Sigma 24mm f1.4 ART Review
Sigma has faced a bit of an uphill battle with the FE versions of their ART series if the anecdotal feedback I have received is a valid indicator of the market. Size matters, and the ART series lenses were already…
Category Lens Reviews
Dustin Abbott has been published in such publications as PhotoPlus, Photo News, Popular Science, American Photo, Pro Photographer, and Photography Week magazines as well as the Globe and Mail newspaper. He has been featured as a guest on many photography blogs and has had either articles or photos published in local magazines in multiple countries. He writes on a regular basis as a free-lance writer for PhotoNewsFlash, Alien Skin Software Blog, CanonRumors, B&H Explora eZine, and has also written for Photography Masterclass Magazine, Henry’s Photography Blog, PhotoNews Magazine, Digital Photography School, the Zeiss LenSPIRE blog, and Pro Photographer magazine. His lens reviews are respected around the world and can be seen on YouTube, too.
Zeiss Loxia 21mm F2.8 Distagon Review
When the idea of mirrorless cameras was first floated, one of the main advantages that was touted was the ability to have an optically excellent camera system in a smaller, lighter configuration when compared to a typical DSLR/lens combination. That…
Aurora Aperture PowerND Rear Filter Kit Review
Wide angle lenses and filters are a bit of a nightmare. One of the main challenges many photographers have to consider is that using anything but the bare lens involves expense, bulk, and inconvenience. Lenses with less focal lengths and…
Meike 50mm F1.7 Review
Many of the lenses that I review tend to be quite expensive (photography is an expensive hobby for amateurs, and some lenses are priced either for working professionals like myself or those with a lot of disposable income). Others of…
Sigma 70mm f/2.8 Macro ART Review
Sigma’s first macro lens in the ART series has flown somewhat under the radar, overshadowed by the more flamboyant lens announcements (Sigma 14-24mm f ART, 105mm f) along with the announcement of the Sony FE retrofit of the ART series. …
Irix 15mm f/2.4 Blackstone Edition Review
The new lensmaker Irix came onto the scene a couple of years ago with the announcement of a beautifully designed 15mm prime lens available in two different build/trim levels. This has become Irix’s unique approach to marketing their lenses, offering…
Sigma 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM ART Review
Sigma may just be the bravest camera/lens maker in the market today. When they initially launched their new Global Vision (which spawned the ART series as one of the three branches of lens design), they began to tackle the established…
Voigtländer Macro Apo-Lanthar 65mm f/2 Review
For many photographers Voigtländer is an unknown entity, but it is actually the oldest name in cameras, dating back to 1756 when it was founded by Johan Christoph Voigtländer in Vienna, Austria. This is a storied optical company despite its…
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS II Review
The rumors began swirling that Canon was soon going to release a new version of one of its “bread-and-butter” focal lengths. The rumors said the f version, or was it the f/4 version? It turns out that it was both,…
Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 RXD (A036) Review
Sony has been vying to steal some market share from Canon and Nikon for some time, but, while their innovation and impressive spec lists have been widely applauded, the Sony E mount has lacked a competitive lens selection. In some…
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART FE (A018) Image Gallery
This year Sigma announced that the majority of its ART series lenses are going to be released in a native Sony FE mount with a few fundamental tweaks to improve performance on a Sony platform. When they were announced, I…
Tamron 70-210mm f/4 VC USD Review (A034)
See the autofocus section for some fresh observations from October 2018 after firmware update 2.0. In the past two years the “third party” lensmakers have really been taking it to the “first party” lensmakers (Canon and Nikon). Both Tamron and…
Kamlan 28mm f/1.4 Review
Towards the end of 2017 I spent time with my first Kamlan lens – the Kamlan 50mm f compact prime lens. There were things that I praised, including a very nice build quality (all metal and glass) and nice rendering…
Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 ART Review
In the 12 months Sigma has released two ART series lenses with very similar focal lengths but different purposes. Last year Sigma released the 12-24mm f/4 ART lens, which I reviewed here. This year Sigma followed up with the Sigma 14-24mm…
Zonlai 22mm f/1.8 Final Review
A few years ago, my job was simpler. As a Canon reviewer, there were basically only four companies that made most all of the lenses: Canon, Sigma, Tamron, and Zeiss. Three Japanese companies and a German company who produces their…
Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 Distagon FE Review
The very first Sony FE lens that I reviewed was not a Sony; it was a Zeiss. When Zeiss approached me about reviewing the Zeiss Batis APO Sonnar 135mm f lens, I actually had no way of doing so as…
Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 Review
The very first Sony FE lens that I reviewed was not a Sony; it was a Zeiss. When Zeiss approached me about reviewing the Zeiss Batis APO Sonnar 135mm f lens, I actually had no way of doing so as…
Samyang AF 50mm f/1.4 Review
The release of the truly impressive new Sony a7R3 camera (and now the Sony a73!) has caught a lot of our attention. The a7R2 also caught my attention because of a great spec list and an impressive sensor, but when…