Subscribe here for an ad-free experience!

The Phoblographer may receive affiliate compensation for products purchased using links in this article. For more information, please visit our Disclaimers page.

Lenses

TTArtisan 40mm f2 Review: The Lens We’ve All Been Asking For

Chris Gampat
No Comments
Last updated on 10/24/2025
10/22/2025
6 Mins read
A black Lumix camera with a lens sits on a tan bag with leather straps in dramatic light.
Spread the love
          

Last Updated on 10/24/2025 by Chris Gampat

“This is a beautiful camera,” said a Gen Z bartender to me while sitting next to me and waiting for her shift to start. Her name is Steph, and she was playing with my Panasonic LUMIX S9 with the TTArtisan 40mm f2 attached to it. It was fascinating to watch her sit here, play with it, and be in awe of it. Typically, this is something I only see with younger women photographers. But this year, with cameras like the Fujifilm X Half, I’ve seen more and more younger women want look at certain cameras as objects of desire. And if anything, I think Steph’s reaction to the camera and lens packaged together is exactly what we’ve been wanting for a while. The L-mount alliance has really been lacking a proper small lens with autofocus. Finally, it’s here.

The Big Picture: TTArtisan 40mm f2 Review Conclusions

The TTArtisan 40mm f2 lens is truly something special in so many different ways. It’s small, lightweight, fast to focus, and it makes you really want to bring a small camera like the Panasonic S9 with you everywhere. Sure, I wish it had weather resistance. But I also wish that S9 had weather resistance.

This lens is a gem in every single way. It’s sharp, contrasty, has character in the form of lens flare, and it’s reliable — all in a niec metal build.

  • It’s so much smaller and faster to focus than Sigma’s 45mm f2.8.
  • Very fast to autofocus
  • Even when using for live-streaming, people will say that this lens is sharp
  • The aperture ring has a very satisfying click
  • So small that I can easily bring it everywhere with me
  • I really wish that they made it just a bit bigger and gave me weather resistance throughout the entire lens body
  • Japanese manufacturers would never make anything this affordable, and that’s saying something.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Besides the lack of weather resistance, I really don’t have a major complaint about this lens. Don’t get me wrong, this is an important thing. With the way that big businesses have been abusing the environment, I can’t really ever predict how the weather really will be in terms of rain and all. Sometimes it seems like even the weather app on my phone can’t do it either.

Because of this, we’re giving the TTArtisan 40mm f2 four out of five stars. Want one? Check it out on Amazon.

Buy Now: Usually around $168

Experience

When you take the TTArtisan 40mm f2 out of the box, you’re treated to this little cold feeling gem. Then you mount it to your camera and you’re bound to say something like, “Yeah, that’s what I’ve been waiting for.” Indeed, this is an insanely and highly anticipated lens. It’s beautiful holistically.

I basically never wanted to take it off the Panasonic LUMIX S9. In fact, I don’t think I did so at all throughout this duration of this review. I mean, why would I do that? It’s such a perfect pairing.

A black digital camera with a wide lens rests on a brown bag with leather accents.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 product image. Edited with the Phoblographer’s Retro Digital presets
A green Lumix camera with a teal strap rests on a brown bag with leather accents.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 product image. Edited with the Phoblographer’s Retro Digital presets
A close-up of a black camera with a lens, resting on a brown bag with leather straps and buttons.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 product image. Edited with the Phoblographer’s Retro Digital presets
A black Lumix camera with a blue strap rests on a brown leather and canvas bag.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 product image. Edited with the Phoblographer’s Retro Digital presets
A black camera with a lens sits on a brown bag, showing its dials and buttons up close.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 product image. Edited with the Phoblographer’s Retro Digital presets
A black Lumix camera with a blue strap rests on a brown leather bag in soft lighting.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 product image. Edited with the Phoblographer’s Retro Digital presets

The autofocus performance of the TTArtisan 40mm f2 on the S9 is really solid — but it did make me realize a bunch of other things that I have only been leaning into more recently when doing camera tests. In the AF-C mode, LUMIX cameras and pretty much everyone else does really well — especially with scene detection/AI activated. But if you turn off scene detection and set the camera to AF-S, then the autofocus starts to suffer, a lot. In fact, it feels a bit archiac.

In most cases, we’d traditionally blame third parties. But that’s not the case here. The L-mount alliance is very open about the information coming through the mount. And it happens with Panasonic, Leica, and Sigma lenses alike. This has even been the case with the new LUMIX S1R II, which I recently purchased.

Most of the time using the TTArtisan 40mm f2 was spent with the camera and lens set to program auto or aperture priority. And then shooting became a simple point and shoot affair. Honestly, it’s hard to ask for something better except if it’s smaller and weather resistant with a fast aperture.

Image Quality

The overall image quality is very sharp throughout the entire frame. I used it with the Leica SL2s for a streaming call with my friend and our entire staff. All of them commented on how sharp the lens was but how it was lacking character compared to the Leica SL lens I typically use instead.

But for photography, all you need to know is that the images are sharp and that there’s lens flare and character that comes through in a way that I wish that Sony understood that they need to do. The bokeh is also really nice. But most of all, what you’re going to love is that when you combine it with the Real Time LUtT feautre on LUMIX cameras, you’ll get photos that you’re going to want to stare at. The same goes for other brands.

The following images were edited.

Sunlit blue construction barrier with caution signs and shadows cast across the ground.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
Sunlight shines on a city street corner with flower stand, cars, traffic lights, and elevated train tracks.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
Mets–Willets Point subway platform with empty benches and a sign reading “Willets Pt. Boulevard.”.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
A quiet residential street at night, lined with parked cars and houses under a dark, cloudy sky.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
A quiet city street at night with parked cars, trees, and a lit storefront on the right.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
A hand holding dried plant material, wearing an orange watch, with a dark background.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
A woman sits on a subway bench, looking at her phone, with a subway map on the wall behind her.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
Brown door with a festive Christmas wreath, surrounded by brick walls and various signs and numbers.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
Indoor climbing gym with colorful holds on wooden walls and exposed pipes on the ceiling.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
A man in a black New York Yankees cap looks at his phone while riding a subway.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
Clothing and café storefronts lit up at night on a quiet city street.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
Empty train platform at night with tall, illuminated office buildings in the background.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
Busy city street at night with cars, tall buildings, and glowing storefront signs, including Asian Ramen.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
A dimly lit city street at night with parked cars, trees, and glowing streetlights.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
Brick apartment building at night with string lights and a corner restaurant, people walking by the sidewalk.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
Nighttime city scene with tall buildings, trees, and blurred car lights on a busy street.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
Two tall buildings with many windows, one tan brick and one gray, with blue sky reflected in the glass.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
A tree with one leafy branch and one bare, set against a bright blue sky.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
A busy city intersection with blurred cars and pedestrians near a Whole Foods Market.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image

The following images are JPEGs straight from the camera and resized for our website.

Close-up of snake plant leaves with a tall flower stalk, surrounded by blurred green foliage.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
White graffiti on a beige fence with a tree and houses in the background.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
A wilted potted plant with brown leaves sits on a windowsill, city view blurred in the background.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
Blurry, abstract image of a room with light and dark vertical streaks, and an air conditioner in the center.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
A vintage black and silver video camera rests on top of a gray backpack.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
Blurry indoor scene with light from a window, a plant, and indistinct objects in the foreground.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
A soft towel hangs on a dark coat rack by a sunlit window with plants in the background.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
A can of sardine pâté on a colorful, patterned tablecloth.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image
Two potted plants sit on a windowsill with a view of trees and buildings outside on a cloudy day.
TTArtisan 40mm f2 sample image

Tech Specs

These specs are taken from the official web page.

Focal length40mmMaximum apertureF2
Closest focus distance0.4mMinimum apertureF16
FrameFull FrameDiaphragm Blades7pcs
Filter size52mmOptical Design9 Elements in 6 Groups
Angle of view57°Focus methodAF
WeightAround 167~176gMountE、Z、L

Declaration of Journalistic Intent

The Phoblographer is one of the last standing dedicated photography publications that speaks to both art and tech in our articles. We put declarations up front in our reviews to adhere to journalistic standards that several publications abide by. These help you understand a lot more about what we do:

  • At the time of publishing this review, TTArtisan isn’t running direct-sold advertising with the Phoblographer. This doesn’t affect our reviews anyway and it never has in our 15 years of publishing our articles. This article is in no way sponsored.
  • Note that this isn’t necessarily our final review of the unit. It will be updated, and it’s more of an in-progress review than anything. In fact, almost all our reviews are like this.
  • None of the reviews on the Phoblographer are sponsored. That’s against FTC laws and we adhere to them just the same way that newspapers, magazines, and corporate publications do.
  • I bought this lens personally without a discount
  • The Phoblographer’s standards for reviewing products have become much stricter. After having the world’s largest database of real-world lens reviews, we choose not to review anything we don’t find innovative or unique, and in many cases, products that lack weather resistance. Unless something is very unique, we probably won’t touch it.
  • At the time of publishing, the Phoblographer is the only photography publication that is a member of Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative. We champion human-made art and are frank with our audience. We are also the only photography publication that labels when an image is edited or not.

More can be found on our Disclaimers page.

TTArtisan 40mm f2 Review: The Lens We’ve All Been Asking For
The TTArtisan 40mm f2 lens is truly something special in so many different ways. It's small, lightweight, fast to focus, and it makes you really want to bring a small camera like the Panasonic S9 with you everywhere. Sure, I wish it had weather resistance. But I also wish that S9 had weather resistance. This lens is a gem in every single way. It's sharp, contrasty, has character in the form of lens flare, and it's reliable -- all in a niec metal build. It’s so much smaller and faster to focus than Sigma’s 45mm f2.8. Very fast to autofocus Even when using for live-streaming, people will say that this lens is sharp The aperture ring has a very satisfying click So small that I can easily bring it everywhere with me I really wish that they made it just a bit bigger and gave me weather resistance throughout the entire lens body Japanese manufacturers would never make anything this affordable, and that's saying something.
4
Bokeh leica lens panasonic s9 sharpness small lens TTArtisan 40mm f2
Shares
Written by

Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
'
11