Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips
Sigma announced four new lenses last week that have us drooling a bit. The new quartet of lenses include:
Sigma continues its roll with these new offerings. [Read more…]
When you bought your DSLR camera, most likely it came with a kit lens. Modern kit lenses are a great pace to start. However, after a while, you may find yourself itching to try other lenses. There are so many lenses on the market that it’s often overwhelming narrowing down one or two lenses to buy. A 50mm prime lens is a natural choice for a first prime lens. 50mm f/1.8 lenses are very affordable and allow you to explore a wide variety of techniques while gaining confidence as a photographer. [Read more…]
Alongside the new X-A3, Fuji has announced the XF 23mm f/2 R WR lens, a wide-angle prime with a 35mm equivalent focal length on Fuji’s X-Series cameras. The new XF 23mm lens is built with speed in mind thanks to a stepping AF motor for silent and fast operation. [Read more…]
Tamron has announced the SP 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro lens for the Sony A-Mount. It offers a max 1:1 magnification, Tamron’s USD AF motor and full-time manual focus.
We knew the lens would be coming when Tamron announced the Canon and Nikon versions earlier this year. The new Sony version differs from the Canon and Nikon models only by the absence of built-in Vibration Compensation due to sensor-based image stabilization in Sony A-mount bodies. The Sony version carries the same $649 price tag though.
The new Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro should ship next week and is available for pre-order here at B&H Photo.
Panasonic has announced its new Leica DG Summilux 12mm f/1.4 ASPH. lens for Micro Four Thirds cameras.
The new lens features a rounded 9-blade diaphragm and uses one ED element and two UED elements. It offers an aperture range of f/1.4 to f/16 and is a weather-sealed construction.
The new lens should be available in August 2016 for $1299. You can pre-order it now here at B&H Photo.
While AF lenses have been in the rumor mill for a while now for the company, Samyang has finally announced a pair of new AF lenses for Sony full frame E-mount cameras like the A7 II, A7R II and A7S II.
The new lenses are the Samyang 14mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC and Samyang 50mm f/1.4 AS IF UMC. The new lenses are compatible with both phase detect and contrast detect sensors found in Sony E-mount cameras.
The new lenses should be available in July 2016. No official word on price yet but they are rumored to be under $600…
B&H has finally gotten the Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 and Batis 25mm f/2 lenses in stock for Sony E mount.
You can find the Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 for $1199 here at B&H Photo.
You can find the Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 lens for $1299 here at B&H Photo.
Alongside the Cinema Kit for the ME20F-SH camera, Canon also unveiled a new Compact-Servo 18-80mm cinema lens. It is compatible with EF-mount Super 35 and APS-C cameras and features a T4.4 constant aperture throughout the entire focal range.
The lens also works with Canon Cinema EOS cameras that use Dual Pixel AF for reliable autofocus and offers a number of camera controls on the lens body and servo unit, including push auto iris, record start and stop, as well as remote lens control with industry-standard controllers.
The Canon Compact-Servo 18-80mm lens and ZSG-C10 accessory grip are scheduled to be available later in 2016 for an estimated retail price of $5,500 and $499 respectively. Check it out here at B&H Photo.
Zeiss has announced the Batis 18mm f/2.8 lens for Sony E-mount, which goes along with the 25mm and 85mm Batis lenses that were released a year ago.
As with the existing Batis lenses, the 18mm lens offers autofocus and an OLED display for focus distance and depth of field info. It uses a floating element system and Zeiss’ Distagon optical design.
The new Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 lens will be available in early May 2016 for $1499. Check it out here at B&H Photo.
Chinese lens maker Zhongyi Optics has updated its Mitakon Speedmaster 35mm f/0.95 with a new Mark II version. The good news is that it is smaller and lighter but ZY Optics also claims it offers drastic improvement in sharpness and better control of chromatic aberration.
As with its predecessor, this is designed as a lens for mirrorless cameras with APS-C sensors. It is available for Sony E, Fuji X and Canon EOS-M mounts. It looks like ZY Optics swapped the Micro Four Thirds mount on the Mark I for the Canon EOS-M mount on the Mark II model. More good news is that the price remains $599 – like its predecessor. [Read more…]