Lens Reviews

As soon as I heard about it, I wanted to try the f/2 28mm Zeiss ZF lens; ZF, for those unfamiliar with the current Zeiss line-up, is their superb line of Nikon F compatible manual focus lenses, as distinct from ZM (Leica M compatible) and ZV (classic Hasselblad compatible).

All of the ZF series are also available in ZK (Pentax K bayonet compatible) and a few, though apparently not...

Few things are as exciting as using a brand new lens for the first time. To photographers, a new lens is like an empty canvas to an artist, or a fresh storyline to a novelist. Fortunately, despite the unsettled tenor of the world situation, 2020 has witnessed an outstanding and diverse collection of exceptional lenses.

Shutterbug once again worked with EISA, the world’s largest independent collection of magazines and websites focusing on consumer electronics, to select the ten best lenses of 2020. Here are our choices. As a voting member of EISA, Shutterbug helped choose these outstanding lenses, which we feel are the best you can buy right now.

Our choices for the ten best lenses you can buy in 2020 run the gamut from super wideangle to super telephoto, and one thing is certain: not one of them will disappoint you. So, take a look at our choices for the ten best lenses of 2020 below (with links to where you can purchase them) and find something amazing to start shooting with today.

Lens guru Mathieu Stern recently had a chance to try out a vintage-version of the Leica Summilux M 35mm F1.4, which is selling for nearly $4000 on eBay. The lens is noteworthy not just because it's a Leica, but because it's the world's smallest F/1.4 lens.

The Olympus D-SLR system always included a series of pro-caliber lenses targeting serious photographers working with the E-1 pro camera. Since the introduction of the newer E-3, Olympus has also unveiled three high-grade zooms, the first in the Zuiko Digital line with Supersonic Wave Drive (SWD) autofocus. Designed to provide the ultimate in AF performance, this trio offers wide apertures...

Although many zoom lenses are labeled as "macro" that designation generally refers only to moderately close focusing ability. With a few exceptions, such zooms are not adequate for a dramatic frame-filling image unless the subject is quite large. (A few tele macro zoom lenses are capable of much higher magnification, however.) On the other hand, true macro lenses can...

The mid-range zoom I started with when I bought my Nikon D300 was no speed demon, and I was hankering for an f/2.8 lens in the (effective) 70-200mm range. What first attracted me to the Tokina AT-X 535 PRO DX was the fast, constant maximum aperture, providing a bright view every step of the way. What’s more, the barrel on this tele-zoom does not rotate when zoomed: all movement is entirely...

The Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) member magazines recently convened for their General Assembly to vote for the best photo and imaging products launched by the industry in the last 12 months. The voting took place during the General Assembly that was held in spring 2016 in San Francisco, California.