There are so many budget lens manufacturers that I've begun losing count. What I haven't lost track of, however, is how strong the quality has become.
I have waxed lyrical about macro photography many times on Fstoppers and I don't foresee that stopping either. Fewer times, but still reasonably regularly, I will sing the praises of the many indie lens manufacturers — primarily out of Asia — who are creating exceptionally fast glass for a fraction of the price we used to have to pay for it.
The trade-off has always been that you don't get autofocus. I suspect that someday soon that will change, but with many lenses, if removing the autofocus will lower the price by 50-75%, I'm probably interested. That said, it can make certain genres far more difficult, though the one it very rarely does, is macro.
Macro photography is a genre I have shot deep into 6-figures of frames and the vast majority — even ones of insects — have been manual focus. I have found it far more reliable to move myself as opposed to the camera trying to figure the scene out. So, when you can get a 40mm f/2.8 macro that is nice and sharp but without AF, I am interested; particularly when the price is lowered to $99! That lens — the one in the video — is the TTArtisan 40mm f/2.8 Macro Lens for Sony E
Hey, Robert
Thanks for making me aware of this lens.
This 40mm macro seems like it could be quite useful for some of my reptile and amphibian photography, if paired with a full frame sensor. Of course, not having autofocus means I can't use it for any venomous critters, nor for any critters who are nervous and skittish. But that does still leave a few subjects that I could use the manual focus lens for.
I don't think you mentioned if it is really a true macro or not - I have seen some lenses called "macro" by their manufacturer, even though they weren't capable of producing the minimum qualification of 1:1 magnification ratio. A bit surprised that this info is not in your article. Did you consider writing a full original article about this lens, rather than just prefacing a YouTube video that somebody else made? Perhaps if you'd done that, there would be more complete information about this lens right here on the Fstoppers site, without users having to go watch content by a 3rd party. Always nice to stay right here on the Fstoppers site and not have to go elsewhere to see photography-related content.