This week on DPReview TV, Chris and Jordan test Sigma's latest macro lens, the 70mm F2.8 DG Macro Art. Find out why they like it in this uniquely Canadian presentation.
Articles tagged "lens-reviews"
This week we take a look at one of the most unusual optics we've seen for quite a while. The Laowa 24mm F14 Macro Probe lens may look like something out of a science fiction movie, but as Chris and Jordan discover, it opens the door to some pretty cool photo opportunities.
70-200mm F4 zoom lenses may not get as much attention as their faster F2.8 siblings, but for many photographers these lenses hit the perfect sweet spot of price, performance, and weight. This week, we shoot the new Tamron 70-210mm F4 alongside the equivalent Canon and Nikon models to see how they stack up.
The Tamron 70-210mm F4 Di VC USD is a lightweight telephoto zoom lens for DSLR cameras that comes in at an MSRP of $799. How does it perform? Find out in our full review.
DPReview staffer Carey Rose has taken the Panasonic Leica DG 15mm F1.7 along for everything from a city-side boat ride to a bachelor party across the mountains. Find out how the little Leica fared.
Could Sigma's new 14mm F1.8 DG HSM Art lens become the new standard for shooting the night sky? Our resident astrophotographer, José Francisco Salgado, took it on assignment and tells us what he discovered.
The Sigma 85mm F1.4 Art has been the talk of the portrait shooter town as of late, and for good reason since many testers have shown it to be the sharpest 85mm lens ever made. With that said, does it really live up to the hype? Read more
Was the third time the charm for the Canon 16-35mm F2.8L? To find out check out our full review. Read more
Canon threw everything but the kitchen sink at its overhaul of the 35mm F1.4L, and the Mark II version's performance does not disappoint – if you can get past a very steep price tag. Read more
The Sigma 12-24mm F4 comes at a fraction of the cost of the Canon 11-24mm F4L, but the real question is: can it match its performance? Read more
The Sigma 30mm F1.4 DN DC Contemporary was announced in February 2016, and sits atop Sigma's line of DN mirrorless lenses, with a 2-stop advantage over their previous 30mm F2.8 offering. As a Micro Four Thirds lens, how does it compare to the Panasonic Leica 25mm F1.4? Read more
The Nikkor 24mm F1.8G ED is one of Nikon's widest prime lens offerings and is part of a lineage of fast and sharp full frame primes. Coming in at just under $800 it's a lot of lens for the price, but does its performance live up to the expectations? Read more
The Sigma 30mm F1.4 DN DC Contemporary was announced in February 2016, and sits atop Sigma's line of DN mirrorless lenses. It's currently the only APS-C F1.4 autofocus lens available for Sony E-mount and has an MSRP of $339. Can it best the Sony 35mm F1.8 OSS? Read more
A full-frame, ultra-wide angle macro lens from a very new brand provides a unique option for users of many different systems and lens mounts. Combining a 1:1 macro, wide angle of view and shift lens into a single body, the Venus LAOWA 15mm F4 is a lens with more than a few tricks up its sleeve. This article explores those abilities and provides some real world samples from both full-frame and APS-C cameras. Read more
The king is dead, long live the Mark II. After 15 long years, Canon finally upgraded one of the biggest-selling telezooms of all time - the 100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS USM. Is it a worthy successor to the venerable, but still very capable original? Read more
Tamron's 16-300mm F3.5-6.3 takes the superzoom concept it made famous a few steps forward. It offers a significant increase in telephoto range, and also goes wider to bring real wide-angle capability to the superzoom category for the first time. It's also earned a 'Macro' designation with its close focusing ability. Is it truly a super zoom? Take a look at our analysis. Read more
Tamron announced the SP 150-600mm F5-6.3 Di VC USD at the end of 2013, and as one of the cheapest ways to reach past a 400mm focal length, it quickly became popular with amateur wildlife and sports photographers. We've previously published a lab test for this lens, but in order to get the complete impression, we wanted to spend some time with it out in the field. Read more
Lomography isn't a company we've historically talked about much on DPReview; with its emphasis on low-fi, 'shoot from the hip' photography using plastic film cameras, it's a long way from the typical interests of our readers. But last year the company came up with an interesting idea: to recreate a classic 19th century portrait lens for modern SLRs. The result is the Petzval 85mm F2.2, which is available now to fit Canon or Nikon SLRs. So what's it like? Read more
The Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD is one of a select group of supertelephoto zooms for full frame SLRs that reaches or exceeds 400mm focal length, while still being reasonably portable. Its trump card over its closest competition lies in its longer focal length - at 600mm full zoom, it'll let you get your subjects that bit larger in the frame. But does this result in an unacceptable compromise in optical quality? See the lens test data and our analysis
The Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD is one of a select group of supertelephoto zooms for full frame SLRs that reaches or exceeds 400mm focal length, while still being reasonably portable. This type of lens is the tool of choice for small or distant subjects when large heavy primes are impractical, ranging from birds and wildlife, through sports, to aircraft and the like. The Tamron's trump card over its closest competition (the Sigma 150-500mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM and the various 400mm telezooms from the camera makers) lies in its longer focal length - at 600mm full zoom, it'll let you get your subjects that bit larger in the frame.
The AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G is Nikon's latest moderate wideangle prime, designed for full frame SLRs like the D610. It sits in the lineup between the budget, DX-only AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G and the premium, half-stop faster AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.4G. It also faces stiff competition from the highly-regarded Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM. So how does it measure up in terms of optical quality? See the lens test data and our analysis
The AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G was announced at the beginning of 2014. It joins a growing family of modernised full-frame primes from Nikon with the same maximum aperture, alongside the AF-S Nikkor 28mm f/1.8G, AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G and AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G. At around $600 / £500 at the time of writing, it looks well matched to 'budget' full frame cameras like the Nikon D610, on which it will offer a classic moderate wideangle view.
The Sigma 50mm F1.4 DG HSM 'Art' is a fast normal prime for full frame cameras, with an unusually complex optical design. Its premium price tag of $950 / £850 makes it substantially more expensive than either its predecessor, or Canon and Nikon's 50mm F1.4 lenses. However Sigma's recent high-end offerings such as the 35mm F1.4 DG HSM and 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM have been truly excellent, so how does the new 50mm measure up? See the lens test data and our analysis
The Sony FE 35mm F2.8 ZA Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* is one of the first lenses for Sony's fledgling full frame mirrorless system, offering a classic moderate wideangle view. It's a small lens that nicely complements the Alpha 7 and 7R, but at around $800 / £680 it's distinctly pricey for a relatively slow prime. So is it worth the money See the lens test data and our analysis
The FE 35mm F2.8 ZA Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* is one of the first three lenses available for Sony's full-frame E-mount system, having been announced alongside the Alpha 7 and 7R camera bodies. It offers a classic moderate wideangle view that's well-suited to a wide range of subjects, including such things as reportage or street photography. It uses a 7-element, 5-group optical design, which includes three aspherical elements to minimise aberrations.
The Sony FE 55mm F1.8 ZA Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* is one of the first lenses for Sony's fledgling full frame mirrorless system, and designed as a fast 'normal' prime to complement the Sony Alpha 7 and 7R. However at around $999 / £900, it costs several times as much as the 50mm F1.4 options for DSLR systems. So what exactly are you paying for? Click through for the lens test data and our analysis.
The FE 55mm F1.8 ZA Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* is one of the first three lenses available for Sony's full-frame E-mount system, having been announced alongside the Alpha 7 and 7R camera bodies. It's a slightly long 'normal' prime designed for everyday photography, and its relatively fast F1.8 aperture makes it a good choice for selective focus work or shooting in low light. Its 7-element, 5-group optical design includes three aspherical elements to minimise aberrations, which is unusual for this type of lens.
DxOMark has just reviewed the Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM, a general-purpose zoom for full frame SLRs. As part of our ongoing collaboration we've added the test data to our lens widget, and looked to see how it compares to the Canon equivalent. We've also added test data for the Nikon mount version of Zeiss's stellar Apo Sonnar T* 2/135. Click through for our full analysis, and a link to DxOMark's own reviews.
In this article, we're highlighting our pick of outstanding third party lenses. We've chosen them based on their ability to offer something different to the camera manufacturers' own, in terms of either focal length range, maximum aperture, image quality or value.
DxOMark has just reviewed the Zeiss Otus 1.4/55, a $4000 standard prime for full frame SLRs, and as part of our ongoing collaboration we've added the test data to our lens widget. We've also added test data for the Nikon mount version of Sigma's exceptional 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM. Click through for more details and analysis, including a comparison between the Zeiss 55mm and the Nikon 58mm f/1.4G, and a link to DxOMark's own review.
DxOMark has recently reviewed Nikon's AF-S Nikkor 58mm f/1.4G, a high-end (and very expensive) standard prime for full frame SLRs. As a taster for our upcoming review we've added the test data to our lens widget; as usual you can compare it to similar lenses, including the Nikon and Sigma 50mm F1.4s. Click through for more details and analysis, and a link to DxOMark's own review of the Nikon 58mm F1.4.
DxOMark has recently tested the Sigma 120-300mmm DG OS HSM, and as part of our ongoing collaboration we've added the test data to our lens widget. We've also added a range of Nikon telephoto lenses including the AF-S Nikkor 200-400mm f/4G ED VR, which can be compared with each other and their Canon counterparts. Click through for more details and analysis.
DxOMark has recently tested the Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, which in some markets will be sold as a 'kit' zoom with the latest D5300 SLR. As part of our ongoing collaboration, we've added the test data to our lens widget, so you can compare it with Nikon's other current DX standard zooms. We've included test data on both the D7000 and D7100 - the latter should be a good indicator of its performance on the D5300. Click through for the data and analysis.
Sigma's USB dock is a unique device, which lets you tinker with your lens's settings to get the best results. In this quick review we give an overview of the device and the accompanying Sigma Optimisation Pro software, and see what adjustments it offers.
DxOMark has been busy testing lenses for the Sony NEX system, and has just published an article detailing which lenses score best on the NEX-7. As part of our ongoing collaboration, we've added the test data for most of Sony's own E-mount primes to our lens widget, which you can use to assess their performance and compare them against each other. We'll be adding Sony's zoom lenses and third-party primes very soon, but for now you can explore the test data for the Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm F1.8 ZA, E 20mm F2.8, E 30mm F3.5 Macro, E 35mm F1.8 OSS and E 50mm F1.8 OSS. Click through for the links.
DxOMark has just reviewed Nikon's latest budget full frame wideangle lens, the AF-S Nikkor 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G ED. As part of our ongoing collaboration we've added the test results to our lens comparison widget, along with other Nikon-fit full frame wide zooms. You can compare it to its predecessor, the AF Nikkor 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5D IF ED, the AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm f/4G ED VR, the legendary AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, and the Tokina AT-X 16-28mm f/2.8 Pro FX. Click through to see the comparisons in our lens widget, and for the full data on DxOMark.
DxOMark has tested two recently-announced announced long telezooms, the Sony 70-400mm F4-5.6 G SSM II and the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR, as well as the older AF Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED VR. As part of our ongoing collaboration we've added the test data to our lens comparison widget, and to add a little more context we've also included a couple of super-tele primes from Canon. Click through to see how these lenses compare, with links to view the results in our lens widget, and for the full data on DxOMark.
As part of our ongoing collaboration with DxOMark we've added more lenses to our test data comparison widget. These include a range of 70-200mm zooms from Canon, Nikon, Tamron and Sigma, and the Nikon-mount version of the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM tested on both the D7000 and D800. Click through for links to view these lenses in our widget, and for the full data on DxOMark.
Just posted: Our review of Nikon's latest superzoom for its DX format SLRs, the AF-S DX Nikkor 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR. In the first of our series of lens reviews produced in partnership with DxOMark, we take a look at the longest-range zoom currently made for any interchangeable lens camera system. By current standards it's large and heavy for its class, and expensive too, but does its imaging performance make this all worthwhile? Read our review to find out.
The AF-S Nikkor 18-300mm F3.5-5.6G ED VR was announced in June 2012, and holds the distinction of being the longest-range superzoom available for any interchangeable-lens camera system. Its 16.7x, 27-450mm equivalent zoom range trumps Tamron's 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD not only for focal length but also aperture at full telephoto. This comes at a price, though; the 18-300mm is comfortably the largest, heaviest and most expensive DX/APS-C format superzoom around.
Starting in October 2012, we've entered into a partnership with DxOMark to test and review lenses. In this article we'll explain how this collaboration works, how DxOMark tests lenses, and how we present the results in our lens review 'widget'.
Lensbaby's Edge 80 takes a distinctly different approach to the company's previous optics, behaving much more like a conventional tilt lens. Here we take a closer look at how it works, and the kind of images it can give you.
An introduction to the unique dpreview.com lens review widget. This article relates to reviews produced using our 'version 1' widget from 2008 to 2010.
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