Lens Reviews

Good vibes of Toronto – The Fujifilm 16mm f/1.4 Review

09/06/2015 By Mathieu

When I traveled to Canada three years ago, I shot 80% of my photos with the Nikon D700 and the Nikkor 24mm f/1.4, one of the best lenses I’ve ever owned. It is as such a funny coincidence that I had the chance to try the equivalent focal length from Fujifilm when I visited North America again this year.

Fun with a fast fisheye – The Olympus M.Zuiko 8mm f/1.8 Fisheye Review

08/06/2015 By Heather

A decade ago, the Micro Four Thirds system was but a twinkle in the eye of Olympus and Panasonic. Now, not only is it a well-recognised format but the lens line-up is inching ever-closer to completion. Not surprisingly, these two manufacturers are now turning their attention to specialty lenses that will appeal to a niche market of users. One of these lenses is the new M.Zuiko 8mm f/1.8 fisheye (16mm on full frame equivalent), the fourth addition to Olympus’ PRO lens line-up.

Hearing the word “fisheye” most likely conjures up images of oversized animal snouts and cartoonish portraits, and while these are two fun applications, there is much more to fisheye lenses than just wildly distorted shots of everyday things. They can be used for landscapes, cityscapes, architecture, underwater photography, astrophotography, and close action shots, just to name a few.

Open Wide – The Olympus 7-14mm f/2.8 Review

28/05/2015 By Mathieu

The M.Zuiko 7-14mm f/2.8 is the third professional zoom designed by Olympus. It is also the second super-wide angle zoom lens for the Micro Four Thirds system but has a constant aperture of f/2.8 instead of f/4, as found on the Panasonic 7-14mm. It goes without saying that many users were interested in the idea of a faster wide angle zoom lens that could provide more versatility than the Panasonic version.

Pro zoom lenses for the X system – Part 2 – The Fujifilm 50-140mm f/2.8 Review

21/05/2015 By Mathieu

I bet that three years ago, when the X-Pro1 was first announced, the possibility of a telephoto lens such as the 50-140mm wouldn’t have even crossed our minds. At the time the budding system looked like an affordable rangefinder option with modern technology and a nice set of prime lenses. But that was the beginning and since then, a lot has changed.

A full-frame look for Micro Four Thirds – Part II –Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95 Review

15/05/2015 By Heather

A few months ago, I wrote an article about my favourite lenses for the Micro Four Thirds system. Out of the five listed, two were portrait lenses – the “cheap and cheerful” M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.8, which we currently own, and the Nocticron 42.5mm f/1.2, the so-called “bokeh beast” from Panasonic Lumix.

Both lenses are tack sharp at their fastest aperture, so when we received the Voigtlander 42.5mm f/0.95 for testing, I was eager to see whether what the incredibly fast 0.95 aperture would give me something that these two lenses could not.