What's new
L-MOUNT Forum

Register a free account now!

If you are registered, you get access to the members only section, can participate in the buy & sell second hand forum and last but not least you can reserve your preferred username before someone else takes it.

Test/ First Impression TTArtisan 11mm/2.8 Fisheye

Travis Butler

Travis Butler

Well-Known Member
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!

54488168243_02979723ee_b.jpg
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:

54488242060_7bacdda7eb_b.jpg
20250429-SDIM3908 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
54488089289_7dd0b155cf_b.jpg
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...

54488168118_50bf7d701c_b.jpg
20250429-SDIM3914 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

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

54488168108_34ce776f0d_b.jpg
20250429-SDIM3916 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

54487886946_6652f8d58e_b.jpg
20250429-SDIM3922 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

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

54487043517_c4c0ee6c46_b.jpg
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...)
 
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:

54493205725_47080a23fe_b.jpg
20250501-SDIM3998 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Sigma fp, TTArtisan 11/2.8

54493047604_69421d3d86_b.jpg
20250501-SDIM4016 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

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

54493047679_a3de7578ac_b.jpg
20250501-SDIM4049 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Memory Hall at Liberty Memorial; some of the few surviving fragments of the Panthéon de la Guerre.

54492861711_a68f587b73_b.jpg
20250501-SDIM4058 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
The lens did indeed prove to be pretty sharp:
54493129528_dfc737a95b_b.jpg
100% Crop

54491994992_7dd4444f72_b.jpg
20250501-SDIM4066 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Embrace the distortion! :cool:
 
54491995402_56b9e41424_b.jpg
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.

54492862036_699c7b2319_b.jpg
20250501-SDIM4167 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

54492862021_8e66b4afa2_b.jpg
20250501-SDIM4169 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

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

54492861976_92b1f89016_b.jpg
20250501-SDIM4177 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

54491995472_75c520d95b_b.jpg
20250501-SDIM4186 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
 
A few more exterior shots:

54492862301_ae2c6af385_b.jpg
20250501-SDIM4227 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Another variation on making the large look small...

54493048324_564ff9aa0a_b.jpg
20250501-SDIM4240 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
(OM Zuiko 24/2.8 for comparison)

54492862431_975ed9f104_b.jpg
20250501-SDIM4246 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

54491995817_45e113fe86_b.jpg
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? :)

54492862466_475daa73bb_b.jpg
20250501-SDIM4254 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Decent starburst, too.
 
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
 
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
 
pdk42 said:
I have this lens and really like it. It might be worth you putting some shots into the sample images thread:
Click to expand...

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

54516317668_485e60b449_b.jpg
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.

54516317628_b182624fd1_b.jpg
20250509-SDIM4577 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Other rooms are small -

54516407725_03217e77dd_b.jpg
20250509-SDIM4599 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

- even intimate, so there's some variety.

54516056156_4017c93c3a_b.jpg
20250509-SDIM4945 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Or spaces that flow one into the other.
 
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.

54517935179_13706f5f2a_b.jpg
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.

54516406340_ae678d1d05_b.jpg
20250509-SDIM4954 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

54516316043_91365ff882_b.jpg
20250509-SDIM4973 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

54516056091_5877b0f8a1_b.jpg
20250509-SDIM4989 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

54516316003_007fafa911_b.jpg
20250509-SDIM4993 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

54515193877_f2b46f63a6_b.jpg
20250509-SDIM4998 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

54516240694_a9eeec8d54_b.jpg
20250509-SDIM5003 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top