Through the history of camera development, thousands and thousands of different types of lenses have been designed and produced. Some did not advance beyond the prototype stage, some were privately commissioned, and naturally many were mass-produced to one degree or another. Of these, some are particularly rare.
As the mirrorless camera wars are heating up, the major players are touting their cameras' designs, features, and specs as being superior to what the competition offers. Leica is firing some shots at Sony, the current market leader in the space: Leica claims that Sony's E-mount wasn't designed for full frame cameras.
Panasonic has announced the development of the Leica DG 10-25mm f/1.7 for Micro Four Thirds cameras. It's the world's first wide-angle zoom lens with a constant f/1.7 aperture.
Canon and Nikon have joined Sony to form the "big three" in the mirrorless camera wars, but there may be some new competition just around the corner: Leica, Panasonic, and Sigma are reportedly teaming up on a new full-frame camera project.
Leica today announced the new Leica Noctilux-M 75mm f/1.25 ASPH, a lens that delivers a "hair-thin depth of focus" that "isolates subjects with extreme precision."
The iconic Russian camera brand Zenit caused a flurry of excitement back in February 2016 after it announced that it's relaunching in 2018 with a full frame mirrorless camera that rivals Leica in luxury. But the camera may do more than rival Leica... It may actually be a Leica at its core -- a rebranded Leica SL.
For almost two centuries, the science and art of photography has allowed people to capture the world around them through carefully crafted lenses. However, not all lenses are created equal. While most lenses just aim to please, others aim to impress. Today, we are taking a look at some of the most exotic lenses we could find.
After releasing a total of 6 cameras, both digital and analog, at Photokina today, Leica would have been remiss to leave us without a few new pieces of glass. Don’t worry though, they’ve delivered in the form of six all-new lenses and two old lenses that have received a metallic makeover.
As much as Photokina is about cameras, lenses and accessories, camera companies are certainly not limited to these things where the trade show is concerned. Leica proved that today with their new online platform, Leica Fotopark.
Looking to make its medium format S-series lineup a bit more robust, Leica unveiled two new S-series camera bodies and a new S-series lens at Photokina this morning. The two cameras are the ‘entry-level’ CCD-sensor Leica S-E (Type 006) and the ‘top-end’ 4K-capable CMOS-sensor Leica S (Type 007), and they're joined by the Summicron-S 100mm f/2 lens.
The release of the ZEISS 55mm f/1.4 Otus was hailed with wide eyes and meaningful glances at checking account balances, but if you only just saved up enough to afford it, we've got some bad news for you: the next Otus lens is about to be released.
Leica isn't known for modern styling and innovative design. For the most part, the company sticks with what works, branching out here and there to release a special edition that is sold for an even more outrageous price than the standard version.
But today Leica steps outside of the box with the new Leica T: a APS-C sensor, aluminum unibody camera with surprisingly few physical controls, a large touchscreen and a whole new lens mount.
With much fanfare, Leica announced its new M and M-E digital rangefinders at Photokina today. The M breaks new ground by introducing some fancy new features that have never been seen before in an M rangefinder, while the M-E is the company's attempt at offering an entry-level digital rangefinder.
Notice that Leica has done away with its standard naming strategy. Apparently Leica is doing what Apple did with the iPad: leaving out the generation in the name entirely. In future, we'll be saying "Leica M" with "20th generation" in parentheses rather than Leica M20.
I’m not just a camera history nerd, I’m also a huge fan of weird things in general. Weird and unique technology is especially fascinating, and I’m sure many readers here share the same sentiment.
The L Mount Alliance has acquired two new members: Samyang and Astrodesign. While the latter is likely less known to photography enthusiasts, Samyang is quite a well-known brand that has become relatively respected over the last few years.
Robert Irwin is a published wildlife photographer, conservationist, Australian television personality, actor, and zookeeper at age 19.
The past decade has seen an explosion of film users. Whether this is driven by a sense of nostalgia, or a desire to experience the past (for those too young to have shot film earlier in their life), for the simplicity, or perhaps because some celebrities have taken to shooting film, it doesn’t really matter. The reality is likely a combination of many factors.
Film has experienced a bit of a resurgence in the past decade and we've seen a proliferation of never-before-made film stocks and even brought some back from the dead. But if you want to get started in film photography now, you'll need a camera. So where should you start?
Do you know what ZLR stands for? How about ED, or ESP? And what in the world is Fuzzy Logic? In this article, we'll learn all about the Olympus IS-1, a pivotal model in a whole new category of camera released in the 1990s, and all the strange acronyms that come with it.
Meyer Optik Görlitz -- formerly disgraced, purchased, and reborn -- has announced that it is no longer a brand-name only and is now operating as an independent organization. In the Meyer Optik's own words, it is "a real company again."
The history of photography is over a century old -- in fact, it was 107 years ago that Oskar Barnack created the Ur-Leica, a camera that would later be known as the genesis of the 36x24 “full-frame” format. Since then, hundreds of companies across the world have, to varying degrees of success, produced everything from 35mm to 127 to an assortment of medium format sizes and finally to digital.
The new Meyer Optik Görlitz Trioplan 100mm f/2.8 II manual focus lens was launched today after months of delays, officially bringing the storied Meyer Optik Görlitz brand back from the grave after being acquired from its bankrupt former owner (net SE) by the German company OPC Optics.
Amid countless updates about major industry events being cancelled (or not cancelled), gear being delayed, and factories being temporarily shut down—to say nothing of the day-to-day realities of dealing with a pandemic that have nothing to do with photography—it’s easy to overlook the long-term impact that this virus will have on our industry... has already had on our industry.
While at Photokina back in September, camera reviewer Kai Wong got some hands-on time with a pink Kipon 40mm f/0.85 lens. This 11.5-minute video is Wong's brief review of the "bokeh machine."
Panasonic has announced the development of its first two mirrorless cameras: the Lumix S1R and S1. As part of the newly revealed L-Mount Alliance, the two cameras will feature Leica's L lens mount.
I had the good fortune of having a pre-production model of the Fujifilm GFX 50s to take with me to Norway in February of this year on my scouting trip with Discovery Photo Tours.
As camera makers struggle to innovate, consumers are finding little need to upgrade. The market is slowing to the point of inertia—manufacturers need to take a left field approach to stay competitive.
This article aims to provide you with key tips, techniques, and hacks that, if followed correctly, should practically guarantee nailing pin-sharp manual focus shots in no time.
I hear a lot of chatter about how the decreased volume of camera sales is going to make some camera makers leave the market, or get absorbed by another company, or worse. Most of that speculation is all wrong for one very simple reason: it ignores the goals of the companies.
High-end video camera manufacturers are continuing to engineer innovative products that may one day change the way photographers take photographs, particularly in portrait, fashion and glamour circles.
It’s a challenging and tough sell, and not without a few obvious problems.