In 2022 Laowa released the world’s fastest 28mm lens for fullframe cameras, the Laowa 28mm 1.2 Argus. If you thought they rested on their laurels you are mistaken: in 2024 they released an even faster lens, this Laowa 28mm T1.0 Argus Cine. Usually I don’t review Cine lenses, but how could I possibly pass on the world’s fastest 28mm fullframe lens? Let’s have a closer look!
Continue reading Review: Laowa 28mm T1.0 Argus – The world’s fastest 28mm lens
Modern Voigtländer branded lenses are made by Cosina in Japan. These are all manual focus lenses but except for the M-mount lenses they all feature electronic contacts to communicate with your camera. This is an overview of ~50 of their lenses with my opinion summarized in one sentence to give you an overview and starting point before delving into our in-depth reviews.
Last Update: April 2025
The one sentence reviews are a new concept I am testing here, please tell me in the comment section what you think of it.
Continue reading Lens Reviews in one Sentence – Part 1: Voigtländer
At the beginning of the 1990s Nikon released two special portrait lenses featuring a “Defocus Control” mechanism, which allows you to make the bokeh smoother or harsher. This Nikon AF-D 105mm 2.0 DC is the shorter of the two DC lenses and In this review I will tell you how it works and if it is actually useful.
In 2022 Leica started updating some of their f/1.4 Summilux-M lenses. The first lens to receive this treatment was the Leica 35mm 1.4 Summilux-M Asph (now often referred to as “FLE MK II”). While the optical design seems to have remained mostly the same, the new lens features a different casing design and also focuses much closer. It is public knowledge: I was not a big fan of the first generation of this lens, so let’s find out if the seemingly minor update was enough to sway the scale!
Continue reading Review: Leica 35mm 1.4 Summilux-M Asph FLE MK II
Today we look at one of the first lenses released for Nikon’s Z mount full-frame mirrorless cameras: the Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S. This standard lens is versatile enough to be used in street, travel, and everyday photography. it is also a good choice for portraiture, especially on an APS-C camera or on a fullframe camera in DX mode. Combined with a fast f/1.8 aperture, it’s the right choice whenever you don’t know what to expect and want to be prepared for anything, as it gives you both fast shutter speeds and pretty out-of-focus background blur. Lenses with this focal length and maximum aperture combination have been known as Nifty Fifties, but for $630 it sits between the traditionally affordable ‘Nifty Fifty’ lenses and the more expensive f/1.4 professional options. So, the question remains: is it a traditional Nifty Fifty or a sophisticated high-end lens? Let’s find out!
I tested this lens on a 46 Mp Nikon Z 7II (Sample images Nikon Z 7 II, Nikon Z fc, and Nikon Z f)
You can see this review as YouTube video here!
Nikon Z 7II | Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S | f/1.8
