After Simera and Eureka Thypoch’s next lens lineup is called Ksana. The first lens of this series is the Thypoch 21mm 3.5 Ksana. A modern optical design with aspherical element but coatings reminiscent of Canon’s FD lenses from 1973. An interesting combination on paper, so let’s have a closer look!
Lens is being tested on 24mp Leica M10 and 42mp Sony A7rII
The king is dead, long live the king! After the Voigtlander 10mm 5.6’s field of view has been matched by the Samyang 10mm 3.5 XP and the Laowa 10-18mm 4.5-5.6 it has now been surpassed by this Laowa 9mm 5.6 FF-RL. Can a lens be wider and at the same time better? Let us try to find out!
Lens is being tested on 42mp Sony A7rII and 24mp Leica M10
Last Update: March 2026
Zeiss Jena designed the first Pancolar 50mm with a maximum aperture of f/2 in 1960, partly to offer a faster and better-performing alternative to the Tessar 50mm f/2.8. As competitors began designing and releasing standard 50mm lenses with f/1.8 apertures, Zeiss found it necessary to respond with a lens of similar specification. The result was the Pancolar 50mm f/1.8, which was designed and produced starting in 1964. It was considered one of the best lenses of its era and remains quite popular today. When this lens was around, I was using Japanese cameras and lenses, so I’ve often wondered whether it was better than what I had. Let’s see how it actually performs by modern standards.
I tested this lens on a 46 Mp Nikon Z7ii (Sample images were taken with a Nikon Zf)
You can see this review as a YouTube video here!
Sample images in high resolution here.
Continue reading REVIEW: Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar 50mm f/1.8 MC
In this review, I’m looking at the 7Artisans AF 24mm f/1.8. This focal length works well for landscapes, travel, and street photography. It’s wide enough to capture broad scenes without making compositions overly difficult, and with an f/1.8 maximum aperture, it still allows for pleasing background blur and subject separation at practical shooting distances. Let’s see how it performs.
I tested this lens on a 46 Mp Nikon Z7ii (Sample images were taken with a Nikon Zf )
You can see this review as a YouTube video here!
Sample images in high resolution here.
Over the past years we saw huge improvements in optical performance of 35mm format lenses – a trend started by the Zeiss Otus and Sigma Art lineups – and the latest Sony GM and Nikon Z designs offer an optical performance unheard of only a few years before. Still, there are some lenses that never saw a successor and this Canon EF 50mm 1.0L USM is one such lens. Released in 1989 this is still the fastest fullframe autofocus lens ever made. But what compromises were needed to make a lens like this, leading to no one ever daring to try this again for at least 36 years? Let’s find out in this review.
The lens is mainly being tested on a 24mp Nikon Zf.
Continue reading Review: Canon EF 50mm 1.0 L USM – Still the world’s fastest AF lens