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.

AstrHori, Review, Sony E-mount

Review: AstrHori 12mm 2.8 Fisheye

December 24, 2022 BastianK 6 Comments

Introduction

astrhori 12mm 2.8 fisheye fish eye review 42mp sony a7rII a7rIII a7rIV a7rV 42mp 61mp contrast review resolution test — AstrHori 12mm 2.8 Fisheye on Sony A7rII

Fisheye lenses have a somewhat limited range of possible applications and I would definitely consider them niche products. Probably this is also the reason most of the big manufacturers seem to have given up on having any of these in their portfolios. So if you are looking to add a fisheye lens to your kit your only real option are lenses like this AstrHori 12mm 2.8 Fisheye from smaller manufacturers. As can be seen from the picture above this is a huge lens, but can its performance keep up with its dimensions? Let us find out in this review!

Sample Images

Continue reading Review: AstrHori 12mm 2.8 Fisheye →

Uncategorized

Review: TTArtisan 11mm 2.8 Fisheye

December 22, 2022 BastianK 58 Comments

Introduction

ttartisan 7artisans fish eye fisheye ultra wide angle fischauge diagonal diagonally sharpness mirrorless spiegellos — TTArtisan 11mm 2.8 Fisheye on Sony A7rII

Fisheye lenses are not exactly hugely popular and the fact that we haven’t seen a fullframe fisheye lens designed for mirrorless yet – in more than 60 years of the Leica-M system we haven’t seen a single one – only supports this. So maybe this 11mm 2.8 from TTArtisan is a welcome surprise, being the first of its kind? Let us find out in this review!
February 2023: Alternatives section updated

Sample Images

Continue reading Review: TTArtisan 11mm 2.8 Fisheye →

Review, Sony E-mount, TTArtisan

Review: TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 Tilt

December 18, 2022 BastianK 7 Comments

Introduction

ttartisan 50mm 1.4 tilt review e-mount sony a7riv a7rv a7rii a7riii 42mp 61mp sharpness resolution contrast bokeh review sunstar sunstars starburst — TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 Tilt on Sony A7rII

A 50mm 1.4 Tilt lens? Some of you might be having a Deja Vu now, as just recently I reviewed the AstrHori 50mm 1.4 Tilt lens. This TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 Tilt features a completely different optical and mechanical design though, so let’s find out together in this review which is the better lens.

Sample Images

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lenses, photography, The creative process

Working with Tilt/Shift lenses

December 17, 2022 BastianK 67 Comments

Introduction

canon tilt shift ts-e pc-e perspective control TS T/S sony adapter how to — Canon TS-E 17mm 4.0L via Sigma MC-11 on Sony A7rII

Tilt/Shift lenses are rather exotic, they are mostly used for architecture or table top photography, and with the wide availability of post processing (correcting converging vertical lines and focus stacking) you see them very rarely nowadays, even amongst professional photographers.
In this article I will tell you what Tilt/Shift lenses are all about and what they can be used for.

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Funleader, Leica M, Review, Sony E-mount

Review: Funleader 18mm 8.0

December 12, 2022 BastianK 18 Comments

Introduction

Funleader 18mm 8.0 pro m-mount e-mount review caplens contrast sharpness pancake tiny lens — Funleader 18mm 8.0 M-mount and Pro

I try to be as objective as possible when reviewing lenses, but I am not always free of preconceptions. When it comes to this Funleader 18mm 8.0 I didn’t really want to review it at first. Funleader sounded more like a name of a company for adult toys to me and with the fixed f/8.0 aperture (and fixed focus) it felt like some Holga/Pinhole lens as well. But the Funleader team did not only keep being persistent in asking me to review their lens, they also improved its design: the lens can now be focused and more importantly the Funleader writing on the casing is much smaller. So this time I had a closer look and found out that it is actually a rather complex design consisting of 6 elements in 5 groups. But is this enough for an 18mm lens? Let’s find out together.
Lens is being tested on 42mp Sony A7rII and 24mp Leica M10