Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips
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…]
We now know that Tamron’s new stabilized 85mm f/1.8 Di VC USD lens retails for $749 and will be available by the end of this month for Canon and Nikon DSLRs. A Sony A-mount option is also coming along shortly but won’t feature the internal image stabilization since A-mount cameras offer sensor-based stabilization.
You can pre-order the new Tamron SP 85mm f/1.8 Di VC USD lens for each of the mount options here at B&H Photo.
ebay (via GetItDigital) has the Zeiss Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA lens for Sony E-Mount cameras for $699 (reg. $999) in limited quantity. The last time they had this lens at this price, it didn’t last long. Check it out here on ebay.
Note: This is labeled as a gray market lens. ebay seller GetItDigital has a positive feedback rating of 99.6% at the time of this post.
While Sigma stole headlines earlier this week with its new 50-100mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens, it also announced a fast and affordable 30mm lens for Sony E and Micro Four Thirds lens mounts. The Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary lens is the first truly affordable f/1.4 lens in the mirrorless market at just $339. [Read more…]
The current rebates on select Tamron lenses ends Monday, February 29. The lens models include the 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC, the 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC and the 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC. Check them out here at B&H Photo.
Panasonic has announced its new Lumix G Vario 12-60mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH. POWER O.I.S. lens for Micro Four Thirds cameras. [Read more…]
Tamron has announced a pair of new lenses – the SP 85mm f/1.8 Di VC USD and the SP 90mm f/2.8 Di VC USD 1:1 Macro. [Read more…]
Samyang has added a pair of new wide angle lenses to its XEEN series of cinema lenses. A new XEEN 14mm T3.1 and 35mm T1.5 join the XEEN 24mm T1.5, 50mm T1.5 and 85mm T1.5 lenses.
All XEEN cinema lenses cover up to a full frame image circle in five different mounts – PL, Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony E and Micro Four Thirds. Samyang touts their optical performance as capable of supporting 4K+ resolutions. The are available with metric or imperial units on the focus scale and feature standard gearing for aperture and focus rings.
The new 14mm T3.1 and 35mm T1.5 retail for $2495 and will be available in March 2016. The current line of XEEN lenses sell for $2145 each. Check them out here at B&H Photo.
I stopped by Olympus’ meeting room at CES 2016 (no Olympus booth this year), to get a closer look at the new M.Zuiko Digital ED 300mm f/4 IS PRO lens. I was able to try out a preproduction unit for a few minutes with the Olympus OM-D E-M5 II. In short, it is an impressive addition to Olympus’ line-up. [Read more…]