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…
Author: Klaus
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…
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published August 2022 Introduction Autofocus lenses are still pretty rare beyond the mainstream players, but slowly and steadily, some of the Chinese players are taking the leap. Yongnuo was probably the first, followed by Viltrox, and now Meike has started offering AF lenses – their first shot in the mirrorless AF segment is the Meike AF 85mm f/1.8 STM in Sony E-mount. This medium-tele lens is compatible with both APS-C and Full Format Sony Alpha cameras. Priced at just $199, it undercuts the competition by a huge margin. This raises the question of what you can…
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published August 2022 Introduction At the time Sony announced their set (11mm f/1.8, 15mm f/1.4G, 10-20mm f/4G) of new ultrawide APS-C lenses back in June (2022), it caused quite a stir in the Sony community. Given the fact that all the rage was about full-format gear in recent years, such a visible commitment to the format was certainly a relief. In this review, we’ll have a look at the lens that is probably the most interesting of the bunch – the Sony E 11mm f/1.8. Unlike its two cousins, it is both wide AND fast, and,…
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published August 2022 Introduction Meike has had quite a stampede of new lens releases lately. One of their most ambitious new designs is the new Meike 8mm f/2.8 MFT. You may think that this is another fish-eye, but it is, in fact, a fully correct ultra-wide lens equivalent to 16mm on full-format cameras.Priced at $399 USD, it is not a budget item anymore, but it’s also not your average optical construction either – consisting of no less than 17 elements, including two aspherical elements.So it seems that Meike wants to move up the food chain now.…
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published July 2022. Lens sample provided by Meike. Introduction Fish-eye lenses may not be the most popular lenses around, but they can, obviously, provide images with a unique character. A field-of-view of 190 degrees (diagonal) is quite something – and they can be lots of fun. For most photographers, they are just too exotic to spend much money on them, but you don’t have to – which is where the Meike 7.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye finds its place. At just $149, it’s about as affordable as it gets. The lens is available in most APS-C mounts as…