Sigma 135mm f/1.8 DG ART review (best lens tested so far by photozone.de)

Sigma 135mm F1.8
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Sigma 135mm f/1.8 Art: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

At a glance:

  • EF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
  • Aperture Range: f/1.8 to f/16
  • Two FLD Elements, Two SLD Elements
  • Super Multi-Layer Coating
  • Hyper Sonic AF Motor, Manual Override
  • Rounded 9-Blade Diaphragm
  • TSC Material, Brass Bayonet Mount
  • Compatible with Sigma USB Dock

Lens testing authority photozone.de reviewed the Sigma 135mm f/1.8 DG ART, a new Sigma lens that gets a lot of positive feedback. The Sigma was tested on a Canon EOS 5Ds R.

In the conclusion the reviewer writes:

Those who have followed us [i.e. photozone.de, editors note] over the years know that we don’t easily come up with superlatives but this time it’s hard to avoid them really. The Sigma lens is the best lens that we have tested so far. The resolution figures are outlandishly good -plus low CAs, very low distortions and comparatively low vignetting. The quality of the bokeh is very close to perfection (for a conventional lens) except for the inevitable cat eye highlights in the image corners. If there is a real weakness it is bokeh fringing at large aperture settings. However, we’ve rarely seen lenses that can correct them and they were not as fast anyway.

The build quality is top notch and, honestly, we can’t really find any downsides here. The used materials are of great quality and weather-sealing helps in situations when the going gets tough. The AF is very fast and near silent. Read the full review…

Well, that’s a hell of a positive feedback for the Sigma 135mm f/1.8 DG ART. The Sigma sells for $1,399, which seems to be a fair price for a lens such as this. If you want to learn more about the Sigma 135mm f/1.8 Art lens have a look at the MTF figures, Imaging Resource’s review, Dustin Abbott’s review,

 

Canon EOS C200 specifications impress Philip Bloom (and more hands-on videos)

Eos C200
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Canon EOS C200 (Adorama | B&H Photo) at a glance:

  • Super 35mm CMOS Sensor
  • Dual Pixel CMOS AF Technology
  • Dual DIGIC DV 6 Processors
  • 4K DCI and UHD, 1920 x 1080
  • 59.94p, 50p, 29.97p, 25p, 24p, 23.98p
  • Canon RAW Light, MP4, MP4 Proxy
  • Integrated EVF, 2 x XLR Audio Inputs
  • Rotating 4″ LCD Monitor, Camera Grip
  • 1 x CFast Card, 2 x SD Card Slots
  • 1 x SDI Output, 1 x Ethernet Connector

Philip Bloom is rather impressed by the features and specifications of the new Canon EOS C200 Cinema camera (press release). With internal raw as it’s main recording format, the EOS C200 aims high in the cinematographer market.

He writes:

Raw […] video recording as its main recording format is really, yes I will say it again, bold and rather impressive. They are calling it “Cinema Raw Light” and it is a variable bitrate compressed raw, this is good, as uncompressed raw video is totally unmanageable in data size.

The Canon EOS C200 has Dual Pixel Auto-Focus on board. Philip Bloom writes:

Canon dual pixel AF is SO good it changes the way you shoot for certain things. Interviews and gimbal work especially. Whilst Sony have incredible features on their video cameras their AF needs to be drastically improved. The best AF Sony have for video are on their A6500 and A9 stills cameras, both of which have touch screen autofocus using phase detection. The fact the C200 has their amazing autofocus via touch screen isn’t surprising but it does mean this camera trumps its bigger brother, the C300 MKII, in this and internal raw. Read the article.

Nice to see that a professional cinematographer like Philip Bloom is impressed by the Canon EOS C200. It appears Canon isn’t doing anything wrong.

Below: Hands-on with the Canon EOS C200 and EOS C200 vs EOS C300 Mark II

Canon EF-S 35mm F2.8 IS STM Macro sample pictures (DPReview)

35mm F/2.8 Macro
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Canon EF-S 35mm F2.8 IS STM Macro: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

At a glance:

  • EF-S Mount Lens/APS-C Format
  • 56mm (35mm Equivalent)
  • Maximum Aperture: f/2.8
  • One Glass-Molded Aspherical Element
  • STM Stepping AF Motor
  • Hybrid IS Image Stabilization
  • Built-In Macro Lite LED
  • Maximum Magnification: 1:1
  • Minimum Focus Distance: 5.1″
  • Rounded Seven-Blade Diaphragm

DPReview posted a set of 68 sample photos shot with the new and affordable Canon EF-S 35mm F2.8 IS STM Macro lens, made for APS-C Canon DSLRs. The EF-S 35mm F2.8 IS STM Macro with built-in LED lights sells at $349 in the USA.

Sony a9 focus tracking not working when used with Canon lenses

Sony a9
Sony a9

Sony a9: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

At a glance:

  • 24.2MP Full-Frame Stacked CMOS Sensor
  • BIONZ X Image Processor & Front-End LSI
  • 693-Point AF System & 20 fps Shooting
  • Blackout-Free Quad-VGA 3.7m-Dot OLED EVF
  • Internal UHD 4K Video Recording
  • 5-Axis SteadyShot INSIDE Stabilization
  • 3.0″ 1.44m-Dot Tilting Touchscreen LCD
  • ISO 204,800, Silent Electronic Shutter
  • Built-In Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, Dual SD Slots
  • Integrated LAN and PC Sync Terminals

The Sony a9 is touted as the Jack of all Trades. Impressive specs, and a lot of hype coming from a devoted fan community.

However, all that glitters is not gold. The video below, shot with a Sony a9 using a $9000 Canon EF 500mm f/4 lens on a Sigma MC-11 adapter, isn’t so impressive after all. The Sony a9 is not able to track focus after the shutter has been fired. The Sony a9 just started shipping so we don’t know if this phenomenon is limited to adapted Canon lenses (guess it is).

If you are a professional photographer, stick with Canon and Nikon and stay safe with proven gear and great and reliable professional service. If you have money to waste for gadgets, get a Sony a9. The specs are truly impressive and once more show how much Sony is pushing technological innovation.

[Via Sony Alpha Rumors]

Sigma 135mm f/1.8 ART review (D. Abbott)

Sigma 135mm F/1.8
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Sigma 135mm f/1.8 Art: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

Sigma 135mm f/1.8 Art at a glance:

  • EF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
  • Aperture Range: f/1.8 to f/16
  • Two FLD Elements, Two SLD Elements
  • Super Multi-Layer Coating
  • Hyper Sonic AF Motor, Manual Override
  • Rounded 9-Blade Diaphragm
  • TSC Material, Brass Bayonet Mount
  • Compatible with Sigma USB Dock

The Sigma 135mm f/1.8 ART must be an amazing lens, at least according to what reviewers say. It’s clearly another great lens by Sigma.

Canada based photographer and reviewer Dustin Abbott published an exhaustive review of the Sigma 135mm f/1.8 ART lens.

From the conclusion:

While the Sigma 135mm f/1.8 ART may not win any awards for being Sigma’s sharpest, brightest, or cheapest lens, I do think that in many ways it is Sigma’s most complete prime lens. Unlike some of the ART series, I didn’t find it clinical but instead appreciated the quality rendering from the lens. It does tend to skew white balances a little cool, and it doesn’t deliver the most deeply saturated colors out of the box, but the images process well. I have seen several excellent 135mm lenses for Canon/Nikon mounts in the past two years, including the Samyang/Rokinon 135mm f/2 and the outstanding Zeiss Milvus 135mm f/2, but both of these options are manual focus only. The Sigma 135 ART is the first 135mm lens to bring the excellence of modern lens design coupled with useful autofocus.

You can watch the 18 minutes video below for the final review, or you can head over to Dustin Abbott’s site if you prefer reading the review, and checking the many sample pictures.

If you want to learn more about the Sigma 135mm f/1.8 Art lens have a look at the MTF figures and this review.

All that glitters is not gold: Sony A9 not ISO-invariant and sacrifices dynamic range for speed

Sony A9
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Sony a9 at a glance:

  • 24.2MP Full-Frame Stacked CMOS Sensor
  • BIONZ X Image Processor & Front-End LSI
  • 693-Point AF System & 20 fps Shooting
  • Blackout-Free Quad-VGA 3.7m-Dot OLED EVF
  • Internal UHD 4K Video Recording
  • 5-Axis SteadyShot INSIDE Stabilization
  • 3.0″ 1.44m-Dot Tilting Touchscreen LCD
  • ISO 204,800, Silent Electronic Shutter
  • Built-In Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, Dual SD Slots
  • Integrated LAN and PC Sync Terminals

There is no free lunch and anything comes at a price. This appears to be true especially for Sony gear, always hyped and most of the time only because of the specifications sheets.

DPReview wanted to know better. They put the Sony a9 on their test bench, and found some interesting things. So, how does the powerhouse a9 perform when it comes to ISO-invariance (what is it?) and dynamic range.

DPReview found out that the Sony a9 is not ISO-invariant, and that “the camera is adding a fair amount of read noise that results in noisy shadows, limiting dynamic range at base ISO“. They also found that the Sony A9 sensor “was likely optimized for speed at the expense of low ISO dynamic range“.

What does all this mean? According to DPReview “this limits the exposure latitude of a9 Raws, so you’ll have some limited ability to expose high contrast scenes for the highlights, then tonemap (raise) shadows in post“.

All that glitters is not gold. Read DPReview’s in-depth analysis.