Category Archives: Canon EF-Mount

Review: Canon EF 85mm 1.2L USM II

Introduction

review canon ef 85mm 1.2 l usm II mark 2 mk2 mkii 1.2l lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Canon EF 85mm 1.2L USM II via Megadap EFTZ21 on Nikon Z6

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. While already the Canon EF 50mm 1.2L USM sounded appealing, I am sure more people lusted after this Canon EF 85mm 1.2L USM II. Time to have a closer look at it!

Sample Images

review canon ef 85mm 1.2 l usm II mark 2 mk2 mkii 1.2l lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Nikon Z6 | Megadap EFTZ211 | Canon EF 85mm 1.2L USM II | f/1.2
review canon ef 85mm 1.2 l usm II mark 2 mk2 mkii 1.2l lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Nikon Z6 | Megadap EFTZ211 | Canon EF 85mm 1.2L USM II | f/1.2
review canon ef 85mm 1.2 l usm II mark 2 mk2 mkii 1.2l lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Nikon Z6 | Megadap EFTZ211 | Canon EF 85mm 1.2L USM II | f/1.6
review canon ef 85mm 1.2 l usm II mark 2 mk2 mkii 1.2l lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Nikon Z6 | Megadap EFTZ211 | Canon EF 85mm 1.2L USM II | f/1.2
review canon ef 85mm 1.2 l usm II mark 2 mk2 mkii 1.2l lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | metabones | Canon EF 85mm 1.2L USM II | f/1.2
review canon ef 85mm 1.2 l usm II mark 2 mk2 mkii 1.2l lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Nikon Z6 | Megadap EFTZ211 | Canon EF 85mm 1.2L USM II | f/1.2

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Guide to wide-angle lenses for Sony A7/A9/A1 series

Sony A7rII | Zeiss Loxia 21mm 2.8 | f/8.0

We summarize our experience with all the native E-mount and a few manual legacy lenses in the 20-28mm bracket to give you a compact and independent resource for choosing the right wide-angle lens for your Sony A7/A9/A1 camera. In this summary we also included some adapted lenses we think are worth mentioning. We didn’t include any zoom lenses, you can find those in our general guide to FE lenses as well as the guide to 9-18mm ultra wide angle lenses.

You may also want to check out our guides to 35mm lenses, 50mm lenses and 85-135mm portrait lenses.

Some of these lenses are manual focus only (MF) whereas others feature auto focus (AF). There is also a noticeable amount of lenses listed here that do not feature electronic contacts to communicate with the camera (no Exif).

We have no association with any manufacturer apart from occasionally loaning a lens for a review. 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 on the market. If you want to support our independent reviews please consider using one of the affiliate links. It doesn’t cost you anything and helps us a lot.

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.

Last update: November 2023, Viltrox 20mm 2.8 AF, Viltrox 24mm 1.8 AF and Viltrox 28mm 1.8 AF added

Continue reading Guide to wide-angle lenses for Sony A7/A9/A1 series

Review: Canon EF 50mm 1.2 L USM

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

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Review: Samyang 10mm 3.5 XP

Introduction

samyang 10mm 3.5 xp review 42mp 61mp sony a7rIV a7rIII a7rII contrast resolution color wide angle ultra wide
Samyang 10mm 3.5 XP via Sigma MC-11 on Sony A7rII

The Samyang 10mm 3.5 XP is a bit of an odd lens. It is still the widest lens for DSLRs, but it was announced at a time when no one really cared about DSLRs anymore. And it came out after the Voigtländer 10mm 5.6, which surely didn’t help the marketing department. And in the meantime we also got the Laowa 9mm 5.6, which is even wider, has great optics and is small at the same time. So is there still a reason to get the Samyang 10mm 3.5 XP in 2022? Let’s find out in this review.

Sample Images

samyang 10mm 3.5 xp review 42mp 61mp sony a7rIV a7rIII a7rII contrast resolution color wide angle ultra wide
Sony A7rII | Samyang 10mm 3.5 XP | f/8.0
samyang 10mm 3.5 xp review 42mp 61mp sony a7rIV a7rIII a7rII contrast resolution color wide angle ultra wide
Sony A7III | Samyang 10mm 3.5 XP | f/8.0
samyang 10mm 3.5 xp review 42mp 61mp sony a7rIV a7rIII a7rII contrast resolution color wide angle ultra wide
Sony A7III | Samyang 10mm 3.5 XP | f/6.3
samyang 10mm 3.5 xp review 42mp 61mp sony a7rIV a7rIII a7rII contrast resolution color wide angle ultra wide
Sony A7rII | Samyang 10mm 3.5 XP | f/3.5
samyang 10mm 3.5 xp review 42mp 61mp sony a7rIV a7rIII a7rII contrast resolution color wide angle ultra wide
Sony A7III | Samyang 10mm 3.5 XP | f/4.5

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Review: Samyang 50mm 1.2 XP

Introduction

samyang_50mm_1.2_XP_sample_16
Samyang 50mm 1.2 XP via metabones adapter on Sony A7rII

Back in 2018 Samyang – mostly known for cheap manual focus lenses like the 14mm 2.8 and the 85mm 1.4 at that time – wanted to show what they are capable of and released the first lens of their “Premium MF XP Series”, the Samyang 50mm f/1.2 XP. These faster XP lenses are only available for Canon EF mount and it seems they were devoid of any size constraints during development and even come with electronic contacts and electronic diaphragm controlled by the camera.
Despite all this it seems no one bought them though – was it due to bad marketing, lack in optical qualities or simply because of the massive size of these lenses? Let us find out in this review!

Sample Images

samyang 50mm 1.2 xp premium mf canon ef sony a7r 42mp review sharpness bokeh coma vignetting contrast
Sony A7rII | Samyang 50mm 1.2 XP | f/1.2
samyang 50mm 1.2 xp premium mf canon ef sony a7r 42mp review sharpness bokeh coma vignetting contrast
Sony A7III | Samyang 50mm 1.2 XP | f/1.2
samyang 50mm 1.2 xp premium mf canon ef sony a7r 42mp review sharpness bokeh coma vignetting contrast
Sony A7III | Samyang 50mm 1.2 XP | f/1.4

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