Roger Cicala
I'm Roger and I am the founder of Lensrentals.com. Hailed as one of the optic nerds here, I enjoy shooting collimated light through 30X microscope objectives in my spare time. When I do take real pictures I like using something different: a Medium format, or Pentax K1, or a Sony RX1R.
Posts by Roger Cicala · page 22 of 39
Photography Consumer’s Bill of Rights
In 1962, then President Kennedy presented to the U. S. Congress a Consumer’s Bill of Rights. The second and third points of this Bill are as follows: (_2) The right to be informed–to be protected against fraudulent, deceitful, or grossly misleading information, advertising, labeling, or other…
Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 Part II: Comparative Anatomy
We know the optical formula for the new version of this lens is the same as the old version. We know it has the ability to be reprogrammed and adjusted with the new Sigma dock and Optimization Pro Software. We know there have been some changes to the mechanics and structure of the lens, but we…
Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 OS Sport Part 1: Features and Optics
OK, I’m not sure what the official name of the new 120-300mm f/2.8 lens is. I think Sport is probably best, since it’s got that designation in the new Sigma lineup. On the Sigma website it gets called the OS S. The guys around here call it the 120-300 A1, since it’s one of the lenses that go…
Really Getting In Touit
A couple of weeks ago I posted my impressions of the Zeiss 32mm Touit lens for NEX cameras, based on a copy loaned to me by Zeiss, USA. Now that we have our own copies I can be, shall we say, a bit more aggressive in examining the lens. Not to mention getting an opportunity to continue my string of…
Whose Camera Will I Buy in 2018?
I’m not really sure why, but if you want to watch the Fanboys go completely insane, the simplest thing to do it is throw out “your brand is probably going to be out of business in a few years.” But the simple reality is that’s what happens to most companies eventually, especially technology…
Sigma Optimization Pro and USB Dock
_“Commerce makes progress. Fortune passes everywhere.”_ – Frank Herbert A few years ago I was accused of being a Sigma hater. (For the record, I did hate their quality control and so-called repair service at that time, and I didn’t hesitate to say so in this blog.) For the third or fourth time in…
Canon 200-400mm f/4 IS: Quick Comparison
Yeah, it costs almost $12,000. You could buy a Canon 400mm f/2.8 IS II and a 2X teleconverter for that. You could buy 10 copies of the Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS for that. I don’t know what you’d do with them, but you could. I sure can’t tell you if a lens is worth $12,000 by running a few…
Finally Got Around Touit
I was lucky enough to be invited to New York for Zeiss’ Touit lens release and they were kind enough to loan me a 32mm f/1.8 lens in Sony E mount to experiment with. Unfortunately being away during our busiest repair season got me behind and I’ve only just now had a chance to experiment with the…
A Few Easy Lens Dustings
I get asked about 15 times a week, “How can I get the dust out of my lens?” The right answer is you don’t. All lenses have dust in them and it doesn’t affect the images at all 99% of the time. Even if you clean it all out, it will be back after you use the lens a few times. There are occasionally…
How to Ruin Your (or Our) Gear in 5 Minutes (Without Water)
If there hasn’t been a Color Run 5k or 10k race near you, there probably will be soon. And with all that color, you certainly want to take some pictures, right? Not with your camera you don’t (and not with ours either). I’m never one to worry much about lens dust. I’ve written about why you…
First Look: Rokinon 24mm f/3.5 Tilt-Shift – Part 2.
When we optically tested the RokiBowYang tilt shift, I mentioned that my recommendation was tempered by wanting to see how it was built. Parts and repairs, at least in the U. S., are nonexistent and the price is a bit high for me to consider it a disposable, like the 14mm RokiBowYang. So first…
First Look: Rokinon 24mm f/3.5 Tilt-Shift Lens – Part 1
The release of the Rokinon 24mm f/3.5 Tilt-shift lens (also branded as Samyang or Bower) has created quite a bit of excitement. For Canon and Nikon shooters, it offers a 24mm tilt-shift alternative for around half the price of the brand name lenses. For shooters of other systems, it offers a…