Review by Klaus Schroiff, published January 2023 Introduction Minolta used to be a major player throughout the 20th century. The company was founded in 1928 and the camera department was active until 2003 after which Sony took over this business division. During the 70s and 80s, Minolta was one of the most innovative camera manufacturers. e.g. Minolta was the first company to introduce TTL (through-the-lens) metering with the Minolta SR-T. Another first was Multi-Segment Metering as well as IBIS in DLSRs. They were also among the first to use computer-aided lens design. Their reputation also led to cooperation with Leica…
Author: Klaus
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published January 2023 Introduction Canon FD is a lens mount system developed by Canon for its 35mm film SLR cameras. It was introduced in 1971 and replaced the older FL mount. The FD mount was in use from 1971 to 1987, when it was eventually replaced by the Canon EF mount.You may wonder why we chose the Canon FD 135mm f/2.5 S.C. as an example of a medium tele vintage lens from Canon – whereas we used 100mm variants for the other tests. The reason is simple – the pricing. Canon used to make an FD…
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published January 2023 Introduction We already reviewed the Olympus Zuiko MC 100mm f/2.8 and didn’t really plan on going for another vintage telelens from Olympus … but there was an attractive offer for an Olympus Zuiko MC 135mm f/2.8 and we thought that the Canon FD 135mm f/2.5 review could use a companion in the 135mm class. The 135mm f/2.8 (“E-Zuiko AUTO-T 135mm f/2.8”) was first introduced in 1972 and refined in 1977 (“Zuiko AUTO-T 135mm f/2.8”). This review is about the latter which features improved multi-coating.As far as release dates go, the Olympus lens is…
Introduction Third-party vendors have a difficult task when it comes to super-tele zoom lenses in Sony E-mount. There’s a behemoth in town – the Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS. For many wildlife photographers, this lens alone is a reason for choosing Sony over other brands. However, competition is a good thing, especially if you can offer a twist. The Sony lens is huge by normal mortal standards and Tamron goes into a battle with a smaller interpretation of the theme – the Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD. You can immediately notice two things just from the paper…
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published December 2022 Introduction Tokina was and still is a powerhouse when it comes to ultra-wide DSLR zoom lenses but things have been way too silent on the mirrorless front for too long – until now. Meet the Tokina atx-m 11-18mm f/2.8 E for Sony Alpha APS-C mirrorless cameras. In FF terms, this is roughly equivalent to “17-27mm”. Such a focal length range is perfectly aligned with landscape and architecture photography. One of the surprising aspects is its US price tag of $600 (although it costs 800EUR in Europe) – and quite a bit less than…
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published December 2022 Introduction Laowa, one of the better-known Chinese players in the market, specializes in ultra-wide, cine and macro lenses. In the latter segment, their website lists no less than six dedicated macro lenses for various systems and sensor formats.Among them is the new Laowa 58mm f/2.8 2X Ultra-Macro APO. APO stands for apochromatic design here or, in order words – superior color fringing correction. We tested a bunch of their previous APO lenses and were impressed most of the time – so let’s see what this “standard” macro lens can give you. Price-wise, the…
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published December 2022 Introduction Sigma’s Series I lens series has a special place in our hearts here. The vast majority of lenses we are testing are made of plastics combined with an uninspiring design. Usually, we test them … and forget them once they leave the lab. Not so in the case of the Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary. Obviously, this isn’t exactly a mainstream lens. While there is another 65mm f/2 lens on the market (hello, Voigtlander), it certainly qualifies as an “exotic” focal length. That’s more of a mental hurdle than anything else…
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published October 2022 Introduction Lately, Tamron had quite a run with lots of attractive new products as well as product updates, and a short while ago, they also released the Tamron 28-70mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2. Despite being popular among consumers, we weren’t overly impressed by their 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD (aka G1) so let’s hope that the G2 is more convincing. Tamron is listing 5 improvements over the “G1” version. Better image quality, better close focus performance, designed body, faster AF and user-customizable functions. Sounds good – on paper – so let’s have…
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published October 2022 Introduction A mighty long tele lens has been a deep dark gap in the Fujifilm lens lineup for years, but they finally released the long-awaited Fujinon XF 150-600mm f/5.6-8 R LM OIS WR. It is one of Fujifilm’s few “RED” badge lenses. As of the time of this review, there are just 6 of them. Thus, they consider it to be among the best they’ve got. Consequently, the entry ticket isn’t exactly cheap at around $2000USD or 2200EUR. In full format terms, we are talking about a 229-914mm lens here – (almost) ideal…
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published August 2022 Introduction When it comes to camera gear, hybrid is the new black – thus, cameras and lenses should be aligned to both photographic and video work. Sony listened and released the Sony FE PZ 16-35mm f/4 G. You may wonder a little bit about the paper specs of this new lens. After all, they are almost identical to the Zeiss Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS, one of the earliest full format E-mount lenses. Both lenses are also in the same price league at $1200 (Sony) and $1000 (Zeiss), respectively. Sony may not…