I spent the last few weeks shooting with the Nikon Zf and wanted a lens that would actually look right on this retro-style body. Nikon offers two compact primes with a similar design, but both are mostly made of plastic and only open up to f2. They are probably great optically, but they are not exactly what I want on a camera like the Zf. So I reached out to TTArtisan and got the TTArtisan 50mm f2 for Nikon Z to test. It is a small manual lens that visually fits the Zf incredibly well, and at just 79 dollars it is a very affordable way to complete the look.
At 50mm I can live with f2 much better than at 28mm, so I was really curious to see how this little lens performs on the Zf.
Build Quality
TTArtisan knows how to build manual lenses that feel great. The entire body is made of metal. The focus ring is smooth but has enough resistance to make precise adjustments easy. The aperture ring sits at the front of the lens, clicks nicely and is very easy to reach, which is a real advantage on such a small lens. The low price is not noticeable at all when you pick it up for the first time.
One thing you notice in daily use is the very long focus throw. From the 50 centimeter close-focus distance to infinity you rotate roughly 180 degrees, which is not something you can do in one quick movement. You usually have to readjust your grip, which slows things down a bit. Apart from that, the build quality is one of the biggest strengths of this lens and it suits the Nikon Zf perfectly, both visually and in terms of handling.
Image Quality of TTArtisan 50mm f2
At this price point I honestly did not expect much. That made it even more interesting to see what this lens can do and where it struggles in real shooting situations.
Wide open, the center of the image is absolutely usable. This is not a given for a lens in this price range and it was one of the pleasant surprises. Toward the edges the sharpness drops quite a bit. Depending on the subject this can even work in your favor because it naturally draws the viewer’s attention to the center.
The biggest weakness appears when shooting into the light. Flare and ghosting can be very strong, and sometimes you get a bright spot in the center of the frame that reduces contrast noticeably. Surprisingly, this happened most often in bright overcast conditions, not in direct sunlight. When the sky is bright but hazy, the light scatters so much that flares appear from all directions. You either have to work carefully around it or wait for better or much worse weather.
On the positive side, the bokeh looks really nice. The out-of-focus highlights stay round even toward the edges, without the cat-eye effect that many expensive lenses show today. There is a slight soap-bubble look, but in a pleasing way that fits the retro character of the lens. Stopping down improves sharpness significantly, especially for landscapes and architecture.
Chromatic aberrations are surprisingly well controlled. Even in strong backlight I could barely find any distracting color fringing. Strong flares can introduce some intense blue tones though. In photos I sometimes find that distracting, but in video I actually enjoy the look.
Conclusion
You can often find the TTArtisan 50mm f2 for under 79 dollars, and for that price it is almost worth buying just to mount it on the Nikon Zf and enjoy the look. Nikon sadly does not offer anything that matches this style anywhere near as well.
You need to expect compromises in image quality, especially when shooting into the light. But if you are comfortable with manual focus and want a small, charming 50mm lens, you get a lot for very little money. I can especially see it working well for portraits. The center is sharp enough and the soft falloff toward the edges can look great at f2. To me this is one of those lenses that is far from perfect, yet still fun to use and simply feels right on the Zf.
