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Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2 SL-II Review

Dustin Abbott

May 22nd, 2017

 

My Quiet Rebellion

We live in a day of ever-larger lenses. High resolution, pixel dense camera bodies like the Nikon D800, then the Sony A7R II, and then the even more pixel dense Canon EOS 5Ds/R have a tendency to expose optical flaws in lenses. The Zeiss Otus 1.4/55mm came on the scene a few years as a completely revolutionary kind of 50mm(ish) prime. Standard lenses had mostly trended toward what is euphemistically called “dreamy” rendering wide open. Others might just call them soft. Not the Otus 55mm f/1.4; at f/1.4 it was already sharp and contrasty from corner to corner. The floodgate was opened, and when the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART arrived it too was larger and heavier than previous 50mm lenses, and it seems like many of the full frame prime lenses I now review are decidedly more massive than anything from previous generations. But I have to confess that while I love testing the optical behemoths because of their performance, I’m a bit less interested in owning them for very practical reasons. I find that I often rely on primes, which means that I end up bringing three or four lenses along, but if they were all a kilo+ in weight my backpack starts to get really heavy really fast. Part of the reason that we all used to use primes was not just the wider apertures but the more compact size…but that’s not really true anymore, and I’ve reviewed any number of primes in the past two years that were as large or larger than a 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom. So consider my flirting with the Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2 SL-II my own quiet rebellion. The Voigtländer 40mm is many things, but large is certainly not one of them. Does a compact, manual focus only 40mm lens still have a place in a world of optically corrected behemoths? Read on to find out…

Prefer to watch your reviews? Check out my full video review of the Voigtländer 40mm here:

Build, Design, and Handling

Voigtländer is an Austrian brand, but modern Voigtländer lenses (like Zeiss) are built in Japan. In this case they are specifically built by the Cosina manufacturing company. The end result is that Voigtländer lenses essentially feel like classic Zeiss lenses in almost every detail. The Voigtländer 40mm has that same feeling of well made density that Zeiss lenses have. If you aren’t accustomed to these type lenses you will be surprised by the weight, which, although not heavy in an absolute sense (7 oz/198g), feels heavier and denser than what you would expect from the very compact size (less than an inch long at 0.96”/24mm). The body is all metal and glass, built on a metal bayonet mount. It is a very handsome little lens, with white focus distances etched into the black barrel.  Here’s a video breakdown of the features and design of the Voigtländer 40mm:

The focus ring is not particularly wide (for obvious reasons), but it has a tightly ribbed, rubberized surface that is very easy to find and grip. The focus action is perfectly damped, and moves with a buttery smoothness that will spoil you for all inferior focus rings. The focus “throw” is similarly excellent with about 120 degrees of focus throw that allows for both precision and focus speed. This is not an internally focusing lens, so as you focus towards minimum focus you will find the lens extends about a half inch (a little over a centimeter). The lens remains extremely compact, obviously, so this won’t really negatively impact you. The front element does not rotate during focus, so there are no issues using circular polarizers on the lens. The lens is 2.48” around, or 63mm. It looks pretty sweet mounted on a camera and doesn’t take up much more space than putting a cap on on the camera mount.

Also like Zeiss is the fact that the Voigtländer 40mm has a full electronic coupling that makes it behave essentially like any other lens save autofocus. The Canon EF version I’m testing has no manual aperture ring (unlike the Nikon F mount), so the aperture is fully electromagnetically controlled, which allows you to use the lens even in camera modes where the camera chooses the aperture value. It also means that the Voigtländer 40mm meters perfectly. The overall handling of the lens is excellent, and I have zero complaints about the functionality of the lens.

Included in the electronic package is a focus confirmation chip that seems well calibrated. My preferred body for this lens is my Canon EOS 6D body that I have set up with an EG-S Precision Matte Focus screen. This allows me to visually watch focus occur and aids focus accuracy (particularly at close to medium distances). That being said, I have found that I can get accurate results even with my Canon 5D Mark IV by very carefully using the focus confirmation chip. To use this technique, select the focus point you want to use and set it over your subject. From either infinity focus or close focus slowly focus towards the plane of focus with the shutter button pressed halfway down. As soon as the focus point lights up and the beep is heard fully depress the shutter button and take the shot. With practice you will learn to not continue to focus beyond accurate focus and quickly get the shot.

I also used the lens on a Canon EOS 80D body, where it provides a useful 64mm equivalent focal length.  Here’s one of my favorites from this pairing:

Perhaps best of all was using it via adapter on the Sony a7R II that I happened to have at the time. The excellent options for magnifying the image in the Sony’s EV-F resulted in very accurate focus results (and a lot of fun in acquiring focus), not to mention excellent optical results due to the high resolution body.

One praiseworthy aspect of both Voigtländer lenses that I’ve reviewed (the other being the 20mm f/3.5 Color Skopar) is that infinity focus is properly calibrated, meaning that when you want to shoot a landscape scene you simple twist the focus ring to the hard stop at infinity. This eliminates one of the more difficult challenges with some manual focus lenses that will enable you to focus “past infinity”, or to where everything is starting to go out of focus. Bravo for quality engineering.

The Voigtländer 40mm is an f/2 lens, which gives it a significant advantage over the Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 in that the aperture lets in a full extra stop of light (meaning that the Canon lens needs twice as much light in equivalent situations). This gives an advantage both in light gathering and also in producing a more shallow depth of field. It’s on this note that one of the unique quirks of the lens is exhibited.

Lens Hoods, Adapters, and Maximum Magnification

The Voigtländer 40mm will technically take two different filter sizes. It does have 52mm filter threads, but the lens cap comes in a different size because the lens comes with an adapter/lens hood. As a lens hood it is very shallow, but it does offer some protection value along with a bit of shading (it’s even flocked inside!), and it is so compact that there is little reason to not keep it mounted. Another good reason to keep this little metal lens hood/adapter attached is that the included lens cap doesn’t fit without it attached. The hood/adapter is threaded in a tiny 39mm filter size, and the lens cap actually fits this diminutive size. I have found a bit of minor frustration in that the tiny lens cap seems to pop free quite easily if the lens is in a bag, and while I haven’t lost the tiny thing yet, it has been a fairly constant fear.

The purpose of the lens hood/adapter goes beyond just adding a different filter size, however, as the third piece of the puzzle is a tiny close-up adapter. It looks like a tiny clear glass filter, but is actually an additional element for the lens to enable closer focus. Without the close-up adapter the lens will focus down to a pedestrian 1.3’/0.38m which results in an also pedestrian 0.14x maximum magnification or 1:7 reproduction ratio.  That definitely trails the Canon’s 0.18x magnification.  Here are the two compared:

The close-up adapter functions much like an extension tube, however, and allows the lens to focus down much closer and produce a much more useful 0.25x magnification or a 1:4 reproduction ratio. Needless to say this opens up many more possibilities for macro-type shots, and fortunately there doesn’t seem to be any loss of image quality when using the adapter. Here’s a look at the difference in magnification of the same object with the close up adapter attached:

There is one penalty, however, and that is the much like an extension tube the ability to focus to infinity is lost. And not just infinity; you can only focus out to a maximum of about two feet with the close up lens attached.

While this functionality is welcome, the rather clunky method of achieving it makes it of less value. The close up adapter won’t do you much good if you don’t have it along, and clearly you can’t keep it mounted all the time. It would obviously be much more useful to have that kind of reproduction ratio built into the lens without having to rely on the adapter. Still, the adapter does allow for a unique advantage when compared to other lenses. 

On of the great strengths of the Voigtländer 40mm is its beautiful build quality, which feels like it will work as well (and look as good) in forty years. If you (like me) have a love for beautifully made things you may find the build and design of the pretty little lens irresistible. Beyond the beauty, however, it is the compact size that makes this lens so attractive. When I’m planning a kit for an outing or traveling it is easy to reach for this little prime lens for the twin reasons that it is so small but also that it has a relatively large maximum aperture. But does the lens deliver optically?

Image Quality

The Voigtländer 40mm has a very simple optical formula: six elements in five groups. Those of you who favor less complex lenses will applaud this fact. Two of those lenses are aspherical elements to help eliminate chromatic aberrations. The lens has multi-coatings on the front to help with flare resistance and to further correct for aberrations.  For a detailed breakdown of the image quality from this lens, check out this video:

Voigtländer 40mm Resolution and Rendering

The Voigtländer 40mm delivers a strong performance from such a small package, particularly in its wide aperture performance.  It has quite good sharpness across the frame at f/2, an aperture value that delivers twice as much light as Canon’s own EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens.  Everything is good until you compare it to other lenses and it becomes quickly apparent that the Voigtländer 40mm, while sharp in its own right, is certainly no sharper than the competition.  The Canon lens shows greater sharpness and contrast with both lenses wide open (see comparison from left to right across the frame).

Stopping the Voigtländer down improves the comparison, but there is still a slight edge for the Canon.  The only real advantage for the Voigtländer in this type of comparison is that the Voigtländer 40mm benefits from being stopped down and shows considerably less vignette.

At all equivalent apertures the Canon showed superior sharpness.  Not by much, but visibly superior.  That’s not what you want to see when it costs less than half the price of the Voigtländer 40mm.

One of the other few lenses near this focal length is the Tamron SP 45mm f/1.8 VC.  I happen to own that lens as well, so I was able to compare it to the Voigtländer.  The Tamron is a bit more expensive than the Voigtländer 40mm, though at the moment of this review (thanks to a ongoing Tamron discount), the difference was only $50.  It should be noted that the Tamron is not really an apples to apples comparison as it is a much larger lens, though both lenses share a professional grade build.  The Tamron is the definite winner on the feature list, with image stabilization, autofocus, and weather sealing.  In many situations I love the rendering from the Tamron, though I do lament its higher than average chromatic aberrations and some “onion bokeh” (concentric circles in bokeh highlights).  When directly comparing the lenses optically, the Voigtländer 40mm really only wins on one level – less chromatic aberrations.  All of the sharpness metrics definitely favor the Tamron.

If you stop the lenses down to f/2.8 the margin only widens.

But we don’t shoot comparisons, we shoot things.  In the real world the lens delivers nice sharpness that should satisfy you.  The contrast is fairly good even at wide apertures, and, when you stop down to traditional landscape apertures you will get very nice sharpness across the frame.  I was particularly impressed when using the lens on the Sony a7R II and it’s extremely pixel dense 42 MP sensor.  I used the lens in Niagara Falls, and, while this image has some slight imperfections due to shooting through a window, it is pretty remarkable how much detail was rendered from the little lens at f/5.6.

Still, as I used the lens over the course of several months, a nagging question started to form in my mind.  “Is this lens any better than some of my vintage lenses?”  I decided to do some direct comparisons to one of my favorites – the vintage SMC Takumar 50mm f/1.4.  I did both a chart test and some real world comparisons (find an interactive look at this in my video review).  Wide open (Voigtländer at f/2, the Takumar at f/1.4), the Voigtländer is a bit sharper and has more contrast (the Takumar shows a bit of “haze” due to low contrast).  

With both lenses at f/2, however, that advantage disappears, with the Takumar actually a bit sharper at different points on the frame.  With both lenses stopped down to f/2.8, it is hard to declare a winner, but I would give a slight edge to the Takumar (which also shows less distortion and lower vignette).

Uh-oh.  And what about the bokeh and rendering?  There’s no question that this favors the Takumar, which shows noticeably softer, left busy bokeh rendering.

Both lenses have great color, but the larger aperture of the Takumar gives it the leg up…even with both lenses at f/2, like here:

Now a 50mm isn’t a 40mm lens, and the Takumar, while very small, isn’t as absolutely compact as the Voigtländer.  Still, the fact that a much less expensive vintage lens can give you essentially the same image quality has definitely made me question whether or not I should keep the Voigtländer 40mm.

A careful look at the bokeh highlight circles from the Voigtländer 40mm shows a slight amount of “onion bokeh” (concentric circles), but not in an exaggerated way.  One area that the more modern design of the Voigtländer 40mm is in the electromagnetically controlled nine-bladed aperture, which retains a circular shape when stopped down.

The greater maximum aperture of the Voigtländer 40mm means that it produces bigger, softer bokeh highlights even at equivalent apertures when compared with the Canon 40mm STM.

In an absolute sense I’m happy with the rendering from the Voigtländer, which often renders beautifully and delivers fabulous color.

I used the lens for some food photography while traveling and documenting a resort, and it proved a great companion for that:

An area of definite strength for the Voigtländer 40mm is the superior color rendering, which, much like a Zeiss lens, gives images that little bit “extra” that sets them apart from the cheaper lenses that might equal it in sharpness.

I strongly recommend that you check out the Lens Image Gallery to see many other samples that demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of the lens.

Chromatic Aberration Control

The lens that I most frequently use near this focus length is the Tamron SP 45mm f/1.8 VC. It’s a wonderfully versatile, extremely sharp, and beautifully rendering lens, but it does struggle with chromatic aberrations in real world usage. This isn’t bad when shooting stills (particularly when shooting RAW), as it is easy enough to correct for in post. But the Tamron is a lens that I like to often use for video due to its sharpness and ability to focus so closely, and the CA when shooting video is a bigger problem. The Voigtländer 40mm is not free of chromatic aberrations, but it actually controls them fairly well even in challenging situations. They are definitely less pronounced than with the Tamron lens.  

Expect to mostly see the chromatic aberrations when using the close-up lens and shooting at macro focus distances.  The very narrow depth of field will reveal some CA before and after the plane of focus.  In most situations, however, the chromatic aberrations that will be visible are minimal.

Flare Resistance

The Voigtländer 40mm is a bit atypical in this area, as I find that many lenses are more prone to ghosting (various green or orange blobs of colored light from the sun)  when stopped down, and more prone to veiling (prismatic haze and loss of contrast) wide open. The Voigtländer 40mm does its ghosting wide open, but that ghosting takes the form of a very circular ring around the epicenter of the flare.

I suspect that some will find this quite cinematic or artistic. There is also somewhat of a loss of contrast, but not extreme. Lightroom’s “Dehaze” tool restored contrast nicely. There is a slight magenta hue to the prismatic haze around the flare event. Stopped down there is still a bit of prismatic haze, but the ghosting ring disappears and fortunately isn’t replaced by any ugly blobs of light. All in all this actually a pretty decent performance for such a compact optic (with a very minuscule lens hood). What flare is there occurs in an artistically useful fashion. I can see videographers enjoying this lens because of that flare response.

Conclusion

The Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2 SL-II is unlike just about every other “normal” lens that I’ve used.  It feels and looks like a Zeiss, but with a compact size unlike any Zeiss lens I’ve used.  The look and sensibilities of the lens remind me more of a number of vintage lenses that I’ve used over the years, and therein lies the greatest challenge to the lens.  I have no problem personally preferring this lens to the Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM.  I’m not a huge fan of STM lenses anyway, and have been unimpressed by the performance of the 40mm STM on Canon’s newer DPAF bodies.  I vastly prefer the build and the brighter aperture of the Voigtländer lens, and also feel like it gives a more premium rendering and color performance.  But the manual focus only nature of the lens means that vintage lenses become valid alternatives at much lower price points.  The SMC Takumar 50mm f/1.4 is one such lens, and it compares fairly well to the more expensive Voigtländer, though with more quirks in usage due to requiring an adapter plus lacking any kind of electronics.  By contrast the Voigtländer, despite being manual focus only, is actually very easy to use.  Those looking for a beautifully crafted lens that is built to last and who don’t mind manually focusing should seriously consider the Voigtländer 40mm f/2 lens, as it provides a bright aperture, beautifully rendering, and an incredibly portable form factor that means it will always be easy to bring along.

Pros:

  • Built and handles like a Zeiss
  • Great focus ring
  • Incredibly small, compact size
  • Lovely color rendering
  • Artistic and useful flare resistance
  • Chromatic aberrations well controlled

Cons:

  • No sharper than cheaper competitors
  • Manual focus only
  • Bokeh can be a little busy
  • Good magnification figure requires use of close up lens
  • More distortion than competitors

Gear Used:
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (5D4): B&H Photo | Amazon.com | Amazon Canada 
Canon EOS 6D: B&H Photo | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca
Purchase Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2 SL II from Amazon 
Super Precision Matte Eg-S Interchangeable Focusing Screen
Adobe Lightroom CC Software for Mac and Windows (Boxed Version)
Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Alien Skin Exposure X2 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)

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Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8 Apo Sonnar T* Review

Dustin Abbott

April 24th, 2017

 

So I finally have in my hands an autofocusing Zeiss with image stabilization to boot. Have I died and gone to heaven? Not quite. It is then that I wake up and realize that the Batis 135 isn’t actually for a camera system I own. No, this beautiful Zeiss lens is made only in a Sony E-mount. When Zeiss contacted me about reviewing it I had to first check to see if I could borrow a Sony camera to do the review on. B&H Photo was kind enough to loan me a Sony a7R II body for the review (thank you!), and so I’ve been working at learning a new camera system in the past month. While I’m still not crazy about the ergonomics on the Sony body, I’ve come to appreciate what an incredible optical combination these two are. The Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8 Apo Sonnar is the real deal; a fabulous optical performer in a very nice package. It also comes at a new price premium for the Batis line. Is the Batis 135 worth its $2000 price tag? Let’s find out together.

Prefer to watch your reviews? Check out my full video review of the Batis 135 here.

Build and Design

In this video episode I give an interactive look at the build and design of the Batis 135.

The Batis 135 is immediately familiar to someone like myself that has reviewed so many of Zeiss’ Otus and Milvus lenses. It has the similar sleek black, anodized metal appearance. The profile of the lens is similar to, say, the Milvus 135mm. There are some differences, however. For one, the lens hood is made out of plastic rather than metal (undoubtedly a weight-saving expedient to help the lens balance better on the smaller mirrorless E-mount bodies. And the lens is undoubtedly lighter. At 614g (1.35lbs) it is one of the lightest Zeiss lenses I’ve used despite not being particularly small. The Sony G-Master 70-200mm f/2.8 OSS lens weighs a whopping 1480g by comparison, making it almost equally heavy to the DSLR variants. The Zeiss Milvus 2/135mm weighs 1123g, or almost twice as much, despite being roughly similar in size (the Milvus lens has a wider girth). To be fair, the Milvus lens has a much larger maximum aperture of f/2 (and larger glass elements to accomplish that). Many will undoubtedly be critical of the maximum aperture of f/2.8, but it appears to me that Zeiss has probably made a wise choice: they have made a lens that is supremely good at f/2.8 but while retaining a size and weight factor that suits the smaller mirrorless bodies that the lens is designed for.

The lens has a few other differences as well. While the rubberized focus ring is familiar, there are no distance markings on the barrel. Part of this is because it is an autofocusing lens for a mirrorless system, but the bigger reason is that this particular bit of information can be tasked to the OLED further up the barrel. When the camera is turned on the OLED will flash the word “Zeiss”, and then what information that is further displayed there will depend on what mode you put it. Out of the box it will mostly stay dark unless you are in manual focus mode, when it will display actual focus distance as a numerical value (in meters [up to two decimal points] or feet), which is very handy and arguably more useful than a traditional focus window. The usefulness doesn’t end there, however. If you put the camera in MF mode and then turn the manual focus ring to the left past minimum focus 360 degrees you will enter into the control for the OLED. You have three options there: ON, MF (Default Position), and OFF. In the ON position it will show the focus distance even in AF mode. If you put the camera in MF mode and twist the focus ring to the right for a while it will allow you to switch the readout to measuring in feet rather than meters. You might argue that this is of minimal value, but when you consider that many mirrorless lenses lose any kind of distance window, I think that this is one of the beneficial hallmarks of the Batis line.

Somehow Zeiss has managed to make a manual focus ring that still feels good even on an autofocusing lens. Since this lens is designed for mirrorless bodies, the focus is actually what is often referred to as “focus by wire” where input from the manual focus ring is actually routed through the focus motor. If the camera is powered off (or if you haven’t enabled manual focus override in the camera body), turning the focus ring does nothing. It has an ever-so-slightly-more disconnected feel than true MF Zeiss lenses (it is focus-by-wire, after all!), but still has that smooth, perfectly damped Zeiss feel. I have to confess that while I love having autofocus on a Zeiss lens, I can’t help but grab that focus ring periodically and focus it in true Zeiss style. The automatic magnification of the image in the viewfinder when you go to manually focus makes focus both easy and joyful; I love watching my subject come into pinpoint focus as I twist the focus ring.

If you look towards the front of the lens you will find that Zeiss has once again designed a lens hood that adds to the flow of the lens design rather than detract from it, even if the change in materials (metal to plastic) makes this flow just slightly less elegant than usual. The sheen of the hood (slightly more matte finish than the lens barrel) matches the focus ring, so it works okay. The lens has a smallish (and very common) 67mm filter thread and Zeiss’ excellent T* coatings.

At the rear of the lens you will find a blue rubber gasket that is the visible representation of the moisture and dust resistance.

The lens also features optical stabilization built into the lens, which I’ll cover more thoroughly in the moment. The lens can focus down to 0.87m (2.86ft), though you can manually focus down a bit closer than that (0.74m), which gives you a nice (but not exceptional) 1:5.3 magnification ratio (right under 0.19x). The Milvus 2/135 has an even more useful 1:4 ratio (0.25x), while the new Sigma 135mm f/1.8 ART that I’m currently reviewing has a similar (but slightly better) 0.20x magnification.  Here’s a look at maximum magnification from the Batis 135mm:

Speaking of the Milvus… I was actually surprised to discover that the Batis 135 is actually a hair longer (though narrower) and is 120mm (4.7”) long compared to the 115mm for the Milvus 135. What’s different, however, is that the Batis 135 is completely internally focusing while the barrel of the Milvus will extend a fair bit (30mm) during focus.

This is another beautiful Zeiss lens, and, while it is on the larger size, still balances nicely on the a7R II body that I was using to test it. 

Batis 135 Autofocus Performance

It’s a bit of a sad irony that many of the Sony bodies, including the a7R II that I’m using for review, are some of the best platforms for using manual focus glass…and I finally have an autofocusing Zeiss lens! It’s easy to magnify the image in the viewfinder (once you figure out how to enable it in the somewhat unfriendly menu system) and has features like focus peaking and zebras. Beyond that the built-in five axis in body image stabilization (IBIS) provides stabilization even for your vintage lenses…and yet I finally have a Zeiss lens with built in optical stabilization. Sigh…

Don’t get me wrong: I love having autofocus on this lens. It’s a bit of a treat to review mirrorless AF lenses as I don’t have to worry about calibrating focus. Contrast AF (Live View style focus on DSLRs) is extremely accurate and doesn’t require the focus calibration that is typically necessary when using Phase Detect (DSLR-type viewfinder autofocus). That means that I can just start shooting without worrying about focus misses impacting image quality. The amazing optics of Zeiss lenses are often wasted due to people have poor manual focus technique, but that won’t be the case here. The excellent autofocus accuracy allows the incredible optics to shine, and I’ve been delighted time and again to zoom in to a pixel level on images and see something like each eyelash clearly defined.

Here are a few samples + crops at difference focus distances.  Autofocus accuracy is excellent.

I lack much of a frame of reference for autofocus speed on the a7R II. I haven’t used it enough and have not used it with many lenses. I did have B&H send me the FE 28-70mm lens, but it doesn’t strike me as the fastest lens on the system. I also had them send me the Metabones IV adapter so that I could mount some of my EF lenses on it, but adapted lenses are hardly a fair evaluation of focus speed. My primary (daily) body is a Canon 5D Mark IV, and autofocus in general on the a7R II seems a bit slower by comparison. In most situations the Batis 135 acquires focus quickly, but on occasion if it doesn’t grab the initial target it will rack the whole range of focus, which feels frustratingly slow. This is most likely to happen when you are trying to focus on a closer object with a busy background, something I often do when out shooting in the woods.  I find I prefer D-MF mode on the A7R II (Direct Manual Focus), that allows me to use full time override and make sure that shots like this are perfectly in focus.

The a7R II/Batis 135 is far from being the most fastest autofocusing combo that I’ve used, but it is a capable combination that got the job done.

Optical Stabilizer

I’ve been impressed with the in body stabilization of the Sony a7R II, but the Batis 135 adds its own optical stabilization. Because there are no switches on the lens barrel, you would have to disable the stabilizer from the menu in the camera body. I’m not quite sure how the two stabilizers interact, but I’ve read nothing about needing to turn one or the other off. However they cooperate the end result speaks for itself. I’ve been able to nail nicely sharp shots at very low shutter speeds (1/5th second), which is very, very impressive for a 135mm focal length.

Look at how crisp the detail on the iron is even though the shot was a handheld 1/5th second.

The stabilization is completely unobtrusive, with no indication of when it comes on or off in terms of movement or noise. Speaking of noise: I could hear nothing from the optical stabilizer even with my ear near the lens. Putting my ear right up against it I could hear the faintest of whirring with the stabilizer engaged. Very, very impressive.

This makes the lens a treat both in the studio and for shooting video. If only these lenses were made for my Canon bodies….

Batis 135 Image Quality

Here’s an interactive look at the image quality from the Batis 135.

There are likely two things about the Batis 135 that people will complain about. First will be its price, but second will be that some will complain about the maximum aperture only being f/2.8. I think I can see both sides of the argument. A lens with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 (and a high price tag) is going to have some people thinking, “Why not just spend the extra money and get the G Master 70-200 OSS?” It’s a fair point (though the G-Master is an extra grand). On the flipside, however, you have a lens that is lighter and more compact. Zeiss could have made a larger lens with a brighter aperture (like the Milvus 2/135mm), but essentially they chose to produce a pretty much perfect f/2.8 lens.

And I do mean perfect. Probably not in an absolute, technical, clinical sense, but for practical use I have nothing to criticize in this space where I usually point out the flaws of a lens.

Let me start by dealing with what is usually the Achilles heel for Zeiss lenses – vignette. Almost every Zeiss lens that I’ve reviewed had heavier than average vignette despite being optically fantastic in other areas. Not the Batis 135. One of the first things I did was shoot a comparison against both the new Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 G2 lens and the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L II. Both very, very good lenses. It was almost startling how much less vignette was present from the Batis.  Here’s a look at the top left corner comparing the Batis and the Tamron G2:

To give you an idea of how little vignette there is, the “Relative Illuminance” chart that I get from Zeiss in their technical specifications document shows that there is only a 10% difference in the amount of vignette in the extreme corners between f/2.8 and f/5.6. To give you some perspective, the same chart for the Milvus 2/135mm shows a 60% variance between its wide open and f/5.6 performance. For practical use vignette is not really a consideration; portrait photographers will undoubtedly be ADDING vignette.

Resolution is just stunningly good. In portrait shots each eyelash was clearly defined, with incredible amounts of detail and texture. Look at the crop from this portrait, wide open, f/2.8:

 

Color rendition and skin tones have that Zeiss perfection. Distortion and chromatic aberrations have been thoroughly banished.

The lens is a perfect match for the fantastic sensor on the Sony, and is capable of producing incredible amounts of detail even wide open. It seems to be utilizing most all of the 42 megapixels of resolution on the a7R II. Here are a few more portrait shots:

I was also impressed with this type of shot, as I’ve shot hundreds like it with dozens of lenses. A wide aperture shot with focus on infinity often exposes optical weaknesses with some softness and haze creeping in. No problem with the Batis 135. Just look at the perfect sharpness and microcontrast in this shot!

To give some perspective, I’ll share a few comparisons with the Tamron 70-200 G2 and the Canon 70-200L II.  Here’s a comparison verses the Tamron at a medium distance across the frame (Left, Center, Right).

In this same comparison the Canon also showed slightly better center sharpness but it’s corner performance was noticeably weaker than either the Batis or the Tamron:

Along the edges of the frame it is clear that the Batis is both sharper and has far less vignette when compared to either of the zoom lenses. There was some minor give and take across the frame (the zooms compared best in the center). It’s clear that the Batis has a very even sharpness profile across the frame and gives a more consistent resolution performance. All three lenses are excellent in their own right, but the Batis 135 is the best overall.

Here’s a quick comparison with the Canon 70-200L II at infinity. There is clearly less vignette from the Batis 135, and, while there is some give and take across the frame, the Batis lens gives the most consistently good performance across the frame.

The lens shows a pretty fair amount of flare resistance, too. At wide apertures there is some loss of contrast near the “epicenter” of the sun, with a bit of prismatic haze (just enough to be artistic). Stopped down contrast increases, but without the more defined ghosting effects that often come with that. A lens like the Canon 135mm f/2L just falls apart with the sun in the frame (almost completely washes out), so this lens will be far more practical for those looking to backlight their subjects.

I wasn’t blown away by the results from my “Christmas light” bokeh test (the Milvus 85mm f/1.4 is the best Zeiss lens I’ve seen in that situation), but I’ve found real-world bokeh to be very nice.  Here’s a look at the what the lens looks like as you begin to stop it down (from f/2.8 to f/8).  The nonagonal shape of the aperture blades quickly exhibits itself.

The overall rendering from the lens is really beautiful, however, as these real world examples show.

I never saw any chromatic aberrations in field use.  Both of these shots would show LoCA (longitudinal chromatic aberrations) if they were present.  They aren’t.

Yeah, there isn’t really anything to complain about. If I were to dig desperately deep I would say that I slightly prefer the rendering from the Milvus 2/135mm due to that larger aperture that gives more 3 dimensional pop to images. That’s about all I can come up with.  You can see many other image samples in the Image Gallery here.

Conclusion

In summation, there are two distinct challenges to this lens that I see facing it. The first is the pedestrian maximum aperture value of the f/2.8. One of the reasons that people buy primes is to get a larger maximum aperture than a zoom and thus better light gathering along with the ability to produce images with a more shallow depth of field. It’s an added bonus when the prime is lighter and more portable than a zoom that covers the equivalent focal length. Many modern primes have forsaken that last point, with (for example) many of the recent Zeiss or Sigma ART primes being nearly as large and heavy as the zoom lenses they compete with. Zeiss’ choice to go with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 has enabled them to create a lens that is definitely much lighter than the competing zoom (70-200 GM). At just a little over 600g the Batis 135 is only about 40% of the weight of the Sony 70-200 GM lens. That’s a definite plus for those looking for a lighter, better balancing alternative to the big, heavy G Master lens. Zeiss has also managed to build a full internally focusing lens whereas their Milvus medium telephoto lenses all extend during focus.

On the plus side of the f/2.8 equation is that Zeiss has managed to build an essentially flawless, perfectly corrected optical machine. It has great sharpness across the frame wide open, excellent contrast and color rendition, no visible CA, and even excellent flare resistance (somewhat rare in a medium telephoto). Most surprising to me is the extremely low vignette of the lens, which in my experience is frequently a Zeiss weakness. I seriously doubt that anyone will be disappointed with the optical performance of the lens. The only limitation that I can see is the one due to the limitations of f/2.8 itself, as an f/2.8 lens will require more light and won’t be able to produce as shallow a depth of field. For head and shoulders-type portraits this won’t be a problem, as the depth of field at 6 feet is still only 1.21”/3cm. Depending on your pose that still might not be enough to have both eyes in focus. If you are shooting full body, environmental portraits you might miss the more shallow depth of field of an f/2 lens. As for the light gathering potential of the lens, Zeiss has augmented the lens with a truly exceptional Optical Stabilizer that allowed me to handhold ridiculously low shutter speeds when shooting a static subject. 135mm is a long enough focal length that I have seen motion blur in the past when shooting with, say, the Canon 135mm f/2L, even at decent shutter speeds of 1/150th to 1/200th, so the excellent OS is very welcome even for portrait use.

The second objection will be the price. My experience with Zeiss lenses is that this is not unusual, but the Batis line has been less extreme in its pricing. The $1999 price point for the Batis 135mm is a $500 jump from the previous high water mark set by the Batis 18mm, and I’ve heard some disappointment from some who anticipated a price point more in line with the rest of the series.

If you aren’t fazed by either of these objections you will be very happy with the lens. The image results are beautiful, and Zeiss’ choices regarding the size of the lens have resulted in a lens that I feel balances quite well on an a7R II body and delivers excellent weather resistance as well. The Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8 APO Sonnar T* is a solid addition to the Batis series and will make a lot of portrait, event, and even landscape photographers very happy!

Thanks to Zeiss of the Americas for loaning me a copy of the lens for evaluation and to B&H Photo for providing me a loaner of the Sony a7R II to do the review on.

Gear Used:

Sony A7R II | B&H Photo | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca
Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8 | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon.ca
Adobe Lightroom CC Software for Mac and Windows (Boxed Version)
Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Alien Skin Exposure X2 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. Thank you for your support.

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Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 VC HLD Review

Dustin Abbott

April 11th, 2017

 

APS-C shooters can be forgiven for feeling like they sometimes get left out in the cold when it comes to quality development for their platform. Canon, for example, has an interesting dichotomy. Many of their lens releases for full frame are of the premium “L” series type, while it seems that an abnormal amount of their releases for APS-C are of the budget variety. The number of premium crop sensor releases is incredibly small, but third parties have jumped into that void. Most notable is Sigma with their 18-35mm and 50-100mm f/1.8 ART series lenses that were just as nice as any of their full frame designs save that these were designed for crop (APS-C). Tamron eyed a hole that was missing in the APS-C sphere: a stabilized, wide angle zoom with weather sealing and more premium performance. They have stepped in to to fill that void with the new Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD lens (internally coded B023). The 10-24 VC comes to the table with a rich feature list, but how does it hold up in real world use?

Tamron introduced the first generation of lens in this focal length in 2008, the SP 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 (B001) lens. Tamron has since relaunched the SP branding for its premium lenses (a smart move, in my opinion), so while the lens has lost the SP branding it has gained a number of important other acronyms. Among these are VC, or Vibration Compensation, which is Tamron’s image stabilization system. The value of image stabilization in wider focal lengths is increasingly appreciated for both video and stills, and I will note that the inclusion of VC makes this lens an interesting option for video. Tamron has also debuted a completely new focus motor on this lens, the High/Low Torque Modulated Drive Motor, or HLD. HLD is much catchier! We’ll deal more with this focus motor in a moment, but it’s addition is equally important both for improved focus and for its properties that also make it more attractive for video.

Tamron already boasted the largest focal range in the class, with the 10-24mm besting other 10-22mm variants. 10mm is the full frame focal length equivalent of 15mm on Nikon and 16mm on Canon, while on the long end it represents a 36mm equivalent on Nikon and 38.4mm on Canon. This is obviously a very useful focal range. Canon released a stabilized APS-C wide angle lens (the EF-S 10-18mm IS STM) a while back, but the 10-24 VC one-ups it in both focal length but also a much more serious build quality complete with weather sealing and (unusually for this class of lens) a fluorine-coated front element. The latter is an expensive addition to lenses that typically cost far more than this one. I don’t need to tell you that having weather sealing in a wide angle lens that might be used for landscapes, time lapses, or near splashing water is a big deal, and Tamron has managed to set itself apart in a more serious class by this inclusion. Has Tamron succeeded in bringing out the compelling option in this class? Is the Tamron 10-24 VC the new lens to buy for APS-C shooters looking for a quality wide angle zoom?

Prefer to watch your reviews? My full video review will give you all the details!

Build Quality and Handling

While the 10-24 VC is not a part of Tamron’s new SP premium line, it has inherited the sleek, modern good looks of that series. This is the first lens that I’ve reviewed from Tamron that inherits the looks but not the materials of the SP line. It looks a lot like those lenses, though with a slight bit less gloss due to being constructed from engineered plastics rather than the aluminum alloy the SP line is made from. The lens looks good, though, with a nice modern look that will instantly set it apart from the previous Tamron 10-24 lens. It is a moderately sized lens that is 3.3”/84.6mm long (a couple of millimeters shorter in a Nikon mount) and weighs in at 15.5 oz/440g. This is compact and light compared to most of the lenses I review these days, but is both longer (10mm) and heavier (200g) than the Canon 10-18 STM. That lens also has a much smaller focal range and lacks the higher grade build/weather sealing of the Tamron, so it isn’t really a completely fair comparison. I mention it mostly because it will likely be a lens that many Canon shooters will cross-shop.

The lens has a substantial but common 77mm front filter thread. Unlike any of the Canon APS-C lenses the 10-24 VC comes with a lens hood, and I found the lens hood shaped in a fairly useful way (wide angle lens hoods can be a bit ridiculous!). It also comes with Tamron’s newly designed front and rear lens caps, which are some of the nicest in the business (particularly the front pinch cap).

The 10-24 VC has a 7 rounded blade aperture, and I thought the sunburst/sunstars created with the lens stopped down looked nice. No lens like this will be a true bokeh monster, but if you are focused on an object at close to minimum focus distance (9.4”/24cm), you will be able to blur out the background somewhat. The lens has a useful maximum magnification figure of right under 0.19x, which is actually better than the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 G2 lens that I just reviewed!!

This is a variable aperture zoom (unlike Tamron’s 15-30mm f/2.8 full frame lens), starting at a moderately wide f/3.5 on the wide end and losing about 2/3rds of a stop of light with a maximum aperture of f/4.5 on the long end. As variable aperture lenses go, this isn’t actually too bad. The Canon 10-18 STM that I’ve referenced STARTS at f/4.5 and ends at f/5.6, so the Tamron can let in a fair bit more light across the focal range. The lens can stop down to a minimum aperture of f/22-f/29 depending on the focal length.

The lens has the two basic switches: AF/MF (although it does boast full time manual override), and an ON/OFF switch for the VC. The two rings (zoom and manual focus) feel pretty good, and operate smoothly. The lens focuses internally, so nothing extends or rotates when focusing. It is not entirely internally zooming, and it actually moves in and out with the fully retracted position being in the middle of the focal range and with a tiny extension (only a few mm) out at both the wide and telephoto ends of the focal range. The manual focus ring is fairly narrow, but it easy to find by touch. The action of the focus ring won’t be mistaken for a Zeiss lens, but it moves nicely. The key feature for me is that with Tamron’s HLD motor there is actually direct control over focus as opposed to the detestable focus-by-wire MF of STM lenses.

Another key upgrade is that the 10-24 VC is fully compatible with Tamron’s Tap-In Console, which will allow users to fine tune autofocus (at different focus distances and focal lengths) along with tweaking other functionality (VC behavior, MF ring behavior, etc…). Perhaps most important is that you can install firmware updates to the lens through the Tap In, helping to assure that your lens is future proof.

All in the lens is both attractive and functional with a build and moisture resistance that is superior to other APS-C wide-angle zoom options.

Tamron 10-24 – Now with VC

By popular request the new B023 now comes with Tamron’s Vibration Compensation (VC). While telephoto lenses have the greatest need for stabilization, I’ve used several full frame wide angle lenses with stabilization (Canon 16-35mm f/4L IS, Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 VC) and do find the stabilization useful. That stabilization not only allows you to keep the ISO setting down in lower light situations (when you don’t need to stop action) but also gives you some creative options. I’ve handheld shots where I blurred water or a moving subway car, for example.

This is another nice implementation of Tamron’s VC. It is virtually silent in operation, and there is little sign of its operation other than the extra stability. No jerking when it comes on and off or any other negative behavior. The stabilization is rated for 4 stops, which means that you can handhold VERY low shutter speeds with such a wide focal length.

I handheld a number of low shutter speed shots while visiting Niagara Falls with the lens. I find APS-C’s grain at higher ISO settings more noticeable than that of my typical full frame bodies, so I’m a little more proactive about avoiding higher ISO settings when I use my 70D or 80D bodies. I shot a number of shots at shutter speeds like 1/8th second when walking around at night (and at very cool, misty, and windy temperatures near freezing, so I’m sure I wasn’t at my most stable). Despite these factors I can’t recall one image lost to camera shake, which shows the value of that stabilization. It also gave me the ability to blur the cascade of the water and produce some very cool images.

The addition of the VC on the 10-24 VC is a very welcome addition.

New HLD Motor

The new High/Low Torque Modulated Drive Motor (HLD) is an interesting one. It’s clear from both the name and the operation that this is a hybrid focusing system somewhat similar to STM. It employs higher torque for fast autofocus when shooting stills, but also allows smooth (and quieter) focus transitions when shooting video. USM/USD motors typically excel in the first task but aren’t nearly as good at the latter. STM and Canon’s excels at the latter, but sometimes isn’t as fast to focus and robs you of the ability to directly manually focus. I’m not a fan. Canon’s new Nano USM is a significant improvement on STM, but still lacks the ability to truly manually focus.

Tamron has found a way to give us fast focus, smooth (and fairly quiet) video AF focus, but also give us real manual focus/focus override. I didn’t find the HLD motor to be as quiet as the best STM motors for video AF (but it’s close), and not quite as fast as Nano USM in focus speed (but it’s close), but I felt it was perhaps the closest I’ve seen to having these qualities without resorting to focus by wire. Kudos for Tamron; this motor is one of the underrated highlights of this new lens.

A wide angle lens with a not overly wide aperture puts relatively little stress on a focus system, but I did find focus accuracy to be excellent on the lens. It needed little calibration and just did its job. Focus was quick and confident, and I doubt that any will be disappointed with this aspect of the lens’ performance.

Interesting Video Option

The HLD focus motor combined with the VC makes this a very interesting video option anyway, but those of us that own a full frame 5D Mark IV ought to pay attention for another reason.

While Canon has slammed the door shut on mounting its own APS-C lenses on full frame (EF-S lenses won’t physically mount on full frame), they surprisingly have left the door open for third party lenses. The reason for this is that third party lenses use the EF and not EF-S mount. While prime lenses made for APS-C don’t cover the full frame image circle, it isn’t unusual for zoom lenses to cover the the full frame image circle over the latter part of their focal range. That is definitely the case here, and surprisingly you only need to zoom into a hair past 13mm before the 10-24 VC covers the full frame image circle (prior to this there is heavy blackening in the edges where the lens diaphragm is physically obscuring part of the image circle). 13mm is very wide on full frame (on Canon APS-C 10mm is the full frame equivalent of 16mm, so even at 13mm the lens is a good bit wider than on its native APS-C). Good APS-C lenses often look very good on the less pixel dense full frame sensor.  Here’s a look at a shot on the 5D Mark IV – 13mm:

One of the most desirable applications for this is in the capture of 4K video, as Canon has a 1.7x crop factor when capturing 4K video on the 5D Mark IV. This would be a great place to use Canon APS-C glass, as they are designed for the crop factor, but as already mentioned they physically won’t fit. The 10-24 VC is a great fit here, as the crop factor means that the whole focal range is usable. 10mm with a 1.7x crop is 17mm, which is still nicely wide on full frame and very useful…more so, in fact, than most full frame lenses.

Footage from this combination looked nice and crisp and the quality focus and stabilization made it an intriguing option there.

Tamron 10-24 VC Image Quality

The B023 has a fairly complex optical formula with 16 elements in 11 groups. Included in that formula is one Low Dispersion element, one XLD glass element, one moulded glass aspherical element, and one hybrid aspherical element. These are designed to help reduce chromatic and comatic aberrations (more on that in a moment) and to help control distortions. Another update over the previous lens is Tamron’s new BBAR coatings have been applied, and my experience with them has been favorable. They are effective at reducing flare effects and helping with contrast. Tamron’s benchmark has been its own excellent 15-30mm f/2.8 VC (which I own). While that lens is made for full frame, it has been a showcase for what Tamron can accomplish in a wide angle lens. I’ve compared a number of new wide angle lenses to the Tamron since its release, several of which were far more expensive than it. While there is always some give and take, I’ve noted that the Tamron has held up very well to all challengers. In short, I think benchmarking the 15-30 VC is ambitious, but that gives a frame of reference to compare against.

Before I go further, I will add that APS-C is not my favorite platform for landscape or low light work. The rougher noise and the nature of the pixels to my eye produces less smooth results. It can be hard to communicate, but I just prefer the look of the images produced by full frame, particularly when viewing and processing them at the pixel level. I say that to say that when I first compared the lenses on their native systems (the 15-30 VC on a Canon 5D Mark IV and the 10-24 VC on a Canon 80D), I had a hard time separating the limitations of the platform (APS-C) from the lens. I decided that I would instead compare both lenses on the Canon 80D. What I saw in that test gave a truer representation of the performance of the 10-24 VC.

I compared the image quality throughout the focal range, but there is one fairly constant advantage for the 10-24 VC in that type of comparison – chromatic aberrations. The Tamron 15-30 VC controls longitudinal chromatic aberrations well (often called LoCA), but it does fall prey to some lateral CA along the edges of the frame. Lateral CA can be corrected for in software, but unlike LoCA it is not corrected just be stopping down the lens. I saw trace amounts of lateral CA in the images from the 10-24 VC, but overall it exhibits less chromatic aberrations than its big brother.

AT 10mm the 10-24 VC is very sharp from f/3.5, and the sharpness extends across the frame reasonably well. There is good contrast, with a bit of that lateral CA along the edges of the frame. As you stop the lens down at 10mm the biggest change seen is that vignette is reduced.  Here’s a look at the image quality from left to right across the frame wide open (f/3.5):

The vignette wide open doesn’t produce heavily dark corners, but it does extend fairly far into the frame, so the image as a whole brightens when stopped down to f/4 and more at f/5.6. At 10mm the resolution is pretty impressive even at f/3.5, and stopping down to more traditional landscape values reduces vignette and slightly increases resolution. If you are shooting RAW the vignette issue is fairly minor, as it is well within the tolerance of being removed in post without destruction to the image.  Here’s a look at the vignette difference between wide open and f/5.6 at 10mm:

Here’s a quick comparison of f/3.5 and f/5.6 in terms of sharpness at 10mm:

Comparing the 10-24 VC to the 15-30 VC at 15mm is interesting. Looking at the image quality globally you will see an obvious difference in the amount of vignette. The 15-30 VC is perhaps the best wide angle lens I’ve seen for vignette control anyway, but it also benefits on APS-C by having the edges of the frame cut off due to being a lens designed for the larger full frame image circle. Once again the amount of vignette is fairly light on the 10-24 VC, but it extends fairly far into the frame.

With both lenses wide open (f/2.8 for the 15-30; f/4 on the 10-24 VC), the 15-30 is sharper on the edges of the frame but the 10-24 VC has a [very] slight edge in the center of the frame. When the 15-30 VC is stopped down to f/4 and they are both compared at f/4 it has the overall sharpness edge.  Here’s a look across the frame:

With both lenses stopped down to f/5.6 the overall resolution is similar, with a contrast edge to the full frame lens. The fact that the 10-24 VC stays this close at such a lower price point is impressive.  

At 20mm the results with both lenses wide open (f/2.8 vs f/4.5 at this point) very slightly favors the 15-30 VC, mostly in the form of better micro-contrast. Off center the results are more standardized, though, which indicates the sharpness is fairly even on the 10-24 VC.  Here’s a look:

With both lenses stopped down to f/5.6 the 15-30 looks a bit better with superior contrast and less light haze, but the lenses remain pretty close overall.

At 24mm we have reached the end of the focal range on the 10-24mm while the 15-30 VC has 6mm more, so its not surprising that the image quality edge favors the 15-30 VC. Overall it is still fairly close, but once again the contrast edge belongs to the full frame lens, though the absolute resolution is not overly different.  Here’s a look across the frame at f/4 (f/4.5 for the 10-24):

If they are both stopped down to f/5.6 the superiority of the 15-30 VC shows up, though:

So in a controlled environment it is clear that the 10-24 VC has some serious optical chops even if it doesn’t quite match the 15-30 VC.

Flare Resistance

One area that the 10-24 VC has no problem matching (and besting) the 15-30 VC is when it comes to flare resistance. The full frame lens has a bulbous front element with a fixed lens hood, but there are limits to just how much that lens hood can shade the front element. Tamron’s BBAR coatings have proven their worth in a number of applications, but they cannot completely overcome the 15-30’s propensity for showing flare/ghosting patterns from side light sources. If light comes from the right (wrong?) angle, the 15-30 is definitely vulnerable. Fortunately the less extreme nature of the 10-24 VC means that it has a flat front element and can use traditional filters (77mm size). It is also far less vulnerable to catching stray light from the side. In addition, it proved very flare resistant, maintaining near perfect contrast even with very bright sun in the frame. I was only able to produce the slightest of ghosting patterns that were negligible and definitely put this lens fairly high on the list of flare resistant wide angle lenses that I’ve used.

Stopping down the lens produced a nice if not spectacular sunburst effect with its seven-bladed aperture. All in all I found the lens produced very nice images when I put the sun into the frame…something I dearly love to do with a wide angle lens.

Distortion

At 10mm the lens isn’t distortion free, but the amount of distortion is minimal. There is a bit of barrel distortion noticeable on straight lines towards the edges of the frame, though when I shot a brick wall I saw little distortion throughout the majority of the frame. Most importantly is that there isn’t any odd “mustache” type distortion pattern that proves so difficult to correct.  Here’s the distortion at 10mm, 15mm, and 24mm.

It seems to me that a number of lens makers have figured out how to better control distortion as of late, as I’ve seen fewer lenses with really hideous distortion issues as of late. This shot from the Chateau Montebello shows nice lines overall and a crisp result.

At 20mm there is only the faintest amount of barrel distortion, while at 24mm there is the faintest amount of pincushion distortion. All in all actual distortion is fairly well controlled on the lens. Note, however, that with any wide angle lens you can easily produce perspective distortion by the way you compose. Say you are in a forest, for example. If you attempt to hold the camera extremely level (not tilted up or down), you will find that tree trunks will because straight and upright in the viewfinder. If you tilt the camera up, however, it will look as if the trees are all leaning in towards the middle of the frame. This “keystone” effect is the result of perspective distortion.

Use this lens right and you will only encounter minor amounts of distortion that should be fairly easily correctable in post.  You can see many more images, including a number of architectural shots, in the Lens Image Gallery.

Comatic Aberrations

Comatic aberrations, or coma, is an aberration that is particularly important to correct for in wide angle lenses. The most common application where this is important is for those that shoot the night sky. While the maximum aperture of f/3.5 is a hair slower than optimal, this lens is still a valid option for shooting the night sky.

The night sky did not really cooperate with me during my review period (it was a lot of overcast), so I couldn’t test coma in a traditional way by shooting nightscapes. What I did do, however, was set up a test of coma control using a laser pointer. I shot a variety of frames with the pinpoint light source (much like a star) in various points of the frame and then combined those shots together in Photoshop. What I found was that the “star points” looked sharp and precise across most of the frame, but in the corners I did see some comatic aberration. Star points grew a bit of what looked like wings. I’ve seen worse, but I’ve seen better too. I think the lens is usable but not optimal for shooting night skies.

Conclusion

It’s great to see lenses like this being built so that APS-C shooters have more quality lenses to choose from. Tamron has significant improved its 10-24mm lens, adding VC, superior performance, a new focus motor, and a weather-sealed build while somehow managing to not charge any more for it ($499) than the previous lens. Canon has its own stabilized APS-C lens (EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM) at a lower price point ($299), but that lens has a smaller focal range, slower maximum aperture, and lacks weather resistance, so it is hard not to see a win for the Tamron here. Their EF-S 10-22mm lens lacks the weather sealing and image stabilization while costing more. The Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 VC HLD seems perfectly positioned to offer buyers the best of both those lenses. It focuses quickly and accurately, the VC works exceptionally well, and the lens does what it should optically. I see no reason why this lens should not be seriously considered by Canon and Nikon APS-C shooters looking for a quality wide angle lens.

Pros:

  • Upgraded build quality
  • Highly effective VC system
  • New HLD focus motor works well both for still and video
  • Excellent flare resistance
  • Distortion quite well controlled
  • Moisture resistance
  • Good image quality
  • Compatibility with Tap In Console

Cons:

  • HLD motor slightly noisier than STM
  • Vignette noticeable wide open

Thanks to Tamron Canada for providing a retail-sourced copy of the lens for evaluation.

Gear Used:
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (5D4): B&H Photo | Amazon.com | Amazon Canada 
Canon EOS 80D: B&H Photo | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca
Tamron 10-24mm VC HLD: B&H Photo | Amazon | Amplis Foto (use code AMPLIS52016DA in your cart to get 5% everything)
Adobe Lightroom CC Software for Mac and Windows (Boxed Version)
Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Alien Skin Exposure X2 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. Thank you for your support.

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Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52016DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

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Zeiss Batis APO Sonnar 135mm f/2.8 Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

April 5th, 2017

So, for the first time I have my hands on an autofocusing Zeiss with image stabilization.  Only one problem:  it is made for a camera system (Sony E-mount) that I don’t own!  That hasn’t cooled my enthusiasm for this beautiful Zeiss lens with amazing optics, and, while I’m not thrilled with a number of ergonomic issues on the Sony A7R II body that I borrowed from B&H Photo to do the review on, the thought of having access to the Batis line of autofocusing Zeiss lenses is enough to make me pause and reconsider!  This I can tell you: the Zeiss Batis APO Sonnar 135mm f/2.8 is an optical treat.  Take a look at these images and enjoy both the beautiful Zeiss rendering along with amazing resolution from wide open.  My review will be coming in a couple of weeks; today is the first day I’m allowed to share information with you all!

Images of the Zeiss Batis APO Sonnar 135mm f/2.8

Images from the Zeiss Batis APO Sonnar 135mm f/2.8

Gear Used:

Sony A7R II | B&H Photo | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca
Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8 | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon.ca
Adobe Lightroom CC Software for Mac and Windows (Boxed Version)
Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Alien Skin Exposure X2 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. Thank you for your support.

B&H Logo

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52016DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

Check me out on:

Google+: | Facebook: | Twitter: | Flickr: | 500px: | Sign Up for My Newsletter :



DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2 SL-II Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

March 5th, 2017

Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2 SL-II

I’ll readily admit to having a weakness for compact, well made manual focus lenses.  I’ve considered the Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens to be an excellent value lens, but I’ve been disappointed in the fact that this first lens that was equipped with an STM focus motor doesn’t actually focus very quickly or smoothly with Canon’s modern DPAF focus systems.  Although the Voigtländer 40mm has been discontinued at a number of retailers, I decided that I would like to pick up a copy anyway and give it a try as a replacement.  The Voigtländer 40mm ups the ante with an all metal construction, beautiful focus action, and, of course, a full stop faster f/2 aperture and the ability to create more bokeh in an equally compact package.  That all sounds good, but is the little Voigtländer actually an upgrade?  Find out when my review launches in a few weeks.  In the meantime, check out my photos of this beautiful little pancake prime along with the photos I’m taking with it as a part of my review.  Here’s a careful look at the design, features, and handling of the lens:

Images of the Voigtländer 40mm f/2 SL-II

Images Taken With the Voigtländer 40mm f/2 SL-II

Images Taken With the Voigtländer 40mm f/2 SL-II on APS-C

Images Taken With the Voigtländer 40mm f/2 SL-II on Sony A7R II

Gear Used:
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (5D4): B&H Photo | Amazon.com | Amazon Canada 
Canon EOS 6D DSLR Camera (Body Only)
Sony A7R II | B&H Photo | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca
Purchase Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2 SL II from Amazon 
Super Precision Matte Eg-S Interchangeable Focusing Screen
Adobe Lightroom CC Software for Mac and Windows (Boxed Version)
Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Alien Skin Exposure X2 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. Thank you for your support.

B&H Logo

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52016DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

Check me out on:

Google+: | Facebook: | Twitter: | Flickr: | 500px: | Sign Up for My Newsletter :


DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Rokinon (Samyang) SP 85mm f/1.2 Review

Dustin Abbott

February 27th, 2017

Korean lens maker Samyang has settled into a certain niche in the past: they develop manual focus only lenses (with a few Sony exceptions) with highly competitive optics, consumer grade builds, and inexpensive prices. Well, a few of those things are still true. Recently another Korean company (automaker Hyundai) has launched a premium brand (Genesis), and Samyang has done the same with its new XP line of premium lenses. Samyang lenses have always been sold under a variety of different brands, but the main alternate brand is Rokinon, and, thus far, I have only seen Rokinon branded versions of this lens available to the North American market. I’ve been spending some time with one of these premium lenses, in this case the Rokinon SP 85mm f/1.2. The XP 85 premium lens has gone to a whole new level of build and image quality, and it’s a lens that I have really enjoyed using.

Before proceeding, let me mention that I wish Rokinon had gone with the XP branding (like Samyang) rather than the SP branding (which is already one of Tamron’s branding marks). For the sake of clarity here I will refer to the lens as the XP 85 to avoid confusion with Tamron’s lens. This lens joins a select few full frame lenses with a maximum aperture of f/1.2; one third stop faster than even f/1.4 lenses. The Canon 85mm f/1.2L II USM is one of the few other options at the 85mm focal. The Canon 85L II still wins for having autofocus, but in most other ways this new Rokinon is a clear winner. Let’s see why.

Prefer to watch your reviews? Check out my final video verdict of the Rokinon XP 85!

Build Quality

If I closed my eyes and just handled the lens, I would say without hesitation that I was handling a Zeiss Milvus lens. It feels just like a Zeiss lens. It has an all-aluminum body which feels extremely premium. Samyang/Rokinon lenses have competed fairly well on an optical level with Zeiss glass in the past, but the build and handling of the Korean lenses was a distant second. I don’t think that is the case with this new XP line.  I encourage you to watch this video episode to see the design and build of the lens:

There is only one thing lacking in the XP 85, and that is weather sealing. There is no rubber gasket near the lens mount, but one thing I did note is that there is no gap at the rear of the lens where I can see the inner part of the lens. Everything seems very tight and very well engineered.

The focus ring imitates recent Zeiss Otus and Milvus lenses with a very “grippy” rubberized focus ring. It feels great and is perfectly damped all throughout the approximately 200 degrees of focus throw. I actually prefer the focus action to that of the Milvus 85mm lens, which had a bit more resistance in the focus ring than what I’ve seen with other Milvus lenses. The damping on the XP 85 is perfect, allowing for highly precise focus. The focus action is manual focus perfection, and might just make a believer out of those leery of manual focus lenses. The XP 85 actually borrows a page of the Otus 85mm book and has a high contrast color (not quite as bright a yellow) on the distance scale to allow of easy visibility in dimmer light. I’ve got only one gripe about the highly “grippy” focus ring; it likes to grip dust, too. You will almost always find something stuck to it!

Like the Otus/Milvus series the lens hood is a clear part of the lens’ design and profile. It is a metal-looking lens hood (I think it is actually engineered plastics) that really completes the lens and adds an elegant curve onto what is otherwise a fairly squat lens. The lens is nearly as big around (3.66”/93mm) as it is long (3.87”/98.4mm) without the lens hood. It weighs in at a hefty 2.31 lb (1050g), though that is still a fair bit light than either the Otus/Milvus 85mm lenses or the new Sigma ART 85mm f/1.4. It outweighs the Canon 85L II by a miniscule 25g. Like the Milvus 85 the width of the barrel leaves little clearance between it and the camera grip, though I found a slight bit more room with the XP 85 than I did with the Milvus. The lens is considerably shorter than very long Sigma 85 ART lens which is over an inch longer.

The minimum focus distance is a reasonable 2.62’ (80cm), a figure shared by the Tamron 85 VC lens, though the Tamron squeezes a class-leading 0.14x magnification out of this MFD. The XP 85 has a slightly smaller 0.13x magnification. No 85mm lens is particularly strong in this regard, so this is a better than average performance that is still very useful in a number of settings (including tightly framed headshots). The lens gives a strong optical performance at minimum focus, which certainly helps, and extension tubes can provide you more magnification if needed.

There are nine aperture blades, and the aperture stays reasonably round when stopped down (though a bit of a nonagonal shape will show at smaller apertures.)

The headline here, however, is that the maximum aperture is an extremely wide f/1.2, which puts it in very rare territory. I have previously reviewed a Rokinon lens with an aperture that wide (the 50mm f/1.2 – my review here), but that lens was designed for APS-C mirrorless and is a completely different animal. When you look into this lens you quickly see why it is called premium; it has what seems like acres of very expensive glass. This lens is ready to suck in a TON of light!

The XP 85 has a comparatively simple optical formula of 10 elements in 7 groups (the new Sigma ART is 14 elements in 12 groups). This will appeal to those of you who feel that adding too many elements results in reduced micro-contrast and three dimensional rendering. The XP 85’s optical formula includes one aspherical element and a pair of high refractive index elements along with Samyang’s Ultra Multi-Coating.

Another huge departure over any previous Samyang/Rokinon lens that I’ve used is that all previous lenses had a manual aperture ring. For that matter, they lacked any kind of electronics, period. Samyang has experimented with a few lenses with an AE chip (mostly for Nikon), but that really only allowed for some electronic communication to transmit some EXIF data and to help with metering. I’ve reviewed seven previous Samyang/Rokinon lenses, none of which had any kind of electronics. This meant that the aperture had to be controlled manual via an aperture ring. This has a few shortcomings. First of all, cameras don’t always meter right because they typically open the lens’ aperture to its maximum setting when autofocusing/metering, then stop down to whatever aperture you’ve selected. Previous Samyang lenses that I’ve reviewed didn’t communicate aperture information to the camera, and thus metering wasn’t always right (I particularly had issues in Live View). A second, more minor issue is that aperture rings often only allow you to select full stops (f/2.8, f/4, etc…) while electronically controlled apertures typically allow for 1/3rd stop aperture changes (f/2.8, f/3.2, f/3.5, etc…).

Another major issue is that no EXIF data was communicated from Samyang lenses (those without AE chips), meaning that lens specific information like the lens, aperture value, and focal length were missing from your EXIF data. That’s really a pain for someone like me who tests lenses and wants to report what aperture I used in tests or sample photos.

One final missing piece due to a lack of electronics was any kind of focus confirmation chip (the camera will “beep” and light up the appropriate focus point when it detects correct focus has been achieved). While focus confirmation chips are not always pinpoint accurate, it does help in achieving proper focus.

It is for these reasons that I’ve always preferred the handling of Zeiss lenses when compared to Samyang/Rokinon lenses…but that is no longer the case. The XP 85 handles as well and is as easy to use as any Zeiss lens that I’ve used, which is extremely high praise. It’s a pleasure to be able to control the aperture from the camera, to have focus confirm, and to have all of the EXIF data communicated to the camera…though there is one minor quirk there. For some reason everything seems to detect this lens as the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM. Camera bodies offer to provide correction information (Peripheral Illumination, etc…) for the 85L II, and Lightroom/ACR recognize it as the 85L II, too. I don’t know if this will get corrected in time, but the quirk definitely exists for now.

So far this lens is only offered in a Canon EF mount, and I have seen no indication of a Nikon mount following. That’s definitely a departure for Samyang, which frequently releases its lenses in a variety of lens mounts.  One theory on the XP 85 not coming in a Nikon mount is that the design of the Nikon F mount makes it difficult to design lenses with a larger aperture than f/1.4.  

I’ve knocked Samyang/Rokinon in the past for having somewhat poor branding on the final touches like the rear lens cap, but, like when Zeiss introduced the Otus line, Samyang has completely redesigned the front and rear caps with a decidedly more upscale look and feel.

The lens also comes with a more upscale lens pouch (compared to earlier Samyang lenses) that feels nearly identical to the pouch included with Canon “L” lenses. I prefer the Sigma approach of including a padded lens case, but I’ll acknowledge this as a step in the right direction. The pouch is one clear indicator of the Samyang origins of the lens, as it says “Samyang”; no rebranding at all. Stamped on the lens barrel is “Technology by Samyang Optics”. Other than the Rokinon branding on the lens (and front lens cap), the look of the Samyang and Rokinon lenses is identical.

One final observation about the build/design. The XP 85 follows the trend set by the Otus 85 and the Sigma ART 85, and that is a move to a very large 86mm front filter thread. That has good points (vignette is fairly well controlled as we will shortly see) but also negative ones. There’s a VERY good chance you will be in settings where you want to shoot at f/1.2 but you are hitting your shutter speed limit on your camera body. An ND filter or circular polarizer is a big help in those settings, but 86mm filters don’t come cheap, and it is VERY unlikely you already have some in your collection. A good quality CPL filter will probably set you back $200, and the better grade ones will be more expensive still  (the Zeiss version costs over $500!!!).  ND filters aren’t much cheaper, so this is a potential area where you can add a lot of unwanted expense.

That’s about as much as I can nit-pick, though. This lens is one of the more beautiful ones that I’ve reviewed, and gear lovers will love the way it looks and feels in their hands. I don’t need the lens one bit, but it is already weaving its spell on me.

Image Quality

Here’s a thorough, interactive look at the image quality from the lens:

In the past I’ve knocked Samyang/Rokinon lenses for their handling even while praising them for their image quality. Suffice it to say I expected great things from the lens optically, and I haven’t been disappointed. Samyang claims that this lens is designed to match 50 megapixel bodies and to support 8K video production. I’ve used a lot of high resolution lenses as of late (most recently the extremely sharp Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART lens), and I think the marketing materials might emphasize the wrong thing for this lens.

Don’t get me wrong: this lens is very sharp and is useful even at f/1.2. But it isn’t as absolutely sharp across the frame as the Sigma 85 ART (or the almost-as-sharp Tamron 85 VC ) at equivalent apertures. Where the XP 85 excels is in the exceptional quality of its rendering. It produces beautifully creamy and soft bokeh while still outresolving the Canon 85L II by a landslide. The Sigma ART wins in the absolute sharpness department, but the images it produces aren’t as “special” to my mind as what this lens can produce. Let’s break this down a little further.

Resolution

I no longer have the Sigma 85 ART on hand, but I run a fairly standardized test that allows me to compare past results, and I do have the Tamron 85 VC on hand (a lens that only slightly trails the Sigma and Zeiss Otus in sharpness on high resolution bodies). In this test I found the Tamron and Sigma delivered highly similar results in terms of overall sharpness at equivalent apertures (see this in my video episode here) The Tamron will serve as our benchmark here, too, though the XP 85 has few comparisons at f/1.2. I used a Canon 5D Mark IV as my reference body for this test.

At f/1.2 there is essentially only the Canon 85mm f/1.2L II to compare it to, and the XP 85 is easily capable of outresolving the Canon. The XP 85 does show a bit of softness and a minimal chromatic aberrations at f/1.2 at the edges, but the center performance is already strong. There is a tiny bit of LoCA (longitudinal chromatic aberrations) present in out of focus transition regions, but they are fairly minimal. The Canon 85L II, by comparison, has significant amounts of chromatic aberrations. Contrast is already very good on the XP 85 from f/1.2. There is visible vignette, though I note that it is less pronounced than the Tamron’s 2.5 stops in the extreme corners and is probably closer to the Sigma ART’s two stops in the extreme corners.  Out in the real world f/1.2 produces very useful sharpness – particularly in the center of the frame.  Here’s a full image plus a crop at f/1.2:

That vignette is noticeably better by f/1.4 (about as good as the Sigma’s performance) and basically gone for all practical purposes by f/2.8. Because vignette often “works” with a medium telephoto (read: portrait) lens, I don’t find the relatively mild vignette here objectionable at all, though your opinion may differ.

By f/2 the sharpness in the center is extremely impressive and the edges also look very good, though the Tamron I used as a benchmark is sharper at the edges even wide open. There is a touch of lateral CA that remains in the XP 85 shots (lateral CA isn’t entirely corrected by stopping down). As I noted in the Sigma ART review, however, I’m not personally turned off by a bit of CA in real world shooting as I sometimes find the pursuit of entirely eradicating CA results in a more sterile, clinical rendering that loses some “magic” in the pursuit of perfection.  The handling of longitudinal chromatic aberrations is actually very good; better than the Sigma 85 ART and close to the excellent performance from the Tamron 85 VC.  Take a look at the image and crop below:

Stopped down to f/2.8 and beyond resolution is pretty much perfect across the frame. The lens is exquisitely sharp at small apertures, and I find its sharpness profile a little more traditional (sharpness continues to grow through f/8 until diffraction starts to set in at f/11 and beyond). The Sigma 85 ART is more optimized for wide apertures, and I suspect the XP 85 is equally sharp at small apertures.  Here’s a small gallery of images shot at smaller apertures that show the extremely crisp results from the lens:

I don’t believe that when DXO gets around to testing this lens (if they do) that it will supplant the Sigma, Otus, or Tamron 85mm lenses as the new resolution king, but the XP 85 has more than raw resolution at it’s disposal. It’s in the next section that the true worth the XP 85 becomes apparent.

Bokeh Quality

I quickly fell in love with the bokeh from the XP 85. Taking a look at my bokeh highlight test tells the story why. First of all, at close focus distances the amount of bokeh this lens can produce is truly impressive. It blows away the Sigma Art in both the amount of bokeh it produces [bigger maximum aperture plus (unlike the Sigma) it is a full 85mm] but also in the softness of the bokeh.

The bokeh circles are HUGE, with almost no inner lines at all at f/1.2. There is almost no activity in the circles at all in the middle, with only a slight bit of activity in the circles near the edge. The Sigma was good, too, but there was certainly more busyness in the inner circle and a more defined inner line.  It is interesting to note that even with equal framing and aperture values the bokeh “circles” remain slightly larger from the XP 85.  Even with all things being equal it produces more bokeh than the competitors!

There is almost no sign of an inner line on the XP 85 until nearly f/5.6, which means that at most of your typical apertures that you will use this lens for bokeh the quality of the bokeh will be extremely soft.

Stopping the lens down produces slightly more busyness in the bokeh circle highlights, but this remains mild.

There is one place that the Sigma ART trumps the XP 85, though, and that is that the Sigma produces perfectly round bokeh circles across the whole frame at f/2. The XP 85 (like the Sigma) has some “cat-eye” bokeh distortion along the edges of the frame at wide apertures, though unlike the Sigma the XP 85 doesn’t produce perfectly evenly shaped “circles” across the frame until f/2.8, but by that point a slight nonagonal shape is starting to show from the 9 aperture blades. This shape becomes slightly more pronounced as the lens is stopped down further. At around f/2 you can also see a slight “jagged” quality in spots (a bit like a circular blade) due to the shape of the aperture blades. I’ve seen this before with other extremely large aperture lenses (most notably the Canon EF 50mm f/1.0L.)

At wide apertures, however, the bokeh is gorgeous from this lens, and real world bokeh agrees. Backgrounds melt away, even at full body portrait distances, and I didn’t see any ugliness in the bokeh in any of the transition zones. It was gorgeous, period!  I love the bokeh and overall rendering from this lens.

 

This is good part of the reason why this lens is a fabulous portrait option.

Portrait Setting Observations

I was reminded in the actual capture process that I definitely prefer autofocus in the studio, particularly when shooting a nine-year-old (trying to get him to stay still long enough to manually focus was a bit of challenge). I wanted to use the 5D Mark IV for its superior studio performance, but my 6D may have been the better choice because of the focus screen helping the shooting process to be faster and more organic. This is the nature of shooting a manual focus lens.

That aside, however, the XP 85 is a treat. It has such beautiful fall off and handling of skin tones that portraits really have a gorgeous pop to them. In a studio setting f/1.2 provides far too shallow a DOF, and really should be reserved for shooting full length portraits outside (though this doggy portrait shows off how nice f/1.2 can be!)

Shooting at more typical f/2 or smaller aperture produces great results, and vignette is almost non-existent by this point (I ended up adding a fair bit of vignette in post as I desired the look).

I liked the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART as a studio lens, and would probably still ultimately prefer it here because of the greater ease of autofocus, but I would give the ultimate rendering edge to the XP 85. It has really beautiful bokeh falloff, and you can see where the engineering priority was here. The Sigma is designed for ultimate resolution, but the XP 85 is designed for ultimate rendering. Which was the better choice will come down to your personal preference. I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer to this question.

There is only one thing that will hold the optics back on this lens, and that is the challenge of getting focus right on modern DLSRs. They just aren’t designed for manual focus. With the EG-S precision matte focus screen on my 6D I’m able to easily visually confirm whether focus is correct within about 12 feet or less, but outside of that zone the limits of my vision makes this technique less precise. Using Live View and magnifying the image is a sure way to get focus right, but doesn’t make for nearly as organic or enjoyable a focus experience. The focus confirmation chip helps, but it really isn’t an adequate substitute for well calibrated autofocus.

Flare Resistance

I had to laugh when I read ePhotozine (a review source I do like) say this, “There are no signs of flare under any circumstances, the coatings, design and excellent lens hood all playing their part.” They must not have been reviewing the same lens I was. You just don’t have this massive amount of glass without some flare, and that’s certainly true of this lens. Put the sun in the frame as I did on a cold winter evening and you get a pretty significant amount of veiling (prismatic haze and loss of contrast at the epicenter of the sun).

There is also a noticeable ghost pattern that is soft and unobtrusive at wide apertures but will become more pronounced as you stop the lens down.

There is a clear loss of contrast with the sun directly in the frame, though in a stylistically useful way that I didn’t really mind.  It’s somewhat localized and doesn’t result in a complete loss of contrast (like the Canon 135mm f/2L).

I could do without the ghosting pattern, though, and I would advise you to be careful with where you place it as ghosting can be tough to eliminate in post…particularly with the lens stopped down and the pattern becomes more definied.

Conclusions

If only manual focus lenses were easier to nail focus with! Some of my favorite lenses optically are MF glass, but the reason more of them aren’t in my personal kit is that while I do enjoy using MF lenses, they simply aren’t practical in a lot of professional situations where focus accuracy is critical. I enjoy using manual focus lenses for me, for the joy of shooting, for the organic process of making an image through careful and deliberate focus. But when it is time for paying work (or critical work), I usually leave the MF glass at home and bring along the tried and true autofocus lenses. If the Samyang XP/Rokinon SP 85mm f/1.2 had gone all the way and added autofocus to its fancy new electronic suite this lens would most certainly end up in a lot of people’s kits. It isn’t as devastatingly sharp as the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART (or even the Tamron 85mm f/1.8 VC), but it renders better than either of them and has superlative bokeh and “drawing”. But, alas, the reality of manual focus only means that a lot you have read this review out of curiosity but without any real intention of purchasing this lens.

The price point of $999 USD is certainly more “premium” than previous Samyang/Rokinon lenses, but this lens is unquestionably a premium instrument in its build, handling, and optical performance. It undercuts the Canon 85L II and Zeiss Milvus 85mm f/1.4 by about half, and undercuts the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART by $200. All told it is a solid value for those not intimidated by manual focus…and with a Canon body. The lens is for Canon EF only, and I for one hope that Samyang finds some success with this lens. That might mean more mounts in the future, and, better yet, more of these premium lenses. Despite the limitations of manual focus, this lens is a delight, and easily stands as my favorite Samyang/Rokinon product thus far.  There’s a lot to make me smile over!

Pros:

  • Beautiful build and design.
  • Lives up to its premium branding
  • Fantastically soft and smooth bokeh 
  • Gorgeous overall rendering
  • Useful sharpness wide open; deadly sharpness stopped down
  • Handling (for a manual focus lens) is beautiful
  • Good handling of chromatic aberrations
  • Fully electronic aperture control and EXIF data communication
  • Great focus ring with perfect damping and long focus throw

Cons:

  • Somewhat flare prone
  • Some recent 85mm competitors sharper at large apertures
  • No weather sealing
  • Tests new price point for a Samyang/Rokinon lens
  • 86mm filters are expensive
  • Canon EF mount only

Thanks to my friends at B&H Photo for providing a retail sample for evaluation.

Gear Used:
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (5D4)
Canon EOS 6D DSLR Camera (Body Only)
Purchase the Rokinon SP 85mm f/1.2: B&H Photo: |  Amazon
Super Precision Matte Eg-S Interchangeable Focusing Screen
Adobe Lightroom CC Software for Mac and Windows (Boxed Version)
Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Alien Skin Exposure X2 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. Thank you for your support.

B&H Logo

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52016DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

Check me out on:

Google+: | Facebook: | Twitter: | Flickr: | 500px: | Sign Up for My Newsletter :

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM Review

Dustin Abbott

February 13th, 2017

 

Before I was a professional reviewer I used to haunt a few popular photography message boards, and in many ways little has changed since becoming a reviewer. I don’t have quite as much time to spend on them, but I do like to gauge interest and feedback from real photographers both upon announcements of lenses and then as people actually use them. I can safely say that the “vibe” regarding this lens has been somewhat of a roller coaster. When it was announced people had a lot of excited anticipation. Lenses like the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.-5.6 IS STM showed that Canon was capable of producing a very good quality budget telephoto lens. My experience with Nano USM on the EF-S 18-135mm f/4-5.6 IS USM was very encouraging; I found it one the fastest and quietest focus systems I’ve ever seen. I was less impressed with the optical performance of that lens (see my review here), and my personal hope was that the newly announced Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM lens represented a chance for that excellent focus system to be paired with a lens with more optical chops.  Could the 70-300 IS II be that lens?

But then some of the very early reviews suggested that the 70-300 IS II wasn’t a significant improvement over the V1 lens optically, and the enthusiasm for the lens began to wane. I come into my review with an open mind, however, as sometimes lenses are greater than their test scores (and sometimes they are less!) Beyond sharpness there is the handling, autofocus, rendering of the lens, along with its bokeh quality, and some of those metrics are not easy to reproduce in a lab. I use lenses like a photographer will, and my conclusions are always based on real world usage.

I reached out to Tamron Canada (thanks, Amplis!) and asked them to provide me a copy of the Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 VC USD lens. I used this lens myself for several years and always felt it was an excellent “bang-for-the-buck” lens (I sold it only after moving to the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS lens). It is the lens I have been steering others toward who were looking for an inexpensive telephoto lens. I wanted it as a point of comparison, so I will refer to it periodically throughout the review.

Prefer to watch your reviews? You can see my final video review of the 70-300 IS II here:

Read on to discover my findings in the real world with the 70-300 IS II.

Build and Design

Canon debuted a new look for its consumer grade zoom lenses with the release of the EF-S 18-135mm IS USM (launched as a new kit lens with the EOS 80D). When I reviewed that lens I called the new look “Batman’s Lens of Choice” due to its sleek black on black look. Even the accent ring is a narrow ring of yet darker black. The buttons are low profile and sleek as well. When compared to the previous generation lens or the Tamron the effect of the 70-300 IS II is that of a much more modern lens.

You can see my breakdown of the design and features of the lens in this video:

Everything is still consumer grade (engineered plastics dominate), but the overall result is a nicely constructed lens that feels like it should be fairly durable.  It is worth noting that LensRentals has already done a teardown of this new lens and reported back very positively regarding its internal construction.

The lens isn’t small, but it does qualify as relatively compact (at least when not zoomed out). The lens diameter is 3.1” (78.74mm) and it is 5.7” (144.78mm) long. The listing on the two lenses shows the Tamron as being a bit longer, but when you physically compare them they are essentially identical. The 70-300 IS II weighs in at a noticeable (yet still fairly light) 1.56lb (708g). This is about 55 grams lighter than the Tamron. One area that I definitely prefer is that the Canon has a very common 67mm front filter thread (which is shared with a host of other lenses), while the Tamron 70-300 VC has a more uncommon 62mm front filter.

To quickly answer two common questions in reference to the build. No, a lens hood is not included (always irritating when the Tamron at a much lower price point DOES include the hood!) and no, the lens is not weather sealed. For those who know Canon, neither of these points should surprise. Canon persists in never including a lens hood and never providing weather sealing on any but their “L” (Luxury) series. I recognize that this has been part of Canon’s branding scheme for a long time, but there was a point where the same was true for most other brands, too. Now I review some third party lenses like the Tamron 18-200mm Di II VC lens that has a hood, weather sealing, plus a six year warranty and costs well under $250. I do think that Canon should reconsider this policy, as the third party lens makers have really stepped up their game in the past few years.

That aside, there is nothing to complain about in terms of the mechanics of the lens. The lens definitely feels more modern and refined than the Tamron 70-300 VC lens I brought in as a point of reference. One notable example is with the zoom action. The Canon zoom ring is nicely (and evenly) damped and the inner barrel slides out very smoothly. The Tamron has inconsistent feel with a few places where the resistance is stronger than others. The Tamron lacks a lock to prevent zoom creep, which the Canon has, though it shows no proclivity towards any creep right now. Canon shooters have long been annoyed by the fact that earlier Tamron lenses zoom in the “Nikon” direction; opposite to Canon. I use a lot of different lenses as a reviewer, of course, so I’ll confess that I scarcely notice this anymore. As they say, your mileage may vary.  One interesting observation is that though the lenses are identical in length without being zoomed out, the Canon’s inner barrel actually extends a LOT further than the Tamron.

It is hard to compare the feel of the focus rings as the 70-300 IS II employs Canon’s new Nano USM technology. When it comes to actual autofocus, the performance is amazing, but it (like Canon’s STM technology) leaves a lot to be desired if you want to manually focus. Nano USM (like STM) employs a “focus-by-wire” system where manual input from the focus ring is routed through the autofocus motor and it moves the elements. There is no direct coupling between the focus ring and the lens elements; all focus (auto or manual) is actually done by the focus motor. This has a lot of serious drawbacks, including a very numb feel on the focus ring (it turns but doesn’t feel like it accomplishes anything), there is often some lag between input and focus movement, and if the camera/lens is “asleep” or off turning the focus ring will do absolutely nothing. I strongly prefer traditional USM for manual focus.  Fortunately the autofocus is exceptional in both speed and accuracy.  I seriously doubt that many people will do a lot of manual focus with this lens, but, if being able to manually focus via a full ring-type USM motor is important to you, the Tamron may still represent a more attractive option.

New Additions and Curious Omissions

This lens employs a new bit of technology while curiously omitting another. The omitted piece of technology is compatibility with the Power Zoom accessory that Canon debuted with its first Nano USM lens. This accessory allowed for the lens to be zoomed out either via a camcorder-like switch or even remotely. The 18-135mm USM was equipped with power contacts on the underside of the lens that would sit in the cradle of the Power Zoom dock and activate this functionality. It seemed logical that the 70-300 IS II, with so many shared design elements, would be the second lens compatible with this rather expensive accessory…but that isn’t the case.

The new bit of technology is the implementation of a small LCD window on the barrel of the lens. STM lenses have never had the traditional focus range window on them because of the nature of their technology. Those of us accustomed to having that have certainly missed it. It essentially left you “out of the loop” of what the focus motor was doing, and was a further impediment to manual focus. This lens provides a new solution: a LCD window that can display several different pieces of information. The first is a digital approximation of the traditional focus distance window, complete with a few hyperfocal markings. The LCD looks a little “low res” compared to an analog window, but it works. But why approximate something analog? It would be more useful to give the actual number in Metric and Imperial (or even better, allow you to cycle to your preferred choice). It would be useful to see that you were focused at exactly 3.5 meters, for example. On the flipside, the advantage of digital is shown in that the scale changes according to the focal length the lens is zoomed to, which allows you to get a sense of depth of field in a more constructive way than an analog display could do.  As you zoom towards 300mm the depth of field scale narrows down, showing you that your depth of field is more shallow.  It’s a nice touch.

The second mode shows the focal length, though as a scale rather than an exact digital readout (I think having the exact focal length as a number would have been more useful here, too). This second mode is actually more interesting if you mount the lens on a crop sensor body. I put it on an 80D and it shows the focal range with the crop factor applied (Canon’s crop factor is 1.6x, so 300mm shows as 480mm [35mm or full frame equivalent]). The final mode’s usefulness is a little debatable, as it shows camera shake on two axis. Since most of the time your eye will actually be against the viewfinder at the moment you might want that information, it serves little purpose. It might possibly help if you were using the camera on a tripod and trying to avoid any movement, or perhaps if shooting video, but my guess is that this mode won’t get employed that much. A small, flush “Mode” button is mounted next to the digital readout and allows you to cycle through these three options or turn it off altogether. The latter might save a little battery life, though the physical drain of this kind of LCD screen is undoubtedly minimal.

It’s nice to see Canon experimenting here, and surely some will find this display useful while others will never look at it at all. I see potential for usefulness, and would love to see Canon employ some of these practical suggestions on improving the display either by firmware update to this lens or at the least in future lenses.

I doubt that many will be disappointed by the look or build of the 70-300 IS II. It has a nice modern look and is built pretty much as you would expect. Unlike the less expensive Canon 55-250mm IS STM lens, it has a metal bayonet mount and the new design feels slightly more premium. 

It is important to note another big difference between the two lenses: the 70-300 IS II will work on both full frame and APS-C, while the 55-250 STM is an APS-C only lens. The lens (like many of the recent consumer lenses I’ve seen from Canon) is made in Canon’s Malaysian plant.

Not Extender Friendly

One area of potential disappointment is that the design of the new 70-300 IS II features a fixed glass element almost flush with the rear of the lens, meaning that none of Canon’s teleconverters (extenders) will physically fit. For what it is worth, the Tamron 70-300 VC won’t fit with the Canon 1.4x III extender that I own either, though for different reasons. Kenko makes a line of 1.4x extenders, and I do have one of those, but it is about five years old and new generations of Canon bodies tend to “brick” them (my 80D and 5D Mark IV just give an error message). I was able to successfully use the combination with my Canon 6D body, however, and the AF performance was fine in good light though with a tendency to “pulse” or hunt a bit in poorer light when it didn’t immediately lock focus. A newer release of the Kenko extender might work on newer Canon bodies, though I haven’t tested that myself. For the most part, however, the design of the 70-300 IS II doesn’t play well with extenders.

Image Stabilization Test

I tested three lenses in this comparison (Canon 70-300 IS II, Tamron 70-300 VC, and the Canon 100-400L II set to 300mm) to establish a real world benchmark for the image stabilization.  I shot a calendar from about 12 feet away and used good technique but also “real world” technique (elbows tucked, timing breath, but not overdoing it).  I set the shutter on my 5D Mark IV to silent, as that delivers a very smooth shutter activation.  I shot five frames at 1/15th second (I pointed the camera down and defocused between shots to give a more “real world” performance), then five frames at 1/10th second with each camera.

First, the Tamron.  It is worth noting that even at 12 feet it frames much tighter at 300mm than either of the Canon lenses, which both focus breathe to some extent (the 100-400L II is the worst).  That’s relevant here, as the Tamron actually has to stabilize a longer focal length.  At 1/15th second I had three well stabilized shots (two of those were perfect, one was acceptable), with one showing a slight bit of movement and the other a bit more.  At 1/10th of a second I had 1 shot that was perfect, three that were acceptable though had a slight bit of blur at a pixel level (and thus looked a little less crisp), and one that had apparent blur even viewed globally.

With the 100-400L II I saw a somewhat similar pattern.  There was one shot that showed obvious blur, another that had blur at a pixel level, two that were acceptable, and one that was perfect.  At 1/10th of a second I had only one that was acceptable (still some blur at a pixel level) and four shots that showed obvious motion blur.  Not as compelling a performance as the Tamron in this area.

With the 70-300 IS II I found a somewhat less impressive performance at 1/15th second.  I had one that was close to perfect (though not quite as perfect as some of the Tamron shots), one that was acceptable though with noticeable blur at a pixel level, and three that showed obvious blur even globally.  At 1/10th of a second I had one that was near perfect, one that was acceptable, two that had obvious motion blur at a global level, and also the worst of the bunch, one with so much movement that it was apparent even at thumbnail size.  Here’s a look at a solid shot taken at 1/15th second.

If I moved up to 1/25th second (I shot ten shots each), I got 8 out of 10 keepers from the 70-300 IS II, 10 out of 10 keepers from the Tamron, and also 8 out of 10 from the big 100-400L II.

I noted in my review of the Canon EF 70-300L review that I was very surprised in coming from the Tamron 70-300 VC to find that the image stabilization on the four-times-as-expensive Canon L series lens was actually not as good as the budget Tamron VC lens that I had been using previously.  I am reminded why here; the VC in the 70-300mm remains one of the best example of effective image stabilization that I’ve seen.  The Tamron’s VC isn’t as smooth in action as the more modern 70-300 IS II (which is pretty much flawless in terms of being quiet and smooth in operation), but the Tamron locks down the viewfinder and corrects for camera shake as well as any lens that I’ve seen.

Now, back to the real world.  In the real world you would be pretty foolish to shoot any of these lenses at 1/10th or even 1/50th of a second.  Image stabilization does nothing to stop movement of your subject, and there are very few things that stay perfectly still when viewed at 300mm.  High resolution bodies are particularly punishing of motion blur, as that blur covers more pixels.  In most cases you are better off keeping your shutter speed at higher levels, and that is particularly true if you mount this lens on a crop sensor body where that 300mm becomes an effective 480mm.

In short, the IS on the new 70-300 IS II is smooth, quiet, and effective, but not as effective as the older, less smooth stabilization of the Tamron.

Nano USM = Amazing

I didn’t love the optical performance of the 18-135mm USM when I reviewed it, but I loved the Nano USM’s performance! This is an incredible technology that marries the smooth, silent focus of STM with the speed of USM. The lens arrives at focus near instantly at all focal lengths, and does so with near completely silence. You depress the focus button (shutter or back button) and the lens is just focused with near uncanny speed and silence. Because of the speed and smoothness of the focus, the lens also does a really great job with AF Servo work. You don’t hear it working, but if you have it paired with a good AF system in the camera (I used it mostly on a 5D Mark IV along with a 80D) the lens just tracks the action. I shot some high speed outdoor rink hockey, and I was able to easily follow the skaters and puck around. You are getting a LOT of AF performance for the money here, and this is easily the greatest area of improvement over other lenses.

The Tamron is actually quite a good focusing lens, and it was an oddity when released in that it really outperformed the first party option in most areas (it came out before the third party revolution that Tamron and Sigma have enjoyed the last three years). It continues to be an excellent value alternative to this lens, but I will note that it just feels a little more “coarse” in almost all areas when compared to this lens. I would definitely prefer the Canon here for the quality of focus (particularly Servo focus) overall.

Like STM lenses, the 70-300 IS II is designed to provide smooth, silent focus transitions when paired with Canon’s Hybrid Video AF or DPAF Servo function. It is quiet enough that you won’t have to fear the onboard microphone picking up focus noises even in a very quiet environment. Unlike STM, however, you also get blazing fast speed when shooting stills, so I vastly prefer Nano USM to STM and feel like this is the “mature” technology that STM has produced.

I had an easy time when calibrating the lens to either the 5D Mark IV or the EOS 80D. Multiple calibration runs through Reikan FoCal produced repeatable, consistent results (just the way I like it!) and those results were verified in field use.

The effectiveness of the Nano USM focus system is one of the main selling points of this new lens.

Canon 70-300 IS II Optical Performance

We’ve determined that the new 70-300 IS II definitely has the advantage in the build and handling department, but many of the question marks around this lens have been over its optical performance. Photographers want to see strong improvement in a new generation of an existing focal length, and consumer enthusiasm will depend a lot on this metric. The reason that Tamron found a solid niche for its 70-300 VC lens over the past five years is because the previous generation of Canon lens under performed in this area.

Join me on an interactive, detailed look at the image quality in this video:

Has there been an improvement here? We’ll take a look at a number of areas to determine this.

Resolution

I did a number of direct comparison tests, including my common reference set where I shoot some vintage lenses on my set. I like this particular test because it tends to also give a very good idea of chromatic aberrations and contrast. I prefer shooting three dimensional objects rather than charts for this reason.  Here’s a comparison of the lenses at 70mm, f/4.

When compared head to head with the Tamron at 70mm, I found that the Tamron had the slight edge in performance across the frame wide open, save with a hint more chromatic aberration.  Both lenses are delivering a very strong performance, and stopping down to f/5.6 eliminates the traces of chromatic aberration and both lenses are providing a near perfect performance with the slightest edge to the Tamron.  By f/8 they are both perfect.

At 200mm the framing is very different for the two lenses (see the Maximum Magnification section later in the review of the explanation why). The Tamron is still holding on to f/5, while the Canon is at f/5.6 (this is covered in the “Going Dark” section). The 70-300 IS II continues to deliver an excellent performance, and even more encouraging is the fact that the corner sharpness is very good even wide open (f/5.6). The Tamron is exhibiting more chromatic aberrations in the center and strong chromatic aberrations in the corners (what is known as Lateral CA), though the sharpness (if you can see past the aberrations) is actually very good (though the Canon still wins). The Canon exhibits very little chromatic aberrations, with no purple fringing and only a hint of green fringing in the transition to defocus. Stopping the Tamron down to f/5.6 changes little here. The Lateral CA remains on the Tamron at f/8 (this type of CA is not corrected by stopping a lens down), and really detracts from its optical performance on the edges. The center performance on both lenses at f/8 is excellent.  Here’s a look at a wide open (f/5.6) comparison.

At 300mm a similar story exists. The Tamron is negatively impacted by the Lateral CA, but even without this the Canon is delivering the superior optical performance. I am caused to wonder at reports of the Canon underperforming optically, as my own results indicate a fairly excellent performance other than some edge softness in the earlier part of the focal range. Wide open at 300mm there is excellent center sharpness and still very strong edge sharpness. Contrast seems good and strong. Stopping down to f/8 results in an excellent performance across the frame.

When I compare the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II lens (perhaps Canon’s best zoom lens under $5000) at 300mm, the 100-400L II is unquestionably sharper, but the 70-300 IS II in no way embarrasses itself.  Here’s a visual comparison between the two at 300mm.

Color me impressed. It looks to me that Canon has done a good job here, and this is very nice image quality for the moderate price of the lens. I find it a little perplexing that others have underwhelmed by the optical performance from the lens.  Take a look at the Image Gallery to see more samples from the lens:  

I also found that flare resistance was quite good, with the lens handling even direct assaults from the sun with aplomb. Contrast holds up, and I didn’t perceive any ghosting in my tests (and that was without a lens hood!) Real world chromatic aberrations do exist, but in fairly minimal amounts. There is not really any lateral chromatic aberrations (unlike the Tamron), though a bit of longitudinal aberrations (fringing in unfocused areas) does exist in out of focus areas.

Canon 70-300 IS II on APS-C

I used the 70-300 IS II a fair bit on my Canon EOS 80D body as I recognize that there are a number of potential buyers who would like to use the lens on an APS-C or crop sensor body to take advantage of the extra reach afforded by the lens over the EF-S 55-250 STM.  With Canon’s 1.6x crop factor the effective focal length is 112-480mm, a very intriguing focal length.  That amount of reach makes the lens a much more serious option for bird and wildlife photography.

The lens performed well on the 80D, with extremely quick autofocus, good accuracy, and good (sometimes brilliant) sharpness.  There were a few shots that I was extremely impressed with the resolution.  Not every lens makes the transition to APS-C well, as the cropped sensor can be a little punishing to some full frames lenses, but that didn’t seem to a be a problem here.  The 70-300 IS II gives a similar sharpness performance to the 55-250 STM (which is very good) but has less vignette and chromatic aberrations due to being optimized for the larger full frame sensor.

I’ve got a specific APS-C gallery in the Image Gallery for this lens here.

Maximum Magnification Comparison

I had a bit of a hard time pinning down the figures on the minimum focus distance and maximum magnification of the new Canon lens. For one thing, the listing at B&H Photo (always a point of reference for me as there is often a lot of information there) didn’t agree with the minimum focus distance listed on the lens. Bryan Carnathan reported the magnification of the new Canon as 0.25x, which surprised me, as that is the maximum magnification figure on the Tamron, too. Why was I surprised? Because the Canon focused down considerably closer (4ft/1.2m) than the Tamron (4.9ft/1.5m). How can they produce the same magnification if they share a maximum focal distance and one focuses down nearly a foot closer?

The answer is called, “Focus breathing”. Clearly the Canon uses a floating element system that helps the lens perform better at minimum focus distance (the Canon 70-300L does the same). It allows the lens to focus down more closely, but in some cases (as here), it also means that the lens doesn’t reach its full focal length at close focus distances. The Canon 70-300L also exhibits this characteristic, though it is even more pronounced as that lens has an identical minimum focus distance but a considerably weaker 0.21x magnification figure.

So both the Tamron and the 70-300 IS II arrive at the same destination, though by different means. Which do I prefer? That’s a complicated question, and it might depend on the situation. I don’t enjoy running up against a minimum focus distance constraint. Autofocus won’t lock, and sometimes you lose an opportunity while moving back to a safe distance where the lens can focus. So, in that way I prefer as small a MFD (Minimum Focus Distance) as possible. On the other hand, if you place the Tamron and the Canon at similar focus distances, the Canon is going to be unable to fill the frame nearly as well as the Tamron. I noted a significant difference in framing even at a distance of 12+ feet.

You HAVE to get closer with the Canon to get the similar result, which means that if you are shooting, say, a headshot from 6-8 feet away, the background will be more blurred out with the Tamron than with the Canon. Comparing the image result side by side shows Canon’s reason for the focus breathing type approach – the minimum focus distance image definitely favors the Canon. Better detail and contrast, less chromatic aberration.

It is worth noting that the Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens frames even looser at that distance when set at 300mm, though you have the option of zooming in an extra 100mm with the 100-400L II. It is worth noting that at that distance, however, the 100-400L II still doesn’t frame quite as tightly as the Tamron does. The Tamron is the clear winner for NOT focus breathing. It is also worth noting that the Tamron frames wider than the Canon at 70mm, too, which shows that the Canon may fudge a little on the wide end, too.

On a separate note, the 100-400L II easily destroys the other two lenses in image sharpness in this test. Higher resolution, lower chromatic aberrations, and better contrast. It carries a very expensive price tag when compared to these consumer alternatives, but its optical performance shows the reason why.

Going Dark

The 70-300 IS II follows a rather disappointing trend I’ve been observing recently with new Canon variable aperture zoom lenses; they are growing darker. What I mean by this is that while the aperture range is the same (in this case from f/4 to f/5.6), the lenses are holding the bigger aperture values for increasingly shorter ranges. Case in point: this lens holds onto f/4 for only 7mm of its 230mm focal range. The Tamron, by comparison, stays at f/4 until 103mm. That’s a pretty significant difference. The 70-300 IS II reaches its smallest maximum aperture size (f/5.6) by 176mm, while its predecessor (70-300 IS) holds out until 225mm. It’s may be debatable how much this will impact you in real world shooting, but obviously I would prefer that the trend was moving in the opposite direction.

Here is a chart that shows the range for each aperture value in several competitors. Overall the best performer is unsurprisingly the most expensive – the excellent Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM.

Lens f/4 f/4.5 f/5 f/5.6
Canon 70-300 IS II 70-77mm 78-105mm 106-175mm 176mm-300mm
Canon 70-300 IS 70-84mm 85-134mm 135-224mm 225-300mm
Canon 70-300L 70-103mm 104-154mm 155-228mm 229-300mm
Tamron 70-300 VC 70-103mm 104-159mm 160-217mm 218-300mm

A possible explanation for the poorer performance in this metric of the newer Canon lens is the increased complexity of the optical formula (17 elements in 12 groups) when compared to the older version (15 elements in 10 groups) without much physical growth in size or diameter of the lens. More elements equal more glass for the light to pass through, though obviously Canon has factored for this and obviously drawn the conclusion that the increased complexity of the lens is worth it in other areas of optical performance.

Some of you may want to use this lens for shooting sports, and the autofocus system is up to that task.  You will find, however, that you are going to need good lighting (outdoor sports or well lit arenas), as when the light fades you are going to find yourself having to use very high ISO settings to get enough speed to stop action.

Bokeh Quality

Variable aperture, consumer grade zooms are rarely the place to find optimal bokeh performance, and that’s not really going to change here. In the lab torture test (Christmas lights) the bokeh result is pretty uninspiring.

Clear internal line doubling, some light bleed, and a mild bit of busyness within the bokeh circle along with “cat eye” or lemon shaped bokeh circles across a lot of the frame. This would not be my first choice for shooting something like this. The Tamron isn’t really much better. On the plus side, the lens has 9 rounded aperture blades and retains a circular shape when the aperture is stopped down.

That aside, this is a lens that can definitely produce a nicely blurred background. That long focal length helps to provide separation from the background, and if you are reasonably close to your subject you will be able to make backgrounds disappear.

Real world bokeh is fairly soft, for the most part, though I did notice some busyness in the transition zone (the areas just before or after the plane of focus) and occasional “ugliness” that the better lenses don’t have.  I would say that the biggest optical difference between this lens and the far more expensive 70-300L is the quality of the rendering.  Everything just looks a little better with the more expensive lens, though this lens is really quite close in overall sharpness.

I even used this lens a bit in the studio, and though it is no substitute for my higher end portrait lenses, it really delivered some pretty great shots.

Conclusion

I was impressed by the overall handling and performance of the new Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM during my review period. It has a nice build (consumer grade, yes, but nice), and quality handling. The new LCD screen has a few debatable aspects, but I applaud Canon doing something to help eliminate what has been one of the main shortcomings of STM type lenses (no distance window). I think the technology obviously has room to mature into what could become something special. I’m also impressed with the image quality from the lens in terms of sharpness, contrast, and control of things like chromatic aberrations and flare. Where I think the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS most stands out (outside of the build) is the overall rendering from the L series lens, which is unquestionably more special. Nice bokeh, smoother transitions, and special color rendition that shows off its premium optics. Will the existence of the new 70-300IS II lens sway a few potential L series buyers? Perhaps, but I think that Canon has maintained a nice distinction between the two lenses. What matters most is that in most every way the EF 70-300 IS II is a significant upgrade over its predecessor, and well worthy of your consideration if you are looking for a quality telephoto lens for either your full frame or APS-C camera body.  The Tamron 70-300 VC remains a very good lens for the money, but the Canon 70-300 IS II delivers a more modern, nuanced approach that I feel is worth the extra money if you can afford it.  Though the EF-S 55-250mm IS STM delivers a similar optical performance the 70-300 IS II has the advantage in my mind due to the Nano USM and compatibility with full frame cameras.

Pros:

  • Nano USM autofocus is extremely impressive.  Fast, smooth, silent
  • Lens tracks well in AF servo mode
  • Nano USM provides excellent video performance
  • Modern design language and a good build inside and out
  • LCD window provides some interesting, useful information that changes in real time
  • Image quality has matured nicely and has leapfrogged the Tamron everywhere past 100mm
  • Flare and chromatic aberrations are very well controlled.
  • Quiet, smooth, and effective image stabilizer (though not quite as effective as the Tamron’s VC)
  • Works well on both APS-C and Full Frame

Cons:

  • The lens focus breathes a fair bit
  • The lens holds wider aperture values more briefly than alternatives (needs a lot of light)
  • Bokeh is somewhat unimpressive at times
  • Not compatible with Canon’s extenders…at all!
  • Why not compatible with the Power Zoom accessory?
  • No weather sealing or lens hood

 

Gear Used:
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (5D4)
Canon EOS 6D DSLR Camera (Body Only)
Canon EOS 80D
Purchase the Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM | B&H Photo: | Purchase from Amazon:   | Purchase from Amazon Canada
Adobe Lightroom CC Software for Mac and Windows (Boxed Version)
Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Alien Skin Exposure X2 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. Thank you for your support.

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Rokinon (Samyang) SP 85mm f/1.2 Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

February 4th, 2017

I’ve been very excited since the announcement of a new high end line from Korean lens maker Samyang (Rokinon).  Samyang/Rokinon has developed a brand built upon delivering very good optical performance in an inexpensive package.  They (like Zeiss) have primarily produced manual focus only lenses, and this lens along with the newly announced 14mm f/2.4 lens are no exception.  What has changed, however, is that this new SP (Special Performance) line features exceptionally large apertures for the focal lengths (f/1.2, and f/2.4 at 14mm is very wide) and much, much higher grade of build quality.  The new Rokinon SP 85mm f/1.2 has a build quality matched only by the Zeiss Otus and Milvus lines, which is to say exceptional.  Also new is that the aperture diaphragm is electromagnetically controlled, meaning that you now can control the aperture setting from within the body and have a focus confirm chip…all just like Zeiss.  This is shaping up to be an impressive lens, and I’ll be thoroughly covering it over the next few weeks.  You can have a sneak peek at my first look video below along with seeing images of the lens and those captured on an ongoing basis in my review process.  Enjoy!

Images of the Rokinon (Samyang) SP 85mm f/1.2:

Images Taken with the Rokinon (Samyang) SP 85mm f/1.2:

Gear Used:
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (5D4)
Canon EOS 6D DSLR Camera (Body Only)
Purchase the Rokinon SP 85mm f/1.2: B&H Photo |  Amazon
Super Precision Matte Eg-S Interchangeable Focusing Screen
Adobe Lightroom CC Software for Mac and Windows (Boxed Version)
Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Alien Skin Exposure X2 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)

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