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One, Single Samsung NX-1 Test
I just want to be clear, before we get started, this is not an NX-1 review. It’s not even a complete optical test. It’s simply me answering a single question: is this new Samsung worth further investigation from an optics/image quality standpoint? Samsung’s 28.2 megapixel, APS-C backlit sensor…
Get 5% Back On Keeper Purchases
Looking to buy some gear this holiday season but not sure what? Try it, then buy it with Lensrentals Keeper. During the holiday season, we’re adding an extra bonus! Get 5% of your Keeper purchase price back as a rental credit, good towards a future rental. ## The Details - Any Keeper purchase from…
Black Friday Sale
It’s time for our 5th annual Black Friday Sale! The sale begins at 8:30 AM CT on Wednesday. At our sister site, LensAuthority.com, we’ll be giving you 10% off all used equipment. We’ll also be having special deals throughout the sale, so keep your eyes peeled on the Special Deals section and be…
Cracking Open the 7D II
OK, I have to admit I really like the Canon 7D Mark II. I didn’t want to because it wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to see the new Canon chip foundry that would be cranking out high-resolution sensors. But despite wanting to hate the 22-megapixel APS-C camera, after a fairly short exposure to the…
About That 25-300mm f/2.8 You Wanted
I get an email or text about once a month asking me if I think Canon, Nikon, or some other photo manufacturer will ever make something like a 24-300mm f/2.8 zoom lens. I’m usually gentle with those people, because I realize that a lot of people truly believe that if they want something badly…
Quick Zeiss 85mm Otus MTF Charts
Well, we finally got a few copies of Zeiss’ newest Big Ass Lens, the 85mm f/1.4 Otus in Friday afternoon. I didn’t have time to do a whole lot with them other than take a few shots, and run them through the optical bench for MTF testing, so this will be a short post. (Assuming I get a little more…
Introducing LensRentals Keeper
Saying goodbye can be the hardest part of any rental. With our new Keeper program, you can try it, then buy it! Just rent an eligible item, and then we’ll give you a starting purchase price based on the age of the copy we send you. We’ll even give you a credit for a portion of the rental fees. Even…
Just the Lenses: Canon and Nikon Mount 85mm f/1.4 (and 1.2) Primes
We’ll continue our Just the Lenses posts with the 85mm wide-aperture prime lenses. We’ll get through all of the wide aperture primes eventually, for those of you who like this series. If you haven’t read the previous posts, then you might want to go back and skim the introduction of the previous…
Field Curvature and Stopping Down
_Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge._ Charles Darwin What I know that I don’t know doesn’t cause me much trouble. I don’t know the formulas for 7th order optical aberrations for example. I don’t know enough math to calculate those formulas even if I did memorize them.…
The Itsy Bitsy Spider
We spend a lot of time here at Lensrentals getting dust out of lenses. Dust doesn’t affect an image, except in very rare circumstances, but people want their rental lenses to look nice and clean inside and out, and our inspectors check the inside of every lens with spotlights and send any dusty…
Just the Lenses: Canon and Nikon Mount 35mm f/1.4s
As I discussed in the last post, it’s impossible to accurately compare lenses from different mounts using any form of computerized target analysis testing (methods like DxO or Imatest). Target analysis tests an entire system (camera and lens). That’s a very practical thing, of course, but it has…
Just The Lenses: Canon vs Nikon Zooms at 70mm
It’s impossible to accurately compare lenses from different mounts using any form of Computerized Target Analysis testing (methods like DxO or Imatest). Target analysis tests an entire system (camera and lens). People try to, of course, but it’s not accurate since you always have the added…