Category Archives: Canon EF-Mount

Canon, Canon EF-Mount, Review

Review: Canon EF 24mm 1.4L II USM

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Introduction

canon ef 24mm 1.4l 1.4 ii usm sony 42mp 61mp a7rii a7riv a7riii a1 a9iii a7rv review resolution sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma z6 z7 z8 z9 zf
Canon EF 24mm 1.4L II USM via Sigma MC-11 on Sony A7rII

While Nikon is somewhat famous for their 28mm 1.4 lenses, when it comes to 24mm lenses as fast as f/1.4, Canon beat them by several decades, as they released their first Canon FD 24mm 1.4 S.C.C. Aspherical in 1975. Canon also kept the fans of the 24mm 1.4 lenses happy with regular updates: a New FD lens in 1979, the original Canon EF 24mm 1.4L USM in 1997 and then this updated Canon EF 24mm 1.4L II USM in 2008. Let’s see in this review how it compares to the Nikon AF-S 24mm 1.4G (released in 2010) and to today’s mirrorless designs like the Sony FE 24mm 1.4 GM.

Sample Images

canon ef 24mm 1.4l 1.4 ii usm sony 42mp 61mp a7rii a7riv a7riii a1 a9iii a7rv review resolution sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma z6 z7 z8 z9 zf
Sony A7III | Sigma MC-11 | Canon EF 24mm 1.4L II USM | f/2.8
canon ef 24mm 1.4l 1.4 ii usm sony 42mp 61mp a7rii a7riv a7riii a1 a9iii a7rv review resolution sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma z6 z7 z8 z9 zf
Sony A7III | Sigma MC-11 | Canon EF 24mm 1.4L II USM | f/2.0
canon ef 24mm 1.4l 1.4 ii usm sony 42mp 61mp a7rii a7riv a7riii a1 a9iii a7rv review resolution sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma z6 z7 z8 z9 zf
Sony A7III | Sigma MC-11 | Canon EF 24mm 1.4L II USM | f/1.4
canon ef 24mm 1.4l 1.4 ii usm sony 42mp 61mp a7rii a7riv a7riii a1 a9iii a7rv review resolution sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma z6 z7 z8 z9 zf
Sony A7III | Sigma MC-11 | Canon EF 24mm 1.4L II USM | f/2.8
Sony A7III | Sigma MC-11 | Canon EF 24mm 1.4L II USM | f/1.4
canon ef 24mm 1.4l 1.4 ii usm sony 42mp 61mp a7rii a7riv a7riii a1 a9iii a7rv review resolution sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma z6 z7 z8 z9 zf
Sony A7III | Sigma MC-11 | Canon EF 24mm 1.4L II USM | f/1.4
canon ef 24mm 1.4l 1.4 ii usm sony 42mp 61mp a7rii a7riv a7riii a1 a9iii a7rv review resolution sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma z6 z7 z8 z9 zf
Sony A7III | Sigma MC-11 | Canon EF 24mm 1.4L II USM | f/1.4

Continue reading Review: Canon EF 24mm 1.4L II USM →

Canon EF-Mount, Review, Samyang

Review: Samyang 85mm 1.2 XP – A true hidden Gem

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Introduction

samyang 85mm 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 85mm 1.2 XP via Sigma MC-11 on Sony A7rII

Released at the end of the DSLR era, these Samyang XP lenses had a very bad timing to begin with. And unlike many of Samyang’s other lenses, this Samyang 85mm 1.2 XP was only available for Canon EF-mount, where it faced fierce competition from the Canon EF 85mm 1.2L USM II, which also featured autofocus – and on a DSLR with its subpar focusing aids no one wants to give up on that. Today we have mirrorless cameras that actually work much better with manual lenses, time to find out, if this is an overlooked gem or just an outdated relic from the past.

Sample Images

samyang 85mm 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 85mm 1.2 XP | f/1.2
samyang 85mm 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 85mm 1.2 XP | f/1.2
samyang 85mm 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 85mm 1.2 XP | f/1.2
samyang 85mm 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
Sony A7III | Sigma MC-11 | Samyang 85mm 1.2 XP | f/1.2
samyang 85mm 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
Sony A7III | Sigma MC-11 | Samyang 85mm 1.2 XP | f/1.2
samyang 85mm 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
Sony A7III | Sigma MC-11 | Samyang 85mm 1.2 XP | f/1.2
samyang 85mm 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
Sony A7III | Sigma MC-11 | Samyang 85mm 1.2 XP | f/1.2

Continue reading Review: Samyang 85mm 1.2 XP – A true hidden Gem →

Canon, Canon EF-Mount, Review

Review: Canon TS-E 135mm 4.0L Macro

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Introduction

61mp 42mp high res resolution canon tilt shift ts-e pc-e perspective control TS T/S sony adapter 135mm 4.0 l macro review resolution contrast bokeh makro
Canon TS-E 135mm 4.0L Macro via megadap adapter on Nikon Zf

At the end of the DSLR/EF-mount era Canon released a bunch of newly designed extremely high quality TS-E lenses. This Canon TS-E 135mm 4.0L Macro is one of them. It is also Canon’s longest Tilt/Shift lens so far. Is this the dream lens for product photography? Let’s find out in this review.

Sample Images

61mp 42mp high res resolution canon tilt shift ts-e pc-e perspective control TS T/S sony adapter 135mm 4.0 l macro review resolution contrast bokeh makro
Nikon Zf | Fringer EF NZ II | Canon TS-E 135mm 4.0L Macro | f/4.0 | unshifted/untilted
61mp 42mp high res resolution canon tilt shift ts-e pc-e perspective control TS T/S sony adapter 135mm 4.0 l macro review resolution contrast bokeh makro
Nikon Zf | Fringer EF NZ II | Canon TS-E 135mm 4.0L Macro | f/4.0 | unshifted/untilted
61mp 42mp high res resolution canon tilt shift ts-e pc-e perspective control TS T/S sony adapter 135mm 4.0 l macro review resolution contrast bokeh makro
Nikon Zf | Fringer EF NZ II | Canon TS-E 135mm 4.0L Macro | f/4.0 | unshifted/untilted
61mp 42mp high res resolution canon tilt shift ts-e pc-e perspective control TS T/S sony adapter 135mm 4.0 l macro review resolution contrast bokeh makro
Sony A7III | Sigma MC-11 | Canon TS-E 135mm 4.0L Macro | f/4.0 | unshifted/untilted
61mp 42mp high res resolution canon tilt shift ts-e pc-e perspective control TS T/S sony adapter 135mm 4.0 l macro review resolution contrast bokeh makro
Sony A7III | Sigma MC-11 | Canon TS-E 135mm 4.0L Macro | f/4.0 | unshifted/untilted

Continue reading Review: Canon TS-E 135mm 4.0L Macro →

Canon EF-Mount, Comparison, Laowa, Leica M, Samyang, Sigma, Sony E-mount, Viltrox, Voigtlander

Comparison: Super Fast 35mm f/0.95 | f/1.2 Fullframe Lenses

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Introduction

35mm fullframe comparison 0.95 1.2 f/0.95 f/1.2 voigtländer laowa viltrox sigma lab argus nokton art dg dn contrast resolution bokeh vignetting coma sharpness loca ca
Sigma 35mm 1.2 DG DN Art | Viltrox AF 35mm 1.2 FE LAB | Samyang 35mm 1.2 XP | Laowa 35mm 0.95 Argus | Voigtländer VM 35mm 1.2 Nokton III

35mm are the favorite focal length of many reportage, event and wedding photographers. In the last years we saw boundaries being pushed as we can now choose from f/1.2 lenses with autofocus and manual focus lenses that even offer a maximum aperture of f/0.95. I gathered five recent ones of these super fast 35mm lenses with maximum apertures ranging from f/0.95 to f/1.2 and will compare them, to give you an idea which might work best for your needs.

Continue reading Comparison: Super Fast 35mm f/0.95 | f/1.2 Fullframe Lenses →

Canon EF-Mount, Guides, Leica M, lenses, Olympus OM, Sony A-mount, Sony E-mount

Guide to the best Portrait Lenses – Sony A7/A9/A1 series

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We summarize our experience with all the native E-mount and a few legacy lenses in the 85-200mm bracket for the Sony A7/A9/A1 series to give you a compact and independent resource for choosing the best portrait lens for your needs.

We also have a general guide to FE-lenses, 9-18mm ultra wide angle lenses, guide to 20-28mm wide angle lenses, 35mm lenses, 50mm lenses and macro lenses.

Unlike most other review sites we have no association with any lens manufacturer apart from occasionally loaning a lens for a review. No fancy trips and meals.

Before any short introduction we tell you how long we have used a lens and if we have borrowed it from a manufacturer. But in most cases we have bought the lenses new from retail stores or on the used market. 

If we have left any question unanswered please leave a comment or contact us on social media and we will do our best to answer it.

If you purchase the lens through one of the affiliate-links in this article we get a small compensation with no additional cost to you.

Last update: March 2025, several lenses added, cleaned up

Continue reading Guide to the best Portrait Lenses – Sony A7/A9/A1 series →