Ttartisan 50mm f/1.2

£70/$98 http://en.ttartisan.com

An f/1.2 lens for less than $100? You read that right – and now Ttartisan has released a version of its fantastic-value manual Ttartisan 50mm f/1.2 lens for Nikon Z mount cameras. Priced at just $98 (approximately £70) and currently only available direct from the maker, Ttartisan’s 50mm f/1.2 lens is constructed of seven elements in five groups, uses a 10-blade aperture diaphragm and has a minimum focusing distance of 50cm (20in). It measures 60mm (2.36in) long and 62mm (2.44in) in diameter, weighs 336g (11.85oz) and has a front filter thread of 52mm. It would be asking too much of a sub-$100 prime lens to feature autofocus, but Z-series mirrorless cameras have the ability to use focus peaking, highlighting areas of the frame that are in focus and therefore making manual focusing much more intuitive. The Ttartisan 50mm f/1.2 has a certain retro appeal and features a compact and portable design, giving Nikon Z camera owners an affordable option for an impressively fast f/1.2 prime lens.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Nikon doesn’t make a 50mm f/1.2 lens but other manufacturers charge around £1500 (and often a great deal more) for the privilege, so it will be very interested to see just how well this ultra-fast, bargain-basement optic performs.