I always had the feeling the Sony FE 12-24mm 2.8 GM has been flying under the radar a bit, which is surprising, because it might be the most spectacular ultra wide angle lens any manufacturer has ever built, but let me tell you in this review why I think so.
The original Leica 50mm 2.0 Elcan has been produced for the American army together with the KE-7A camera. According to the information I found, only 500 have been made, therefore a set of lens and camera will set you back around $30,000 these days.
Obviously this is purely a collector’s price, that has nothing to do with this lens’ value for actual photography.
Now if you want to use this lens without spending 30k, Light Lens Lab has you covered, as they offer a replica for $800. This is what we will have a look at in this review.
This lens will be reviewed on the 42mp Sony A7rII and the 24mp Leica M10.
It has generally been difficult to find ultra wide-angle prime lenses for any system until a few years ago. It has become much better for full-frame cameras, but still a scarce market in the APS-C world. If available, most of the ultra-wide angle lenses are zoom lenses, with variable apertures and usually not that fast. Here we have a new lens that breaks that trend, a 10mm (15mm equivalent on FF) at the impressive f/2. Let’s see how this lens is!
UPDATE: 2023.12.19 , Flare Resistance.
While most popular macro lenses have been in the range of 90-105mm and Laowa themselves having all, an 85mm, a 90mm, and a 100mm macro 2X lens, they opted for making a 58mm lens too, as some macro photographers prefer a wider angle of view or use the lens both as macro and allround lens. Also the perspective might make a difference for some people as you can include more surroundings with a wider lens for the composition. Laowa has shown that they can produce very nice macro lenses during the past few years, let’s see if this one can match them!
Continue reading Review: Laowa FFII 58mm f2.8 CA-Dreamer Macro 2X APO
One thing is clear by now, no one can correctly predict what Voigtländer lens Cosina will release next. In mid 2023, when many people were expecting a fast 28mm to fit inbetween the VM 21mm 1.4 and VM 35mm 1.2 III, they did the opposite and released this Voigtländer VM 28mm 2.8 Color-Skopar. One stop slower, smaller and lighter than the highly regarded VM 28mm 2.0 MK II, but not a lot cheaper. Let’s find out in this review who this lens is for and who is better off with the faster f/2.0 version.
This lens will be reviewed on the 42mp Sony A7rII and the 24mp Leica M10.
Continue reading Review: Voigtlander VM 28mm 2.8 Color-Skopar