Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to raise our hats to a forgotten lens, launched in 1991 and discontinued without remorse in 2013. The original 200mm f2.8 L had a built-in hood and sluggish autofocus; the Mark II that arrived in 1996 was optically identical but quicker, and came with a bigger, detachable hood. It’s the …
A key advantage of smaller sensors like APS-C and Micro FourThirds is that of reach – specifically being able to work at long distances with small lenses. Sports photographers working in large arenas may favour APS-C over 35mm sensors for exactly this reason. Of course, larger sensors offer better low-light performance – specifically lower noise. …
Pilgrims of ultrawide excellence down the decades have been conjoined to a certain path. In the 1900s, they sought, coveted or made sacrifices for hallowed primes like the Zeiss 15mm and 21mm Distagons. Some prematurely foreswore mirrors to gain access to Contax Biogons, the shady temptations of Leica and Voigtlander rangefinder glass, and the peerless …
In a recent post I talked about the minor difficulty of making a meaningful comparison between different cameras’ ability to acquire and track focus. This brought to mind a more general problem about hardware comparisons and the mismatch between what photographers need to know, and what metrics they end up discussing. Nerdy photographers (rather than …
A standardised comparison of extreme autofocus capability Many photographic assignments demand effective operation in near-dark conditions. Sometimes it’s in the brief; at others the need arises unexpectedly: nature abhors a vacuum as surely as life hates an exact schedule. Suddenly the photographer finds themselves at the limit of their equipment’s capability: maximum aperture, uncomfortably high …
Until you know for sure, it’s confusing to know who to believe. Is a 50mm f1.4 lens equivalent to a 75mm f1.8 on APS-C? Are Micro FourThirds sensors two stops noisier than full frame sensors? Can you get the ‘medium format look’ on APS-C by using a two stop faster lens? If you want to …
It’s hard to find a title for this article. It’s also not immediately obvious why this lens should have risen above its peers. Historically there’s been a distinct pecking order for lens reputation: in first place, any third party lens made by Leica and Zeiss; in second place, native glass – first Canon, then Nikon; …
White Label Chinese 50mm f1.1 v Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art v Canon 50mm f1.2 L To get straight into the test, jump here >. If you’re interested in a digressive preamble, read on. Digressive Preamble In the beginning, fast lenses were needed to gather light to quicken exposure times, freeing photographers to shoot spontaneously – …
Tamron SP 35mm VC f1.8 v Sigma 35mm f1.4 Art DG HSM At maximum aperture, and a focal distance of 10m, the Sigma has distinctly sharper corners, with resolution dropping off rapidly in Zone D, but substantially more vignette. The Tamron has a more gradually tapering performance both in terms of vignette and resolution, but …
Adaptation of lenses for smaller formats, with correspondingly smaller image circles, involves advantages and trade-offs: adapted lenses are typically more varied, plentiful, cheaper, smaller and higher resolving – but inevitable compatibility issues range from trivial to insuperable. The GFX 44x33mm sensor lies between the classic 35mm ‘full-frame’ and 645 medium formats. As well as Fujifilm’s …