Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
Cosina has anounced four new Voigtländer prime lenses for mirrorless shooters. Out of those, three are made for Nikon Z cameras, and one is intended for Fiji X shooters.
The 50mm f/2 and 35mm are made for full-frame Nikon Z cameras. Of course, you can attach them to an APS-C body too and get 75mm or ~52mm equivalent focal length. The 23mm f/1.2 comes in Nikon Z and Fuji X version, and it was made for APS-C cameras, but it can be used in the crop mode of your full-frame camera.
Leica has just announced its new APO-Summicron-M 35mm f/2 ASPH lens, coming in at the princely sum of $8,195. I’m never going to complain about the cost of a 70-200/2.8 again. The new manual focus lens is a Leica M mount lens with a 35mm focal length and a maximum aperture of f/2.
This “fast” wide-angle prime features an apochromatic design with ten elements in five groups. Six of those elements are high refractive index elements which Leica says “virtually eliminate chromatic aberrations”. Three aspherical elements also help to reduce spherical aberration and provide edge-to-edge sharpness.
Cosina has announced three new Voigtlander 35mm f/2 lenses. One of them is the Voigtlander Ultron Vintage Line 35mm F2 Aspherical Type II VM for Leica M, available in Black or Silver and the other two are Leica M and Sony E mount versions of the Voigtlander Apo-Lanthar 35mm F2 Aspherical VM.
The horrendously named Voigtlander Ultron Vintage Line 35mm F2 Aspherical Type II VM (we’ll just call it Ultron 2 from here on out) is an update to the existing Ultron 35mm F2 Aspherical lens. It’s designed to be small and compact, which is the opposite of the Apo-Lanthar 35mm F2, which seems to strive for image quality above all else.
Photos were leaked a week ago and then the specs for one of them came out a couple of days later, but now they’re official. Sigma has unveiled their new I (upper case “i”) series compact lenses. They’re designed for full-frame mirrorless cameras and to be as small and compact as possible. They’re also relatively inexpensive (compared to their Art series lenses).
The range kicks off with three new lenses (and absorbs an existing one). The new ones are the 24mm f/3.5 DG DN Contemporary, the 35mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary and the 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary. Sigma’s previously released 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary has also become part of the I series lineup.
According to a Twitter post from Nokishita, Sigma is getting ready to announce three new lenses. They’re DG DN lenses, designed specifically for Sony E and Leica L mirrorless mount cameras. The news comes by way of leaked product photos of each of the three lenses, but other than that, there’s not much info to go on just yet.
The three lenses are the 24mm f/3.5 DG DN, 35mm f/2 DG DN, and 65mm f/2 DG DN – as we can see from the text emblazoned on photos of the three lenses. We can also see that they have filter diameters of 55mm, 58mm and 62mm respectively, have manual aperture rings and lens hoods. That’s pretty much it, really. An official announcement is expected on December 1st.
Yongnuo has announced a new YN35mm F2S DF DSM lens for full-frame Sony E Mount cameras. It appears to not just be their existing 35mm f/2 for DSLRs with an extended barrel, either, but a completely new lens design. Whether or not it’s their own design or they’ve “borrowed” somebody else’s, I don’t know, but this one does seem as if it may be designed specifically for mirrorless cameras.
The lens is constructed of 9 elements in 8 groups including one aspherical element and one low dispersion element. The elements have a Nano-multilayer coating which Yongnuo says helps to improve light transmittance while suppressing ghosting and flare.
Zenit is expected to announce some new lenses in September or October, according to various reports. Sony Alpha Rumours says that three lenses will be announced in October, including a 35mm f/2.0, a 58mm f/1.8 and a 60mm f/2.8 Macro – all for Sony E Mount.
Photar, however, believes that the 60mm Macro will be getting shown off “in the fall” and specifically states the 35mm f/2 as coming in September. They also say that the 60mm f/2.8 Macro will be for Canon EF and Nikon F, with no mention of Sony.
In the world of photography, you’ll find people generally prefer primes or zooms. The main benefit to zoom lenses is that you can cover multiple focal lengths in one decent sized package. In saying this, there are some prime lenses that can work well for multiple purposes.
Two of these are the 35mm and 85mm primes. Now just to be clear, like any article this doesn’t apply to all people. With the genres I shoot, these two lenses can cover so many uses and really prove their worth. Regardless of which mount you own, there are great options from both first and third party manufacturers.
I actually feel these lenses have the same benefits and I will discuss why you should own these two lenses.
Leica has just introduced the latest addition to its series of lenses for the SL-System. The APO-Summicron-SL 35 mm f/2 ASPH is a prime AF lens designed for Leica full frame cameras. With the 35mm focal length and high durability, it’s aimed primarily at photojournalists and street photographers. And with the high price tag, usual for Leica gear, it’s also aimed at photographers with deep pockets.
Recently, Yongnuo announced their 35mm f/2 lens for Nikon. It’s basically the YN 35mm f/2 for Canon but with a Nikon mount. What makes this interesting is that it’s different to both of Nikon’s similar offerings; the 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX, and the 35mm f/2D AF.
Notably, it is both a full frame lens and appears to have a built in AF motor. Nikon’s 35mm f/1.8G features a built in AF motor, but designed for DX bodies. Nikon’s 35mm f/2D is full frame, but lacks the built in AF motor. If you want full frame with a built in AF motor and the Nikon name, you’ll have to get the 35mm f/1.4 which is significantly more expensive.
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