Why the TTArtisan 75mm f/1.5 Deserves Attention: A Modern Take on a Classic Carl Zeiss Biotar Design
I assume that you are familiar with the legendary Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 75 mm f/1.5 lens, especially known for its swirly bokeh, which was produced in three different versions between 1939 and 1968. If not, please read Chayenne Morrison’s excellent article: Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 75mm f/1.5 – The Legendary “King of Bokeh”
Fortunately, Mr Qing Li, the founder of TTArtisan in Shenzhen, China, is a passionate camera and lens collector. Qing Li initiated the development and production of the affordable, “Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar-inspired” TTArtisan 75 mm f/1.5 lens, which was a sensation among vintage lens enthusiasts. It went on sale in the US at the end of 2024, priced at around $300.
The TTArtisan 75mm f/1.5 lens is a new lens production which should not suffer from the common issues with vintage lenses, such as lens fungus, scratched glass, damaged coatings, balsam separation, oily aperture blades or resinified lens fluids, as described in my 10 point checklist for buying vintage lenses.
What’s the Point of Comparing the TTArtisan 75mm f/1.5 lens with the Fujinon XF 50mm f/1.0?
With a crop factor of approximately 1.5 between Sony full-frame and Fujifilm APS-C cameras, the Fujinon XF 50mm f/1.0 R WR APS-C lens delivers a similar angle of view and depth of field as the TTArtisan 75mm f/1.5 full-frame lens, which is inspired by the legendary Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar lens design. This makes a lens comparison between these two lenses especially compelling — contrasting an affordable, Biotar-style lens with Fujifilm’s flagship, high-end lens, which seems to sell for the high list price of approx. $1,500 at Fujifilm’s US shop at the time of writing. The Fujinon XF 50mm f/1.0 lens was the world’s first autofocus f/1.0 lens made for any mirrorless camera system, including full-frame.
What are the main specs of the TTArtisan 75mm f/1.5 and Fujinon XF 50mm f/1.0 lenses?
In a real-world test, we’ll explore the advantages and disadvantages of both lenses. Many thanks to Philip for joining the Maxlrain event as a co-shooter. Philip shot the photos with the Fujinon XF 50mm f/1.0 lens on a Fujifilm X-T3 camera, while I shot the photos with the Biotar-inspired TTArtisan 75mm f/1.5 lens on a Sony a7C II camera.
Carl Zeiss Biotar-inspired TTArtisan 75mm f/1.5 vs. Fujinon 50mm f/1.0 photo comparison
The following lens comparison photos were taken in May 2025 at the largest vintage car event in southern Germany, which took place in Maxlrain near Rosenheim.
When you click on an image in the galleries, following buttons will allow you to select some features. Use Original-size to watch the photo in full resolution:
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Carl Zeiss Biotar-inspired TTArtisan vs. Fujinon Bokeh Comparison
To compare the background bokeh of the Fujinon lens with that of the Biotar-inspired TTArtisan lens, the Fujinon shots were taken at aperture settings adjusted for the 1.5x crop factor. This means the TTArtisan’s f/1.5 aperture is compared to the Fujinon’s f/1.0, and so on.
When you click on an image in the galleries, following buttons will allow you to select some features. Use Original-size to watch the photo in full resolution:
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In my opinion, the Biotar-inspired TTArtisan 75mm f/1.5 lens delivers near-perfect background bokeh in this test. There are no visible onion rings in the bokeh balls, which appear very round and evenly colored at higher aperture values — thanks to the 13 rounded aperture blades. When shot wide open, the source of the signature swirly bokeh becomes clearly evident.
However, it appears that the lenses of the TTArtisan have very occasional small impurities in the glass or on the lenses and the 13 rounded aperture blades of the TTArtisan do only form such round bokeh balls as the Fujinon lens with only 9, probably better rounded aperture blades.
As you would expect from one of Fujifilm’s flagship lenses, the Fujinon XF 50mm f/1.0 produces flawless background bokeh, including very nicely rounded bokeh balls at slightly closed aperture f/1.3.
However, the bokeh spheres of the Fujinon lens seem to have a barely visible onion ring pattern, which is a common flaw in many lenses with aspheric lens elements. Aspheric lenses have several advantages: superior aberration correction, reduced lens size and weight, improved low-light performance, wider apertures, and enhanced overall image quality.
Onion Rings in Bokeh: A Byproduct of Aspheric Lens Technology
The faint concentric rings sometimes visible inside bokeh balls — often referred to as “onion rings” — are a well-known byproduct of modern lens manufacturing, particularly when using precision-molded aspheric elements.
In the past, aspheric lens elements were produced through extremely precise and labor-intensive grinding and polishing — a process ill-suited for large-scale production and thus prohibitively expensive.
Today, many aspheric elements are manufactured using Precision Molded Optics (PMO). Instead of grinding, this technique involves molding hot glass into pre-shaped aspheric molds, allowing for more affordable and scalable lens element production.
The molds themselves are typically created using Single-Point Diamond Turning (SPDT), a process where a sharp diamond-tipped tool cuts the mold profile with nanometer-level precision. However, even this high-precision method has mechanical limitations. The cutting tool moves in tiny increments, and these movements leave behind ultra-fine steps or grooves on the mold surface — either as a spiral or as concentric rings. When such a mold is used to produce an aspheric element, those microscopic patterns are replicated in the lens surface, and they become visible under certain lighting conditions as onion rings in the bokeh.
Rundown
Both lenses proved to be well-suited for comparison, as they share similar specifications in terms of angle of view and depth of field. However, there are some notable differences between these two charming lenses. Please consider what follows as my personal opinion about the two lenses.
Pro Fujinon XF 50mm f/1.0 lens
- Overall image quality: The comparison photos above speak for themselves — especially when it comes to edge sharpness at wide apertures. The Biotar-inspired TTArtisan lens only begins to deliver acceptable edge sharpness around f/5.6, whereas the Fujinon lens already achieves decent edge sharpness even at its impressive wide-open aperture of f/1.0, and gets really sharp in the edges at aperture f/2.8.
- Auto-focus: Fast-moving subjects can be captured reliably even at wide-open apertures. Take, for example, the dynamic shot of the green Porsche in motion below with autofocus at aperture f/1.1.
- Nice bokeh: Beautiful bokeh — well executed. There’s no distracting “extravaganza” or nervousness here. Hats off to Fujifilm!
- Modern lens: Thanks to the electronic lens contacts, full electronic control and monitoring are supported, including EXIF data embedded in the photos.
Contra Fujinon XF 50mm f/1.0 lens
- Electronic coupling of focus and aperture: Rapid changes in focus or aperture during continuous shooting can appear to overwhelm the electronic coupling. To quickly capture a series of photos with varying focus and aperture settings, I attempted a continuous shooting sequence while adjusting the Fujinon lens’s focus and aperture on the fly. It seemed that the electronic control of focus distance and aperture began to stutter during this process. In addition, the DC motor makes an awkward sound during manually focussing.
Pro Biotar-inspired TTArtisan 75mm f/1.5 lens
- Lens character: The Biotar-inspired TTArtisan lens can create three different types of bokeh, so it can be considered a “special effects lens”. See my description of the bokeh types below.
- Pure mechanical focus and aperture control: To quickly capture multiple photos with different focus and aperture settings, you can activate continuous shooting and make gradual manual adjustments to focus or aperture without any issues.
- Price: At the time of writing, the Fujinon’s street price appeared to be roughly three to four times higher than that of the TTArtisan lens.
- Using a legendary lens brings joy: Its stunning silver finish and distinctive Biotar-inspired design often spark conversations with interesting people at photography events.
Contra Biotar-inspired TTArtisan 75mm f/1.5 lens
- No auto-focus: Due to the lack of autofocus, capturing sharp images of moving subjects — like the green Porsche below — can be challenging.
- No electronic contacts: The lens type and aperture settings will not appear in the EXIF data.
- Little edge sharpness at wide apertures: It’s important to choose your photo motifs carefully and position your subject thoughtfully based on the aperture setting.
The three different bokeh types of Biotar-type lenses
The distances and aperture values mentioned apply specifically to Biotar-type 75mm f/1.5 lenses and may vary slightly for other lenses in this family, such as the Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 58mm f/2 and the Helios-44 58mm f/2 lenses.
- At close distances, the creamy bokeh becomes almost surreal — especially at the lens’s minimum focus distance down to 0.75 meter
- At medium distances — and only with apertures between f/1.5 and f/2 — a swirly bokeh effect is easiest to achieve when the subject is about 2-3 meters away and the background is roughly 5-10 meters behind. This effect works best if the background includes highlights, such as light filtering through tree leaves.
- At farther distances, the artistic bubble bokeh produces unique and artistically beautiful background details more than about 10 meters away, when shooting at apertures between f/1.5 and f/5.6. This bokeh style is, in my view, is a major advantage over modern lenses that tend to produce more clinical, characterless bokeh.
What I appreciate most about Biotar-inspired lenses isn’t the famous swirly bokeh — which only appears under specific conditions — but rather the unique and artistic way they render background details with their artistic bubble bokeh.
In my view, this gives Biotar-type lenses a distinct advantage, especially compared to many modern lenses that often render backgrounds with a more clinical and characterless blur. Of course, the aesthetic appeal of bokeh is highly subjective — what feels artistic to one person may seem distracting to another. Still, for me, the unique character and visual charm of Biotar-style bokeh is something I truly appreciate.
Similar housing design as Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 58mm f/2
If you want a deeper understanding of why the optical Biotar design was such a groundbreaking achievement and success in lens technology, please read my article on the subject: Lens Design Evolution: Gauss, Double Gauss, Planar, Biotar and Biometar.
Biotar-inspired lens on M42 or Contax/Yashica film cameras
The TTArtisan lens can be used on vintage film cameras with M42 mounts as well as on various mirrorless camera systems via affordable adapters; however, TTArtisan clearly states that the lens is not compatible with Nikon F-mounts.
Fast Auto-Focus of the Fujinon XF 50mm f/1.0 lens
Mighty Glass & Hot Weenies: Philip’s Fujinon XF 50mm f/1.0
More Bokeh Photos of the Carl Zeiss Biotar-inspired TTArtisan 75mm f/1.5 lens
When you click on an image in the galleries, following buttons will allow you to select some features. Use Original-size to watch the photo in full resolution:
Slideshow | Fullscreen | Image-Info | Original-size
More Information on the Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar-inspired TTArtisan 75mm f/1.5 lens by Steven Tanno from Tokyo area, Japan
TTArtisan 75mm f/1.5 lens review by Dustin Abbot from Ontario, Canada
Fujinon XF 50mm f/1.0 R WR lens review by Dustin Abbot from Ontario, Canada
Interesting Interview with Qing Li, who is the TTArtisan Founder and a vintage camera and lens collector by Richard Wong from Auckland, New Zealand
Take a look at the beloved camera and lens collector’s items that Mr. Qing Li is storing in the wooden drawer behind his desk.
In a 2019 interview, Qing Li said: I have always been a big fan of photography and I am really obsessed with photography equipment. I have collected and used about 90% of the lenses produced since the 1980s.
More articles about Biotar lenses
Swirly Bokeh? The legendary Zeiss Biotar 58mm f/2 vs. the Russian copy Helios 44M-4 58mm f/2 lens
Classic cars shots with Zeiss Biotar and Helios-44 58mm f/2 lenses on Sony a7ii and a6100 cameras
More than Swirly Bokeh: Zeiss Biotar 58mm f/2 lens adapted to a Sony a6100 APS-C camera
Lens Design Evolution: Gauss, Double Gauss, Planar, Biotar and Biometar
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