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Aspherical elements are the reason why modern lenses are so good

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Whenever a new lens is announced, we always get a breakdown of the optical elements that make up the whole. So many elements in however many groups. It’s often followed by statistics about how many there are of different types of elements. Low dispersion, extra-low dispersion, aspherical, etc. But that last one, what does it mean?

Well, in simple terms, it’s why modern lenses exhibit much less chromatic aberration and increased edge-to-edge sharpness than lenses of the past. They’re designed to solve issues inherent in most spherical lenses used in the past, and this three-minute video from Canon explains exactly how and why they work.

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Latest Olympus lens roadmap shows new 20mm f/1.4 Pro prime and 40-150mm f/4 Pro zoom lenses

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OM Digital Services has announced a new lens roadmap for Olympus M.Zuiko lenses apparently scheduled to be released. There aren’t a lot of changes, but there are a couple of interesting new lenses being added, including an ED 20mm f/1.4 Pro and a 40-150mm f/4 Pro.

Olympus already has a 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro and a super low budget 40-150mm f/4-5.6 R. The new f/4 Pro would present an option that sits in between the $199 and $1,499 options, offering a lower budget option but with decent quality. The 20mm f/1.4 Pro fills a nice little hole in their primes lineup in between the 17mm f/1.2 and 25mm f/1.2 Pro lenses.

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These gorgeous stickers are the most stylish way to label your lenses

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If you own a lot of lenses and cameras, labeling them will make your life easier. Canadian company Field Made Co. is on a mission to make it happen, but also make labeling as stylish as possible. They produce stickers for camera bodies and Canon, Sony, Fuji, Nikon, and Sigma rear lens caps, and they’re as sleek as they can be.

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MTF charts – What are they? How do you read them? And why should we care?

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Whenever a new lens is released, we almost always see those infamous MTF charts posted along with the product images. But what exactly are MTF charts? What are they? Why are they a thing? How do you read them? And why should you care?

In this video, photographer Dustin Abbot goes into a deep dive on MTF charges to explain exactly what they are and how they’re of benefit to photographers. While he does go quite detailed into the charts, it’s an easy to understand analysis of what they are.

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How focal length and subject distance affects car photography

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We’ve all seen these kinds of animations before when it comes to portrait photography. We’ve featured a few of them here on DIYP before where we see how the changing focal length affects the way a subject’s face is rendered. And as with the portrait ones, this one serves as a good example of that point but using cars. Although it’s slightly misrepresenting itself.

As with similar such animations for portraits, this Reel post from liberdamedia leaves out the fact that the distance to the subject has changed, too. And that’s what really affects your perspective – more so than the focal length. But it’s a great example to illustrate how the shot changes as you alter those two variables.

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This watch is like a stylish TLR camera for your wrist

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Perhaps you remember these gorgeous lens-inspired watches from TACS. The Japanese brand has done it again, this time creating Automatic Twin Lens. It’s an elegant TLR-inspired watch for all you vintage camera enthusiasts. I find this one the most beautiful so far, so let’s take a peek at the story behind it.

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Leica’s newly announced Summicron-SL 35mm f/2 lens will only cost you a mere $4,600

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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.

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This trick will tell you which lens to buy next

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Buying a new lens is always an exciting event. But, with such a huge choice, you may be indecisive about the one in which you should invest your hard-earned money. In this video, Toma Bonciu suggests a simple trick that will help you determine what would be the ideal next lens for you. Additionally, this trick can also help you when you have to pack light: it will help you to decide the ideal lens to bring.

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