Lens Reviews

I’ve been writing about and playing with—emphasis on play—Lensbaby lenses since they were introduced in 2004 and ten years later they’re still coming up with new ideas. All their products, including the Medium Format 3G with "Marvin the Martian"-like antennae, have been interesting and the new Lensbaby Velvet 56 portrait lens not only looks like fun but appears to be the most practical Lensbaby product ever.

Tamron’s 14-150mm Di III is the company’s first lens designed for the mirrorless Micro Four Thirds camera system. When originally announced, this lens was supposed to feature built-in VC (Vibration Compensation) image stabilization but over the course of its development—there’s lots of in-body stabilization in this format—this feature was removed.

Tamron is a pioneer in all-in-one, do-everything lenses. Their new 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di PZD lens is designed for Canon, Nikon and Sony shooters and I tested the Canon EF version using an EOS 5D Mark I and an EOS 50D, which changes the lens’ angle-of-view to that of a 45-480mm lens.

Fujifilm was showing off its new toys at photokina today and we got some hands-on time with these latest X-series cameras and lenses. Initially announced on September 10^th, the Fujifilm X100T and XT-1 Graphite Silver cameras, and Fujinon XF50-140mm F2.8 R LM OIS WR and XF56mm F1.2 R APD lenses continue to build on Fuji’s compact and retro-style (Fuji would say “classic" style) X-Series line.

Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera systems promised us lenses that are more compact but fully featured. That promise has finally been fulfilled—and it took Tamron, the master of the All-in-One Zoom, to make it happen.

Beauty is as beauty does. A Leica M with a 50mm APO Summicron attached is the iconic archetype of modern digital cameras with retro design. Using it is a prodigious experience comparable to, let’s say, playing a concert Steinway grand piano, or maybe setting the hands on a Patek Philippe timepiece. I’m only guessing here, ‘cause I’ve done neither. But I did use a Leica M and 50mm APO Summicron for a week. Did they perform? Read on…

Misprint? No. The latest “all-in-one” zoom lens from Tamron ranges from 16mm to 300mm, the equivalent of 24mm to 450mm on my Nikon D300s (with APS-C size sensor). Add Vibration Compensation (VC), excellent Macro focusing and PZD Piezo Drive for quiet and blazing-fast autofocus and you’ve got “Lensational.”