Sony just keeps hitting one home run after another. Their newest lens – the Sony FE 70-200mm F4 Macro G OSS II (or SEL70200G II) – is one of the most versatile telephoto lenses I’ve ever used. Perhaps that’s why the name has to be so long; this lens does a LOT of things.
Lens review: TTArtisan 100mm F2.8 2x Macro tilt-shift
Talk about ratcheting up the complexity! I’ve reviewed a number of TTArtisan lenses before, and they have mostly fallen into the categories that are filled by a lot of what I call “Boutique Third Parties”. These include various manual everything prime lenses with varying maximum aperture sizes. While engineering for larger apertures (like their F0.95 lenses) are more challenging, their newest lens adds a LOT of new moving parts. That lens is the TTArtisan 100mm F2.8 2X Macro Tilt/Shift (we’ll shorten that to TTA100M for this review).
Lens review: Sigma 23mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary
It has been four years since I last reviewed a premium Sigma DN prime lens designed specifically for APS-C. The last one that I tested was the Sigma 56mm F1.4 DN, which impressed me as a portrait/short telephoto lens that was extremely sharp (one of the sharpest APS-C lenses that I’ve tested). Sigma is finally back with a new entry in the line-up, and this one covers the incredibly important full frame equivalent 35mm focal length. The Sigma 23mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary is (according to Sigma) the APS-C equivalent of their 35mm F1.4 DN ART lens, though, as we’ll see, Sigma’s design brief for the APS-C series follows a different formula than their full frame lenses. Here’s a look at the DC (APS-C) DN (mirrorless) lineup thus far.
Sony 24-70mm F2.8 GM II: In-depth review
The Sony 24-70mm F2.8 G Master was one of the earliest G Master lenses that I reviewed (in the summer of 2018), as I was fairly new to the Sony space. While I found a lot of positives with the lens, I also though it twas too large and somewhat overhyped by the marketing materials. Sony must have thought it too large as well, as they have now released the MK II version of the lens – the Sony 24-70mm F2.8 GM II – and one of the first things they are emphasizing is the reduced size. According to Sony, the new 24-70 II (as we’ll call it for brevity in this review) is 191g lighter, 16mm shorter, and the overall volume has the lens has been reduced by 18%. This is just the beginning of the improvements, though, as this Mark II lens has improved features, autofocus, and image quality performance. The G Master series is supposed to be the best, and Sony has worked to accomplish that here.
My first impressions of the Fujifilm 50mm f/2
Following my recent controversial dilemma on the future of my Fujifilm 56mm f/1.2, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to test out both the 50mm f/2 and the 90mm f/2 thanks to the lovely people over at Fujifilm. For those that haven’t read the post about the 56mm f/1.2 (it’s here if you want a read), I was genuinely tempted to trade it in for something that was a little more travel friendly eg the 50mm f/2. I was also tempted by the 90mm f/2 to replace the excellent portrait abilities.
For this post however we’ll concentrate on the 50mm f/2 and my short two weeks with it. Unfortunately, we got off on the back foot as I’d just had two weddings booked in this year and I absolutely love the 56mm f/1.2 for weddings; that was nearly my decision made already but let’s give the little lens a chance.
Does This Budget Friendly Telephoto Lens Deliver Quality Results?
Since late November, I’ve been shooting with a new Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD lens. I bought this lens to replace my Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens (the old version with the push-pull zoom) I’ve been using for wildlife photography since 2012.
I’ve loved my Canon ever since the day I unboxed it. This lens has everything I wanted, long reach, fast autofocus, reasonably lightweight, and since I bought it after the Mark II version came out the price was much more affordable. I’ve taken thousands of images with this lens and it served me well over the years. Any images shot with this lens I wasn’t happy with certainly were not the fault of the lens. I planned to keep using this lens for as long as possible as I was completely satisfied with my investment.
Fujinon XF 90mm f/2.0 – Too good to be true (for me)?
I think lens decisions are even more of a personal choice than the camera system. In the 30 days I had to use the Fujinon XF 90mm f/2.0 R LM OIS on loan from Fujifilm USA, I learned a lot about the capabilities of this lens, and was reminded about my personal preferences in creating photos.
Up Close with the Fujinon XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro Lens
One of my favorite ways to create more interesting photos is to get closer to the subject and fill the frame, eliminating or reducing background distractions. Often, I am unable to get as close as I would like to the subject due to the minimum focusing distance limit of the lens. This is where macro lenses, such as the Fujinon XF 80.. f/2.8 R LM OIS WR with their ability to focus when close to the subject, enter the picture (pardon the pun.)
Fujifilm X Prime Lens Review – Viltrox AF 23mm f/1.4
Until recently, if you were a Fujifilm X-Series camera owner, your options for fast prime lenses (f/1.4 or wider) were limited to (relatively) expensive options from Fujinon, or less expensive third-party manual focus lenses. Fujifilm has recently opened its autofocus protocols, and we can expect more third-party autofocus fast prime lenses soon. Until then, Viltrox has filled the gap of autofocus fast primes with their reverse-engineered 23, 56, and 85mm f/1.4 lenses. Let’s take a look at the Viltrox AF 23mm f/1.4 lens to see what you get for lots less money.
Fujifilm X-E4 and XF27mm f2.8R WR first look – Sleek and sensible
Well well well. It sure looks like the X-E line isn’t dead afterall. One of the most pocketable APS-C Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Cameras just got even more pocketable, and even more sleek and stylish. All of it without compromising features of the models that comes before it.
But is there really a place for a camera in 2021 that doesn’t have any form of weather resistance? Well, I guess we’ll have to find out, cause one thing that Denmark has had a lot of these past 3 months is shitty weather. And I brought the X-E4 into most of it!
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