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.
Meta, Opinion

If you like something, that doesn’t necessarily mean it is good

51 Comments

Introduction

ms-optics ms-optical ism sonnetar f/1.0 f/0.95 fast noctilux angenieux leica m10 24mp 42mp review sharpness bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | MS-Optics 50mm 1.0 ISM | f/1.4

…and only because something is good you don’t have to like it either.

I am an active member of several photography boards (Fred Miranda, DSLR-Forum, Leica Forum) and in addition to that plenty of Facebook groups and in a moment of weakness I might even have a look at the comment section of a Sonyalpharumors post. And of course I am also taking care of our own Discord community since early 2023.

What got me thinking and ultimately motivated me to write this piece: how useful is it to ask random people what lens you should buy?

The more time I spend on those boards (and I am trying to spend less time there), the more I think asking these questions there is pretty much pointless. Why is that?

Continue reading If you like something, that doesn’t necessarily mean it is good →

Canon, Canon EF-Mount, Review

Review: Canon EF 50mm 1.2 L USM

18 Comments

Introduction

review canon ef 50mm 1.2 l usm 1.2l lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Canon EF 50mm 1.2L USM via metabones adapter on Sony A7rII

During the DSLR era the Nikon users always envied the Canon users for their fast f/1.2 primes – even though most would have never willingly admitted to that. But those f/1.2 primes came at a price not only quantified in hard earned dollars: autofocus inaccuracies and focus shift could really spoil the party.
Now the modern mirrorless cameras solved these issues, and when the first AF adapters for E-mount came out some people even said these lenses work better on Sony mirrorless cameras than they ever did on Canon (D)SLR cameras.
So let’s find out together in this review, if there is still a reason to get and use this lens in 2023.

Sample Images

review canon ef 50mm 1.2 l usm 1.2l lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | Canon EF 50mm 1.2 L USM | f/1.2
Sony A7III | Canon EF 50mm 1.2 L USM | f/1.2
review canon ef 50mm 1.2 l usm 1.2l lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | Canon EF 50mm 1.2 L USM | f/1.2
review canon ef 50mm 1.2 l usm 1.2l lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | Canon EF 50mm 1.2 L USM | f/1.2
review canon ef 50mm 1.2 l usm 1.2l lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | Canon EF 50mm 1.2 L USM | f/1.2

Continue reading Review: Canon EF 50mm 1.2 L USM →

Analogue, Postprocessing

Review: Cobalt Elite Kodak Portra Film Emulations

15 Comments

Introduction

Sony A7III | Canon EF 50mm 1.2 L USM | f/1.2 | Cobalt Elite Portra 400 NB

I already wrote an article on Cobalt’s products here, but in the meantime they released a new line of “Elite Film Emulations”, covering some of my favorite films from the Analogue Adventures, and asked me if I want to have a look at those as well, so here we are.

Continue reading Review: Cobalt Elite Kodak Portra Film Emulations →

lenses, Review, Sony E-mount, Viltrox

Review: Viltrox 75mm 1.2 AF E Pro APS-C

27 Comments

Introduction

viltrox 75mm 1.2 af e aps-c e-mount review sony a6700 a6600 a6500 a6000 fuji sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma ca loca aberrations
Viltrox 75mm 1.2 AF E on Sony A7rII

If you are a regular reader you know I only rarely review APS-C lenses – I only use fullframe cameras and therefore have no personal use for APS-C lenses – but Viltrox played it smart by just sending this 75mm 1.2 AF to me without asking first. I guess they were hoping a fullframe equivalent of 113mm f/1.8 coupled with the raving reviews from the Fuji-X users would be enough to convince me to have a closer look at this lens. As you are reading this now, it seems their plan came together.
Update: lens is available to order from the manufacturer’s shop (use the code PRnet for 8% discount) | ebay.com (affiliate links) now

Sample Images

viltrox 75mm 1.2 af e aps-c e-mount review sony a6700 a6600 a6500 a6000 fuji sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma ca loca aberrations
Sony A7rII (crop mode) Viltrox 75mm 1.2 AF | f/1.2
viltrox 75mm 1.2 af e aps-c e-mount review sony a6700 a6600 a6500 a6000 fuji sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma ca loca aberrations
Sony A7rII (crop mode) Viltrox 75mm 1.2 AF | f/1.2
viltrox 75mm 1.2 af e aps-c e-mount review sony a6700 a6600 a6500 a6000 fuji sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma ca loca aberrations
Sony A7rII (crop mode) Viltrox 75mm 1.2 AF | f/2.8
viltrox 75mm 1.2 af e aps-c e-mount review sony a6700 a6600 a6500 a6000 fuji sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma ca loca aberrations
Sony A7rII (crop mode) Viltrox 75mm 1.2 AF | f/1.2
viltrox 75mm 1.2 af e aps-c e-mount review sony a6700 a6600 a6500 a6000 fuji sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma ca loca aberrations
Sony A7rII (crop mode) Viltrox 75mm 1.2 AF | f/1.2
viltrox 75mm 1.2 af e aps-c e-mount review sony a6700 a6600 a6500 a6000 fuji sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma ca loca aberrations
Sony A7rII (crop mode) Viltrox 75mm 1.2 AF | f/1.2

Continue reading Review: Viltrox 75mm 1.2 AF E Pro APS-C →

Analogue, Leica M, Voigtlander, Zeiss

Analogue Adventures – Part 23: Silbersalz35 500T Push +1

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Silbersalz35 500T

The guys from Silbersalz35 were organizing a small Night Photowalk in Stuttgart and part of the package was one roll of their 500T Vision3 cinefilms that you already know from some of my previous articles. I figured this was a good opportunity to find out how the film holds up being pushed one stop so I decided to pay the entry fee and join.
Processing (ECN-2, Push +1) and scanning was done at Silbersalz35 in Germany.

analogue photography leica m6 voigtländer silbersalz35 kodak vision 3
Leica M6 | Voigtländer VM 35mm 1.2 III | f/2.0 | 500T +1
analogue photography leica m6 voigtländer silbersalz35 kodak vision 3
Leica M6 | Voigtländer VM 35mm 1.2 III | f/1.2 | 500T +1
analogue photography leica m6 voigtländer silbersalz35 kodak vision 3
Leica M6 | Voigtländer VM 35mm 1.2 III | f/1.2 | 500T +1
analogue photography leica m6 voigtländer silbersalz35 kodak vision 3
Leica M6 | Voigtländer VM 35mm 1.2 III | f/1.2 | 500T +1
analogue photography leica m6 voigtländer silbersalz35 kodak vision 3
Leica M6 | Voigtländer VM 35mm 1.2 III | f/1.2 | 500T +1

Continue reading Analogue Adventures – Part 23: Silbersalz35 500T Push +1 →