In the past few years, we have seen a real influx of highly affordable lenses that still offer serviceable to even good results, but even by those standards, the new TTArtisan 500mm f/6.3 is really, really cheap. Can it offer good performance and image quality despite that very low price? This excellent video review takes a look at everything you can expect from it in usage.
Coming to you from Photo Genius, this great video review takes a look at the new TTArtisan 500mm f/6.3 lens for Leica L, Sony E, Canon RF, and Nikon Z mount full frame mirrorless cameras. At just $329, the 500mm f/6.3 is ludicrously cheap. The first thing to know is that it is a full manual lens. This means there is no autofocus, no image stabilization (though most modern mirrorless cameras and in-body image stabilization), and no in-camera aperture control. No doubt, shooting fasting action with such a long focal length and manual focus may be too challenging in some scenarios, so think carefully about the applications you intend to use the lens for, but if you are simply concerned with image quality and reliability, it looks highly impressive for the price. Check out the video above for the full rundown.
Spiratone also used to sell cheap long manual-only lenses back in the day. I forget the exact prices, but they would have been about the same as this, allowing for inflation. They were always tempting to a young broke photographer, but I resisted.
I actually used one very early on in my shooting career. If you were shooting in black and white, it could produce some surprisingly decent frames. I have to hunt them down, but I have some aircraft shots (Harriers, B2s, a few others) shot with that lens that were fairly sharp.
The downside was when you started shooting color. Purple fringe and CA all over the place. And while it was surprisingly sharp, that doesn't mean it was really all that sharp - particularly when compared to higher-end lenses.
Also Cambron. I have a Cambron 500mm f8 and a Spiratone 400mm f6.3. Not the greatest of lenses, but OK if you are on a budget. And modern editing software helps. Got the Cambron over 40 years ago. Ordered out of the back of a photo magazine. The Spiratone was a gift from somebody thinning out his camera and lens collection.
Maybe I am a little too old and played with many lenses back when Sony cameras came out with few lenses. I was a time you could use old film lenses with an adapter and there was an adapter for the Minolta lenses. Sony bought Minolta and did not forget its beginnings when bringing out its A7 line. Imagen going to a estate sell and a big bag of gear that showed interest in and having my A7s and the Minolta adapter and pulled it and put the 500mm on to see if it work, it was like new! The kids of the user had no idea about photography and with just interest gave all to me. The key was it was also AF believe it or not, also a mirror type and in great condition. OK it is the Minolta 500mm F/8 Autofocus Mirror Lens a chipped lens. Ok from my Canon T2i days I had the 60-600mm but this was great to play with in '15. I had to use the on camera app to make a profile. But worked great also on the Minolta camera.
But a word to those who buy low cost off maker lenses - A lens is forever no matter the age but I advice to use a makers lenses they were made for the same camera. A lesson learned back in '15 a hipped up lens the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 has mustache curl on the horizon and many coma items along with elongated stars and only Lr has a LC for the mustache but not the trailing stars. Again the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 also has coma issues best used at f/4, if look at settings of pro MW photos that is the setting used. Just an add it was the 500 rule days so elongated stars are common. The last image I used f/4 and and 10s on the Sigma but still coma and trailing stars. For info back in '15 and '16 the only real LC was in C1, it had few LC but had plastic white square's you put in front of the lens and then used some adjustments to correct a long process and keeping in the same file of images but you needed a notebook to remember what went with what lens. The center image using the C1 method and got a MW arc without doing a panorama. It was the age of the mad scientist photographer, pros would copy stars from the center and put at the edges, long hours!!
Advice save your green till you can afford something rushing just means a lot of extra work, we go for the widest of lenses but if we just learned to do a two or three image pano it would of saved $.
MlIf they make an EF version I'll buy one.