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 6 of 39
MTF Tests for the Sigma 14-24mm f2.8 Art Series Lens
Most of you know I’m a big fan of Sigma’s Art prime lenses. They give superior optics at excellent prices just about every damn time. I’ve been more mixed in my opinions of Sigma’s Art zoom lenses. I thought the Sigma 24-105mm f/4 Art was the best 24-105mm I’ve ever tested (and I hate testing…
Developing a Rapid MTF Test for Photo and Video Lenses
### . . . Or What I Did for the Last Year Instead of Having a Life. Nearly a decade ago, I started testing lenses. A few years later, after I complained about a manufacturer’s claiming an awful lens was in spec, an engineer patted me on the head and told me “you really don’t have the background to…
Looking at Cine Lens Color Shifts Using Spectrometry
Please Note: This is brand-new stuff that we’re publicly experimenting with. We post it because it’s fun and interesting and we usually get pertinent comments and criticisms that help us refine what we’re doing. For those of you who don’t science much, please remember we’re still testing and…
A Geek of Many Colors – Adventures in Spectrometry
Please Note: _This is a Geek Level 3 Article. It has no useful information about photography or videography. If you’re a lens geek, though, it’s kind of cool. And it will serve as our background and methods for upcoming articles._ ## _Well . . . How did I get here?_ _David Byrne_ One of the nice…
Veydra Cine Mini Prime MTF Optical Bench Tests
I have my preconceived notions, just like anyone else. A long while back the video techs told me we were stocking Veydra Primes in multiple focal lengths for m4/3 mounts. I just rolled my eyes and passed on by. Another boutique lens that would have poor resolution, ridiculous copy-to-copy…
Finally, Some More m4/3 MTF Testing: Are the 40s Fabulous?
It took me a bit longer to get back to m4/3 testing than I expected, but we have an interesting set of primes to look at today, the ‘about 45mm’ group, which includes several 42.5mm and a couple of 45mm lenses. Please don’t get all worked up about that small difference in focal lengths; it’s really…
Taking Apart The Sony A7rIII – In Search of Better Weather Sealing
Weather resistant – _A term that consumers falsely define as ‘weatherproof’ and camera companies accurately define as ‘the warranty doesn’t cover water damage_’. The Cynic’s Photography Dictionary The Sony A7R III has been out for quite a while. Generally, it’s a superbly popular camera with…
MTF Tests of the Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 OSS
## Or ‘My Last 24mm-105mm Lens Test Ever’ Obviously, I have angered the Lens Testing Gods, since for the second post in a row I’m testing 24-105mm f/4 lens; this time the Sony 24-105mm f/4 OSS lens. As I’ve mentioned in the post on the Sigma 24-105mm f/4 many initials Art lens, while these are…
MTF Testing for the Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Series Lens
I generally let you know what my expectations are before I start, to hopefully let you know where my personal opinion affects things. The fact that I’m just posting tests of the Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art months after the lens was released tells you a lot. I’m not excited about testing…
Finally, Some m4/3 MTF Testing: 25mm Prime Lens Comparison
This blog is a little different. It’s geekier than most, of course. Also, I don’t use it to make income, and that makes it a bit scattered. A mainstream blog has to cover all the hot topics. I get to cover what I’m interested in at the moment. More importantly, I don’t have to cover everything, so…
MTF Testing the Canon 85mm f/1.4 L IS
### The King is Not Dead The Canon 85mm f/1.2 II lens, the king of creamy bokeh, is basically a 40-year old optical design first released in 1976 (in FD mount) and released as an EF mount lens after some slight optical modification in 1989. The “II” version, released in 2006, was an…
Testing Lenses: Finding The Best Average Focus Point
You have been patient, my friends. You have made it through the first article, where we looked at how MTFs improve stopped down and saw it was a bit different for every lens. You enjoyed the second article, where we looked at the Best Individual Focus MTF (BIF MTF) which showed how good the MTF…