To  photograph a full moon (or any moon) successfully, you first have to understand it. Although astrophotographers specializing in the moon usually photograph it through a powerful telescope, a telephoto lens of almost any focal length is good enough to get a good shot. Making the moon the sole focus of a shot, however, is only one way to approach lunar photography; another is for it to enhance a landscape photo, where it can provide a powerful addition to a wide-angle image.

While it can help, the fact that you don’t need any specialist equipment to photograph the moon makes it one of the most accessible celestial subjects out there. It’s a great starting point for those interested in astrophotography, whether you’ve only got a kit lens or even just a camera phone.

All full moons are given names, which often differ depending on the region or culture. Tonight’s full moon is most commonly referred to as the Full Strawberry Moon. According to Almanac, which cites The Old Farmer’s Almanac, full moon names can have Native American, Colonial American and European roots. And while Strawberry Moon might conjure images of a fiery red orb, its Native American origins link it to strawberries harvested in June.

According to NASA’s SKYCAL, the Full Strawberry Moon will peak tonight on June 29 19:57 EDT and 23:57 GMT. Because it’s the closest full moon to the summer solstice, it will hang lower in the sky than any other moon this year.

Equipment for shooting the Moon

The equipment you’ll need is the same as for wildlife or sports photography: a DSLR, mirrorless or bridge camera on a sturdy tripod, and either a wide-angle or any regular telephoto lens, such as one with a 70-300mm focal range. A remote shutter-release cable will also be useful so you don't introduce vibrations, although you can also use the timer in your camera.

Check out this article, if you want to know how to photograph the moon with a monster Nikon P1000 bridge camera. And if you're interested in picking up essentially the same camera with a few modern appointments, the Nikon P1100 has recently been launched.

The Moon is a moving target; the combination of the Moon's 2,288 miles-per-hour orbit and Earth's 1,000 miles-per-hour rotation makes our satellite a fast-moving target. However, it's usually bright enough for a relatively fast shutter speed to yield good results.

How to focus on the Moon

Although you can autofocus on the Moon as it rises, or as it becomes visible just before sunset, it's a good idea to focus manually. With your lens set to manual focus, set the the focusing ring to infinity. It takes some practice since most cameras can focus beyond infinity, and finding the exact point that works for your lens takes trial and error.

Take some test shots and zoom in on the result on your camera's LCD screen to see which one works best. Don't skip this step; only once you've done it correctly will your Moon photos be reliably sharp.

How to expose for the Moon

It's a common mistake to overexpose the moon but it's actually much brighter than you think. However, if you want to photograph the foreground and not just the moon by itself you will need to make sure your exposure works for both or use bracketing to take multiple shots with different exposures.

To get a great Moon shot and little else, set your camera to ISO 100 or ISO 200 and the aperture to between f/5.6 and f/11, and adjust your shutter speed to between 1/125sec and 1/250sec. The exact settings will vary depending on your camera and the brightness of the Moon, which depends on its exact phase, but these base settings will get you started.

Taking a landscape photograph that includes the Moon is more difficult because during that 'blue hour' after sunset the Moon is already too bright. So, if you take a longer exposure for the landscape, you'll overexpose the Moon, and if you expose for the Moon, the landscape with be under-exposed. So what do you do?

The answer is either to photograph the Moon just before sunset when the light levels are higher (they drop-off so quickly at the point of sunset), or to take two exposures and combine them in photo-editing software. The latter approach, however, often looks fake. Another way is to expose for the Moon, and use a flash to light the foreground.

When to photograph the Moon

The full moon is probably the lunar event that most beginner astrophotographers will want to photograph first - but it is actually one of the most difficult due to the glare that this creates. Some of the most impressive shots of the full moon are those where it is seen behind a building or a natural structure – which makes the moon look much larger than it does to the naked eye.

If you want less of a cliche, go for other phases of the Moon when you can see a line between the light and dark sides. This is called the terminator line, which is when the craters on the Moon throw shadows, particularly near its South Pole. You can see this most nights, but perhaps the most precious kind of Moon is visible only on the few days on either side of New Moon. At this time, you'll also see a waxing or waning Crescent Moon close to the horizon, and it comes with the bonus of Earthshine.

How to capture Earthshine on the Moon

Although 50% of the Moon is constantly being illuminated by the Sun, there are a few days each month when the Earth gets involved – and it's a beautiful event to capture.

Earthshine is a dull glow to the unlit area of the Moon that's the result of sunlight reflecting off Earth's surface and onto the lunar surface. Its subtle and mesmerizing, and easy to capture if you time it right.

Set up for the first (or, more likely, the second) sunset after a New Moon. Using a lens with as long a focal length as possible, and with your camera on a tripod, dial in a sensitivity of ISO400, an aperture of f/2.8 (or as wide as your lens aperture will go), and open the shutter for between one and four seconds.

See our guide to photographing earthshine

In fact, Earthshine is always being reflected onto the Moon to some extent, but it's only around the New Moon that the crescent of sunlight is small enough for the camera to expose for both the lit and unlit areas.

This is also a good time to combine Moon photography with night-sky photography because the Moon will set soon after you've photographed it. You can then go looking for stars and the Milky Way.

How to capture a moonrise or moonset

There are two exceptions to the advice to avoid photographing the Full Moon.

The first is when there's a total lunar eclipse, and the second is when a Full Moon rises or sets, as it's a great alternative to a sunset. The sight of a Full Moon peeking above the horizon and turning from deep orange to pale yellow to bright white during twilight is a spectacular sight. It also presents an opportunity to get the Moon in the context of a beautiful landscape.

The colourful spectacle lasts mere minutes and is easy to miss, but, like everything else in the night sky, a rising Full Moon is predictable down to the second. Simply find out exactly on what day the next Full Moon is going to be where you are, and exactly what time sunset is on that date, then look to the east for the moonrise. Start-off with your camera set to ISO100, f/10 and 1/125 sec.

If you've ever seen photos of someone or something silhouetted against a seemingly giant Moon, perhaps while standing on top of a hill, they were taken during a moonrise. They were also ruthlessly planned; The Photographer's Ephemeris and PhotoPills apps are ideal for this kind of project.

To make the Moon look so large in the background, photographers need to use superzoom telephoto lenses of at least 1,000mm while being positioned a mile or so away from the all-important foreground subject that introduces that sense of scale.

Composites, moon-stacks and super moons

It's possible to shoot the Moon and add it to another landscape shot using Photoshop. However, almost everyone who attempts this either makes the Moon look way too big, or they place it somewhere in the night sky that it doesn't occur (such as in the norther hemisphere's northern sky).

To anyone with a trained eye, most composites look like what they are: fakes. There is one exception; moonstacks, a lunar time-lapse, in which you take several photos of the moon as it moves through the sky, and then use Photoshop to composite them into a single image.

Read more: How to create a moonstack

Although it often grabs the attention of photographers and media alike, pay little attention to the term 'supermoon'. A recent term that merely means that the Moon is slightly closer to Earth than normal, it has little practical meaning or use. However, while a Super Full Moon does look larger as it rises above the horizon, it's only by about 10%-15%, so it's barely noticeable to eye or camera.

The very finest way of getting a close-up shot of the Moon – and the only way to get enough magnification for it to fill the entire frame – is to mount the body of a camera on a telescope using a cheap T-adaptor; it's like having a very large telephoto lens. Try to find a telescope with a focal length of over 1,000mm, but under 2,000mm to capture the whole of the moon.

Whatever kind of Moon-shot you try for, photographing our satellite provides a good lesson in the role of precision timing in composing unique landscape and nature images.

You might also like...

If you enjoy photographing the full moon and want to take your astrophotography to the next level, take a look at the best camera for astrophotography. You may also wish to upgrade your optics via the best lenses for astrophotography. And if you want to take your astrophotography even further (literally!) for some deep-space imaging, then head over to the best telescopes for astrophotography.

Meike has announced a new accessibly-priced prime lens for full-frame Sony E-mount, Nikon Z-mount, and L-mount cameras. The Meike 35mm F2.0 has an optical stack comprised of 11 elements in 9 groups, a minimum focus distance of 0.45m, and can be fitted with 58mm filters.

Read more:
The best Sony lenses
The best Nikon Z lenses
The best L-mount lenses

The 35mm focal length equates to a 64-degree diagonal angle of view on a full-frame camera, and 44.2 degrees when fitted to an APS-C body. The lens has a diameter of 73mm and is 90-93mm long, depending on mount option, and it's also reasonably light weight at 298g for the E-mount version.

But the standout feature of the Meike 35mm F2.0 is that, despite its low $199.99 price tag, the lens features autofocus, courtesy of a stepping motor system. Traditionally, cheap primes like this have been 'dumb' lenses, with no electronic communication between the lens and host body and were therefore manual focus-only. But with the 35mm F2.0, Meike is following some recent Viltrox and 7Artisans prime lenses by producing a fully-featured optic that should operate much closer to an equivalent lens from the likes of Sony, Nikon or Sigma.

The Meike 35mm F2.0 is available now, priced at $199.99 / £149.99 / AU $289

Choosing the right focal length is a crucial part of the creative decision making process for a photographer. You can have the best camera for beginners, but if you don't truly understand focal length, you'll struggle to pick the right lens for the right situation.

Focal length is used to determine your lens's angle of view, which is what you see when you look through your camera's viewfinder. The angle of view is measured from the point where rays of light converge within a lens (the point of convergence) to the camera's sensor (or film) and is calculated while the focus is set to infinity. 

You will also come across the terms field of view and angular field of view. Technically, angle of view, field of view, and angular field of view are different. But the differences are minimal – not to mention disputed – so I'm going to simplify things by referring to angle of view, exclusively.

Lenses with fixed focal lengths are known as prime lenses and lenses with varying focal lengths are zoom lenses. Understanding the angle of view is crucial when identifying, say, the best lenses for bird photography and is something that seasoned photographers do instinctively. 

In short, the smaller the focal length, the wider the angle of view and the more 'wide-angle' the lens. The larger the focal length, the narrower the field of view and the more 'telephoto' the lens. Focal lengths are often split into six categories. Below, you'll find a breakdown of each category and the genres of photography they’re often associated with. 

It's worth noting that these parameters can shift slightly, depending on where you look or who you ask. We'd suggest viewing them as guidelines that will help you get used to choosing the right focal length for the job. Ultimately, the best focal length will always be the one that helps convey your creative vision. 

Understanding crop factor

I will be referring to focal lengths in 35mm (or full-frame) terms. If you're using an APS-C or Micro Four Thirds camera, you will have to work out the 35mm-equivalent focal length of your desired lens to find the category that it occupies.

Because APS-C and Micro Four Thirds sensors are smaller than full-frame sensors, they have a crop factor, which you can use to find out the 35mm-equivalent focal length. To find this out, multiply your lens's focal length by 1.5 if you're using an APS-C Nikon, Fujifilm or Sony camera, 1.6 if it's an APS-C Canon camera, and 2.0 if it's a Micro Four Thirds camera.  

So, a 50mm lens on a Nikon DX body has a comparable angle of view to a 75mm lens on an FX body, because 50 x 1.5 = 75. 

• Photography cheat sheet: Focal lengths explained

1. Ultra wide angle  

Focal lengths below 24mm are referred to as ultra-wide-angle. Such focal lengths provide extremely wide angles of view and are often used to cram huge pieces of architecture or sprawling landscapes into the frame. Fisheye lenses use ultra-wide-angle focal lengths too, but feature even wider angles of view due to their specialist construction. 

The best lenses for astrophotography are often ultra-wide angle, due to astrophotographers requiring a wide enough field of view to capture the panoramic night sky. 

2. Wide angle 

Wide-angle focal lengths offer wide angles of view that aren't as extreme as their ultra-wide counterparts. The wide-angle ballpark sits between 24 and 35mm, and is used to capture landscapes and architecture. Wide-angle lenses suffer from barrel distortion and are therefore not used for conventional portraits. 

The best lenses for landscapes are typically wide angle, allowing landscape photographers to capture sprawling vistas with more manageable barrel distortion than ultra-wide-angle lenses, which can diminish subjects by making them appear smaller within the scene. 

3. Standard 

Standard focal lengths range from 35 to 70mm and are generally considered the most versatile focal lengths. The 'nifty fifty' (or 50mm prime) is a perfect example of a standard focal length that's used to shoot a wide range of subjects, as it's close to human vision, making it popular for casual, street and documentary photography.

The best lenses for street photography tend to be standard lenses, providing an authentic angle of view, which complements the subject matter. 

4. Short telephoto 

Focal lengths of 70 to 300mm are sometimes referred to as telephoto, but that doesn't tell the whole story. It's worth recognizing the short (or medium) telephoto category, which generally goes up to 135mm, as it's particularly suitable for portraits and close-up photography. 

The best macro lenses are usually short telephoto focal lengths – particularly useful when working with skittish subjects who might spook if you get too close.

5. Telephoto

With short telephoto lenses ranging from 70 to 135mm, anything beyond this (up to 300mm) is simply telephoto. Such focal lengths provide increasingly narrow angles of view and a decent amount of reach. They're therefore commonly used by sports and wildlife photographers. 

The best lens for sports photography will almost always be a telephoto or super-telephoto optic (the latter is up next).  

6. Super telephoto 

Go beyond 300mm and you're into super-telephoto territory. These focal lengths feature the narrowest angles of view and furthest reach. Super-faraway subjects are the order of the day, making them ideal for wildlife, aviation events and picking out individual sportspersons from the sidelines. 

The best telephoto lenses are often super-telephoto examples. Perfect for getting you close to the action, from a faraway vantage point. 

You may also be interested in the best Nikon lenses, the best Canon lenses and the best Sony lenses.

We've seen no shortage of inexpensive manual focus primes being launched out of China in the last couple of years – but TTartisan's 75mm f/1.5 promises something different. Yes, that 75mm is a nice focal length for portraits, and yes, that f/1.5 aperture is pretty fast for bright images in low light, but what really sets this lens apart is its 'swirly' bokeh, when shooting at wider apertures.

Bokeh is the term for out-of-focus highlights and usually forms rounded circular blobs that mirror the shape of the lens aperture. But the 13-bladed aperture design of the TTartisan 75mm f/1.5 renders bokeh with an attractive swirl shape, which lends a creative twist to portraits.

This soft, swirly bokeh effect adds a unique artistic look and feel to images that helps the subject really stand out, giving the impression of the background rotating around it. It comes into its own in backlit scenes, with softly diffused light and smoothly blended shadows creating a layering of light and shadow that evokes the classic charm of vintage lenses. In fact, the lens design and Petzval bokeh both look eerily similar to the old Russian Helios 42 lens that filmmakers used to artistically film scenes in the movie Dune 2.

Ideal for portraiture, the f/1.5 large aperture captures clear images even in low light while achieving a shallow depth of field, making subjects stand out even further and creating a unique visual effect.

It's a full-frame lens, and TTartisan says there's no sign of vignetting on cameras that use a full-frame or smaller sensor, such as the APS-C format. On medium format cameras, there's a darkening of the image towards the edges, but this could be said to add to the artistic quality.

Combining classic design with modern optical technology, the lens retains the charm of traditional manual lenses while offering superb image quality. It has an all-metal construction, and inside there are six elements arranged in four groups. The closest focus distance is 0.75m, and the lens offers a 32º angle of view. It has a 58mm thread for the fitment of filters, and it weighs in "at around 562-669g" – TTartisan wasn't specific on this!

As you'd expect with a completely manual lens, there's no communication with the host camera. As such, the aperture is set via a ring towards the front of the lens barrel, which is clicked to minimize the danger of accidentally nudging it away from your intended choice.

The lens has a universal M42 screw-mount design, offering wide compatibility with the vast majority of camera bodies; you simply need to get the correct adaptor for your camera. TTartisan lists a wide number of compatible camera models that the lens works with via an adaptor, that use Sony E-mount, Nikon Z-mount, Canon RF-, EOS M- and EF-mounts, Fuji GFX- and X-mounts, Hasselblad XCD-mount, and the L-mount used by Panasonic, Leica and Sigma.

One notable exception, however, is that the lens is not compatible with the Nikon F-mount, even when an adaptor is used, so it will not work with any of Nikon's DSLRs or traditional film SLRs.

You may also be interested in our guides to the best retro cameras

Viltrox will shortly launch an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for a tiny new pancake lens for full-frame Sony E-mount cameras. Called the AF 28mm F4.5 FE, the lens could well become the smallest lens available for Sony shooters, and is nicknamed 'Chip' on account of its potato chip-/crisp-like slimness.

Measuring a mere 15mm long and 60mm in diameter, the lens is barely thicker than a camera body cap and weighs just 60g. It closely resembles the design of Olympus's Fisheye Body Cap 9mm f/8 lens, although the two lenses have a very different focal length.

Naturally, Viltrox had to make some compromises to create such a slim lens. The primary sacrifice being there's no diaphragm, so the aperture is fixed at f/4.5. Another unusual omission is that the lens lacks a manual focus ring, largely because it's so slim there isn't really room for one. Thankfully Viltrox has managed to find space inside the barrel for a VCM coil autofocus motor, so despite the tiny dimensions, focussing is a breeze. Another nice touch is the integrated lens shutter 'cap', which can be flicked open or shut using a small lever on the front of the lens.

You'd expect that a lens this small and simple would be inexpensive to buy, and you'd be right. The Viltrox AF 28mm F4.5 FE is priced at $99, with early campaign backers said to receive a 30% discount.

If you'd like to see how the lens performs before you pledge your backing, we've just published our full Viltrox AF 28mm F4.5 FE review - we found it really fun to use!

Last year, Phase One introduced the XC, a 150MP medium-format camera featuring a built-in Rodenstock 23mm f/5.6 lens. Now the Danish camera company has launched a new version of the camera, the XC 40, that comes equipped with a longer lens to offer a more versatile option for photographers.

The original Phase One XC received critiques regarding the ultra-wide 23mm lens, which provides a 14mm full-frame equivalent focal length. While this wide-angle view was useful, it isn't the ideal choice for many landscape or travel photographers as it can be too wide for most standard compositions. 

The new Phase One XC 40 features a more conventional wide-angle 40mm lens, delivering a 24mm equivalent focal length, aligning more closely with what photographers typically look for in wide-angles.

ABOVE: Watch the Phase One XC 40 launch video

The XC 40 retains the manual focus lens design of its predecessor and can be paired with Phase One's IQ4 150MP digital back. This new 40mm Rodenstock HR Digaron-S lens also boasts a faster f/4 aperture, compared to the f/5.6 lens on the original XC 23. 

The IQ4 150MP image sensor offers significant cropping options – bearing in mind that this is a true medium format sensor, at 53.4 x 40mm, compared to the cropped medium format 43.8 x 32.9mm sensors used b y Fujifilm and Hasselblad – along with 15 stops of dynamic range, an ISO range of 50-25,600, and image resolution of 14,204 x 10,652 pixels. The system is operated through a touchscreen interface, and captures 16-bit RAW images.

Beyond its lens and sensor, the XC 40 also includes numerous advanced features designed to aid photographers. These include automated frame averaging, automatic metering (unusual for field cameras), built-in WiFi, mobile integration, and customizable "IQ Styles" for dialing in specific looks. These features are designed to make the camera more versatile in the field, simplifying shooting without compromising on quality.

The biggest question that potential buyers face is why they might choose the XC 40 over Phase One's other options, such as the XF or XT bodies that offer interchangeable lenses. 

The XC cameras' main advantage lies in their compact, travel-friendly design – a rarity in the true medium format space. However, for those seeking flexibility in lens choice or the tilt-and-shift functionality offered by the XT, the XC 40 may not be the ideal option despite its strong set of features.

I will also point out that "body-only" (the lens is attached to the body) will see you invest US$20,029 (about $29,057 Australian) of your hard-earned cash; if you want the 150MP back as well, then the total package is a massive US$62,490 ($90,649)! 

If you don't want to spend 20 grand on one, you might be interested in the best medium format cameras from other manufacturers. And you don't need medium format to get high resolution; check out the highest resolution cameras across all formats!

The cheap, auto-focus mirrorless lens arms race continues with the release of the 7Artisans 85mm f/1.8 for Z, a full-frame lens for Nikon Z cameras that's available for order now and is priced at $299 / £229. This plucky little prime was previously available in Sony E mount and comes hot on the heels of the TTArtisans AF 75mm f/2, another budget contender for the best Nikon portrait lenses available.

You can have the best camera for portraits, but if you don't have a lens with a suitable focal length, you're going to struggle. Many portrait photographers consider an 85mm the go-to focal length for people pics, making this affordable prime an attractive prospect for portrait photographers on a budget.

7Artisans' mid-telephoto prime is constructed from 10 elements in seven groups. It includes a pair of extra-low dispersion lenses and two high-refractive lenses to help mitigate distortions and deliver better image quality. 

The lens is built from metal and is a little heavier than the Sony E-mount variant (437.5g), weighing in at 452g. But it's still lighter than the Nikon Z 85mm f/1.8 S at 470g. It's a hair smaller than the Nikon optic, too, with a diameter of 72mm (2.83in) and length of 98mm (3.85), compared to the Nikon's 75mm (2.95in) and 99mm (3.89in).

Autofocus is controlled via a stepping motor, for smoother and quieter focusing, which should make it more suitable for video. A feature that's indicative of more premium optics is the presence of a customizable Fn button for easier operation. You'll also find a USB-C input on the rear of the lens for installing firmware updates. 

The lens has a close focusing distance of 0.8m, which is roughly what you'd expect and takes 62mm filters. A nice feature is the presence of an 11-bladed diaphragm. When paired with that fast f/1.8 aperture, it should realize nice, big circular discs of bokeh. 

You may also be interested in our guides to the best Nikon camera or the best Sony camera.

If you loved the Leica Q3 but thought that its fabulous 28mm f/1.7 lens was just a little too wide for your tastes, then you're going to be thrilled with the latest news.

Leica has unveiled the latest addition to its popular Q-series, the Leica Q3 43, marking the third generation in the compact full-frame lineup. The new model introduces a 43mm fixed focal length, fulfilling a long-standing request from users and adding a fresh dimension to the family’s legacy. 

Known for its top-tier design, craftsmanship, and exceptional image quality, the Q-series has gained a loyal following worldwide. With the new Leica Q3 43 enhances this experience by blending tradition with innovative features for photographers who value precision and versatility.

At the core of the Leica Q3 43 is the specially developed APO-Summicron 43mm f/2 ASPH lens, joining the elite range of Leica’s renowned APO lenses. With its 43mm focal length mirroring the natural field of vision, the fixed lens delivers distortion-free images, making it ideal for street photography and portraiture.

The high-resolution OLED viewfinder ensures photographers can compose with clarity and precision, while the compact design of the camera remains intact despite the addition of four aspherical lenses for enhanced optical performance. 

This model also features new offerings of multiple focal length options from its native 43mm while also offering 60, 75, 90, 120, and 150mm - the first time these longer focal lengths have been introduced into the Leica Q-series offering flexibility ensures that users can switch between photography styles seamlessly, whether shooting portraits, landscapes, or street scenes.

The design of the Leica Q3 43 maintains the iconic aesthetics of the Q-series while introducing new elements, such as a grey leather outer finish that contrasts elegantly with the black camera body. It also includes a new Leica Chrome look for JPEGs, giving images a nostalgic, film-like appearance straight from the camera.

The new Leica Q3 43 is now available at Leica stores and authorized dealers worldwide priced at $6,895 / £5,900. 

See our guide to the best full-frame compact cameras

For years Tamron's 90mm macro lenses have received many accolades from DSLR users and film photographers, and at long last this fantastic lens has now come to the world of mirrorless.  

Tamron has announced the new Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Di III VXD Macro designed specifically for Sony E- and Nikon Z-mount mirrorless camera systems. This highly anticipated full-frame lens is said to deliver outstanding performance for portrait and macro photography, offering photographers a versatile tool for capturing everything from lifelike close-ups to beautifully composed portraits. 

Tamron is currently celebrating the 45th anniversary of Tamron’s original 90mm macro lens, originally introduced in 1979, and this latest iteration maintains the legacy of high optical performance with cutting-edge features. 

One of the lens's key features is its 1:1 maximum magnification ratio and a minimum focusing distance of just 9.1 inches, making it ideal for detailed close-up shots.

Sample Images

This lens stands out as the first in Tamron’s lineup to feature a 12-blade circular diaphragm, producing smooth, rounded bokeh and creating impressive starburst effects when stopped down. 

Weighing only 1.4 lbs and measuring 5 inches long, the lens is both compact and lightweight, allowing for comfortable handheld shooting during extended sessions. This compact design ensures portability without sacrificing performance, making it an excellent choice for photographers on the go.

At the heart of this lens is Tamron's VXD (Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive) motor, which offers quiet and precise autofocus performance. Ideal for both photography and video work, the VXD system also includes a focus limiter switch, preventing unnecessary focus hunting and allowing for more efficient shooting in challenging conditions. This combination of advanced autofocus features makes the lens well-suited for capturing fast-moving subjects while maintaining exceptional sharpness and detail.

This new 90mm f/2.8 Di III VXD Macro lens also includes a newly designed lens hood with a sliding window, allowing photographers to rotate polarizing filters with ease without needing to remove the hood. Additionally, it is compatible with Tamron’s lens utility software, which allows users to customize lens settings and update firmware for enhanced functionality. This attention to both hardware and software ensures a seamless, user-friendly experience for all photographers.

By filling a focal length gap in their mirrorless lineup, this lens offers photographers the chance to explore new creative possibilities. From portraiture to macro photography, the new Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Di III VXD Macro is set to become a standout option for both professionals and enthusiasts alike.

This new lens is only available in Nikon Z-mount or Sony E-Mount currently and can be pre-ordered from B&H for $699  or at Wex Photo Video for £599.

Sigma's CEO Kazuto Yamaki has spoken in depth about the development of a pair of new lenses in a Youtube interview with cinematography specialists LensVid at the IBC 2024 trade show. IBC – or International Broadcasting Convention – is an annual show held every September in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The lenses in question are the Sigma 28-45mm T2 Cine and Sigma 28-105mm f/2.8 DG DN Art. 

First up, the Sigma 28-45mm T2 Cine lens is a prototype, or 'concept' lens as Sigma prefers it, which was shown mainly to garner feedback from customers. It is based on the full-frame Sigma 28-45mm f/1.8  wide-to-standard zoom lens aimed at stills photographers, essentially shoehorning the same optics into a cine-style housing, with full autofocus but also with the oversized mechanical geared focus rings favored by videographers. 

The Sigma 28-105mm f/2.8 DG DN Art is a more traditional stills lens that can, of course, also be used for videography. Mr Yamaki explained that the lens was originally envisaged to offer the benefits of a 24-105mm standard zoom with a faster f/2.8 aperture than the more commonplace f/4, but that the prototypes proved to be a little on the bulky side in the R&D stage, so the decision was made to start the focal length at 28mm, resulting in a more manageable package. The lens isn't optically stabilized, again to save weight, while taking advantage of the IBIS systems found in many full-frame mirrorless bodies. Check out the full video below! 

In the unusually forthright interview, Mr Yakami also goes on to reveal his thoughts on the future of the Sigma fp line of camera bodies – confessing that he feels duty-bound to continue his father's dream to make cameras, so will continue to develop new bodies. 

He also talks about the tricky technical challenges of designing its own full-frame Foveon sensor that has resulted in the technicians having to go back to the drawing board on the latest incarnation of the device. He says that he does have a timeline for the new generation of sensor, but doesn't feel he is ready to go public with that quite yet, as it is still too early to be sure they can get it into production.

Read more: The best cine lens

Intrepid Camera is a specialist manufacturer of large-format film photography equipment, and it has almost single-handedly resurrected the medium, developing retro analog cameras with modern features.

Surfing the wave of the film photography resurgence, Intrepid is among the few manufacturers that offer new large format cameras with 4x5, 5x7, and 8x10 options. Users would ordinarily need to source an existing vintage lens to use with the camera, but a new Kickstarter has just launched for the first Intrepid Camera lens and electronic shutter.

Intrepid's fifth Kickstarter launches today, marking the company's tenth anniversary – and its most ambitious product development yet, with two new product lines: the Intrepid I-0 Shutter and the Intrepid 150mm f/6.3 Lens.

The Intrepid 150mm f/6.3 Lens is a compact and portable optic that has a Cooke triplet design. Its focal length and maximum aperture may not sound that wide, but in full-frame terms that equates to 35mm at f/1.8.

The Cooke triplet design is vital in correcting for the main optical aberrations. Shooting above f/11 provides excellent sharpness throughout the image, and when used wide open at f/6.3 it creates a smooth bokeh that is accentuated by the nature of the larger format camera.

"We went through so many design variations and so much research before settling on this lens," says Intrepid. "We are so happy with the results. It really is a beautiful little lens with a classic character we know you are going to love".

In addition to the lens, and 18 months in the making, the Intrepid I-0 Shutter is an electronic shutter that enables the user to dial in settings via the controller instead of manually, and is described by Intrepid as "a super smart cable release with a screen".

Compatible with all Copal 0 size lenses, shutter speeds from as long as you want to 1/125th, and a self-timer it provides live EV readings so you don't ever have to waste another sheet of film again.

When it comes to large-format film photography, one of the main concerns is getting the settings wrong and throwing away film – especially if you're new to the format. The new shutter provides enhanced security so that what you see after development is the same as when you tripped the shutter.

The shutter is also compatible with flash via the 3.5mm jack, and it can be controlled by PC / Mac.

I have been a huge fan of Intrepid Camera's approach to creating new and accessible film cameras, and launching these products is a stroke of genius. Now users, most importantly new users, can purchase every aspect of the large format shooting experience from Intrepid without having to source and take a risk with an expensive, older, second-hand lens.

The Kickstarter campaign is live now, and you can head over to show your support and get an earlybird discount of 10% off RRP. The lens and shutter combo is priced at $575 / £429, just the lens at $215 / £159, and just the shutter at $385 / £289 (US pricing has been converted from the UK price, Australian pricing to be confirmed).

Editor's note: As with all crowdfunding projects, there is no guarantee that the final product will match the early depictions in the campaign – or that the final product will be completed or delivered at all. DCW does not endorse this or any other crowdfunding campaign.

You may also be interested in our guides to the best film cameras and the best medium format cameras.

Fujirumors has shared a Weibo post that claims as many as three Chinese lens manufacturers are developing autofocus zoom lenses. Sadly there are no further details on what these lenses may be. However Fujirumors also spoke to Chinese lens manufacturer Viltrox last year, asking whether it was planning to release zoom lenses for Fuji X-mount. The response from Viltrox's marketing director:

Whether any of these proposed lenses will feature autofocus is uncertain, but if any Chinese lens manufacturer was to release an autofocus zoom lens, we'd bet on it being Viltrox. We've tested and revied numerous Chinese lenses, from the likes of Laowa, Yongnuo, TTArtisan and 7Artisans, but the majority of these have historically been 'dumb' primes with no electronic lens-body communication, and therefore no autofocus. Viltrox, on the other hand, has produced multiple autofocus prime lens, with full electronic communication, and the kind of build and handling to rival the likes of Sigma and Tamron. In fact, the quality and performance of the E-mount Viltrox 16mm f/1.8 AF led Phillip Reeve to assert that:

And having tested the Viltrox AF 13mm F1.4, AF 23mm F1.4, AF 33mm F1.4 and AF 56mm F1.4, we're tempted to agree - they really are superb lenses. Consequently we wouldn't be surprised to see Viltrox leading the Chinese charge to produce autofocus zoom lenses. It also shouldn't come as much surprise that China as a country should be developing autofocus zoom lenses, or that they're likely to be as good as anything Japan or Germany produces. After all, China is the manufacturing center of the world, and if the latest iPhone or electric car can be produced there without issue, then why shouldn't China be able to manufacture another precision object like an autofocus zoom lens?

Story credit: Fujirumors

Innovative lens-maker 7Artisans has unveiled a 60mm f/2.8 macro lens that can capture images up to 2x life-size, enabling incredibly detailed close-ups at double the resolution of a standard macro lens. 

With a maximum 2x magnification ratio, it enlarges the tiniest details to reveal a staggering amount of detail that is impossible to see with the naked eye. And as a full-frame-compatible lens, it makes the most of the greater light-gathering capabilities of the latest mirrorless cameras, such as the Nikon Z6 III, Canon EOS R6 or Sony Alpha 7C II. 

The manual focus lens features markings on the lens barrel to show the depth of field through its f/2.8 to f/22 aperture range. It has been constructed from 14 elements in 12 groups, including two Extra-low Dispersion (ED) and two High-Refractive elements to effectively suppress chromatic aberration and deliver exceptional image quality while providing accurate color reproduction. This optical design also helps reduce edge distortion and other aberrations.

With a 0.17m minimum focus distance, as measured from the focal plane, the lens enables photographers to get incredibly close to subjects, but unlike some ultra-macro lenses, it is also capable of focusing all the way to infinity, where its 60mm focal length makes it ideal as an everyday standard prime. The bright f/2.8 aperture and full-frame compatibility, in combination with its nine aperture blades, enable backgrounds to be blown out to create beautiful bokeh, making it double as a fabulous choice as a portrait lens.

The lens barrel has an all-metal construction for enhanced durability, yet it's pretty lightweight at just 550g. A 67mm thread enables the attachment of filters. 

The 7Artisans 60mm f/2.8 Full-frame 2X Ultra-Macro joins such oddities as the incredibly fast 7Artisans 50mm f/1.05 nifty fifty or 7Artisans 10mm f/2.8 fisheye, which surely makes the company one of the most diverse and experimental lens makers out there.

The new lens is available in Canon RF, Nikon Z and Sony E mounts and has a recommended price of $335.

Check out our guide to the best macro lenses

TTArtisan has released the AF 75mm f/2 prime for Sony E and Nikon Z-mount cameras. This full-frame prime boasts a stepping motor, delivering what TTArtisan is calling "fast" autofocus, and is priced just $199 / £199 (Australian pricing to be confirmed). 

Not only is that an incredibly competitive price for a full-frame, autofocus-capable lens that will appeal if you use your camera for portraits, but the optical construction (ten elements within seven groups) is housed within a metal body – something you'd expect from a more premium offering.

Surprisingly, it still weighs just 328-340g (presumably without and with the included lens hood, respectively), compared to the Nikon Z 85mm f/1.8 S at 470g and the Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 at 371g. Dimensionally, the Sony variant is slightly shorter at 74mm (2.91in) than the Nikon variant at 76mm (2.99in), with both featuring a diameter of 67mm (2.64in).

A standout feature of the TTArtisan AF 75mm f/2 is the presence of an aperture ring. This will surely delight Nikon Zf and Z fc users, given the notable lack of Z-mount lenses with retro-chic aperture rings, though its clicked design may not be ideal for video shooters.

The 75mm focal length isn't far off 85mm – a focal length revered by portrait photographers. And the wide f/2 maximum aperture (to f/16) should provide a suitably shallow depth of field for popping sharp portrait subjects against a soft background, while I'd hope to see nice, circular bokeh, thanks to the nine-bladed diaphragm. 

The size of this prime could make it a great companion for a portable setup, too. I could see it pairing well with a Sony A7C II or a Nikon Z f. If you wish to use it with an APS-C camera such as the A6700 or Z fc, you’ll end up with an equivalent 112.5mm focal length. 

Other specs of note include a 62mm filter thread and 0.75m close-focussing distance. The AF 75mm f/2 also features a "[USB] Type Cinterface for firmware upgrades," suggesting there will be support for the optic in the future. 

The only thing to be aware of is that autofocus isn't supported for the Sony A3000 and A3500 – though with both cameras being about a decade old, released in 2013 and 2015 respectively, this probably won't affect too many users. 

You may also be interested in our guides to the best Nikon cameras and the best Sony cameras.

Ever noticed a symbol that looks like a zero with a slash through it on the top plate of your camera? This often-ignored icon lines up precisely with the focal plane – essentially the surface of a digital camera's image sensor, or a film camera's film cell – and is your point of reference for measuring focus distance, no matter what focal length you're using. 

Some lenses – particularly vintage lenses – feature focus distance markings on the focusing ring. Match up the right marking with an object at the same distance and it'll be in focus. However, where do you measure from – the front element of your lens? Nope. The rear element? Nah. The lens mount? Try again… 

It's actually the front surface of the digital sensor or film cell. So, camera manufacturers like to give you a helping hand by including a handy little focal plane mark as a point of reference. Go ahead, check your Nikon Z6 III, Fujifilm X-T5, Canon EOS R6 Mark II or Sony A7 IV – they all have one. 

Now, if autofocus made the focal plane mark redundant, you'd assume that a combination of live view, EVFs and focus peaking would have finished it off with a suplex. After all, plenty of modern lenses have ditched focus ring markings altogether. But there are a few applications where the focal plane mark still comes in handy, even today. 

Many macro photographers still swear by manual focus and, while it's by no means a necessity, the focal plane mark still has its uses here. For example, you may use it to precisely measure your macro lens’ minimum focus distance.

It's also useful for pre-focusing. If you set up a camera on a tripod to photograph, say, garden birds on a bird table, measuring from the focal plane mark to the center of the bird table and focusing your lens accordingly would provide you with a good ballpark for capturing sharp visitors. 

And of course, the recent boom in film cameras means that the focal plane mark is definitely worth being aware of if you own a manual-focus-only body. 

But there's one area of image-making where the focal plane mark is readily used to this day: filmmaking. You see, manual focus is still very much a filmmaking staple. Higher-end productions employ dedicated focus pullers, whose job solely revolves around manually focusing cinema cameras. And they often measure the focus distance and focus the lens accordingly.

Skilled focus pullers get very good at gauging focus distance by eye, but nothing beats using the focal plane mark for ultimate precision. Rather handily, some cinema cameras such as the Canon EOS C500 Mark II (above) have a focal plane mark, which protrudes from the camera. This not only provides a reference for measurements, but can be hooked onto the end of a tape measure for speedy manual readings.

So there you have it. You might not ever need to use the archaic focal plane mark on your camera, unless you're an avid macro photographer, film camera buff or professional focus puller. But now you know what it is and why it's there.

You might be interested in the best cameras for filmmaking, as well as the best cine lenses.  

At IBC 2024 in Amsterdam, Blazar Lens unveiled what they are heralding as the world’s first autofocus anamorphic lenses.

The innovative 1.33x APEX series, currently in its prototype phase, drew considerable attention at the event. Blazar showcased two focal lengths, a 35mm T1.6 and a 50mm T1.8, both designed to cover the Super 35 (S35) sensor. 

These lenses are slated to be available in several mirrorless mounts, including Sony E, Nikon Z, Leica L, and Fuji X, with discussions ongoing about a Canon RF mount option in the future.

Blazar's choice of a 1.33x squeeze ratio for its anamorphic lenses is driven by practical considerations. Autofocus systems, the company found, struggle with wider anamorphic squeeze ratios, making the 1.33x a more feasible option. 

This ratio not only improves autofocus performance but is also compatible with 16:9 sensor cameras that lack anamorphic recording modes. While the 1.33x squeeze may not deliver the pronounced anamorphic look of 1.5x or 2x ratios, Blazar claims its Apex lenses achieve a similar aesthetic to 1.5x options.

The 1.33x anamorphic format presents a compelling choice, particularly for affordable anamorphic lenses. Compared to 1.8x or 2x lenses, the 1.33x design is more versatile and easier to produce, with fewer optical compromises. It allows users to capture a wider aspect ratio without cropping, thereby maximizing image resolution. This adaptability makes the Apex series a practical option for a range of cameras with S35 sensors.

Currently, the market for 1.33x anamorphic lenses is limited when compared to other lenses on the market, but notable examples include the Viltrox Epic series, Sirui 1.33x, Slr Magic 1.33x Anamorphot-CINE, and the Hawk 1.3x. However, many of these options do not fully cover full-frame sensors, although the SLR Magic 50mm and 75mm do.

Samyang recently introduced an anamorphic front-mounted adaptor for its V-AF range of full-frame autofocus cine lenses, but this offers a 1.7x squeeze.

The Blazar Apex lenses' ability to cover full-frame and S35 sensors positions them as a versatile solution for many 16:9 sensor cameras.

Astrophotographers will be treated to a celestial smorgasbord this evening, when a partially eclipsed harvest supermoon will appear over various territories including North and South America, Europe, Africa and large parts of Asia. It's the headline event for astrophotography in September, so it's worth staying up late with your camera to watch the four-hour spectacle.

When is the lunar eclipse happening?

The event will take place over Tuesday, September 17 and 18. In North America it will be visible today at dusk, with a clearer view from Europe during the early hours of tomorrow morning. You can use this map to gather information on your exact location. For example, New York will witness the partial lunar eclipse from 20:41 tonight until 00:47 tomorrow morning, with London’s celestial showing starting early tomorrow at 01:41 until 05:47.

What's a partially eclipsed harvest supermoon?

If you're new to celestial events, tonight you'll get to see many moons rolled into one. The Harvest Moon – aside from being the title of an excellent Neil Young track/album – is the name given to the full moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox. This coincides with a supermoon, as the natural satellite's orbit strafes the Earth near to its closest point. And of course, while all this is happening, you’ll be treated to a partial lunar eclipse as the sun casts the Earth's shadow over a small portion of the moon's surface. 

How to photograph a lunar eclipse

Astrophotography is arguably the most complicated and technical genre of photography, but capturing a lunar eclipse is surprisingly simple. Firstly, you need to think about your composition. You could capture a frame-filling shot of the moon, a wider field of view with some kind of foreground interest or capture multiple images to form a jazzy lunar eclipse multiplicity.

The former will require you to get as close to the moon as possible. So, grab your longest lens and make use of a compatible crop-sensor camera or teleconverter to get even closer, if you have one. And if you happen to own the mighty Nikon Coolpix P1000 and its jaw-dropping 125x optical zoom – or any of the best bridge cameras for that matter – now would be the time to use it. 

A wider composition will of course require a wider focal length, as will a multiplicity, since you’ll be capturing the moon as it moves across the sky, while maintaining a constant frame.

Your camera settings will depend on the light conditions in which you're shooting. However, even with a low ISO and middling aperture, you may find yourself yielding a shutter speed above 1/100 sec. If you’re using a telephoto or super-telephoto lens, even in these favorable lighting conditions, the reciprocal rule dictates you'll need to use a tripod to avoid camera shake. 

I'd recommend using the best tripod you can afford regardless, since you'll be able to set up your composition, sit back and wait for the lunar eclipse to reach its photogenic peak. Additional camera shake prevention methods involve setting a self-timer, using your camera's exposure delay mode (if available) or attaching a remote shutter release. And if your long lens has a tripod collar and foot, ensure you attach this to the tripod and not the camera body for additional stability.

If you're shooting with a longer lens you won't be able to use the super wide apertures many astrophotographers are accustomed to. But this shouldn't be a problem. If you're forced to push your ISO, the best cameras for astrophotography boast great low-light capabilities, and noise-reduction software has gotten so good nowadays, even noise-ridden images can be saved in post-production. 

Finally, using your camera's intervalometer or a dedicated intervalometer may prove useful if you're capturing a multiplicity. And don't forget to bring a spare battery – and a warm hat – if you're operating out in the cold.

Lens manufacturer 7Artisans seems to be readying four new autofocus prime lenses. In a roadmap image taken at IBC in Amsterdam and shared with L-rumors.com, we can see a total of six lenses, comprised of four new primes that will supplement two existing 7Artisan's lenses: the AF 50mm f/1.8, and AF 85mm f/1.8. The four upcoming lenses are the:

• AF 35mm F2.8
• AF 40mm F2.8
• AF 24mm F1.8
• AF 35mm F1.8

Like the existing 50mm and 85mm lenses, the four new optics look set to come in Sony E-mount, Nikon Z and L-mount variants, while all but the AF 35mm f/2.8 feature a dedicated aperture control ring. No other details about the new lenses have been made public, but if the new lenses perform anything like the current AF 50mm f/1.8, they should be compelling buys.

The AF 50mm f/1.8 marked 7Artisans' first attempt at an autofocus lens with full lens-body electronic communication. When we reviewed the lens we found it to be a well-built lens that operated smoothly and gave respectable image quality, all for a very reasonable price. The addition of four more focal length options in the AF range can only be good news for Sony, Nikon and L-mount shooters.

Story credit: L-rumors.com

A new rumor from serial smartphone tipster Ice Universe suggests Samsung's next flagship camera phone, the Galaxy S25 Ultra, may feature almost the same camera array as the current Galaxy S24 Ultra. If the rumor is correct, the only significant difference could be a new ultrawide camera, based around Samsung's 50MP ISOCELL JN3 sensor, with a 0.7um pixel size. This contradicts a previous rumor that the S25 Ultra might get a new telephoto camera. It also means the 200MP ISOCELL HP2 sensor in the phone's primary wide-angle camera would be carried over to the S25 Ultra, along with the S24 Ultra's 10MP 3x telephoto module and its 50MP 5x telephoto camera.

Other rumors suggest Samsung could equip the S25 Ultra exclusively with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset in all regions, while also adding extra RAM, though battery capacity is said to be unchanged from the S24 Ultra. It's also claimed that S25 Ultra could be the thinner and lighter than the iPhone 16 Pro Max and Google's Pixel 9 Pro XL, at least in part due to thinner screen bezels.

Have camera phones peaked?

But should we really be surprised that the Galaxy S25 Ultra may not get a substantially improved camera array? The pixel count of camera phone sensors seems to have peaked at 200MP since the S23 Ultra, and 1-inch appears to be the size limit for a camera phone sensor. The periscope lens has helped enable longer telephoto focal lengths, but that's only possible by pairing the lens with a physically smaller sensor, so there's also a limit to how much zoom a phone can reasonably offer before the sensor size gets so small that image quality is noticeably compromised.

It's long been the case that the secret to a camera phone's stellar image quality is advanced image processing - this is how Google was able to re-use the same image sensor for four generations of Pixel phones, while still improving image quality along the way. Now with power of AI on tap to further enhance image processing, phone manufacturers will be leaning on this far more than advancements in sensor and lens hardware to improve camera performance.

Thypoch is best known for its exquisitely built Simera lenses for Leica, a line it has recently expanded to cover more mounts, as well as its quirky collapsible Eureka lens. However, as recently teased on its Instagram channel, it looks like Thypoch is going in a new direction – Simera-C cinema lenses.

The company is yet to announce any further details on its new line of cine lenses. But I am currently at IBC 2024 in Amsterdam, where the biggest brands in the world of video production come to show off their latest wares, and I have managed to get my hands on not one but three of the new Simera-C cine lenses.

The three lenses on display are 28mm, 50mm and 75mm focal lengths. Like other Thypoch lenses they feel very well constructed, made from metal with geared focus and aperture rings. But the thing that struck me immediately was just how small they are compared to other cinema lenses.

This was perhaps as they were surrounded by a section of Dzofilm’s much larger cinema lens range (Dzofilm being Typoch’s parent company), but the Simera-C lenses look adorably compact and could be perfect for anyone looking for a more low-profile cine lens for a smaller setup.

While previous Simera lenses have all launched for the L-mount, before expanding to other formats, the lenses on display here are for Sony’s E-mount cameras. However, that isn’t to say these cine lenses won’t be available for other mounts at launch – or expand to other mounts later, as was the case with previous Simera lenses.

Below you can check out the official tease for the upcoming Simera-C lenses while we await more confirmation from Typoch.

Check out our guide for the best cine lenses for more options, and you might be interested in the best cinema cameras as well. 

Leitz has introduced three new lenses to its HUGO II series, adding to the 10 existing focal lengths in the popular HUGO line. The new additions include the 66mm, 75mm, and 90mm T2.1 lenses, which are distinguished by their slower aperture and more compact size. These lenses bring unique visual characteristics, with the 75mm and 90mm offering size advantages and the 66mm lens filling the gap between the 50mm and 75mm focal lengths.

The 66mm T2.1 lens has an intriguing history, inspired by the legendary "spy lens" developed by Leica lens designer Walter Mandler for the US Navy during the Cold War. Known for its ultra-high resolution and originally never intended for public use, fewer than 200 of these lenses were produced. Leitz has slightly updated Mandler's design, blending its vintage pedigree with modern-day capabilities, resulting in a lens that delivers sharp, character-rich images, consistent with the rest of the HUGO family.

The new 75mm and 90mm T2.1 lenses are derived from Leica's well-known Summicron-M lenses. Although one stop slower than the T1.5 versions, their smaller size and lighter weight make them nearly identical in dimensions to other HUGO lenses wider than 50mm. This design update allows Leitz to offer complete conversions of Leitz M 0.8 lenses to the HUGO series, maintaining the longer focal lengths without sacrificing performance.

With the addition of the HUGO II series, Leitz now boasts a total of 13 focal lengths in the HUGO family, ranging from 18mm to 135mm. Available in both LPL and L mounts, these lenses provide filmmakers with versatile tools that combine historical design elements with modern optics for high-quality cinematic imaging.

Cooke revolutionized the cinema lens market last year with the introduction of its budget SP3 series, offering a compact, affordable alternative to the renowned Cooke Panchro Classic lenses. 

Designed to replicate the signature “Cooke Look,” these lenses quickly became popular among filmmakers for their portability and cinematic quality. Now, Cooke is expanding the SP3 family by releasing the all-new 18mm T2.4, the widest lens in the series. 

Available as part of a six-lens set housed in a custom hard case or sold separately, this new addition is set to appeal to indie filmmakers, corporate videographers, and cinematographers looking to achieve professional results without the hefty price tag.

The 18mm lens joins its counterparts — the 25mm, 32mm, 50mm, 75mm, and 100mm — maintaining the same T-Stop range (T2.4-16) and full-frame sensor coverage. 

It also shares the same focus and iris ring placement, along with versatile mount options, including Sony E, Canon RF, Leica M, and L mount. While the 18mm and 100mm lenses are slightly larger and heavier than the others in the series, they remain lightweight and compact. 

All six lenses are designed for the best mirrorless cameras and best cinema camera setups, ideal for use on gimbals, drones, or in solo-operator scenarios where larger lenses might be cumbersome.

The 18mm T2.4 offers a 99° field of view on full-frame sensors, making it perfect for establishing shots, tight spaces, or immersive wide-angle scenes. Its close focus distance of 9.8” also provides flexibility in confined shooting environments. With this addition, the SP3 series now offers a comprehensive range of focal lengths, allowing filmmakers to tackle a wide variety of production needs with a single set. 

Though not budget lenses, the SP3s offer incredible value for money, especially compared to Cooke’s larger Panchro models, making them an enticing option for creatives looking for high-quality cine lenses.

Cooke’s legendary status in the world of cinema is well-earned, with their Speed Panchros having played a role in many iconic films associated with Hollywood. The SP3 series continues this legacy by making the “Cooke Look” more accessible to a broader audience. 

Known for their beautiful skin tones, smooth highlight roll-off, and stunning bokeh, thanks to 9-blade apertures and proprietary Cooke coatings, these lenses bring a touch of cinematic magic to any project. 

Whether paired with the larger Panchro/i Classics or used on their own, the SP3 series delivers remarkable visual results, making them a must-have for any filmmaker aiming to elevate their craft.

The new 18mm Cooke SP3 can be bought separately for $4,970 at B&H or the new 6-lens set with custom carry case can be bought from B&H for $25,995. 

While both options might seem expensive at first the Panchros lenses they mimic are priced between $12,900 - $14,600 each - so the SP3 series really is a bargain!

One of my favorite things about owning an interchangeable lens system is that I can simply swap over lenses when I need to shoot wider, more zoomed-in, or macro and close-up depending on the specific subject matter I’m shooting and what I’m trying to achieve creatively. While superzoom lenses such as 18-300mm exist and bring many focal length options into a single lens, they simply don’t cut it for professionals who need both razor-sharp glass and super-fast apertures too. 

When taking photos of fast-paced events, sports, or weddings however you rarely have the time to switch your lenses and that’s where a double camera harness can be a game-changer. Important aspects to look for in a good dual camera harness are first and foremost security - you want to be able to trust that your pride and joy aren’t suddenly going to go crashing into the ground. Secondly, there's comfort: if you’re shooting for a whole day with two heavy cameras loaded up, you’ll need decent padding to save your shoulders.

I recently got hold of both BlackRapid’s Double Breathe and Blackline II dual camera harnesses to test them out. On face value they look very similar - they’re both dual camera harnesses that allow you to carry two systems with different lenses attached, making them a good fit for weddings and events. The Blackline II however is a third more expensive, so I was keen to put it through its paces and find out if it’s really 33% better!

Specifications

Price: $199 / £199
Size: One size fits all
Colours: Black
Features: 2x Locking Swivel Carabiner ConnectR CR-3
Includes: 1 x CoupleR II; 2 x Nylon-Coated FastenR FR-5 (1⁄4-20”); 2 x Lockstar II; 2 x Camera Safety Tether II
Shoulder Pad material: Highly breathable Polyester Mesh, TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer) Foam and Polyester Air Mesh
Shoulder Pad Size: Length: 16ʺ (40.5 cm); Width: 2.2ʺ – 3.7ʺ (5.5 cm – 9.5 cm); Thickness: 5mm
Webbing: 100% Nylon; Webbing Width: 1ʺ (2.5 cm)
Adjustable Strap, Maximum Length: 63ʺ (160 cm)
Weight: 11.6 oz / 45.3g

Features

I’ve recently reviewed BlackRapid’s Sport Breathe, Blackline I and Double Breathe camera straps, and following suit the Blackline II harness uses the exact same mounting system that I’ve raved about in those other reviews. 

It uses a ConnectR and FastenR system to secure your camera to a metal carabiner, this is then secured with a spring-loaded metal piece on the carabiner, and the LockStar Gate is clipped shut to stop it from being accidentally opened - the LockStar Gate can also only be closed in place with the carabiner fully secured and locked down for added security, you do this for both cameras on either side of you. Many of these security features are patented too, so you'll only find them on BlackRapid products.

For even more peace of mind, the Blackline II comes with two safety tethers which can be lashed to each carabiner and then to the strap lug on your camera for another point of camera and a failsafe should the main connection fail, though in our testing everything felt totally rock-solid and we never felt like it would be needed, though it’s nice to have nonetheless.

The camera straps on your left and right are both height adjustable so you can get them hanging precisely where you need them to be within easy grasp which you need to quickly grab one and start shooting. Unlike the Double Breathe harness however, there’s no Slim model, though it has to be said the shoulder pads are already a little slimmer than the Double Breathe and its padding is softer, so perhaps this isn’t needed as much here.

As with the Sport Breathe, Blackline I, and Double Breathe that I’ve previously reviewed, the Blackline II has front and rear bumpers on both left and right straps. These can be adjusted with just one hand to limit or expand the area of travel the carabiner with your attached camera can travel along. 

The rear bumper acts as a good backstop to stop it moving too far back out of reach, while the front bumper is great for those times you need to lean forward to adjust a lightstand or bend over to pick something up, as the front bumper can be slid down to prevent your camera from coming hurtling forward.

Performance

The Blackline II put in a solid performance by being constructed from high-quality materials and parts patented by BlackRapid. The FR-5 FastenR is metal but nylon coated for a premium feel and has a 3mm thick rubber disc to help you add just the right amount of tension when screwing it into your camera’s tripod mount port or lens foot. The metal carabiner feels high quality too and screws down to secure it in place, with the LockStar II gate then shutting to keep it from opening accidentally and keeping your kit safe.

One big difference between the Blackline II and the Double Breathe is that, as the name suggests, it has an all-black design. The Double Breathe has a bright white logo on the front right shoulder pad and a shiny metal buckle on the back too, whereas the Blackline II is dressed more like a ninja with all-black plastic buckles and a blacked-out rubber logo on the front too. This makes it much more nondescript and makes it easier to blend in, whether you’re wearing a tuxedo at a wedding, or just want to keep a low profile while shooting street photography.

Another noticeable upgrade from the Double Breathe is the Blackline II has slightly smaller yet more comfortable padding and larger ventilation holes too for ‘ultra’ breathability. I found this to be notably more comfortable as it molded to the contours of my shoulders a little better.

Both the back and chest straps have an elasticated piece of material in them so they move with your body a little and there’s some give which increases comfort. When using mirrorless camera bodies loaded up with lightweight primes or small zoom lenses you hardly notice you’re wearing it as the strain is on your shoulders rather than your neck. However, load them up with heavier DSLRs and big telephoto lenses and you’ll inevitably start to feel the strain a bit sooner.

We had full faith that the Blackline II could handle the weight of whatever we could throw at it. It’s a solid bit of kit with sturdy metal carabiners and attachment points that give you plenty of peace of mind. The carabiners also glide like butter over the nylon straps so you can effortlessly raise your camera up to eye level to take a shot and never get in the way.

Verdict

Alongside this harness, I’ve recently reviewed BlackRapid’s Sport Breathe and Blackline I slings as well as the Double Breathe Harness, and while I’ve been thoroughly impressed with all four products, in my opinion, this is the best camera harness to go for. It has a fully blacked-out design which makes it more nondescript and better padding too.

The padded shoulders are softer and also a little smaller than the Double Breathe, so this will potentially be a better fit for women and people of smaller stature without the need for a slim model (like the Double Breathe). Plus, it shares many of the great features of the other straps I’ve mentioned, such as the FastenR and LockStar Gate to keep your camera secured to each strap, in addition to an extra safety strap and bumpers to limit the travel of your camera.

Okay, it might not have the bougie style of a leather (or faux leather) strap, but it prioritizes substance over style with this reliable and solid harness, and for what it’s worth I think the all-black design looks pretty good! The shoulder pads can also be separated and you can use just one as a cross-body sling for those times when you just want to shoot with one camera which adds to its value too.

You shouldn’t crop in software.
Always choose the focal length to get the right shot at the time of capture.
Only use prime lenses, a zoom lens dilutes your image quality.
Nail your exposure. If you underexpose or overexpose you’ve missed the shot.
Set your sharpening correctly for a pinsharp image.
Make sure your shutter speed is enough to prevent camera movement.
Always use a tripod. 
Real photographers shoot black and white only as it’s the most direct link to historical photography.
And those primes? They should be vintage lenses.
You should never stage a photo, you should always capture the scene as you find it. 

Honestly folks, can you imagine how boring and suppressed photography would be if you had to stick to rules like that? We’re blessed in a world where 40+ Megapixel cameras allow us to crop in to get photos within our capture, allowing you to tailor the crop to both the subject and the destination. Be that for print (and you should print), Instagram stories, posts, or going into videos like reels, shorts, or longer form. 

Use the lens that gets the shot. Many a shot has been lost swapping to the right prime. Put the zoom lens on. Sure, using one fixed length is great practice – I recently shot a festival with the fixed 23mm (35mm full frame equivalent) on a Fujifilm X100VI, but being able to choose a length leads to a far greater variety of images from a location. Get the best one you can afford. Modern zooms are easily as good are older primes for sharpness. 

If you shoot Raw, you have an amazing amount of leeway in exposure. You can easily bring back around two stops of lost highlights, or open up dark shadows with underexposure. These are just tools to enhance your photo. You may have been shooting against overcast skies and nailed your subject’s exposure at the sake of the sky. So you bring it back in raw processing. Good for you. That’s a choice based on experience. 

You don’t need a tripod all the time. Sure, if you’re looking at back-to-front depth of field, which can require long exposures, but handheld photos can work well in other situations. You could even use a tripod with motion. There’s a whole brigade of amazing Intentional Camera Movement photographers using motion during exposure to create unique pieces of art. 

Black and white photography is beautiful. That classic, pristine, look of form and tone. Often breathtaking. But that doesn’t take from the jaw-dropping shot of an amazing sunset. Or the creative use of color. Understanding how colors interact allows you to take photos that have an immediate and lasting impact, often more than with black and white. 

Sharpness is overrated.  As Ansel Adams said "There’s nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept". Film photography was often not perfectly sharp and the grain of the film prevented really sharp edges. Digital sharpness can be a bane for portraits where the depth of pore detail means a lot of retouching to create a more flattering image. Can you ignore it altogether? No, of course not. Shallow focus photos need the subject to be sharp enough for the subject to be obvious. Better to capture a great photo and fix sharpness later than miss it. 

Ignore the purists and use your creativity and gear to the fullest to create photos that represent you, your views, values and likes. 

More opinion pieces by Sean McCormack:

• This is why I hate being a photographer
• I switched camera systems, and this is the lens that really surprised me
• I can't believe I actually bought this camera
• These two lenses could do 90% of your photographic work
• You don't always have to shoot Raw as a photographer, but you probably should
• No, you don't need to get on a plane to take great travel photos

The Hasselblad XCD 20-35E is a crucial new lens in the X System lineup. First of all, it's the brand's first ultra-wide lens, offering an equivalent 16-27mm focal range – which also makes it the widest XCD lens, taking the crown from the XCD 21mm prime.

Secondly, this is the first 'Exclusive' lens in the range – hence the "E" in Hasselblad XCD 20-35E. This new flagship series promises to deliver the same optical excellence as the outstanding XCD primes. 

Designed with the new generation of 100MP cameras in mind, it marries ultra-wide shooting with the ultra resolving power of the Hasselblad X2D and Hasselblad 907X & CFV 100C – though it's also compatible with the 50MP era of X System bodies.

So just how good is Hasselblad's freshman flagship? Let's find out.

Hasselblad XCD 20-35E: Specifications

Hasselblad XCD 20-35E: Price & Availability

The Hasselblad XCD 20-35E is priced $5,929 in the US and £5,699 in the UK (Australian pricing to be confirmed) and is shipping now. This makes it the most expensive X System lens, coming in about a grand more than the other zoom in the lineup – the Hasselblad XCD 35-75. 

Given that its focal range encompasses (and surpasses) that of four current XCD optics – including the recent XCD 25V, which costs US$3,699 / £3,599 alone – the pricetag does feel warranted. 

Hasselblad XCD 20-35E: Design & handling

While it's the first member of the new E (Exclusive) range, the design of the Hasselblad XCD 20-35E is very much in-keeping with the V (Versatile) line of lenses like the XCD 90V and XCD 25V.

The biggest difference is the lack of a manual focus clutch, and the accompanying focus scale, which lends the lens a cleaner appearance. And, of course, it's a larger and heavier lens than the primes – though I certainly wouldn't call it a "big" lens, and in the hand it balances exceptionally well with my X2D. 

While the lens has a variable f/3.2-4.5 maximum aperture, it remains at f/3.2 from 20-24mm – making it both wider and faster than the XCD 21mm f/4 lens. 

In terms of manual focus, since the lens doesn't have a clutch or switch to toggle in and out of autofocus, it's just a matter of a couple of taps on the frictionless Hasselblad menu system to jump into manual. 

The focus ring is as smooth and precise as you'll find on other XCD lenses, and the zoom ring is exceedingly well gauged. While it's easy to glide through the range, there's a pleasing amount of resistance to ensure that you're at the exact focal length you want to be. 

Crucially, since it features an internal zoom mechanism, the length and balance of the lens doesn't change as you push in and out. 

Elsewhere in its internals, the lens features an impressive optical formula, boasting 16 elements in 12 groups, including 3 aspherical elements and 4 extra-low dispersion elements. 

While I didn't shoot any images with supplemental light, the leaf shutter employed by the X System (with the mechanism present in the lens, rather than the camera body) enables flash sync at up to 1/2000 sec. 

Hasselblad XCD 20-35E: Performance

Hasselblad never ceases to impress me with its XCD glass, and I was absolutely delighted with the results I got from the 20-35E. 

One of the first things I shot was a meteor shower during the Northern Lights (above) – something I was a little bit wary of, since I spontaneously decided to run out and chase the aurora and forgot my tripod in the process.

Could I really shoot astro using a medium format camera, handheld, with an f/3.2 aperture? Yes, I really could, thanks in no small part to the incredible in-body image stabilization of my X2D. The XCD 20-35E passed what was probably the hardest test I could give it with flying colors – and it continued to deliver for me time and again.

If you're not a regular shooter of extreme focal lengths, it can be hard to visualize the difference between 16mm and 27mm, so I've included a few comparison images to illustrate just how drastic the change is – and to demonstrate how radically this lens opens up your compositional choices.

Above, for example, you can see how remarkably different the results are at the widest and longest focal lengths from the same position. 

Having used all the X System glass that this zoom now covers – the XCD 21, the recent XCD 25V, and the XCD 30 and XCD 28P – not only is it a huge a win to have this entire range available in a single optic, but for this one lens to offer a faster aperture than any of them bar the 25V is a cherry on the parfait.

Without having to switch out your lenses, you can go from a near-reportage field of view to an extreme wide-angle with creative distortion. Or, of course, just fit more of a magnificent scene in your frame. Just be aware of firing frames towards the sun with a lens this wide, as you're probably going to experience flare if you don't mount the hood.

Speaking of distortion, as you may expect from an ultra-wide, there is some barreling and pincushioning as you move through the range, though nothing too nasty – and nothing that a couple of clicks can't easily fix in post. 

Focusing on this lens is snappy and silent, thanks to the stepping motor and smaller focusing lens group, and I continue to be grateful for the phase detect autofocus in Hasselblad's 100MP cameras. You'll notice some focus breathing when focusing manually, more prominently at the 20mm end, but obviously this isn't an issue for shooting stills.

I have to say that I was blown away by the center sharpness of this lens, which is on par with the performance of the XCD primes – something that's borne out in our lab tests below – though things are certainly a little softer towards the edges until you start to stop down, hitting peak sharpness at around f/11. 

Still, this isn't a portrait lens designed to be used wide open for everything; it's an f/8 and f/11 kind of lens for taking crystal clear landscapes, cityscapes and architectural shots. So in practical terms I don't think anyone who uses this lens is going to be unhappy with the results.

Hasselblad XCD 20-35E: Lab results

We run a range of lab tests under controlled conditions, using the Imatest Master testing suite. Photos of test charts are taken across the range of apertures and zooms (where available), then analyzed for sharpness, distortion and chromatic aberrations.

We use Imatest SFR (spatial frequency response) charts and analysis software to plot lens resolution at the center of the image frame, corners and mid-point distances, across the range of aperture settings and, with zoom lenses, at four different focal lengths. The tests also measure distortion and color fringing (chromatic aberration).

Sharpness:

We've come to expect stellar center sharpness from Hasselblad's XCD prime lenses, but incredibly this zoom optic manages to match the primes – it's sensationally sharp in the center of frame. Sadly corner sharpness is much more average, especially at larger apertures, but stop down to f/8 and you shouldn't notice too much softness in the extreme corners.

Fringing:

Fringing is noticeable at short and mid focal lengths, but it's not severe.

Distortion:

There's noticeable barrel distortion at 20mm, transitioning to slight pincushion distortion by 28mm and beyond. The sweet spot is 24mm where the lens is distortion-free.

Hasselblad XCD 20-35E: Sample images

Hasselblad XCD 20-35E: Verdict

Hasselblad's first ever ultra-wide is another home run for the XCD lineup. Whether you're looking for the fastest and widest lens possible, you're trying to replace a few wide-angle primes, or you simply want a fantastic tool for all-purpose wide-angle shooting, the XCD 20-35E is what you're looking for. 

I truly can't get over the prime-level performance of this lens when it comes to center sharpness – and remember that the XCD 90V is literally the sharpest lens we've ever tested. 

This is a lens that the X System community has long been dreaming about, and it's always a pleasure when dreams come true. 

Hasselblad XCD 20-35E: Alternatives

Meet Remaster Slim: Samyang's new modular lens system, consisting of three separate lenses that connect to a single mount unit. The kit contains 21mm f/3.5, 28mm f/3.5 and 32mm f/2.8 full-frame modules, while the mount is exclusively for Sony E-mount cameras. The kit has been designed for travel, street, and everyday photography, or any situation where lightweight portability is paramount. Samyang says that the mount fitted with the 32mm module weighs just 66.5g, with a thickness of only 19.5mm, making this a true, go-anywhere pancake lens.

This isn't the first time we've seen a modular lens concept though. Several years ago Lomography gave us its retro-themed Neptune system with a similar three-into-one set-up. But where the Neptune was manual focus only, the Samyang Remaster Slim has full autofocus, making it the world's first interchangeable modular lens with autofocus. The AF motor and electronics are housed in the mount section, which also sports a focus ring and AF/MF switch, along with a USB-C port for applying firmware updates. The mount is equipped with a 49mm filter thread, which can be used in conjunction with any of the three optical modules.

Samyang is promising "superior performance" from all three lens modules. The 21mm module features a 7-element optical stack arranged in 6 groups, including 2 Precision Molded and 1 Extra-low Dispersion element to reduce chromatic aberration. The 28mm optic packs 6 elements in 6 groups and features 2 PMo, 1 high refractive and 1 ED element. It's said to offer "sharp results throughout the entire frame", with enhanced resolution and reduced distortion. Finally, there's the 32mm module, which again utilizes 6 elements in 6 groups with 2 PMo and 1 HR element. It gets Samyang's UMC coating to reduce flare and ghosting, while a 7-blade aperture is claimed to provide smooth bokeh.

It is initially only available Sony E-mount - but in South Korea where the lens system has been on pre-order for a couple of weeks, the company have been asking for people's opinion of which mount it should do next (with an L-mount option getting the popular vote). 

The Samyang Remaster Slim is set for a European release this October, priced at £336 / €404 (around $450).

We await confirmation of pricing and availability in North America, where Samyang products have traditionally been sold under Rokinon branding.

The Sigma 10-18mm F2.8 DC DN | Contemporary is an ultra-wide angle lens for APS-C mirrorless cameras. Launched initially in L-mount and Sony E-mount versions, it’s now available in Fujifilm X-mount, and is a tantalizing proposition for Fujifilm users because it undercuts Fujifilm’s own-brand lenses in both price and size. A Canon RF mount version will go on sale on September 26, 2024.

Fujifilm does make two super-wide-angle lenses of its own – the Fujifilm XF 10-24mm f/4 R OIS WR and the Fujifilm XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR. The XF 10-24mm has a longer focal range than the Sigma and OIS, but a smaller maximum aperture. It’s also much bigger and more expensive, and has optical limitations that become especially apparent on the latest 40MP Fujifilm cameras. The XF 8-16mm lens goes even wider than the Sigma, but this is one of Fujifilm’s red-badge pro lenses, and it’s both much bigger and much more expensive.

Right now, then, the Sigma 10-18mm F2.8 DC DN | Contemporary looks like a smaller, more affordable and perhaps superior super-wide lens for Fujifilm fans. 

Indeed, Sigma claims this is the smallest and lightest ultra-wide-angle zoom lens for APS-C cameras, which makes its constant f/2.8 maximum aperture even more impressive. Sigma also claims its optical performance is maintained across the whole frame, with fine detail rendered perfectly right into the corners. 

This is achieved with a sophisticated optical construction of 13 elements in 10 groups, which includes three ultra-low dispersion FLD elements, one super/special low dispersion  SLD element, and four aspherical elements.

Sigma is also very open about the fact this lens relies on digital corrections too. This has become standard practice for mirrorless camera zooms, but not all lens makers are equally forthcoming about this. Images shot with the Sigma 10-18mm F2.8 DC DN will be corrected in-camera if you’re shooting JPEGs and will have a correction profile embedded in raw files for use by programs like Capture One and Lightroom.

Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN: Specifications

Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN: Price and availability

The Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN | Contemporary for X-mount is available now and costs around $599 / £649 / AU$1,099. That’s substantially cheaper than the cheapest own-brand Fujifilm alternative which is the XF 10-24mm f/4 R OIS WR. This costs around $999 / £879 / AU$1,499, which is a lot of money for a somewhat average sort of lens. Fujifilm left a very big gap in its lens range for a more affordable ultra-wide zoom, and Sigma has filled it.

Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN: Design and handling

There are some key features of the Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN to pick out straight away. The first is its size. It’s very small and light for an APS-C ultra-wide zoom, and yet it also has that constant f/2.8 maximum aperture. It covers a pretty modest zoom range, of course, but that’s still impressive.

It’s not all good, though. There’s no aperture ring on this lens, so the aperture must be controlled from the camera body. That’s not such a downside on X-mount cameras with a conventional mode dial, such as the Fujifilm X-S10 or X-S20, but it will be a disappointment for users of the Fujifilm X-T5, X-T50, or other X-T, X-E, and X-Pro cameras with external exposure controls. Many of the best Fujifilm cameras owe their status to these controls.

This lens is also not fully weather-sealed. There is a rubber seal behind the lens mounting plate (which is made of brass) to keep out dust and moisture, but that’s it. If you’re going to be shooting in harsh conditions, bear in mind that while many of the best Fujifilm lenses are weather-sealed (look for the ‘WR’ in the name), this one isn’t.

And while the lens internals are made of metal, the exterior is fashioned from TSC (Thermally Stable Composite). Nevertheless, the exterior finish is first-rate. The semi-matt dark gray/black surface looks very smart indeed.

The action of the zoom ring is super-smooth, and the focus ring has a light, smooth feel too, though there’s no focus distance scale and no hard stops to the minimum focus and infinity settings.

The lens zooms in and out by less than a centimetre, and this combines with an internal focus system that should make the Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN ideal for gimbal use. The best camera gimbals will be able to cope with any slight center of gravity shifts with no difficulty.

Given the 10mm angle of view at the wide and and the relatively fast f/2.8 maximum aperture, the front element of this lens is not particularly bulbous. This means you can fit relatively common 67mm filters with no need for fancy wide-angle adapters.

A petal-style hood is included. This attaches to the front of the lens with a strange kind of push-click action and is removed with a slight twist. It’s a bit odd, but you do get used to it.

Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN: Performance

It’s asking a lot to expect a lens this wide to offer flawless, aberration-free edge to edge sharpness, and despite Sigma’s claim that this lens does exactly that, it doesn’t entirely stack up in practice.

Testing it on a 40MP Fujifilm X-T5 doesn’t really help, since Fujifilm’s latest sensor really highlights any drop-off in lens performance. Keep this in mind if you’re using an earlier 26MP, 24MP or 16MP model, since you won’t notice these issues to the same extent.

Right through the zoom range, the Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN is extremely sharp in the center of the frame, and around the mid-way point to the frame edges. At the extreme edges, though, the definition does fall away somewhat. You’ll notice this most at 10mm, though, and by 14mm and 18mm, the edge definition is really very good. This lens certainly outperforms the Fujinon XF 10-24mm f/4 R OIS WR, which is probably what it’s mostly likely to be compared to.

Sigma’s in-built lens profiles do a great job of correcting any distortion or corner shading, though the in-camera correction of purple fringing towards the edges of the frame isn’t that great. This does contribute towards the impression that the corners aren’t that sharp – a lot of the apparent unsharpness is actually chromatic aberration. If you shoot raw you should find that the automatic chromatic aberration correction in both Capture One and Lightroom will fix this with a single click.

The Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN does deliver excellent contrast and flare resistance even wide open. You can get really close to foreground objects for dramatic perspective effects and throw backgrounds out of focus at the same time – though there is some visible longitudinal color fringing or ‘bokeh’ fringing with defocused object outlines.

This lens uses a stepping motor AF system rather than the linear actuators in more exotic lenses, but Sigma says the focus group within the lens is light and, in real world use, this lens focuses very quickly. It’s also inaudible. In video it refocuses quickly with subject distance changes and, again, silently.

Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN: Sample images

Here’s a selection of images taken with the Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN at various focal lengths and shooting distances. The edge to edge performance improves at longer focal lengths, but it’s still pretty good even at 10mm. It does extremely well for a such a small and modestly priced lens.

Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN: Verdict

The Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN is not perfect. The lack of an aperture ring will be a disappointment for many Fujifilm users, and the lack of weather sealing and OIS may disappoint a few more. But I do think the positives easily outweigh the negatives. Compared to Fujifilm’s own ultra-wide zooms, this lens is tiny – some would say that this is the size APS-C lenses are SUPPOSED to be. Given its size, its constant f/2.8 maximum aperture is a considerable achievement. It’s true that this is over a shorter focal range than the Fujinon XF 10-24mm f/4 R OIS WR, for example, but you have to decide if you’re willing to swap the extra zoom range for an extra f-stop in maximum aperture.

Perhaps the single biggest killer feature of this lens, though, is its price. It’s not just smaller than the XF 10-24mm f/4 R OIS WR, it’s also considerably cheaper. And, admittedly over a smaller zoom range, it outperforms the Fujifilm lens optically, too.

Professional users might still look at the massive Fujinon XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR instead, which goes even wider than this lens, but that represents a huge step up in both size and price. If what you’re looking for is a more compact ultra-wide zoom for travel, architecture, landscapes or interiors, the Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN does it brilliantly. Why pay (and carry) more?

Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN: Alternatives

Leica lenses have earned a global reputation for their exceptional quality, and for good reason. With over 150 years of experience in crafting top-notch optical instruments, Leica's legacy is truly unmatched. This expertise shines through in the company's latest offering, the brand-new Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 70–200 f/2.8 ASPH - Finally, the 'Pro Workhorse' lens has arrived at the Leica SL-System and I'm excited about it!

This L-mount lens is the newest addition completing a powerful trio of SL zoom lenses with a consistent f/2.8 aperture. Alongside the Super-Vario-Elmarit-SL 14–24 f/2.8 ASPH. and the Vario-Elmarit-SL 24–70 f/2.8 ASPH., it opens up a world of possibilities for both photographers and filmmakers, covering focal lengths from an ultra-wide 14mm to a striking 200mm telephoto. And if you're looking to go even further, Leica has also introduced the new Extender L 2.0x teleconverter which pushes the reach of the new 70-200mm lens to an impressive 400mm at its longest reach.

Perfectly suited for capturing portraits, the classic telephoto zoom range of the Vario-Elmarit-SL 70–200 f/2.8 ASPH. is designed to excel in various scenarios—from events to sports to nature photography. Its high aperture ratio – constant across the entire zoom range – combined with superb image stabilization ensures that you're always ready to tackle any photographic challenge.

Inside the lens, you'll find 20 elements in 15 groups, including three with aspherical surfaces. This design is said to guarantee razor-sharp images, even at the edges, no matter the focal length. Plus, with internal focusing, the lens maintains its compact form, making it comfortable and easy to handle at any distance.

The Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 70–200 f/2.8 ASPH. is available now, priced at $3,295 /  £2,780. The Leica Extender L 2.0x is also available, priced at $995 / £800. 

Check out our guide to the best Leica SL lenses

Sigma has launched a new full-frame standard zoom lens with a constant f/2.8 aperture. But where most f/2.8 standard zooms have a 24-70mm focal length, the new Sigma ups the ante by offering a 28-105mm focal range.

The Sigma 28-105mm F2.8 DG DN | Art has been designed for a wide range of subjects, from landscapes to all forms of portraiture, and even close-up shots, thanks to a 40cm minimum focus distance available throughout the focal range. That large maximum aperture also means low light needn't be an issue, and Sigma is claiming the 12-blade rounded diaphragm produces "beautiful" bokeh.

Read more:
The best standard zoom lenses
The best Sony lenses
The best L-mount lenses

Inside is an 18-element optical stack incorporating two FLD (“F” Low Dispersion), one SLD (Special Low Dispersion) and a whopping five aspherical elements. Sigma also states that one aspherical element is an especially large 66.4mm diameter and is therefore very difficult to produce, requiring advanced manufacturing techniques in Sigma's facility in Aizu, Japan. Nano Porous Coating and Super Multi-Layer Coating are applied to minimize flare and ghosting, and the lens is said to have been designed using advanced simulation technology to further reduce flare and ghosting.

This isn't the first time we've seen a constant f/2.8 standard zoom lens that goes longer than 70mm. Canon's RF 24-105mm F2.8L IS USM Z manages a similar feat, but the new Sigma is significantly smaller and lighter. Where the big Canon measures 88.5 x 199mm and weighs a hefty 1,430g, the Sigma is just 87.8 x 157.9mm, and around a third lighter at 995g. This weight reduction is thanks to the use of magnesium-alloy rather than aluminium for the lens barrel, which is responsible for a two-third reduction in barrel weight, while still maintaining good rigidity. Despite the weight-saving, the lens is fitted with weather seals, making it dust and splash-resistant, while the front element features a water- and oil-repellent coating. In addition to improving image quality, those five aspherical elements also help reduce the overall length of the lens without compromising optical sharpness.

Like its Canon 24-105mm counterpart, the Sigma 28-105mm F2.8 DG DN | Art is designed for both stills and video use. It incorporates an HLA (High-response Linear Actuator) autofocus motor for fast, responsive, precise and smooth AF, along with "noise-free" performance when shooting video. Also aiding video use is a dedicated aperture ring, equipped with a de-click switch, as well as a locking switch to prevent unintentional aperture adjustment. The zoom ring can also be locked, and released either by switch or by rotating the zoom ring.

The SIGMA 28-105mm F2.8 DG DN | Art will be available from September 26 , in Sony E-mount and L-Mount variants, priced at $1,499/£1,399.

Pre-order E-mount version from B&H
Pre-order L-mount version from B&H

DJI is one of the most renowned drone manufacturers in the photography and video industry, developing camera drones for beginners, drones for travel, and FPV drones. It also, however, produces a top-tier professional cinematography drone in the form of its Inspire 3, and it has just received an exciting new lens.

As a DL lens it is not only compatible with the Inspire 3 but also the Ronin 4D and other drones with the DL mount, including some in the Matrice series depending on the accessories fitted.

The DJI DL 75mm f/1.8 lens is a new medium telephoto lens that provides the longest focal length and widest aperture out of all existing DL lens options. The lens was custom-designed specially for the Inspire 3 cinema drone's Zenmuse X9-Air gimbal camera, providing optimal image quality and versatility.

The DJI DL lens series was officially launched last year enabling the use of full-frame DJI lenses on DJI drones. The addition of the 75mm now means that the range covers ultra-wide, wide, standard, and medium telephoto focal lengths, providing more shooting options for cinematographers.

DJI Creative Director Ferdinand Wolf states, "With the new DJI DL 75mm lens, we continue to bring innovation to the filmmaking industry by pushing aerial and handheld cinematography to new heights. As a leader in civil drone and creative camera technology, we aim to provide creators with the professional tools they need to unlock their creative potential and bring their visions to life."

The DJI DL 75mm f/1.8 lens is constructed of 10 elements in 9 groups including three extra-low dispersion lenses providing what DJI states as 'outstanding optical quality.' UMC coating further minimizes internal reflections to deliver higher contrast and clearer images, which is vital when shooting in any case, but especially for drones.

The wide f/1.8 aperture enables users to capture smooth rich details and beautiful bokeh/fall-off, during the day and into the evening. Combined with the Inspire 3's dual ISO of 800 and 4000, shooting in low light needn't be an issue and the sample footage provides proof of this.

The lighter the lens you attach to your drone the more flexibility and maneuverability you have. The 75mm is optimized for aerial cinematography, constructed with an integrated carbon fiber housing, and weighs just 269 grams.

Alongside the announcment, DJI released a video showing sample footage, and it is breathtaking, especially the lowlight performance of capturing the city skyline at night – check it out above or over on the DJI YouTube channel.

The DJI DL 75 mm f/1.8 Lens is available to order today from DJI for $1,299 / £1,295 / AU$2,259 and includes the lens, lens protective glass, lens counterweight ring, pitch axis counterweight block, yaw axis counterweight block, storage box, screwdriver, and screws.

You may also be interested in our guides to the best camera drones, the best drones for beginners, and the best drones for kids.

Canon is revisiting its plans to challenge DJI with a handheld gimbal camera, designing a new product that looks eerily reminiscent of the DJI Osmo Pocket 3. 

This is not, however, Canon's first attempt to design such a product. 

Canon's aspirations to produce a handheld gimbal camera date back to at least 2021, which is when the first patents and designs were spotted. 

Back then, the company was working on a camera that differed in one key way to the Osmo line: rather than having a fixed lens, Canon's initial designs featured an interchangeable lens mount. 

In 2021 it was speculated that this could be the EOS M system, supporting the EF-M lenses employed by Canon's first mirrorless system (which included popular cameras such as the Canon EOS M50). 

That said, it looks to me like the earlier diagrams (such as the one below) show a mount with 12 electronic contacts, which would suggest the RF mount (since the EF-M mount only had 9 contacts):

Either way, the latest design shows that these plans may have changed. Whether it's because the EOS M system has now been discontinued, the throat of the RF mount is too big, or because Canon has simply decided against interchangeable lenses of any kind, the most recent version looks to feature a fixed lens – albeit a zoom one. 

"Canon has been exploring this type of camera for some time, but it seems to be gradually moving towards a design similar to the Osmo Pocket," writes Asobinet, which spotted the latest patent. 

"Canon seems to be considering installing a zoom lens, rather than a fixed focal length lens like the Osmo pocket. This type of camera is fixed to a wide-angle fixed focal length, so it would be convenient if it could use standard or telephoto lenses. 

"It is unclear whether this will be realized, but it seems that they are considering a camera unit structure that has less center of gravity movement when zooming (making it easier to balance with a gimbal)."

Whether this latest design comes any closer to production than its predecessors from over three years ago, it's hard to say. However, with the DJI Osmo Pocket line being more popular than ever, it's certainly a fertile market for Canon to tap into.

You might be interested in the best Canon cameras, as well as the best gimbals for cameras and the best smartphone gimbals.

TTArtisan has just unveiled its third 100mm f/2.8 lens in 12 months... and this time the focus purely on macro photography. 

Earlier this year, we saw the Chinese lens specialist bring out a similar lens which had additional shift functionality. And last year, we saw a 'Bubble' 100mm which specialized on its bokeh performance.

The new manual focus macro lens is available in an impressive range of DSLR and mirrorless camera mounts. There are options for Sony E, Nikon Z, Nikon F, Canon EF, Canon R, Fujfilm X, and Leica L mounts. A Fujfilm GFX version is also being sold - although we are warned that this will create vignetting at the higher magnifications.

The 100mm lens provides up to 2x life-size magnification - with a close focusing distance of 0.25m. 

The lens is constructed from 14 elements in 10 groups - including six high index elements. The diaphragm has 12 blades, and at the front there is a 67mm filter ring. The metal-bodied lens weighs between 700 and 750g, depending on the mount chosen.

The telephoto macro lens is especially useful for extreme close-ups of insects and the like - but the focal length means it can also prove an effective portrait lens.

TTArtisan 100mm F/2.8 2X Ultra Macro will sell for $319.

Check out our guide to the best macro lenses currently on sale

Viltrox has just told us that a Sony E-mount version of its Viltrox AF 40mm f/2.5 lens is now available. The budget-priced autofocus prime was first launched in the Nikon Z mirrorless mount earlier in the year.

Weighing just 180g (6.3oz), the lens is suitable for both full-frame Sony cameras - with the effective focal length becoming 60mm when used on an APS-C model.

The big appeal of this new lens (as with the Nikon version) is the budget price - with the Sony version now on sale for $168 / £165.

With an f/2.5 maximum aperture, it is not quite as fast as some rival primes with this 'standard' focal length - but the affordability makes it a useful addition to a camera bag full of slower zooms.

The lens is constructed from 10 elements in six groups, including one ED lens, three high refractive (HR) index lenses, and one aspherical lens. The front element has a nano multi-layered coating designed repel water, grease, and grime. The new Viltox has seven aperture blades, a 52mm filter thread, and a minimum focus distance of 0.34cm (1.1ft).

See our reviews of current Viltrox lenses

• Viltrox AF 13mm F1.4 review
• Viltrox AF 16mm F1.8 review
• Viltrox AF 20mm F2.8 review
• Viltrox AF 23mm F1.4 Z review
• Viltrox AF 27mm F1.2 Pro review
• Viltrox AF 33mm F1.4 review
• Viltrox AF 40mm F2.5 review
• Viltrox AF 56mm F1.4 review
• Viltrox AF 56mm F1.7 review

Fujifilm’s camera history has been kind of like a game of two halves. It made its name with compact retro-styled X-T, X-E, and X-Pro cameras with compact bodies and external exposure controls. These came with a range of compact f/2 prime lenses designed for compactness and affordability, including an 18mm f/2, 23mm f/2, 35mm f/2, and 50mm f/2. This XF16mm F2.8 came along a little later to provide a 24mm equivalent prime no larger than the rest, and yet with a physical aperture ring and weather sealing.

These are among the best Fujifilm lenses, certainly for travel photography and fans of old-school external exposure controls.

Since then, though, Fujifilm has shifted gears, aiming for a more mainstream enthusiast/hybrid market with the X-S10 and X-S20, and higher-end professional users, with the Fujifilm X-H2 and X-H2s. These are among the best Fujifilm cameras to buy today but have lost some of the uniqueness of earlier models.

The X-T series carries on with the Fujifilm X-T5 and X-T50, but the X-E and X-Pro range appear to have gone. Along with this has been a shift towards larger, professional zooms and fast f1/4 primes which appeal to a wider market but don’t sit so well on the smaller cameras.

The XF16mm F2.8, however, will still have strong appeal for owners of smaller or more modest Fujifilm bodies. Its maximum aperture may be modest, but it’s compact, inexpensive, and practical – and it could fill a gap in many users’ prime lens line-up.

Fujinon XF 16mm F2.8: Specifications

Fujinon XF 16mm F2.8: Price and availability

The Fujinon XF16mm F2.8 is widely available and costs around $399 / £339. Fujifilm also makes an XF16mm F1.4 R WR which is quite tempting, because it has a maximum aperture 2 stops faster – though it does cost almost three times as much. The other alternative is the much newer Fujinon XF18mm F1.4 R LM WR, but that has a slightly longer equivalent focal length of 27mm, and as well as being a lot more expensive, it’s physically larger and longer too. If you’re happy with an f/2.8 maximum aperture, the little XF16mm F2.8 is terrific value for money.

Fujinon XF16mm F2.8: Design and handling

The XF16mm F2.8 is pretty cheap by prime lens standards, especially for one that has a physical aperture ring and weather-sealed construction. It feels very well made indeed, with a metal mounting plate (of course) and a petal-shaped lens hood included.

Everything about this lens feels well-designed. The aperture ring is clearly marked and is beautifully weighted with 1/3-stop clicks between the major aperture markings and an A (auto) setting past f/22, where the lens aperture is controlled by the camera body.

The manual focus ring feels really smooth and is mounted ahead of the aperture ring where the lens barrel tapers in slightly. This means there’s no danger of mistaking one ring for the other and you can find both easily by touch.

However, there’s no focus distance scale on this lens, and hence no depth of field markings for zone or hyperfocal distances. These can be displayed on the camera, though, so it’s still perfectly doable.

Beyond that, there’s not much more to say. This is a simple, solid-feeling little lens that gets on with the job without any fuss or distractions. It also looks good and balances well on any Fujifilm bodies.

Fujinon XF16mm F2.8: Performance

Optically, the XF16mm F2.8 is good but not stellar. Fujifilm’s in-body corrections and embedded profiles effectively remove chromatic aberration, vignetting, and distortion, but while the edge-to-edge performance is good on older Fujifilm bodies, the 40MP sensor in my X-T5 does make the fall-off in resolution towards the edges of the frame more apparent.

This is the curse of high-resolution sensors. All those megapixels can turn anyone into a pixel-peeper, and it’s only human nature to zoom right in to see how much detail you’ve captured. Provided you don’t zoom in too far – say 100% on a 4K monitor – the images from this lens look great. Zoom in further to 200%, say, and you’ll see that while the center resolution is excellent, it does fall away somewhat toward the edges.

Will this bother you? On a 26MP, 24MP, or older 16MP Fujifilm camera, I doubt it. It’s only with the latest 40MP sensors it starts to become apparent. That’s a bit of a shame because the little XF16mm 2.8 is such a wonderful match for an X-T5 body, and especially the new X-T50.

The autofocus performance is excellent. Fujifilm’s smaller lenses don’t get the company’s high-speed Linear Motor actuators but it doesn’t seem to matter here. The XF16mm F2.8 is whisper quiet and focuses in an instant.

Fujinon XF16mm F2.8: Sample images

Here’s a selection of shots taken with the XF16mm F2.8. It’s an ideal walkaround lens for city streets and architecture, and landscapes too. The modest F2.8 maximum aperture only becomes a limitation in dimly-lit interiors, but if you’re using a later Fujifilm body with IBIS, you can get around that with slower shutter speeds.

Fujinon XF16mm F2.8: Verdict

The Fujinon 16mm F2.8 is a super little lens that’s really well made and nice to handle. The controls and finish are so good that it feels as if it ought to cost a lot more than it actually does. What keeps the cost and the size down is that maximum aperture of f/2.8, which isn’t much in a world where 24mm equivalent primes are typically f/1.8 or f/1.4. But if that’s the price of compactness and affordability then I’m happy to pay for it. (I actually did pay for it – I own this lens.)

Ideally I would like it to be a little sharper at the edges than it is when I use it on my X-T5, but that’s an issue raised by this camera’s unprecedented resolution. It is proving quite difficult to find affordable X-mount lenses that can live up to this sensor’s potential.

I don’t want to overstate this, though. You have to be a bit of a pixel peeper to notice in the first place, and if you’re using a 26MP body or lower, then it’s pretty much a no-issue.

I say that because it would be a real shame if this lens was overlooked because it’s not perfect. It’s small, affordable, practical and beautifully made.

Fujinon XF16mm F2.8: Alternatives

Tamron is launching a Nikon Z version of its 50-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD superzoom. The full-frame mirrorless lens was launched in Sony FE mount in 2022, and this 8x zoom will now become Tamron's fifth lens available in the Nikon Z mount.

The lens is unusual as it dramatically increases the range of the established 100-400mm range twofold - turning a telephoto zoom into an all-in-one superzoom that can be used for a wider range of subjects than just sports and wildlife. 

Furthermore, the lens offers closer focusing than you might expect from a lens of this type - offering a 1:2 magnification at the 50mm end, making it a useful substitute for a true macro lens. The minimum focus setting is just 0.25m (9.8in) at this setting - whilst at 400mm you can focus down to 1.5m (59in), with a 1:4 maximum magnification.

In our Tamron 50-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD review we noted that "For action, sports and wildlife photography when you need to swap between a standard field of view and serious telephoto reach for different compositions, there’s always the risk of missing a great shot while you’re changing the lens on your camera body. This  solves the problem with its unusual 50-400mm zoom range, giving you both options in one package. It’s quite weighty for standard focal length shooting, at more than a kilogram, but has refined handling, fast autofocus, and effective optical stabilization".

The image-stabilized lens is constructed from 24 elements in 18 groups - including two XLD (eXtra Low Dispersion), three LD (Low Dispersion), one GM (Glass Molded Aspherical), and one Hybrid Aspherical lens elements. The lens weighs 1,180g (41.6oz).

The iris diaphragm uses nine blades, and it has a 67mm front filter ring. There is a connector port for use with Tamron's Lens Utility that allows you to update firmware and to implement a Focus Limiter function.

Existing Nikon Z-mount Tamron lenses include the 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2, 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III RXD, 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD, and 150-500mm f/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD.

The Tamron 50-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD will go on sale from September 19 for $1,299/£1,249, and comes supplied with a flower-shaped lens hood. An Arca-Swiss compatible tripod collar is sold as an optional extra for $129/£109.

The original Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM is unquestionably a Sony lens classic, originally launched in 2016 as one of the first of three G-Master lenses, it proved that Sony could make lenses for its new mirrorless cameras that rivaled the best DSLR lenses for optical quality. 

Over the years as lens technology has evolved the original 85mm G-Master is starting to show its age, with slow autofocus, prominent chromatic aberrations, and a large size that doesn’t perfectly balance with smaller bodies. So, Sony has gone back to the drawing board to design a more compact and lightweight 85mm lens that solves the previous version’s optical flaws – and has come back with the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM II.

With 14 elements in 11 groups, including x2 XA and x2 ED elements, as well as a Nanon AR II coating on the front of the lens, Sony is promising this second-generation’s refined optics will produce significantly less color fringing and improved chromatic aberrations. Sony demonstrated some images taken with both generations of the lens, and this definitely looks to be improved, as well as the lens being clearly sharper than the Mark I version. However, we will have to test this ourselves in our review. 

The 11-blade aperture should make for a nice rounded bokeh, with the classic 85mm portrait focal length being a favorite of many for creamy background falloff. Sony has brought all its lens technology to bear here, claiming its XA elements are manufactured to a 0.01-micron surface precision to remove any onion ring effects in the bokeh.

According to Sony’s calculations, the lens should be three times faster during autofocus (AF-S) than the previous version, with two XD linear motors driving the internal autofocus. This should allegedly make for a seven-fold improvement in subject tracking speed, with 120fps tracking supported. The lens has also been engineered to suppress focus breathing and will work alongside the focus breathing compensation in Sony’s latest cameras.

The Mark II version of the lens has shrunk down, measuring 84.7x107cm, versus the 89.5 x 107.5 mm of the original lens, and is also much lighter, weighing in at 642g versus 820g for the Mark I. The lens features two focus hold buttons, a manual focus ring, a de-clickable aperture/iris ring, and an iris lock switch.

The Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM II will be available at the beginning of September 2024 for a launch price of $1,799 / £1,850, with AU pricing to be confirmed. This is a jump from the $1,699 / £1,499 price of the original, although 8 years is a long time, so this price hike isn’t completely unexpected.

For more on all things Sony – check out our guides to the best Sony camera and the best Sony lenses.

The Beijing International Radio, TV & Film Equipment Exhibition (BIRTV) is one of the most significant events dedicated to the broadcasting, film, and TV industries in Asia. Laowa was among the brands showcasing new equipment including many exciting new cine lenses, including macro, anamorphic, and tilt-shift options!

Laowa has been releasing some incredible cine lens options of late, and much like its range of photography lenses, covers just about every shooting scenario imaginable. At this year's BIRTV not less than 6 cine lens ranges were on display, including some exciting new offerings.

According to Asobinet, Laowa's new, and to the best of my knowledge first, Ultima 12-120mm 10X S35 Broadcast lens was on show, and although not much is known about the release of the lens, there are a few features that look to impress.

Laowa states that the 10X zoom range lens offers an 'excellent optical design' with 28 lenses in 20 groups, and is ideal for 8K broadcast cameras, especially as it is Equipped with a server and can be connected to a channel system.

Also showcased was the 'soon-to-be-released' Laowa Sword series of full-frame macro cine lenses. The series will feature 6 lenses covering a focal range of 15mm to 180mm, with a maximum magnification of 1X to 2X.

Multiple ED lenses are included to suppress chromatic aberration and a large aperture of T2.9 enables 'excellent' low light performance. Again, there is no further information regarding when these lenses might be available, but I expect later this year.

Laowa is renowned for creating unique lenses, and it certainly maintains this mantle by providing a look at its upcoming tilt-shift cinema lenses. Tilt-shift lenses are of course very common in photography, however, I can't recall any cine-specific tilt-shift lenses.

Potentially still in production, all we know about these two lenses is the focal lengths of 15mm and 20mm, which have a T4.8 and T4.1 aperture respectively. Laowa does state that they will both have a 'unique tilt-shift function that achieves a tilt-shift of ±11mm'.

Ultra-wide prime cinema lenses, 1.5X Anamorphic Macro Cinema lenses, and the Laowa Ranger 16-30mm T2.9 FF were also on display, a statement from Laoea that it means business.

In addition to creating unique lenses, Laowa produces fantastic optical-designed glass at more often than not a competitive price point. As these new cine lenses are ready enough to show off at an event such as BIRTV, I can't imagine it will be too long before we see them released.

You may also be interested in our guides to the best cine lenses, the best cinema cameras, and the best tilt-sift lenses.

It's no secret that the retro look of film photography is back – and not just the celebrated film you might find on a Salgado or Adams print, but the nostalgic Nineties film look seen in family albums that were captured with film cameras. PolarPro has just made achieving this look in-camera easier with the release of its LightLeak lenses.

The PolarPro LightLeak range enables you to capture the nostalgic analog feel on the latest mirrorless cameras, by intentionally add light leaks to images. The unique lenses are designed for APS-C sensors and are available in three focal lengths, 16mm 28mm and 50mm (which translates to 24mm, 42mm and 75mm in equivalent terms, or 26mm, 49mm and 80mm on Canon cameras), offering wide to light telephoto range.

Light leaks used to be a byproduct of light accidentally leaking into the camera and exposing a streak on the film. Today it is a stylistic choice chosen by many to emulate the quirks of film, made famous by filters used on social media.

You might be asking yourself why you might use these lenses on cameras that are capable of shooting clean, crisp images, but these lenses are less about clinical precision and more about capturing the mood and moment. They seek to bring back some personality to modern cameras, which can often be too clinical. 

Above: A sample gallery of images taken with the PolarPro LightLeaks

The LightLeak lenses promise to provide "rich colors, natural grain, and light leaks" as you would get with an analog camera and film. Much like a disposable camera the lenses are fixed focus from 3.3ft / 1m to infinity, meaning once you set the focus in the camera it's locked.

The lens also has a fixed aperture of f/11, providing sufficient depth of field to make sure everything is in focus.

The shape and direction of the light leak are determined by rotating a ring on the lens. Alternatively, you can choose to have no light leaks and simply enjoy the ability to capture grain and retro colors.

The design of the lens is as you'd expect from PolarPro, with a sleek aluminum housing and protective lens caps that also look sleek and stylish.

The PolarPro LensLeak lenses are available now for Fujifilm X, Sony E, Canon RF and Nikon Z mounts. Individually they cost $129 / £100, but they are also available as a full set for $349 / £270 (Australian pricing to be determined).

You may also be interested in our guides to the best film cameras, the best film stocks, and the best retro cameras.

Viltrox has a new Sony-fit version of budget-priced  AF 56mm f/1.7. Already on sale in NIkon Z and Fujifilm X mount, the lens is designed for use with APS-C cameras - and as such offers an effective focal length of 85mm – making it a great lens for portrait photography. 

The ideal focal length for head-and-shoulder portraits, coupled with the wide f/1.7 aperture will enable the user to create shallow depth of field, isolating the subject from the background. With nine aperture blades, it promises the sort of dreamy bokeh that you usually only get with much more expensive prime lenses.

The 56mm f/1.7 has an internal focusing and a silent STM autofocus motor, enabling fast and accurate focusing for both stills and video. Vitrox says that the focus breathing is "almost imperceptible when the focus changes".

The lens is constructed from 11 elements in nine groups, including four extra-low dispersion lenses and three lenses with high refractive index, combating aberrations and dispersion. It weighs just 171g and is 72mm long.

Other features include HD multi-layer nano lens coating, a 52mm diameter filter thread, EXIF info transmission support, and a built-in USB-C port for updating firmware.

The AF 56mm f/1.7 sells for $180 / £139 / AU$315.

You can read our full review of the Nikon-fit Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.7

See our guides for more information on the best portrait lenses and the best Sony lenses

Samyang is teasing a new lens - but we don't have much to go on, based on the Facebook post announcing its imminent launch.

With the headline of the post promising "Something New", we see a silhouette of what looks like a very thin lens. So that, I guess, means a pancake prime lens.

We are also told that it is for Sony FE creators - so it is a full-frame lens for Sony Alpha mirrorless cameras.

We are also told it it slim, stylish, inspiring and creative – which doesn't give us a lot more information about the lens's actual specification. But a hashtag does confirm that this lens will boast autofocus.

But we do know that Samyang already has 24mm f/2.8 and 35mm f/2.8 autofocus lenses available for Sony shooters. So this may well be a different focal length - such as a 20mm? Sony already have a Sony E 20mm f/2.8 Pancake lens - but that is only suitable for APS-C-sensor cameras.

The teaser doesn't give us a launch date, but we would expect the announcement to be in the next day or two... And we'd expect, as usual, that the lens will also be made available in the Rokinon range in North America. We'll let you know the full details as soon as we have them.

Meanwhile, check our guides to the best pancake lenses and the best Sony lenses available right now

Since its launch late last year, the Thypoch Simera series has quickly become a favorite among street photographers – offering great optics with a vintage touch. And Thypoch has just announced a new addition to the series.

The Thypoch Simera 50mm f/1.4 lens, is the latest to be added to its lineup, offering perhaps the most famous and recognizable focal length for street photography, favored by the father of street himself: Henri Cartier-Bresson, one of the best photographers ever.

The Simera series already consists of the Thypoch Simera 35mm f/1.4 and the Simera 28mm f/1.4, so adding the 50mm completes a trifecta of lenses perfect for street photography. Of course, the 50mm focal length makes for a fantastic all-rounder – so this can quite easily stay on your camera for all occasions.

Much like all current Thypoch lenses, it is targeted to fit the retro and analog style of the Leica M cameras – therefore, the Simera 50mm is manual focus. It features a helpful crescent-shaped focus tab and a modification from the standard infinity lock, each added in response to user feedback.

The Simera 50mm lens is constructed of an 8-element, 6-group optical design, including an aspherical element, an extra-low dispersion (ED) element, and a trio of high-refractive index (HRI) elements. This enables clear and sharp image quality from edge to edge, even when shooting wide open.

The lens has a fast aperture of f/1.4, which makes shooting in difficult low light situations that much easier, and the 14-aperture blade aperture delivers spherical bokeh and smooth focus falloff. The lens also has a minimum focusing distance of just 0.45m, incredibly useful for spontaneous street shooting and offering closer shooting than similar lenses on the market.

The demand for content creation and video is constantly increasing and has been considered in the design of the 50mm, featuring clicked and de-clicked aperture modes to suit the needs for smooth video work.

"The high refractive index multi-layer coatings and high refractive index elements deliver an abundant light transmission of up to T1.5, resulting in bright and vibrant images," says Thypoch.

By referring to the aperture in T stops, in addition to stating that the 14-bladed aperture is "cine-standard", the manufacturer is clearly catering to video usage.

ABOVE: Sample images taken with the Thypoch Simera 50mm f/1.4

The Thypoch Simera 50mm f/1.4 is available to preorder now in black and silver, with shipping scheduled for late September. The lens will cost just $749 (approximately £575 / AU $1,120).

The price of this lens is substantially lower than a Leica with the same focal length and aperture, and promises a great alternative without sacrificing optical quality. If the 50mm follows the same trend as the 28mm and 35mm, we may see additional mount options released soon.

You may also be interested in our guides to the best Leica M lenses, the best Leica cameras, and the best Leica alternatives.

I have a theory that most photographers go through phases in their work. It could be that this involves changing what you want to shoot, switching between the best mirrorless cameras on the market to find a different camera system that suits your workflow better, or changing lenses, either type or focal length.

I've also been through these phases in my professional photography career, and while I've now switched from being a professional sports photographer to someone who's trying to find beauty in the mundane through street and documentary-style photography I've seen my gear change from multiple cameras and lenses to just one camera and one lens most of the time: a 50mm now being my focal length of choice.

While I love my 50mm on my Leica M-E for digital work, my Leica M2 is still in its 6-month turnaround to be fixed so my trusty Nikon F5 is keeping my analog photography going with a Nikon Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.8D, and I don't like the way that lens renders anything, on film or digital via my Nikon D800.

So I did something drastic and picked up a 1960s gem, the Nikon Nikkor-H Auto 50mm f/2, and that gave me 'the look' my modern glass could not achieve. Plus it is by far the sharpest lens I've ever used both on film and in my digital work!

The 50mm Nikkor-H Auto was made between 1960 and 1972 for the famous Nikon F camera and this incredible lens stole the hearts of many photographer at the time for its easy-to-focus nature, as well as being very sharp.

One thing all you hawk-eye Nikonians will know is that this lens is what they call a 'Non-AI' lens – meaning it does not offer 'Auto Indexing'. This is a fancy way of saying most of the best DSLRs from Nikon won't be able to read what aperture you are on, and neither will advanced film cameras like the Nikon F5.

'Hang on, he just said he uses it on a Nikon F5 and D800?' you might be saying at this point. That's because, with a little DIY, I made this wonderful lens – that most think is now useless – useable on my Nikon cameras. That is a story for another time, I'm afraid, but the results are incredible – but they really shouldn't be if you read the specs on paper.

The 'H' in Nikkor-H stands for Hex, meaning this little gem only features 6 elements and is coated, but not multi-coated, so the lens has a slight blue-ish tone to it when you hold it to the light.

Everything would make you believe that by today's standards, this lens would fall by the wayside, even when compared to my 'newer' f/1.8D lens, but that's so far from the truth. This 50mm f/2 lens from the 1960s is the BEST and SHARPEST lens I have ever used (capital letters fully intended), and its focus tab is one of the smoothest and easiest on any Nikon lens I've used. It gives off, dare I say it, a 'vintage' look to my photos that I've been missing, teamed up with its incredible sharpness wide-open. I was so convinced it made me list my Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8D on eBay within record time of being able to use this lens on my cameras.

I guess the time-honoured adage "old is gold" is true in this case, and I could not be happier to be able to use this remarkable lens that I picked up for a mere $51 / £40. That price included the original lens hood, which, if lost, can be the same price as the lens itself!

It just goes to show if it was good enough to be capturing world events as they happen in the hands of some of the best documentary photographers of its era, it's certainly good enough for me - and it looks incredible too!

There doesn't seem to be a week that goes by without a major manufacturer issuing firmware updates for its cameras but in rarer instances, lenses also get updated. This is the case this week, as Fujifilm updates the firmware on three of its XF zoom lenses.

Zoom lenses are among the most popular as they cover multiple focal lengths in one lens. It used to be that zoom lenses would have to sacrifice some quality in return for the variable focal length and prime lenses were king, however, with the advancement in today's technology the gap has been reduced.

This is certainly the case for the Fujifilm lenses getting a new upgrade, as they rank among the best Fujifilm lenses on the market. The lenses are the Fujinon XF 16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR, the Fujinon XF 16-80mm F4 R OIS WR, and the Fujinon XF 18-120mm F4 LM PZ WR.

Unfortunately, it isn't one of those firmware updates that add features or improve AF tracking, but it is just as important as it fixes noted issues with the lens performance.

The notes read as follows:

" Fujinon XF 16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR Ver.1.33

• A minor bug is fixed.

Fujinon XF 16-80mm F4 R OIS WR Ver.1.21

• A firmware bug is fixed that the noise occurs during zoom operation in the rare cases.

• A minor bug is fixed.

Fujinon XF 18-120mm F4 LM PZ WR Ver.1.11

• A minor bug is fixed. "

Not groundbreaking updates but necessary ones to get the lenses working at maximum potential, and regarding the XF 16-80mm, fixing a noisy motor will be very welcomed by users.

If you have never updated your lens firmware or perhaps need a refresher, a step-by-step guide on how to update your lens firmware can be found on each download page.

You may also be interested in our guides to the best Fujifilm lenses, the best Fujifilm cameras, and the best standard zoom lenses.

Last month, Astrhori teased a new macro lens on its social media while asking for product testers. It appears the tests have now been completed as the new Astrhori 120mm f/2.8 macro lens has just been announced.

Astrhori is one of many new Chinese third-party lens manufacturers, offering budget lenses for a wide range of cameras including the market's best mirrorless cameras. Its already extensive lineup includes fish-eye, tilt shift, and macro lenses with the new 120mm release its longest focal lengthed macro to date.

The Astrhori 120mm f/2.8 macro lens is a manual focus full-frame lens, currently available for Sony E, Canon RF, Nikon Z, and L Mounts. Despite its low price point of just $369, it's packed with premium features that wouldn't look out of place next to other offerings in our guide to the best macro lenses.

The lens is constructed of 14 elements in 9 groups which is key for its large f/2.8 max aperture. The 13 aperture blades produce a more rounded diaphragm, which Astrhori states provides "balanced sharpness and attractive bokeh". The quality of the out-of-focus areas of macro lenses is a key factor as the focus plane is often much smaller.

The lens' 2X magnification enables users to capture intricate details on a 'microscopic' level, and by looking at the sample images, the proof certainly is in the pudding. Insects, plants, and product shots enable captures that are not possible with the naked eye.

Macro photographers often shoot delicate subjects or subjects that can be easily affected by too much movement or sound. The Astrhori 120mm f/2.8 macro lens has added a considered de-click function to its lens.

The macro effect is enhanced further by the long 120mm focal length coupled with a minimum focusing distance of just 0.3M. This enables sufficient image compression and a closer look at those finer details.

Unlike Astrhori's macro probe lenses, the 120mm f/2.8 is more versatile and can be used to capture a wide range of scenes including portraiture. Macro lenses are often used for portraits when the photographer wants to create a dreamy feel, as the compression and bokeh are smooth and uniform.

The Astrhori 120mm f/2.8 macro lens is available to order now for $369 / £285 / AU $550 (UK and Australian prices are approximate conversions from the US price).

You may also be interested in our guides for the best macro lens, the best cheap lens, and the best lens for portraits.

When you think of the Ricoh GR III, you think of one camera – a pocket-sized premium compact with an APS-C sensor, a fixed focal length lens and a serious reputation amongst serious photographers.

It fills a lot of needs. Its small size and quality makes it perhaps one of the best point and shoot cameras, or among the best cameras for travel. But it’s not just one camera. Actually there are four distinct variants, and some special editions, with a history that makes the whole line-up, past and present, very confusing indeed.

Right now there are two principal versions. The Ricoh GR III is the original, with a 28mm equivalent f/2.8 fixed focal length lens. But this has been joined by a later Ricoh GR IIIx with a longer focal length 40mm equivalent f/2.8 lens for photographers who prefer a slightly narrower angle of view.

Now for the ‘HDF’ bit. The regular GR III and GR IIIx come with a switchable 2x ND filter, a physical filter toggled by a button and useful, perhaps, in bright light. The newer HDF versions swap this for a Highlight Diffusion Filter, and again you can toggle this with a button. This adds a soft glow to highlights for a subtle ‘analog’ look.

So when you combine these permutations, there are in fact four distinct GR III variants to choose from today (and that's before limited edition color variations). Got that? OK, so now for the historical variants, which always have the potential for confusing the heck out of people (me, anyway).

First came the GR Digital in versions I-IV. These used smaller point-and-shoot size sensors, so while they were serious cameras in their day, they are not in the same league as the modern versions. The modern cameras dropped the ‘Digital’ in the name and swapped to a much more desirable APS-C sensor, and the GR III models are the latest incarnation.

That’s quite a lot of history – sorry. But now we’ve got our bearings, let’s get on with the review.

Ricoh GR III HDF: specifications

Ricoh GR III HDF: price and availability

The Ricoh GR III HDF costs around $1,067 in the US and £1,049 in the UK. It’s around $80 / £50 cheaper than the GR IIIx HDF version. That seems plenty for what looks like a pocket-sized point and shoot, but the GR III HDF is rather more than that. It’s a lot cheaper than the Fujifilm X100 VI (and more readily available) and while it lacks many of that camera’s features, it’s somewhat less pretentious and massively more pocketable. You can get Canon PowerShots and Sony RX100s with zoom lenses and 4K video at this price, but only if you accept a much smaller 1-inch sensor. In many ways, the GR III HDF is out on its own.

Ricoh GR III HDF: design and handling

The Ricoh GR III HDF is so compact, given its sensor size, that you never quite get used to it. If it had a 1-inch sensor, you would say that Ricoh had done well to make it so small, but the fact is that it has a much larger APS-C sensor, so its size is just uncanny. You can put it in a trouser pocket and forget it’s there, or even a shirt pocket. This is a proper camera with a proper sensor that’s out on its own for portability.

But then that involves some compromises. There’s no EVF, for a start, and that wouldn’t be so bad if the rear screen had some serious brightness and a flip-out pivot, but it has neither. You can ramp up the brightness manually for use on sunny days, but you’re still left with a pretty primitive viewing system.

And don’t be fooled by the ‘grip’ on the right side of the body. This purposeful-looking protuberance is better than nothing, but you can’t curl your fingers round it very far before your fingernails crunch up against the lens barrel.

The controls, however, are rather good. The main mode dial has a locking button to prevent accidental mode changes, and the clever clickable spring-loaded Adj dial on the back controls a lot of camera functions and makes light work of all of them. There are no control dials as such, but a rotating ring around the four-way controller on the back which, thankfully, doesn’t have to do too much.

It’s worth mentioning the lens. Good as it is optically (and it is very good) it is electrically driven. Motors move it into position when you power up and motors (obviously) move it for focusing. There’s no focus distance scale, no depth of field markings and no manual focus ring – this is done from the camera body. The camera itself has a strong physical feel, but the lens operation lets it down a little. 

Ricoh GR III HDF: Performance

The images from the Ricoh GR III HDF are as good as those you would expect from any APS-C camera, of any size. The design may look as if it’s been around for years, but there’s nothing wrong with the detail rendition or the resolution of its pint-sized lens in regular shooting situations. It’s worth pointing out that this camera’s 16.3mm f/2.8 lens is a fraction of the size of any equivalent lens for other APS-C camera systems. It’s unexpectedly good at higher ISOs, too – some of our samples were shot at ISO 3200 in a museum and have remarkably good detail with not that much noise.

The autofocus is good but not stellar. It can focus quickly enough for most situations but doesn’t quite have the speed and responsiveness of some modern rivals. If you press the shutter release quickly in a single action it will swap to the Snap Focus mode. This is faster but sets the focus to whatever set distance you’ve chosen in the settings.

This Snap Focus mode is also available separately if you prefer zone focusing, and the camera does come with a “DOF Priority (Deep)” Program Line, though it’s hard to see why you wouldn’t just switch to A mode and choose a small aperture, which seems the simplest solution.

While it feels very responsive for single images, the GR III HDF is not a camera for action bursts. Ricoh doesn’t quote a frame rate for continuous shooting but it feels to be around 4fps. It doesn’t have much of a buffer capacity either.

Ricoh GR III HDF: sample images

Here are some sample images taken with the Ricoh GR III HDF. The 28mm equivalent focal length proves to be very well suited to street photography and grabbed shots. It’s close to the kind of perspective and angle of view of a smartphone.

Ricoh GR III HDF: lab results

For our lab data comparison we're using results from the regular GR III rather than the GR III HDF. The two cameras are fundamentally identical when the HDF feature is disabled, and we would disabled it when conducting a lab test. We've pitched the GR III against similarly compact cameras with relatively large image sensors: the Fujifilm X100VI, Leica D-Lux 8 and the Olympus PEN E-P7.

Resolution (line widths/picture height):

Resolution is measured using standardized text charts which give results in line widths / picture height, which is independent of sensor size.

The GR III (HDF) scores well for a 24MP APS-C camera, but ultimately the 40MP X100VI was always going to come out on top for resolving fine detail.

Dynamic range (EV):

Dynamic range is a measure of a camera's ability to record extreme brightness ranges and still retain detail in the brightest and darkest parts of the scene. It's measured in EV (exposure values, or 'stops').

Though the GR III (HDF) doesn't quite lead the pack at low ISOs, it captures excellent dynamic range as sensitivities increase.

Signal to noise ratio (decibels):

This test compares the amount of random noise generated by the camera at different ISO settings as a proportion of the actual image information (the 'signal'). Higher values are better and we expect to see the signal to ratio fall as the ISO is increased.

All four cameras are closely matched here, but the GR III (HDF) performs well at all but the highest sensitivities.

Ricoh GR III HDF: verdict

The limitations of the GR III HDF are easily apparent. There is no EVF and the optional clip-on viewfinders are expensive. It has a fixed focal length lens and while you can swap to crop mode for ‘longer’ focal lengths you lose resolution. There is a twist-on optical wide-angle conversion lens, but it’s bulky and expensive. The rear screen is hard to see in bright light unless you crank the brightness up to maximum and the 200-shot battery life is a serious limitation.

But it does have some good qualities that are hard to set aside. For an APS-C camera it is just bafflingly, laughably small. What other camera of this quality can fit in a shirt pocket? Despite its size it has physical controls which are well-spaced and effective, and not just for beginners but for more experienced hands-on control freaks too. And while you might imagine that such a tiny lens on an APS-C sensor just wouldn’t be very good, you would be wrong. The lens on the GR III HDF is very good indeed.

So what about that HDF filter? It means you lose the 2-stop ND filter of the standard camera, but I never felt that 2 stops was enough to achieve much anyway. It might allow you to use a wider aperture in very bright light, but it’s nowhere near enough to achieve motion blur effects with long exposures.

But is the HDF filter any better? For a start, its effect is very subtle. That might sound like a good thing, but in practice it can be hard to see whether it’s been used or not. It’s also a ‘hard’ effect, so there’s no going back later if you change your mind. Personally, I’d much rather apply this kind of effect in post, where you get both choice and control.

If I had a choice between the regular and HDF versions of this camera I’m not sure I’d care very much at all since I probably wouldn’t use either filter. But if I could learn to put up with the lack of an EVF, the weedy rear screen and battery life, and the fixed 28mm equivalent focal length, I think I could become a fan – and the Ricoh GR III has plenty of those.

Ricoh GR III HDF: alternatives

Beaverlab has just launched a new crowdfunding campaign for the Finder TW2 – an upgraded model of its groundbreaking Finder TW1 telescope and this time, it's harnessing the power of AI.

Beaverlab is a company born from a passion for technology and creativity with the mission of promoting human exploration. This is evident in its beautifully designed optical products, from microscopes and telescopes to its recent telephoto lens for mobile phones, each has an element of creativity and fun and caters to the enthusiastic beginner as well as the professional.

The new Finder TW2 is no different and claims to harness premium optics and the latest technology to enable users to explore the stars. 

The 82mm aperture coupled with the 500mm focal length and 29x zoom capability facilitates high-definition 8MP photos and 4K video, capturing intricate details of the cosmos.

The Finder TW2 is an all-in-one telescope meaning it has everything you need right out of the box, and no extra equipment is required. The previous model needed a smartphone to act as the screen and capture device, whereas now the TW2 has an inbuilt 5-inch touchscreen and DS1 image capture device. It is also worth noting that the DS1 image capture device can be used on other telescopes, which is a very economical touch.

An all-new 1/1.8-inch starlight CMOS sensor is drastically larger than that in the TW1 which enables the capture of more light, enhancing performance in low-light conditions and providing better image quality with less noise. This is vital for astrophotography, as often shooting environments are less than ideal!

Founder of Beaverlab Simon Fang states, “Exploring the cosmos should not be exclusive to the affluent or technically skilled. Our state-of-the-art optical telescope revolutionizes stargazing by merging superior optical precision with exceptional affordability. Engineered to be lightweight and highly intuitive, it caters equally to seasoned astronomers and beginners. This latest telescope addresses the traditional barriers of cost and complexity, offering a transformative tool that democratizes access to the night sky for all".

As with most modern technological devices, AI plays a pivotal role in powering new and improved features. The Finder TW2 AI features include "CCM (Color Correction Matrix) which enhances color accuracy for true-to-life images, CA (Chromatic Aberration) Correction which minimizes color distortion for sharp and clear visuals, WDR (Wide Dynamic Range) which balances lighting conditions to capture details in both bright and dark areas, MCTF (Motion Compensated Temporal Filter) ensuring clear and sharp images, even in motion, Noise Reduction which reduces image noise for cleaner, more detailed photographs, and finally Dehazing, which enhances image clarity by reducing haze and atmospheric interference".

Other notable features include anti-shake, compact form factor, real-time photo adjustments, and advanced image processing.

Above: Sample images taken with the Beaverlab Finder TW2

It also must be noted that although primarily marketed as a telescope to view the stars, it is also more than capable of capturing on-planet subjects, such as wildlife and distant landscapes.

This small and incredibly smart telescope is packed full of features and you may be forgiven for thinking it comes with a premium price tag. But staying true to its brand values, the Beaverlab Finder TW2 is available to back on Indiegogo now for an early bird special price of just $329 / £257 including the DS1 camera, and will have an RRP of $499 / £390 on release (Australian pricing to be confirmed).

Editor's note: As with all crowdfunding projects, there is no guarantee that the final product will match the early depictions in the campaign – or that the final product will be completed or delivered at all. DCW does not endorse this or any other crowdfunding campaign.

You be interested in our guides to the best telescopes for astrophotography, the best lenses for astrophotography, and the best cameras for astrophotography.

The retro aesthetic is in, and with retro cameras come retro lenses – and the new Silver edition of the TTArtisan AF 27mm f/2.8 could be the missing piece to unlocking your full retro setup. 

The popularity of the vintage aesthetic has been increasing, so much that mirrorless camera manufacturers are taking influence from the past – pretty much all the best Fujifilm cameras are prime examples.

The new silver TTArtisan lens would pair nicely with silver cameras such as the Fujifilm X-T50 and Nikon Z fc, as the APS-C lens is available for Fujifilm X mount, Nikon Z mount and Sony E mount.

It must be noted that this is a new colorway and not a new lens, as the TTArtisan AF 27mm f/2.8 was initially released last year. That being said, I do believe it is a lens that has been slept on a little bit.

Right off the bat, it costs under $150 / £170 / AU$240! As good a reason as any to pick up this nifty little pancake, as cheap AF lenses like this are becoming a rare occurrence. However, despite the small price tag, it also has some great features that can make it fantastic for capturing everyday life.

The 27mm is equivalent to just over 40mm on a full-frame camera, an ideal all-rounder and one of my favorite focal lengths for street photography. The wide f/2.8 aperture is also generous, and in our review of the lens we noted great sharpness and contrast, although a slight vignette when used wide open.

The compact pancake size facilitates easy carrying and storing in bags, and even pockets if your camera is small enough. Inside the small form factor is an STM stepping motor which provides quick and efficient autofocus, enabling the user to react quickly without missing the shot.

Other notable features include a USB-C interface for firmware updates, a clicked aperture ring, and anti-shake enabling smooth video capture.

The TTArtisan AF 27mm f/2.8 lens is available now in the new silver and black colorways for an absolute steal at $149 / £169 / AU $239.

You may also be interested in our guides to the best pancake lens, the best lens for street photography and the best cheap lenses.

Yongnuo is a Chinese camera and lens manufacturer that focuses on delivering premium optics with an entry-level price tag. Over recent years its standard of development has risen, but Yongnuo has kept its attractive prices – and now it has announced a new autofocus lens packed with tech for just over $400!

The Yongnuo YN23mm f/1.4 DA DSM WL Pro has officially been announced and although packed with great features, it will fit comfortably in our guide to the best cheap lenses.

The lens is designed for APS-C sensors, meaning the 23mm focal length is the equivalent of 35mm on full-frame bodies – a common focal length for street photography and reportage, and a great all-arounder for photography and video.

Initially available for Nikon Z mount, both Fujifilm X and Sony E mount versions are scheduled for a future date.

Much like the Yongnuo YN33mm f/1.4 DA DSM WL Pro, released earlier this year, it comes complete with a wireless remote that enables the user to control aspects of the lens from a distance. 

The small controller facilitates changes to aperture and focus via a 2.4GHz radio frequency wireless link, meaning it's a great option for video.

The lens also promises great photography capabilities. Constructed of 11 elements in 9 groups, with 9 aperture blades, and a wide max aperture of just f/1.4, the lens offers great bokeh and falloff in the out-of-focus areas.

Other notable features include a quick and accurate AF stepping motor, a minimum shooting distance of just 0.3m, a control ring, customizable buttons and switches, a USB-C interface for firmware updates, and multi-layer lens coating.

The Yongnuo YN23mm f/1.4 DA DSM WL Pro is available now for Nikon Z mount for just $420 (converted from the US$276 price tag).

You may also be interested in our guides to the best cheap lenses, the best Nikon lenses, and the best wide-angle lenses.

The Vivo V40 and V40 Pro have just been announced with Zeiss-tuned camera systems and a new fill light with temperature control. Positioned as a pair of upper-midrange portrait camera phones, the lower-cost V40 goes up against the OnePlus Nord 4 while the pricier V40 Pro takes on the Google Pixel 8a and Honor 200 Pro.

While both phones look almost identical, the key differences are power and cameras, with the Pro getting a specced-up MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ chipset and a 2x telephoto portrait camera, as well as a slightly more premium primary camera sensor.

Both phones pack the same ultra-wide and selfie cameras, huge batteries, great-looking 1.5K displays. and Zeiss features when you dive into the camera app.

With both available in India at launch, with a more widespread rollout expected in the coming months, if you've got your eye on a Vivo V40 or V40 Pro, which one's right for you?

Vivo V40 and V40 Pro price and availability

The first deciding factor between these two phones is price, with the Vivo V40 costing significantly less than the V40 Pro. 

While global pricing is yet to be confirmed, the V40 costs roughly the same as the priciest OnePlus Nord 4 in regions it has launched, so will likely come in at around £450-500 (roughly $570-635) in Europe

The V40 Pro's price matches the Pixel 8a and Honor 200, suggesting a £500-£600 price (roughly $635-760) globally.

Vivo looks to be making its phones more widely available in the West, with the V40 Series part of its Euros sponsorship, and recent legal wins that unblock it from selling in Europe, not to mention rumors of the upcoming X200 flagship launching on EE in the UK, it's looking promising that the V40 Series could be more widely available in the coming months.

V40 and V40 Pro cameras

Both the Vivo V40 and V40 Pro have the same ultra-wide and selfie camera hardware, while the primary cameras feature different sensors and the Pro gets a telephoto camera. All their cameras are also 50MP, a trend we're seeing across more phones of late, including the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus.

V40 and V40 Pro 14mm ultra-wide camera

The V40 Series's ultra-wide cameras have 50MP sensors with a 1/2.76-inch size matched with an f/2 lens and a 15mm equivalent focal length. They also feature autofocus, so support macro photography as near as 4cm from a subject.

V40 and V40 Pro 20mm selfie camera

Both phones' selfie cameras are powered by the same 1/2.76-inch Samsung ISOCEL JN1 sensor in the ultra-wide camera, though this time with a 20mm equivalent focal length.

Aura Lighting

Both phones also feature an Aura Light ring as well as a traditional flash. These shine a bright fill light to help when capturing portraits, and also offer control over color temperature which is a great touch to add a bit of warmth or cool down a subject.

Vivo V40 and V40 Pro wide cameras

While the Vivo V40 uses a 1/1.57-inch Samsung ISOCELL GNJ sensor, the V40 Pro uses a 1/1.56-inch Sony IMX921 sensor. Both are 50MP and are combined with f/1.88 aperture lenses and OIS, so they have very similar properties, though the Sony sensor creates slightly more natural-looking detail than the Samsung sensor of the V40. The V40 Pro also has a slightly wider 23mm equivalent focal length, versus 24mm from the V40.

V40 Pro telephoto camera

With a 2x telephoto camera that delivers a 50mm equivalent reach, the V40 Pro brings back the 1/2.51-inch IMX816 of the V30 Pro for portraits, combining it with an f/1.85 aperture, though no OIS.

The video credentials across both V40 phones are also impressive, with the V40 able to capture 4K 30fps across all its cameras, and the V40 Pro upping that to 4K 60fps across all its cameras.

You can see some photos above captured on both phones, with our first impressions being very positive for the price.

The Zeiss Natural color profile creates detailed, croppable shots. While white balance wasn't always consistent, photos from both the V40 and V40 Pro enjoy a wide dynamic range and natural levels of saturation.

In bright environments, the V40 Pro edges ahead with its zoom, creating a much more natural-looking shot than the AI-enhanced V40. However, in dark scenes the Pro switches to the main camera for zoomed-in shots, and results are more comparable.

The Zeiss Portrait Mode is a nice touch for anyone who's happy with artificial bokeh. The degree to which you can dial it back means you can create subtle effects that look natural. Both phones also deliver impressive night photography and video capture for their respective prices.

Vivo V40 and V40 Pro features

While the Vivo V40 Pro is poised for intensive tasks like 4K video editing and demanding gaming, the V40 is more of a casual user's phone. This largely comes down to the chipsets in each, with the Pro getting a flagship MediaTek Dimensity 9200+, and the V40 powered by a midrange Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3. They also have different RAM and storage speeds as well, helping the Pro earn its name.

Whichever phone you go for, each is available with 256GB or 512GB storage, with the V40 adding a more entry-level 128GB to the mix.

Vivo includes a huge 5500mAh battery inside the slimline V40 and V40 Pro, which is roughly 500mAh larger than most of the main competition despite both phones' slender 7.58mm profiles. With 80W fast charging, they can hit a 50% charge in roughly 25 minutes.

The V40 and V40 Pro also have large 7.58-inch displays with 1.5K resolution, giving them a pixel density of 453 pixels per inch. With a sky-high peak brightness of 4500 nits for HDR content, and a respectable 1200 nits in direct sunlight, we had no issues seeing the screens even in bright environments. Both phones also support Netflix HDR10 out of the box which isn't typical at the price.

The main drawback compared to the best from OnePlus and Google is Vivo's software support, with two years of major OS updates and three years of security updates expected for both the V40 and V40 Pro. By comparison, OnePlus offers four years of OS updates and six years of security updates with the Nord 4, while Google offers seven years of OS updates for its Pixel 8a.

Early verdict

Both the Vivo V40 and V40 Pro are great phones on first impression. While they provide the same core experience making the V40 a great value option, the Pro edges ahead for gaming, demanding tasks like 4K video editing and its cameras reach further and capture at higher frame rates.

Each phone enjoys fantastic battery life, fast charging, relatively premium styling (albeit with a plastic, not metal frame), great-looking screens and impressive cameras.

The Vivo Zeiss highlights across the V-Series aren't as extensive as on the flagship X Series. There's no T* coating as found on the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro or X100 Pro, for example. However, the refined photo processing and Aura Light are welcome additions, making the V40 Pro impressive midrange camera phones.

There is no question about it, film photography is back, and from the recent exponential growth in popularity, it's here to stay. The majority of the best film cameras are tools from the past and have not seen much modern development since the migration to digital cameras. That is however until recently.

Alfie Cameras is a family-run business and after a successful Kickstarter, started producing small half-frame compact film cameras with modern digital elements – providing a truly hybrid shooting experience. The cameras have all the feeling of shooting film, with the added benefit of electronic light metering and a rechargeable battery – I personally see this hybrid nature as the future of film photography.

It would be remiss if I didn't mention the other modern compact film camera, the Pentax 17, which also happens to be a half-frame. Having not used one it will be difficult to compare my experience to it, however, from my understanding of each camera, they were built to serve two different purposes.

Although technically a compact camera, the Alfie Cameras Tych+, and Tych models offer several creative lens options on a fixed rotary board.

The Tych+ offers a premium, meniscus, zone plate, and pinhole lenses, which create unique images making the camera a little more niche and experimental than cameras such as the Pentax 17.

Alfie Cameras Tych+: Specifications

Alfie Cameras Tych+: Price

The price of the Alfie Cameras Tych+ is something that I keep challenging with, as priced at $642 / £500 / AU$987, it is a steep investment for a creative camera. On the flip side, the camera is extremely well designed and each one is built by hand by the in-house team, so in that regard a more than fair price (It is also only available to purchase through the Alfie Cameras website).

The Pentax comes in at a similar price, potentially a little cheaper, so would prove stiff competition, for users looking for a more traditional shooting experience rather than the experimental.

I think the unique nature of the four lenses can be both a draw and a turn-off, as without trying the camera out for yourself, it can be a tough ask to put down the money without knowing if the lenses work for your way of shooting.

For users who enjoy pinhole style and meniscus camera aesthetics, having a compact camera such as the Tych+ would be more than worth the money, plus think of the money you can save on film when using double the amount of shots!

Alfie Cameras Tych+: Design & Handling

The first thing you notice with the Tych+ is that it is tiny! Measuring just 90mm x 79mm x 45mm, it takes the term compact camera to a new level as it can easily be slipped into your pocket and carried around daily without even noticing it. This is however a double-edged sword as those with slightly larger hands may find it a bit fiddly to grip for long periods.

The construction of the body is very durable and secure and provides a sense of confidence that it won't be easily broken if bumped or dropped. The body is made from an anodized aluminum / MJF hybrid construction, keeping light yet sturdy.

The lens rotary board is easily adjusted and clicks when the lens is in place. The viewfinder is also well constructed, and offers a clear view when used although does make it difficult to frame images, but more on that later.

The camera has an LCD screen that displays the camera menu and enables the user to select settings such as ISO, exposure comp, and shot count. The screen is well designed and constructed.

The USB-C charging is a stroke of genius and after a full charge, the battery lasted all three days I used it, in fact, I don't think it ran out the whole time I had it and remained with a charge when returned two weeks later.

Where I do feel the construction fades slightly is with the film spool and winder mechanism inside of the camera body. I never felt safe that my film was fully safe and attached and hadn't unhooked from the small gear to the point where I had to rewind my film halfway through the roll to make sure there were no issues. When manually rewinding the film, the tension was also inconsistent, and I often felt like I had gone too far.

Alfie Cameras Tych+: Performance

Having never previously used a half-frame camera I didn't know what to expect, and once I got my head around the fact that portrait and landscape had switched alignments, it was an absolute blast!

I decided to test the camera by shooting some street photography on my commute to the office. The Tych+ lent itself wonderfully to shooting street as it is so discrete, that no one realized I was shooting.

The camera was extremely simple to set up once the roll of film was loaded. Using the digital LCD screen I was able to set my ISO and reset the shot count. I also had the option to shoot in manual or auto mode. Being the first time using it I opted for auto and let the electronic light meter do its thing, and provide me with a perfect exposure.

The electronic light meter is one of the best things about the camera, as it enables new users the feeling of shooting digitally. Metering can often be an obstacle for new film shooters so having this taken care of, is very useful.

The viewfinder was clear although it was a bit hit-and-miss after receiving my film scans back from the lab. As someone who heavily relies on composition, it is very difficult to know what you're going to get as a result. My advice in this regard is to shoot wider and crop.

The camera's 4 lens options offered something different from each, although other than for test purposes (below), I exclusively used the premium lens. This was down to personal preference, and the shooting conditions.

As mentioned earlier, this was my first time shooting half-frame and the concept was a great creative challenge. As the 35mm film frame is essentially split into two, it enabled me to play around with diptychs, and as a photo editor, I enjoyed forming relationships between the two images in the frame.

I shot on Ilford FP4 at ISO 200, so pushed it a little bit as I wanted to lean into the grain and contrast.

For the most part, I was extremely pleased with the results. Removing the composition through the viewfinder, which may also be down to user error, the images came out exactly as I imagined when shooting, which is all you can ask for when shooting film!

Alfie Cameras Tych+: Sample images

Alfie Cameras Tych+: Verdict

Overall the Alfie Cameras Tych+ was an extremely enjoyable camera to use, and depending on your style of photography, creates some really interesting results. I think it is a fantastic option for those looking to experiment with film photography and create exploratory images that utilize the four lens options.

By having digital elements such as auto mode with the electronic light meter, it's less of a jump into the unknown for film novices and I think it's a great combination of digital and analog worlds – future film cameras should take note!

My only sticking point is the price. It's a lot of money to put down on an artistic camera without trying it, and subsequently knowing if it's right for you. Alfie Cameras does attend events such as this year's Photography & Video Show, so it might be best to see one in the flesh first.

However, I think for a film photography enthusiast who enjoys the process and is looking for an everyday carry option that can slip into your jacket pocket - the Alfie Cameras Tych+ is the perfect option!

Alternatives