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 23 of 39
Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC HSM vs. Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC
There is a bit of confusion regarding the names of the old versus new version of Sigma’s 30mm DX (crop sensor) lens. The original version is officially the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM, while the new one is the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC HSM A1. I think. I do want to thank them for not calling it the 30mm…
Zeiss ZE 135mm f/2 vs. Canon 135mm f/2L
We had a chance a few days ago to look at the first copy of the Zeiss 135mm APO-Sonnar CP.2 lens, but today received several copies of the 135mm APO-Sonnar in ZE (Canon) mount. I’ve been wanting to play with it personally, of course, but more to the point wanted the chance to test multiple copies,…
First Look: Zeiss CP.2 135mm T2.1
Of course, being a photo guy who loves shooting at 135mm, I can’t wait to get my hands on the photo version of the new Zeiss 135mm lens. I don’t have that yet, but we did get the CP.2 Cine version of the lens, the Zeiss CP.2 135mm T2.1 in today. In addition to making our video shooters all drool,…
How a Ballhead Works
This will probably be of limited interest to most of you, but we like to know how things work, not just how well they work. Since we haven’t had any lenses or cameras to take apart lately, we thought we’d take a couple of pictures when we disassembled a ballhead in case any of you were interested.…
First Look: Zeiss CZ.2 70-200mm T2.9
Ah, as if the 70-200 zoom field wasn’t crowded enough, with each camera maker having one or four along with the Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 VC and the Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 OS, but Tyler decided we have to stock yet another one. So today I have to test yet another 70-200mm, the Zeiss 70-200 T2.9 CP.2. *One of…
Sharpening Maps and Masks
Obviously I’m a gearhead, so I like to know the traits of the lenses I shoot with. I want to know what aperture gives maximal corner sharpness, for example, whether the plane of focus is curved or flat, where the distortion changes in a zoom, which end of the zoom range or focusing distance is the…
Wavelength-Detecting Sensor Eliminates Bayer Filter, Triples Resolution
> _“Current camera sensor technology is completely backwards.” Dr. Eno Lirpa_ Everyone knows that in order to generate color, a digital camera’s sensor is overlaid with a Bayer filter. The filter makes each pixel sensitive to either red, blue, or green light. *Standard Bayer filter, courtesy…
Leica M (Type 240) Resolution Comparison
First and foremost, let’s be very clear: I am not a rangefinder shooter and certainly not a rangefinder reviewer. But I’m more excited than most people about the new Leica M (Typ 240) camera for one simple reason. It has live view and focus peaking so at long last I can, if I want, actually focus a…
Nikon’s Early April Fool Joke?
Nikon’s new Coolpix A camera has some impressive specifications, what with its 16 megapixel APS-C sensor, 18.5mm f/2.8 lens, and $1,100 price tag. Nowhere in those specifications, though, is a claim for Vibration Reduction that I can find. But the packaging department apparently didn’t get the…
The Best Lens Bargains
_Increasing vision is increasingly expensive. – R. A. Janek (actually Michael Crichton)_ For the last year or so, it seems like almost every new lens release has been accompanied by sticker shock. The manufacturers are businessmen and they know when we’ve been salivating at the promise of a new…
The Requested 80-400 AF-S vs. 70-200 VR II and 2X Comparison
Well, for the first time I’ve totally caved to popular demand and done a test I had little interest in doing. But after I did a Quick-Take post on the new Nikon 80-400 AF-S VR lens I received about two-dozen emails and comments asking if the 70-200 f/2.8 AF-S VR II lens with a Nikon 2X III…
Quick Take on the New Nikon 80-400 AF-S VR
You have to hand it to Nikon. We may wait a long time for the lens improvement we want, but once Nikon announces it, they get it in our hands pretty quickly. Unlike, say, the Canon 200-400 f/4 Unicorn Bigfoot lens. I’ve been screaming for some time that this was the lens in the Nikon lineup most in…