TTartisan Tilt-Shift 17mm F4 ASPH

I was a big fan of TS lenses in my old Canon days, and these are still in my scope of interest. By accident, I stumbled upon a very interesting lens — the TTartisan Tilt-Shift 17mm F4 ASPH.

The TTartisan website suggests that, in theory at least, it can be produced in L-mount, but it is not available in L today.

My first guess was that it is a rebadged LAOWA (Venus Optics) Chinese lens, but it isn't! LAOWA doesn't have a direct counterpart lens in its lineup. So, this lens is most probably the TTartisan's own design and production.

With its 64mm-diameter coverage circle (it is now listed for the Fuji GFX frame size!) and a very robust focal length, it is very promising for both FF L-mount and APS-C. The price is also about 1/2 of a rival LAOWA (which is shift-only), so I will try it on S1R as soon as the L-mount version becomes available to order.

I believe Richard Wong reviewed the L Mount version recently on his YouTube channel.

MrAndreas said:

I was a big fan of TS lenses in my old Canon days, and these are still in my scope of interest. By accident, I stumbled upon a very interesting lens — the TTartisan Tilt-Shift 17mm F4 ASPH.

The TTartisan website suggests that, in theory at least, it can be produced in L-mount, but it is not available in L today.

My first guess was that it is a rebadged LAOWA (Venus Optics) Chinese lens, but it isn't! LAOWA doesn't have a direct counterpart lens in its lineup. So, this lens is most probably the TTartisan's own design and production.

With its 64mm-diameter coverage circle (it is now listed for the Fuji GFX frame size!) and a very robust focal length, it is very promising for both FF L-mount and APS-C. The price is also about 1/2 of a rival LAOWA (which is shift-only), so I will try it on S1R as soon as the L-mount version becomes available to order.

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Interesting.

I actually "created" a Laowa Tilt/Shift for M4/3 mount the news of which that landed on that forum with more a plop than a splash ....

I used the Laowa 15/4.0 Macro 1:1 shift lens in EF mount and fitting a Pixco twist to Tilt* EF-M4/3 adapter (a rare bird and hard to find).

But your news is quite something else with a 17mm no less tilt-shift from TTArtisan with an image circle that suits up to medium format camera size. Then putting it on the market at a price that blows the Canon 17mm tilt-shift into the weeds. Roll on the obvious L-Mount version.

Tilt-shift lenses have always interested me even if I don't really have the subject matter locally and handy to practice with.

* Twist to tilt is a far better solution than those "cheap" lockable ball joint thingies.

It is getting harder and harder to find new-made EF mount lenses and i am not sure if an EF-L mount twist to tilt adapter exists.

Tom Caldwell said:

MrAndreas said:

I was a big fan of TS lenses in my old Canon days, and these are still in my scope of interest. By accident, I stumbled upon a very interesting lens — the TTartisan Tilt-Shift 17mm F4 ASPH.

The TTartisan website suggests that, in theory at least, it can be produced in L-mount, but it is not available in L today.

My first guess was that it is a rebadged LAOWA (Venus Optics) Chinese lens, but it isn't! LAOWA doesn't have a direct counterpart lens in its lineup. So, this lens is most probably the TTartisan's own design and production.

With its 64mm-diameter coverage circle (it is now listed for the Fuji GFX frame size!) and a very robust focal length, it is very promising for both FF L-mount and APS-C. The price is also about 1/2 of a rival LAOWA (which is shift-only), so I will try it on S1R as soon as the L-mount version becomes available to order.

Click to expand...

Interesting.

I actually "created" a Laowa Tilt/Shift for M4/3 mount the news of which that landed on that forum with more a plop than a splash ....

I used the Laowa 15/4.0 Macro 1:1 shift lens in EF mount and fitting a Pixco twist to Tilt* EF-M4/3 adapter (a rare bird and hard to find).

But your news is quite something else with a 17mm no less tilt-shift from TTArtisan with an image circle that suits up to medium format camera size. Then putting it on the market at a price that blows the Canon 17mm tilt-shift into the weeds.

Click to expand...

As my colleague said yesterday, even if this TS 17/4 lens is optically worse compared to LAOWA - i.e., not so "Zero-D", maybe some pronounced CA, etc. - for this price, one can forgive its shortcomings easily. But they offer it for GFX, so they definitely expect — and are prepared to meet — the very demanding GFX user audience's expectations.

TL;DR - with a 64mm circle and GFX version, this lens can not be inferior; it is either "very good" or "good enough", with a probability of being excellent (at least for the price).

Tom Caldwell said:

Roll on the obvious L-Mount version.

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When I finally decide to buy, if the L-mount version is still out of stock, I'll email TTartisan and politely ask them to produce a new batch.

Tom Caldwell said:

Tilt-shift lenses have always interested me even if I don't really have the subject matter locally and handy to practice with.

* Twist to tilt is a far better solution than those "cheap" lockable ball joint thingies.

Click to expand...

Huh, that "lockable ball" is just a funny toy, not some serious tool at all.

Tom Caldwell said:

It is getting harder and harder to find new-made EF mount lenses and i am not sure if an EF-L mount twist to tilt adapter exists.

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FOTODIOX is a well-known manufacturer of (pricey) TS adapters, but their L-mount lineup omits the EF-to-L combo, for reasons unknown to me.

Off The Mark said:

I believe Richard Wong reviewed the L Mount version recently on his YouTube channel.

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I did some googling and compiled a brief list of sources about the TTartisan Tilt-Shift 17mm F4 ASPH (and some complementary links on Canon TS-E 17mm F4 L old lens for comparison). BTW, the lens is entirely new, and early reviewers say that the Canon RF, L-Mount, and Nikon Z versions are "coming soon".

The old Canon TS-E seems to be a little more powerful: 67mm image circle diameter vs. 64mm for TT, 12mm max shift vs. 8mm, but 6.5 degrees max tilt vs. 8 degrees for TT. Canon's distortion is minimal and insignificant. Still, for its price, I will give a native L-mount TT a try when available. Canon may (or may not) be significantly better, but it is too scarce and pricey.






https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hPRW5KpTts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnyN_piZ8ho

https://petapixel.com/2025/10/10/tt...tilt-shift-woes-for-mirrorless-photographers/

https://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/485-canontse17f4ff (good, detailed article on Canon TS-E).

The interesting question to me is: will the 8mm max shift limit the lens's abilities in real-world shooting situations, compared to Canon's 12mm, or will it not?

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https://www.viewbug.com/member/stesinou

Off The Mark said:

I believe Richard Wong reviewed the L Mount version recently on his YouTube channel.

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I highly recommend Richard Wong's channel and reviews.

Here's his review of the TTartisan 17mm tilt-shift

Years ago I found a no-name twist to tilt (only) EF-M4/3 adapter. It is precise and fixed in use without need for locking. It only tilted in one direction but has a rotating function with spaced detents that cover most angles. This allowed me (indirectly) to create TSR lenses from Mamiya 645 MF lens hosts via an available Kipon shift adapter M645-EF.

When I wanted to get another for my lash up Laowa shift-only EF mount lens they seem to have disappeared from the market.

"Just saying" as my tilt/shift lens for wide-angle for M4/3 mount was in response to moans about there nt being a suitable wider angle tilt-shift lens for that mount system.

As far as I know the Laowa lens I used will not cover the full FF image circle - but I may be wrong there. It works well enough as a M4/3 mount TSR lens - but the native shift function is not huge.

I only make this comment as it is possible to probably use a lens that already has a shift function and made for EF mount and turn it into a TSR lens with a teist to tilt EF-L adpater is such device exists.

However with the asking price of the TTArtisan TSR lens directly to L mount then "why bother?"

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Tom Caldwell

Tom Caldwell said:

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I only make this comment as it is possible to probably use a lens that already has a shift function and made for EF mount and turn it into a TSR lens with a teist to tilt EF-L adpater is such device exists.

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For S1R and L-mount, which we use for "serious" tasks, we won't bother. Canon has a complete line of well-respected TS-E lenses:

• TS-E 17 mm f/4L (2009, ±6.5° tilt, ±12 mm shift),
• TS-E 24mm f/3.5L (1991, discontinued),
• TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II (2009, ±8.5° tilt, ±12 mm shift),
• TS-E 45 mm f/2.8 (1991, discontinued, ±8° tilt, ±11 mm shift),
• TS-E 50mm f/2.8L Macro (2017, ±8,5° tilt, ±12 mm shift),
• TS-E 90 mm f/2.8 (1991, non-L, non-Macro, discontinued),
• TS-E 90mm f/2.8L Macro (2017, ±8° tilt, ±11 mm shift),
• TS-E 135mm f/4L Macro (2017, ±10° tilt, ±12 mm shift).

I believe that 2009+ versions are still produced in small batches. They are scarce and very pricey, as true as that is, and do not lose value being pre-owned. However, for (not-so-often) occasions when one is needed, it is available for rental. We have and often use good EF-to-L adapters, so no problems at all, everything is straightforward.

Purchasing a Canon TS-E for personal use (and even for "serious" tasks) seems unreasonable and unjustified to me, given its price and its occasional use. (About Nikon TS lenses, I know virtually nothing; these are much less known and popular here, but I guess that they can be adapted to L-mount as well, and their prices are probably on par with Canon.)

Tom Caldwell said:

However with the asking price of the TTArtisan TSR lens directly to L mount then "why bother?"

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There is no reason to bother, I agree — the whole burden of third-party or vintage lens adaptation is rarely good for "serious" use, and, in my opinion, is not justified for personal hobby use either. If only I had some old 6x6, 645, or 6x7 lenses already in my disposal from a leftover old MF camera, then Ok, I'd throw some $200+ cash on a FOTODIOX T-S ROKR series adapter. But I don't own any, and have no intention to purchase any big old lenses - my drawer space is already scarce.

Given its price, the TTartisan Tilt-Shift 17mm F4 ASPH seems suitable for personal purchase, hobbyist use, experimentation, and self-training in T-S photography handicraft. This purchase will be (as always) a tradeoff, due to its shortcomings:

• For wide-angle photography (think creative landscapes, architecture, and interiors), a shift-only lens like the Laowa 20mm f/4 Zero-D Shift or the Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift (both feature ±11 mm shift) may better meet all your needs, even without tilt capability (however, for a 2.5x price).
• A ±8 mm shift is only 2/3 of Canon's ±12 mm; this may become a sad limitation in certain conditions, such as tight spaces where you have no way to step out.
• For macro photography, a 17mm extreme-wide-angle FL is, umm... a questionable choice, and the TT lens itself doesn't offer macro capability. You'd go for a 90+ mm T-S Macro, and we are aware of Laowa 100mm f/2.8 Tilt-shift 1X Macro, and other counterpart options, aren't we?

So, my conclusion: I will give it a try for hobby use, experimentation, and self-training in T-S photography, focusing on three types of scenes only: creative landscapes, architecture, and interiors. If it's not satisfactory or rarely used, I'll sell it.

It's an interesting lens, but the tilt and shift are coupled. You might be better off with going with a used EF tilt-shift lens.