Well, I guess you could say better late than never. Canon has finally filled one of the largest holes in their consumer lens lineup. The Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 Image Stabilized (IS) Zoom Lens offers dSLR Dads an option for an everyday, ‘walk-around’ vacation lens. What is somewhat perplexing, is that this is built upon Canon’s entry-level EF-S lens platform. This means that Canon will be speaking highly of ‘value’ when it describing the features of this lens. Value, in this case, both for the consumer and Canon’s business case. The highlights of this lens include:(more…)
The AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G prime lens brings a Silent Wave Motor to Nikon’s standard prime lenses. With an ultra-fast f/1.4 aperture, this lens will allow you to photograph in extremely low light. The other benefit of a big aperture is it’s very small depth-of-field when wide open. This gives you those nice out-of-focus backgrounds, helping your subject really stand out. To get a better sense of this, This Week In Photography has an excellent video which gives a visual presentation of how changing your aperture affects your photos. Other notable features include:
AF-S Silent Wave Motor enables autofocus for Nikon D40, D40x, and D60 dSLR Dads.
Rounded 9-blade aperture diaphragm should help out-of-focus elements blur more natural and not seem blotchy.
Nikon Super Integrated Coating (SIC) enhances light transmission efficiency and offers superior color consistency and reduced flare. Nikon’s value alternative to ED glass in a standard lens.
Full-frame design will work with FX and DX formats.
With an estimated selling price of $440 it is more expensive than the 50mm f/1.4D, but lower than Sigma’s excellent 50mm F1.4 EX DC HSM Lens. But then again, the Sigma and f/1.4D are available now, whereas Nikon’s 50mm f/1.4G doesn’t ship until this December.
Photozone has released another in-depth lens test. This time, they are focusing closely on Sony’s Macro Alpha Lens, the 100mm f/2.8 Macro (available now at Amazon and B&H Photo).
The Sony 100mm f/2.8 macro is able to produce very sharp results combined with a negligible amount of distortions, vignetting and lateral CAs. However, longitudinal (axial) chromatic aberrations can be quite a problem in out-focus areas (f/2.8-f/5.6) resulting in a magenta to greenish tint in some situations - this is not unusual but unfortunate nonetheless. The build quality of the lens is fine although it doesn’t win any crown when looking towards the competition a la Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR or the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro. Same goes for the AF speed which does still rely on the slotted drive screw rather than Sony’s faster SSM (ultrasonic AF drive). The biggest problem of the Sony 100mm f/2.8 macro is probably its price tag - at around 600US$ it is substantially more expensive than the third-party alternatives without offering much if anything on top.
Regarding the third party alternatives referenced above. For around $200 less, a Sony dSLR Dad looking for value should check out the Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro Lens. You can read the entire review over at Photozone here.
I’ve begrudgingly kept my Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens, mainly because the actual lens assembly pops-out of the housing from time-to-time so I can’t sell it. At $80 it is a great value, but it’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer (until f/2.8). I was looking at the Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens (available at Amazon and B&H Photo), but it seems somewhat soft at the corners, even on a digital body. It also doesn’t have the same high quality feel as Canon’s excellent EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Lens (which I loved, available at Amazon and B&H Photo).
Well, leave it to Sigma to announce a quality, large aperture alternative, the new 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM standard lens. It will be offered in Sigma, Canon, Nikon, Pentax*, Sony* lens mounts. The * means if your Pentax or Sony camera body does not support HSM, auto focus will not be available. With any luck, this 50mm f/1.4 will be match the quality of their fantastic Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM Lens. Hopefully, Sigma will release this at a street price under $300.
If the 120-300mm f/2.8 EX was called the “Big-ma”, is this the “Tank-ma”
It’s big. Over Twenty-Eight inches long by nine inches in diameter big! It’s the only lens that could make an attached Canon EOS 1D Mark III or Nikon D3 look small.
It’s long at 200-500mm (500-1000mm with the included 2X f5.6 “attachment”) and it keeps a monster f/2.8 aperture all the way to 500mm. But I wouldn’t call it fast. How fast can an f/2.8 lens be when it has to turn glass that’s nine inches in diameter? Oh wait, that’s right, it has it’s own battery to power the zooming and AutoFocus operations.
It has an it’s own built-in LCD panel to display focusing distances and focal lengths. Why? Because it’s so huge you can’t see around it to tell how far away that Grizzly bear really is. But with a minimum focus distance of up to 196.9 inches, I guess you’ll know when to play dead.
It’s painted military green and comes with it’s own dedicated hard case for travel. Good luck getting that past the TSA on your next flight to Washington, D.C..
Price? Do you really have to ask? At under $25,000, you could always choose a Honda Civic as your new rolling camera case.
Canon actually exhibited prototypes of these lenses at PhotoPlus Expo in October 2007. Today they have announced that the production versions will ship this spring. The following is an unedited Press Release:
CANON U.S.A. INTRODUCES TWO HIGHLY ANTICIPATED TELEPHOTO LENSES AT PMA 2008
Both Canon and Nikon have recently released updates to their RAW-format Codec plug-in’s for Windows Vista. This codec will allow you to view and work with RAW files just like JPEG files. The details from each manufacturer are listed below. (more…)
INCLUDES THE BENEFITS OF VIBRATION REDUCTION IN A COMPACT AND AFFORDABLE ZOOM
MELVILLE, N.Y. (November 19, 2007) – Nikon Inc. today introduced the new versatile AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens that offers Nikon’s proprietary Vibration Reduction (VR) technology to help consumers snap sharper photos than ever before, even while shooting handheld. Compact and lightweight, this affordable lens is an optimum lens to use with Nikon DX-format digital SLR cameras and is the ideal focal length as a “first lens” to faithfully capture life’s day-to-day moments, or a welcome addition to a Nikon D-SLR photographer’s already-established lens assortment. (more…)
Tokina has also announced a second high-performance APS-C dSLR lens. The AT-X M35 PRO DX, 35mm F/2.8 Macro lens is a first in the industry. Tokina is offering dSLR Dads a 50mm film-equivalent, Pro-grade Macro lens with a short 140mm focus range. Expect shipments to retailers in late December 2007 for Canon and Nikon mounts. Pricing should be under $680. (more…)
Tokina has announced their new fast, Ultra-Wide Angle 11-16mm Lens at a constant f/2.8. This APS-C format only DX lens will begin to ship in late February 2008 for Canon and Nikon mounts. You can read the press release here (English Translation here). Pricing should be (more…)
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dSLR Dads.
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at Photokina 2004. Then, that focal length was too small to stand out, so they introduced the 
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(available now at 
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. Same goes for the AF speed which does still rely on the slotted drive screw rather than Sony’s faster SSM (ultrasonic AF drive). The biggest problem of the 
. You can read the entire review over at Photozone 
I’ve begrudgingly kept my 
, mainly because the actual lens assembly pops-out of the housing from time-to-time so I can’t sell it. At $80 it is a great value, but it’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer (until f/2.8). I was looking at the Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens (available at 
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. Hopefully, Sigma will release this at a street price under $300.
was called the “Big-ma”, is this the “Tank-ma”
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available now for pre-order. Makes a pretty good combo with the 
for under $400. You can check it out over at the 
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