by Klaus Schroiff, published July 2019 Introduction If you like (classic-)cars you may know the statement that there’s no substitution for engine displacement but more displacement. It is quite similar with lenses actually – there’s no substitution for speed but more speed – and the fastest lenses around are usually in the f/1.2-f/1.4 range. So in the context of this review – meet the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM – Sony’s professional-grade medium-tele prime lens. As the name implies, it is a member of the “GM” (G-Master) lineup thus it’s among the best of what Sony is offering today. Of…
Author: Klaus
by Klaus Schroiff, published July 2019 Introduction While mirrorless systems have been around for quite some time, the uptake by the “big 3” third-party lens manufacturers was neither fast nor overly broad. Of course, in the end, it is a number game. The DSLR user base is still massive in comparison but the tide has finally turned and the flood is coming in now – especially for Sony E-mount. Tamron was the first of the big 3 with the release of a full format E-mount lens – the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD in 2018. While the paper-spec may…
by Klaus Schroiff, published June 2019 Introduction As far as ultra-wide lenses are concerned, all the rage is about going even more extreme. A few years ago, 16mm was considered to be the far wide end. Then 15mm, 14mm and now even 10mm lenses are available.However, does this make sense? In a moment of honesty, we probably have to admit that 18mm – and maybe even 20mm is really in the mainstream spot in this lens segment providing images that are still wide without the artificial look.Tokina obviously thought along the same lines and released two lenses here – the…
by Klaus Schroiff, published January 2019 Introduction Laowa is one of the many small manufacturers that emerged over the recent years. By today, they’ve established themselves as China’s most significant player albeit they still got some distance to go until they reach the global mainstream. They released many interesting if not ambitious new lens designs – mostly ultra-wide prime lenses. While most established players are pushing quality to the max – accompanied by a recent trend of super-sizing every lens – Laowa is trying to balance size and performance. A good example of this philosophy is the Laowa 15mm f/2…
Introduction Canon’s new R system is still at the very beginning of its journey. However, it starts with two standard zoom lenses. One of them, the Canon RF 28-70mm f/2 USM L is out of reach for most mortals thanks to a sky-high price tag, while the other one, the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 USM L IS, reviewed here, will surely find its way into the bag of most EOS R owners. It’s worth noting that Canon is bolder than Nikon with their 24-70mm f/4 for the new Nikon Z system – and most users will probably appreciate the extra…
Introduction It took us a little way (as always), but it is finally here – the review of the first Canon RF that came into our lab, the Canon RF 50mm f/1.2 USM L. Unless you lived behind the moon for the last few months, you probably know that Canon released its first full-frame mirrorless system at the Photokina 2018 (trade show). Now Canon wouldn’t be Canon if they didn’t have something for showing off, and besides a monster of a zoom lens (RF 28-70mm f/2), they decided to go for something they are known best for – an ultra-high…
by Klaus Schroiff, published July 2018 Introduction Every mature system is offering the holy trinity of zoom lenses – thus a relatively fast ultra-wide-, standard- and tele-zoom lens. The only exception to the rule is Panasonic … they got two of them – one native Panasonic set (7-14mm f/4, 12-35mm f/2.8, 35-100mm f/2.8) and one Leica branded set (8-18mm f/2.8-4, 12-60mm f/2.8-4, 50-200mm f/2.8-4). You may notice that the Leica variant has a slightly different flavour regarding the variable aperture and the focal length range here. Unless you are religious about having a constantaperture, the Leica lenses appear to be…
by Klaus Schroiff, published July 2018 Introduction One of the core components of a professional grade system is a fast medium tele-zoom lens – such as theSony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS. Combined with the other recently released lenses and cameras,Sony can finally and truly compete with CaNikon in the high-class segment. Needless to say but that comesliterally at a price – in this case, 2600EUR/USD. This is quite a bit more expensive than the comparableCanon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 USM L IS II but actually a little cheaper than the Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED.Yes, lens prices have inflated…
by Klaus Schroiff, published April 2018 Introduction If you want to play a role in the professional (full format) market you have to offer a variety of lenses and at the center of such a system, there’s the holy trinity of f/2.8 zoom lenses – a 16-35mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8. That’s all old news in the DSLR league but as of the time of this review, Sony provides the only mirrorless system that fulfils this requirement. A while back we reviewed the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM – a quite impressive lens even on a high-resolution camera.…
Sony users can choose between a wide variety of different lens options nowadays, but selecting a standard zoom lens has been somewhat tricky so far.Sure, there’s the mighty Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM, but price-wise, it’s beyond the reach of most users. The Zeiss FE 24-70mm f/4 OSS is a good shot on paper, but it really fails to deliver. And the Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS kit zoom lens … well …So the thing is – there’s an urgent need for something good and reasonably affordable in their standard zoom lens lineup, and maybe the new Sony FE 24-105mm…