Lensrentals Blog
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Silent Changes
Every so often I get an email asking me to jump in on some forum argument or other. I rarely do that because of the language barrier. Two of the common languages spoken on forums are CAKWAF (Complete, Absolute Knowledge Without Any Facts) and AFIDAWAB (Any Facts I Don’t Agree With Are Bullstuff).…
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And Edgerton Said, “Let There Be Light.”
The more I learn about the history of photography, the more I come to realize that just about every important advancement since 1850 has its roots in photography. The 8 hour workday, paid vacations, and employee stock options? A photography manufacturer started them. Telegraph? A photographer…
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From the Great Pyramid to Toy Trains: Early Flash Photography
### Urochordataphobia Whenever out-of-print books start arriving at Lensrentals, they know I’m about to write a history article. It happened again last week, and one of the young employees asked me, “why do you write these things?” I told them because I have urochordataphobia — I fear the example…
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Protecting Yourself from Gear Theft
In case you don’t know it, cameras and lenses are prime theft targets. You may never think it’s going to happen to you, but almost every day I hear from someone who is missing thousands of dollars worth of gear with no hope of getting it back. As a rental company, we have lots of experience with…
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Photography Consumer’s Bill of Rights
In 1962, then President Kennedy presented to the U. S. Congress a Consumer’s Bill of Rights. The second and third points of this Bill are as follows: (_2) The right to be informed–to be protected against fraudulent, deceitful, or grossly misleading information, advertising, labeling, or other…
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LensRentals Current Promotions
Use the promo code EARLYBIRD10 to get 10% off any rental arriving on Monday or Tuesday. To take advantage of the offer: - Select a Monday or Tuesday arrival date. - Enter the code EARLYBIRD10 in the Special Instructions box during checkout. - SAVE! ### The Nuts & Bolts 1\. Not stackable with any…
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Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 Part II: Comparative Anatomy
We know the optical formula for the new version of this lens is the same as the old version. We know it has the ability to be reprogrammed and adjusted with the new Sigma dock and Optimization Pro Software. We know there have been some changes to the mechanics and structure of the lens, but we…
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Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 OS Sport Part 1: Features and Optics
OK, I’m not sure what the official name of the new 120-300mm f/2.8 lens is. I think Sport is probably best, since it’s got that designation in the new Sigma lineup. On the Sigma website it gets called the OS S. The guys around here call it the 120-300 A1, since it’s one of the lenses that go…
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Really Getting In Touit
A couple of weeks ago I posted my impressions of the Zeiss 32mm Touit lens for NEX cameras, based on a copy loaned to me by Zeiss, USA. Now that we have our own copies I can be, shall we say, a bit more aggressive in examining the lens. Not to mention getting an opportunity to continue my string of…
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Whose Camera Will I Buy in 2018?
I’m not really sure why, but if you want to watch the Fanboys go completely insane, the simplest thing to do it is throw out “your brand is probably going to be out of business in a few years.” But the simple reality is that’s what happens to most companies eventually, especially technology…
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Sigma Optimization Pro and USB Dock
_“Commerce makes progress. Fortune passes everywhere.”_ – Frank Herbert A few years ago I was accused of being a Sigma hater. (For the record, I did hate their quality control and so-called repair service at that time, and I didn’t hesitate to say so in this blog.) For the third or fourth time in…
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Canon 200-400mm f/4 IS: Quick Comparison
Yeah, it costs almost $12,000. You could buy a Canon 400mm f/2.8 IS II and a 2X teleconverter for that. You could buy 10 copies of the Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS for that. I don’t know what you’d do with them, but you could. I sure can’t tell you if a lens is worth $12,000 by running a few…