Press Releases agree: Fujifilm's new fast wide-angle will go for 999,95$ USD. It will be compared to lenses that cover larger image circles with the same apertures. Equivalists and optic-speed-or-deathist will argue till blue in the face.
Read moreLeica 50mm APO-Summicron-M ASPH
And speaking of Summicrons, Thorsten Overgaard has a wonderful (and long) interview with Leica lens designer, Peter Karbe, that is well worth the read.
Thorsten Overgaard: Leica 50mm APO-Summicron-M ASPH f/2.0
last Sakura of the season: 90mm Summicron + 50mm Summicron
I always miss sakura season. But this year, my wife and I spent two meals under the cherry blossoms, once with knäckebrot and cheese and wine, once with Japanese fried chicken and rice noodles and beer.
Read moreAm I wrong in thinking I could get MORE subject separation with 23 vs 35?
DPReview member oracle82 writes:
And the award for most confusing answer goes to Christof21 who supplied the link to a website called How Much Blur, which compares the theoretical percentage of blur captured by both lenses at similar distances.
But the question specifically addressed the separation of subject and background at different camera to subject distances. In other words, supplying a link, no matter how erudite it may seem, isn't enough. Relevance is key.
The best response from the same thread attempts to answer the question asked, which distilled simply is this:
I like to shoot [people or other objects] at wider angles. Because of this I have to move farther from my subject when using the 35mm 1,4, which reduces the amount of separation between the subject and the background. Which lens, the 23mm 1,4 or the 35mm 1,4, would return more separation between the subject and the background?
The answer lies in the oracle82's own question: Of course, then I start to lose some of the blurred background because my subject ends up being further away from me.
Any answer concerned with the amount to which a background is blurred and not the degree to which the subject and the background are delineated one from another, is pointless. And so becomes the 35mm's f/1,4 aperture when the subject is moved closer to the background in order to capture a wider view.
The answer is: no, you are not.
The 23mm 1,4 lens will more keenly separate the background from the subject.
Here is the thread: Am I wrong in thinking I could get MORE subject separation with 23 vs 35?
Radioactive Konica Hexanon 57 f/1,2
Some of us are into sharpness. Some of us are into OOF rendering. Some of us are into bokeh. Others, are into radiation.
The 50mm Leica Summicron V3
Update: I have written more about this lens here: Nagano, Japan: through the Summicron 50.
Formerly I owned the V4 and V5 50mm Summicrons. Both lenses were slightly sharper than the V3 and better built. But both also showed harsher OOF highlights, which grinned my gears. Despite being more compact, the V3 similar focus ergonomics to the V5, but it is light like the V4.
For some reason it is less popular than the V4. My wallet is glad.
Being an older lens, I didn't expect so much contrast and quick falloffs to black, but the V3 surprises. It is also extremely quick to focus. I am able to focus it almost as quickly as I can the 50/2 Nikon Ai lens on a large-viewfinder SLR camera. I suspect the slight delays inherent in focusing the M240 and V3 Summicron and the D800 or FM and 50/2 Ai are down to my prescription.
I must upgrade that.
Tongue twister Schneider Kreuznach
For the past half year, I've been using a single lens for about 99% of my work. That lens is 100mm and has an f-stop of f/5,6. It's from the tongue-twisting company in this video.
Thanks Thomas Tsai Photography.
Speedy 35s from Fujifilm, Canon, and Leica Part 1: Sharpness and DOF
Despite looking dead-sexy on a Leica M240, the 35mm f/1,5 LTM Canon, aka "Japanese Summilux" isn't the Canon I fell in love with. I fell in love with the 35mm f/2 LTM Canon, aka "Japanese Summicron", about which I wrote this ohmage.
Read moreReach: APS-C's biggest advantage over FF
APS-C’s biggest advantage over FF isn’t size. It is reach. An APS-C camea cocked into a 200mm lens frames subjects similar to a FF sensor cocked into a 300mm lens, but it can focus in closer to a subject. Similarly, an APS-C sensor cocked into a 35mm frames subjects similar to a FF sensor cocked into a ~50mm lens, and it nearly halves the minimum focus distance.
Read moreMeyer Optik Nocturnus 35mm f/0,95
Another day, another super-speed lens promised for X-mount. This time, however, that lens comes assembled in the fatherland. Thanks to X-mount's APS-C sensor, this hulk of a lens (680g) will achieve the field of view and depth-of-focus similar to that of a FF ~50mm f/1,4 lens on a FF camera.
Small sensor cameras can be small. Equivalent lenses never are.
More information: Nocturnus F 0,95 35mm
This news comes via Fujirumors