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REVIEW: 7Artisans 135mm f/1.8 MAX

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Introduction

We have recently seen a few 135mm f/1.8 lenses from various manufacturers. Once considered exotic and rare, this focal length and aperture combination has become increasingly popular thanks to its ability to produce tight portraits, fashion images, and excellent subject separation.

About a month ago, 7Artisans joined the group with its own version in Nikon Z mount, the most affordable of them all. Now, it has also been released for Sony FE and L-mount. Let’s take a closer look.

camera-icon2I tested this lens on a 33 Mp  Sony a7C II.
You can see this review as a YouTube video here!
Sample images in high resolution here.

Sample Images

Sony a7C II | 7Artisans 135mm f/1.8 | f/1.8
Sony a7C II | 7Artisans 135mm f/1.8 | f/1.8
Sony a7C II | 7Artisans 135mm f/1.8 | f/1.8
Sony a7C II | 7Artisans 135mm f/1.8 | f/1.8
Sony a7C II | 7Artisans 135mm f/1.8 | f/1.8
Sony a7C II | 7Artisans 135mm f/1.8 | f/2.5

Continue reading REVIEW: 7Artisans 135mm f/1.8 MAX →

Nikon, Nikon, Review, Vintage

Review: Nikon Nikkor 50mm 1.2 Ai-s

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Introduction

nikon 50mm 1.2 ai ai-s f/1.2 pre-ai tele fast 1971 1977 reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Nikon 50mm 1.2 Ai-s Nikkor on Nikon FM2n

In the 1970s Nikon was comparably busy releasing f/1.2 F-mount lenses and the last of them was this Nikon Nikkor 50mm 1.2, first released in 1978. I already reviewed the first f/1.2 F-mount lens, the Nikon 55mm 1.2 from 1965, and also the famous and rare 58mm 1.2 Noct-Nikkor from 1977, so today we will have a look at a late sample of this Nikon Nikkor 50mm 1.2 Ai-s.

Sample Images

nikon 50mm 1.2 ai ai-s f/1.2 pre-ai tele fast 1971 1977 reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Nikon Zf | FTZ II | Nikon 50mm 1.2 Ai-s | f/1.2
nikon 50mm 1.2 ai ai-s f/1.2 pre-ai tele fast 1971 1977 reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Nikon Zf | FTZ II | Nikon 50mm 1.2 Ai-s | f/1.2
nikon 50mm 1.2 ai ai-s f/1.2 pre-ai tele fast 1971 1977 reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Nikon Zf | FTZ II | Nikon 50mm 1.2 Ai-s | f/2.0 | Ai Denoise
nikon 50mm 1.2 ai ai-s f/1.2 pre-ai tele fast 1971 1977 reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Nikon Zf | FTZ II | Nikon 50mm 1.2 Ai-s | f/1.2
nikon 50mm 1.2 ai ai-s f/1.2 pre-ai tele fast 1971 1977 reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Nikon Zf | FTZ II | Nikon 50mm 1.2 Ai-s | f/4.0
nikon 50mm 1.2 ai ai-s f/1.2 pre-ai tele fast 1971 1977 reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Nikon Zf | FTZ II | Nikon 50mm 1.2 Ai-s | f/1.4

Continue reading Review: Nikon Nikkor 50mm 1.2 Ai-s →

Analogue, Color Negative, Leica M, Mr. Ding Studio

Analogue Adventures – Part 54: Kodak Ektar 25 (expired) C-41

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Kodak Ektar 25

Kodak Ektar 25 was a professional low ISO colour negative film first released in 1989. This film was already discontinued in 1994 and that probably makes it one of the oldest films I had a look at here. 
Processing (C-41) and scanning was done at urbanfilmlab in Germany, the pictures in this article are from one roll of film. I also took into account it expired some time ago and chose ISO12.

mr ding studio optics 35mm 1.8 classic summilux summicron leica m10 m11 m6 review contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting coma flare 42mp 61mp 24mp
Hexar RF | Kodak Ektar 25 C-41 | Mr. Ding 35mm 1.8 Pactcron | f/4.0
mr ding studio optics 35mm 1.8 classic summilux summicron leica m10 m11 m6 review contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting coma flare 42mp 61mp 24mp
Hexar RF | Kodak Ektar 25 C-41 | Mr. Ding 35mm 1.8 Pactcron | f/8.0
mr ding studio optics 35mm 1.8 classic summilux summicron leica m10 m11 m6 review contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting coma flare 42mp 61mp 24mp
Hexar RF | Kodak Ektar 25 C-41 | Mr. Ding 35mm 1.8 Pactcron | f/1.8
mr ding studio optics 35mm 1.8 classic summilux summicron leica m10 m11 m6 review contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting coma flare 42mp 61mp 24mp
Hexar RF | Kodak Ektar 25 C-41 | Mr. Ding 35mm 1.8 Pactcron | f/1.8
mr ding studio optics 35mm 1.8 classic summilux summicron leica m10 m11 m6 review contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting coma flare 42mp 61mp 24mp
Hexar RF | Kodak Ektar 25 C-41 | Mr. Ding 35mm 1.8 Pactcron | f/1.8
mr ding studio optics 35mm 1.8 classic summilux summicron leica m10 m11 m6 review contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting coma flare 42mp 61mp 24mp
Hexar RF | Kodak Ektar 25 C-41 | Mr. Ding 35mm 1.8 Pactcron | f/1.8

Continue reading Analogue Adventures – Part 54: Kodak Ektar 25 (expired) C-41 →

Canon EF-Mount, Nikon, Review, Sigma, Sony E-mount

Review: Sigma 14mm 1.8 DG Art

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Introduction

sigma 14mm 1.8 art dg hsm fe review sharpness contrast bokeh astro milky way coma vignetting 42mp 63mp sony a7 a7ii a7rii a7rv a7v z6 z7 z8 z9 zf
Sigma 14mm 1.8 DG Art on Sony A7rII

In 2017 this Sigma 14mm 1.8 DG Art was a unique offering, being the fastest 14mm lens as well as the widest f/1.8 lens. In the meantime many lenses with similar specifications have been released for mirrorless cameras, so is there still a reason to consider the original? Let’s find out in this review.

Sample Images

Sony A7III | Sigma 14mm 1.8 DG Art | f/1.8
sigma 14mm 1.8 art dg hsm fe review sharpness contrast bokeh astro milky way coma vignetting 42mp 63mp sony a7 a7ii a7rii a7rv a7v z6 z7 z8 z9 zf
Sony A7III | Sigma 14mm 1.8 DG Art | f/1.8
sigma 14mm 1.8 art dg hsm fe review sharpness contrast bokeh astro milky way coma vignetting 42mp 63mp sony a7 a7ii a7rii a7rv a7v z6 z7 z8 z9 zf
Sony A7III | Sigma 14mm 1.8 DG Art | f/1.8
sigma 14mm 1.8 art dg hsm fe review sharpness contrast bokeh astro milky way coma vignetting 42mp 63mp sony a7 a7ii a7rii a7rv a7v z6 z7 z8 z9 zf
Sony A7III | Sigma 14mm 1.8 DG Art | f/1.8
sigma 14mm 1.8 art dg hsm fe review sharpness contrast bokeh astro milky way coma vignetting 42mp 63mp sony a7 a7ii a7rii a7rv a7v z6 z7 z8 z9 zf
Sony A7III | Sigma 14mm 1.8 DG Art | f/1.8
sigma 14mm 1.8 art dg hsm fe review sharpness contrast bokeh astro milky way coma vignetting 42mp 63mp sony a7 a7ii a7rii a7rv a7v z6 z7 z8 z9 zf
Sony A7III | Sigma 14mm 1.8 DG Art | f/1.8
sigma 14mm 1.8 art dg hsm fe review sharpness contrast bokeh astro milky way coma vignetting 42mp 63mp sony a7 a7ii a7rii a7rv a7v z6 z7 z8 z9 zf
Sony A7III | Sigma 14mm 1.8 DG Art | f/1.8

Continue reading Review: Sigma 14mm 1.8 DG Art →

Uncategorized

Prime Day Photoshop+Lightroom offer for Amazon Prime Members (EU/UK)

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It is Prime Day again so a good opportunity to stock up on Lightroom or Lightroom+Photoshop licenses.
The photography plan used to include only 20GB of storage, now it is 1TB but the price sadly increased.
These deals are still better than paying the normal monthly rate though.

Lr+PS + 1TB for 1 year = 128€
https://amzn.to/4voiLj8

LRr + 1 TB for 1 year = 75€
https://amzn.to/4f0g3um

(affiliate links/advertising)

Make sure to tick the “One-Time-Purchase” (“Einmalkauf” in German) box!

Most websites push all kinds of software “deals”, but here you rarely find those. Why is that? Because most of them are not good deals, especially the software related ones. Margins on Preset packages, Tonal mask Addons, Luminar, Topaz and whatnot are huge and this is the sole reason people push those, not because they are actually good products. But I will never recommend you something that I wouldn’t want to use myself.

What I actually am using myself (and constantly so) is Adobe Lightroom + Photoshop.

As was already the case the last years there is a Prime Day offer for all the Amazon Prime members that are using the Lightroom+Photoshop subscription. You can get a one year subscription for 128€ here (affiliate link) instead of the usual 284€. If you are not using Photoshop and only need Lightroom you can get a one year subscription for 75€ here (affiliate link) instead of the usual 142€.

Now probably you are like me and you already have the plan anyway and now comes the highlight: it even works if you already have the subscription. Order, get the discount code, click on “redeem” in the Amazon Email and the next billing month will be December 2027 instead of December 2026. Offer should be valid for everyone in the EU as well as the UK. This is the link where you can redeem your code after you bought it.

If you haven’t done so, this is also a good opportunity to try out the latest AI-based generative fill I already talked about here.

Sony α | Leica M | Nikon Z/F New articles every week