All posts by BastianK

My name is Bastian and I am your expert here when it comes to ultra wide angle lenses, super fast portrait lenses (ranging from a 50mm f/0.95 to a 200mm f/1.8) and I also have reviewed way too many 35mm lenses. Don't ask me anything about macro or wildlife shooting though.

Recent Guide Updates

May 29, 2026 BastianK 20 Comments

Recent Guide Updates

Over the past weeks I have been updating all these guides once more. This is always a lot of work and not a lot of fun, so I hope you continue to find them useful. It is now finally the moment to complain that your favorite lens is not included 🙂

I also noticed something rather unusual: new lenses used get cheaper over time, but compared to last year many of the Sony and Sigma lenses saw sometimes massive increases of their MSRP in the US thanks to the tariffs. The prices of the Chinese and Korean lenses are mostly stable, sometimes widening the gap even further. Especially some of the older Sony lenses are really bad deals now.

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Leica M, Review, Thypoch

Review: Thypoch 35mm 2.0 Ksana

May 21, 2026 BastianK 11 Comments

Introduction

thypoch ksana 35mm 2.0 compact leica m10 m11 m9 m8 m10r review 42mp 24mp 61mp contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting limited evf — Thypoch 35mm 2.0 Ksana on Leica M10

As second lens for their “Ksana” series Thypoch decided to release a compact 35mm 2.0 M-mount lens with black paint finish. These Ksana lenses feature vintage coatings – to create a distinct color signature – but are otherwise modern designs. The Thypoch 21mm 3.5 Ksana proved to be a capable yet compact lens, will this Thypoch 35mm 2.0 Ksana follow its footsteps? Let’s find out in this review!
This lens will be reviewed on the 42mp Sony A7rII and the 24mp Leica M10.

Sample Images

Continue reading Review: Thypoch 35mm 2.0 Ksana →

Meta, Review

Lenses I would like to Review

May 19, 2026 BastianK 39 Comments

Introduction

There are some lenses I would like to review one day, but the more interesting (read: rare and expensive) they are, the less feasible it is for me to buy them just to write a review.
Thanks to several readers here I already got the opportunity to remove several lenses from this list in the past, but there are still some left:

E-mount:

~~Sony FE 12-24mm 2.8 GM~~ Review
Sigma 14mm 1.4 Review coming soon
~~Sony FE 14mm 1.8 GM~~ Review
~~Sigma 17mm 4.0~~ Review
~~Samyang 18mm 2.8 AF~~ Review
~~Sigma 20-200mm 3.5-6.3 C~~ Review
~~Sony FE 20mm 1.8 G~~ Review
~~Samyang 24mm 1.8 AF~~ Review
Voigtländer 28mm 2.0 Apo-Lanthar E
Sony FE 28-70mm 2.0 GM
Sigma 28-45mm 1.8
Sigma 35mm 1.2 II
Sigma 50mm 1.2
Sony FE 50-150mm 2.0 GM
~~Sony FE 50mm 1.4 GM~~ Review
~~Samyang 50mm 1.4 AF MKII~~ Review
~~Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM~~ Review
~~Sony FE 85mm 1.4 GM MK II~~ Review
Samyang 85mm 1.4 AF MKII
~~Samyang 135mm 1.8 AF~~ Review

Continue reading Lenses I would like to Review →

Review, Sigma, Sony E-mount

Review: Sigma 20-200mm 3.5-6.3 DG Contemporary – Better than you think

May 17, 2026 BastianK 46 Comments

Introduction

Sigma 20-200mm 3.5-6.3 DG Contemporary on Sony A7rII

You haven’t seen (m)any reviews of superzoom lenses on this blog so far, because traditionally many of those ~10x zoom lenses were either lacking in terms of optical performance (e.g. Sony FE 24-240mm 3.5-5.6 OSS) and/or I personally didn’t find the focal length range particularly useful, often starting at 28mm (e.g. Tamron 28-200mm 2.8-5.6 Di III RXD). Furthermore, if you want to review such lenses properly, it takes a lot of time and effort, equal to reviewing several prime lenses.
With its unique focal length range this Sigma 20-200mm 3.5-6.3 DG Contemporary intrigued me though, but can the performance of such a bold design be any good? I ultimately decided to buy one and see for myself how it performs, so here we are.

Sample Images

sigma 20-200mm 3.5-6.3 dg dn c contemporarly e fe l superzoom mega zoom 10x small review sharpness contrast bokeh coma vignetting 42mp 63mp sony a7 a7rii a7iii a7riv a7rv a7iv a1 a9 a9ii — Sony A7III | Sigma 20-200mm 3.5-6.3 DG C | 70mm | f/5.6

Continue reading Review: Sigma 20-200mm 3.5-6.3 DG Contemporary – Better than you think →

Review, Sony E-mount, Thypoch

Review: Thypoch 24-50mm 2.8 AF Voyager

May 14, 2026 BastianK 8 Comments

Introduction

review thypoch dzo dzofilm 24-50mm 2.8 voyager af fe sony e-mount fe-mount fe lens contrast resolution sony a7riv a7rv a7v a9 a1 a9ii 42mp 24mp 61mp zomm bokeh vignetting — Thypoch 24-50mm 2.8 AF FE Voyager on Sony A7rII

By mid 2026 we have seen a lot of lenses from the Chinese manufacturers: some with class leading optical performance, some with unique specifications, some very affordable. There is one thing we haven’t seen yet though (at least not that I can recall): an autofocussing zoom lens. I would have first expected a lens like that from Viltrox, Laowa or 7Artisans, but it is Thypoch – so far specialized in all manual M-mount lenses – bringing a lens like this to the market: the Thypoch 24-50mm 2.8 Voyager. Did they succeed in designing a lens like this, or was it too ambitious? Let’s find out together in this review!