PROS:● Affordability: This is the cheapest minimally acceptable telephoto lens available. While there are zoom lenses priced 2–3 times lower, I would classify those as toys rather than serious photographic tools. The TTArtisan 500mm, by contrast, is a legitimate lens.● Build Quality: The aluminum construction is solid and feels premium for the price.CONS (Acceptable Trade-offs for the Price):● Uniform "Sharpness": Surprisingly, the edges of the image are not softer than the center. Achieving uniform "sharpness" across the frame is a notable accomplishment, provided that being sharp in the center and softer at the edges is typical for lenses. However, in this case, the lens is uniformly soft rather than sharp, with the center matching the softness of the edges, rather than the edges matching the sharpness of the center.● Limited Sharpness: While the lens is capable of producing reasonably sharp photos under extremely controlled and specific conditions, such occurrences are rare. In real-world scenarios, achieving relatively sharp results requires significant luck and effort. The majority of images (over 95%) will exhibit the softness expected from a lens at this price point.● Lack of Stabilization: The lens does not include stabilization, which makes motion blur nearly unavoidable at 500mm unless you use a tripod. Even with in-body stabilization (IBIS) and fast shutter speeds (e.g., 1/1000s or 1/2000s), handheld use is impractical.● Fully Manual Operation: The lens is entirely manual, which may not suit all users.● Chromatic Aberration: Color fringing is noticeable and can be distracting. While it does not ruin images like that seen in spotting scopes (even expensive ones, which I have to compare), the level of fringing may be a dealbreaker for some. Personally, I found it excessive and unsatisfactory for my needs.● Tripod Shoe Incompatibility: The tripod shoe is not compatible with most Arca-Swiss mounts. Despite the plate having the correct width (confirmed with a caliper), the dovetail indentation is too shallow for most mounts to grip securely. I tested it with K&F, Sirui, and Neewer tripod heads, none of which worked. While this can be resolved by attaching an additional mounting plate and even expensive lenses like the Sony 200–600mm have similar issues, it is a minor inconvenience that highlights design shortcomings.CONS (Unacceptable for the Price):● Difficult Aperture and Focus Adjustment: The aperture and focus rings are excessively stiff, making quick adjustments nearly impossible in real-world shooting scenarios. Fine-tuning focus by bouncing it back and forth over it's optimal middle point is impractical due to the resistance, and even in-camera focus aids (e.g., focus peaking) are insufficient to overcome this issue. Magnified focus assistance is particularly challenging, as the lack of stabilization and stiff focus ring exacerbate camera shake, hindering precision.● Lens Mount Issues: The Sony E-mount on this lens is not precisely machined, resulting in noticeable wiggle when attached to the camera body. Combined with the excessive force required to adjust the focus and aperture rings, this could potentially damage the camera mount over time. Furthermore, the lens lacks a weather-sealing ring, which is a significant oversight for an outdoor-focused 500mm lens, even at this price point. Unless you possess a well-worn, humble camera body whose fate you wouldn't mourn.● Performance vs. Alternatives: My Tamron 28–200mm, paired with 2.5x digital zoom (equivalent to 500mm) on a Sony A7III, consistently outperformed the TTArtisan 500mm in every aspect: sharpness, stabilization, motion blur, light stops, saturation, chromatic aberration, and overall image quality. As a result, the TTArtisan feels like an impractical, bulky, limited and underwhelming option.CONCLUSION:You get what you pay for, and this lens is a honest representation of its price point. It may meet the needs of those with very modest expectations, and for its cost, it can be considered a decent bargain. However, for me, it falls below the minimum acceptable standard and I cannot compromise this much on quality. I have returned the lens and decided to spend more on an used Tamron 150–500mm, which will better suit my requirements.

La calidad-precio es muy buena, se necesita un poco de práctica para familiarizarse con el enfoque manual, que sea de longitud fija limita el encuadre y hay un poco de efecto viñeta en aperturas grandes.

It’s a good lens. Is it the best lens? No. But it does the job. It is a manual lens and the focus ring is a little stiff when trying to focus. I recommend if you’re on a budget.

Certes il faut savoir gérer le focus manuel, mais avec un peu de patience c'est également possible même pour les photos "wildlife". A ces conditions, le 500mm devient abordable pour tous! Les deux images sont non éditées et prises avec un Sony A7III (Fullframe).