Sometimes a great camera kit can be more than the sum of its parts. I think it’s true that particular lenses are a better fit for individual camera bodies rather than others, even when there are similar models in the line-up. When I’m choosing lenses for the slim and budget-friendly Sony A6400, I feel that the size, weight and price are strong contributing factors. For my money, the A6400 is one of the best Sony cameras because I think it delivers such a great combination of features and versatility, at a keen price. It’s a compact and affordable camera, so its lenses should be as well.

I’ve regularly used the Sony A6400 and I’ve tested all the lenses featured in this guide. If I was spending my own money, these are the options I would consider first. You can also check out my list of the best lenses for Sony A6000 cameras generally if you like, and many of the best Sony lenses will also be a good match for the A6400.

As photographers, we all have our special areas of interest, so I’ve tried to cover plenty of genres, from travel photography to portraiture, sports and wildlife. As you’ll see, I’ve also taken A6400 video shooters into account, with the inclusion of a couple of affordable prime lenses which are great for video as well as for stills. Above all, I’ve aimed to give full consideration to each lens’s suitability for the A6400’s size, its performance in relation to the camera’s 24MP sensor, and the kind of value for money that reflects the price of the A6400 itself.

Best lenses for the Sony A6400 

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Best everyday lens for the A6400

The Sony A6400 is usually sold with Sony's 16-50mm power zoom kit lens, which is very compact and convenient but a bit lacking in optic prowess. If you want a step up in quality, one option is Sony's rather massive and expensive 16-55mm f/2.8 G, but I would pick this Sigma instead.

The Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN offers a constant f/2.8 aperture, just like the Sony lens, with a classic 3x zoom range for a standard zoom. The Sigma is smaller than you’d expect given its constant maximum aperture (my shot shows it fitted to a Sony A7R III, but you'll get the idea), yet the build quality is very good – and it’s weather-resistant as well. The autofocus system is super-fast and virtually silent, and I'm impressed by the image quality.

Read more: Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN | C review

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Most versatile lens for the A6400

Frustrated by the short focal range of the standard Sony 16-50mm kit lens? Get this! With an equivalent focal range of 27-202mm in full frame terms, the Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS is practically a superzoom, but remains compact, neat, and affordable, and – unlike almost every other long-zoom lens – it holds its performance all the way through to its longest zoom setting.

What I like about this lens is its neat, simple design, its fuss-free exterior, easy operation, and built-in optical image stabilizer. Like a lot of modern mirrorless lenses, it does rely on digital as well as optical corrections, but the result is a long-range lens with far better image quality across the range than I would normally expect from a lens of this type.

Read more: Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS review

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Best wide-angle lens for the A6400

Sony also makes an older E 10-18mm f/4 OSS lens, which is a little cheaper than this one and is also worth considering. The 10-18mm has optical stabilization, which is good for stills photography, but this newer E PZ 10-20mm f/4 G has a power zoom, which is ideal for video, so take your pick.

The Sony E PZ 10-20mm f/4 G is especially good for vloggers who need to film themselves in the context of their background, because it gives a wider angle of view than a regular zoom. It's also a great travel lens, ideal for narrow city streets, tall landmarks, and spectacular interiors. None of the ultra-wide lens options for the Sony A6400 is cheap, but this is such a useful lens to have that I recommend it without hesitation.

Read more: Sony E PZ 10-20mm f/4 G review

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Best telephoto lens for the A6400

I love using this lens on both A7-series full-frame cameras and APS-C format Sony bodies. It’s much more compact and lightweight than conventional 70-200mm f/2.8 ‘trinity’ telephoto zooms, which I feel is always a good thing when shooting with slimline mirrorless bodies. Sure, it doesn’t quite stretch to 200mm at the long end, but it comes pretty close, while retaining that all-important constant f/2.8 aperture throughout the entire zoom range. Pop it on an APS-C format body, and you get an ‘effective’ zoom range of 105-270mm. It works a treat for weddings and events and even for sports and wildlife photography, while keeping the weight off.

And there’s more. While the original Tamron 70-180mm was a great lens, I love that the G2 adds optical image stabilization, uprated handling, and revamped optics. And it delivers all this at a more inexpensive launch purchase price than the original lens. I find that in-body image stabilization tends to be less effective in telephoto shooting, so the addition of optical stabilization is particularly welcome.

Autofocus is super-fast, based on a VXD (Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive) system, and well able to do justice to the Fast Hybrid AF, Eye AF, and advanced tracking options in Sony’s recent mirrorless cameras. The proof of the pudding is in the image quality, and I like that the optical layout has been redesigned to include an XLD (eXtra Low Dispersion) element, a hybrid aspherical lens element, three LD (Low Dispersion) elements, and two GM (Glass Molded aspherical) lens elements. Tamron’s BBAR-G2 (Broad-Band Anti-Reflection Generation 2) coating is also applied to minimize ghosting and flare. All in all, it’s a terrific lens and a bargain at the price.

Read more: Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 Di III VC VXD G2 review

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Best super-telephoto lens for the A6400

For longer-range subjects, you need a lens with big telephoto reach, but also with sufficient optical quality for sharp results. So while there is a cheaper and smaller Sony E 55-210mm lens, this is the one I would recommend for action, sports, and wildlife, as well as for bird photography.

The Sony E 70-350mm f/4.5-6.3 G OSS is a relatively big and expensive lens, but its 5x zoom range is equivalent to 105-525mm on a full-frame body, stretching into super-telephoto territory. It might not have an ultra-fast maximum aperture, but the modest f/4.5-6.3 aperture rating enables a more compact, lightweight build, and it does have Sony's OSS optical image stabilization system. It's a manageable lens that offers huge reach at an affordable price.

Read more: Sony E 70-350mm f/4.5-6.3 G OSS review

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Best street photography lens for the A6400

I said in the introduction that I wanted to include a couple of prime lenses, and this is the first. The Tamron 20mm f/2.8 Di III OSD M 1:2 is actually a full-frame lens, so if you decide to upgrade to a full-frame Sony camera in the future, you can keep this lens for the journey.

On a full-frame camera, it's an ultra-wide-angle prime. Fit it to your Sony A6400, and it has an 'effective' 30mm focal length – perfect as a semi-wide-angle 'street photography' lens. Not only that, its 1:2 close-up capability means it's halfway (literally) towards a full macro lens, so it does two jobs, not just one. Best of all, it's not too big and not too expensive, despite first-rate optical performance, so it's a great buy for Sony A6400 owners.

Read more: Tamron 20mm f/2.8 Di III OSD M 1:2 review

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Best portrait photography lens for the A6400

Compared with full-frame cameras, APS-C models like the A6400 can struggle to deliver a tight depth of field. That’s because DOF is more dependent on the ‘actual’ focal length rather than the ‘effective’ focal length after the 1.5x crop factor is applied. To compensate, I love that this lens has an ultra-fast f/1.2 aperture, which is capable of delivering a really tight depth of field at typical shooting distances for portraiture.

Making the most of the tight depth of field, the Viltrox combines superb sharpness with beautifully smooth bokeh in defocused areas, with a natural-looking roll-off between the two. It’s a great portrait lens that enables you to really isolate the main subject within a scene by blurring fussy-looking backgrounds.

Handling is excellent, and although the lens is necessarily a bit chunky due to the super-fast aperture rating, it’s well stocked in features. These include an aperture control ring with a click/de-click switch, a handy AF/MF focus switch, and a customizable function button.

Read more: Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.2 E Pro review

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Best ultra-wide prime lens for the A6400

A small lens with a big heart and a big viewing angle, I love how this Sony 11mm shoehorns so much into the image frame. I find it ideal for everything from cramped architectural interiors to sweeping landscape vistas and cityscapes, while its fast f/1.8 aperture makes it equally adept for astrophotography. Buy one, and it won’t be long before you wonder how you ever managed without it.

I really like that the lens is designed to be equally adept at shooting stills and movies, boasting two linear stepping motors that deliver super-fast autofocus for stills and smooth, virtually silent focus transitions for movies. The minimum focus distance of 0.15m shrinks to just 0.12m in manual focus mode, delivering a tight depth of field at f/1.8 for close-ups or using the lens for vlogging. Handling benefits from an AF/MF switch and a customizable autofocus-hold button.

I also like that the lens is neatly compact and lightweight, ideally suited to the slimline Sony A6400. Even so, it packs quality glass including three aspherical elements and three ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements to optimize image quality, while build quality is convincingly robust, featuring multiple weather-seals.

Read more: Sony E 11mm f/1.8 review

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Lab data and comparisons

The graphs below show the comparative performance of the lenses in this guide, based on our in-house lab tests. You’ll see that the Tamron 70-180mm has standout performance for sharpness, especially for a zoom rather than prime lens. By contrast, the Sony 11mm and Tamron 20mm show extreme barrel distortion but as with many lenses designed for mirrorless cameras, they rely heavily on automatic in-camera correction to put things right.

Scores for sharpness and color fringing are averaged from data taken across the entire image frame, from the center to the edges and corners, throughout the aperture range. For zoom lenses, the scores are also averaged from data measured at all marked focal lengths, and the same applies to distortion.

Bear in mind that these average values don't fully reflect specific areas of performance. For example, a zoom lens might have noticeable barrel distortion at its shortest focal length, which is less obvious when everything is averaged out. For more detailed graphs of each lens's performance, take a look at the graphs published in our full standalone reviews.

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How to choose the best lens for the Sony A6400

The A6400, like all A6000-series cameras, uses the Sony E lens mount. Sony’s own E-mount lenses have either FE (full-frame) or E (APS-C format) in their model names: all work on the A6400. Very broadly speaking, an FE lens will be heavier and more expensive than an equivalent E lens, but deliver better image quality. E lenses (again, very broadly) will tend to be smaller and lighter.

For shooting at shorter focal lengths and wider angles of view – specifically kit lenses or ultra-wide zooms – you are probably better off with an E lens. The APS-C crop factor of the A6400 means that FE lenses offer a reduced angle of view, curtailing their wide-angle capability with the smaller sensor.

If you are buying a third-party E-mount lens, check whether the lens is designed for use with APS-C Sony cameras, such as the A6400, or with full-frame Sony bodies.

Check out our guide to the best Sony lenses if you want to know more

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How we test lenses

The lens experts in our testing lab run a range of 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 centre of the image frame, corners, and mid-point distances, across the range of aperture settings and, with zoom lenses, at four different focal lengths.

There's more to it than just the technical side, though! Beyond the lab, our reviewers test lenses in real-world environments – and sometimes on professional shoots! We work with lenses both indoors and outdoors, in studio conditions and in natural light, with as many different subjects as possible (or appropriate – there's no point testing a landscape lens' ability to shoot a portrait!).

We take into account everything from handling and ease of use to speed of autofocus and the overall quality of the images produced.

Find out more about how we test and review on Digital Camera World

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Picking the best Sony video lenses is no easy task, with the main challenge being whittling your options down! With E-mount having been going strong for more than a decade, the catalogue includes a host of superb lenses for the system, not only made by Sony, but also by third-party manufacturers like Sigma and Samyang.

Many of the lenses in my list are already among the best Sony lenses all-around, but here I’ve paid special attention to lenses designed for vloggers and filmmakers. After all, the best Sony cameras are renowned for their video capabilities and are amongst the best hybrid cameras to buy right now.

I've made my picks based on the lenses that have most impressed my team in testing and reviewing – see the 'how to choose' section at the bottom of this piece for a detailed breakdown of our inclusion criteria. I've included options for both full-frame and APS-C Sony mirrorless cameras, and have made sure to incorporate a range of price points.

Best Sony video lenses

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Best versatile zoom

While not designed specifically for video, the Sony FE 20-70mm f/4 G covers a really useful focal range that's wide enough for selfies and vlogging, even taking into account the extra crop factor of digital stabilization. It also delivers on optical quality, handling, and portability, although like many modern lenses, it does rely on optical in-camera corrections.

The widest aperture of f/4 should prove fast enough and isn't much of a compromise for the extended zoom range and lightweight build. The only real drawback is the price, at least in some territories – it’s a lot to pay for an f/4 standard zoom, no matter how good or useful it happens to be.

See our full Sony FE 20-70mm f/4 G review

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Best wide-angle zoom

Sony brought this lens to market as "the world’s lightest compact constant f/4 wide-angle Power Zoom G Lens", which it definitely was, as it was also the only one! Key features include the use of Sony's XD (extreme dynamic) Linear Motors not just for the AF actuator but for the zoom control too, which also has variable zoom speed.

The overall barrel length remains the same when focusing or zooming, which makes the lens very manageable on a gimbal – as does its surprisingly modest weight of just 353g. The lens is dust and moisture-resistant. It's also one-quarter the price of Sony's massive 16-35mm T3.1 cine lens. The equivalent 24-54mm focal length on APS-C Sonys or Super35 mode on full-frame models is a useful range in itself.

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Best wide prime

If you're filming with a gimbal, it's a lot easier to balance the camera and handle the rig with smaller, lighter lenses, especially primes. The Sony FE 24mm f/2.8 G is hard to fault as a design. It’s small and light, it has an aperture ring which can be de-clicked for video, its AF is fast, smooth, and effectively silent, and it feels really well made.

However, it does have huge barrel distortion when uncorrected, and like many newer lenses, it doesn’t just benefit from digital corrections; it relies on them as part of its design. On the plus side, this will be corrected automatically by the camera, so it's something you will probably never even be aware of.

See our full Sony FE 24mm f/2.8 G review

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Best for vlogging

This Sony APS-C ultra-wide zoom joins the existing 10-18mm f/4 lens in the range, but is specifically optimized for video with a power zoom mechanism. The first thing that hits you about this ultra-wide-angle zoom lens for Sony’s APS-C format mirrorless cameras is just how small it is. The size and weight are more akin to an ultra-compact standard kit zoom with a variable (and slow) aperture rating.

The fact that Sony has managed to shoehorn such an expansive zoom range with a constant f/4 aperture into such a small lens, complete with motorized zoom, really is quite something. That's especially true considering that image quality and overall performance are so excellent. It’s pricey for an APS-C format zoom, but well worth the money.

See our full Sony E PZ 10-20mm f/4 G review

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Best power zoom

The best Sony cameras for video offer full-width oversampled 4K video, but some full-frame models rely on a cropped Super35 mode for some resolutions and frame rates, so APS-C E-mount lenses like this one can prove useful on larger cameras too.

The 18-105mm focal range offers the equivalent of 27-158mm in full-frame terms, which is expansive for a lens with a constant f/4 aperture. The built-in optical stabilizer is another advantage, as is the power zoom lever, although, as with other Sony E APS-C lenses, there's no aperture ring. This could be the ideal all-purpose standard zoom for filming, but it is pretty big and heavy, especially so when fitted to a skinny Sony A6000-series body or the ZV-E10.

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Best for close-ups

There are lots of third-party lenses available for Sony cameras, but for videographers, the Samyang V-AF series is particularly appealing. These have been designed to give the features of a cine lens, such as compatibility with a professional follow-focus attachment. However, they offer autofocus – unlike most cine lenses – and are much more affordable.

The 75mm focal length is particularly useful for tight close-ups – when shooting interviews, say. And thanks to its wide T1.9 maximum aperture (equivalent to f/1.8 on a photo lens), it can give beautifully defocused backgrounds.

A neat feature you don't get in many other lenses is a pair of tally lights on the front, so the presenter can see when the camera is transmitting and when it is live. Another innovative feature is a front-mounted bayonet that allows you to attach optical accessories, such as Samyang's anamorphic adapter.

See our full Samyang V-AF 75mm T1.9 review

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Best tele zoom

While this lens is definitely a bit on the heavy side, the Sigma 28-105mm F2.8 DG DN | Art gives any video shooter an impressive level of versatility that’s worth a little extra weight. The refined handling makes the lens a pleasure to use, with a de-clickable aperture ring that’s suited to video.

Autofocus performance is excellent – fast and accurate – and image quality is, of course, tremendous. Sigma’s Art range of lenses is known for their exceptional sharpness, and in our lab tests, this lens excelled. Some video users may find they miss the wide 24mm option, but if you don’t mind working with a slightly narrower field of view, there’s a lot to recommend here.

See our full Sigma 28-105mm F2.8 DG DN | Art review

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Best standard zoom

This second-generation 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master II is a lot smaller and lighter than the original and a more manageable proposition for shooting video. It also has an aperture ring, which the first version did not. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the original edition of Sony’s G Master trinity standard zoom for photography, but the second incarnation is even better in every way.

It packs a host of new features, improved handling characteristics, and a completely redesigned optical path into a smaller, more lightweight build. It’s more comprehensively weather-sealed as well. The GM II is undeniably pricey, but you get what you pay for and more besides.

See our full Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II review

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Best for bokeh

The big appeal of the Sigma 28-45mm is its incredibly wide maximum aperture – something you just don't see in other zooms. This allows you more control to defocus the background when shooting, or to increase the light transmitted through to the image sensor when shooting in low-light conditions.

The design means the lens is big, but Sigma has tried to ensure the lens is still usable by restricting the range of the zoom. Ultimately, this Art series zoom could replace two or three prime lenses from your kit bag. Even so, this lens is best suited to Sony's full-frame Alpha cameras.

See our full Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art review

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Lab data and comparisons

The graphs below show the comparative performance of the lenses in this guide, based on our in-house lab tests. The Sigma 28-45mm f/1.8 zoom is amazingly sharp, living up to its claims of replicating the performance of multiple fast prime lenses. Meanwhile, the Sony FE 24mm relies very heavily on automatic in-camera correction for distortion. Color fringing is well controlled across the board.

Scores for sharpness and color fringing are averaged from data taken across the entire image frame, from the center to the edges and corners, throughout the aperture range. For zoom lenses, the scores are also averaged from data measured at all marked focal lengths, and the same applies to distortion.

Bear in mind that these average values don't fully reflect specific areas of performance. For example, a zoom lens might have noticeable barrel and pincushion distortion at its shortest and longest focal lengths, respectively, which tends to average out when looking at the data overall. For more detailed graphs of each lens's performance, which give the full picture, check out the graphs in our full standalone lens reviews.

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How to choose the best Sony video lenses

For a good video lens to mount on Sony cameras, we are looking for a handful of specific qualities:

• Constant maximum aperture:
Obviously this is one attraction of prime lenses, but when shooting with a zoom for more scope and convenience, you want to be able to zoom in and out without having to work around changing iris values.

• Aperture ring:
Being able to see and set the iris value externally is very useful, especially if the aperture ring is ‘de-clickable’. This enables you to make smooth and silent iris adjustments while filming.

• Wide angles of view:
This is useful for filmmaking or vlogging in small interiors, but practically essential for ‘selfie vlogging’, where you often want to get the background in the shot as well as yourself. Don’t forget that some video modes bring a digital crop, as does Sony’s digital image stabilization.

• Power zoom:
An electrically powered zoom mechanism is not essential, and many filmmakers won’t zoom while filming anyway. But if zooming and zoom effects are your style, it’s a lot easier and smoother with a power zoom than trying to do it manually. Some Sony cameras, like the ZV-E10, even have a zoom lever on the body.

You can’t always get all of these features in any single lens, but they are things you might want to look out for nonetheless.

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How we test lenses

The lens experts in our testing lab run a range of 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 centre of the image frame, corners, and mid-point distances, across the range of aperture settings and, with zoom lenses, at four different focal lengths.

There's more to it than just the technical side, though! Beyond the lab, our reviewers test lenses in real-world environments – and sometimes on professional shoots! We work with lenses both indoors and outdoors, in studio conditions and in natural light, with as many different subjects as possible (or appropriate – there's no point testing a landscape lens' ability to shoot a portrait!).

We take into account everything from handling and ease of use to speed of autofocus and the overall quality of the images produced.

Find out more about how we test and review on Digital Camera World

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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.

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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

Founded in 2015 by a group of Chinese camera enthusiasts, 7Artisans has become best known for its range of fully manual lenses which are available in several mount options to suit different makes of camera. More recently, the company launched its first autofocus lens – the 7Artisans AF 50mm F1.8 for Sony Alpha mirrorless cameras. This macro lens is more traditional fare from the company. As such, it has neither autofocus nor any built-in electronics. That means that you have to set both the aperture and focus using the lens’s control rings, and that no lens-based EXIF data is stored in images. Even so, many would argue that manual focusing is a better option when shooting with even the best macro lenses.

7Artisans 60mm F2.8 Macro 2x: Specifications

7Artisans 60mm F2.8 Macro 2x: Price

Launching in late 2024, the 7Artisans 60mm F2.8 Macro 2x has a recommended retail price of $335. As I’d expect, that’s only half the price of, for example, the Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8, which sells for around $647/£679. The Nikon has a similar focal length but naturally features autofocus and a full set of electronics, although it only delivers a maximum of 1.0x macro magnification. The Canon RF 100mm F2.8L Macro IS USM gives up to 1.4x magnification but is considerably more expensive again, at around $1099/£1369.

7Artisans 60mm F2.8 Macro 2x: Design & Handling

The vast majority of autofocus macro lenses top out at 1.0x magnification, when set to their shortest focus distance. A notable exception is the Canon RF 100mm F2.8L Macro IS USM, which stretches to 1.4x. Mostly though, greater magnifications are the preserve of manual macro lenses, which include specialist items like the AstrHori 25mm F2.8 Macro 2.0x-5.0x and AstrHori 18mm F8 2x Periscope Probe Macro. Sure enough, the fully manual 7Artisans 60mm F2.8 Macro 2x is designed to deliver 2.0x maximum macro magnification, enabling you to capture small objects at twice life size on the image sensor. That might not sound like much of a big deal but when you take into consideration the enlargement factor of viewing images on screen or in print, it’s actually pretty enormous.

Build quality feels sturdy and solid, the barrel as well as the mounting plate being engineered from metal rather than plastic. Let’s start at the back end and work our way forwards. First up, there’s an aperture control ring, which is essential as you can’t control the aperture from the camera body, which precludes shooting in Shutter-priority exposure mode. The aperture ring has click steps with no de-click option. The steps themselves go in half f/stops from wide-open at f/2.8 down to f/5.6, then in full f/stop clicks from f/5.6 to the narrowest aperture of f/22.

Just in front of the aperture control ring is a depth of field scale, which works in conjunction with the focus control ring. It’s packed with DOF markers for apertures of f/2.8, 3.2, 4, 8, 16 and 22. However, if you line up any of the actual focus distance markers of the focus control ring with the central position on the DOF scale, all of the other distance markings fall outside even the widest DOF markers corresponding to an aperture of f/22.

Next up is the focus control ring itself. This has a particularly long throw of 180 degrees and operates with silky smoothness and good tactile feedback. It’s exactly what I’d want in a manual-focus macro lens, enabling very fine and precise adjustments.

The lens features 14 elements arranged in 12 groups. These include two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements and two HRI (High Refractive Index) elements, aiming to enhance clarity and reduce chromatic aberrations. Apart from the front element and rear group, most groups are deeply recessed within the barrel at the infinity focus distance setting, but travel forward so that they’re very close to the front element at the shortest focus setting.

No lens hood is supplied with the lens, which I’m not surprised about, due to the short working distance for macro shooting. I’ll come back to that later but meanwhile, the lens has a 67mm filter attachment thread. Despite this, the lens has a metal slip-on front cap instead of the more usual clip-on variety.

7Artisans 60mm F2.8 Macro 2x: Performance

As I’ve mentioned, manual focusing is often preferred for macro photography so the lack of autofocus isn’t a deal-breaker. Focus peaking can be reasonably helpful but with such a razor-thin depth of field in macro shooting, it can lack the precision I need to nail accurate focusing. A magnified preview is the way to go, which you can assign to one of the custom function buttons on the Sony A7 II that I used during testing. Other makes and models of mirrorless camera tend to offer the same option. I often use a macro focusing rail for extremely close-range macro shooting, like the NiSi NM-200s Macro Focusing Rail. However, I found that the long throw of this 7Artisans macro lens enabled extremely fine and precise adjustments, without needing to resort to using a focusing rail.

What I found more of a problem was the short working distance between the front of the lens and the subject I was shooting. The minimum focus distance is 0.17m / 0.56', to enable full 2.0x macro magnification. As always however, this is measured from the image sensor in the host camera to the subject. The actual distance between the front of the lens and the subject is only about 5cm / 2”. With a light source over my shoulder, it’s all too easy to cast a shadow over what I’m shooting and the same goes for using flash or LED lighting.

With focusing and lighting sorted, the lens is capable of delivering very pleasing images. Sharpness in the central region of the frame is mostly good, especially between apertures of f/4 and f/11, dropping off a bit at really narrow apertures due to the usual problem of diffraction. Chromatic aberrations are fairly minimal but pincushion distortion is much more noticeable than I’d expect from a macro prime lens. And because it’s a ‘dumb lens’, automatic in-camera correction for distortion isn’t available. All in all, performance is good rather than great.

7Artisans 60mm F2.8 Macro 2x: Sample Images

There are plenty of autofocus macro lenses that I’d consider using for portraiture and any other scenario for which I wanted a fairly fast, short telephoto lens. This is a more specialist lens that I’d only really use for extreme close-ups. With that in mind, the sample images in the following gallery are all macro shots taken at or near the minimum focus distance, using bounced flash as a light source. The subject matter includes the face of a wristwatch, the inner workings of a fob watch, colored pencils, the shutter speed control dial of a Nikon Z fc camera, a garden flower (Japanese Anemone), standard sized text from an inkjet printer on plain paper and models of a motorcycle and medieval knight on horseback.

7Artisans 60mm F2.8 Macro 2x: 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:

Center sharpness is good at f/2.8 and very good at apertures of between f/4 and f/11. It reverts to good again at f/16 due to diffraction, dropping off more at f/22. For good corner-sharpness, it pays to stop down to apertures of f/11 or narrower.

Fringing:

Color fringing can be a little noticeable wide-open from the mid-to-edge region of the image frame, and remains of a similar order in the area between the center and edge of the frame at other apertures. Even so, it’s hard to spot in most real-world images.

Distortion: 2.52

Macro lenses are often used for technical photography so the noticeable amount of pincushion distortion is disappointing. With no electronic communication between the lens and camera, automatic correction is impossible, so you have to resort to fixing distortion manually at the editing stage.

7Artisans 60mm F2.8 Macro 2x: Verdict

There’s a lot I like about the 7Artisans 60mm F2.8 Macro 2x. The generous 2.0x macro magnification is its key feature, backed up by solid build quality and nice handling. The 180-degree throw of the focus ring enables very fine adjustments but autofocus is off the menu and, as a dumb lens, there’s no electronic communication with the camera body. Sharpness is pretty good across most of the frame but distortion is on the high side for a macro lens and the working distance for 2.0x macro is very tight, at just 5cm / 2” between the front of the lens and the subject.

Alternatives

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!

Viltrox is a Chinese manufacturer that has really impressed me with many of its autofocus lenses for full-frame and crop-sensor mirrorless cameras, over the last three years. Indeed, I’ve enjoyed reviewing some of them so much that I’ve bought several of them for my permanent collection. They tend to be really nicely made, excellent performers and standout value for money. My current Viltrox stash includes the fast, metal-bodied Viltrox AF 23mm F1.4 Z, Viltrox AF 33mm F1.4 Z, and Viltrox AF 56mm F1.4 Z primes, plus the slightly larger Viltrox AF 13mm F1.4 Z which I use on my Nikon Z fc camera.

The 28mm pancake ‘FE’ lens that I’m reviewing here is a different kind of lens, with the emphasis on being incredibly small and lightweight. Even so, it’s full-frame compatible and the original version aimed to be one of the most affordable lenses for Sony E-mount cameras (and still does). It’s equally viable for use on Sony APS-C format mirrorless cameras, where it gives an ‘effective’ focal length of 42mm, and thus a very natural perspective rather than a wide viewing angle. Since originally being launched, the lens has also become available in Fujifilm X and Nikon Z versions, those two subsequently being followed by an L-mount edition, as the second non-cine Viltrox lens to be launched in L-mount, following the comparatively large and high-tech Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8.

Viltrox AF 28mm F4.5: Specifications

Viltrox AF 28mm F4.5: Price

I tested the Viltrox AF 28mm F4.5 in September 2024, before it actually went on sale. Since then, the original Sony E-mount version of the lens has been adapted, with alternative Fujifilm X, Nikon Z and finally L-mount editions becoming available. The lens is full-frame compatible, although that’s a moot point for APS-C format Fujifilm X-mount cameras, and APS-C format L-mount cameras are few and far between. The list price is $99 / £90 / AU$169 but it’s worth keeping an eye open for discounts that come around from time to time.

Viltrox AF 28mm F4.5: Design & Handling

The key factors in the design of the Viltrox AF 28mm F4.5 are compactness and lightweight construction. Measuring just 15mm / 0.59” thick and weighing a mere 60g / 2.1oz, I can’t readily think of many other full-frame compatible pancake lenses that are so small and light. Even so, there’s a fair bit packed into this diminutive lens. For starters, it has six optical elements arranged in six groups, featuring two aspherical elements and two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements. More remarkably, it features a quick and virtually silent autofocus system, based on a voice coil motor.

Another surprise, given the featherweight design, is that the lens has a mostly metal construction. It includes a metal mounting plate with gold-plated electronic contacts and even a USB-C port for applying firmware updates if and when needed.

Up front, there’s a built-in sliding cap to shield the front element, which is operated by a lever on the front of the lens. That’s another space-saver, although there’s no hood. I’d consider buying a screw-in hood separately but there’s no filter attachment thread either. Back on the plus side, the lens features HD Nano multi-layer coating and a fluorine moisture-repellant coating on the front element. Around the back of the lens itself, there’s a conventional bayonet-fit rear cap.

When designing a lens this small, something has to give. Sure enough, the Viltrox lacks an adjustable aperture diaphragm, which saves both size and weight as well as cost. Instead, it has a fixed aperture of f/4.5. The aperture itself isn’t circular but has an 8-sided shape.

Viltrox AF 28mm F4.5: Performance

When I think of really small, lightweight lenses, street photography springs to mind. It’s a genre where I often want to be as inconspicuous as possible, not drawing attention to myself with a big camera outfit. A lightweight camera and lens combo is also great for walkabout and travel photography. A focal length of 35mm is often preferred but I actually like the wider viewing angle of a 28mm lens for general shooting with a prime lens. I tested the Viltrox with a Sony A7C II. It’s a very compact camera body and the lens definitely follows suit. It’s so thin that, when it’s mounted on the camera, the front edge only protrudes as far as the camera’s hand grip. That’s really quite something.

I found autofocus to be typically nimble and virtually silent, for a voice coil motor system. One frustration for traditional street photography is that there’s no provision for manual focusing, as there’s no manual focus ring. It’s autofocus or nothing. Even so, I found that autofocus was not only rapid but consistently reliable.

Not being able to adjust the aperture can also be a frustration but f/4.5 generally works pretty well. It enables fairly fast shutter speeds in bright lighting conditions, which you can maintain in dull scenarios by hiking up your camera’s ISO a bit. The combination of focal length and aperture give a pretty good depth of field for general shooting, while also enabling you to blur the background to some extent when shooting close-ups.

Sharpness is very good in the central region of the image frame, pretty average in the outlying area and quite mediocre at the edges and corners. Color fringing can also be very noticeable towards the edges and corners of the frame, if you don’t take advantage of automatic in-camera correction or fix it at the editing stage. Better news is that there’s only a hint of barrel distortion, even when uncorrected.

My only real gripe about the lens’s performance is that I found it was prone to flare when shooting against the light, or with the sun high in the sky but not behind me. A lens hood would certainly be a bonus but there simply isn’t one for this lens.

Viltrox AF 28mm F4.5: Sample Images

The gallery of sample images below was shot in bright sunny weather at the floating harbor in Bristol, UK.

Viltrox AF 28mm F4.5: 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:

Sharpness is excellent in the central region of the image frame but drops off to average levels between the center and the edge. At the extreme edges of the frame, sharpness is merely mediocre.

Fringing:

There’s only fairly minimal color fringing across most of the image frame but it can become very noticeable towards the edges and corners if automatic correction is switched off in camera, or you don’t take care of it when editing images.

Distortion: -0.5

There’s just a hint of barrel distortion which will generally go unnoticed, even without applying any correction during RAW image processing or when editing JPEG images.

Viltrox AF 28mm F4.5: Verdict

I feel that the Viltrox AF 28mm F4.5 is the last word in convenience and portability, thanks to it’s incredibly small and lightweight build. I really like using it for street photography and for walkabout/travel shooting, as it keeps size and weight to an absolute minimum. I’m not overly fussed about the lack of a manual focus ring and, in most respects, I was very pleased with the lens’s image quality. Being unable to adjust the aperture can be a problem and I found the lens was quite susceptible to flare, so it’s a shame there’s no hood for it. Ultimately though, it’s a fun lens that keeps things simple.

Alternatives

AstrHori has made a name for itself as a Chinese manufacturer of budget-friendly lenses and a few accessories including mount adapters, filters and macro focusing rails. Some of the company’s lenses are pretty extreme, like the AstrHori 25mm F2.8 Macro 2.0x-5.0x and AstrHori 18mm F8 2x Periscope Probe Macro, both of which go beyond the usual 1.0x magnification of typical macro lenses. Indeed, nearly all autofocus macro lenses top out 1.0x maximum magnification, although the Canon RF 100mm F2.8L Macro IS USM is a notable exception, stretching to 1.4x magnification. Like the other two AstrHori lenses I’ve just mentioned, the 120mm F2.8 Macro 2x is a fully manual lens. You therefore get no autofocus and there are no built-in electronics for enabling aperture control from the host camera body. It therefore offers a very hands-on shooting experience but, for macro photography, that’s no bad thing and the lens aims to take on some of the best macro lenses on the market, but at a cutdown price.

AstrHori 120mm F2.8 Macro 2x: Specifications

AstrHori 120mm F2.8 Macro 2x: Price

Launched in the summer of 2024, the full-frame compatible AstrHori 120mm F2.8 Macro 2x is available in a wide range of mount options, including Canon EF & RF, L-mount, Nikon Z and Sony E (FE). Naturally, creating a variety of mount options is a lot easier when you’re making a ‘dumb lens’ with no autofocus nor built-in electronics. It never hurts to spread the net with a few options. The lens sells for around $369/£369. Again, the fully manual nature of the lens helps to keep the price down, and it’s very much less expensive than most autofocus macro lenses.

AstrHori 120mm F2.8 Macro 2x: Design & Handling

Most dedicated macro prime lenses have a focal length of around 90mm to 105mm, so the AstrHori 120mm F2.8 Macro 2x is longer than most. It’s physically quite long as well, measuring 77x165mm and weighing in at a hefty 930g, but the physical length of the lens doesn’t extend as you focus down from infinity to the shortest object distance of 30cm, or about a foot. The net result is that you get a comfortable working distance between the front of the lens and the subject you’re shooting, equating to about 12cm / 4.7” for full 2x macro shots.

Although the physical length of the lens remains the same at all focus distances, most of the internal groups of elements kick off near the back and move towards the front as you decrease the focus distance. The effect is more exaggerated than I’ve seen in many ‘internal focus’ macro lenses. The optical path itself comprises 14 elements in 9 groups, and includes four LD (Low Dispersion) elements and three HRI (High Refractive Index) elements, the combination intending to boost clarity and minimize chromatic aberrations.

To keep your left hand busy, there are two control rings, the rearward one being the aperture ring. This operates in full f/stop steps, with no de-click option. However, the click steps are spaced quite far apart and the aperture is continuously variable, so you can choose interim values if you feel the need. Naturally, with no electronics, the aperture value can’t be communicated to the camera body, nor stored in the EXIF data of image files. The aperture diaphragm itself is particularly well-rounded, based on 13 curved blades.

Just to the rear of the focus ring is a rank of depth of field markers for apertures of f/4, 8, 11 and 22. They can come in useful for general shooting but are of little benefit for macro photography, where pinpoint accuracy for focusing is the order of the day.

Up next is the focus control ring itself, which has markings for focus distance in feet and meters, as well as for magnification factor. It’s neat for providing a ready reference, for example showing that 1.0x macro magnification is attained at a focus distances of 0.35m / 1.15ft and that full 2.0x magnification is at 0.3m / 0.98ft. The focus ring works fairly smoothly and with good tactile feedback but the sliding mechanism for the internal groups of elements was clearly audible in my review sample. A bigger problem is that while the overall rotation of the focus ring is reasonably generous at 120 degrees, only a very small portion of this is given to longer focus distances of between 0.5m and infinity. The upshot is that manual focusing for macro shooting is reasonably easy but it can be difficult to adjust focus accurately for medium to long range shooting.

The lens has a 72mm filter attachment thread and is supplied with a regular clip-on front cap, but no hood is supplied with the lens. What it does feature is six screw holes around the front of the barrel, which you can use for attaching macro lights for effectively illuminating close-up subjects.

AstrHori 120mm F2.8 Macro 2x: Performance

I often find that autofocus macro lenses are more than just one-trick ponies. They can also work very well for portraiture and for any other scenario in which I need a short telephoto lens with a reasonably fast aperture rating. The difficulty in focusing for anything other than extreme close-ups makes the AstrHori 120mm F2.8 Macro 2x perform much more like a specialist macro lens, suited to just one purpose. Maybe that’s the reason it’s not supplied with a hood.

Image quality between 1.0x and 2.0x has a lot to do with your focusing accuracy and macro shooting technique, rather than just being about the quality of the lens. Testing it on a Sony A7 II, I found that the focus peaking aid was of little use for macro shots, where the degree of precision required is too great. I had more success with the magnified preview option, which is available by default or via custom settings in the Live View mode of most cameras.

You can generally get IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilization) to work for this and other ‘dumb lenses’ by dialing their focal length and sometimes their aperture into the camera. Either way, image stabilization can be of very limited effectiveness at 1.0x macro magnification, even less so at 2.0x. I got the best hit rate by using the time-honored combination of a tripod and remote controller, while the very short duration of the pulse of light from a flashgun or studio flash head can help effectively freeze any motion. For medium to long-distance shooting, I found the sharpness of this lens to be merely adequate at most apertures, and disappointing at f/4 and f/5.6. That’s borne out by out lab-test results but, for really close-range shooting, sharpness seemed rather better.

AstrHori 120mm F2.8 Macro 2x: Sample Images

The sample images in the following gallery are macro shots taken at or near the minimum focus distance, using bounced flash as a light source. The subject matter includes the face of a wristwatch, the inner workings of a fob watch, colored pencils, the shutter speed control dial of a Nikon Z fc camera, a garden flower (Japanese Anemone), standard sized text from an inkjet printer on plain paper and models of a motorcycle and medieval knight on horseback.

AstrHori 120mm F2.8 Macro 2x: 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:

At the regular object distances required for shooting test charts, our lab results reveal mediocre sharpness at most aperture settings, and poor performance at f/4 and f/5.6. In real-world shooting at really close focus distances for macro photography, I found sharpness to be rather better.

Fringing:

The lens does well to keep color fringing to a minimum, right across the image frame and throughout the aperture range.

Distortion: 0.92

There’s a little pincushion distortion which can’t be taken care of by automatic in-camera correction, due to the lack of electronic communication, but it’s generally not enough to be noticeable.

AstrHori 120mm F2.8 Macro 2x: Verdict

I like that the AstrHori 120mm F2.8 Macro 2x gives such immense 2x magnification and can genuinely reveal tiny levels of detail that are invisible to the naked eye. Care and patience are required to get the best results, particularly in relation to accurate focusing, but that can pay off in terms of very pleasing image quality. I feel that the lens is rather less useful as a short telephoto prime for general shooting but that’s only to be expected from what is a somewhat specialist macro lens, and at a very reasonable price.

Alternatives

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!

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 40mm 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 a wide-angle.

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 $20,029 (about £14,931) of your hard-earned cash; if you want the 150MP back as well, then the total package is a massive $62,490 ($46,585)! 

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.

Everybody loves a trinity standard zoom, right? With a typical zoom range of 24-70mm, coupled with a relatively fast and constant f/2.8 aperture, they’re great for anything and everything from urban and landscape photography to portraiture and even astrophotography, up to a point. The maximum focal length of 70mm can feel a bit short for portraiture, especially for head-and-shoulders compositions and tight head shots. Tamron stretched things a bit with its Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 Di III RXD, which was also repurposed as the Nikon Z 28-75mm F2.8, before Tamron upped the ante with its subsequent Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 Di III RXD G2 (Generation 2) lens. All three are conveniently compact and lightweight, tipping the scales at a shade over half a kilogram. This Sigma lens goes more properly into telephoto territory, stretching to 105mm instead of 75mm, but is almost twice as heavy. It aims to be among the best lenses for Sony cameras and the best lenses for L-mount cameras.

Sigma 28-105mm F2.8 DG DN Art: Specifications

Sigma 28-105mm F2.8 DG DN Art: Price

The Sigma 28-105mm F2.8 DG DN Art launched in the late summer of 2024, at a price of around $1499/£1399. For the sake of comparison, the Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 Di III RXD G2 sells for around $899/£849 for the Sony E-mount version and $999/£849 for the Nikon Z-mount edition. The Nikon Z 28-75mm F2.8 costs around $997/£849. The Sigma is therefore a fair bit pricier to buy and gives you a tough choice if you shoot with a Sony Alpha mirrorless camera. However, the Sigma lens isn’t available in Nikon Z mount, whereas the Tamron (and more obviously the Nikon lens) isn’t available in L-mount.

Sigma 28-105mm F2.8 DG DN Art: Design & Handling

There’s no getting away from the fact that, for a ‘standard zoom’, the Sigma is relatively big and heavy. There’s a lot of glass involved, with 18 elements arranged in 13 groups. These include no less than five aspherical elements, which help to keep the size and weight to reasonable levels, along with one SLD (Special Low Dispersion) element and two top-grade FLD (‘Fluorite’ Low Dispersion) elements, aiming to maximize clarity while minimizing color fringing. Vital statistics of the lens are 88x158mm and 995g, and it has an 82mm filter attachment thread.

Typical of recent Sigma Art-line lenses, build quality feels very good, based on metal and TSC (Thermally Stable Composite) components, the latter being a high-grade plastic that has the same temperature expansion coefficient as aluminum. The mounting plate is made from brass and the lens features multiple weather seals as well as a fluorine coating on the front element.

Handling feels exotic. For straightforward shooting, the zoom ring works smoothly and the HLA (High-response Linear Actuator) autofocus system is super-quick and consistently accurate. It’s in the finer points that the Sigma comes into its own. There’s a physical aperture ring that works in one-third click-steps for stills and comes complete with a de-click switch, more ideal for shooting video. I like that there’s also an iris lock switch to avoid the danger of turning the control ring accidentally.

The lens also features an AF/MF focus mode switch, which I always like to see as it saves the need for messing around in camera menus to make the change. The Sigma also has two customizable function buttons, which I’d normally use for AF-hold, but can be assigned to other options where available in camera body menus. Placed with a 90-degree spacing between them, they fall naturally under the thumb in both landscape and portrait orientation shooting.

Typically for Sigma Art and Sports series lenses, this one comes complete with a padded soft case and a petal-shaped hood that has a locking release button on the side.

Sigma 28-105mm F2.8 DG DN Art: Performance

I found that the generous 28-105mm zoom range, coupled with a relatively fast and constant f/2.8 aperture, made the lens very versatile for walkaround shooting. It certainly reduced the number of times that I felt the need to swap between standard and telephoto lenses, although I did sometimes miss the wider maximum viewing angle of a 24-70mm ‘trinity’ standard zoom.

For shooting indoors in venues like museums and cathedrals, where tripods are prohibited, one omission is that the lens doesn’t feature optical image stabilization. However, I found that it worked very well with the IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilization) of the Sony A7C II camera that I used for testing the lens. Indeed, you have to go a long way to find an E-mount or L-mount camera that doesn’t feature IBIS nowadays, although it’s a sore point for early adopters of Sony’s Alpha mirrorless cameras like the original A7.

I was very much impressed with the speed and accuracy of the autofocus system, which gave entirely consistent results throughout my testing. Sharpness and clarity of the lens are superb, throughout the entire (oversized) zoom range. Especially at longer focal lengths, I found it easy to get a tight depth of field at f/2.8, to isolate subjects by blurring the background. The quality of bokeh is nice and smooth. Bokeh remains impressive when stopping down a little, helped by a very well-rounded 12-blade aperture diaphragm.

Color fringing can be a little noticeable towards the edges and corners of the image frame at the shortest focal length of 28mm, but die away at longer zoom settings. Automatic in-camera correction is generally available for this anyway. Barrel distortion at the short end and pincushion at the long end are quite severe when uncorrected in-camera, but that’s becoming par for the course with many recently designed lenses for mirrorless cameras. I’ve seen many lenses that rely very much more heavily on in-camera correction for distortion than this Sigma. All in all, performance is excellent.

Sigma 28-105mm F2.8 DG DN Art: Sample Images

The following gallery of example shots were taken indoors at Wells Cathedral in Somerset, UK, and outdoors in sunny conditions at the cathedral and adjacent Bishop’s Palace gardens.

Sigma 28-105mm F2.8 DG DN Art: 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:

Even when shooting wide-open at f/2.8, sharpness is outstanding across most of the image frame, and the extreme edges and corners come on strong at f/4 at all but the very longest zoom setting, where sharpness is still very good.

Fringing:

Color fringing can be a little noticeable towards the edges and corners of the image frame when shooting at the shortest zoom setting, when automatic in-camera correction is disabled, but fringing becomes less as you extend through the zoom range.

Distortion:

There’s heavy barrel distortion at 28mm, while pincushion distortion gets steadily worse as you extend through the 50-105mm sector of the zoom range. Even so, distortions are less heavily reliant on automatic in-camera correction than with many recent lenses designed for mirrorless cameras.

Sigma 28-105mm F2.8 DG DN Art: Verdict

The Sigma 28-105mm F2.8 DG DN Art certainly isn’t a compact, lightweight lens but that’s no surprise given the oversized zoom range, coupled with a relatively fast and constant f/2.8 aperture. The physical length of the lens extends at longer zoom settings, with a sliding inner barrel, but handling is very refined, while autofocus is fast and accurate, and image quality is excellent. Overall, it’s a very versatile and deeply satisfying lens for wide-ranging shooting scenarios and, while it’s pretty pricey to buy, it’s well worth the outlay.

Alternatives

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.

Canon has launched what is, on paper, a trinity lens without the red ring or the price tag. The new Canon RF 28-70mm f/2.8 IS STM doesn't pack the same elite optical performance, but it's a far more affordable alternative to both the RF 28-70mm f/2L and the RF 24-70mm f/2.8L. 

It’s set to be a great accompaniment to Canon’s full-frame mirrorless cameras such as the EOS R6, R6 Mark II and R8, and will be a substantial upgrade over kit lenses such as the RF 24-50mm f/4.5-6.3 or RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1.

While it is a full-frame lens it can of course be used on any of Canon’s mirrorless APS-C cameras, where its 1.6x crop factor will give a full frame focal length equivalent of 44.8-112mm – where you’ll also enjoy the sharpest, center-most portion of the optics.

Canon doesn’t currently plan for the RF 28-70mm f/2.8 to be bundled with such cameras, though this could change in the future. It makes for a substantial upgrade over the current kit bundle options with its wide f/2.8 maximum aperture. And it gives upgraders a nice option to the RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM – the original L-series zoom for the R system, widely considered one of the best Canon RF lenses.

While the new lens has a slightly more limited focal range, with a 2.5x optical zoom compared to the 4.3x zoom of the 24-105mm, it's about 14% smaller in length when fully retracted – and 30% lighter, too, weighing just 490g. 

Canon’s non L-series lenses aren’t usually weather-sealed, but the new 28-70mm f/2.8 bucks this trend with protective seals around the focus and zoom rings, sealing around the RF mount, and the lens switches have been redesigned for dust- and water-proofing.

The ace up its sleeve is the constant f/2.8 maximum aperture available throughout the zoom range. In terms of kit lenses this makes it a full stop (twice as bright) as the 24-105mm f/4L, and both 1.3 stops brighter than the 24-50mm at its widest setting and 2.3 stops (over four times as bright) at its 50mm setting – so it’s much better suited to low light situations as it can suck in notably more light.

Speaking of low light, the new RF 28-70mm f/2.8 claims to deliver shutter speeds 5.5 stops slower than would normally be required using its Optical Image Stabilization – or up to a whopping 7.5 stops when paired with one of Canon’s cameras featuring In-body image stabilization.

As this lens doesn’t get the red ring signifying that it’s an elite L-series optic, Canon acknowledges that its image quality won’t quite match that of L glass like the 24-105mm f/4L. 

I tested the two lenses side-by-side while writing my Canon RF 28-70mm f/2.8 IS STM review, and found that the new lens more than held its ground – though it makes use of in-camera correction to compensate for a non-L optical formula.

"What can be said for the image quality of the Canon RF 28-70mm f/2.8 is that it is nice and sharp across the frame, and this gets even better when closing the aperture to a middle value like f/5.6," I said in the review.

"In summary, the image quality doesn't really concern me. It follows Canon’s growing trend of sacrificing the optical quality by fixing it in post-production and therefore enabling the lens to be made smaller and lighter."

It’s constructed from 15 elements in 12 groups, with two UD (ultra-low distortion) and two GMo (glass-molded) aspherical elements as well as Canon’s Super Spectra coating (which Canon says will "ensure incredible sharpness"). It also boasts a 9-blade aperture, for circular bokeh, with a 67mm front filter thread and closest focusing distance of 27cm at its widest 28mm focal length.

Canon claims its users will experience a big step-up in video performance, too, with "gorgeous smooth focus transitions and quick adjustments" thanks to an STM (stepping) motor for fast, accurate and quiet autofocus. It also boasts focus breathing compensation that can work in conjunction with the breathing compensation system present in some EOS R cameras.

There’s also a new three-way switch to change the front ring from a control ring to a manual focus ring, or to flick it to AF for uninterrupted autofocusing if you prefer.

The Canon RF 28-70mm f/2.8 IS STM is due to go on sale on September 27, with a retail price of $1,099 / £1,249.99 / AU$1,919.

You might be interested in the best Canon RF lenses – and don't forget that you can also adapt the best Canon lenses for DSLR to use on EOS R cameras. 

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

If you love prime lenses and the 50mm focal length is your lens of choice in any situation then you are going to love this latest news from Nikon as the camera giant has expanded its Z series full-frame lens lineup with the addition of the new  Nikon Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.4.

This new prime lens offers photographers a versatile tool for capturing natural perspectives with remarkable precision. With its fast f/1.4 aperture, advanced optical performance, and quick autofocus, it allows for creative expression in any lighting condition.  Whether shooting portraits, landscapes, or everyday scenes, the NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.4 promises stunning depth, clarity, and sharpness.

This new 50mm f/1.4 from Nikon neatly sits between the flagship Nikon Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.2 S and the Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S - this new f/1.4 offers both portability and pro-grade optics in an affordable package that will offer both photographer and videographers a useful 50mm prime that can offer great compression, good light gathering, and at a price point that is very reasonable for a f/1.4 from the Nikon lineup.

Designed for flexibility in available light, this new 50mm lens is ideal for various photography styles, including travel and street photography. Its wide f/1.4 aperture not only enhances low-light performance but also creates smooth, soft bokeh for beautifully isolated subjects. 

Zurab Kiknadze, Product Manager, Nikon Europe says: “We’re extremely happy to add this 50mm standard lens to our budding range of accessible f/1.4 prime lenses. Offering boundless creativity and portability, it partners perfectly with our recently launched Nikon 35mm f/1.4 lens. Keep these compact Z series primes side by side in your camera bag and you can maintain a consistent aesthetic as you shift perspectives from wide to normal.”

The new Nikon Z 50mm f/1.4 is available to order now for a retail price of $496.95 / £499 / AU$929.

Pre-order at B&H (US) for $496.95

Pre-order at WEX (UK) for £499

Watch video above: Reach for the skies!

From the roar of the vintage engines as planes race by overhead, to the fun of characters dressed up in period outfits, there will be plenty to photograph when you visit an airshow near you this summer.

Airshows present a real opportunity to hone your photo skills and you’re pretty much guaranteed to come away with some great images. However, if you’re interested in elevating your aviation photography to the next level, some simple steps towards better technique will go a long way to making a big difference. Picking the right kit for airshows will also help ensure you get the best results, but any DSLR or mirrorless camera will do the job so don’t think your equipment will be the key factor. That said, some kit can’t be scrimped on, such as a long telephoto zoom lens, plus a monopod which makes the experience much more comfortable, taking the weight of your camera set-up off your shoulders, and a godsend when shooting for long periods. 

Airshows are quite unique in their set-up – you’ll have a lot of subjects to shoot and you’ll have to adjust settings to the speed of what’s happening in front of you to keep up with the action. What’s more, simply pointing the lens towards the sky may return images that lack character or purpose. By taking a slightly different approach and including more of the environment, whether it be some greenery in the background or adding some polish in post-production, you can create images that do more and help tell the story of the aircraft. 

Working with the light you have on the day can also be a big factor, but again, there are ways of approaching these tasks and by taking control of your camera, you can come away from an airshow with a memory card full of keepers. Here are my top tips to get started... 

1. Pick the right kit

Pairing the right lens and camera can make a big difference. I use a 70-200mm lens, but by using this optic with my Canon EOS 90D, an APS-C crop factor camera, I have an effective focal length of 112-320mm thanks to the 1.6x crop factor.

2. Get even closer

Use a Canon teleconverter, also called an extender for 1.4x or 2x magnification. Adding a 1.4x extender between my camera gives me a huge focal length of 156-448mm when paired with my 1.6x crop factor, helping to fill the frame with faraway planes. Check out the best teleconverters.

3. Use a 'slow' shutter speed

Your shutter speed is key for capturing sharp shots, around 1/2000 sec for jet planes, but if I’m shooting planes with propellers, I like to slow the shutter speed down to around 1/320 sec in shutter priority (Tv) mode to add a little motion blur to the prop blades.

4. Time your shots

Most people shoot planes when they are overhead, but that won’t always lead to the best images. I often find that by timing your images for take off or landing, you can capture more interesting background or foreground elements, which help add scale and context to the frame.

5. Three's the magic number

What’s better than one plane? Two planes. But three is even better! Many airshows will feature multiple flying aircraft at once. Adjust your composition to include more planes to increase interest. Zoom out and try to time your frames for when the planes cross, fly together, or better still, bank.

6. Use Ai Servo autofocus

Focusing on fast moving subjects can be tricky so it’s best to use your Canon’s AI Servo AF mode a single, and a group of AF points to continuously track and refocus on your subject. If your Canon EOS has Vehicle Subject Detection it would be well worth shooting with this too!

If you're serious about scenery, take a look at the best cameras for landscape photography along with the best lenses for landscapes.

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.

Viltrox is working on new super-slim lens to add its fast-growing range of autofocus primes. The new Viltrox AF 28mm f/4.5 VCM ASPH ED pancake lens will be set to launch as a crowdfunded project - with a new name that the Chinese company has yet to decide upon.

As is the beauty of the best pancake lenses, the key attraction of the 28mm f/4.5 will be its diminutive size. It will weight just 60g - that's a mere 2.1 ounces - and will be only 15.3mm deep (0.6 inches).

The lens is being produced to fit Sony full-frame mirrorless cameras - but can also be used on E-mount APS-C models too, where the effective focal length becomes 42mm.

The f/4.5 maximum aperture is particularly slow for a wide-angle prime - but the lens will appeal for those who want a lightweight option for street photography.

The lens is constructed from six non-grouped elements including two ED lenses, two aspherical lenses, with HD nano multilayer coating and a front lens waterproof anti-fouling coating.

The minimum focus of the lens is 0.32m (12.6in) - and the autofocus system uses a VCM voice-coil motor.

Unusually, the lens boasts a built-in lens cover and doesn't have a front filter ring.

The price and the launch date for the new 28mm f/4.5 lens have yet to be announced.

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

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.

Watch video (above): Kaleidoscopic colour

There’s no shortage of photographic gear and gadgets on the market. Although while we often justify a new lens with an ability to open up new creative possibilities, we don’t always give accessories the same time of day. This month I’ve been experimenting with the Fractals Filters Classic 3-Pack, which at £170 / $129 may sound a tad steep, but like a new lens, they open up brilliant artistic opportunities and allow you to take unique pictures.

These prism filters can be held in front of the lens to refract and reflect light in interesting ways. Some create a glitchy pattern while others create a kaleidoscope of colour, making them perfect for portraits – giving your shots an edge that will stand out from the crowd. Of course, cheap prisms can be bought online for £10/$10 and are a great place to start, but if you want better quality and versatility, these Fractals Filters are certainly worth it. 

1. Use a 50mm prime lens

Start by attaching your lens to your Canon EOS camera; 50mm on a full-frame Canon, or 35mm on an APS-C, seems to be the sweet spot but you can, of course, experiment. Make sure your lens is fitted with a UV filter so that you don’t scratch the front element.

2. Starting settings

To begin, go into your Canon’s Aperture Priority (Av) mode and dial in an aperture of f/2 and ISO1600. You’ll want to aim for a shutter speed of at least 1/200 sec to eliminate camera-shake, so you may need to tweak your ISO value depending on daylight levels.

3. Move the filter around

First compose your scene and have your model pose as desired, and check the exposure is good. Then, compose again but bring your prism into view this time. Try moving it closer or further away from the lens and tilting it towards or away from your model.

4. Face Detection

Autofocus can be a challenge when shooting through a prism. On newer Canons like the EOS R5, Subject  Detection (above) makes this much easier. But for older Canons you’ll need to place your active AF point over the model’s eyes to make sure they are sharp.

5. A helping hand

Holding your camera in one hand and a filter in the other can be tricky, so we suggest it’s easiest to hold the Fractals Filter by its grip and then use your thumb to rest against the lens barrel to steady yourself, and help you line up the shot perfectly. It’s also worth enabling any lens or body-based Image Stabilization on your Canon EOS to help reduce camera shake too. A tripod can be a better option if you don’t need the flexibility of moving and shooting quickly, although it’s a good option for shooting video footage with prisms.

6. Not all 50mm lenses are created equal

A 50mm lens offers the perfect focal length for prism portraits, but one thing to look out for is the front element. This Canon RF 50mm F1.8 STM front element is just 43mm, so we needed to move the filter away from the lens to see more of its effects.

The diameter for the front element of this Sigma 50mm f/1.4 lens is much larger at 77mm.  This means we can hold the Fractals Filter closer to the lens to squeeze in the effect of the prism. As we can hold it closer to the lens it’s much easier to blur using a wide aperture and shallow depth of field.

7. Fractals Filters: Pascal

The Pascal is the heaviest of the three prism filters in the Fractals Filters Classic 3-Pack. Tipping the scales at 255g it’s a bit more unwieldy to use than the others. Master it though, and it will allow you to take ‘impossible’ images, as its chunky glass element has been cut in such a way that allows it to reflect objects from outside your normal field of view. When you’re shooting outside, this could be a tree directly behind you! Our model wore a sparkly dress in front of a blue glittery background for extra sparkles that has reflected in the glass. 

8. Fractals Filters: Julia

The Julia filter is perfectly circular with the Fractals Filters signature knuckle-duster style metal grip so you can hold it comfortably in your left hand, while holding your camera in your right hand. It has an orange segment style pattern cut into it with a clear circular sweet spot in the centre. This used to be an actual hole but is now one complete piece of glass for cleaner results. This central zone gives you an ideal ‘sweet spot’ in which to position your model’s face, with the surrounding frame then being filled with a mesmerizing kaleidoscopic view. 

9. Fractals Filters: Penrose

The Penrose filter is the lightest of the trio in the classic 3-Pack with its thin proportions and a section of glass cut out from it. This makes it a joy to use as it can be held and repositioned with ease. The glass has a checkerboard pattern on its front face, breaking the surrounding scenery into a wonderful diffused, glitchy pattern. The cutaway section of glass is ideal for placing your focal point as it leaves this area perfectly sharp. Due to its two pointy ‘horns’, make sure a UV filter is fitted to your lens to avoid scratches to the front element.

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.