Venus Optics' Laowa lenses have been growing in both notoriety and popularity over the last few years thanks to their nearly constant stream of new and interesting optics for a wide variety of mounts. The company's latest is backed by the high-quality promise of its new Argus line: the Laowa Argus 33mm f/0.95 CF APO for APS-C systems.
ZY Optics has annoucned four new ultra-fast Mitakon Speedmaster T/1.0 cinema lenses for filmmakers, covering a variety of focal lengths and lens mount compatibility encompassing Micro Four Thirds, Super 35, and Full-Frame.
ZY Optics has announced the Mitakon Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 lens for Leica M-mount cameras, a manual focus lens that not only supports Leica Rangefinder Coupling for focus assistance but also promises to work with third-party autofocus adapters made for Nikon Z or Sony FE cameras.
In 2015, I fully committed to switching from my Nikon DSLR system to a Sony mirrorless system starting with the Sony a7 II. Up until that point, I had always held on to my Nikon D700 and D800 as my workhorse cameras for weddings and commercial shoots but experimented with Olympus, Sony, and Panasonic for my travel photography.
Filmmaker Josh Yeo of MAKE.ART.NOW. recently tested DJI's LiDAR Focus module for the new RS 2 gimbal to see if it could accurately focus his manual Mitakon Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 III lens. If it can handle this, that means you can pretty much add autofocus to any camera and manual lens combination you want... and the results look VERY promising.
ZY Optics has unleashed its latest "Speedmaster" lens. Designed for the Micro Four Thirds system, the new Mitakon Speedmaster 17mm f/0.95 III combines ultra-fast optics with a 34mm equivalent field of view and packs it inside a lens that costs just $400.
ZY Optics has just added a new member to its "Speedmaster" lineup of lenses. Meet the new Mitakon Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 lens for the Canon EF mount, hailed as the "world’s only f/0.95 lens designed for DSLR systems in production."
For a long time, there weren’t many options for high magnification macro photography without resorting to solutions like lens coupling and reversals. The only lens on most photographer’s radar was the Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1x-5x Macro. There were also other options, however, so let’s take a look at how the MP-E 65 compares to more modern and vintage lenses to put to 5:1 magnification and beyond – using a butterfly wing.
One year ago, cine lens and photo accessory brand NiSi revealed that it was working on a 75mm f/0.95 manual focus lens for stills shooters. Now, recently leaked images of the lens reveal that it may be called the "NOCT-master," potentially setting up a trademark dispute between NiSi and Nikon. [Update: NiSi is refuting this report. See update below.]
Episode 320 of the PetaPixel Photography Podcast.
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Featured: Photographer and digital artist, Erik Johansson
After years of launching lenses through much-hyped Kickstarter campaigns, Meyer Optik Gorlitz died in 2018 but was brought back to life after its parent company, net SE, was acquired by the German company OPC Optics. With a new owner, Meyer Optik is now confessing that yes, the Nocturnus was actually a modified Chinese lens.
I have been a commercial and wedding photographer for over 13 years. And from the beginning, I have been using Canon DSLR cameras and a variety of auto-focus lenses for the Canon EF system.
In January 2018, I had the opportunity to test a pre-production version of Laowa's first lens in 2018, the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5x. It is a niche high magnification macro lens touted to be the answer or alternative to the Canon MP-E 65mm for non-Canon users (especially Nikon macro photographers).
When it comes to optical image stabilization, it seems like nothing comes close to touching Olympus' OM-D E-M1 Mark II. As one photographer recently discovered, the 5-axis optical stabilization is so good, you can actually shoot the Milky Way hand-held with this monster.
Episode 135 of the PetaPixel Photography Podcast.
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Featured: Wildlife, landscape and travel photographer Nate Zeman
Macro photography on the cheap usually involves reverse lensing or buying some affordable extension tubes for your kit. But what if there was an extreme macro lens out there that was also extremely affordable? Enter the ZY Optics 20mm f/2 4.5x Super Macro Lens.
There's a new 35mm SLR lens on the block, and it's claiming to be the "world's fastest." We're talking about the new Kerlee 35mm f/1.2 by Chinese manufacturer Shenzhen Dongzheng Optics Technology.
Episode 48 of the PetaPixel Photography Podcast.
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Featured: Photographer and educator Will Crockett
Episode 14 of the PetaPixel Photography Podcast.
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Featured: David Hobby of Strobist.com
Last week, Chinese lens company Zhong Yi Optics started teasing a new Mitakon 25mm f/0.95 lens for Micro Four Thirds cameras. That lens has now been officially announced.
The new Mitakon Speedmaster 25mm f/0.95 is an ultra-fast, manual-focus prime lens that's the 35mm-equivalent of a 50mm lens when mounted to a Micro Four Thirds camera.
My name is Will Chao, and I'm a wedding photographer based in Melbourne, Australia. I’m a huge fan of large aperture lenses. I shoot every lens almost 100% of the time at the maximum aperture possible. At any given wedding, over 90% of my photos are taken with 35mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.2, and 200mm f/2.0, each at its widest aperture setting. I’m also one of the few people who use f/1.2 and f/1.4 for group shots.