News tagged with "lens"

Another interesting patent has been discovered by Japanese blogger Egami, which shows a new method devised by Canon to adjust the shape of meniscus lens that seems different from the more straightforward method used by competitors. Canon's method uses the same 'electrowetting' principle as existing designs but does so to create a series of pumps, allowing faster and more precise control over the resultant lens.

Sony's RX1 fixed 35mm full frame compact has received the prestigious Camera Grand Prix 2013 title, while Sigma's 35mm F1.4 DG HSM was named lens of the year. The awards, organized by the Japanese Camera Journal Press Club have a history of recognizing what prove to be historically significant cameras. Meanwhile, the Editors Awards were given to the Canon EOS 6D and Sigma's DP Merrill series of compacts.

Panasonic has issued a firmware update for its Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm F2.8 ASPH Power OIS fast standard zoom for Micro Four Thirds cameras (H-HS12035). Version 1.2 improves the stability of the optical image stabilisation during movie recording. It's available to download now from the LUMIX customer support site - click through for the link.

Panasonic has created the Lumix G Vario 14-140mm F3.5-5.6 ASPH Power OIS, a second-generation 10x zoom for Micro Four Thirds cameras. The lens offers a smaller, lighter, less-expensive alternative to the original G Vario HD 14-140mm F4.0-5.8 ASPH Mega OIS. The latest version features three aspheric and two ED elements and an internal focus design with linear stepper motors to make the most of the faster focus processing of the latest Micro Four Thirds bodies.

Just posted: Our hands-on preview of Fujifilm's latest telephoto zoom lens, the Fujinon 55-200mm F3.5-4.8 R LM OIS. Designed for the company's X-system mirrorless cameras, it offers an 83-300mm equivalent angle of view, and a relatively fast maximum aperture. It also includes optical image stabilisation and two linear stepper motors for quiet focusing. Click through to read our detailed preview for more information. 

Nikon has filed a patent covering the idea of a password-based security system for lenses. The patent lists the high value of lenses as a reason for the innovation - the camera would refuse to shoot with a lens unless the correct password was entered. This is an attempt by the the company to prevent resale of stolen gear. (via Nikon Rumors)

Metabones has announced the schedule for the Micro Four Thirds version of its innovative 'Speed Booster' lens adapter has slipped to the second half of 2013. Like the existing version for mounting Canon EF lenses on Sony NEX cameras, the forthcoming version will allow the use of full-frame lenses, reducing the focal length by a factor of 0.71x and increases the maximum aperture by 1 stop. The Micro Four Thirds version will give a 1.4x overall 'crop' - giving a similar field of view to APS-C stills cameras and the Super35mm video format.(via 43rumors)

NAB 2013: Canon has announced the development of a 35mm prime lens in its Cinema EOS range. It is designed to be used on movie cameras with image sensors up to 35mm full frame in size, and includes a range of features optimized for movie shooting. The company has not finalized its specifications and pricing, but says it will release further details in due course. However as the Cinema EOS primes offer T-stops that correlate closely with existing L-series primes, it seems likely the 35mm will be approximately T1.5, and of course use the EF mount.

Just posted: Our review of the Fujinon XF 14mm 1:2.8 R lens. Fujifilm has been steadily building up its X-system of rangefinder-inspired mirrorless cameras since its launch in January last year, and the 14mm F2.8 is the fifth lens in the family. It's a 21mm-equivalent ultra-wide prime that's designed to match the full field of view offered by the X-Pro1's optical viewfinder. Like the other XF primes it has an aperture ring on the lens barrel, but it also includes an improved manual focus ring with distance and depth of field scales. Fujifilm makes some grand claims for its optical performance; click through to see if it lives up to them in our detailed review.

SLR Magic has announced its Monster Lens II spotting scope for Micro Four Thirds cameras. The optic mounts directly on the camera body, allowing users to shoot distant images, commonly referred to as 'digiscoping'. The 12-36x50 ED lens gives an equivalent optical zoom range of 840-2,520mm and aims to keep image quality high with extra-low dispersion optics and multi-coated glass elements. It will be available from June 2013 at a suggested retail price of $799. Click through to to read more.

A service center in Taiwan has repaired a seawater-damaged Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED lens by boiling it. According to a post by Nikon Rumors, after investigating the damage, staff established that the AF motor of the lens needed to be replaced and some internal parts were 'rusted' due to salt water damage. To remove this 'rust', they boiled them in water. The lens was apparently fixed in three days. (via Nikon Rumors)

Arizona-based wedding photographer, Trevor Dayley, is taking a unique approach to his portraiture by using a perspective control lens, the Canon TS-E 90mm F2.8. In an article he wrote for FStoppers, he explains why it has become his favorite lens and discusses the challenges and rewards of adding a tilt-shift lens to his arsenal. (via FStoppers)

Rokinon has announced the T-S 24mm F3.5, a wideangle perspective control lens, for release in May 2013. Rokinon rebadges and distributes Samyang lenses for the US market, and this lens first appeared at Photokina 2012 as the Samyang T-S 24mm 1:3.5 ED AS UMC, but without a specific date for launch. The lens features manual focus and aperture setting, offers up to 12mm of shift and 8.5° of tilt, and is designed for full frame cameras. It'll initially be available in Canon, Nikon and Sony mounts, at an RRP of $1299.99.    

Sigma US has announced the price and availability for its three latest 'Art' series prime lenses - the 19mm f/2.8 DN and 30mm f/2.8 DN for mirrorless cameras, and the 30mm f/1.4 for APS-C DSLRs. The DN lenses will be available for street price of $199 and the redesigned 30mm f/1.4 will be available in Canon, Nikon and Sigma mounts for $499. All three will start shipping from the end of this month. No details were given about the 60mm f/2.8 lens also announced during the CP+ tradeshow.

Just posted: Our review of Canon's top-end standard zoom, the EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM. Launched a year ago to replace its 10-year old predecessor, it's designed as a workhorse for professional photographers, and features a completely new optical design and improved, weathersealed build. In the latest of our lens reviews produced in collaboration with DxOMark, we take a look both lab and real-world performance. As usual, you can also compare it to a wide range of similar lenses using our unique lens data widget. Click through to see what we thought.

We've updated our Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 review with an additional page of lens data, brought to you in collaboration with DxOMark. The RX1's headline feature may well be its 24MP full frame image sensor, but the fixed Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 35mm F2 lens is an equally crucial part of its imaging chain. We've added a full set of technical lens measurements to our review to illustrate how it performs, presented in our unique data widget. You can also see how it measures up against the best 35mm lenses available for SLRs.   

CP+ 2013: Panasonic has added a 42.5mm F1.2 portrait lens and 150mm F2.8 super-telephoto prime to its lens roadmap for Micro Four Thirds, for release in the near future. The lenses, shown in prototype form at Photokina 2012, last September, are shown as being ready for release just after the 14-42mm II ASPH. kit zoom launched this week.

The recently released Metabones Speed Booster is a unique lens adapter that promises near-full frame coverage on an APS-C camera and an extra stop of light gathering ability to boot. Intrigued not only by the actual product, but by the potential of the technology behind it, we spent a few days with the Speed Booster, a Sony NEX-6 and our favorite Canon EF lenses. Here's what we found.

Olympus has announced the M.Zuiko Digital ED 75-300mm 1:4.8-6.7 II, an updated version of its lightweight 150-600mm equivalent telephoto lens for the Micro Four Thirds system. While most of the changes are cosmetic, the lens elements feature the latest ZERO (Zuiko Extra-low Reflection Optical) coating to resist scratches and reduce ghosting. Like its predecessor, this version also includes Olympus' MSC technology which aims to minimize focusing noise during video capture. The lens will be available only in black from March 2013 at an estimated street price of $549.99.

CP+ 2013: Pentax has shown two prototype products at the CP+ 2013 trade show in Japan: a bounce flash and a body cap lens for the Q-system. The flash is tentatively named the AF360FGZ II and has a guide number of 36, vertical and horizontal bounce capability, and is expected to ship this Summer. The 'Mount Cap Lens' is limited to the Q-mount camera line, and includes what appears to be a small hyper-focal lens which Pentax says will produce a 'toy-camera-like visual effect,' and is also expected this Summer 2013.