Lens News

Remember that macro lens you stashed in the back of your camera cabinet at the end of summer? Well, there's a lot more to closeup photography than photographing spring buds and the flowers and insects that emerge later.

You’ve probably heard this one before: you should shoot portraits with mid-range lenses like an 85mm or an 100mm to create the most flattering look. Or this one: don’t shoot a portrait with a wide-angle lens because it will make a person’s face look distorted.

"My" Leica M8--a loaner from Leica for review--came with a 50mm f/2 bar-coded Summicron. The 18x27mm sensor turns this into a 67mm lens in 35mm terms: rather long for someone whose standard lens on 35mm has for decades been a 35mm. So as soon as I got the M8, I started using other, older lenses. There is, after all, an enormous choice, from 12mm (18mm...

What do you mean you've never cleaned your lenses and the dirty sensor in your camera? After all, some of us spend a small fortune on cameras, lenses, and important photo accessories, and regular maintenance is part of the game. As one pro says, "It definitely behooves us to do everything in our power to try to extend the life of our gear as much as possible."

As we said in the review of the new Zeiss Ikon (ZI) 35mm rangefinder (April 2006 issue of Shutterbug or online at www.shutterbug.com), we received six of the seven Zeiss ZM-mount lenses announced at photokina 2004: 15mm f/2.8, 21mm f/2.8, 25mm f/2.8, 28mm f/2.8, 35mm f/2, and 50mm f/2. The 85mm f/2 (listing at $2759, plus $127 for the lens shade) still wasn't available as we...

Zeiss has introduced the second lens in its coveted Otus family: an 85mm F/1.4 lens known as the Apo Planar 1.4/85. Designed for portrait photography or any imaging job that requires extreme sharpness and the ultimate in resolving power, the Otus Apo Planar 1.4/85 is comprised of 11 elements in nine groups and comes in both ZE (EF bayonet mount for Canon) and ZF.2 (F bayonet mount for Nikon) versions.