Roger Cicala
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Assembling the C-4 Optics 4.9mm f3.5 Hyperfisheye Prototype
You guys have watched us gut a lot of lenses and cameras over the years. So I thought it would be fun for you to see us put one together from scratch. Compared to many of the lenses we’ve taken apart, this is all mechanical lens is rather simple: no focus motors, image stabilizers, etc. But even a…
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What to Look at to Find the Best Compact Camera for You
## Why Point and Shoot Cameras? Well, duh, because I wanted to use one. I go to the beach once a month. I wanted something that took better pictures than my cell phone, doesn’t involve carrying a bunch of gear, and doesn’t include changing lenses in blowing sand. Since I don’t use this type of…
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The Great 400mm Teardown Comparison. Part II – The Sony 400mm f2.8 G
_In which you will not only learn how good the construction of Sony’s new flagship is, but also everything you wanted to know about Kubu._ As I mentioned last week, we usually don’t write up super-telephoto teardowns, but the release of two remarkably lightweight 400mm f/2.8 lenses seemed like a…
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The Great 400mm f/2.8 Teardown Comparison. Part 1 – The Canon 400mm f/2.8 L IS III
We tend to not publish tear-downs of super-telephoto lenses. They’re big and heavy, always well made and well engineered, like you would expect in something that costs as much as a used car. Big, heavy, and boring don’t make for an interesting teardown. So we take them apart, make our in-house…
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Disassembly of the Canon RF 50mm f1.2L
_It is the best of lenses, it is the worst of lenses, it is the lens of perfection, it is the lens of complexity, it is the lens of new technology, it may be the lens of non-repairability._ A little while ago, Canon released the computer generated MTF charts for the Canon RF 50mm f/1.2 lens.…
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Using Rapid MTF Testing – How We Test & Monitor Our Lenses
WARNING! THIS IS A GEEK LEVEL III ARTICLE. _It’s about testing, not image making. If you’re into geeky testing stuff, you’ll probably find this fascinating. If you’re not into geeky stuff but are into how lenses change over time, you’ll find skimming it worthwhile. If you’re a Fanboy or Fangirl,…
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Teardown of the Nikon Z7 Mirrorless Camera
We published our teardown of the Canon EOS-R and then had to decide which of the Nikon Z cameras to do. We decided to go with the top-end Nikon Z7. The Nikon Z6 would be the more appropriate comparison from a price standpoint; the Nikon Z6 is retailing for $2145, the Canon EOS-R for $2299, and the…
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Teardown of the Canon EOS R Mirrorless Camera
I’ve wanted to look inside the new Canon and Nikon mirrorless cameras since the moment they were announced, so I’m probably more excited about this than you guys are. I’m really not sure what to expect. Early on, when we took apart a Sony A7R, we were struck by how clean and straightforward…
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Roger’s Rants: My Canon/Nikon Mirrorless Camera Unfanboy Opinion
I’ve gotten about 632 texts and emails over the last couple of weeks. About half of them are “I’m a Nikon / Canon shooter. Should I preorder a Z / RF camera?” My answer is generally no. The reason is simple; unless you just have to play with the new technology and have money to burn, wait until the…
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Lens Teardowns and Comparisons of the Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS II and III
Years ago, I introduced Roger’s Law of New Product Introduction AKA The Fanboy Uncertainty Principle. But what about new releases that really aren’t new? Usually, they fail to reach sufficient quantum energy to generate much of an opinion either way. They are the dark matter of photography,…
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Nearly Complete Teardown of The Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS II
So, some things happened recently. We got stock on Canon EF 70-200 f/4L IS II lenses, and even though they go out on rental the day we get them in stock, we were able to do MTF testing on them. The very low sample variation we saw made us want to take one apart and see how Canon did that. And…
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MTF Tests for the Canon 70-200mm f/4 IS II Lens
Back in the day, and it was way back, my first “L” lens was the Canon 70-200mm f/4L, which I chose primarily because it was a bit sharper and a lot cheaper than the 70-200mm f/4L IS. I moved on years ago. Those lenses were good back then, and perhaps adequate for quite a while, but didn’t have a…
