Greentoe Blog

All posts tagged lens review

sigma_24-35_f2_with_lens_hoodAt the end of July 2015 the eagerly awaited Sigma 24-35mm F/2 DG HSM Art Lens will be released. This lens will be offered for Nikon, Canon and Sigma lens mounts and is compatible with Sigma’s mount swapping service. What has photographers chomping to get their hands on this lens it will be the first constant aperture f/2.0 zoom lens designed for the DSLR full frame cameras, meaning in plain English you will get three prime lenses in one with this unique innovation.

There is no need to swap lenses with the Sigma 23-35mm F/2 as you will have a 24mm, 28mm and 35mm all in one lens.   Those who have been lucky enough to give it a trial run report it is solidly built with excellent sharpness all in one single zoom lens.

Sigma has been knocking it out of the park with their Global Vision Art-series lenses and the Sigma 24-35 F/2 is definitely a home run. This lens produces crisp images and at F/2.0 the only reported issue is a little softening around the edges that clears up as you stop down with a sweet spot sitting at F/4.0 to 5.6 providing ultra-crisp images.

There is very little chromatic aberration and only minor fringing can be seen in the outside corner of the frame.   The Sigma 24-35mm F/2 has some vignetting in full frame at f/2.0 but tapers off as you stop down. Barrel distortion was detected which wasn’t surprising considering the wide-angle lens but it is well controlled throughout the focal length with the distortion most noticeable at 24mm focal length. The distortion is well under the 1% average and improves with the longer focal lengths to almost zero barrel distortion.

Physically the Sigma 24-35mm F/2 DG is well built with Sigma’s Thermally Stable Composite material, matte black finish and well gripped focus and zoom rings. This lens is quite hefty because of being so solidly built weighing out at slightly over two pounds. This makes the lens heavy on the camera with 18 lenses in 13 groups with 9-bladed circular aperture diaphragm, a single flurite like glass element , seven SLD elements and at least one aspherical lens but it is a shorter lens so it isn’t overly awkward or unbalanced.

Sigma continued with their Hyper Sonic Motor drive in the 24-35mm F/2 providing the quick and quiet autofocus. The AF motor is virtually silent and you can feel it more than hear it working. Naturally there is the standard manual focusing with distance scale and an AF/MF switch right on the barrel and 90 degrees of rotation on the manual focus ring.

The early reviews are good for the Sigma 24-35mm F/2 DG SHM Art Lens. Those lucky enough to have tested this full-frame three in one lens are excited about the build quality but also the outstanding performance with only slight barrel distortion, vignetting and limited chromatic aberration that most people wouldn’t notice but in testing it was pixel scoped.   It will be a big hit when it hits the stores at the end of the month.

Set your price on the Sigma 24-35mm F/2 DG HSM ART Lens with Greentoe here. 


81XPZ7sQqsL._SY355_The Canon 85mm f/1.8 EF USM Autofocus Lens is considered a medium telephoto prime lens. In plain terms it is a lens that is stationary and unable to zoom represented by the single 8

Physically this is a lightweight compact lens weighing about 425 grams, less than a pound. The outer barrel is comprised of plastic with a black rubber focus grip ring. It includes an Autofocus (FM) Manual Focus (MF) slider switch to flip between the two.   It measures 2.9” x 2.86” making it quite compact. The 58mm ring accommodates filters.

The lens itself performs excellently for the size and price of $370.00.   The center sharpness is very good at f/1.8 the widest setting but the sweet spot of this lens is at the f/5.6 range where clarity from edge to edge is most pronounced. The falloff, diminishment of light on from the center of the frame to the edges, also stands up to the tests with minimal darkening or falloff detected even at f/1.8.

Distortion is virtually non-existent in the Canon 85mm f/1.8 EF USM Autofocus Lens. Color fringe, the halo of color around objects especially on the edges of frames, is also non-existent. There are a few reports of barrel distortion, a slight curve to lines, but it is extremely minute and easily corrected in post processing.

Flares and ghosts, are the spots and flares seen when there is strong background lighting like the sun and the Canon 85mm f/1.8 EF USM Autofocus Lens performs extremely well in this arena even at f/1.8. Naturally it performs better with smaller stops like f/5.6.

The center sharpness at all stops is gorgeous with beautiful bokeh, background blur, with large f-stops. The auto-focusing is typical of Canon technology with lightening quick focus capabilities. The lens can focus faster than the human eye. The lens does not have IS or image stabilization but doesn’t really need one due to the rapid focus.

Although the Canon 85mm f/1.8 EF USM Autofocus Lens has been in the Canon offerings since 1992, it still retains extreme quality. The f/1.8 works really well but overall the performance improves by stopping down at least one stop. The faults are minimal but to a discerning eye, things like barrel blur will be noticed at f/1.8. Overall this lens is ideal for portraiture with sharp center focus and beautiful bokeh. It has enough flexibility to not be limited to portraiture and can be used for much more.   The size, performance and price make this an excellent prime lens to have on hand at every shoot.

Save big on a Canon 85mm f/1.8 EF USM Lens now:

https://www.greentoe.com/Canon85mmf-1-8EF


Canon_5175B002_EF_24_70mm_f_2_8L_II_843008A good zoom lens can be a bit hard to find… but not if you’re looking for a Canon lens like this one. The Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Zoom Lens gets a bit tricky with distortion at certain shooting thresholds, but it ultimately produces great quality images with its rather fantastic zoom range.

The lens maintains a constant f/2.8 aperture when used through its zoom range. As for performance, the experts agree that it puts on a great optical performance and pairs well with full-frame Canon camera bodies.

Features At A Glance

  •  F Mount L-Series Lens
  • Aperture Range: constant f/2.8 maximum aperture
  • Measures 4.4 inches by 3.5 inches, weighs 1.8 pounds
  • Ultrasonic Focus Motor
  • Aspherical, Super UD and UD Elements
  • Compatible with 35mm and Full-Frame Digital Sensor formats
  • Focal Length: 24 mm to 70 mm
  • One Shot AF mode allows more accurate auto-focus
  • Reinforced against the elements, fingerprints and smearing

Key Characteristics

The lens has a build well suited for high quality image output and protects against several elements. Lens measures 4.4 inches by 3.5 inches, weighs 1.8 pounds and outputs high definition images. Front element requires 82mm filters.

Its constructed with reinforced water resistance and dust sealing. The fluorine lens coating on both rear and front lens prevents excessive fingerprint buildup and smearing.

Newer optical design enables the lens to output high quality images, utilizing a Super UD lens elements and two UD lens elements to help reduce chromatic aberration in the lens’ wide angle outer area. This setup also reduces color blurring around edges and helps the camera output better looking images at a high resolution and contrast.

Its 9-blade circular diaphragm helps the camera produce great-looking subtle backgrounds.

Compact and resilient design makes it a suitable lens for packing away and taking on a trip.

Key Features

Fast auto-focusing makes using this with a great camera body more precise – auto-focus utilizes optimized algorithms, ring USM and a high speed CPU.

One Shot AF mode allows more accurate auto-focus in all modes; also features a manual focus override.

Zoom lock level keeps zoom position locked for safer transport.

Aperture L-Series lens uses constant f/2.8 maximum aperture to effectively output images, especially those in low light and with a shallow depth of field.

Pros

  • The Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Zoom Lens provides sharp-looking images at all zoom ranges.
  • The lens has constant f/2.8 aperture throughout its entire zoom range.
  • The design of the lens is relatively compact and can be carried anywhere on the go.

 Cons

  •  The Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Zoom Lens isn’t as stabilized as competitors.
  • Sometimes, this lens produces distortion in images if you set the camera at certain settings. For example, shooting at 24mm produces a slight amount of distortion, as well as shooting at 50 and 70mm.
  • The lens uses a telescoping design, which isn’t preferred by some experts.

Why Should You Buy Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Zoom Lens?

If you’re looking for a relatively good walk-around lens and don’t mind the price, this lens may be what you’re looking to buy. A good and inexpensive alternative to this lens is its f/4 counterpart, the Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM.

Make an offer