Category Archives: Canon EF-Mount

User-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: January 2023

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

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

Continue reading Review: Samyang 10mm 3.5 XP

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

Continue reading Review: Samyang 50mm 1.2 XP

Review: Sigma 50mm 1.4 EX – Still worth getting in 2020?

Introduction

sigma 50mm 1.4 ex dh hsm sony a7riii a7riv sharpness bokeh resolution contrast review
Sigma 50mm 1.4 EX with Sigma MC-11 adapter on Sony A7rII

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, 12 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 2020? Let us find out in this review!

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

Continue reading Review: Sigma 50mm 1.4 EX – Still worth getting in 2020?

Review: Laowa 15mm 4.5 Zero-D Shift

Introduction

laowa 15mm 4. 5 shift tilt ts-e pc-e comparison review venus optics wide angle ultra wide angle sharpness uwa resolution contrast 42mp 61mp a7riv a7rii a7riii
Laowa 15mm 4.5 Shift with metabones adapter on Sony A7rII

For 11 years the Canon TS-E 17mm 4.0L was the widest shift lens available and now it is not Nikon but Laowa who challenges them with their 15mm 4.5 Shift. May this be the new king for wide angle architectural photography?

Sample Images

laowa 15mm 4. 5 shift tilt ts-e pc-e comparison review venus optics wide angle ultra wide angle sharpness uwa resolution contrast 42mp 61mp a7riv a7rii a7riii
Sony A7rII | Laowa 15mm 4.5 Shift | f/11 | shifted up | higher resolution
laowa 15mm 4. 5 shift tilt ts-e pc-e comparison review venus optics wide angle ultra wide angle sharpness uwa resolution contrast 42mp 61mp a7riv a7rii a7riii
Sony A7rII | Laowa 15mm 4.5 Shift | f/11 | shifted up
laowa 15mm 4. 5 shift tilt ts-e pc-e comparison review venus optics wide angle ultra wide angle sharpness uwa resolution contrast 42mp 61mp a7riv a7rii a7riii
Sony A7rII | Laowa 15mm 4.5 Shift | f/11 | shift pano
laowa 15mm 4. 5 shift tilt ts-e pc-e comparison review venus optics wide angle ultra wide angle sharpness uwa resolution contrast 42mp 61mp a7riv a7rii a7riii
Sony A7rII | Laowa 15mm 4.5 Shift | f/11 | shifted up

Continue reading Review: Laowa 15mm 4.5 Zero-D Shift