Category Archives: Manufacturers

Review: Samyang 14mm 2.4 XP

Introduction

samyang 14mm 2.4 xp premium manual focus astro wide angle ultra review architecture 42mp 61mp sony a7riv a7rv sharpness contrast vignetting compact nikon z6 z7 z8 zf sony a7rii a7riii a7rv a7iv coma
Samyang 14mm 2.4 XP via FTZ II on Nikon Zf

Released in 2017, this Samyang 14mm 2.4 XP had a similarly bad timing as the Zeiss Otus and Milvus lenses its mechanical design is undoubtedly based on. By that time many people started using mirrorless cameras, so these huge DSLR designs certainly started looking less appealing. On top of that, many of us had been burned by Samyang’s (at least at that time) awful quality control, so paying a premium price for a Samyang lens? Not many people were interested in doing that. Nevertheless, some people say this is one of the best lenses for astrophotography ever made, that alone is reason enough to have a closer look at it.

Sample Images

samyang 14mm 2.4 xp premium manual focus astro wide angle ultra review architecture 42mp 61mp sony a7riv a7rv sharpness contrast vignetting compact nikon z6 z7 z8 zf sony a7rii a7riii a7rv a7iv coma
Nikon Zf | Samyang 14mm 2.4 XP | f/2.4
samyang 14mm 2.4 xp premium manual focus astro wide angle ultra review architecture 42mp 61mp sony a7riv a7rv sharpness contrast vignetting compact nikon z6 z7 z8 zf sony a7rii a7riii a7rv a7iv coma
Nikon Zf | Samyang 14mm 2.4 XP | f/5.6
samyang 14mm 2.4 xp premium manual focus astro wide angle ultra review architecture 42mp 61mp sony a7riv a7rv sharpness contrast vignetting compact nikon z6 z7 z8 zf sony a7rii a7riii a7rv a7iv coma
Nikon Zf | Samyang 14mm 2.4 XP | f/2.4
samyang 14mm 2.4 xp premium manual focus astro wide angle ultra review architecture 42mp 61mp sony a7riv a7rv sharpness contrast vignetting compact nikon z6 z7 z8 zf sony a7rii a7riii a7rv a7iv coma
Nikon Zf | Samyang 14mm 2.4 XP | f/2.4
samyang 14mm 2.4 xp premium manual focus astro wide angle ultra review architecture 42mp 61mp sony a7riv a7rv sharpness contrast vignetting compact nikon z6 z7 z8 zf sony a7rii a7riii a7rv a7iv coma
Nikon Zf | Samyang 14mm 2.4 XP | f/4.0
samyang 14mm 2.4 xp premium manual focus astro wide angle ultra review architecture 42mp 61mp sony a7riv a7rv sharpness contrast vignetting compact nikon z6 z7 z8 zf sony a7rii a7riii a7rv a7iv coma
Nikon Zf | Samyang 14mm 2.4 XP | f/5.0

Continue reading Review: Samyang 14mm 2.4 XP

Review: Voigtländer 28mm 2.8 SL IIs Color-Skopar (Nikon F)

Introduction

voigtländer sl iis color-skopar nikon f 28mm 2.8 ai-s freview 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Voigtländer 28mm 2.8 SL IIs Color-Skopar on Nikon FM2n

Cosina is still making new manual focus lenses for the Nikon F-mount and currently the widest option in the line up is this Voigtländer 28mm 2.8 SL IIs Color-Skopar. It may not be as small as the M-mount version I already reviewed, but for an SLR lens it can still be considered very compact and it offers a great close focus option, so let’s have a closer look at it.

Sample Images

voigtländer sl iis color-skopar nikon f 28mm 2.8 ai-s freview 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Sony A7rII | Voigtländer 28mm 2.8 SL IIs Color-Skopar | f/2.8
voigtländer sl iis color-skopar nikon f 28mm 2.8 ai-s freview 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Sony A7rII | Voigtländer 28mm 2.8 SL IIs Color-Skopar | f/2.8
voigtländer sl iis color-skopar nikon f 28mm 2.8 ai-s freview 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Sony A7rII | Voigtländer 28mm 2.8 SL IIs Color-Skopar | f/2.8
voigtländer sl iis color-skopar nikon f 28mm 2.8 ai-s freview 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Sony A7III | Voigtländer 28mm 2.8 SL IIs Color-Skopar | f/5.6
voigtländer sl iis color-skopar nikon f 28mm 2.8 ai-s freview 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Sony A7III | Voigtländer 28mm 2.8 SL IIs Color-Skopar | f/11
voigtländer sl iis color-skopar nikon f 28mm 2.8 ai-s freview 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Sony A7III | Voigtländer 28mm 2.8 SL IIs Color-Skopar | f/11
voigtländer sl iis color-skopar nikon f 28mm 2.8 ai-s freview 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Nikon FM2 | Voigtländer 28mm 2.8 SL IIs Color-Skopar | f/4.0 | Gold 200 C-41
voigtländer sl iis color-skopar nikon f 28mm 2.8 ai-s freview 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Sony A7III | Voigtländer 28mm 2.8 SL IIs Color-Skopar | f/5.6

Continue reading Review: Voigtländer 28mm 2.8 SL IIs Color-Skopar (Nikon F)

REVIEW: Viltrox AF 50mm F/2 Air (FE)

Introduction

Viltrox AF 50mm F/2 Air on a Nikon Z7ii

The Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 is another addition to the company’s small, lightweight, and affordable ‘Air’ series. Though new, the few lenses released so far have shown impressive performance. This full-frame 50mm lens, with a maximum aperture of f/2, is compact, lightweight, and budget friendly at $199—but does its performance match that of its previous siblings? Let’s find out!

camera-icon2I tested this lens on a 46 Mp Nikon Z7ii (Sample images with a Nikon Zf ).
camera-icon2I used a Megadap ETZ21 PRO E-to-Z adapter with the FE mount version of the lens on Nikon Z cameras.
You can see this review as a YouTube video here!
Sample images in high resolution here.

Sample Images

Nikon Zf | Viltrox AF 50mm F/2 Air | f/2
Nikon Zf | Viltrox AF 50mm F/2 Air | f/2
Nikon Zf | Viltrox AF 50mm F/2 Air | f/2
Nikon Zf | Viltrox AF 50mm F/2 Air | f/2
Nikon Zf | Viltrox AF 50mm F/2 Air | f/2

Continue reading REVIEW: Viltrox AF 50mm F/2 Air (FE)

Review: Nikon AF-S 200mm 2.0G IF-ED VRI

Introduction

nikon af-s 200mm 2.0 g vri vr if ed f/2.0 super tele fast sport reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting
Nikon AF-S 200mm 2.0G IF-ED VR via FTZ II on Nikon Zf

When making the transition from Nikon DSLRs to Sony fullframe mirrorless, letting my Nikon AF-S 200mm 2.0G VRI go was not an easy decision. At that time there were no decent Nikon-F to Sony-E adapters available though – let alone mirrorless cameras made by Nikon – and I couldn’t afford to keep a Nikon DSLR only for using this lens. I took the opportunity to try out some (most) of the competitors in the meantime, but none of those lenses convinced me as much as this Nikon. Let me tell you why in this review.

Sample Images

nikon af-s 200mm 2.0 g vri vr if ed f/2.0 super tele fast sport reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting
Nikon D800 | Nikon AF-S 200mm 2.0G VRI | f/2.0
nikon af-s 200mm 2.0 g vri vr if ed f/2.0 super tele fast sport reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting
Nikon D800 | Nikon AF-S 200mm 2.0G VRI | f/2.0
nikon af-s 200mm 2.0 g vri vr if ed f/2.0 super tele fast sport reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting
Nikon D800 | Nikon AF-S 200mm 2.0G VRI | f/2.0
nikon af-s 200mm 2.0 g vri vr if ed f/2.0 super tele fast sport reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting
Nikon D800 | Nikon AF-S 200mm 2.0G VRI | TC-20E II | 400mm | f/4.0
nikon af-s 200mm 2.0 g vri vr if ed f/2.0 super tele fast sport reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | Nikon AF-S 200mm 2.0G IF-ED VR | Monster LA-FE2 | f/2.0

Continue reading Review: Nikon AF-S 200mm 2.0G IF-ED VRI

Review: Light Lens Lab 28mm 2.8 9-element

Introduction

light lens lab 28mm 2.8 nine element 9e review leica m10 m11 m9 42mp 24mp cinematic contrast sharpness rendering bokeh film analogue
Light Lens Lab 28mm 2.8 9-element on Leica M10

Those of you that already had a look at my other reviews of Light Lens Lab lenses already know, their mission is to bring back rare and expensive lenses from the past at more affordable prices to give more people the opportunity to use them. After the 35mm 2.0 8-element they tackled the 28mm 2.8 9-element – a lens going for almost 10 grand on the used market for reasons I have yet to understand. Let’s see how this lens compares to the tiny Voigtländer VM 28mm 2.8 Color-Skopar.
This lens will be reviewed on the 24mp Leica M10 and the 42mp Sony A7rII.

Sample Images

light lens lab 28mm 2.8 nine element 9e review leica m10 m11 m9 42mp 24mp cinematic contrast sharpness rendering bokeh film analogue
Leica M10 | Light Lens Lab 28mm 2.8 9-element | f/2.8
light lens lab 28mm 2.8 nine element 9e review leica m10 m11 m9 42mp 24mp cinematic contrast sharpness rendering bokeh film analogue
Leica M10 | Light Lens Lab 28mm 2.8 9-element | f/2.8
light lens lab 28mm 2.8 nine element 9e review leica m10 m11 m9 42mp 24mp cinematic contrast sharpness rendering bokeh film analogue
Leica M10 | Light Lens Lab 28mm 2.8 9-element | f/2.8
light lens lab 28mm 2.8 nine element 9e review leica m10 m11 m9 42mp 24mp cinematic contrast sharpness rendering bokeh film analogue
Leica M10 | Light Lens Lab 28mm 2.8 9-element | f/2.8
light lens lab 28mm 2.8 nine element 9e review leica m10 m11 m9 42mp 24mp cinematic contrast sharpness rendering bokeh film analogue
Leica M10 | Light Lens Lab 28mm 2.8 9-element | f/2.8
light lens lab 28mm 2.8 nine element 9e review leica m10 m11 m9 42mp 24mp cinematic contrast sharpness rendering bokeh film analogue
Leica M10 | Light Lens Lab 28mm 2.8 9-element | f/2.8
light lens lab 28mm 2.8 nine element 9e review leica m10 m11 m9 42mp 24mp cinematic contrast sharpness rendering bokeh film analogue
Leica M10 | Light Lens Lab 28mm 2.8 9-element | f/2.8

Continue reading Review: Light Lens Lab 28mm 2.8 9-element