FAQ

Thanks for visiting our blog 🙂

On this page we have collected a few questions which we are asked rather often.

How can I support your work?

Thanks for asking! An easy way is to tell others about our work. So if you found article x helpful you help us a lot if you share it on a forum, on Facebook or wherever there are people people who might be interested in it.

Another way to support us is by using our affiliate links. If you click on a link and buy anything from diapers to photographic gear we get a commission of a few percent. We each have our own affiliate links and the money goes 100% to the author of each article.

Some of the articles also feature a Paypal Donate button that you can use to support the author directly.

Please review lens X

Please don’t send us requests to review specific lenses. Usually we have to buy lenses to review them and we can only do that if we are personally interested in them.

A full review is a time investment of several working days. If we calculated this time at our professional working rate a typical review would easily cost us above $1000. We don’t make nearly as much from the average review. Unlike most other blogs of this size we all have a day job and see reviewing lenses as a hobby. Because of that we are more free in how we review lenses and how we run the blog. It also means that we only review the lenses we are personally interested in.

Please compare lens X to lens Y

A full comparison is about as time consuming as a review and rather boring to perform. So we do comparisons rarely and only if we are personally interested in the result.

Is my lens decentered?

We put together this article so that you know how to test your lenses.

Will you review any more APS-C lenses?

We all use Sony A7 series cameras at the moment so we have little reason to use and review APS-C lenses. There might still be exceptions though.

Do you want to borrow lens X from me for a review?

Thanks for the offer! Usually though, we are more limited by the time we don’t have than the lenses we don’t have and our answer is no. Most of the time we have a few lenses waiting to be reviewed. When we are looking for a specific lens we usually ask on the blog or at Facebook.

Bastian is interested in reviewing some exotic lenses though, which he also listed here. These lenses are too rare and expensive to buy just to write a review, so if you happen to own one of them and you wouldn’t mind to part with it for a few weeks: please get in contact with him 🙂

Can I write a guest post?

Maybe.

If you have published a review or similar articles before and if you have an interesting proposal please get in contact with us. We would especially like to cover lenses for video more.

If you have no previous experience writing articles we suggest that you try to gain some experience by writing a review in a forum or on your own blog before. We try to maintain a rather high standard and if we have to invest a lot of time to work on a review of somebody else we would prefer to do it on our own 😉

How do you get exif information with manual lenses?

There are several ways. You can use the lens compensation app with cameras which support apps. Or you can add them later at home with a tool like LensTagger.

If you add them later you somehow need to keep track of your lenses and settings. There are different strategies to do that:

  • Phillip takes only mental notes but that works well enough for him since he was always good with numbers. What also helps is to have a limited number of lenses and not use too many different aperture values.
  • David usees the video button to leave self notes: “last pictures of xxx all with ZM at f/7.2” etc…. LR imports them in sequence, so it’s easy to listen and use Lens Tagger.
  • Bastian sometimes uses the “Lens Compensation” playmemories app, but there are some caveats: it only works somewhat decent on gen2 cameras and it slows the camera down considerably.

The prices you give in you reviews are way too low!

For used prices we research the prices by checking for how much auctions for copies in working condition ended on ebay in the last few weeks. Buy-it-now-prices – which are usually a lot higher – aren’t factored in.

We don’t update these prices since that would mean that we had less time for more productive writing. Prices and the value for money evaluation therefore valid for the time the review was published and prices can have changed since then.

Can I pay you to publish our article?

Nope.

Can I advertise on your page?

Nope.

More Questions

If we left any questions unanswered please ask them in the comments 🙂

67 thoughts on “FAQ”

  1. Hello,

    I am interested in the VOIGTLÄNDER 40MM F1.2

    I have two questions. Regarding focus shift, I assume that manual focusing (i use the a7rii) deals with this. Am I right ?

    Regarding field curvature, I am a bit less clear. What does it mean to focus at the outer mid-field ?

    Thanks for your help and your great review !

    Best regards,

    Guillaume

  2. Hello from Canada!

    Greetings all, great site and I am back here often, sometimes to re-read the good work you do, thank you 🙂

    I enjoyed your review of the Pocket Pano Loxia Lens Grip, I would like to even buy some, but they don’t have Canada listed as a place they ship to. Is there anyway you can contact them and ask hem how I would buy anything from them?

    Again, thanks for all you good work 🙂

    Bradley

      1. Thanks Bastian!

        …But, they are selling to Canadians in Germany, really. For Canadians to find it… 🙂

        Much appreciated (and they did get back to me as well BTW)

        Best of the New Year to you all!

        Bradley

  3. Hello Phillip,
    I notice that with the exception of the APO tele 200mm 1:2.8 lens, no-one has reviewed any Minolta/Sony A lenses either with LA-EA adapters or as manual lenses on a Sony A7.
    Is this a reflection that they simply don’t rate as the earlier Minolta lenses?

    1. I also reviewed the ZA 1.8/135 back in the day.
      In some cases like the APO 2.8/200 or 2/100 or 1.4/85 optics are pretty darn good but the handling is the issue which kept me from using more of them. You can either use the unpleasant manual focus or the LA-EA4 which basically limits you to the central AF field and isn’t reliable with some lenses.

  4. Hello!
    Wanted to say thank you for your wonderful website. I have since invested in some manual Canon FD lenses to try on my Sony A7iii. I did have one question though:

    If I have a 24mm lens and I want it to retain what a 24mm lens would look like on a Canon SLR or Cinema camera. Would I mount that lens in crop mode on the A7iii?

    Meaning, if I shot full frame with a Canon FD 24mm, would it actually be wider than what it would be on a Canon SLR or cinema camera?

    Thanks!

  5. Hi!
    F.Y.I.
    ” Zeiss Batis 2/40 CF

    This lens has just been released (we are waiting for a review sample at the moment) but we have already read various reports on issues with the eye AF. Furthermore the lens stops itself down significantly already at focus distances of about 1.0 m.”
    I own this lens. Neither of the problems mentioned exists. It is a super performer at same level as the Batis 135. The internet is full of errors and incompetent reviews/first looks.
    Phillpreeve is an excellent site and source of honest and competent reviews! I often check in here. Thanks!

      1. Sorry, but I trust my own experience. It is a FACT that the lens works properly. Jannik probably used an early sample with unmature firmware. His results are totally contary to mine. Please change or I cannot trust your site anymore.

        1. Zeiss themselves have said that the lens stops down at close distance, and that they are working on a firmware fix for eye-AF. Ordinary AF is fine. When the new firmware comes, it will still stop down a little at close distance, but not as much.

  6. Hi

    I understand that you use mostly FF cameras but I would appreciate your thoughts on the suitability of APS-C for landscape. How would you compare an older FF model ie A7 or A7II with vintage Minolta lenses. Thanks love your photos as they seem refreshing in this world of over-processed (imo) work.

    1. Speaking in very broad terms lenses are not as sharp, lens selection is more limited and DR is a little lower. As always the photographer is a much bigger part in the equation than the gear and you can get very good results with APS-C. You can usually get a little better results with FF but how much that matters depends a lot on your demands.

      1. Hey Phillip & Team. Unrelated to the attached comments. I can’t find any contact info for you guys! I have a question. I’m shooting video on a Blackmagic Pocket 6k. I’m looking to utilize manual lenses to create a softer, more analog-film feeling image. What lenses do you recommend that are softer & vintage feeling? Thanks. jjpaproductions@gmail.com

        1. None of us is doing video so we don’t check lenses for plenty of things that may be important to you (e.g. focus breathing).
          Bokeh is also very subjective, maybe you have a look at some of the reviews of vintage lenses here, see what you like,
          and also think what focal lengths you need. Maybe then we can help you.
          Generally: soft and “analog film feeling” are rather the opposite of each other.
          Most legacy lenses have a rather harsh rendering.

  7. In a lot of the lens reviews the team will say they were loaned lens X then they bought a copy at full retail. An article about what lenses you shoot daily or what lenses you shoot for what purposes would be a really good insight for someone considering purchasing some of these.

  8. Hi,

    I have both the Techart TA-GA3 (for my Contax G lenses) and the Techart Pro Leica M (with K adapter for my Pentax lenses).

    Would the Sony a7rIII perform as well as the Sony a7rII with the Contax G lenses?

    Would you expect both adapters to work with the new Sony a7rIV?

    Thanks

  9. I enjoy your reviews, especially the reviews of older lenses that provide a good value. I found a lens that I think would make a interesting review for your site its sharp and cheap @ $99! Minolta AF 28-135mm F/4-4.5 Its quirky, fun, sharp and good for landscapes. If you are the least bit interested Kurt did a review. Thanks for the great content, already saving for the CV 50 f2.

    http://kurtmunger.com/minolta_af_28_135mmid56.html

  10. Hi
    i just bought a Rikenon 50mm 1.7 (in der Brockensammlung 😉 ) and i thought by my self, is there any review on the Philipreeve site about this lens? I like the lens and i would be interested on your meaning!
    But i have learnt and i can understand it, that you don`t like requests for reviews and you have good reasons.
    But i want stress here: thank you for your great Website, i felt me informed, entertained and inspired.
    Thank you and greetings from Bielefeld
    Ulrich
    p.s. sorry for my broken english

  11. I’ll just go ahead and ask here since EXIF info with manual lenses is mentioned on this page 😉

    I’ve recently made the switch to Lightroom. When exporting to JPEG Lightroom replaces the standard EXIF value for unknown aperture (F/0) by just leaving the value empty. This is of no consequence besides one minor thing: Google Photos (which I use to share photos with family and friends) will put down F1 in this case (whereas it just doesn’t display anything when EXIF says F/0.

    Do you know if there’s a way to make Lightroom carry over the F/0 the camera puts down instead of deleting the value? I don’t really keep track of aperture values and usually only tag the handful I remember the values of for some reason or another…

  12. Does anyone use the voigtlander nokton classic 40mm f1.4 mc vm sony a7? If yes, is it a good combination?

  13. Hello,
    I’m a beginner.
    I’ve got a Sony A6000 camera.
    Can you please tell me if the LAEA4 adapter will allow me to use the Minolta 70-210 lens in auto focus?
    Thanks in advance from Bonnie Scotland.

  14. Re The Death Grip Required for Mounting My Loxia 21mm
    I have found that if I put a 4-5mm wide rubber band on the lens, it makes the mounting/un-mounting very easy.
    Regards, Kay
    PS. I have enjoyed your work. Thank you.

  15. Hate to ask this, but I imagine you guys will be reviewing the TTartisan 90mm 1.25? You guys are the best FYI!!!!

  16. I found this website by accident. There is so much value here – it’s unbelievable. You helped me make the decision on the Voigtlander 65 MM F2 MACRO. I especially appreciate the clear and careful methodology used on each review. The discussion of alternatives and the full resolution sample shots provide valuable context and insight. I can feel that this is a passion project and I thought, the least I could do is say thank you.

  17. Hey there. I was wondering if there was by any chance a newsletter so that I can get updates when you update your site? Also, I know that you say not to do this I’m going to ask anyway. Do you think you will have the chance to review the new Sony 70-200 lens?

  18. Hello,

    I am interested in the MS-Optics 50mm 1.0 and have also seen your links. Did you also buy yours there and how much did it cost in customs?

    Thank you for testing.
    Stephen

    1. I bought mine from Japanexposures.
      In Germany you pay an additional 19% tax + 6.7% customs.
      So final price will be whatever you pay for the lens times 1.257.

  19. Hi,
    First of all great work you all. I always go to this blog when I have to choose a lens either for myself or someone else.
    So the question is: Is there a way for me to subscribe to you, so I will get an email whenever a new article is posted?

    Thanks in advance.

  20. Thanks for your work, which is a great reference for lens decisions. I made an observation for which I am looking for a explanation. I am using quite a few Minolta MD lenses on my Sony A7 M I, among them the 35mm 1.8, the 135 2.8 or the 50,, 1.7.
    I acquired the A7iv recently and experience a steep decline in image quality compared to the original A7. Since you have been shooting with the older as well as with the newer A7 models, do you see the same issue? Do you have an idea why this is?

      1. Hi, thanks for getting back. I took a set of photos side by side of the same subjects and with the same lenses and settings with my A7 and the A7iv. The pictures from the A7iv are noticeably less sharp and outright blurred in the details, such as if there was a shutter shock problem on the A7iv (which is not the case, I took pictures with electronic shutter as well, with the same outcome). The problem seems less pronounced with telephoto lenses. I have a Tokina MD which goes up to 200mm, and the results are more comparable there between the two cams, I would say.
        I read somewhere that ‘more modern’ sensors be more optimized for their native electronic lenses than older sensors (like from A7 or A7ii), and I ask myself if this might be the case here. I’ll put the pictures in a dropbox post a link here later today.

  21. What a phenomenal website. Thank you so much all your work!

    I’m a beginner and really like the images I get from the Sony Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA Lens. I don’t know enough yet how to control conditions well to optimize getting a 3 D like image, but this lens seems to do it very easily. As I am building my kit, can you recommend or direct me to more information on lenses that have such an effortless ability to have a “3D pop” on the Sony a7 format?

    I have tried to do a lot of reading about micro-contrast, MTF charts, number of lens elements, and sensor stack thickness affecting this ability, but have gotten a little lost with choosing lens options.

    Thank you again for creating such a wonderful repository of incredibly thoughtful information.

    1. Most of the things you have read are probably bullshit.
      The number of lens elements is irrelevant as is sensor stack thickness.
      Who claims otherwise has as much knowledge about physics as a squirrel.
      In my opinion “3D Pop” is just a non-defined clickbait term.
      None of what I have written so far is helping you with your search though 🙂

      So if you like what the 55mm 1.8 ZA gives you, you might also like:
      Zeiss Loxia 21mm 2.8
      7Artisans 28mm 1.4
      Laowa 35mm 0.95
      Sigma 35mm 1.2 Art
      Voigtländer VM 75mm 1.5
      Sony FE 85mm 1.4 GM

  22. A quick question about Voigtländer lenses – would you expect to see any image quality differences between using VM mount adapted lens on a Sony A7 versus using a Voigtländer native E mount lens of similar focal length (e.g. Voigtländer VM 1.2/40 Nokton vs Voigtländer FE 1.2/40 Nokoton)?

    This is a wonderful site – I am very grateful for your efforts. I’ll be buying my future lens through your affiliate links as a small way to say thank you.

    1. It depends on the lens.
      With the ultra wide angle lenses (10mm 5.6, 12mm 5.6, 15mm 4.5, 21mm 3.5) there is hardly a difference.
      With the super fast lenses (35mm 1.2, 40mm 1.2, 50mm 1.2) as well as the highly corrected lenses (35mm 2.0 Apo-Lanthar, 50mm 2.0 Apo-Lanthar) they are quite significant.
      You can compare here how the 50mm 1.2E performs on a Sony camera to how the 50mm 1.2 VM does. Or how the 35mm 2.0 Apo-Lanthar E compares to the VM version. The situation will be similar for the 40mm 1.2.
      On top of that the bokeh will also be worse on the VM version when using it on a Sony camera.
      You can have a look here, see the M10 pictures as what you would get with the E-mount version.

  23. As a long time reader since the early days of this blog, I can’t help but notice that Bastian seems to be only one left here to actually publish articles and reviews on this site. Is the team still going strong?

  24. I have a Fuji camera converted to a 720nm infrared sensor. I need a manual focus zoom that doesn’t display the ‘hotspot’ that many lenses exhibit when shooting infrared. I like the Rokkor 35-70 3.5 macro (version 2 or 3). Do you know if this lens will work for infrared?

    Thanks for the great resource,
    Bob

  25. Which 50mm f/0.95 lens for APS-C Sony E is best?
    1. Meike
    2. 7Artisans
    3. TTArtisan
    4. (Something else?)
    ?

    Couldn’t find a comparison of the three. Artur R on YT shows that Meike is clearly better than TTArtisan, but that does leave 7Artisans out.
    There are some reviews but no test charts and I’m looking for sharpness in the center wide open mostly.

  26. this is a great site — my favorite source for lens reviews.

    I DO have a question. As an A7 shooter focused pretty completely on video, what should I look at in a lens?

    What does and doesn’t matter if video is the primary point of what you do?

    1. The problem is a bit, that none of us is shooting video professionally.
      That being said: if you use manual focus I would avoid AF lenses with non linear focus by wire implementation (Zeiss Batis, early Sony FE lenses, some Tamron lenses).
      You may also want to read about focus breathing. Only expensive professional lenses don’t have any issues with this, but some AF lenses have a bit of a jittery AF system (e.g. Sony FE 35mm 1.4 GM) which I would try to avoid.
      If you plan on using more than one lens for a shoot it might also be worthwhile to use lenses with similar color signature (e.g. lenses from only one manufacturer released in one era).

  27. I’m looking for a Lense or Lense adapter for a
    Canon Eos rebel t6 camera (EF Lense mount)
    for infrared effect, (cool night vision effect for night photos)

    thank you for your time

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sony α | Leica M | Nikon Z New article every week