Jason Schneider

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Jason Schneider  |  Dec 24, 2020  |  0 comments

When Sigma decided to extend its esteemed Contemporary line of broad-spectrum lenses to include a full-frame 100-400mm long-range telephoto zoom, they handed their optical engineers a tough assignment: come up with a really long 4x zoom that delivers outstanding imaging performance and enhanced shooting flexibility in a compact, well-balanced, lightweight package optimized for handheld shooting. In other words, they wanted a lens that would expand the long tele zoom market by appealing to travelers, nature, wildlife, and street photographers, hikers, sports shooters and others daunted by the prospect of toting and hefting a ponderous telephoto zoom lens. 

Jason Schneider  |  Nov 03, 2020  |  0 comments

At first glance, the Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN seems to be a run-of-the-mill, reasonably fast normal lens designed to cover the full frame format. In fact, its 45mm focal length is closer to normal than the classic 50mm, as determined by the diagonal of 24 x 36mm frame, which measures 43.26mm.

Jason Schneider  |  Mar 10, 2016  |  0 comments

Judging by its understated model designation it would be easy to conclude that the Sony Alpha A6300 mirrorless camera is simply an upgraded Alpha A6000 with 4K video capture added to its already impressive feature set. After spending the better part of three days shooting with the A6300 during a press trip last week to Miami, FL, I am confident that the new model is a lot more than that. In short, it’s a real game changer that represents a significant technological breakthrough for Sony, and for the entire mirrorless camera category.

Jason Schneider  |  May 01, 2007  |  0 comments

With prices of all film cameras at historic lows, now is as good a time as any to glom onto that classic screwmount Leica you've always wanted!

When it comes to embodying the classic Bauhaus dictum "form follows function," nothing can beat a vintage screwmount Leica. From the late version of the Leica I or C of 1930/31 (the first model with...

Jason Schneider  |  Feb 01, 2008  |  0 comments

Adventurous souls and early adopters were shooting with 35mm SLRs (namely the Kine Exakta) as far back as 1936, but it wasn't until the late '50s and early '60s that 35mm SLRs really began to dominate the serious amateur and professional camera market. No other camera type offered the SLR's supreme optical flexibility and a penta-prism finder with...

Jason Schneider  |  Jun 01, 2007  |  0 comments

If I have any guiding principle that informs my desultory scribblings it is simply this: "Don't write about things you haven't actually tried yourself." It's a great way to avoid "foot in mouth" disease, and as the sages are wont to say, experience is the greatest teacher. So, before holding forth (as I did in my last column) on the...

Jason Schneider  |  Aug 01, 2006  |  0 comments

This fairly large (6.5" long, 3.3" in diameter), reasonably lightweight (32.5 oz, including removable tripod collar) macro tele covers the 24x36mm format in film or digital as well as the smaller APS-C digital format. The Di (Digitally Integrated) designation indicates that it's "optically designed for digital SLR cameras." To translate the remainder...

Jason Schneider  |  May 20, 2014  |  First Published: Apr 01, 2014  |  0 comments

Given that the physical and perceptual experience of making a photograph is shaped by technology, and that technology is also embedded in the resulting images, one of the chief and perhaps most profound changes in how we make an image has been the changes in focusing—and recently autofocusing—technology. There’s a reason that the documentary photojournalism of Lewis W. Hine (shot with a ponderous 5x7 view camera or a 4x5 Graflex SLR) has a qualitatively different feel from that of Alfred Eisenstaedt or Henri Cartier-Bresson (shot with pocket-sized 35mm rangefinder cameras). It’s not only framing—it’s responsiveness, spontaneity, and, perhaps, repose, that underlies what these image-makers showed us.

Jason Schneider  |  Aug 17, 2015  |  1 comments

Over the past few years an amazing transformation has been taking place in photographic lens design. As a result, scores of innovative new interchangeable lenses have recently been announced by major camera manufacturers, and by optical specialty companies such as Sigma, Tamron, and Tokina.

Jason Schneider  |  Aug 15, 2018  |  0 comments

Using a vintage SLR lens on a DSLR can be a fun and, occasionally, frustrating experience. (Not all the inexpensive glass you dig up on eBay is going to suit your needs.) To help you find that perfect analog match for your high-tech digital SLR, we’ve picked our ten favorite classic SLR lenses that will get you shooting timeless images with your DSLR right away.

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