Stories tagged with lens-news

The much-rumored replacement for Canon's aging EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L has officially arrived. Announced in 1998, the original trombone-style lens is replaced by a traditional rotating zoom design and boasts a number of optical enhancements. It's scheduled for December availability at a price of $2199. Read more

When Olympus announced the high-end OM-D E-M1, it promised that it would be making a wideangle zoom and super-telephoto prime in its matching 'PRO' line of lenses. The M.Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm 1:2.8 PRO shares many design features with the current 12-40mm 1:2.8 PRO, while the M.Zuiko Digital ED 300mm 1:4 PRO offers a 600mm equivalent angle of view. We got our hands on some pre-production samples at this year's Photo Plus Expo in New York. Click through for pictures

Ricoh has announced the HD Pentax-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR standard zoom. Covering an equivalent range of 24.5mm to 130mm, this lens uses Pentax's HD coating to cut down on flare and ghosting and offers a weather-resistant construction. It will be available in November for $749.95/£599.99. Read more

Chinese lens designer and manufacturer Shenyang ZhongYi Optical and Electrical Company has launched a new 42.5mm f/1.2 lens that is capable of covering an APS-C imaging sensor. Priced $359, and available initially in the Micro Four Thirds mount, the Mitakon 42.5mm f/1.2 appears to be aimed squarely at competing with Panasonic’s Leica DG Nocticron 42.5mm f/1.2 for its Lumix G bodies. Read more

Canon has taken the wraps off its new 50-1000mm CN20x 50 IAS H E1/P1 cinema lens, expanding its cine-servo offerings with what the maker says is the first-ever lens boasting a combined 20x magnification, integrated 1.5x extender, and a removable servo drive. The lens is targeted specifically at nature and sports television productions, as evidenced by its far from enthusiast-friendly $78K price-tag. Click through for more details

We were so busy playing with new Leica cameras and giant telephoto lenses at Photokina that we totally missed Sony's announcement of four upcoming full-frame E-mount lenses. Four FE lenses are coming in the first quarter of 2015, including three primes and one zoom. Sony didn't reveal too much, but you'll still get the idea by reading this

Leica has announced a complete replacement of its Summarit-M range with a family of F2.4 lenses. As before the Summarit-M range will comprise 35mm, 50mm, 75mm and 90mm focal lengths. The 35mm will be the first Summarit to include an aspheric lens element. The 75mm and 90mm will be available this month, with the other two following in October. All four lenses will be available in a choice of black or anodized silver finish.

Zeiss has announced its a Distagon T* 35mm F1.4 ZM lens for Leica M-mount bodies. The company describes the lens as being for professional reportage photography and points out that the wide maximum aperture 'ensures the photographer is independent from the ISO limitations of his camera.' The 35mm F1.4 ZM will be available in black or silver for a recommended price of €1679.84 or $2290 exc taxes.

Sony has announced the Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm F4 ZA OSS for its E-mount interchangeable lens cameras, as well as the HVL-F32M flash and XLR-K2M XLR audio adaptor kit. The 16-35mm is the fifth full-frame zoom for Sony's Alpha 7 series. Read more

In addition to its compact camera and EOS 7D Mark II launch at Photokina, Canon unveils three new lenses. The EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM, EF 24-105mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM and EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM announced today target different types of photographers.

Topping off its Photokina 2014 announcements, Panasonic announces two lenses designed to fit the dimensions and style of its GM-series cameras. The Lumix G Vario 35-100mm F4.0-5.6 ASPH Mega O.I.S. is a truly compact telephoto zoom covering a range equivalent to 70-200mm. Also announced is the 14mm F2.5 II ASPH, a version of an existing lens but with revised graphics (equivalent to 28mm). Read more

Panasonic has announced it is developing a 30mm f/2.8 Macro lens for the Micro Four Thirds system. The lens will be compatible with the latest generation 240 frame-per-second autofocus and will include image stabilization. No further details of specification, price or time-scale have yet been provided.

Samsung adds another 'S' series lens to its premium lineup, the NX 50-150mm F2.8 OIS. It's weather-sealed to resist dust and splashes, and covers a range equivalent to 77-231mm on Samsung's APS-C NX cameras. With 20 elements in 13 groups, it offers built-in stabilization and an i-Function button as part of Samsung's user interface. Read more

Olympus has announced the M.Zuiko ED 40-150mm F2.8 Pro lens. Built to withstand the elements, this dust, splash and freezeproof telephoto zoom covers a range equivalent to 80-300mm. Also announced is a 1.4x teleconverter, which when used with the 40-150mm boosts the equivalent telephoto reach to 420mm. Read more

Sony has unveiled another full-frame compatible lens for its E-mount, the FE PZ 28-135mm F4 G OSS. With an emphasis on its capabilities in video production, it offers three separate control rings for zoom, focus and aperture. The lens is dust and moisture-resistant and uses a Super Sonic Wave Motor for fast and quiet autofocus and iris control. Read more

Tamron has announced the development of its new SP 15-30mm f/2.8 DI VC USD ultra-wide zoom lens. This full-frame lens is the first in its class to offer image stabilization according to Tamron. The lens has an ultrasonic focusing motor, 'eBAND' and fluorine coatings, and a 9-blade diaphragm. The lens will be available for Canon, Nikon, and Sony mounts and will be displayed at Photokina next week. 

Sigma has announced a new superzoom lens for APS-C format DSLRs. The 18-300mm F/3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM takes its place in the company's 'Contemporary' linep, offering a focal range equivalent to 27-450mm. The new lens will be available next month for $579 in Sigma, Nikon, Canon Pentax and Sony mounts - the latter two will not feature OS optical image stabilization. Read more 

Sigma has announced a pair of new telezoom lenses. Both described as the '150-600mm F/5-6.3 DG OS HSM' one carries Sigma's 'Contemporary' branding and one is positioned in its 'Sport' lineup. The sports version is dust and splash-proof, while both lenses boast new versions of Sigma's optical image stabilization system. Under the hood though, their construction is significantly different. Read more 

Nikon has launched the AF-S Nikkor 20mm f/1.8G ED for FX and DX format Nikon cameras. It updates the existing AF Nikkor 20mm f/2.8, which lacked an internal focus motor for use with entry-level Nikon DSLRs. Using 13 elements in 11 groups, it features a Nano Crystal Coat and offers a minimum focus distance of 0.2m. The AF-S Nikkor 20mm f/1.8G ED will be available in September for $799.95. Read more

Fujifilm has announced its second weather-resistant X-series zoom lens, the Fujinon XF 50-140mm F2.8 R LM OIS WR. Designed to accompany the water- and dust-resistant Fujifilm X-T1, the lens offers an equivalent 76-213mm range on Fuji's X-series interchangeable lens cameras - essentially equivalent to a popular 70-200mm telephoto zoom on full frame. Read more

Gearing up for Photokina, Fujifilm has announced the XF 56mm F1.2 R APD - APD standing for apodization. The lens is a variant of the existing XF56mm F1.2 R, utilizing the same underlying design of 11 elements in 8 groups but it adds an apodization filter. Essentially a radial gradient filter, it aims to produce better-looking highlights and more pleasant bokeh. Read more

Zeiss has announced a new fast mid-telephoto prime to join last year's widely acclaimed 1.4/55 lens in the Otus range. Due out in the middle of this month in Canon EF (ZE) and Nikon F (ZF.2) mounts, the new Zeiss Otus 1.4/85 is a manual focus lens claimed to offer exceptional performance even when used wide open on full frame cameras. Read more

Ahead of a Photokina launch, Hong-Kong based SLR Magic has announced the HyperPrime Cine 10mm T2.1 lens for Micro Four Thirds and SLR Magic 77 ND 0.4-ND 1.8 filter. The manual focus lens offers a 20mm equivalent angle on a Micro Four Thirds body, and is designed to a videographer's taste with a stepless aperture ring. It will be available at the end of October for $799. Read more

Canon US has confirmed multiple price drops across its range of lenses, including several L-series models. According to Canon the price reductions are in honor of reaching a milestone - the production of 100 million EF lenses. Price drops range from a modest $40 up to $1000 off the original retail price, depending on the lens. Read more 

German optical manufacturer Zeiss has announced a new range of lenses called Loxia, designed for full frame cameras using the Sony E mount – essentially the Sony Alpha 7 series at the moment. The Loxia 2/35 and Loxia 2/50 are based on the company's existing 35mm f/2 Biogon and 50mm f/2 Planar lenses from the ZM range. Read more

German camera brand Leica is set to launch a new portrait lens for its professional S system that features a super-fast maximum aperture of F2. The Summicron-S 100mm F2 ASPH will sit between the company’s existing Summarit-S 70mm F2.5 ASPH and the APO-Macro-Summarit-S 120mm F2.5, both of which are also popular choices for portrait photographers using the S cameras. Click through for more details.

Korean lens brand Samyang has announced that it will use the Photokina show next month to introduce a new 50mm f/1.4 lens for stills photographers and the same lens designed for videographers using DSLR and mirrorless cameras. Both the Samyang 50mm f/1.4 AS UMC and 50mm T1.5 AS UMC are designed to cover a full frame sensor and will each come in 10 mounts. Read more

Lensbaby has announced that its LM-10 Sweet Spot lens for mobile devices is available immediately through its online store and retailers worldwide. The LM-10 concept was unveiled back in April with a Kickstarter campaign that raised more than twice the amount needed to see the lens go into production. Alongside the LM-10, Lensbaby has also announced the Sweet 50 optic. The Sweet 50, a selective-focus 50mm lens, works with Lensbaby's Optic Swap System and is also available now. Read more

Tamron has announced the addition of profiles for two of its lenses to Adobe Camera Raw. The Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD for Nikon mount and the 16-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro for both Canon and Nikon mount have been profiled for use with Adobe's tools for lens aberration correction for users of Adobe Photoshop CC, Adobe Photoshop CS6, Adobe Camera Raw and Lightroom 5.

Tamron has revealed that it will be making its 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC superzoom in Canon EF-M mount. In a week of unparalleled excitement for EOS M owners, it becomes the fifth autofocus lens for the two year old system, and the first from a third-party manufacturer. With a 29-320mm equivalent range, it features a stepping motor for silent autofocus, and optical image stabilization. Sales will start in the USA on June 26, at $499.

Tamron has officially launched its 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD superzoom lens (Model A010) for full frame SLRs. A near-twin of the 16-300mm F3.5-6.3 for APS-C, it's distinguished from the previous model by featuring an ultrasonic-type 'Piezo Drive' autofocus motor, splashproof construction and more-compact design with a 67mm filter thread. It'll be available in Canon and Nikon mounts on June 26th for $849.

Tamron has announced the 14-150mm F/3.5-5.8 Di III (model C001), a superzoom lens for Micro Four Thirds cameras which offers a 28-300mm equivalent range. It uses a stepper motor for silent autofocus (including during video recording), but doesn't include image stabilisation. This means that it's rather less suited to Panasonic cameras than it is to Olympus models. It will be available on June 26th for $589.

Canon UK has announced the EF-M 55-200mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM, a compact telephoto zoom for the EOS M mirrorless system. Canon claims the new lens offers high-end optical performance, a 'near-silent' stepping motor and a 3.5-stop optical image stabilization system. Providing an 88-320mm equivalent range on the EOS M, it's the fourth lens in the series, priced at €389.99/£329.99 with availability (at least in Europe) in July.

Fujifilm has announced its first weather-resistant lens, the Fujinon XF 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR, which is designed to match the high-end X-T1 mirrorless camera. Offering a versatile 27-200mm equivalent zoom range, the lens claims to have the world's most advanced image stabilisation system, which uses high precision gyro sensors to give a claimed 5 stop benefit. It also has an air ventilation system to help prevent dust being sucked into the lens by the zoom operation. It'll be available in July for £749.99 / $899.95.

Phase One has announced a new leaf shutter lens for its 645 camera platform. The new Schneider Kreuznach 40-80mm LS f/4.0-5.6 joins the existing Schneider Kreuznach 75-150mm f/4.0-5.6 leaf shutter zoom lens, and allows for flash synchronization up to 1/1000sec. Supposedly on a par with prime lenses in terms of critical image quality, the new lens is available now for $8990 / €6990. Click through for the press release

Nikon’s 800mm F5.6 FL ED VR and 400mm F2.8 FL ED VR lenses earn the 'FL' in their names from the coating of fluorine applied to the lens elements. But what exactly is fluorine coating, and why is it important? In this video from Nikon Japan, the coating's repellent properties are demonstrated as a variety of liquids are dripped, drawn and painted onto the lens surface. See video

The Nikon D800E, with its 36MP sensor and 'cancelled' anti-aliasing filter, is the highest resolution full-frame SLR on the market. Our friends and collaborators over at DxOMark have been looking into how various lenses score on it, and have now finished testing over 100 different optics from Nikon, Samyang, Sigma, Tamron, Tokina and Zeiss. They've picked out the highest-scoring in several categories, and published the results in a multi-part article. Click through to find out more

Tokina has officially announced its first optically-stabilized lens - the AT-X 70-200mm F4 PRO FX VCM-S telephoto zoom. Designed for use with full frame SLRs, it has a ring-type ultrasonic motor for autofocus, and the voice coil motor-driven IS system promises three stops of stabilization. When used on APS-C / DX format SLRs, the lens will offer a 105-300mm equivalent zoom range. It will initially be available in Nikon mount, and will go on sale in Japan at the end of May for ¥150,000.

Nikon has announced updated versions of its 400mm F2.8 telephoto lens and 1.4x teleconverter. The AF-S Nikkor 400mm f/2.8E FL ED VR promises improved autofocus, exposure accuracy and speed, while being 816g (nearly 2lb) lighter than its predecessor. Meanwhile the AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III  features revised optics, and a redesigned barrel for increased moisture and dust resistance. Both will be available in August 2014, with RRPs of $11,999.95 / £10,399.99 and $499.95 / £449.99 respectively. Learn more

Canon has officially announced a pair of new lenses. First is the EF 16-35mm F4L IS USM, an image-stabilised wideangle zoom for full frame SLRs. There's also an EF-S 10-18mm F4.5-5.6 IS STM wideangle zoom for APS-C SLRs, which gives a 16-29mm equivalent range. The two lenses will be available next month for $1199 / £1,199 and $299 / £299, respectively.

Rumors have been flying around the Internet in the last week about a pair of new Canon lenses. The first rumored lens is an EF 16-35mm F4L IS USM model, which could be a cheaper version of the existing F2.8 lens, or a replacement for the 17-40 F4L. The other speculated lens is an EF-S 10-18mm F4.5-5.6 IS STM which, according to the rumor mill, should be fairly inexpensive. The word on the street is that these lenses will be announced soon, so we'll keep our fingers on the keyboard just in case.

The Mitakon Speedmaster 50mm F0.95 is an ultra-fast prime for Sony E mount cameras, with manual focus and a clickless manual aperture mechanism. It offers full frame coverage, meaning it will work on the Alpha 7, 7R and 7S triplets, opening up intriguing low light options on the latter in particular. It will also work on APS-C E-mount models, offering a 75mm equivalent short telephoto angle of view. The lens is made in China by Shenyang Optical Electronics Ltd, and is available for pre-order now for $799. Learn more

Sony has patented the design of a series of bright zoom lenses, including a roughly F1.8-2.8 lens that would give 26-100mm equivalent coverage on a 1"-type sensor. The designs suggest the company intends to further develop its RX range of compacts. Such a lens would allow for a camera that made better use of its comparatively large sensor, even at the long end of the zoom. Learn more

Samyang has announced five new manual focus lenses, including a revised 'AE' version of its Canon-mount 35mm F1.4 which allows electronic aperture setting from the camera body. Meanwhile the Reflex 300mm F6.3 UMC CS is a mirror lens designed for APS-C SLRs, which will be available in Canon, Nikon, Sony Alpha and Four Thirds mounts. Finally there are three cinema versions of existing photo lenses - a 10mm T3.1  for APS-C SLRs, a 12mm T2.2 for mirrorless cameras, and a 7.5mm T3.8 fisheye for Micro Four Thirds.  

Fujifilm has formally announced the TCL-X100, a 1.4x teleconverter for the X100 and X100S that was first shown at CP+ back in February. The converter brings the focal length up to 33mm (50mm equiv.) and features an HT-EBC coating to reduce flare. Owners of the X100 and X100S will need to update their firmware in order to take advantage of the TCL-X100. The teleconverter will be available this May in your choice of black or silver for $349.99.

Lensbaby, maker of popular selective focus lenses, has announced a 5.8mm F3.5 circular fisheye lens for Canon and Nikon mounts. With a 185° angle of view, the lens produces a full-circle fisheye image when used with APS-C-sized sensor cameras. The lens also allows you to focus as close as 1/4-inch. Lensbaby is taking pre-orders now. The circular fisheye will sell for $299.95. Learn more

Tamron has announced pricing and availability for its 16-300mm F3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro 18.8x superzoom for APS-C SLRs. The lens, which was announced in February, will go on sale in mid-May at a street price of $629. The 16-300mm F3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro will offer an unusually wide angle view for its class (24-450mm equivalent), while also allowing close-up shooting with 0.34x magnification. It has an ultrasonic-type autofocus motor, splashproof construction and optical image stabilization. Learn more

Sigma has released pricing and availability information of its new 50mm F1.4 DG HSM Art lens. First announced in January at CES, the 50mm F1.4 DG HSM Art is a completely new lens, rather than a revision of Sigma's existing 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM. The lens employs the company's Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) system and has 13 elements in eight groups. It will be available for Sigma, Sony, Nikon, and Canon mounts in late April for $949. The UK RRP will be £849.99. Learn more 

Nikon has unveiled the AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300mm F/3.5-6.3 ED VR (27-450mm equivalent). It doesn't replace the company's existing 18-300mm lens - rather it's 1/3-stop slower at the long end and 30% lighter, weighing 19.4 ounces. The new 18-300mm has Nikon's Vibration Reduction system, which can reduce shake by up to 4 stops. Built with three Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass elements and Nikon's Silent Wave Motor for quieter focusing, the 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 will be available in May for $899.95.

One of the drawbacks of running a company devoted to renting out photographic equipment is that it’s necessary to evaluate and service equipment just about every time it comes back. That’s why the team at LensRentals.com have just purchased and installed a massive and cumbersome looking lens calibration system. In one of the geekier unboxing articles, they show every step of the assembly of the device. Learn more