Lens Reviews

Semi-wide in wild Welsh weather – Panasonic Leica 15mm f/1.7 Review

16/11/2015 By Heather 23 Comments

As a lover of landscape photography, I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for small wide-angle primes. This is why I was very excited when we had the chance to test out the premium Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 15mm f/1.7, a semi-wide angle lens for the Micro Four Thirds system.

Unfortunately, during the two weeks I had with the lens, the Welsh coast was hit with the remnants of not one, but two large storms off the Atlantic, causing gail-force winds, flooding, persistent heavy rain and what people have called “Foamageddon,” referring to the huge amounts of snow-like sea foam that engulfs the promenade on a daily basis. So, be forewarned: you may see quite a bit of wild weather in this review!

A day in Cambridge – Hands-On with the Zeiss Loxia 21mm f/2.8 (Sony E-Mount)

23/10/2015 By Mathieu 10 Comments

Today we spent a very pleasant day at the Zeiss Headquarters in Cambridge where we had the chance to try the new Loxia 21mm f/2.8 lens for the Sony E-mount system. In truth, this wasn’t the first time we’d seen the lens, as a prototype was on display at the Milvus event in Oberkochen (see our report here). But since the lens was still under embargo, we were kindly asked to remain quiet about it until the official announcement that happened the following week.

From Wide to Tele – Panasonic 14-140mm f/3.5-5.6 Review

13/10/2015 By Heather 11 Comments

The Panasonic 14-140mm f/3.5-5.6 is the updated version of the original 14-140mm f/4.0-5.8. Both smaller and lighter than its predecessor, it is aimed at the kind of user who prefers one do-it-all zoom to lugging around lots of lenses.

A Weekend with a Wide-Angle – Sony FE 28mm f/2 Review

06/10/2015 By Mathieu 9 Comments

While we can no longer complain about the lack of native FE lenses given that 15 have been produced in just two years, the Sony full-frame lineup is still missing a series of high quality/affordable glass. Now, to complain about this wouldn’t be completely fair since the system is new and still growing. Still, in the case of most mature camera systems, users can depend not only on high-end expensive lenses for the best image quality but also a more affordable range of products that still deliver very good IQ but at a more affordable price.

ZY Optics Mitakon Speedmaster 25mm f/0.95 for Micro Four Thirds Review

01/10/2015 By Heather 13 Comments

Say the words “0.95 aperture” to a Micro Four Thirds user and their ears will certainly prick up. The main benefit of a lens with an aperture this fast is of course the extra shallow depth of field, which is more difficult to achieve with a Micro Four Thirds sensor than with a larger sensor.

The manufacturers that have stepped in and created some very fast manual focus lenses for Micro Four Thirds include Voigtlander with its f/0.95 Nokton series, SLR Magic with its Hyperprime range, and ZY Optics, the creators of the Speedmaster series which comprises both f/0.95 and f/1.2 aperture primes.