These rumored psychedelic ringless customizable camera lenses are a waste! Why not have funky lens sleeves instead?

With Earth Day just gone, I’ve been thinking about how wasteful the photography industry can be, and, if true, this latest rumor about ringless, customizable lenses from TTartisan is a prime example.

According to reports by Asobinet, TTartisan is supposedly working on a new lineup of full-frame prime lenses called Neo.

As yet, all we know is that there are rumored to be two lenses in the works and that these are geared towards “having fun”. The lenses won’t feature aperture nor focus rings, instead leaving the space free for external, superficial customizations.

Obviously, TTartisan sees an opportunity to make money with the Neo lineup. But surely a more practical and environmentally-friendlier solution would be to offer customizable lens sleeves for existing products.

This would surely achieve the same aim but using much fewer resources and without producing what appears to be gimmicky equipment.

I imagine Neo lenses would be geared towards youngsters or photographers who aren't that serious. And with this in mind, what I can see happening is that they get used a bunch and then the novelty wears off and they get shelved to collect dust.

Then what? I can’t imagine it would be easy to sell a Neo lens on as it would feature a personal, customized design. And no serious photographer would touch this lens – at least in my view – not because it would be funky-looking, but because, without a focus nor aperture ring, it would lack basic functionality.

I love that all of these up-and-coming Chinese lens manufacturers, including TTartisan, are widening access to photography with low prices. But at the same time, products like the rumored Neo lenses bring little to the market and, ultimately, do so at the expense of the environment.

I’m hoping these Neo lenses remain just a rumor. However, the fact that Asobinet managed to share the teaser graphics I included in this article makes me think that we'll unfortunately be seeing them at some point in the near future…

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