Introduction Viltrox, a pioneer in autofocus lenses from China, has been on a roll lately, releasing new lenses for both full-frame and APS-C cameras. Their recent APS-C PRO series boasts impressive quality but with a larger size footprint. In stark contrast, their latest creation is this super-compact AF 56mm f/1.7. Let’s see how this tiny portrait lens performs! I tested this lens on a Fujifilm X-S10 with its 26 Mp APS-C sensor. Sample Images Fujifilm X-S10 | Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.7 | f/2Fujifilm X-S10 | Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.7 | f/1.7Fujifilm X-S10 | Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.7 | f/1.7Fujifilm X-S10 ..read more

Kodak Portra 800 There are already two articles covering Portra 800, but both times they have been developed in the ECN-2 process by Silbersalz35. What was missing was Portra 800 developed in the more common C-41 process, so here we go. Exposed as ISO640. Processing (C-41) and scanning was done at urbanfilmlab in Germany. Leica M6 | Voigtländer VM 21mm 1.4 | f/1.4 | Portra 800 C-41Leica M6 | Voigtländer VM 21mm 1.4 | f/1.4 | Portra 800 C-41Leica M6 | Hologon 16mm 8.0 | Portra 800 C-41Leica M6 | Hologon 16mm 8.0 | Portra 800 C-41Leica M6 | Hologon 16mm 8.0 | Portra 800 C-41 Also developed in C ..read more

Introduction Nikon Nikkor 55mm 1.2 Ai on Nikon FM2n The optical design of this Nikkor 55mm 1.2 dates back to 1965, which makes it Nikon’s first f/1.2 lens for the F-mount. Among Nikon’s three manual focus f/1.2 ~50mm lenses this is not exactly a fan favorite though and usually considered the worst of the bunch. Let’s try to find out in this review if that bad reputation is actually justified. Sample Images Sony A7III | Nikon Nikkor 55mm 1.2 Ai | f/1.2Sony A7III | Nikon Nikkor 55mm 1.2 Ai | f/1.2Sony A7III | Nikon Nikkor 55mm 1.2 Ai | f/1.2Sony A7III | Nikon Nikkor 55mm 1.2 Ai | f/1.2Sony A7III ..read more

Introduction Zhong Yi LensTurboII and Nikon AF 85mm 1.4D via Pixco Speedbooster on Sony A7rII Speedboosters are still somewhat popular among videographers, but since these days used fullframe cameras are very affordable, this is not really the case for still photographers anymore. They can be used for some creative shallow depth of field photography on fullframe cameras though, and that is what we will have a look at here. Sample Pictures Sony A7r | Zhong Yi LensTurbo II | Canon nFD 85mm 1.2L | ©Simeon KolevSony A7r | Zhong Yi LensTurbo II | Samyang 35mm 1.4 | ©Simeon KolevSony A7r | Zhong Yi ..read more

Introduction Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM on Sony A7rII After the first fullframe E-mount cameras hit the market there was a lot of marketing fluff from the competitors that the E-mount was too narrow for fast high performance lenses. I cannot help but think this Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM had mainly been designed to prove them wrong and from everything I can see it more than succeeded at that, but let’s have a closer look. Sample Images Sony A7III | Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM | f/1.2Sony A7III | Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM | f/1.2Sony A7III | Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM | f/1.2Sony A7III | Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM | f/1.2Sony A7III | S ..read more

Introduction Thypoch Simera 35mm 1.4 on Leica M10 Thypoch is a new manufacturer of photography lenses and entered the market at the end of 2023 with two M-mount lenses, the Simera 28mm 1.4 and 35mm 1.4. This is a review of the 35mm 1.4, so let’s have a closer look at what it is capable of. Sample Images Leica M10 | Thypoch Simera 35mm 1.4 | f/1.4Leica M10 | Thypoch Simera 35mm 1.4 | f/1.4Leica M10 | Thypoch Simera 35mm 1.4 | f/1.4Leica M10 | Thypoch Simera 35mm 1.4 | f/1.4Leica M10 | Thypoch Simera 35mm 1.4 | f/5.6 You can find most of the sample pictures in this article in full resolution her ..read more

Introduction Laowa CF 8-16mm f/3.5-5 C-Dreamer on a Nikon Z fc Laowa CF 8-16mm f/3.5-5.0 Zoom is an ultra-wide-angle zoom lens for APS-C mirrorless cameras with an impressive zoom range (equivalent to 12-24mm on fullframe sensors). It is a very compact lens and seems to fit nicely on smaller APS-C cameras. Its versatile focal length range makes it a good choice for landscape, architecture, and travel photography or whenever you want a dramatic perspective in your images. In times when it seems that all the major manufacturers (except Fujifilm) are neglecting the APS-C lens development and focu ..read more

Introduction 7Artisans 50mm 1.8 AF on Sony A7rII It was the beginning of 2019 when I published my first review of a 7Artisans lens, the 28mm 1.4 FE+ – an M-mount lens optimized for Sony E-mount. Now, 5 years later, this 7Artisans 50mm 1.8 AF is their first autofocus lens. Let us find out what it is capable of. Sample Images Sony A7III | 7Artisans 50mm 1.8 AF | f/1.8Sony A7III | 7Artisans 50mm 1.8 AF | f/1.8Sony A7III | 7Artisans 50mm 1.8 AF | f/1.8Sony A7III | 7Artisans 50mm 1.8 AF | f/1.8Sony A7III | 7Artisans 50mm 1.8 AF | f/1.8Sony A7III | 7Artisans 50mm 1.8 AF | f/1.8 Most of the sample im ..read more

Introduction Nikon AF 180mm 2.8 D on Nikon FM2n As you may or may not know there have been several different versions of the Nikon AF 180mm 2.8 over the years. Most notable was the addition of the “D” feature in 1994, allowing the lens to transmit distance information to the camera for more accurate usage of camera flash. As this lens was first released in 1986 some of the samples approach an age of 40 years. As with every product that old, there are some things to be aware of when you are looking to buy a used sample. One of our readers, Q. Xu, did a side-by-side teardown of both versions, so ..read more

Kodak Farbwelt 200 I found a few rolls of Kodak Farbwelt 200 that must have expired some 20 years ago and most likely they haven’t been properly stored at all. This first roll I exposed as ISO50 and I had absolutely no idea what to expect. The lab wasn’t happy and told me the film was massively expired and the scanner had a hard time scanning the negatives. Let’s see if some usable pictures came out of this. Processing (C-41) and scanning was done at urbanfilmlab in Germany. Minolta CLE | Voigtländer VM 40mm 1.4 | f/1.4 | Kodak Farbwelt 200Minolta CLE | Voigtländer VM 40mm 1.4 | f/1.4 | Kodak ..read more