A Review Of The TTArtisan 100mm f/2.8 Macro 2X Lens

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I have a deep appreciation for macro lenses that spans almost 20 years, starting when I was still a wide-eyed student in photography school. I remember consulting with one of my seasoned instructors about wanting the highest quality portrait lens I could get my hands on while working within a relatively modest budget. Without hesitation, he insisted that I wouldn't find a sharper optic than a 100mm f2.8 macro lens.

And he was right. I ended up shooting the vast majority of my school portfolio on that lens, which included both portraits and product photography. While a macro lens is considered a specialized instrument, it's actually quite versatile when you consider that it excels at product, food, nature, portraits, and beauty closeups. If you're looking to build out a versatile professional kit, a good macro lens is essential.

Case in point: out of necessity, I've been shooting a lot more closeup product photos lately, and it dawned on me that I needed a macro lens once again. I've previously owned both Canon EF 100mm f2.8 macro USM variants, and especially loved the L-series model for its image stabilization, much improved autofocus, and weather sealing. However, the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM now costs far more than what I paid for it brand new several years ago, and I'm simply not interested in spending more than I need to for such a tool.

While I took my time and looked at many different brands, it was the TTArtisan 100mm f/2.8 Macro 2X lens that caught my eye, in part because it's offered in EF mount which I'm still heavily invested in. I've been using it for months now for product images on this website using my Canon EOS 6D DSLR, and after extensive use I've accumulated plenty of thoughts. Let's take a closer look together.

The TTArtisan 100mm f/2.8 Macro 2X is available in a wide range of camera mounts including E/X/Z/RF/L/GFX/EF/F, making it perhaps the most compatible lens that I'm aware of. Aside from its bright f2.8 maximum aperture, it sports a 67mm filter thread, a remarkable 0.25m minimum focus distance, and a robust all metal body. The lens is extremely well built with no plastic anywhere to be found; just metal and glass.

Let's get the potential deal-breaker out of the way, which is that the TTArtisan 100mm f/2.8 Macro 2X is a manual focus-only lens and lacks electrical contacts. You won't find autofocus, any kind of focus confirmation, or recording of EXIF data within the images. This means that you'll have to resort to focus peaking, punching in on the electronic viewfinder (if your camera has one), or use Live View to confirm critical focus.

In my case of using a traditional DSLR, I use the Hoodman DSLR Loupe and the zoom magnification function on my camera's Live View to obtain focus. Along with a sturdy tripod, this combination makes an otherwise frustrating lack of modern conveniences a breeze to operate. Without question though, the lens is going to be much easier to use on a mirrorless camera, especially if it's equipped with in-body image stabilization.

Rounding out the physical design, the Leica-esque distance and aperture markings are clear and easy to read. The clickable aperture ring features half stop increments and is nice and tight so that you won't be at risk of accidentally bumping it to another f-stop. The focusing ring also includes the perfect amount of resistance, and both control rings offer a nice tactile experience.

I'm quite fond of the lens's internal focus design, meaning that the lens barrel doesn't extend during focus changes. Unfortunately however, the lens breathes a significant amount when changing focus. This can make focus pulls for video work quite jarring to the viewer and focus stacking for macro still photography can be a bit of a headache as well.

That aside, the TTArtisan 100mm f/2.8 Macro 2X is optically superb, with image quality that easily rivals my best Canon L-series and even Zeiss Milvus prime lenses. This lens resolves a ton of fine detail and is easily the sharpest optic in my bag. I've also noticed that its color signature differs significantly from my L-series lenses, but I might actually prefer its distinct rendition over Canon's in many instances.

The fact that Canon is leaning more heavily on in-camera corrections for their latest RF lenses makes the TTArtisan 100mm f/2.8 Macro 2X all the more impressive because it excels out of the box without needing to apply any software interventions. Chromatic aberration is extremely well controlled and there's minimal vignetting even when shot wide open on a full frame camera body.

On the topic of bokeh, the lens has a 12-blade diaphragm for out of focus backgrounds that I found to be quite pleasant. When shooting wide open, the rendering isn't at all distracting or what I'd consider to be overly busy. While its overall character isn't jaw dropping, I'm more than satisfied with how it renders outdoor scenes.

In addition to being manual focus only, lacking electrical contacts, and displaying significant focus breathing, there are a few other considerations of the TTArtisan 100mm f/2.8 Macro 2X that you'll want to take note of. Many lenses being released today include full weather sealing but sadly this one doesn't claim any degree of weather resistance.

Although it is certainly usable, I also found the focus throw to be too short, especially at macro distances. As a result, I always have to take a slower approach and extra care with my focus changes in order to not overshoot my mark.

And lastly, I've noticed a small but perceptible amount of play (wiggle) at the lens mount. You certainly don't need to worry about the lens coming off the camera, but it's not as perfectly locked in as a native Canon lens. Thankfully, this hasn't proven to be an issue in use and I'm seldom aware of it.

Pros

• Incredible value for the money
• Among the sharpest lenses available (and the sharpest I've ever used)
• Robust all metal build quality
• Internal focusing design
• Focus and aperture rings have the perfect amount of damping resistance
• 2X close focus capability outperforms most other macro lenses
• Available in a wide variety of lens mounts: E/X/Z/RF/L/GFX/EF/F
• Bokeh is pleasant
• Minimal vignetting even wide open on full frame cameras
• Chromatic aberration is well controlled at all apertures

Cons

• No weather sealing
• Manual focus only
• Lack of electronic contacts means no focus confirmation or EXIF data
• Focus throw is too short at macro distances
• Significant lens breathing
• Lens has a small amount of play when mounted to the camera

Verdict

From looking at the relatively long list of shortcomings in the list above, you might be under the impression that the TTArtisan 100mm f/2.8 Macro 2X simply isn't worth the trouble. It certainly won't be for everyone, especially for dynamic scenes with fast moving action. Some photographers also just don't like using manual focus, and that's fine.

However, I'm here to tell you that those inconveniences are well worth the trade-off as its performance from a purely optical perspective is nothing short of outstanding. If you have the luxury to be able to take your time, using a slower methodical approach with a tripod, then this lens will consistently reward you for your efforts.

As I alluded to earlier, the TTArtisan 100mm f/2.8 Macro 2X has become my quintessential studio product photography lens and is now my second favorite lens to use overall (only the Zeiss Milvus 50mm 1.4 ZE beats it). I also prefer manual focus lenses, so I don't find its more primitive feature set to be much of a burden.

It's also worth pointing out that this lens is an extremely good value at just over $300 USD, which is roughly only 20% of the cost of the latest Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens. In other words, you're getting sublime image quality that rivals the top first party lens manufacturers at an incredible price.

This is my first TTArtisan lens that I've acquired, but it certainly won't be my last. With their 100mm f/2.8 Macro 2X lens, the company has proven that they aren't just a good 3rd party budget option, their lenses are excellent in their own right.