Test/ First Impression TTArtisan 11mm/2.8 Fisheye

[Travis Butler]

Got this in yesterday, and today was gloomy and overcast, so only a few test pics outside my place so far. Given that, my first impressions are pretty good!


20250429-SDIM3903 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Sigma fp, TTArtisan 11/2.8 Fisheye

One thing I wasn't expecting is the very close MFD for the lens; earlier in the day I was shooting macro with the Vivitar 100/3.5 Macro, and I could get up just about as close with the fisheye as with the macro lens. This seems to open up interesting possibilities, though it's going to take some playing around...

Also seems like it's got the potential to be quite sharp even up close, though again, it's going to take some practice to take advantage of:


20250429-SDIM3908 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20250429-SDIM3908v1.dng by Travis Butler, on Flickr
(100% crop)

Of course, with a fisheye, the distortion's the thing - when I used a fisheye on M4/3, my favorite bit wasn't trying to use it as an extra-wide and defishing, but playing with the distortion for artistic effect...


20250429-SDIM3914 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

The twisted tree here almost reminds me of a banyan, for example.


20250429-SDIM3916 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250429-SDIM3922 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Tonality is one of my big things, and the TTArtisan's impresses me.


20250429-SDIM3932 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

As does the clarity. Some pictures can have a quality - I'm not sure if there's a technical name or definition for it, I call it crystalline clarity - that I love, where everything has almost a crystalline sharpness and depth - no atmospheric blurring or haze, but more than that, everything looks like it's being viewed through high-quality crystal that gives the scene additional depth and weight. (Or is that just me? Several of the test pics I took with this lens had it...)

 

[Travis Butler]

So yesterday was round 2, and turned into a pretty good day. Took 310 photos trying it out, and ended up with 70 I wanted to keep; not a bad result. (Full set is up at https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCcBuw if anyone's interested.) Some samples:


20250501-SDIM3998 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Sigma fp, TTArtisan 11/2.8


20250501-SDIM4016 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Lots of stuff going in and out of shadow in the exterior pics.


20250501-SDIM4049 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Memory Hall at Liberty Memorial; some of the few surviving fragments of the Panthéon de la Guerre.


20250501-SDIM4058 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
The lens did indeed prove to be pretty sharp:

100% Crop


20250501-SDIM4066 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Embrace the distortion!

 

[Travis Butler]

20250501-SDIM4070 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

One fisheye trick I like is taking rectangular uprights, letting the edges curve, and using them to frame a central subject.


20250501-SDIM4204 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250501-SDIM4137 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250501-SDIM4208 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250501-SDIM4213 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

 

[Travis Butler]

20250501-SDIM4166 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

The museum never had room to display all of their artifacts in the main gallery area; in 2023, they opened up a lot of the archive storage area into a minimalist display for the stored items. It reminds me of something out of a science fiction film, and the fisheye distortion enhances the effect.


20250501-SDIM4167 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250501-SDIM4169 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

They also opened up viewing for the foundation of the memorial tower:


20250501-SDIM4177 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250501-SDIM4186 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

 

[Travis Butler]

20250501-SDIM4089 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

I also like the way a fisheye can be used to 'open up' an interior area in a way that even an ultrawide rectilinear doesn't, at least for me.


20250501-SDIM4154 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Or by a similar trick, make a subject look lost and alone inside a wider space:


20250501-SDIM4148 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

 

[Travis Butler]

A few more exterior shots:


20250501-SDIM4227 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Another variation on making the large look small...


20250501-SDIM4240 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
(OM Zuiko 24/2.8 for comparison)


20250501-SDIM4246 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250501-SDIM4249 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

The TTArtisan seems to handle flare pretty well... I saw the occasional ghost, but considering the size of the front element and the minimal hood (my old Rokinon 7.5mm fisheye on M4/3 had a much larger hood by comparison) I thought it did very well indeed.

And did I mention I like the colors?


20250501-SDIM4254 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Decent starburst, too.