Test/ First Impression TTArtisan 11mm/2.8 Fisheye

Travis Butler · May 1, 2025

Got this in yesterday, and today was gloomy and overcast, so only a few test pics outside my place so far. Given that, my first impressions are pretty good!

20250429-SDIM3903 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Sigma fp, TTArtisan 11/2.8 Fisheye

One thing I wasn't expecting is the very close MFD for the lens; earlier in the day I was shooting macro with the Vivitar 100/3.5 Macro, and I could get up just about as close with the fisheye as with the macro lens. This seems to open up interesting possibilities, though it's going to take some playing around...

Also seems like it's got the potential to be quite sharp even up close, though again, it's going to take some practice to take advantage of:

20250429-SDIM3908 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250429-SDIM3908v1.dng by Travis Butler, on Flickr
(100% crop)

Of course, with a fisheye, the distortion's the thing - when I used a fisheye on M4/3, my favorite bit wasn't trying to use it as an extra-wide and defishing, but playing with the distortion for artistic effect...

20250429-SDIM3914 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

The twisted tree here almost reminds me of a banyan, for example.

20250429-SDIM3916 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250429-SDIM3922 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Tonality is one of my big things, and the TTArtisan's impresses me.

20250429-SDIM3932 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

As does the clarity. Some pictures can have a quality - I'm not sure if there's a technical name or definition for it, I call it crystalline clarity - that I love, where everything has almost a crystalline sharpness and depth - no atmospheric blurring or haze, but more than that, everything looks like it's being viewed through high-quality crystal that gives the scene additional depth and weight. (Or is that just me? Several of the test pics I took with this lens had it...)

Travis Butler · May 3, 2025

So yesterday was round 2, and turned into a pretty good day.

Took 310 photos trying it out, and ended up with 70 I wanted to keep; not a bad result. (Full set is up at https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCcBuw if anyone's interested.) Some samples:

20250501-SDIM3998 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Sigma fp, TTArtisan 11/2.8

20250501-SDIM4016 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Lots of stuff going in and out of shadow in the exterior pics.

20250501-SDIM4049 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Memory Hall at Liberty Memorial; some of the few surviving fragments of the Panthéon de la Guerre.

20250501-SDIM4058 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
The lens did indeed prove to be pretty sharp:

100% Crop

20250501-SDIM4066 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Embrace the distortion!

Travis Butler · May 3, 2025

20250501-SDIM4070 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

One fisheye trick I like is taking rectangular uprights, letting the edges curve, and using them to frame a central subject.

20250501-SDIM4204 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250501-SDIM4137 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250501-SDIM4208 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250501-SDIM4213 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Travis Butler · May 3, 2025

20250501-SDIM4166 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

The museum never had room to display all of their artifacts in the main gallery area; in 2023, they opened up a lot of the archive storage area into a minimalist display for the stored items. It reminds me of something out of a science fiction film, and the fisheye distortion enhances the effect.

20250501-SDIM4167 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250501-SDIM4169 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

They also opened up viewing for the foundation of the memorial tower:

20250501-SDIM4177 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250501-SDIM4186 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Travis Butler · May 3, 2025

20250501-SDIM4089 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

I also like the way a fisheye can be used to 'open up' an interior area in a way that even an ultrawide rectilinear doesn't, at least for me.

20250501-SDIM4154 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Or by a similar trick, make a subject look lost and alone inside a wider space:

20250501-SDIM4148 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Travis Butler · May 3, 2025

A few more exterior shots:

20250501-SDIM4227 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Another variation on making the large look small...

20250501-SDIM4240 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
(OM Zuiko 24/2.8 for comparison)

20250501-SDIM4246 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250501-SDIM4249 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

The TTArtisan seems to handle flare pretty well... I saw the occasional ghost, but considering the size of the front element and the minimal hood (my old Rokinon 7.5mm fisheye on M4/3 had a much larger hood by comparison) I thought it did very well indeed.

And did I mention I like the colors?

20250501-SDIM4254 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Decent starburst, too.

Travis Butler · May 5, 2025

Some more experimenting...

20250504-SDIM4293 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Sigma fp, TTArtisan 11/2.8 fisheye

20250504-SDIM4320 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250504-SDIM4360 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250504-SDIM4362 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250504-SDIM4369 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

pdk42 · May 6, 2025

I have this lens and really like it. It might be worth you putting some shots into the sample images thread:

TTArtisan 11mm f2.8 Fisheye Sample Images

I guess few users will have heard of this lens, let alone own one. But I really like fisheye lenses so I had to get one for the L-mount. This TTArtisan lens is really nice - like many lenses from these bijou Taiwan manufacturers, this one has a full metal build and feels very well made. The...

l-mount-forum.com

Nevyn72 · May 6, 2025

I also have this lens, already for several years, but I hardly have used it. But these photo's make that I want to experiment with it again. Coolphotos1

Travis Butler · May 7, 2025

pdk42 said:
I have this lens and really like it. It might be worth you putting some shots into the sample images thread:

I'll put the better ones there, and the more experimental ones here. ^^;;

Travis Butler · May 7, 2025

A few more from overcast twilight...

20250506-SDIM4422 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250506-SDIM4425 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250506-SDIM4433 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250506-SDIM4441 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Travis Butler · May 7, 2025

And a few tracking shots for Pete:

20250506-SDIM4410 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250506-SDIM4413 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250506-SDIM4416 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Travis Butler · May 14, 2025

Last Friday I hit the local art museum... it's not a world-tier museum, but I think it's probably the next tier down; fairly broad selection and a lot of variety, so it was a good place to experiment; I ended up with 178 pics. I'll be posting the ones I really liked/arty ones in the Sample Images thread, and the more experimental ones here; the full set is at https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCdL15

I've been going to the Nelson-Atkins since grade school, 45 years ago; I've always liked it, but it's been frustrating from a photography standpoint. I've been able to get good pics of individual items, but I've never been able to capture what it felt like to walk around inside. I think with the fisheye, I feel like I've finally broken through; even with (or perhaps because of) the distortion, I can finally envelop the viewer the way the museum itself envelops me.

20250509-SDIM4571 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Sigma fp, TT Artisan 11/2.8

Many of the exhibit rooms avoid the static 'rectangular room with exhibits lining the walls' I've seen in other museums by breaking up the space with partitions and freestanding exhibits in the middle of the floor.

20250509-SDIM4577 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Other rooms are small -

20250509-SDIM4599 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

- even intimate, so there's some variety.

20250509-SDIM4945 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Or spaces that flow one into the other.

Travis Butler · May 14, 2025

20250509-SDIM5031 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

While many of the exhibit rooms could be inside any building, the museum itself is a classic work of art.

20250509-SDIM5053 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
(and a popular backdrop for photo shoots! Two competing ones here.)

20250509-SDIM4795 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250509-SDIM4813 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250509-SDIM4809 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250509-SDIM4544 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250509-SDIM4637 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Travis Butler · May 14, 2025

In addition to the classic 1933 building, there's a 2007 extension that... well, it won some awards, but the exterior is just flat ugly to me; a utilitarian white block that reminds me more of a warehouse or a garden shed than a piece of quality architecture, let alone an art museum.

20250509-SDIM5060 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Old on the left, new on the right... and that's about its most favorable angle for me.

Inside, it's rather better; still plain white walls, but some intriguing use of interior space.

20250509-SDIM4954 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250509-SDIM4973 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250509-SDIM4989 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250509-SDIM4993 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250509-SDIM4998 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250509-SDIM5003 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Travis Butler · May 14, 2025

20250509-SDIM4478 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

One of the sculptures on the Nelson-Atkins' grounds is this reflective cylinder. Didn't have much luck trying to get a good fisheye shot of it from the outside...