Review: Samyang 35mm 1.2 XP

Introduction

samyang 35mm 1.2 xp premium mf canon ef sony a7r 42mp review sharpness bokeh coma vignetting contrast a7riii a7riv a7rv z6 z7 z8 z9 zf z7ii z6iii
Samyang 35mm 1.2 XP via Sigma MC-11 on Sony A7rII

In 2019 Samyang relesased this Samyang 35mm 1.2 XP. At that time, I honestly didn’t care much about it, because Sigma also released their Sigma 35mm 1.2 Art DG DN mirrorless design, which actually offered AF, making it a more sensible choice. This Samyang 35mm 1.2 XP is one of only two fullframe 35mm 1.2 lenses for EF-mount (or any (D)SLR mount actually) though, reason enough to have a closer look at it.

Sample Images

samyang 35mm 1.2 xp premium mf canon ef sony a7r 42mp review sharpness bokeh coma vignetting contrast a7riii a7riv a7rv z6 z7 z8 z9 zf z7ii z6iii
Nikon Zf | Fringer EF NZ II | Samyang 35mm 1.2 XP | f/1.2
samyang 35mm 1.2 xp premium mf canon ef sony a7r 42mp review sharpness bokeh coma vignetting contrast a7riii a7riv a7rv z6 z7 z8 z9 zf z7ii z6iii
Nikon Zf | Fringer EF NZ II | Samyang 35mm 1.2 XP | f/1.2
samyang 35mm 1.2 xp premium mf canon ef sony a7r 42mp review sharpness bokeh coma vignetting contrast a7riii a7riv a7rv z6 z7 z8 z9 zf z7ii z6iii
Nikon Zf | Fringer EF NZ II | Samyang 35mm 1.2 XP | f/1.2
samyang 35mm 1.2 xp premium mf canon ef sony a7r 42mp review sharpness bokeh coma vignetting contrast a7riii a7riv a7rv z6 z7 z8 z9 zf z7ii z6iii
Nikon Zf | Fringer EF NZ II | Samyang 35mm 1.2 XP | f/1.2
samyang 35mm 1.2 xp premium mf canon ef sony a7r 42mp review sharpness bokeh coma vignetting contrast a7riii a7riv a7rv z6 z7 z8 z9 zf z7ii z6iii
Nikon Zf | Fringer EF NZ II | Samyang 35mm 1.2 XP | f/1.2
samyang 35mm 1.2 xp premium mf canon ef sony a7r 42mp review sharpness bokeh coma vignetting contrast a7riii a7riv a7rv z6 z7 z8 z9 zf z7ii z6iii
Nikon Zf | Fringer EF NZ II | Samyang 35mm 1.2 XP | f/1.2

Continue reading Review: Samyang 35mm 1.2 XP

Review: 7Artisans 40mm 2.5 AF

Introduction

7artisans 7 artisans 40mm 2.5 fe af sony 42mp 61mp a7rii a7riv a7riii a1 a9iii a7rv review resolution sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma
7Artisans 40mm 2.5 AF on Sony A7rII

After the Sony FE 40mm 2.5 G and the TTArtisan 40mm 2.0 AF we now have a third compact 40mm lens with AF: the 7Artisans 40mm 2.5 AF. Let’s find out in this review how it compares to its competitors.

Sample Images

7artisans 7 artisans 40mm 2.5 fe af sony 42mp 61mp a7rii a7riv a7riii a1 a9iii a7rv review resolution sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 40mm 2.5 AF | f/2.5
7artisans 7 artisans 40mm 2.5 fe af sony 42mp 61mp a7rii a7riv a7riii a1 a9iii a7rv review resolution sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 40mm 2.5 AF | f/2.5
7artisans 7 artisans 40mm 2.5 fe af sony 42mp 61mp a7rii a7riv a7riii a1 a9iii a7rv review resolution sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 40mm 2.5 AF | f/2.5
7artisans 7 artisans 40mm 2.5 fe af sony 42mp 61mp a7rii a7riv a7riii a1 a9iii a7rv review resolution sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 40mm 2.5 AF | f/2.5
7artisans 7 artisans 40mm 2.5 fe af sony 42mp 61mp a7rii a7riv a7riii a1 a9iii a7rv review resolution sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 40mm 2.5 AF | f/5.6
7artisans 7 artisans 40mm 2.5 fe af sony 42mp 61mp a7rii a7riv a7riii a1 a9iii a7rv review resolution sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 40mm 2.5 AF | f/2.5
7artisans 7 artisans 40mm 2.5 fe af sony 42mp 61mp a7rii a7riv a7riii a1 a9iii a7rv review resolution sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 40mm 2.5 AF | f/2.5
7artisans 7 artisans 40mm 2.5 fe af sony 42mp 61mp a7rii a7riv a7riii a1 a9iii a7rv review resolution sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma
Sony A7III | 7Artisans 40mm 2.5 AF | f/2.5

Continue reading Review: 7Artisans 40mm 2.5 AF

REVIEW: Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S

Introduction

Today I’m taking a look at the Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S—a focal length that sits right on the edge between ultra-wide and more “safe” wide-angle lenses. It offers the immersive field of view that many people love for landscape, architecture, and environmental portrait photography, without being so wide that composition becomes tricky. The fast f/1.8 aperture is useful in low light, and combined with the focal length, makes this lens a strong option for astrophotography. It’s not among Nikon’s cheapest lenses at around $1000, but it is, of course, an f/1.8 S-Line lens. Let’s see if it’s worth the price.

camera-icon2I tested this lens on a 46 Mp Nikon Z7ii (Sample images were taken with a Nikon Zf)
You can see this review as a YouTube video here!
Sample images in high resolution here.

Sample Images

Nikon Zf | Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S | f/14
Nikon Zf | Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S | f/16
Nikon Zf | Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S | f/14
Nikon Zf | Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S | f/10
Nikon Zf | Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S | f/14

Nikon Zf | Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S | f/11 Continue reading REVIEW: Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S

Review: Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3

Introduction

Could the Nikon Z 24–200mm f/4–6.3 be the only lens you really need? After reviewing the Nikon Z 24–70mm f/4 S and the Nikon Z 24–120mm f/4 S, several readers asked if I could also take a look at this superzoom.

I said that if there was enough interest—and if I could get my hands on a copy—I’d do it. The interest was clearly there, and thanks to my friends at Kamerastore I managed to get a loaner. A deal is a deal. So let’s see how it performs—and whether it can match the other two standard zooms.

camera-icon2I tested this lens on a 46 Mp Nikon Z7ii (Sample images were taken with a Nikon Zf)
You can see this review as a YouTube video here!
Sample images in high resolution here.

Sample Images

Nikon Z7ii | Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 | 155mm f/6.3
Nikon Z7ii | Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 | 200mm f/6.3
Nikon Z7ii | Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 | 200mm f/6.3
Nikon Z7ii | Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 | 79mm f/6.3
Nikon Z7ii | Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 | 120mm f/6.3

Continue reading Review: Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3

Analogue Adventures – Part 50: What I learned from Shooting Film (so far)

Introduction

ms-optics ms-optical aporia apora pancake smallest lens world's leica m10 24mp 42mp review sharpness bokeh vignetting silbersalz35 silbersalz kodak cine vision3 santorini greece
Leica M6 | 200T | MS-Optics 24mm 2.0 Aporia | f/8.0

In late 2021 I decided to buy an analogue camera and shoot some film, an experiment whose results I constantly shared with you. In the meantime I exposed around 60 films, which I all had developed and scanned and many of these pictures we also discussed afterwards. This is is already the 50th part of this series, so I thought it might be time for an interim conclusion.

Keep in mind I am only talking about 35mm film here.

Continue reading Analogue Adventures – Part 50: What I learned from Shooting Film (so far)

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