A few days ago, I compared the new Olympus 60mm f/2.8 against the venerable Leica 45mm f/2.8 to see how they stacked up in the macro and close focus arena when stopped down. Today I’m going to look at another characteristic: Wide open performance and bokeh. These are important because macro lenses often pull double…
Category: Shop Talk
Macro Battle: Olympus 60mm f/2.8 vs Leica 45mm f/2.8
I did a little bit of testing last night with the new Olympus 60mm f/2.8 Macro and I compared it with the only other dedicated macro lens for Micro 4/3, the Panasonic Leica 45mm f/2.8 OIS. As far as construction goes, they are similarly built. Both have high-grade plastic bodies built to tight tolerances and…
First Impressions of the Olympus 60mm f/2.8 Macro
Got the Olympus M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 Macro yesterday, and while I haven’t had a ton of time to shoot yet, I thought I’d give you my first impressions. First off, it’s a very skinny lens. Same length as the 12-50 kit zoom, but skinnier. It’s also heavier than the kit lens, so it feels a…
Super Quick iPhone 5 Low Light Test
Like millions of other people, I got a new iPhone 5 today. While there are a number of improvements to the phone itself, since this is a photography site, I thought I’d give a quick peek at the camera. I will probably do a review of the iPhone 5 camera in the future, comparing it…
Olympus 75mm f/1.8 – First Impressions
My full review of the 75mm f/1.8 is now up. Head over there to take a look! The Olympus 75mm f/1.8 arrived into the Admiring Light studios (i.e, my hands) yesterday. Took it for a short test spin, and it is quite the impressive optic, so far. It’s not perfect, but it’s darn, darn good….
A surprising lens…
I’ve got the Voigtlander Nokton 17.5mm f/0.95 in hand for evaluation (thanks to my friends at LensRentals.com), and I’m running it through its paces at the moment. I will have a full in-depth review sometime in the next week,but for now I just wanted to share a few thoughts. This lens is an all manual…
A Look at Nik HDR Efex Pro 2
The Nik Software plugins for Lightroom, Aperture and Photoshop are among the best tools for giving an image that final touch up for the look I’m after. They range from subtle to very in-your-face, and in my opinion Silver Efex Pro 2 is the best thing you can possibly use for black and white conversions….
Why I Switched to Micro 4/3
There several reactions when I tell people I went from a pro-grade full frame Canon DSLR rig to Micro 4/3. First, many people are astonished that I’d give up such good gear for that ‘little tiny sensor.’ Or “what happened to your pro gear?” More recently, though, as the market has shifted towards mirrorless, the…