Introduction A little while ago, we reviewed the Viltrox AF 85mm f/1.8 and we were impressed by the maturity of the product – despite being a newcomer in this market. But obviously, they didn’t want to stop there and their roadmap shows several lenses for release in 2020. One of them is the Viltrox AF 23mm f/1.4 XF which is now available in Fujifilm X and Sony E mount. It’s a native APS-C format lens equivalent to “35mm” in full-format terms or in other words – a moderate wide-angle lens. Now you may argue that the Fujifilm system doesn’t really require another…
Author: Klaus
Introduction In our previous review, we discussed the Viltrox AF 23mm f/1.4 XF, a good quality, affordable lens – and it has an in-house cousin, the Viltrox AF 33mm f/1.4 XF. If it wasn’t for the specs printed on the lens barrel, the two would be almost indistinguishable. However, their scope is, of course, different. While the 23mm f/1.4 is a moderate wide-angle prime lens, the 33mm f/1.4 is a standard lens. In terms of speed, it competes against the old Fujinon XF 35mm f/1.4 R although the newer XF 35mm f/2 R WR is certainly also on its radar.…
Introduction Canon has upped the game compared to their DSLR lineup with pretty much every new lens they released for the EOS R system. They added an IS on the RF 24-70mm f/2.8, released an RF 28-70mm f/2 with a speed never seen before and made the RF 70-200mm f/2.8 shorter than any comparable lens in its class. And in the ultra-wide zoom segment? They are now offering the Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8 USM L IS – a lens that is wider and adds an IS while still avoiding the bulb-like front element that we’ve seen in most other modern…
Introduction There is one type of lens that finds its way into pretty much every press/wedding photographer’s camera bag – a 24-70mm f/2.8 which is why it has an especially well-petted place in all of the full format manufacturers’ lineups. Thanks to its flexible nature, it also finds many friends among enthusiasts although we’d usually argue that it’s a bit over the top for non-professional use really – and that’s not only because these are pricey lenses. More on this later.Given its importance, Canon was quick to release one for R-mount – namely the Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 USM L IS,…
by Klaus Schroiff, published February 2020 Introduction The Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.2 PRO is among the best lenses that we have ever tested here at OpticalLimits and it deserved a very rare 5* rating across the board. And it has two close cousins – the 25mm f/1.2 PRO, thus a standard lens, and the Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.2 PRO which we are going to discuss now. It’s the type of lens that is wide enough for catching scenery and moderate enough to keep things still within a “normal” perspective which explains the popularity of such a lens among street photographers.…
by Klaus Schroiff, published February 2020 Introduction It may seem a bit strange but these days full-format 28mm prime lenses are almost exotics. The unpopularity probably relates to the perception that such lenses aren’t wide enough for landscapes or architecture and too wide for everything else. Some manufacturers don’t even bother to offer one at all or the designs are as old as time itself – instead, all the rage is either about 24mm or 35mm primes. Anyway, at least Sony IS still offering a quite fast FE 28mm f/2. It’s also one of the more affordable Sony FE prime…
Introduction SIgma is maintaining a small set of three very fast prime lenses dedicated to APS-C and Micro-Four-Thirds mirrorless cameras – a 30mm f/1.4, a 56mm f/1.4 and the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary that we are going to discuss here. If you are familiar with Sigma’s naming convention, it may surprise you that it doesn’t belong to Sigma’s professional grade “ART” series albeit at least the large aperture seems to suggest otherwise. However, if anything there’s a positive side effect to the consumer-grade designation – the pricing is very moderate at less the 400EUR/USD. So mirrorless lenses can…
Introduction Let’s start 2020 with something different – the Viltrox PFU RBMH 85mm f/1.8 STM – and something new – our shift to a 26-megapixel test camera (X-T30). While most are probably familiar with the Fujifilm camera, the Viltrox lens may be a bit of an unknown factor for most. If you came across the Viltrox brand so far (if ever), it was probably about accessory items such as adapters or lighting solutions. However, since late 2018 they have been offering lenses as well. Now there are many new Chinese players out there these days and you may think that…
Introduction A while ago, we reviewed the Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO and we were pretty impressed. Now, that’s a full format lens optimized for DSLRs but there’s a new kid around now – the Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO for APS-C format mirrorless cameras (Fujifilm, Sony, Canon EF-M). Being shorter in focal length and covering a smaller image circle, it is obviously a much more compact and light-weight lens. Unfortunately, we are still talking about a fully manual lens without AF nor any electronic coupling. If your primary use-case is macro photography, this is probably…
by Klaus Schroiff, published January 2020 Introduction In our previous review, we covered the Viltrox PFU RBMH 85mm f/1.8 STM (in Fujifilm X mount) and we were quite impressed by it. They are about to release more AF lenses in 2020 but they also have an ultra-wide prime lens in their lineup – the Viltrox PFU RBMH 20mm f/1.8 ASPH, an all-manual lens without electronic coupling, unfortunately. Generally, this shouldn’t be a huge deal with a 20mm lens and if needed you can use a magnified focus view on your camera for precise manual focusing. It is limiting the target…