NEW 7Artisan 18mm F6.3 Ultra-Thin APS-C UFO Prime Lens

By Louis Ferreira | Published: October 26, 2020


7Artisan has its new 18mm F6.3 Ultra-Thin APS-C Prime Lens up to order on Amazon now.

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Optical Limits: Samyang 18mm

By Louis Ferreira | Published: October 25, 2020


Optical Limites reviewed the Samyang AF 18mm f/2.8, but it can be a bit difficult to judge this lens because it is alone at its price point.

The Samyang AF 18mm f/2.8 FE isn’t the silver bullet in its segment but given its size and also price tag this can’t be expected anyway. If you are aware of its limitations, it can still be an excellent tool. While it isn’t the last word on corner sharpness at f/2.8, the question is whether it’s required for on your usage pattern. It’s not ideal for astro photography but sharp corners aren’t really needed for shallow depth-of-field photography. Stopped down, the image quality is actually very decent across the image frame so applications such as landscape photography or city scenes are certainly possible with pretty impressive results. The amount of lateral CAs is about average but can easily be corrected in post. Image distortions are moderate for such a lens even in RAW format. An unsurprising weakness – given the small front element – is vignetting. It’s very heavy at f/2.8 and not brilliant at medium aperture settings either. Auto-correction reduces this a bit but some light falloff remains. We didn’t run our formalized bokeh tests but based on the field images, the quality is in line with other ultra-wide lenses – meaning that it can be a bit on the rough side.

We aren’t totally convinced by the build quality of this little Samyang lens. Formally there’s nothing wrong with it. There’s nothing shaky about it and it doesn’t change size during focusing. The focus ring is smooth, too. It just feels a little … cheap. The AF speed is Ok for such a lens but it takes a while before it finally settles.

It has to be pointed out that the Samyang AF 18mm f/2.8 FE is – by far – the most affordable option ultra-wide AF lens in Sony E mount. And it’s not only affordable but it also represents a great value proposition.

You can read the full review here on optical limits.

Samyang AF 18mm f/2.8: B&H Photo / Adorama

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Sigma MC-11 Firmware 1.35 Released

By Louis Ferreira | Published: October 24, 2020


SIGMA MOUNT CONVERTER MC-11 EF-E v1.34
Mounts EF-E
Ver. 1.34

To update your firmware, please refer to the following link;
https://www.sigma-global.com/en/download/lenses/firmware/

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Sigma MC-11: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

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Metabones Firmware Update V0.64 Now Available

By Louis Ferreira | Published: October 23, 2020


Metabones firmware update V0.60 for Metabones Smart Adapter IV/V and EF-E Speed Booster ULTRA 0.71x are now available.

ABOUT THIS DOWNLOAD

  • Name: Firmware update V0.64 for EF-E Smart AdapterTM MARK IV/V and EF-E Speed Booster® ULTRA
  • Release date: 01 Sept 2020
  • Benefits and improvements:
    • Fixed compatibility issue when Tamron 150-600/5-6.3 VC USD A011 is used in conjunction with a Kenko Pro300 teleconverter.
    • Sigma 50-100/1.8 DC HSM Art 016, Sigma 135/1.8 DG HSM Art 017 and Tamron 15-30/2.8 VC USD A012 now fixed to perform initial calibration only once. The camera needs to be switched off and in the case of the zoom lens (50-100/1.8) the zoom needs to be rotated back and forth between the wide and the tele end once to store lens calibration data.
    • Fixed incorrect auto-cropping for Tamron AF ASPH XR Di LD (IF) 28-300/3.5-6.3 MACRO A06.
    • For diagnostics the firmware version of the lens, if available, is now appended to the EXIF lens name.

Windows: Download Here
Mac: Download Here

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Yongnuo YN35mm F2S DF DSM Coming Soon

By Louis Ferreira | Published: October 23, 2020

YN35mm F2S DF DSM is a small, lightweight and universal F/2 large aperture full-frame lens suitable for landscape,night scenes, street photography, food and other photography subjects. Yongnuo lenses can be found on Amazon.

  • Fn Button
    With Fn custom function button, the function menu or shortcut operation can be quickly used to improve the efficiency of creation.
  • Small and Lightweight
    The maximum diameter and length of the lens is about 67*72mm and the net weight is only about 295g. The lightweight design is portable for daily use and long-term hand-held shooting and video recording.
  • Quiet CNC Stepping Motor Integrated
    Compared with traditional DC motors, digital stepping motors (DSM) have fast start-stop response, high focusing accuracy, and quieter focusing actions, which are suitable for photo shooting and video recording.
  • F/2 Large Aperture
    With a F/2 large aperture, it’s easy to get soft blur effect. You can also use low sensitivity and higher shutter to shoot in low light environment.
  • 9 Optical Lenses in 8 Groups with Nano-multilayer Coating
    The structure which is composed of 9 elements/ 8 groups with nano-multilayer coating effectively improves the light transmittance and suppresses back-light ghosts and glare.
  • Aspheric Lens*1
    Various aberrations can be compensated by an aspherical lens integrated.
  • Low Dispersion Lens*1
    Equipped with a low-dispersion glass lens,which can effectively suppress the dispersion problem caused by wide-angle.
  • 7 Circular Aperture Blades
    The lens is designed with 7 circular aperture blades. It can shoot circular diffuse spots. It can also take pictures with 14 star effects if the aperture is appropriately reduced.
  • USB Firmware Upgrade
    With a USB Type-C interface on the lens, you can download the latest firmware for upgrade to keep the lens at its best performance.
  • Metal Bayonet and Contacts
    The use of high-precision metal bayonet and gold-plated contacts effectively improves signal conductivity and corrosion resistance. At the same time, it allows the camera and lens to maintain reliable communication, and realizes functions such as auto-focus, aperture control, and EXIF information transmission.

Specifications:

MountE Mount
Lens FrameFull Frame
AngleApprox. 61.3°
Lens Structure9 elements /8 groups
Aperture blades7pcs
Minimum apertureF/16
Minimum Focusing DistanceApprox. 0.35m
Maximum MagnificationApprox. 0.13×
Drive systemDigital Stepping Motor
Filter Diameter/Number of Available52mm/1
Maximum Diameter and LengthApprox. φ67×72mm
WeightApprox. 295g

via hkyongnuo

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New Tokina Vista One 135mm T1.5

By Louis Ferreira | Published: October 22, 2020


Tokina announced its new Vista One 135mm T1.5 which rounds out a their 7 lens kit. Previously Tokina announced 18mm, 25mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, and 105mm T1.5 cinima lenses which can be purchased as a kit to individually at B&H Photo along with the 135mm.

FEATURES:

  • SINGLE COATED FRONT ASPHERIC ELEMENT
  • PREMIUM GREY COLOR PAINTED LENS BARREL WITH BLUE ACCENTS
  • SUPER FAST T1.5 APERTURE
  • VIRTUALLY NO BREATHING
  • A FOCUS ROTATION ANGLE OF APPROXIMATELY 300 DEGREES
  • 8K RESOLUTION AND COVERAGE CAPABLE
  • HIGH RESOLUTION – LOW DISTORTION
  • LOW CHROMATIC ABERRATION
  • DURABLE, ALL-METAL CINE-STYLE HOUSING WITH GEARED FOCUS
  • SMOOTH, 9-BLADE, CURVED IRIS
  • 114MM FRONT DIAMETER, 112MM FRONT FILTER THREAD
  • IDENTICAL GEAR POSITION ON ALL FOCAL LENGTHS

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