TTArtisan’s $89 AF 50mm f/1.8 Lens Has Crazy Customization Options
TTArtisan has announced the AF 50mm f/1.8 Neo, a new, ultra-affordable “nifty fifty” prime lens for full-frame mirrorless cameras. The otherwise normal-seeming lens has an unusual trick up its sleeve, too; it can be customized with colorful shells.
Straight out of the box, TTArtisan’s new AF 50mm f/1.8 Neo lens looks very typical. It is a relatively compact, lightweight black prime lens. It looks like dozens, if not hundreds, of other lenses on the market.
However, TTArtisan is touting customization as a key aspect of its new lens. The company has shown off an array of custom shells, or “armor,” that users can 3D print. Photographers will be able to download 3D printer files directly from TTArtisan’s website for the E- and Z-mount versions of the AF 50mm f/1.8 Neo. It appears the L-Mount version will not support these files, per DC.Watch.
In TTArtisan’s marketing materials, the company showcases a few colorful, 3D-printed shells, as well as some more subdued designs. The craziest of the bunch, though, is a set of “Dragonic Armor” shells that look like dragon scales. They are absolutely wild, and unlike anything PetaPixel has seen before.
Of course, for photographers who don’t care at all about personalizing their lens with colorful or scaly armor, the AF 50mm f/1.8 Neo still has a lot to offer. Again, it’s $89, which makes it the cheapest full-frame autofocus-equipped 50mm f/1.8 lens for any mirrorless camera system.
Sony’s own FE 50mm f/1.8 is $248, Nikon’s cheapest 50mm prime for Z cameras, the Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.4, is $597, and Panasonic’s Lumix S 50mm f/1.8 for L-Mount is $348 after a $150 instant savings.
The TTArtisan AF 50mm f/1.8 Neo is also quite lightweight, ranging from 156 to 167 grams (5.5 to 5.9 ounces), depending on the mount. It is 50 to 54 millimeters (about two inches) long and accepts 52mm filters.
The lens has a seven-bladed aperture diaphragm, positioned behind an optical formula comprising a dozen elements across eight groups. It has two ED elements and four high-index elements, promising “sharp, accurate images from center to edge.”
The customizable shells are not the only interesting aspect of the lens’s design, though. While it looks normal, something is missing upon closer inspection. The lens does not have a focus ring. The lens is autofocus only, an extremely unusual design choice that TTArtisan says delivers “a more direct shooting experience.” The company also says it keeps things simple, which seems like a more appropriate description. It also means that the 3D-printed shells don’t need to handle movement or focus-ring control.
Autofocus-only lenses are very rare, although not unheard of in the mirrorless age. Viltrox’s AF 28mm f/4.5 Chip pancake lens, which recently arrived on L-Mount, is also AF-only. It’s also locked at f/4.5, a limitation TTArtisan’s 50mm f/1.8 lens avoids, as it can stop down from f/1.8 to f/16.
Without any manual focus, photographers will have to trust the lens’s autofocus system, which is driven by a stepping motor. The lens supports eye- and subject-detect autofocus modes on compatible E, Z, and L-Mount cameras. It can focus as close as 0.48 meters (1.6 feet).
Pricing and Availability
The TTArtisan AF 50mm f/1.8 Neo lens is available now for E, Z, and L-Mount. It is $89.
3D-printable files for custom lens shells will be available through TTArtisan’s official website.
Image credits: TTArtisan
