Hundreds of lenses are reviewed each year by our expert photographer reviewers. Find out about the different models being offered by the biggest brands and the best lenses for specific types of photography and focal distance needs.
Owning an 85mm prime lens allows for a wide range of applications. If you check out lenses owned by Canon users online, they most probably will have a few zooms, but when it comes to prime lenses the Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM is most likely included. This is because it works at an
It’s been a year since Nikon has expanded with the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4. This huge zoom is the first telephoto lens in the Nikkor collection with a built-in 1.4x teleconverter. Some might even consider it to be a dream lens. As one of the largest lenses perfect for outdoor and wildlife, expectations
Sigma is back with a top end lens, the Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG HSM Art lens. This wide-angle zoom aims to be an alternative to what Canon, Nikon, and Sony offer at this focal length. All three aforementioned lens makers have top-notch wide-angle lenses of their own, which means Sigma had to produce something special
The Sigma 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art is one of the best portrait lenses money can buy. At a weight of 3.6 pounds, the lens boasts a huge front element which may draw stares, even from professional photographers, but you won’t find the impressive sharpness and smooth bokeh that it provides elsewhere. The 105mm f/1.4
Key Features Zoom lens with vast zooming range. Has a solid build using metal and hard elements alloys. Provides beautiful image stabilization for movement and static shots, and thus can be taken handheld. The lens provides beautiful results with the short distance setting. Overview The Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM is a zoom lens
Nikon’s Z-series is no stranger to the lens market. Prior to the Nikon NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S release, the series had the Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S and the Z 58mm f/0.95 Noct. As for the f-stops on the other two lenses, the 14-30mm’s f-stop does not compare, but with Nikon everything has its purpose.
The Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S is a pro-grade and constant aperture zoom lens introduced for the Z-system mirrorless cameras of the company. This lens looks like a must-have for Nikon Z6 or Z7 users. The NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S lens is already available for Z-system, but this newly launched optic has some
Irix has been bringing out some tasty lenses recently, with both good optics and functionality. Now they are adding to the lineup with the Irix 150mm f/2.8 Macro Dragonfly which can double up as a regular lens with macro mode. 150mm is quite long for macro purposes, but the macro functionality has 1:1 magnification, which
This absolute beast of a lens is the update to Tamron’s existing 150-600mm lens, which should satisfy any type of sports or wildlife photographer who has telephoto lens envy. The latest version should definitely stand out in a crowd, even if its only due to its sheer size. But the main criteria here is if
There’s nothing like a lens that can double up and do two things. In this case, it’s the reworked Nikon AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED which is quite happy being an all-around prime lens and micro in one bundle. It’s not a new design, but there’s plenty of quality here to keep up with
Irix may not be the most obvious make of camera lens, but they are designed by Switzerland-based TH Swiss and put together in Korea to keep costs down. Boasting great optics, the lens comes in two varieties of the ‘Firefly’ and ‘Blackstone’ with basically different outer shells at different price points. Design To start with,
Sony has been producing some top quality lenses of late and it seems they have now added to the list the Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS. This piece of glass is set out to double up as a 90mm macro and portrait lens, with a very usable focal length for both purposes. Strapping
The Samyang XP 10mm f/3.5 was released earlier this year and boasted to be the world’s widest rectilinear prime lens for full-frame which is distortion free. The Photography Show 2019 gave everyone a chance to try out this new lens and to see if the reality lived up to the hype. Design Samyang has been
The Tokina opera 50mm f/1.4 FF was first shown at the Photokina 2018 as part of their top-notch opera series of lenses. Above the AT-X lens and aiming squarely at the top offerings from Sigma and Tamron, the 50mm lens market has a lot of competition, even at f/1.4, so this will be interesting to
The enhancement of smartphone photography has taken a giant leap as many companies are creating these phones with more than one lens. This allows users to take impeccable photos without the need of having some sort of professional camera. But another alternative to enhancing your photography is external lenses for smartphones. Over the past years,
The 70-200mm is a popular focal range among photographers and with Sony allowing other glass to be fitted to their cameras via an adapter, they definitely have hot competition on their heels. However, there is nothing like having the same brand lens fitted to your camera, which means Sony camera owners are going to be
Let’s face it, huge zoom lenses are fun to use. Having the equivalent of a telescope strapped to your camera is all very well, but the bigger the focal length range, the more drawbacks in optical quality. That’s doesn’t mean big focal ranges can’t be useful in the right context. So, in steps the Sigma
The Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro has a lot going for it. It isn’t just the first Sigma macro lens to feature Optical Stabilization but also works great as a portrait lens as well as having 1:1 macro abilities. It’s also not the most expensive in the Sigma line up, which means
With the enhancement of cameras on smartphones, add-on lenses have been commonly used. The main issue with these smartphone camera lenses is the optical quality that usually is not the best since many lenses are inexpensive. On the other end, there are smartphone lenses that produce incredible image quality but comes with difficult attachment mechanisms.
The Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 Di MACRO 1:1 VC USD has to been given the added reference number of ‘F017’ simply because it’s got the exact name as the previous model. The other word that is significant is ‘Macro’ as the lens has a true 1:1 ratio or 1x maximum magnification, which means subjects can
The Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM is no new lens to the market, having made its debut in the middle of 2009. Despite its age, photographers still enjoy using this lens. It has a convenient and practical focal length while still remaining quite light. You also can’t forget about the incredible image quality.
When the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art lens was released in 2013, it stirred up the photography world. It became the first full-frame prime lens that was a part of Sigma’s Global Vision Art series. The lens itself gave its competitors a run for their money mainly for its price point but also its
If you have never seen one of these pancake lens designs before, you’d be forgiven for thinking it is an adapter rather than a prime lens. At only 22mm thick, the Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM features the first ‘STM’ type motor from Canon, which has the advantage of being both smooth and quiet, which
As a third-party company, Sigma has made its mark within the photography industry. It has gained much recognition for the prime lenses that are commonly used. But Sigma is slowly stepping out of their comfort zone and starting to release a collection of zoom lenses as well. One of the first zoom lenses they releases
The Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art lens was highly anticipated and with some of the first encounters with the lens, feedback has read that it is one of the sharpest 85mm lenses around. Some reports have said that it is comparable to the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM and even one of the best
The Tamron SP 85mm f/1.8 Di VC USD is a high-end lens, part of Tamron’s Super Performance range, aimed at the serious photographer or professional. The lens bucks the trend in the 85mm prime market being f/1.8 rather than f/1.4, but it does have the advantage of image stabilization. As a top-end lens, it does
The Nikon AF NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4D is one of those lenses that has stuck around for a reason. It’s a fast standard focal length prime lens, which was first released in 1995 and can still deliver the goods. Accurate images with great resolution, a very usable f/1.4 aperture and is happy to produce accurate images
The Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS is one of the go-to lenses for medium telephoto focal lengths, with a huge range of applications. The second iteration of the lens came in 2010 as the IS II which brought updates to all areas such as optics, image stabilization and design. Although the lens now has a
Many DSLR users first experience with a prime lens is with a 50mm of some variation. In the Canon world, the 50mm f/1.4 lens can be charted back to 1971 with the FD 50mm f/1.4, with many people having used or owned a entry-level 50mm f/1.8 at one time or another or want for the
Let’s get to the point, the reason for buying into an out of the ordinary lens is because it can do things other lenses can’t. This is the case with the Lomogon 2.5/32 Art Lens. In both looks and functionality this lens is very distinct and can produce beautiful things like perfectly round bokeh. There
