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Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus Distagon T* Officially Launched

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Zeiss 55mm F1.4 Otus Distagon

Though this lens has been in development for some time, Zeiss has finally taken the official wraps off of its 55mm f/1.4 Otus Distagon T* lens. The new lens is available in Nikon and Canon mounts for $3,999. It is expected to ship in November for both mounts.

Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus Distagon T* Key Features

  • Optimized for Full-Frame Camera Sensors
  • f/1.4 – f/16 Aperture Range
  • Zeiss T* Anti-Reflective Lens Coating
  • Floating Elements Design
  • All-Metal Lens Housing
  • Manual Focus, 20″ Close Focus Distance
  • 77mm Filter Thread
  • Highly Visible Yellow Scale Markings

This is the first lens in this new family of Zeiss lenses that is supposed to take optical excellence to the next level. Perhaps we’ll see another lens “in development” at or around PhotoPlus 2013…

 

Canon 70D Video AF Sample and Thoughts

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Canon 70D Hands-On

The more I use the Canon 70D to shoot video with full-time AF, the more impressed I am with what Canon has done with its Dual Pixel AF technology. I recently took the 70D in to my CrossFit box for an evening to capture some photos and decided to try some video with it as well.

I basically treated the 70D more like a camcorder instead of how I would normally handle a HDSLR. As it turns out, the 70D does quite well and holds focus about like you would expect a camcorder to. I used the 70D paired with the 18-135mm STM kit lens (the STM focus is for real). Shot with manual exposure and full-time AF.

Watch the short video below. [Read more…]

University of Alabama’s Trademark Lawsuit Against Artist Dismissed

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Painting by Daniel Moore

Painting by Daniel Moore

Way back in 2005, the University of Alabama filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against artist Daniel Moore, who created paintings of Alabama football scenes.

These paintings (like the one shown above) included many of the University of Alabama’s properly registered trademarks. Alabama demanded that Moore pay a licensing fee for using the trademarks in his paintings. Moore contended that he was creating artistic portrayals of historical events and, therefore, his works were protected by the First Amendment. [Read more…]