Interview With Optical Engineer That Made the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 and 18-35mm f/1.8 Lenses

35mm Comparison

Sigma 35mm f1.4 DG
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Thanks Mark. lenstip published a long interview with the optical engineer that designed the outstanding Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM (price & specs) and Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM (price & specs) lenses. The interview comes with lots of b&w images that appear to represent Sigma’s laboratories. Some excerpts from the interview:

Q:What is more important today: intuition and experience or an access to new software and fast computers
A: We think that both are important. Although it is necessary to use machines perfectly, we cannot come up with creative ideas if we rely too much on technologies. Sometimes it is necessary to advance it with own judgment while considering about the purpose and results at all times.

[…]

Q:At what point do you start thinking about the usage of antireflection coatings? Does an optics specialist think of them already at the beginning of their work or do they just optimize the final product according to the elements used in the construction or their refraction coefficient?
A: We start thinking about the usage of antireflection coatings from the middle stage of the design.

[…]

Q:In the case of such a unique construction as the Sigma 18-35 mm f/1.8 which parameter was set as the first? The focal range? The aperture? Or perhaps the image quality was the main priority and you adjusted the rest of parameters accordingly?
A: The project had started with a lens incorporating a maximum aperture of F1.8 and 2x zoom-ratio lens with a focal length equivalent to 50mm in a 35mm format. After some speculation, we decided to produce the 18-35mm f/1.8 lens because it seemed to be able to achieve the highest performance with this spec.

 

Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM
B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

US: Adorama | B&H | DigitalRev
Germany: hifishop24

Sigma

Canon Deals of the Day: Refurbished EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, EOS 5D Mark III, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS, EOS 6D

Canon EF 24-105mm
Adorama on eBay (99.8% positive ratings) has refurbished Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lenses on sale for . Refurbished by Canon, 90 days warranty, free shipping. Compare at $699.

Top rated plus eBay seller getitdigital (>43000 ratings, 99.4% positive) has the Canon EOS 5D Mark III on sale for . USA model & warranty, free shipping. Compare at $3499. Same seller getitdigital has the Canon EO 6D for . Free shipping, USA model & warranty.

Great Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS deal: get the lens on Amazon for just $719.99 (click here), compare at $1149.

eBay seller Bigvalueinc (98.2% positive ratings) has the Canon EOS 6D on sale for . Free shipping.

eBay seller 6ave (99.5% positive ratings) has the EOS 6D for . The bonus items are: 2 replacement batteries, a compact charger, a case, and a pretty useless no-name 32GB memory card

Zeiss Close To Announce New High End Lenses (first lens is a 55mm f/1.4)

Zeiss

Zeiss (nowadays without the “Carl”) revealed plans for those lenses some time ago. The first lens they are going to release – in Autumn 2013 – is a 55mm f/1.4. The new lenses will embrace a new design philosophy that Zeiss exposed in an article titled From brand personality definition to prize-winning design. Prototypes were shown at Photokina 2012. They write:

The project had been discussed internally at ZEISS for a long time. The first concepts were already discussed in 2008, but it was not until 2010 that things became concrete. Back then it was clear to the experts at ZEISS that the image sensors in the new generations of cameras would make such a big leap forward that there would already be a need for corresponding high-performance lenses in the medium term. […]  ZEISS wanted to offer photographers a range of high-end SLR lenses that would enable them to use the full potential of such cameras. Such a combination would achieve performance values that would be comparable to those of medium-format systems.

“When the 1,4/55 comes onto the market at the end of 2013 as the first in this family of lenses, it will be one of the best lenses in the world,” summarizes [the project manager]. “There will be nothing of comparable quality, and that not only applies to this specific focal length range.  With this product ZEISS has truly opened up a new dimension of digital full-frame photography.”

More on Zeiss blog. For a selection of Zeiss lenses for Canon cameras see here.

Zeiss
[via ephotozine]

Canon EOS 70D Auto-Focus Tests (Viewfinder & Live View with various lenses)

YouTube user Daero Lee posted a series of videos that show how the Canon EOS 70D‘s auto-focus works (and performs). Most videos tackle the Dual Pixel CMOS AF, but there are also some that show a view through the viewfinder, and how the AF performs. More videos after the break.

Canon EOS 70D
B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

EOS 70D Auto-Focus

Click here to open the rest of the article

A Bit Of Everything

Various:

  • Macro Photography without Macro Lens – thecustomizewindows
  • Infograph: Photo Finished? The Rise of Smartphones Over Digital Cameras – bestchoicereviews
  • This Baby Was Crying Until It Realized That it Was Taking Selfies – The Phoblographer
  • On trying to understand Canon and Blackmagic’s strategy on cameras… – EOSHD
  • Useful Photography Tip #63: How to Deal with Back Lighting – The Phoblographer
  • Top Ten Photographs That Changed The World – Hungertv

Videos: