Photography Gear News

Normal primes used to be fairly predictable products: small, light-weight, affordable, based on a rather simple design, yet nonetheless very sharp, especially stopped down. There were a few exceptions, of course, usually very expensive ones (think of Noctilux, Noct Nikkor or the EF 50/1.0 L USM), but most of the gang offered very similar features and performance - across all brands.
It seems that several manufacturers decided that the most natural focal length (which some call the "most boring one" instead) could need a little more excitement. This has lead to a bunch of new products in this area, but as before, most of them were quite expensive, like for example the new Nikkor AF-S 58mm f/1.4.

Sigma already has some experience in this field, because their EX 50mm f/1.4 HSM lens, announced in 2008, was refreshingly different from most other normal primes at that time. However, that lens earned mixed reviews, combining very smooth bokeh with so-so sharpness at large apertures, the latter often emphasized by its tendency to shift focus with different aperture settings.

The new lens, a member of the "Art" family of Sigma lenses, is widely expected to deliver significantly better performance.

Having been testing lenses extensively for the past few years, I have seen all kinds of optical defects on even the most expensive / exotic lenses that cost thousands of dollars. One of the most common issues I have seen so far is lens de-centering, where a single optical element or a group of elements …

I generally do MTF testing on multiple copies of a given lens so that I can present the averages, look at sample variation, and stuff like that. I'm always aware that looking at any single copy of a lens, especially a zoom lens, gives only a limited prediction of how other copies might look. But sometimes a limited prediction is still pretty exciting. As luck would have it, I was able to get a single copy of the Sigma 24-35mm f/2.0 DG HSM Art lens for testing today. It will be a week before we have enough copies to begin doing out multiple copy tests, so I thought I'd go ahead and post the results of the one copy.

Z Camera, a China-based photography startup, has introduced a connected Micro Four Thirds camera called the E1. Shaped like GoPro's HERO action cameras, the E1 carries a 16MP Four Thirds sensor and can record video at 4K 4096x2160 resolution. It provides Wi-Fi connectivity and an open platform for developers. Read more

Quelle Surprise!* DxO has made a camera. And not just any camera. The DxO ONE features a 20MP 1"-type sensor and 32mm equivalent F1.8 lens, but it is designed to be used in combination with an Apple iPhone (or iPad). The idea is that the ONE takes care of the camera and image storage part of the equation, while the phone donates its powerful onboard computer and touchscreen. In combination, the ONE and your phone should comprise a more powerful capture device than you'll find built in to any current smartphone or tablet. 

We can't help but think that in terms of nomenclature, DxO might have painted itself into a corner when it comes to the eventual successor to the ONE (think about it for a minute), mais revenons à nos moutons**...

The Sony a7R II is the company's newest addition to the popular full-frame mirrorless line, and caused quite a stir with its introduction earlier this month. In this opinion piece technical editor Rishi Sanyal explains exactly why he thinks this camera is potentially groundbreaking in many ways. Read more

If you haven’t noticed, camera sales are down. I mean, they’re way down. Unsurprisingly, everyone’s scrambling to find a reason why. There’s a video floating around from Mayflower Concepts that, at the very least, explains what is not the cause for the camera sales drop. If you don’t have 50 minutes to watch it for …

The Fujifilm X-T10 puts many of the X-T1's capabilities into a smaller, less expensive body. It uses the same 16MP X-Trans CMOS APS-C sensor and EXR Processor II, though its 2.36M-dot EVF and 3" 920k-dot LCD are slightly downgraded from the X-T1. Despite a more compact body it offers an additional custom function button and even squeezes in a pop-up flash. Can the X-T10 hold its own in an incredibly competitive field? Read our full review to find out.

Read our Fujifilm X-T10 Review

"Kowa who?" - that's probably your first thought here I reckon. No, it's not another obscure manufacturer with a backyard workshop. Kowa is indeed a fairly big company with high quality optical products and quite some history behind them. Established in 1894(!) Kowa is a multinational Japanese company with almost 2000 employees and multiple product ranges and activities. In terms of optical products they are renowned for their spotting scopes, binoculars and industrial lenses. They even manufactured cameras till the late 1970s. The Kowa Six was their high profile product at the time - a medium format camera plus a large lineup of lenses. And it seems as if they are willing to try a comeback again. It all started a few years back when they introduced a -let's call it- hybrid lens - the Kowa Telephoto Lens Spotting scope which can be used both as a spotting scope as well as a super-tele lens for DSLRs. It even featured a fluorite crystal element - thus a super-expensive component also used by Canon in their very best lenses. Due to the lack of AF, it probably isn't an overly successful product but it seems as if they felt the wind of opportunity. Thus they just introduced a set of three new lenses for the Micro-Four-Thirds system which we'll all cover here at Photozone. In this first review we'll discuss the Kowa Prominar MFT 8.5mm f/2.8 - thus an ultra-wide angle prime lens with a full format equivalence of "17mm".

The fourth iteration of Sony's Cyber-shot RX100 series brings a host of high-speed features from super slow-mo movies to 4K video with virtually no rolling shutter. It all stems from the RX100 IV's 20MP stacked CMOS sensor and the additional room for high speed circuitry that the design allows. Our full review is well under way; for now take a look at the first installment.

Read our Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 IV first impressions review

Sigma keeps on rolling out more "Art" (professional grade) series lenses - obviously with quite some success as you can also conclude from our previous reviews of Sigma Art lenses. Slowly but steadily Sigma has gained quite a reputation in the professional community as well. This shows that Sigma's "A1" quality control system really does make a difference (are you listening Fuji, Samsung, Pentax, Tokina ...?) - after all pros value optical consistency as much as sheer performance. This time we'll have a look at the Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM | Art thus a moderate ultra-wide angle lens (full format). Thus now we got "arty" versions of the 24mm, 35mm and 50mm. The 85mm will be next in line for sure in the foreseeable future.
Despite having improved the overall quality, Sigma managed to keep the price tags on a really fair level which is surely a relieve for many potential customers since the original manufactures are keep on driving their products to insane levels here. The Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM | Art sells for roughly 850US$ (800EUR) vs 1550US$ (1400EUR) for the Canon EF 24mm f/1.4 USM L II which could be a good reason to help even loyal Canon customers changing boats ... if the quality is right.

Sigma has announced the 24-35mm F2 DG HSM Art, a constant wide-aperture, wide-angle zoom for full frame cameras. Part of the company's high-end 'Art' range, Sigma suggests the lens can play the same role as a 24, 28 and 35mm set of prime lenses. The lens has a minimum focusing distance of 28cm, giving a maximum magnification ratio of 1:4.4. Click through for more details