Sigma has slowly morphed over the past several decades from a budget lens maker into one of the premier lens makers in the industry. Their Art series lenses have continually raised the bar for high quality, yet reasonably priced lenses, and their first few mirrorless-specific entries have also been outstanding. Today I’m looking at one…
Tag: lens
Review: Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art (Sony E-Mount)
The 35mm landscape for the Sony E-Mount has a wide array of options to choose from, and it’s become even more crowded with the recent announcements of Sony’s long-awaited FE 35mm f/1.8, and Sigma’s brand-new ultra-fast 35mm f/1.2 FE, not to mention Tamron’s new 35mm f/2.8. However, at the fast f/1.4 aperture, there are three…
Review: Voigtländer 12mm f/5.6 Ultra Wide Heliar
Cosina, the manufacturer behind the modern Voigtländer brand, has been producing outstanding optics for the Sony E-mount for the last several years. I’ve reviewed several of these lenses, and have been regularly impressed. Voigtländer has managed to produce high-end manual focus lenses that rival the very well received Zeiss Loxia line in many ways for…
Review: Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary (Sony E-Mount)
Sigma has had two distinct strategies when it comes to mirrorless lenses. On the full-frame side, they simply ported their DSLR lenses to Sony E-Mount (and later the L-mount) by basically building in their mount adapter logic into the lens and extending a tube to make up the flange distance, though this is beginning to…
Review: Sony FE 12-24mm f/4 G
Today I’m looking at Sony’s extreme wide-angle zoom, the 12-24mm f/4 G. As photography has progressed, more and more exotic lens designs have become possible. Decades ago, a 24mm lens was considered extremely wide and 20mm was an almost unheard of ultra-wide angle. Now, the standard ultra wide zoom starts at 16mm, and more exotic…
Review: Sigma 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM (Canon EF Mount) + MC-11
I don’t generally do reviews of Canon EF lenses, as I’ve been shooting mirrorless exclusively for the past 7 years. However, with the availability of EF to E-mount adapters, and the Sony system still being a little thin in some areas, there are Canon mount lenses that may potentially be great alternatives for use on…
Review: Sony FE 85mm f/1.8
The Sony full-frame E-Mount lens lineup is beginning to get crowded at the 85mm focal length, but Sony’s latest entry, the FE 85mm f/1.8, is the first to come in at a relatively affordable price: $598. The lens joins the existing Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 ($1199), the Zeiss Loxia 85mm f/2.4 ($1399) and the Sony…
Review: Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 Distagon T*
Zeiss has been making waves the past few years, and their two lines in the full-frame Sony E-Mount have largely been well received. Today I’m looking at the wide-angle member of the autofocus 25mm f/2 Batis. This lens is a new optical formula based on the Distagon design, rather than the Biogon design that is…