Review of the TTArtisan AF 35mm f1.8 II lens on the Fujifim X-PRO 3
Since quite a while I have been using and testing several TTArtisan lenses and I must commit they are mechanical and optical very good and a perfect fit to the Fujifilm X cameras. All those lenses I have been using and testing for a while, have been manual lenses. To me the use of manual lenses is very relaxing, slowing down the process of taking an image.
This time, the new TTArtisan AF 35mm f1.8 II lens, is an autofocus lens. There has been a year ago a first version of the TTArtisan AF 35mm f1.8 lens and following first reports of testers the Autofocus but also optical quality must have been, let say it nicely, not very good. A reason I decided not to test that lens.
Beginning of the year TTArtisan has launched a mark II version of this lens. They changed the optical system and instead of “lousy” 60cm distance between object and image sensor of the camera, the mark II lens version let you get now up to 40mm close which allows a bigger image ratio and can be seen as a closeup.
When I received that new lens, I had to do a lens firmware update as the autofocus performance was weak and there have been heavy vignetting at the corners of the image wide open. The update of the firmware has been easy, besides the limitation that the update is only possible with a Windows 10 PC and not with a Mac Book Pro, was very strange. The update is easy, you download the firmware, connect the lens to the PC with and USB C cable as an USB drive, copy the firmware file to this drive. Finished, simple.
All the images in this review are made with the TTArtisan AF 35mm f1.8 II, running the latest firmware. The autofocus is silent and very fast to the point. I feel no difference to the original Fujinon AF lenses of the latest generation.
Optically this new lens is performing very well. No vignetting at any f stop, the images are sharp, rich of contrast and have a wonderful color rendering. At f1.8 – f2 mainly the center of the image is sharp from f2.8 the sharpness rises to the maximum at f8, all over. This behavior is inviting to use the lens for portraits wide open.
I tested the images at f1.8, wide open aperture, to explore the quality of the produced bokeh. To me it’s a creamy, dreamy and smooth rendering of the bokeh. With the sharp center it is producing a wonderful three dimensional into the images.
Let´s talk about build quality.
I want to compare it to the similar priced Fujinon XC 35mm f2 from Fujifilm. The Fujinon XC 35mm f2 is the low-cost version of the Fujinon XF 35mm f2 R WR lens which is made of a metal and polymer mix and including an aperture ring. The FX lens is weather and dust sealed.
The Fujinon XC 35mm f2 lens is not weather sealed and fully made of polymer. Fully, even the lens mount is made of polymer and not of metal. This is ok if you change 5-10 times your lens in a year but if you change 10 to 20 times your lens in a single weekend this mount will not wear long.
The TTArtisan AF 35mm f1.8 II lens is made of aluminum with airplane quality and only some small parts of Polymer. The lens mount is made, as it should be, of polished metal and guarantees a long live and perfect fitting to the camera, even after you have changed often the lens. Same as the Fujinon XC 35mm f2, the TTArtisan lens is not weather or dust sealed and it is also not offering a dedicated aperture ring. You can choose the aperture with the front dial of your camera.
The surface finish of the lens body is of high quality, offers a wonderful haptic and the lens in total makes a very robust impression. This TTArtisan lens has at least at the same build quality level of the Fujinon XF 35mm f2 but for less than the half of the price.
Verdict
All in all, looking to the performance of the TTArtisan AF 35mm f1.8 II, optically, mechanical and autofocus it is to me a great lens that should not be missing in any X-Photographer photo bag and even more, if you consider the budget friendly price tag. I am sure it´s also a wonderful always on lens performing well in street, landscape, nature and portrait photography.
Please take a close look to the images I made in the Hunsrück area of Germany and judge yourself. Feedback and questions are always very welcome.
