TTArtisan 75mm F1.5 "Swirly Bokeh"

The TTArtisan 75mm F1.5 is best known as a portrait lens that creates beautiful swirly bokeh in the background. But what I love just as much is the unique vintage vibe it brings to everyday city photography in Prague.

Not Just About the Background

The swirl is the famous part, but you can get really interesting results with a blurry foreground, too. Put something close to the lens in front of your subject and the foreground starts to swirl as well. From classic portraits to creative compositions and city photography, this lens is surprisingly versatile.

How I Use It

It's an M42 mount lens, so I shoot it on my Fujifilm X-H2S with a simple M42 to Fuji X adapter. On an APS-C body the 75mm behaves roughly like a 112mm, a lovely focal length for portraits and for picking out details around the city.

The Honest Part

It took me a while to get used to this lens. It's fully manual, and quite a few of my first shots ended up out of focus. At F1.5 the depth of field is really thin, so it's definitely not the easiest lens to use, especially for beginners.

But the shots where I nailed the focus? That's what I call character.

The Verdict

This lens has its imperfections, but in a world full of AI-generated perfection, maybe that's exactly what makes it so special. Not every photo needs to be technically perfect to feel beautiful.

Key Specs

• Full frame, M42 screw mount (adaptable to Fuji X, Sony E, Nikon Z, Canon RF, L mount)
• F1.5 to F16, 13 aperture blades
• 6 elements in 4 groups
• Minimum focus distance 0.75 m
• 58mm filter thread
• Manual focus