I picked up a voigtlander 35mm 1.4 classic when I first got my M6. It’s also a great alternative if you don’t want to drop 3-5k on Leica glass. I’ll probably make that investment this year though and here’s why: similar to this lens, the barrel distortion and fall off is pretty heavy and its not sharp wide open. Also, like this, it does a much better job with black and white then it does with color. Lastly, it doesn’t handle backlighting well. It’s still a great steppingstone to see if you really want to shoot with a Leica Rangefinder and that focal length enough to go all out. I also got my M6 when they where a lot more affordable.
Video @ 8:20 "does little to actually prevent stray light" - To help as much as possible, I used a rubber lens 'cone' in order to remove the front name ring (Caution, this name ring HOLDS the entire front lens group in), then I reversed the ring and spray painted super flat black paint into it and the inside hood. Reattached the name ring (no more busy writing is seen because it's been reversed) and the shade. This insured ABSOLUTLY no reflections into the optical path; just pure black & glass...
Another reason to look at these is if you prefer to shoot with a rangefinder. You can still find Leica CL and M5s under 4 figures, so it’s still possible that someone could shoot a Leica body and not look at ultra premium glass. I’d still shop Voightlander first just to avoid calibration issues, but thanks for the great review!
It isn't a Leica copy in element design, only in aesthetic look. It has SIGNIFICANT flaring/veiling issues that were too much for me to want one. Look at Mr. Leica (Matt Osborne) review of the TT 28 5.6.
@@godscola I don't think anybody has ever claimed it was an exact copy of the Leica. Kind of difficult to claim that when the optical element layout is right on top of the box. Regardless, and yes I have watched Matt's video, it is an excellent little lens in its own right... and I say that as someone who actually owns the lens. For US$300 I can deal with a bit of flare. It is exceptionally well built and quite good optically too. Maybe not to your taste, and that's fine. At 1/10th the price of the Leica I can have a lot of fun with it.
Funny thing, why is everyone only reviewing the TTA 35/1.4 ASPH Leica Lens? I mean, i know about that lens since the prototypes, which is years ago, but the fact is - the 7Artisans 35/1.4 Wen (which i do also own ) is the better Lens, more sophisticated Lens Design. Because of this, TTA announced the 35/1.4 AA (Double ASPH, or aspherical) already into 2021 - but it's yet not to be released....the 7A Lens does have better sharpness and microcontrast. Check ErickPhoto's Review on YT. Besides that, another great Video from Analog Insights, finally new content, guys ! :) PS: This Lens was 299-329 EUR only into the beginning (via Aliexpress) now it does cost for unknown, funny reasons much more - and the 7Artisans 35/1.4 is much cheaper, and better. The Lens Hood from the here reviewed TTA 35/1.4 does look nice, but literally does nothing - it's not shading after all. The lens does have issues into the sunlight with huge flares, depending on the current circumstances. And to be honest - 550 EUR is totally overpriced for this Lens, considering the performance. Check the 7Artisans 35/1.4 Wen M Mount, which usually goes away from 300-360 EUR ordinary. No offense.
@@d30gaijin It depends on the market, and region inside the world. FYI - i've bought my 7Artisans 35/1.4 directly from Asia, from a store, which offered 50% off for 5 days, so i paid 169 EUR (!) totally new ! Into germany, last time i've checked was 299 to 369 EUR for the 7Artisans. Whileas the TTArtisan, which is optically inferior, was 449 to 559 EUR. See the 1:1 comparsion here: th-cam.com/video/XsmeRYT3Bz8/w-d-xo.html
Many thanks for this review. Being only an occasional M shooter, the Leica M lenses are priced at a level that makes no sense to me. Though having always bought their lenses in the past, though usually older versions, the newer versions prices have led me to look at other brands. I’m super happy with the Voigtlander APO-Lanthars that I’ve acquired recently. The other non Leica brand that I’d have confidence buying is Zeiss. This lens is interesting, though the issue that I have with many of these recent Chinese lenses is the need to calibrate them. To me, that is a step too far and is not something that is needed with Leica, Voigtlander or Zeiss. They even supply you with the screwdriver to do it. Hopefully their processes will continue to improve with regard to calibration and lens coatings.
Ok, apples to oranges comparison but I have the TTArtisan 35mm f/1.4 and 50mm f/1.0 APS-C lenses for Nikon Z mount and one stop from wide open, they are as sharp as most manufacturer lenses. Okay, they are Planar design so max aperture is not tack sharp like some more modern designs, but considering their metal build and optics, price/performance is extremely high. I have zero experience with M-mount but I’m a fan of this company.
I don't really get why you'd buy a Leica M body and then buy cheaper lenses (even if they're still very good). I picked up a Voigtländer Bessa R2 (rangefinder with Leica M mount) and a Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/2 ZM. The lens is "cheap" at about 400 euros used and my reasoning for getting into the M system is future proofing. I'm using everything in the cheaper range of the M system. It works fine and gives very sharp and detailed negatives, but more importantly gives me the ability to upgrade to better lenses in the future, and perhaps a Leica M body some time in the future.
I have to disagree here. The Leica M is a fantastic camera in its own right and is a joy to use. The focusing mechanism, shutter, film loading and many other mechanical details are reason enough to use it - disconnected from the lenses you use. You will find many Leica lens reviews on the channel as well. In my opinion, it makes perfect sense to get your most important primary lens or lenses from Leica but complement your lens collection with alternatives that come with a different character.
@@AnalogInsightsI don’t mean you need to buy genuine Leica lenses. And I do get why you’d want a Leica body. What I mean is more that I don’t see why you’d buy a TTartisan lens instead of say a used Zeiss or Voigtländer unless you’re actively looking for a lens with the quirks of the TTartisan ones.
Be careful when buying this lens. I bought it for a digital camera, the Leica SL. The lens feel solid, heavy and it has good construction, but it performs very very bad (at least on digital). I bought it for portraits (f/1.4 or f/2) and urban landscape (f/5.6 and f/8). Wide open it's the worst lens I've ever seen. The camera can't confirm focus because it's so soft that you never see the image in focus through the EVF magnification or screen. But even at f/8, the lens is really soft and bland. The image just doesn't pop like images taken with Leica ASPH or Voigtlander Ultron lenses. Long time ago I told myself I would never buy the cheap option again and wait for good results. A few months ago I made the same mistake again with this lens😂. It's my fault, but youtubers saying "this is like 90% Leica Summilux at 10% the price!!!11!" didn't help. Finally I'm going to save the money for the real one or sell the Summicron ASPH to fund it. My advice (which nobody asked for) is buy the lens or piece of gear you really want, no matter you have to save money for a long long time. Buying a substitute is how we really throw money.
Thank you for your comment and helpful perspective for digital shooters. Since I didn’t cover this in my review, it complements it nicely. And yes, I agree. It is more of a “transition” lens and shouldn’t be considered the ultimate 35mm lens if 35mm are really important to you.
@@AnalogInsights interesting. I think ttartisans provides a method of focus calibration with the lens. Some people say it was way out of calibration and some say their copy did not require focus calibration.
@@mezayrapetyan131 that’s right, some TTArtisan lenses needs to calibrate, to focus with the rangefinder. There is a little screwdriver and a instruction included. For my, total ridiculous.
@@AnalogInsights Part of the low cost is the rather basic calibration they do. They set them up to where the 'should" focus correctly but it is not promised, hence the instructions and tool provided. It makes you wonder if some examples are actually optically soft or simply not exactly in focus
I don’t like the TTArtisan, for sure, it’s cheap, but the sharpness is not good enough, special at f1.4 and f11 or f16. The corners are never sharp like Voigtländer or a Zeiss. By the way soft sharpness, means not sharp. It’s a cheap lens, but in my opinion it doesn’t worth the money. The Voigtländer is in the same price range, with a lot more quality. So, if you are looking for a alternative to the extremely expensive Leica lenses, Voigtländer would be my first choice.
@@aufeuer I used this lens for 3 weeks, and I was very disappointed. No sharpness at f 11 and f 16, no sharpness wild open in the corners, tons of lensflairs, … Now I’m happy with my 2.0 35 summicron from Leica. Much more expensive, but it worth the money. Don’t get my wrong, if you are happy with the TTArtisan, take it. But I never try a cheap lens with an expensive camera. That combination is the wrong way for me.
The problem with these TTArtisan lenses for Leica M is the calibration. If you have a digital M, no problem. But with an M6, how do you do it? That's why I won't buy it.
The price of Leica lenses is mostly based on greed. It is like $10 gasoline: "sure our gas is expensive, but we clean your windows". Yes, Leica lenses are good, but not that good compared to the price.
Good review but more images needed. Specially at full aperture, night with lights and out of focus.. Bokeh. Self adjusting turned me off .Leica lenses are way too pricey. I have equal or better lenses in my SLR! That's film.Don't believe all you see and hear, TEST! Good video.
B&W shots on YT alone in a review does nothing at all. You really need to give links to the original raw files so we can see for ourselves. Also with B&W no one can judge the CA as not everyone likes to convert to B&W. Think about all this for your future videos.
Thank you for your comment. I would encourage you to first watching the video before leaving a comment like that. As always, it is clearly mentioned that this is a film photography channel and that effects such as chromatic aberrations cannot be assessed when shooting black and white film. Nobody converts to black and white here. ;)
It is great to see you back!
Thank you from Ukraine! Keep going pls.
…nice you’re back!
Exactly what i was looking for! Thanks for the review!
Glad to hear this was helpful to you. :)
Love your reviews.
Thank you. I really appreciate that. :)
Excellent review.
Great review. I feel for a couple hundred more you could pick up a 35mm Zeiss that has no distortion. BTW love your glasses.
Thanks so much for your reviews. Always enjoyable. Could I make a request that you review the minox 35? Thanks!
I picked up a voigtlander 35mm 1.4 classic when I first got my M6. It’s also a great alternative if you don’t want to drop 3-5k on Leica glass. I’ll probably make that investment this year though and here’s why: similar to this lens, the barrel distortion and fall off is pretty heavy and its not sharp wide open. Also, like this, it does a much better job with black and white then it does with color. Lastly, it doesn’t handle backlighting well. It’s still a great steppingstone to see if you really want to shoot with a Leica Rangefinder and that focal length enough to go all out. I also got my M6 when they where a lot more affordable.
Thank you for your comment. I can relate to that very well.
Great rev, in deep exploration👌
Video @ 8:20 "does little to actually prevent stray light" - To help as much as possible, I used a rubber lens 'cone' in order to remove the front name ring (Caution, this name ring HOLDS the entire front lens group in), then I reversed the ring and spray painted super flat black paint into it and the inside hood. Reattached the name ring (no more busy writing is seen because it's been reversed) and the shade. This insured ABSOLUTLY no reflections into the optical path; just pure black & glass...
Thank you for the great review!
Another reason to look at these is if you prefer to shoot with a rangefinder. You can still find Leica CL and M5s under 4 figures, so it’s still possible that someone could shoot a Leica body and not look at ultra premium glass. I’d still shop Voightlander first just to avoid calibration issues, but thanks for the great review!
Where are the times when you could buy an M3 for 600-700€ at any corner? :/
Welcome back, I’m waiting for the TTartisan 28mm f5.6 to be release, another Leica copy. I hope u get a chance to review this lens. Thanks 😁
The TT Artisans 28mm f/5.6 has been released. I preordered mine through B&H back in November and received it late January.
It isn't a Leica copy in element design, only in aesthetic look. It has SIGNIFICANT flaring/veiling issues that were too much for me to want one. Look at Mr. Leica (Matt Osborne) review of the TT 28 5.6.
@@godscola I don't think anybody has ever claimed it was an exact copy of the Leica. Kind of difficult to claim that when the optical element layout is right on top of the box. Regardless, and yes I have watched Matt's video, it is an excellent little lens in its own right... and I say that as someone who actually owns the lens. For US$300 I can deal with a bit of flare. It is exceptionally well built and quite good optically too. Maybe not to your taste, and that's fine. At 1/10th the price of the Leica I can have a lot of fun with it.
@@d30gaijin well, funBichons literally just said it's a Leica copy so I corrected him.
Funny thing, why is everyone only reviewing the TTA 35/1.4 ASPH Leica Lens? I mean, i know about that lens since the prototypes, which is years ago, but the fact is - the 7Artisans 35/1.4 Wen (which i do also own ) is the better Lens, more sophisticated Lens Design. Because of this, TTA announced the 35/1.4 AA (Double ASPH, or aspherical) already into 2021 - but it's yet not to be released....the 7A Lens does have better sharpness and microcontrast. Check ErickPhoto's Review on YT.
Besides that, another great Video from Analog Insights, finally new content, guys ! :) PS: This Lens was 299-329 EUR only into the beginning (via Aliexpress) now it does cost for unknown, funny reasons much more - and the 7Artisans 35/1.4 is much cheaper, and better. The Lens Hood from the here reviewed TTA 35/1.4 does look nice, but literally does nothing - it's not shading after all. The lens does have issues into the sunlight with huge flares, depending on the current circumstances.
And to be honest - 550 EUR is totally overpriced for this Lens, considering the performance. Check the 7Artisans 35/1.4 Wen M Mount, which usually goes away from 300-360 EUR ordinary. No offense.
Odd. I just checked B&H Photography and the TT Artisans is only $20 more ($449) than the 7 Artisan ($429). I hardly consider that "...much cheaper..."
@@d30gaijin It depends on the market, and region inside the world. FYI - i've bought my 7Artisans 35/1.4 directly from Asia, from a store, which offered 50% off for 5 days, so i paid 169 EUR (!) totally new !
Into germany, last time i've checked was 299 to 369 EUR for the 7Artisans. Whileas the TTArtisan, which is optically inferior, was 449 to 559 EUR.
See the 1:1 comparsion here:
th-cam.com/video/XsmeRYT3Bz8/w-d-xo.html
Great to be first, nice video!
The optical flaws would turn me off it. The build quality looks very nice but I'd pay the money for Leica or Voigtlander
Many thanks for this review. Being only an occasional M shooter, the Leica M lenses are priced at a level that makes no sense to me. Though having always bought their lenses in the past, though usually older versions, the newer versions prices have led me to look at other brands. I’m super happy with the Voigtlander APO-Lanthars that I’ve acquired recently. The other non Leica brand that I’d have confidence buying is Zeiss. This lens is interesting, though the issue that I have with many of these recent Chinese lenses is the need to calibrate them. To me, that is a step too far and is not something that is needed with Leica, Voigtlander or Zeiss. They even supply you with the screwdriver to do it. Hopefully their processes will continue to improve with regard to calibration and lens coatings.
Why are you not making money shooting?
$5000 for a lens can be made up if you understand math.
Nice review
Hi Max. Do you know if TTArtisan made lenses for the Leicaflex? Or LTM?
Ok, apples to oranges comparison but I have the TTArtisan 35mm f/1.4 and 50mm f/1.0 APS-C lenses for Nikon Z mount and one stop from wide open, they are as sharp as most manufacturer lenses. Okay, they are Planar design so max aperture is not tack sharp like some more modern designs, but considering their metal build and optics, price/performance is extremely high. I have zero experience with M-mount but I’m a fan of this company.
Thanks. Very useful.
I don't really get why you'd buy a Leica M body and then buy cheaper lenses (even if they're still very good). I picked up a Voigtländer Bessa R2 (rangefinder with Leica M mount) and a Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/2 ZM. The lens is "cheap" at about 400 euros used and my reasoning for getting into the M system is future proofing. I'm using everything in the cheaper range of the M system. It works fine and gives very sharp and detailed negatives, but more importantly gives me the ability to upgrade to better lenses in the future, and perhaps a Leica M body some time in the future.
I have to disagree here. The Leica M is a fantastic camera in its own right and is a joy to use. The focusing mechanism, shutter, film loading and many other mechanical details are reason enough to use it - disconnected from the lenses you use. You will find many Leica lens reviews on the channel as well. In my opinion, it makes perfect sense to get your most important primary lens or lenses from Leica but complement your lens collection with alternatives that come with a different character.
@@AnalogInsightsI don’t mean you need to buy genuine Leica lenses. And I do get why you’d want a Leica body. What I mean is more that I don’t see why you’d buy a TTartisan lens instead of say a used Zeiss or Voigtländer unless you’re actively looking for a lens with the quirks of the TTartisan ones.
Be careful when buying this lens. I bought it for a digital camera, the Leica SL. The lens feel solid, heavy and it has good construction, but it performs very very bad (at least on digital). I bought it for portraits (f/1.4 or f/2) and urban landscape (f/5.6 and f/8). Wide open it's the worst lens I've ever seen. The camera can't confirm focus because it's so soft that you never see the image in focus through the EVF magnification or screen. But even at f/8, the lens is really soft and bland. The image just doesn't pop like images taken with Leica ASPH or Voigtlander Ultron lenses. Long time ago I told myself I would never buy the cheap option again and wait for good results. A few months ago I made the same mistake again with this lens😂. It's my fault, but youtubers saying "this is like 90% Leica Summilux at 10% the price!!!11!" didn't help. Finally I'm going to save the money for the real one or sell the Summicron ASPH to fund it. My advice (which nobody asked for) is buy the lens or piece of gear you really want, no matter you have to save money for a long long time. Buying a substitute is how we really throw money.
Thank you for your comment and helpful perspective for digital shooters. Since I didn’t cover this in my review, it complements it nicely.
And yes, I agree. It is more of a “transition” lens and shouldn’t be considered the ultimate 35mm lens if 35mm are really important to you.
This really wasn’t my experience with this lens. Tack sharp on an M10 and M4.
Did you have to calibrate it to the rangefinder? If so did you do this with the m6 or use a digital m body to calibrate? Thank you.
No, there is no need to calibrate it. The rangefinder coupling happens mechanically on all Leica M mount lenses.
@@AnalogInsights interesting. I think ttartisans provides a method of focus calibration with the lens. Some people say it was way out of calibration and some say their copy did not require focus calibration.
@@mezayrapetyan131 that’s right, some TTArtisan lenses needs to calibrate, to focus with the rangefinder. There is a little screwdriver and a instruction included.
For my, total ridiculous.
@@AnalogInsights Part of the low cost is the rather basic calibration they do. They set them up to where the 'should" focus correctly but it is not promised, hence the instructions and tool provided. It makes you wonder if some examples are actually optically soft or simply not exactly in focus
@Blende, this and the lens coatings are what make me hesitate for an otherwise interesting and affordable lens.
Exzellent, very good, thank you….
Not bad, look awesome!
Love your reviews, but this is the first time that I didn't really feel the quality of the pictures.....
💕😎
I don’t like the TTArtisan, for sure, it’s cheap, but the sharpness is not good enough, special at f1.4 and f11 or f16. The corners are never sharp like Voigtländer or a Zeiss. By the way soft sharpness, means not sharp. It’s a cheap lens, but in my opinion it doesn’t worth the money. The Voigtländer is in the same price range, with a lot more quality. So, if you are looking for a alternative to the extremely expensive Leica lenses, Voigtländer would be my first choice.
Do you have this lens, or at least have tested it?
@@aufeuer I used this lens for 3 weeks, and I was very disappointed. No sharpness at f 11 and f 16, no sharpness wild open in the corners, tons of lensflairs, …
Now I’m happy with my 2.0 35 summicron from Leica. Much more expensive, but it worth the money.
Don’t get my wrong, if you are happy with the TTArtisan, take it. But I never try a cheap lens with an expensive camera. That combination is the wrong way for me.
The problem with these TTArtisan lenses for Leica M is the calibration. If you have a digital M, no problem. But with an M6, how do you do it? That's why I won't buy it.
First one!!!
The price of Leica lenses is mostly based on greed. It is like $10 gasoline: "sure our gas is expensive, but we clean your windows". Yes, Leica lenses are good, but not that good compared to the price.
I just bought an M2 and this lens. I at least own the 90mm elmar f/4 screw mount lens. I hope that pleases the purists
One can afford an M body but opt to buy a lens of such quality? It is so interesting.
As described in the introduction, there are all sorts of good reasons for choosing Leica lens alternatives.
Good review but more images needed. Specially at full aperture, night with lights and out of focus.. Bokeh. Self adjusting turned me off .Leica lenses are way too pricey. I have equal or better lenses in my SLR! That's film.Don't believe all you see and hear, TEST! Good video.
I've heard that some leica users get their cameras bricked by using the Ttartisan lens
German lenses are going the way of Swiss watches
B&W shots on YT alone in a review does nothing at all. You really need to give links to the original raw files so we can see for ourselves. Also with B&W no one can judge the CA as not everyone likes to convert to B&W. Think about all this for your future videos.
Thank you for your comment. I would encourage you to first watching the video before leaving a comment like that. As always, it is clearly mentioned that this is a film photography channel and that effects such as chromatic aberrations cannot be assessed when shooting black and white film. Nobody converts to black and white here. ;)
Leica lenses are nft
Yi
Not even close. To be honest.