All posts by Martin

Martin M.H. lives outside Stockholm, Sweden. He is a M.Sc. in Computer Technology but he has been a passionate photographer for over 50 years. He started his photographic adventures when he was thirteen with an Agfamatic pocket camera, which he soon replaced with a Canon rangefinder camera that his mom gave him in his teenages. After that he has been using Canon SLR, Nikon SLR manual focus and Autofocus, Sony mirrorless crop sensor, Nikon DSLR and Nikon Mirrorless. He has photographed any genre he could throughout the years and you can see all kind of images in his portfolio. During the later years though it has been mostly landscape, nature, travel and some street/documentary photography.

lenses, Nikon Z, photography, Uncategorized, Viltrox

Review: Viltrox AF 85mm f/1.8 Z

August 27, 2023 Martin 15 Comments

Introduction

The Viltrox AF 85mm f/1.8 STM ED IF Z mount is an autofocus mid-range telephoto, which is popular for portrait photography on full-frame cameras. Viltrox originally made this lens for Sony E-mount cameras, but later they managed to improve and produce it also for Fuji X, Nikon Z, and Canon RF mounts. Viltrox is the only manufacturer that has been able to produce Nikon Z mount lenses with full lens-camera communication and autofocus in the most common focal lengths. 85mm is a focal length that seems easier for manufacturers to design and make lenses with good optical qualities. There are quite a number of those nice and sharp lenses available and it seems that the price, in relation to how good/fast they are, goes up exponentially. Let’s see how good Viltrox has done with this one!

Sample Images

Viltrox 85mm f/1.8 review sharpness bokeh coma vignetting 24mp nikon z6 z6ii 46mp nikon z7 z7ii Z8 Z9 — Nikon Z6 | Viltrox 85/1.8 Z | f/1.8

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Nikon, Nikon Z, Review, Viltrox

Review: Viltrox AF 24mm 1:1.8 STM ASPH ED IF (Z mount)

August 20, 2023 Martin 13 Comments

Introduction

Viltrox AF 24/1.8 Z, is the only AF prime 24mm lens for Nikon Z cameras besides the Nikon Nikkor Z 24/1.8 S (Also available with Sony FE mount). The full name is “Viltrox AF 24mm 1:1.8 STM ASPH ED IF for Nikon Z“. 24mm on a full frame camera is quite wide at the verge of ultra-wide angle, which can create dramatic images but at the same time it is not so wide that it makes composing images difficult. It is great for landscape photography, but due to its f/1.8 wide aperture, it can also be easily used indoors or in other low-light situations. It costs less than half as much as the Nikon 24mm lens, which makes it a very attractive alternative, but is it good enough? Let’s find out!

Sample Images

Viltrox 24mm f/1.8 review sharpness bokeh coma vignetting 24mp nikon z6 z6ii 46mp nikon z7 z7ii Z8 Z9 — Nikon Z6 | Viltrox 24/1.8 STM ASPH ED IF | f/1.8

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Nikon Z, Review, Sigma

Review: Sigma 105mm 1:2.8 DG OS Macro HSM

August 2, 2023 Martin 9 Comments

Introduction

Sigma 105mm 1:2.8 DG OS Macro HSM, a full frame lens with image stabilization, was released in 2011 and is a little bit old by now but is still in production and can be bought brand new and it has a good reputation. Worth to note that Nikon’s equivalent for F-mount (Nikon AF-S Micro Nikkor 105/2.8G) is five years older than this Sigma. Being macro lenses, they can give you good magnification (1:1 in this case) and at the same time they can also be used as portrait lenses. But of course, they also are good for compressed landscape images and candid photography. Because of its age it can be bought relatively cheap used, which makes it good value for money, if it appears to be good of course. Let’s see how good it is.
The sample images are taken with Nikon Z6 (FF, 24Mp) and Nikon D7200 (APS-C, 24Mp).

Sample Images

Sigma 105mm 1:2.8 DG Macro HSM review sharpness bokeh come vignetting 24mp nikon z6 z6ii 46mp nikon z7 z7ii Z8 Z9 — Nikon Z6 | Sigma 105mm 1:2.8 DG Macro HSM | f/8

Sigma 105mm 1:2.8 DG OS Macro HSM review sharpness bokeh come vignetting 24mp nikon z6 z6ii 46mp nikon z7 z7ii Z8 Z9 — Nikon Z6 | Sigma 105mm 1:2.8 DG OS Macro HSM | f/4

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lenses, Nikon Z, Review

Review: Nikon Nikkor Z 24mm f/1.8 S

July 20, 2023 Martin 26 Comments

Introduction

Nikon Nikkor Z 24mm S review sharpness bokeh come vignetting 24mp nikon z6 z6ii 46mp nikon z7 z7ii Z8 Z9

The Nikon Nikkor Z 24mm f/1.8 S is the only Nikon 24mm with Z mount. 24mm on a full frame camera is quite wide at the verge of ultra wide angle, which can create dramatic images but at the same time it is not so wide that it makes composing images difficult. It is great for landscape photography, but due to its f/1.8 wide aperture it can also be easily used indoors or in other low light situations. It is a relatively expensive lens for being a 24mm f/1.8, but if this lens’s qualities show to be excellent then it can be considered as a reasonable price. Bear in mind that as Nikon’s only available Z mount 24mm prime it should appeal to all users, including the professionals and if its qualities are satisfactory for professional users then it is a relatively cheap lens. So, let’s see how it performs!

Sample Images

Nikon Nikkor Z 24mm S review sharpness bokeh come vignetting 24mp nikon z6 z6ii 46mp nikon z7 z7ii — Nikon Z6 | Nikon Nikkor Z 24mm f/1.8 S | f/8

Nikon Nikkor Z 24mm S review sharpness bokeh coma vignetting 24mp nikon z6 z6ii 46mp nikon z7 z7ii Z8 Z9 — Nikon Z6 | Nikon Nikkor Z 24mm f/1.8 S | f/13

Nikon Nikkor Z 24mm S review sharpness bokeh come vignetting 24mp nikon z6 z6ii 46mp nikon z7 z7ii Z8 Z9 — Nikon Z6 | Nikon Nikkor Z 24mm f/1.8 S | f/4

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Nikon, Nikon Z, Review

Review: Nikon NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4 Ai-S

July 13, 2023 Martin 46 Comments

Introduction

Nikon Nikkor 50mm 1.4 Ai-s vintage review sharpness bokeh come vignetting 24mp 46mp nikon z6 z7 z6ii

The NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4 was the lens that almost all the pro photographers had on their cameras most of the time during the 60s, 70s and 80s and most young and aspiring photographers dreamed of having on their cameras. From an era when Nikon was the undisputed number one 35mm camera/lens system among professional photographers worldwide. The NIKKOR lenses had a reputation for being tough with outstanding quality, both optically and mechanically. This lens was, because of its popularity, in production long after the advent of the autofocus and even digital cameras and was sold new alongside AF and digital lenses until mid 2005. Let’s see how it fares today!