I was mid-way through a recent four night stay in a 2nd floor hospital room at Queen’s when I spotted an announcement of a new inexpensive Chinese-made lens compatible with my current camera, a Panasonic S9 full-frame that uses Panasonic/Leica L-mount lenses.

The new lens, released under the TTArtisan label, is a 50mm lens, considered to be a “normal” lens on this kind of camera.

A 50mm lens is considered “normal” on a full-frame camera because its field of view and perspective closely mimic how human vision naturally perceives the spatial relationships, distances, and proportions of objects in a scene. While our peripheral vision is much wider, the 46-degree angle-of-view of a 50mm lens aligns perfectly with the area we actively focus on.

Some people salivate over expensive tech. I lean toward seeking out bargain equipment that can produce decent photos.

This lens stands out for several reasons. First, at just $89, it cost just 20% of the comparable lens made by Panasonic itself, which was already part of my camera kit. And then there is its size. This lens is small and light. While the Panasonic lens is by no means considered “large” or “heavy,” the difference in size is dramatic, especially with the lens hoods attached. And, third, the TTArtisan is auto focusing, which distinguishes it from several similar but manual focus lenses already on the market.

There are always questions. How bad can it be? Is its focusing system reasonably fast and relatively accurate? And, at its best, is it capable of producing decent images?

I pulled out my iPhone, logged in to my account at B&H Photo in New York, and placed my order. The package was delivered not long after I arrived home after being discharged from Queen’s.

Initial impression: It seems well made. Basic, without some niceties, but what do you expect for $89?

I haven’t had a chance yet to take this new lens out into the “real” world of color, light, and motion. But I have kept it close to capture cat moments around the house. The conditions aren’t the best, with constantly shifting and often dim light, shallow depth of field, or cats sitting against bright backgrounds, all conditions posing challenges to both exposure and focus.

Two quick conclusions. On the down side, my unverified impression is that it is generally slower to focus than the Panasonic, although that could just reflect the difficult indoor conditions. But despite perhaps a larger share of slightly-out-of-focus images, when it hit the focus, it was capable of nice, sharp images. Not comparable to a top of the line lens costing 50x as much, but pleasant to the eye and nothing to be ashamed of.

It is available in Sony E mount and Nikon Z mount versions, as well as the Leica/Panasonic L mount that I have.

Here are a few photos taken over the past several days that show off what the TTArtisan 50mm is capable of.