All images © Roger Cicala/LensRentals and used with permission.
LensRentals’ Roger Cicala published pics and text of the latest teardown he performed in his lab. The Zeiss 85mm CP.2 T2.1 and the brand new Samyang/Rokinon Xeen 85mm T1.5, two Cine lenses, are the victims.
Jared Polin (alias Fro Knows Photo) posted his 10 minutes, real-world review of the new Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L lens, world’s widest rectilinear lens. While Jared’s style may not be everyone’s taste, his reviews are pretty useful. The EF 11-24mm f/4L got an EISA award as best “EUROPEAN PROFESSIONAL DSLR LENS 2015-2016”
The Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L is one of the widest full frame lenses you will ever see on the market. This lens clocks in at $3,000 but if you’re a full time professional this is a must have lens in your bag.
In this “Real World Review” of the Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L lens I took it for a spin out at Independence Mall here in Philadelphia. Independence Mall is where the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall are located. This area lends well to testing out camera gear and as many of you know, in my opinion the only way to truly test out gear is to use it in the “Real World”.
Sample raw files are made available for your pixel peeping pleasure. Follow this link to download.
Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Camera Labs felt the pulse of Canon’s Powershot G3 X, the company’s first compact camera with a big sensor (1″) and a big zoom (25x). The PowerShot G3 X sells for $999, and reviews aren’t all positive so far. The main winning point of the G3 X is the zoom range.
With a fixed lens model like the Canon G3X, the zoom range is all important and Canon is the clear winner here with a 25x optical zoom with an equivalent range of 25-600mm. The Lumix FZ1000 has a 16x / 25-400mm range, while Sony’s RX10 (Mark I and II) has an 8.3x / 24-200mm range. So the Canon G3X outguns them both, reaching three times longer than the Sony and half as far again as the Lumix. There’s one caveat here though and that’s where video is concerned. The Lumix FZ1000’s 4K UHD video mode takes a crop from the sensor which reduces the field of view, effectively zooming you in a little further. Fully zoomed in in 4K mode the field of view on the FZ1000 almost matches that of the G3X at its 600mm maximum telephoto in 1080p video modes. Head over to Camera Labs for the review.
The Canon Powershot G3 X is shipping at $999 in the USA: Adorama | B&H Photo | Amazon
PowerShot G3 X price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA.
Specs:
Wedding photographer and CW reader Chris Giles shared another review with us (after having felt the pulse of the EOS 5Ds R). This time Chris posted his impression and thoughts on Sigma’s new 24-35mm f/2 DG HSM “Art” lens, the world’s first zoom lens for full-frame DSLRs with a constant aperture. And a lens that sells at a very competitive price ($999).
I like Chris’ reviews because they are truly “real-world”. I am much more interested to know how a given camera or lens performs for a professional photographer than to know how it scores at purely engineering-oriented benchmarks. What makes this review even more interesting is that it was done using a Canon EOS 5Ds R, Canon’s new full-frame megapixel champion.
As we all expected, the Sigma 24-35mm f/2 DG HSM ART lens is another masterpiece by Sigma:
At f/2 this is a sexy lens, I am totally made up with the micro contrast, colour rendition and lens falloff I’m getting. Some of the Canon glass does suffer a little on the 50.6 mp sensor of the 5DSr. Even the 24-70mkii tends to get a kicking (albeit slight) at the outer edges of the frame but this isn’t so apparent on the Sigma 24-35 Art.
About the Canon EOS 5Ds R coupled with Sigma 24-35mm f/2 Chris says:
[the Sigma] just renders so beautifully and I love love love the colours. The Canon 5DSr has a beautiful way of representing colour but that sensor is also totally unforgiving to poor glass when you put an image under scrutiny.
Finally:
I’ve not been so impressed with a lens since the Canon 24-70 mkII and that statement alone says a lot. Even if Canon were to release something with a similar range I’d find it hard to justify the purchase because I can’t see how a lens can be better. Not right now anyway.
If you are on the fence for this lens, you’ll find a lot of helpful information. To some people the Sigma 24-35mm f/2 may look strange. It has a very reduced zoom range and might be better seen as a “bag of primes”. However, you may also say that the “bag of primes” paradigm doesn’t really work since you can get excellent primes that have f/1.4. Chris’ experience turned out to be different:
I didn’t think this lens would suit me. Yet, for medium to close combat scenarios (weddings are a battlefield, soldier), then absolutely this is a lens to use. Looking back I’ve found it hard to accept I was using it just as much as I did.
Chris made all sample pics he shot for his review available for download (64 files, 400MB, a donation is required), just scroll to the end of part 2 of the review. You’ll find many sample pics, shadow recovery examples, and more.
Sigma 24-35mm f/2 DG HSM ART is in stock in the USA at $999: Amazon
Sigma 24-35mm DG HSM ART price check for your country: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
In the last weeks I got a lot of emails, comments etc all telling me the Sony Alpha a7RII was about to annihilate Canon (and Nikon, for that matter). So I decided to have a look on this camera that seems to get people excited beyond reason (according to some emails and comments).
Famous Japanese director Yosh Enatsu posted footage shot with the Canon EOS C300 Mark II. Canon’s Dual Pixel CMOS Auto Focus technology and manual focus assist modes are used and well documented. The footage was shot in 4K 30p with Canon Log 2.
The interesting video for the pros is the “making of” below, where the use of Dual Pixel CMOS AF and manual focus assist modes in the footage is shown.
You may wonder why I stress Dual Pixel CMOS AF and manual focus assist so much. It’s common opinion among professionals that manual focus is the way to go, and that autofocus is the choice of amateurs. What Yosh Enatsu is showing us here, is that Canon’s Dual Pixel AF technology is a game changer for professional shooters. Dual Pixel AF is featured also on the Canon EOS 70D and EOS 7D Mark II.
Yosh Enatsu was the first director to post footage shot with Sony’s F55 three years ago.
Canon EOS C300 Mark II: B&H Photo | Adorama
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