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Panasonic Lumix S9 owners struggle with paring their tiny camera with lenses that truly emphasize its small form factor and portability. Panasonic doesn’t offer any good prime choices for the S9, all the F 1.8 lenses are too big and front heavy, so owners of this camera look at third-party lens manufacturers if they want a compact autofocus prime.
TTARTsan’s 40mm F 2.0 vs. Sigma’s 45mm F2.8
The two main options have been the TTARTsan’s 40mm F 2.0 and Sigma’s 45mm F2.8. These two have a fairly similar focal range and size, but differ in most other technical aspects. Below is a quick comparison table:
| Lens | Sigma 45mm f/2.8 Contemporary | TTArtisan 40mm f/2.0 AF |
| Aperture | f/2.8 (Slower) | f/2.0 (Faster) |
| Build Quality | All-metal “I-Series” premium | Metal barrel (Budget feel) |
| Autofocus | Smooth, very reliable | Quick, but prone to hunting |
| Minimum Focus | 24cm (Better for close-ups) | 40cm (average) |
| Weather Sealing | Yes (Gasket at mount) | No |
| Weight | 215 g – 220 g | 167 g – 176 g |
| Filter thread | 55 mm | 52 mm |
| Physical Controls | AF/MF Switch + Aperture Ring | Aperture Ring only |
| Price | ~$400–$550 | ~$150–$180 |
Which one is right for you?
Choosing one or the other depends primarily on your budget, 40 or 45 focal range, optical perfection or vintage look.
TTARTisan is cheaper, lighter and a stop faster, while also producing images/video with a more “character” look, reminiscent of older vintage lenses.
The Sigma 45 excels in all other areas, better autofocus (faster, quieter, more reliable), better vignetting/color aberrations control, great minimum focusing distance of 24 cm (compared to 40 cm) and premium feel and build; all-metal, weather sealing, AF/MF switch.
Introducing the SG-Image 35mm F2.2
Some testers have been given a pre-production version of this lens and have posted their first impression of this lens on Reddit. Form their posts we can extrapolate that the SG-Image 35mm F2.2 is a compact, autofocus, budget “pancake” lens, more similar to the TTARTisan 40mm than the Sigma 45mm.
It is solidly built, full robust metal construction, with a clicked aperture ring and a AF/MF switch. While the bokeh seems to be very nice it does suffer from noticeable vignetting and a loss of sharpness in the corners, when shot wide open, and is susceptible to ghosting/flaring when shooting directly into strong light sources.
The lens has a STM motor which is slower and noisier compared to a Sigma or Lumix native lens, which works fine for average photography, but can struggle in video and with fast moving subjects.
Besides the L-mount version, it also comes for Sony E-mount and Nikon Z-mount. The release date is supposedly the 25th of March and with a rumored price of under $150 it will be a viable alternative to the TTARTisan 40mm.
New welcome addition to the S9
We will have to wait and see the final versions for how it preforms and I am sure that there will be many comparisons with the TTARTisan’s 40mm F 2.0, Sigma’s 45mm F2.8 and even Lumix’s 35mm F1.8.
This lens is a very welcome addition to the L-mount line-up, as S9 users really desire small, light, fast prime lenses to pair with their cameras. Hopefully SG-Image, a relative newcomer to the lenses scene, will release other lenses along with Viltrox and other third-party manufactures, so that the Lumix S9 portable lens ecosystem can flourish.
