TTartisan released the wide-angle TTartisan AF 35mm f/1.8 just a year ago, but has already ceased production due to the announcement of the new and improved AF 35mm f/1.8 II, which has had a complete redesign. The new lens will be available in Fujifilm X-mount, Nikon Z-mount and Sony E-mount.
Like its predecessor, it’s a fully autofocus lens for APS-C sensor-sized cameras, but the Mark II version is just 49mm long as opposed to 60mm, and has shaved 23 grams of weight, tipping the scales at 176g rather than 199g.
The optical construction is now 10 elements in seven groups, whereas the previous lens had 10 elements in eight groups. As a result of this redesign, the minimum focus distance has been reduced to just 0.4m (in the previous lens it was 0.6m). As a bonus, there’s also a new petal-shaped lens hood.
Autofocus is driven by a fast and silent STM motor, and the barrel is constructed from aircraft-grade aluminum, to combine strength and lightness. TTartisan has produced a short YouTube video highlighting the features of the lens.
There is also a hands-on video from Singapore-based YouTube site Fujifanboys that gives a favorable first impression of the lens.
The new lens is a little cheaper too, selling for $125 / £129 as opposed to $149 / £159 (Australia pricing to follow, but I reckon it's safe to expect a similar level of price reduction).
On the face of it, then, the new lens looks to be better in every way than its predecessor, although we'll have to reserve judgment on its optical performance until we get it into our labs for testing.
It comes hot on the heels of the similar Viltrox 35mm f/1.7, which is also for APS-C cameras and features full autofocus, and joins a growing number of third-party 35mm autofocus lenses, so it will face some tough competition.
As the 35mm lens is specifically for APS-C sensor cameras, it has an effective focal length of 52.5mm with the 1.5x multiplier taken into account, so can be regarded as a 'nifty fifty' in traditional full-frame terms.
