArtisan 50/1.4 ASPH directly from Pergear. I'd also get mine at Amazon or at B&H, or eventually used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
This is a great little hunk of a lens. It's very good optically and built like a Swiss tank — just like LEICA.
As you've seen, this new lens is as good or better photographically and ergonomically as either of the LEICA 50mm SUMMILUX it can replace functionally. While it may cost less than 10% of the cost of the LEICA, no one buys LEICA to take pictures. LEICA is a lifestyle, not a brand. Our iPhones, Canons and Nikons take much better pictures than any LEICA does. LEICAs are baubles for men who like nice things, not for people who want to take great pictures.
Men buy the LEICA to establish dominance. Owning LEICA is tangible proof of a man's superior vision, inimitable taste and superior level of accomplishment. LEICAs, instruments of the immortal, are a plaything for the talented. We own LEICA because it is who we are, not because we need to take pictures. LEICAs haven't been about taking pictures since they went obsolete back in the 1960s. LEICA lenses cost what they do because they are well made and use very high grades of glass (for instance, you have to pay a lot for better homogeneity grades as LEICA does), but most of the price is paying for intangibles like bloodline and heritage. Oskar Barnack's martyrdom isn't free.
While this TTArtisan lens is great for taking pictures, it isn't right to use it on a LEICA camera, since this lens lacks bloodline or heritage, and certainly doesn't confer any sort of prestige. It just takes pictures. If you have to worry about price, you should not be playing with LEICA. Sit down and let the big boys play if you can't afford genuine LEICA lenses for your LEICA camera.
I use a clear (UV) protective filter instead of a cap 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 very best protective filter is the Multicoated Hoya HD3 49mm which uses hardened glass and repels dirt and fingerprints.
LEICA faithful use the LEICA 13 035 49mm UVa II filter.
For less money, the B＋W 49mm 010 is an excellent filter, as are the multicoated B＋W and the basic multicoated Hoya filters, but the Hoya HD3 is the toughest and the best.
Filters last a lifetime, so you may as well get the best. The Hoya HD3 stays cleaner than the others since it repels oil and dirt.
All these filters are just as sharp and take the same pictures, the difference is how much abuse they'll take and stay clean and stay in one piece.
I got my TTArtisan 50/1.4 ASPH directly from Pergear. I'd also get mine at Amazon or at B&H, or eventually used 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, Mrs. Rockwell, Ryan and Katie.
© Ken Rockwell. All rights reserved. Tous droits réservés. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. Ken Rockwell® is a registered trademark.
Help Me Help You
I support my growing family through this website, as crazy as it might seem.
The biggest help is when you use any of these links when you get anything. It costs you nothing, and is this site's, and thus my family's, biggest source of support. These places always have the best prices and service, which is why I've used them since before this website existed. I recommend them all personally.
If you find this page as helpful as a book you might have had to buy or a workshop you may have had to take, feel free to help me continue helping everyone.
If you've gotten your gear through one of my links or helped otherwise, you're family. It's great people like you who allow me to keep adding to this site full-time. Thanks!
If you haven't helped yet, please do, and consider helping me with a gift of $5.00.
As this page is copyrighted and formally registered, it is unlawful to make copies, especially in the form of printouts for personal use. If you wish to make a printout for personal use, you are granted one-time permission only if you PayPal me $5.00 per printout or part thereof. Thank you!
Thanks for reading!
Mr. & Mrs. Ken Rockwell, Ryan and Katie.