Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
When Sigma started the global vision range the Art series, in particular, became a household name for high-quality lenses.
My personal favorite is the lovely 105mm f1.4 Art that is as wonderful as it is large! That is a common theme with the Art series. As they often sacrifice size and weight for image quality.
So imagine my surprise when Sigma released a new 85mm f1.4 DG DN Art lens that is roughly half the weight of their original DSLR version, the 85mm f1.4 DG HSM Art.
Shortly after IBC last year, an unknown China-based lens company called Dulens appeared, announcing a new 85mm f/2.0 lens. It’s a full-frame lens for DSLRs and they say it was designed by the same optical engineers behind the Kinefinity Mavo Prime range of cinema lenses.
News Shooter got their hands on one to have a play with a couple of months, and it’s been listed as available in China since then. Now the Dulens APO 85mm f/2.0 lens is available to pre-order for US customers priced at only $539 (this is a pre-order price, it’ll go up to $599 after it starts shipping) and it comes in both Canon EF and Nikon F mounts.
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.
The focal length of your lens affects your portraits, both in terms of subject distortion and the subject-background relationship. In this video, Julia Trotti demonstrates how this looks. She uses five prime lenses from 24mm to 135mm, so you can see just how much the change in focal length can change the final look of your image.
If you’re in the market for a new lens, it may be hard to decide whether to go for a third-party option, or stick with the same brand as your camera. The Sigma Art series has received a lot of praise, and photographer Julia Trotti put it to a test. She used the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art and compared it to the Canon 85mm f/1.2L II. In the video below, you can see how the lenses compare on Canon and Sony bodies.
The 85mm lens is the to-go lens of many portrait photographers. In this video, Matt Granger compares seven 85mm lenses from different manufacturers and with a huge difference in price. They are all between f/1.2 and f/1.8, and the prices go between $99 and $4,500.
Photographer and videographer Mathieu Stern is known for his passion for weird lenses. He recently repurposed a Russian spy lens Cyclop h3t-1. It comes attached to a night vision device, and it was used by the Russian army and even the KGB. However, Mathieu tested how it performs for shooting portraits- and the results are surprisingly good.
Meike recently announced its new 85mm. medium telephoto lens for Canon EF mount. Unlike their previous lenses, this particular model is the first to incorporate an autofocus function. [Read More…]
85mm is a commonly used lens, very much loved by portrait photographers. If you’re thinking of buying one, photographer Dustin Abbott is giving quite a detailed comparison in his two new videos. He compares four top 85mm lenses: Canon 85mm f/1.4L IS, Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART, Tamron 85mm f/1.8 VC and Zeiss Otus 1.4. So if you still haven’t made the decision which one is right for you, this video might answer some questions.
No matter what genre of photography you’re into, I’m sure you have your favorite lens(es). Manny Ortiz does mainly portrait and has two lenses he’d recommend to any portrait photographer out there. The 50mm and the 85mm are his lenses of choice, and he explains why he thinks every portrait photographer should own them. Let’s see if you agree.
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