Category: Geek Articles
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Removing a Fly from ‘Weather Sealed’ Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II
I’ve been doing lens stuff for a long time now. Long time. Trust me; it’s hard to remain polite the 843,911th time some newbie goes into hysterics because there’s dust in their lens. Telling them it doesn’t matter a bit, and that all their other lenses have dust they just can’t see ( because…
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Just MTF Charts: Canon Prime Lenses
This is the first post of a series of posts publishing all of our MTF results so that methodology is consistent, easy to find, and up-to-date. (For some of the older lenses there are graphs done with older software floating around. For a couple of lenses there are incorrect graphs done before we…
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Sony FE 135mm f1.8 GM Early MTF Results
As is sometimes the case, I got access to a couple of pre-release copies of the new Sony FE 135mm f1.8 GM lens. Of course, if I get access, it gets MTF bench tested. I mounted the first one, sipped my coffee and then lost my mind and started shouting various expletives, enough to bring Aaron…
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MTF Results for Recent Sigma Art Lenses
> _And you may find yourself in a shotgun shack._ > _And you may find yourself in another part of the world._ > _And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile._ > _And you may find yourself in a beautiful house._ > _And you may ask yourself, well, what should I shoot with?_ A…
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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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How Image Stabilization Works In Camera and In Lens
Image Stabilization comes in a variety of different names and types. Whether it’s called O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilization), VC (Vibration Compensation), VR (Vibration Reduction), IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilization) or just IS (Image Stabilization), it all foundationally does the same thing –…
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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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How We Solve Problems – Fixing the Broken Battery Door of the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K
### Update: Blackmagic Design has reached out to us following the publishing of this article, and have begun the process of exchanging broken battery doors with an updated design. More information at the bottom of the article. We go through a lot of gear here at Lensrentals. Like, a LOT a lot. Even…
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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 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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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…
