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› archive for ‘Lens Reviews’

Considering a Nikon 16-35 f4 VR? DPReview’s Got A Review Up

Nikon’s AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G ED VR, the first ultra-wide zoom with imaging stabilization, is positioned as a bit of a step under the 14-24mm f2.8, cutting a few hundred off the price with a more cost-efficient focal range and a slower aperture offset by in-lens VR technology. And, if you’ve been tempted towards it, but just wanted to see some pretty charts showing sharpness and distortion, well, hoo boy! You’re in luck dere purdner, DPReview has posted it’s typically exhaustive and informative review of this lens.

The cheat sheet? It’s optically good, even more so on FX than DX, but you’ll encounter some wicked barrel distortion at 16mm (no problem for Photoshop or Lightroom, though). And DP’s take on that VR, arguably not needed on a wide-angle? Well, it doesn’t hurt it, does it? and it gives you more latitude with low-light or high aperture shooting. So that’s that.

Hit the external link, as usual.



Olympus M.Zuiko 14-150mm Reviewed

Olympus’ M.Zuiko 14-150mm f4-5.6 zoom, the 28-300mm equivalent super-zoom for its Micro Four Thirds Pen system, is the subject of the newest lens review over at Imaging Resource. Those of you who’ve been in photography a bit will know that super zooms, that have to contains optics that switch from wide angle to super-tele, are always a bag of compromises. If you’re wondering just how Olympus managed those compromises in this budget lens, hit the external link.



Gadget Lab Casually Reviews Lensbaby Fisheye and Soft Focus Optics

Lensbaby Soft-Focus Optic

So, Charlie Sorrel, Gadget Lab’s resident camera nut, has finished his casual hands-on review of Lensbaby’s two newest optics, the soft-focus and fisheye swappable optics for all of the current generation Lensbaby lenses. And, he tries them on a D700 and a Panasonic GF1, so you get both ends of the sensor-size spectrum.

Now, maybe it’s just my love of everything Dave McKean has ever done, but I do think the soft-focus lens is more useful and desirable than Charlie does, but I agree whole-heartedly with his assessment of the fisheye optic as a cheap route for those who want that and already have a Lensbaby.

Also, I never found the optics to be all so finicky to swap around, but your mileage may vary, of course.

Anyway, not much to say otherwise, if you want to know his thoughts you should really just hit the external link below.



Nikon 70-200mm VR II Gets Thouroughly Reviewed


AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II

So, Nikon’s new top-pro standard telephoto zoom, the AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm 1:2.8G ED VR II, has been reviewed by the venerable review staff over at DPReview. The conclusions are so unsurprisingly positive as to be pedestrian, but they’ve got their really useful sliding charts for sharpness at all focal lengths and apertures, so that’s worth checking it out alone.

If ya wanna read it yourself, your hyperlink chariot awaits: http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/nikon_70-200_2p8_vrii_n15/



Panasonic’s New 20mm f1.7 Pancake Getting Solid Reviews

From Imaging Resource's Tests

From Imaging Resource's Tests

Having survived the slings and arrows of both DPReview and Imaging Resource, the new 20mm f1.7 pancake for Micro Four-Thirds from Panasonic comes out pretty well. There’s a bit of a discrepancy between the sharpness results from DPReview and IR, with Imaging Resource showing it far more favorably (might’ve been the body it was tested on, apparently that E-P1 has some chops as well).

Now, we just finish the wait for them to come in. Want one complete with the sexy new GF1 body? Best get on our wait lst, do that here.



DPR Tackles the Canon TS-E 24mm f3.5 L II, It Trounces

ts-e24II

DPReview’s pretty stellar lens review team hit up Canon’s not-so-long-ago revamped 24mm tilt-shift recently while I wasn’t looking. Backing up to glance over everything today, I have to say, it’s certainly worth that “L” in its name. Up there in the post header graphic you can see it’s sharpness stopped down about a half stop, two-thirds stop from wide open, and you can see that 2/3 of the frame are sharp-sharp-FRIGGIN’-SHARP, well exceeding the theoretical resolution limit of the rather demanding 5D Mark II,and the corners only dip down to about as soft as the kit lenses from Canon perform on a good day. For a full-frame lens, that’s stellar.

Fall-off (vigenetting) is soemwhat pronounced, but I think that’s what gives full frame that “oomph” in so many wide-open shots, so I have no complaints there, and either way it’s not so bad a moment in Lightroom couldn’t raise them back up admirably.

Read the whole thing, if you haven’t already, here, and then email us at info -at- robertsimaging.com to get on our backorder list, or hey! Just hit us up the comments, and we’ll get you added.



SLR-Gear Reviews Canon 70-200 f4 IS and Olympus E-520 IS

SLR Gear, the reviewing arm of Imaging-Resource for things other than bodies, has apparently begun reviewing IS systems. So far, they’ve hit Canon’s budget L classic, the 70-200 f4 IS, and Olympus’ rather successful E-520 with its in-body IS. Two different IS systems, both toting great and wonderous amazing things. Their conclusions? Neither live up to their full marketing hype, but both seem to do the job they set out to do admirably nonetheless, pulling up to 2.9 (let’s call it 3) stops of sharpness back.

Again, we’d like to remind those of you without much IS experience that it works by countering for how your hands naturally shake at long expsures, IS can’t restore sharpness lost to moving subjects at long shutter speeds. Its use in low light is primarily architectural, if you’re looking to shoot parties and bars you’ll still need higher ISO, faster lenses, or a good flash gun.

Read their findings and whitepapers on IS testing here: http://www.slrgear.com/articles/index.html