Category Archives: Manufacturers

Comparison, Nikon, Sony, TTArtisan, Viltrox

Comparison: Which 85mm f1.8? Nikon Z or Sony FE? Or Maybe Viltrox, or TTArtisan?

January 26, 2025 Martin 21 Comments

Introduction

If you’re looking for an affordable short telephoto and portrait lens, an 85mm f/1.8 lens is an excellent choice. But which one should you pick—Nikon, Sony, or perhaps the Viltrox 85mm f/1.8? While all three lenses share the 85mm focal length, we’ll also consider the TTArtisan 75mm f/2, which is close enough to serve as a potential alternative. Let’s compare these lenses side by side to help you decide which one is the best fit for your needs.

camera-icon2 I tested the lenses on a 46 Mp Nikon Z7ii (Sample images were taken with a Nikon Zf , Nikon Z6, and Sony A7 III)
You can see this review as a YouTube video here!
Sample images in high resolution here.

Sample Images

NIKKOR Z 85/1.8 S — Nikon Zf | Nikkor Z 85/1.8 S | f/2

SONY — Nikon A7 III | Sony FE 85/1.8 | f/1.8

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Nikon, Nikon, Review

Review: Nikon AF 14mm 2.8D

January 22, 2025 BastianK 7 Comments

Introduction

nikon 14mm 2.8 af af-d auto focus wide angle ultra review architecture 42mp 61mp sony a7riv a7rv sharpness contrast vignetting compact nikon d700 d800 d810 d850 d780 fm fe f3 f f5 z6 z7 z8 zftokina 17mm 3.5 af at-x pro auto focus wide angle ultra review architecture 42mp 61mp sony a7riv a7rv sharpness contrast vignetting compact nikon d700 d800 d810 d850 d780 fm fe f3 f f5 z6 z7 z8 zf — Nikon AF 14mm 2.8D via FTZ II on Nikon Zf

Released in 2000, the Nikon AF 14mm 2.8D is still the widest auto focus prime lens sold under the Nikon brand to this day. As some of the recent Z-mount lenses, this is also a rebranded Tamron lens though. The existing reviews didn’t paint a clear picture, so I decided to have a closer look at it myself.

Sample Images

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Review, Samyang, Sony E-mount

Review: Samyang 135mm 1.8 AF FE

January 18, 2025 BastianK 21 Comments

Introduction

samyang 135mm 1.8 Af 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 — Samyang 135mm 1.8 AF on Sony A7rII

I wasn’t a big fan of most of Samyang’s earlier lenses, especially not their early autofocus lenses. Their latest lenses have shown significant improvements over the earlier ones though and this Samyang 135mm 1.8 AF FE even features a unique selling point: it is the lightest 135mm 1.8 lens ever made. And not only that, it is currently also the cheapest option. Do cheap and lightweight go together with good here? Let’s find out in this review.

Sample Images

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Analogue, Nikon, Tokina

Analogue Adventures – Part 38: Kodak Ektachrome 100 / 5294

January 15, 2025 BastianK 15 Comments

So far I have only been talking about color-negative film here, so this Kodak Ektachrome 100 was actually the first slide film I exposed. If you don’t know what the differences between color-negative and slide film are, you can have a look here first.
Processing (E-6) and scanning (Noritsu) was done at urbanfilmlab in Germany. Pictures you see in this article are from one roll of Ektachrome 100 and a sixth of a roll of 5294 E100.

ektachrome kodak slide film velvia 100 france review nikon f analogue film hamburg germany f80 — Nikon F80 | Ektachrome 100 | Tokina 17mm 3.5 AF AT-X Pro | f/11

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Nikon, Review, Sigma

Review: Sigma 105mm 1.4 DG HSM Art – The Bokeh Master?

January 11, 2025 BastianK 17 Comments

Introduction

sigma 105mm 1.4 art dg hsm bokeh master sony 42mp 61mp a7rii a7riv a7riii a1 a9iii a7rv review resolution sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting coma astrophotography z6 z7 z8 z9 — Sigma 105mm 1.4 Art DG HSM via FTZ II on Nikon Zf

With its huge front element the Sigma 105mm 1.4 DG HSM Art is one of the biggest and heaviest short tele lenses ever made. Is it actually worth carrying this massive lens around when there are significantly smaller and lighter 85/105mm f/1.4 lenses available? Let’s find out in this review!