Category Archives: Canon EF-Mount

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

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Canon EF-Mount, Canon FD-Mount, lenses, Minolta SR mount, Sony E-mount

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

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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 85-200mm 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: March 2025, Voigtländer 28mm 1.5E Nokton, Viltrox 28mm 4.5 AF added

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Canon EF-Mount, Review, Sigma

Review: Sigma 50mm 1.4 EX – Still worth getting in 2025?

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Introduction

sigma 50mm 1.4 ex dh hsm sony a7riii a7riv sharpness bokeh resolution contrast review nikon zf z6 z7 z8 z9 z6iii z7iii
Sigma 50mm 1.4 EX via Nikon FTZ II on Nikon Zf

Back in 2008 the Sigma 50mm 1.4 EX was the biggest and most expensive 50mm f/1.4 lens with AF for DSLRs. Now, 17 years later, it looks reasonably sized compared to its modern competitors and can be found used for bargain prices.
But is it a lens still worth considering in 2025? Let us find out in this review!
Update Jan 2025: more samples added

Sample Images

sigma 50mm 1.4 ex dh hsm sony a7riii a7riv sharpness bokeh resolution contrast review
Sony A7III | Sigma 50mm 1.4 EX | f/1.4
sigma 50mm 1.4 ex dh hsm sony a7riii a7riv sharpness bokeh resolution contrast review
Sony A7III | Sigma 50mm 1.4 EX | f/1.4
sigma 50mm 1.4 ex dh hsm sony a7riii a7riv sharpness bokeh resolution contrast review
Sony A7III | Sigma 50mm 1.4 EX | f/1.4
sigma 50mm 1.4 ex dh hsm sony a7riii a7riv sharpness bokeh resolution contrast review nikon zf z6 z7 z8 z9 z6iii z7iii
Nikon Zf | FTZ II | Sigma 50mm 1.4 EX | f/1.4
sigma 50mm 1.4 ex dh hsm sony a7riii a7riv sharpness bokeh resolution contrast review nikon zf z6 z7 z8 z9 z6iii z7iii
Nikon Zf | FTZ II | Sigma 50mm 1.4 EX | f/1.4

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Canon, Canon EF-Mount, Review

Review: Canon EF 85mm 1.2L USM II

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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 EFTZ21 | 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 EFTZ21 | 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 EFTZ21 | 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 EFTZ21 | 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 EFTZ21 | Canon EF 85mm 1.2L USM II | f/1.2

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Canon, Canon EF-Mount, Review

Review: Canon EF 50mm 1.2 L USM

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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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