by Klaus Schroiff, published September 2019 Introduction The Samyang AF 50mm f/1.4 FE (aka Rokinon) is one of the first third-party full format lenses that were released for Sony FE cameras – thus it’s about time for us to have a look whether it’s worth it. In a typical Samyang fashion, they are tackling the market from a value perspective. You can purchase the lens for as little as 500USD/EUR – which is a third of what you’d have to pay for Sony’s own Zeiss Planar T* FE 50mm f/1.4 ZA. To be honest though – that Zeiss lens has…
Author: Klaus
by Klaus Schroiff, published September 2019 Introduction While Sony E-mount lenses are nothing new for Sigma, it took them quite a while to design native full-format lenses – as opposed to the rather 2nd-class approach of converting some of their DSLR lenses. However, also thanks to their parallel activities around the L-mount alliance we can expect to see more interesting offerings. One of them is the Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary. Some may question the word “interesting” here given the slow speed for such a standard prime lens but it is actually quite unique in a couple of aspects.…
by Klaus Schroiff, published August 2019 Introduction It’s awesome … and it’s hell! There you go – the verdict is straight in the first sentence! 🙂 Most of you who have used fisheye lenses will probably agree that fisheye lenses are a love-hate relationship more so than with any other lens type. You love them because they deliver the unexpected and extreme and you hate them pretty much for the same reasons. And if you sell one because it fell into disuse, you will regret the decision a year later again – because, well, “that shot would be awesome with…
by Klaus Schroiff, published August 2019 Introduction One of the biggest controversials around mirrorless camera systems are the comparatively inflated lens prices. A contributing factor to this is surely the lack of competition from third-party manufacturers that are abundant in the DSLR world but not really established in the mirrorless arena – yet. While CaNikon are playing their usual proprietary game, Sony is a little more open – thus the mount(-protocol) can actually be licensed.The classic three independent manufacturers – Sigma, Tamron and Tokina – are now happily taking advantage of the opportunity and we are now seeing more affordable…
Samyang (aka Rokinon) may not be a household name in the photographic world – yet – but the velocity of new product releases in recent years has been impressive. In fact, they are probably releasing more new lenses than both Tokina and Tamron – combined – albeit their sales volume and overall relevance remain a bit of mystery also because their lenses are sold under various brand names. Anyway, one of the recently released lenses is the Samyang AF 35mm f/1.4 FE. In terms of specs, it competes directly against the Zeiss Distagon T* FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA. That is…
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…
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…