Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Shipping Tomorrow

B&H will start to ship Canons new EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM by tomorrow! Click here to check price ($2,300), specs and to order the lens.

  • Large f/2.8 Aperture Through Zoom Range
  • UD Lenses Minimize Chromatic Aberrations
  • Reduced Spherical Aberrations
  • Highly Resistant to Dust and Water
  • 9-Blade Diaphragm For Beautiful Bokeh
  • Lens Coatings Minimizes Ghosting
  • Fluorine Coating Reduces Fingerprints
  • Zoom Lock Lever For Safe Transporting
Click here to open the rest of the article

[Review] Rebel T4i/EOS 650D Is A Great Entry Level DSLR

The Phoblographer just published its review of the Rebel T4i (named EOS 650D in Europe). The review is detailed and well-reasoned, as usual. You may be surprised to learn that the Auto-Focus on the T4i/650D can easily outperform the AF of the EOS 5D Mark II (well, in certain situation):

For a wide majority of shooting situations, the Canon T4i’s phase detection focusing is extremely quick; when not in Live View Mode […] My general way of using cameras no matter what the make or model is to manually select a single focusing point when shooting. However, when the user enables all focusing points to be used, you’ll end up having little to no problem in terms of both speed and accuracy. In fact, the Canon T4i’s focusing is better than my Canon 5D Mk II’s. Now don’t take this the wrong way; they are two totally different cameras. However, it is a testament to show just how far the technology has come: an entry level Rebel can outdo a 5D Mk II in terms of focusing. That’s pretty crazy when you think about it.

Many sample images at different ISO settings are provided (btw, the T4i/650D has a rather good high ISO performance). All in all a review that’s worth to be read. From the conclusion:

The Canon T4i is a wonderful entry level camera with loads and loads of lenses available to the system. The image quality is excellent, it is easy to use, and it has a rather decent video mode. The menus can be a bit complex, but overall there really is absolutely no real problem with this camera despite what seems to be modest upgrades from its predecessor.

Click here to open the rest of the article

[Photokina] Zeiss Announces New Apo Sonnar T* 2/135 Lens

Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos

More Photokina related news from Zeiss. The new Apo Sonnar T* 2/135 Lens will be presented at Photokina 2012. Available also for Canon mounts, the price will be around $2000/€1600.

Click here to see Zeiss lenses for Canon DSLRs on Amazon, and click here to see what's on offer on eBay US, and here for eBay Germany, and here for eBay UK, eBay IT, eBay Canada, eBay France

Apo Sonnar T* 2/135 technical data:

Focal length 135mm
Aperture range f/2 -22
Number of lens elements/groups 11/8
Focusing range 0.80m (2.62ft) – infinity
Angular field**
(diag./horiz./vert.)
18.7°/ 15.6°/ 10.5°
Coverage at close range** 145 x 96 mm (close-up)
Image ratio at close range 1 : 4 (close-up)
Filter thread M 77 x 0,75
Length with caps 128mm (ZF.2)
130mm (ZE)
Diameter 84mm
Weight 920g (ZF.2)
930g (ZE)

OBERKOCHEN/Germany, 07.09.2012.

Carl Zeiss is presenting the new Apo Sonnar T* 2/135 during photokina in Cologne – Carl Zeiss' longest medium telephoto lens in the range of high-quality SLR lenses. With the Apo Sonnar T* 2/135, the company is substantially extending the creative possibilities available in the medium tele range. Photographers and HD video cinemato- graphers now have a total of thirteen SLR lenses to choose, with focal lengths of 15 to 135 milli- meters. Carl Zeiss will exhibit at photokina in Cologne, the world’s leading trade fair for imaging technology, from September 18-23 at stand B011 in hall 2.1.

The Apo Sonnar T* 2/135 is the ideal lens for capturing detailed images from long distances, such as the skyline at sunset, a leopard in the zoo, or a pop star on a faraway stage. The new lens offers outstanding clarity of detail, high contrast and high resolution at any aperture. This mix of attributes makes it the perfect choice for portraits in advertising, fashion and lifestyle, as well as for landscape and reportage photography.

After putting the lens through its paces in New York, Magnum photographer Christopher Anderson was clearly impressed: “I am delighted with the performance of this new lens. It is rela- tively compact for a telephoto lens. Its image resolution and quality are outstanding, and there is a touch of magic in the way the light is refracted by the lens elements. I took some amazing photos, including some in poor light conditions.”

The Apo Sonnar T* 2/135 can capture subjects up to a scale of 1:4. It has been built based on Carl Zeiss's proven “floating elements” design. A special variable arrangement of the lens elements delivers excellent images over the entire focusing range, from 0.8 meters to infinity. The compact telephoto lens features eleven elements in eight groups. Because this lens is an apochromat, chromatic abberations (axial chromatic abbera- tions) are corrected with elements of special glass materials with anomalous partial disper- sion. The chromatic aberrations are therefore significantly below the defined limits. Bright-dark transitions in the image, and especially highlights, are reproduced almost completely free of color artifacts.

As with all other SLR lenses in the ZE and ZF.2 series, the Carl Zeiss T* anti-reflective coating as well as the sophisticated treatment of the ele- ments’ edges with a deep-black special lacquer make the Apo Sonnar T* 2/135 resistant to reflec- tions and stray light. Another advantage for the user is the large rotation angle of 268°, which enables ultra-precise focusing.

The Apo Sonnar T* 2/135 is equipped with an all-metal barrel, which enables long-lasting use with high-quality results. It will be available with F bayonet (ZF.2) and with EF bayonet (ZE)..

The lens will begin shipping in December 2012 at a recommended retail price of approximately €1.600 or US$2.000 (excluding VAT)*.

 

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Already In Stock

DigitalRev has the new EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM in stock (click here). Price depending by your check-out location.

  • Large f/2.8 Aperture Through Zoom Range
  • UD Lenses Minimize Chromatic Aberrations
  • Reduced Spherical Aberrations
  • Highly Resistant to Dust and Water
  • 9-Blade Diaphragm For Beautiful Bokeh
  • Lens Coatings Minimizes Ghosting
  • Fluorine Coating Reduces Fingerprints
  • Zoom Lock Lever For Safe Transporting
Click here to open the rest of the article

[Photokina] Zeiss Announced New Distagon 55mm f/1.4 Lens, And Will Make Lenses For Mirrorless Systems

First Photokina news rolling in. Zeiss (Click here) announced a new Distagon 55mm f/1.4 lens for full-frame cameras.

[…] a high-performance, full-format SLR camera lens with manual focus. With a focal length of 55 mm and aperture of f/1.4, this lens is the first model of a new product family designed for demanding users. Thanks to a newly developed optical design, this lens is superior to conventional full-frame lenses, and it achieves with powerful full-frame, full-format cameras an image performance that until now has only been seen with medium-format systems. The first prototype of this new range will celebrate its world debut at photokina. The family of lenses is expected to be on the market in the second half of 2013 for EF bayonet (ZE) […]

But the hot news is another. Zeiss announced its plans for the production of auto-focus lenses for mirrorless systems. And that is great!

Another highlight will be the presentation of a design study, with which Carl Zeiss will offer a sneak preview of a new family of autofocus lenses for mirrorless system cameras (CSC) that will most likely be available in mid-2013. Due to their performance and high speed, these new lenses will be ideal for deliberate photo composition, making them perfect for more sophisticated photographers as well. Carl Zeiss plans to initially offer fixed focal lengths in the wide angle and standard range as well as a macro.

There is no info about which systems will be supported. So let your speculations go wild. It would be great if Zeiss would make lenses for Canon’s EOS M system. Moreover, more high quality Zeiss lenses for Canon mounts are totally welcome. Click here to see Zeiss lenses for Canon on Amazon, and click here to see what’s on offer on eBay US, and here for eBay Germany, and here for eBay UK, eBay IT, eBay Canada, eBay France.

Carl Zeiss Announces Two New Cinema Lenses (CZ.2 28-80/T2.9 and CP.2 25/T2.1) For Full Frame Cameras

 

Two new Cinema Lenses by Zeiss. The CZ.2 28-80/T2.9 and CP.2 25/T2.1 lenses. Price should be $19.900 for the former and $4.500 for the latter.

OBERKOCHEN/Germany, 30.08.2012.
Carl Zeiss will display the new cine zoom lens Compact Zoom CZ.2 28-80/T2.9 at the IBC in Amsterdam, the leading international trade show for film, radio and television, from September 7 to 11, 2012 in hall 11 booth G64. The new Compact Zoom CZ.2 28-80/T2.9 by Carl Zeiss is a cine zoom lens ideally suited to a wide variety of shooting situations. It is easy to handle, compact and versatile. It takes pictures in 4K resolution — in full format. This is the second Compact Zoom CZ.2 lens from Carl Zeiss, complementing the Compact Zoom CZ.2 70-200/T2.9 presented in April at the NAB Show 2012 in Las Vegas for the longer focal length range. For color rendition, contrast and other parameters such as great flare suppression, calibrated focus scales, consistent aperture over the zoom range, round iris the new CZ.2 family is closely aligned to one another, making these lenses ideal for attaining a con- sistent optical performance when changing lenses.

With a length of 196 millimeters and weighing in at 2.5 kg (5.5lbs), the Compact Zoom CZ.2 28-80/T2.9 is sleek and lean. Thanks to the five different mounts (PL, EF, F, MFT and E), this new zoom lens from Carl Zeiss can be easily adapted to numerous camera systems both now and in the future, as well as on HDSLR cameras, HD video cameras and professional cine cameras.

“Thanks to the interchangeable mount and the 36 x 24mm image-circle illumination, the new Com- pact Zoom CZ.2 28-80/T2.9 is highly versatile and a future proof investment,” says Michael Schieh- len, Director of Sales of the Camera Lens Division of Carl Zeiss AG. “With focal lengths from 28 to 80mm and outstanding image performance, it offers professionals as well as ambitious cinema- tographers a lot of room to explore their creativity in many types of shooting situations. The Com- pact Zoom CZ.2 70-200/T2.9 has already proven that there is no comparable zoom family on the market with full frame coverage and interchangeable mount.”

With its slim build, the Compact Zoom family follows the current market trend towards smaller and lighter lenses that are perfect for handheld cameras, Steadicam systems, or for shooting in tight spaces. The Compact Zoom CZ.2 is espe- cially comfortable to use thanks to its ergonomi- cally designed and partly rubber-coated surface, which allows both precise manual focusing as well as mechanical focusing via follow-focus systems. The Carl Zeiss T* anti-reflective coating ensures maximum contrast and color rendition by minimizing stray light and ghosting within the lens. The Compact Zoom CZ.2 lenses delivers flare- free results and has no focus shift over the whole zoom range.

During the IBC, Carl Zeiss will display in a huge glass case all of its camera lenses that are currently available on the market — lenses that guarantee images of the highest quality, whether used on Hollywood movie cameras, HDSLR or HD video cameras.

The Compact Zoom CZ.2 28-80/T2.9 will be delivered in the second quarter of 2013. The recommended retail price is €14,900 or US$19,900 (excluding VAT)*.

Click here to open the rest of the article