Do you want a compact lens with a constant f/2.8 aperture? Does it have to be as sharp as a G-Master lens without the high price? Sony may have just given you what you asked for, provided that you don't need an extensive zoom range.
For a long time, third-party optics usually meant compromise somewhere, but in 2024, does that apply anymore? Is it possible for a photographer to be perfectly happy shooting with, for example, Sigma lenses and nothing else?
I love the beauty and simplicity of black-and-white photography, and there's little process simpler than setting a camera to your preferred black-and-white mode and running wild with straight-of-the-camera JPEG files. But not all black-and-white picture profiles are equal, so which is the best?
An OM System 150-600mm f/5-6.3 has been sitting in the office for months and I haven't touched it since I tested the OM-1 Mark II. Finally, the cold weather had given way and I had no excuse to ignore it anymore. A trip to the Calgary Zoo would let me test out not only the wildlife capabilities of this lens but also the excellent macro versatility that the lens offers.
Nikon's new Nikkor Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens is a groundbreaking full-frame zoom lens, offering 14.2 times zoom in a lightweight package. Does it come with unacceptable compromises, or is it poised to be the ultimate all-in-one lens for Nikon Z photographers?
I normally dismiss ultra-fast aperture lenses because they tend to be overly large, overly expensive, and overly excessive. I rarely want to have the shallowest depth of field possible, and an f/1.2 lens is only two-thirds of a stop brighter than a reasonably priced f/1.4 lens. But what if I can have my cake and eat it too?
I have to admit that I haven't given enough time to review the many, many lenses that are coming to us out of China. The only thing harder than knowing which Chinese camera companies belong to which other camera companies is knowing how to pronounce the often strange naming conventions given to the brands.
I haven’t used an instant camera in a very long time, and I must admit that when the new Fujifilm Instax Mini 99 showed up I was a little flippant about it. After my time with it, I'm happy to admit I was wrong.
For decades, professional photographers have been using the pairing of a 70-200mm f/2.8 and a 300mm f/2.8 to achieve their telephoto goals. Canon introduced the RF 100-300mm f/2.8 L IS USM recently and it just about covers the range of both those lenses. But is it as good?
The Leica SL3 is the latest entry in the high-megapixel camera arena and the first for L-mount in some time. I was excited to get it in my hands, even if it was still in the pre-production phase.
It's been a hot minute since I've played with a true superzoom, so I was unusually excited to see how Panasonic's new compact 28-200mm f/4-7.1 -- the L-mount's first all-in-one zoom lens -- performed.
It’s not often that I get to review a lens that the world has never seen before. I’ve reviewed plenty of f/1.4 lenses and I’ve reviewed the occasional 15mm fisheye, but a 15mm diagonal fisheye with an f/1.4 maximum aperture is a first for me.
When it comes to general-purpose standard zooms, Sony has you covered. With some classic choices like 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master II and 24-105mm f/4 G or the unique Sony FE 20-70mm f/4, there is something for everyone. However, Sony decided to go even further and add the brand new FE 24-50mm f/2.8 G to its growing collection. The idea is to have a more affordable and compact lens alternative to the expensive 24-70mm GM while still having a fast f/2.8 aperture, albeit with a reduced zoom range. I got my hands on one to try, and here is what I found.
When I heard about the latest Sigma lens, the 500mm f/5.6 DG DN Sport, I wanted to revisit the Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary. The new lens sounded ideal because it is unobtrusive, lightweight enough to handhold easily, and has the reach to capture these elusive Wolfdogs in their natural surroundings.
I'm gonna let you in on a dirty little secret of mine: I never liked the original Fujifilm X100. When it first came out, I was -like many others- enamored by the beautiful styling, but the operation of the camera just never gelled with me. The rather boring -- in my opinion -- 35mm lens didn't help things either. It wasn't until I played with the newly designed X100V that I had my aha moment, and realized the appeal of this camera.
We've seen 24-105mm lens formulas before and we have seen f/2.8 zooms, too. However, we have never seen the two combined, and it's about time.
When OM Digital Solutions purchased, and thereby saved, Olympus' incredible photographic history and slate of digital cameras from the brink of collapse in 2021, there were many questions about what would happen to the Olympus Micro Four Thirds system. OM answered these concerns the following year with the OM System OM-1 camera, the most impressive Micro Four Thirds camera ever released at the time.
With the recent release of the Samsung S24 Ultra, North America now has three premium-priced phones that happen to compete in a very similar way against each other. The Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max, Google Pixel 8 Pro, and Samsung S24 Ultra, all have state-of-the-art displays, HDR-compliant photos and videos, and a 5X telephoto lens to compliment the main and ultra-wide cameras.
Like the majestic Canada Goose, I escaped a particularly brutal winter by flying south. As temperatures back home plummeted to a balmy -40 degrees, my plane landed in San Jose, California. San Jose is the West Coast convention center capital of the tech world, and Samsung was there for the brand new Galaxy S24 series of smartphones.
The 135mm focal length is one of my favorite portrait ranges due to its compressed rendering of people’s faces, as well as lending itself to stunningly dramatic full-body environmental portraits. Last year saw the release of two new 135mm lenses, one each from Canon and Nikon. Take into account the venerable Sony 135mm G Master and you have all three of the major full-frame mirrorless companies now offering a 135mm f/1.8 lens.
Many camera manufacturers choose to support, or at least turn a blind eye to, third-party lens makers. Some even wholeheartedly embrace them. However, Canon has infamously taken a stance to deny third-party manufacturers access to its RF mount. The fascinating twist is that many companies were beginning to produce manual and autofocusing lenses before the crack-down, creating an exclusive market of very rare lenses that hit the streets before the curtain fell.
We all have to start somewhere. For most of us, that means a basic DSLR or mirrorless camera kit with a compact, handy general-purpose zoom lens. Undoubtedly, we can't wait to ditch our basic kit lens for something faster or more versatile. A kit lens is something we feel we need to graduate from to call ourselves an accomplished photographer. But is that really the case? Maybe the humble kit lens has more to offer than we think, so today we will look at our five favorite kit lenses of all time.
Jordan and I were naughty this year and Santa put something in our stocking that was less useful than a lump of coal. Naturally, we decided to review our gifts and see if there was any merit to mass-produced photo gear on the cheap.
The Pentax K-3 III Monochrome is among the most affordable cameras designed exclusively for black-and-white photography and a very good APS-C DSLR.
In the early summer of 2023, I had an opportunity to play with the soon-to-be-released Nikon Z8. We met up with the Nikon crew in Yellowstone National Park to photograph some wildlife and the good folks at Nikon also had another surprise for us out there.
The Canon EF 11-24 f/4 L lens was an extremely wide-angle lens that found popularity with DSLR users. Although it could easily be adapted to RF mirrorless cameras, doing so would make its bulky size more cumbersome and it was quite expensive -- but now there is an RF solution.
Tamron has built a reputation for creating some unique focal ranges. Take, for example, the 35-150mm that recently hit the market and really impressed. What might seem at first to be an odd range can end up being very useful. So the same could be expected of the 17-50mm f/4 Di II VXD, right?
The Phase One XC is an unusual camera, and not just because of its $62,490 asking price. It's designed with a specific purpose in mind and it sports a fixed lens in front of a massive 150-megapixel medium format sensor.
Where has the time gone? It's been ten years since Jordan and I started our annual roundup of the best and worst products in our industry. Every year we give our opinions on the cameras we feel deserve the top spot as well as any honorable mentions that have also made a positive impression. Perhaps even more exciting, though, is our vote for the most infamous photo and video products of the year.
Apple has just launched the promised new round of updates to its Final Cut Pro for iPad software and Final Cut Pro for Mac and we had the exclusive opportunity to put the changes through their paces.
Fujifilm has come to dominate the medium format market and for good reason. Combining the ergonomic controls and autofocusing capabilities of its APS-C cameras with the colossal image quality from the 100-megapixel sensor has paid dividends for the company. Although Fujifilm also uses a 50-megapixel sensor, it's the latest sensors in the GFX 100 line of cameras that steal the show.
Sony is on its second version of a pro-level 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master lens. Tamron recently released its second 70-180 f/2.8 G2 lens. A professional 70-200mm f/2.8 was one of the first lenses released by Panasonic for its Lumix full-frame bodies. And in all this time, where has Sigma been? Well, the wait is over. Sigma has finally released the 70-200mm f/2.8 DG DN OS Sports series lens, but was it worth the wait?
I consider myself an ardent supporter of Ricoh/Pentax products and have always endeavored to review its cameras and lenses when many others have chosen not to. I also think that the Pentax brand has really found its niche as more of a boutique manufacturer, focusing on the classic SLR design -- a move that I think makes a ton of sense in today's waning market.
This week, Sony announced the a9 III featuring the world's first full-frame 24-megapixel sensor to feature a global shutter in a interchangeable lens mirrorless camera. There have only been a few times in my reviewing career where I would, in all seriousness, call something an actual game-changer. This is certainly one of those moments.
The world of mirrorless camera lenses is strangely devoid of professional 300mm lenses. That is, until now. Sony has released a brand new full-frame 300mm f/2.8 G Master lens and I had a chance to test it out.
With the recent release of the Panasonic G9 II, we've been hearing a lot of you ask how it compares to the OM-1. We are happy to report that we have that answer.
I must admit, reviewing the new Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses is something I never thought I would be doing. I was excited to give them a try though, and hey, they do have a camera in them after all.
The original Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD has quite a wordy title to say. Luckily, it's worth the hassle because it is one of my favorite lenses in recent memory. Sharp, compact, and affordable, the Tamron 70-180 f/2.8 was an immediate hit. However, debuting on Sony E-mount, we now have a brand new version, and it promises to shake things up again.
The Leica M11 series now consists of three cameras. We have the original M11 which I very much enjoyed using on the streets of New York. Then, the M11 Monochrom was released and became an instant classic. I loved taking black-and-white images with it all over Montana. Now we have the release of the M11-P which apart from some minor cosmetic changes is largely the same as the original M11. So, why then should we get excited about such a similar camera?
Previously, we made a video about when and why you would use a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera instead of a smartphone. It seems only fair to look at the opposite scenario too.