SigZilla is gone now. You’ll be able to see its work in action if you watch the World Series. I wouldn’t be surprised if you catch a glimpse of it mounted to FOX’s Vision Research camera. Before it left, though, we were able to — with a great deal of difficulty — get it mounted in the lab and run one basic Imatest series.
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Sigma’s 200-500mm telephoto lens is so large (2.3 feet long and 34.6 pounds) and so expensive ($26,000) that many people just can’t take it seriously. Last year we shared some hilarious customer reviews that poked fun at “the green monster.” If you’ve been wondering how the lens actually looks, works, and performs, the folks over at LensRentals recently purchased a copy of the lens for their inventory and snapped some behind-the-scenes photos of their initial tests.
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A number of publications have begun receiving hands-on time with the new Sony RX1 full-frame compact camera. It seems that Sony is doing something right, as initial commentators and testers are saying some pretty positive things about the $2,800 shooter.
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The Canon 50mm f/1.0 was the fastest SLR lens in production before it was discontinued in 2000 and replaced with the f/1.2. There aren’t too many copies of this lens floating around on the used market, so photographers who want to use the ridiculous aperture it offers must pay a hefty premium in order to purchase one; the lenses commonly sell for two or three times the original retail value.
When reader Bryan Soderlind switched from film to digital a while back, he decided to splurge and go “all the way” by buying a 50mm f/1.0 for a little over $3,000 — a relative bargain. The lens was in “impeccable shape” and was in focus even when using the razor sharp depth of field at f/1.0. Here are some of his thoughts on what it’s like to use the lens, and some sample photos from his shoots.
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Last month we wrote about how the small focusing lens inside a laser pointer can be repurposed as a cheap macro lens for your smartphone. After seeing this project online, photo enthusiast John Coleman decided to give it a shot. To keep the lens secure against your phone, you’ll need something to hold it (e.g. a hair pin) and some tape to attach the holder to the phone. The photo above shows the super simple attachment Coleman created.
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Lens caps are often cast aside in favor of lens hoods, but what if you could have both in one accessory? That’s what the Hoocap does. It’s not as fancy as the blooming lens hood concept we featured a year ago, but it seems pretty well thought out. Extend the cap/hood out from your camera, and the two “curtains” open up, allowing the camera to “see” and blocking errant light from causing flares. Close it, twist it, and push it into your lens, and it locks into its closed position for protecting your glass.
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Lensbaby’s big announcement at Photokina this year was the new Spark: an affordable plastic lens that offers selective focusing at a low price point of $80. A few weeks prior to the announcement, the company sent us a free copy of the lens to test out.
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In addition to its pretty standard cameras and lenses introduced this morning, Olympus also announced something quite unique: a body cap lens. It’s a pancake-style MFT-mount 3-element 15mm f/8 lens that is designed to replace your body old body cap. In 35mm terms, the focal length is equivalent to 30mm — not bad for casual snapshots.
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After being announced back in 2002 as a replacement to the 28-70mm, Canon’s 24-70mm f/2.8 (above right) quickly became an extremely popular and highly regarded lens due to its friendly all-around focal range and sharpness. When the Mark II version was unveiled back in February to succeed “The Brick”, as the Mark I version is called, photographers grumbled at its hefty $2,300 price tag, the fact that it uses an 82mm filter instead of 77mm, and the lack of Image Stabilization. Roger Cicala over at LensRentals tested out the new lens, and has extremely positive things to say about it:
This is short, sweet, and simple. The resolution absolutely, positively kicks butt and takes names. It is way better than the lens it replaces. It’s better at 70mm than the best Canon zoom I know of, the 70-200 f/2.8 IS II. It’s even better at 24mm than the sharpest 24mm prime we have, the Canon 24 TS-E. In the center, in the corners, it doesn’t care. We only had 5 copies to test, but they were all very similar with little copy-to-copy variation.
Resolution is not everything, of course. But it’s certainly an important thing. Unless the real lens reviewers find some dramatic problems with this lens, I’d have to lean towards worth-the-money on this one. I can’t believe I’m saying that a $2,300 standard zoom is worth the money. But then again, I can’t believe I’m seeing a zoom lens out resolve a $2,000 world-class prime, either.
Okay, okay. Time to sell a kidney.
Canon 24-70 f/2.8 II Resolution Tests [LensRentals]
If you’re as passionate about cooking and baking as you are about photography, then the GAMAGO Telephoto Kitchen Lens Timer is a fun product designed for you. It looks just like a plastic zoom lens that comes in camera kits, except it measures time instead of freezing it. The focal length numbers on the side of the lens are seconds, not millimeters. Give the rubber grip a twist, and the countdown starts. Once it hits zero, the “lens” will let out a ring to let you know that your culinary concoction is done. It’s entirely mechanical, meaning no batteries are required.
You can pick one up for $14 over at Photojojo or direct from GAMAGO, a San Francisco-based design company.
