New Items
Quick MTF of the Tokina 24-70 f/2.8 PRO Fx
* Courtesy Tokina, USA * Tokina is releasing a new competitor in the 24-70mm f/2.8 standard zoom lens group. It’s a reasonably sized lens, having an 82mm diameter front ring, measuring 4.25 inches long, and weighing 2.2 pounds. That’s just a bit smaller and lighter than the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 VC…
A Quick Look at the New Sigma 24-35 f/2 Art
* Image Courtesy Sigma USA * I generally do MTF testing on multiple copies of a given lens so that I can present the averages, look at sample variation, and stuff like that. I’m always aware that looking at any single copy of a lens, especially a zoom lens, gives only a limited prediction of how…
First Impressions of the Canon XC10
Over the July 4th weekend, I had the chance to mess around with the new 4k capable Canon XC10. The feature heavy system packed into a smaller form factor had many videographers intrigued, Here are the first few shots along with some quick first impressions. (All shots were captured hand-held in…
The Venus 60mm Macro – A Hidden Gem for Macro Photography
Including macro shots in a portfolio or wedding album is a great way to add variation and make the work stand out. This is the time of year when we get a lot of questions not only about macro lenses but about which lenses are best for shooting weddings. These questions are often asked in the same…
Canon 5DS and 5DS R Initial Resolution Tests
Like everybody else, we’re pretty excited to get our hands on Canon’s new 5DS and 5DS R. There are already a lot of hands-on articles about the cameras that probably have told you more than you need to know to make your purchase decision. Of course, for most of the Canon shooters who read this…
Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 G OSS Resolution Test
We got a pre-release set of Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 G OSS Macro lenses in for preliminary testing last week, and I was kind of excited about this lens for a couple of reasons. First it simply gives me a nice short telephoto prime option that has been lacking in the lineup (although the Zeiss 85mm Batis…
Canon T6 Sensor Issue
NOTE: As of May 8th, Canon has issued a recall of affected units. My hat is off to them for superb Customer Care. I didn’t dream it could be done this quickly. Roger Every once in a while we notice something, because of the large quantities of cameras and lenses we buy, that we think people should…
The Best Products of NAB 2015
This past week, I had the unique opportunity to go to the National Association of Broadcasters’ trade show, more commonly known as NAB. To say NAB is massive, is a gross understatement; with over 100 thousand people in attendance, and over 1 million square feet in booths and other showrooms, NAB is…
Just the Lenses: Sigma 24 f/1.4 Art Comparison
Most of you know I’ve been very impressed with Sigma’s new Art lenses. Their 35mm f/1.4 Art I still think is the sharpest 35mm prime lens made. The 50mm f/1.4 Art is also superb. When I heard about the Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art lens, I had some mixed emotions. I was excited that we might get a 24mm lens…
Canon EF 11-24mm F/4 vs. Nikon 14-24mm F/2.8
The new Canon 11-24mm f/4 is their widest ever beast of a zoom. Roger has tested it and said it’s as sharp as we had hoped, but I wanted to know how it looked in a real world comparison with the other beautifully bulbous ultra wide, the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8. *Canon 11-24mm on a 5DmkIII & Nikon…
Canon 11-24 f/4 L MTF Tests
I’ll be honest. I’m pretty excited about the Canon 11-24mm f/4 L lens. I love shooting ultra-wide and the chance to shoot this wide with a rectilinear lens on a full-frame camera has me pretty excited. But I’m also very aware of how near-impossibly difficult designing a lens this wide would be, so…
Just the Lenses: Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8
Our Just the Lenses posts are optical tests where we compare various lenses on the optical bench. Unlike DxO or Imatest test results, no cameras are involved, eliminating one of the major variables. It’s particularly useful when we’re looking at third-party lenses that can be used on various…