Category Archives: Manufacturers

November / Black Friday Deals 2025

October 28, 2025 The Team Leave a comment

Introduction

Christmas is around the corner so everyone wants to sell their goods in November. The industry came up with a bunch of stuff like Single’s Day and Black Friday and many camera and lens manufacturers are also using this opportunity. In this article I will collect the deals I think are actually worthwhile.
Thypoch was the first to start their campaign this year, as soon as others follow this article will be updated.

Thypoch

The campaign runs from October 22nd until December 3rd.

Pretty much all the Thypoch lenses are discounted in their official Thypoch Webshop (affiliate link).

I reviewed all of these lenses and there is no stinker among them. The 28mm 1.4, the 50mm 1.4 and the 75mm 1.4 were my favofrites and they also made it my list of the Best Fullframe Lenses from China. Sadly the 75mm 1.4 and the 50mm 1.4 only received small discounts, but they were already easy recommendations at full retail.

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Review, Sigma, Sony E-mount

Review: Sigma 135mm 1.4 Art DG – The actual Bokeh Master

October 25, 2025 BastianK 22 Comments

Introduction

sigma 135mm 1.4 art dg aizu bokeh master sony 42mp 61mp a7rii a7riv a7riii a1 a9iii a7rv review resolution sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma astrophotography z6 z7 z8 z9 zf a1 a1ii a9 a9ii l-mount — Sigma 135mm 1.4 DG Art on Sony A7rII

The Sigma 105mm 1.4 DG HSM Art was one of Sigma’s last flagship lenses designed for DSLRs and one of the few that hasn’t seen a successor designed for mirrorless cameras yet. If you read my review, you know it is an impressive lens, but I still had some reservations calling it the “Bokeh Master”. Now I get the feeling someone at Sigma read my comment and decided to take it as a challenge by designing this Sigma 135mm 1.4 DG Art – the actual “Bokeh Master”. To me, this is one of Sigma’s masterpieces, so let’s have a closer look!

Sample Images

Continue reading Review: Sigma 135mm 1.4 Art DG – The actual Bokeh Master →

Analogue, Color Reversal (slides), MS-Optics

Analogue Adventures – Part 45: Fujichrome Provia 400X (expired)

October 22, 2025 BastianK 4 Comments

In 2025 no one makes slide film faster than ISO100 anymore, but that wasn’t always the case. Back in the day there were several different higher ISO options available and Fujichrome Provia 400x seems to have been one of the more popular ones. As it went out of production a long time ago, today people pay up to 40 bucks for a single roll, so let’s see what it is all about.
Processing (E-6) was done at ProLab in Stuttgart, scanning was done by one of our readers via a DSLR. The pictures you see in this article are from one roll.

review slrmagic hyperprime lm T0.95 leica m 50mm 0.95 lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignettingreview canon leica m 50mm 0.95 tv dream lens lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting — Leica M6 | SLRmagic 50mm 0.95 Hyperprime | Provia 400x | f/2.0

ms-optics ms-optical aporia apora pancake smallest lens world's leica m10 24mp 42mp review sharpness bokeh vignetting — Leica M6 | MS-Optics 24mm 2.0 Aporia | Provia 400x | f/2.8

Continue reading Analogue Adventures – Part 45: Fujichrome Provia 400X (expired) →

Review, Sony E-mount, Viltrox

Review: Viltrox AF 85mm 2.0 FE Evo

October 20, 2025 BastianK 37 Comments

Introduction

viltrox 85mm 2.0 evo fe af bokeh master gm sony 42mp 61mp a7rii a7riv a7riii a1 a9iii a7rv review resolution sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma astrophotography z6 z7 z8 z9 — Viltrox AF 85mm 2.0 Evo FE on Sony A7rII

The “Evo” series is a new lineup of Viltrox lenses positioned between the “Pro” and “Air” lineups. This series seems to combine the build quality and controls of the “Pro” lenses with a slightly slower maximum aperture like the “Air” lenses while maintaining very high image quality – similar to the Voigtländer Apo-Lanthar series or Sigma’s Contemporary primes. Let’s find out what the first entry of this series – the Viltrox AF 85mm 2.0 Evo FE – has in store for us.

Sample Images

Continue reading Review: Viltrox AF 85mm 2.0 FE Evo →

Review, Sony E-mount, Viltrox

Review: Viltrox AF 50mm 1.4 FE Pro

October 16, 2025 BastianK 7 Comments

Introduction

viltrox 50mm 1.4 pro fe af bokeh master gm sony 42mp 61mp a7rii a7riv a7riii a1 a9iii a7rv review resolution sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma astrophotography z6 z7 z8 z9 — Viltrox AF 50mm 1.4 Pro FE on Sony A7rII

Viltrox offers several different lens lineups: positioned at the top is the “LAB” series, slightly below that the “Pro” series. I already reviewed the Viltrox AF 85mm 1.4 Pro FE – offering very good performance at an affordable pricepoint – and this time we will be having a look at the Viltrox AF 50mm 1.4 Pro FE.