Cheap, third-party lenses are good for consumers and good for camera manufacturers

Three prime lenses from 7Artisans, TTArtisans and Viltrox against a sky-blue background, the centre lens has a halo above it .

It seems a day barely goes by without affordable lens manufacturers such as TTArtisan, Viltrox or 7Artisans releasing a cut-price lens for mirrorless systems. Just this week, I wrote stories about the new 7Artisans AF 85mm f/1.8 for Nikon Z mount and the TTArtisan AF 75mm f/2 for Nikon Z and Sony E. 

These aren't just cheap manual focus primes for smaller sensors. They are relatively fast, full-frame-compatible autofocus lenses, designed to compete directly with the optical behemoths of the world. And there's no sign of the affordable arms race slowing down, either. It's been reported that Chinese lens manufacturers are developing autofocus zoom lenses, which would really put the proverbial cat among the pigeons.