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Nikon Announces New 32mm Lnes for 1 System, Equals an 85mm Portrait Lens

Ha! Bet you thought I’d forgotten about Nikon’s new lens announcement today, didn’t you? Not so! I was merely distracted by what I consider to be an important matter:

With jalapeno chips. Always with jalapeno chips.

With jalapeno chips. Always with jalapeno chips.

However, now that that small matter is out of the way, let’s talk about Nikon’s new 1 Nikkor 32mm f/1.2 portrait lens.

The sandwich is still better looking, but only just.

The sandwich is still better looking, but only just.

Thanks to the Nikon 1′s system’s odd choice of a 1″ sensor with its accompanying 2.7x crop factor, this lens has the field of view one would expect from an 85mm on a full-frame body. But, as a reminder for those of you new to this, that’s just the field-of-view, the rest of this lens (subject/background separation and depth of field) will continue to behave exactly like a 32mm lens. So, while it’ll look like an 85mm as far as what fits in the frame, you’re still going to see over twice the depth of field a full-frame 85mm f1.4 would at the same distances and the same f-stops. However, the f1.2 will also still really be f1.2, and that means this thing will be rockin’ in low-light, where that extra depth of field will also help make your life a lot easier. Seriously, you ever tried to focus on the eye of a hard rocker in a dark venue with an 85mm f1.4 and prayed you got it close enough that even half his face is in focus? That’ll be less of a problem with this.

And… actually, that’s most of what I had to say. It’s a 32mm (85mm FOV) f1.2, it’s really pretty honest upfront about what it’s gonna do for you. It’s got a silent-wave motor, as you’d expect, and nano coating to reduce flare. No VR though, in accordance with the prophecy. or at least with Nikon’s general thoughts on lenses f2.8 and faster not needing VR regardless of focal length. Ooh, there is an MTF chart though:

3359_MTF_01_en

Not quite as strong as your average 85mm f1.4 turns out, but lets not forget this is an f1.2 lens and also like a sixth the size of your average 85mm, so, that’s actually a pretty strong showing there. And, if you’re a 1 system owner, it’s really about your only choice for portrait primes. So, the question really becomes: do you want it, or don’t ya?

http://robertscamera.com/1-nikkor-32mm-f-1-2.html



Canon’s New 200-400mm f4 Has the 1.4x Extender Built In, Costs As Much As A Chevy

Have you heard of anchoring? It’s a psychological phenomenon where once you’ve had one number put in your head, regardless of whether it’s actually based on anything, you make subsequent valuation calls based on it. With that in mind, I’d like to present a little exercise in anchoring:

Chevrolet Spark, MSRP starting at $12,185

Chevrolet Spark, MSRP starting at $12,185

Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM 1.4x Extender, MSRP $11,799

Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM 1.4x Extender, MSRP $11,799

See? If I did that right, you’ll now forever remember that the Canon 200-400 is cheaper than the spiritual descendant of a Geo. You’re welcome.

In other news, the newly announced Canon 200-400 is one heckuva lens. I mean, other than the nice focal range and constant f4 aperture and IS that you probably figured out from the name, there’s the built-in dedicated 1.4x extender that can be toggled on to make it a 280-560mm f5.6. And on top of that, well, have you seen the MTF charts? probably not, let me help you with that:

ef200-400_4lisu_mtf_tele_off

ef200-400_4lisu_mtf_tele_on

ef200-400_4lisu_mtf_wide_off

ef200-400_4lisu_mtf_wide_on

 

For those of you not so good with MTF here’s the really super simplified how-to guide for making sense of these:

  • The dark blue solid line represents contrast
  • The light blue solid line represents detail
  • The left side of the graph is the center of the frame, the right side is the corners
  • The closer to the top the lines are, the better they are
  • The dashed lines represent various astigmatism effects
  • The closer to the solid lines the dashed ones are, the prettier your bokeh will be.

So, with that quick coder ring there, a scan over those MTF charts suggests that this is one sharp lens. If you can’t see that light blue line, it’s because it’s essentially at the same place as the dark blue one, which is near unheard of. This lens may cost as much as a domestic sedan, but it has the optical chutzpah to back that tag up.

By now, I figure you’re either refinancing your house to get one, or have decided you won’t ever be doing anything but lusting over this, so, instead of dragging this out more, I’ll just post this preorder link here for those of you in the first group, k?

http://robertscamera.com/photo/lenses/for-slrs-dslrs/zooms/telephoto/ef-200-400mm-f-4l-is-usm-extender-1-4x.html



New Video From Sigma Demos USB Firmware Cradle

Sigma has just sent us a link demoing their firmware cradle which was announced along with their ART 30mm f1.4 and which will work with their new lenses going forward. Excitingly, it looks like not only does it allow for focus microadjustment, but it does so for different values at different focus distances within the same focal length. So, instead of the one-size-fits-all microadjustment offered by bodies, you can tweak your new Sigma lenses so have different compensation at their closest focus distance versus infinity. Now that kids is cool. Check it out for yourself below.



Sigma Announces World’s First f1.8 Constant Zoom: 18-35mm for APS-C Bodies

sigma-18-35

 

See that lens up there? That’s Sigma’s upcoming 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM | Art, which has the very awesome privilege of being the world’s first f1.8 standard zoom. Since it’s for APS-C bodies (Canon’s Rebel / XXD / 7D series bodies, and Nikon’s DX bodies) you’re talking an equivalent FOV of 29-56mm on Canon and 27-53 on Nikon. But, that’s just the FOV equivalence. What’s exciting here is the aperture. You see, depth-of-field isn’t reliant on the “equivalent” field of view, it’s a simple function of sensor size, actual focal length, aperture, and distance to subject. As a result, you’ve probably heard people talking about the DOF stops of disadvantage when using a lens on a crop body. Things like, “sure, it’s f2.8, but since you’re on crop that’s really more like f4.” That’s a sort of simplistic and somewhat wrong way of thinking about it, but the underlying concern is true. because we use shorter lenses for the same field of view on crop bodies then we do on full-frame, and because the shorter a focal length is the deeper it’s DOF is at the same aperture, you do see deeper depth of field on an “equivalent” crop body lens than you will on a full-frame one.

Enter the f1.8 zoom. Excited to see how the f1.8 would fare in real DOF comparisons, I broke out my DSLR toolbox calculator and ran some maths for you. I ran things for two bodies, full-frame and Nikon DX (1.5x crop). Then, I picked two focal lengths with the same field of view: 18mm on the DX, 28mm on the full-frame. I kept the distance to the subject the same at 2 yards. Then, I calculated for f1.8 on the DX, and f2.8 on the full-frame. The results? At 28mm f2.8 and 2 yards to my subject on full-frame my total depth of field was 2.3 feet. At 18mm f1.8 and 2 yards to the subject on DX, the total was 2.34 feet. So, Sigma’s f1.8 zoom here will let you APS-C shooters get the same shallow DOF we full-frame shooters get from those abundant f2.8 standard lenses we get for our bodies.

And, as a perk, f1.8 is still brighter than f2.8 by 1.3 stops. So, not only will you finally be able to get the same shallow DOF, but you’ll be able to do it at lower ISOs (which should help counter for full-frame’s low-light advantage, but that’s an entirely different discussion) or faster shutter speeds. Neato.

No words on availability or pricing yet, but this new Art series lens will be available for Nikon, Canon, and Sigma mounts.

If that sounds like your cuppa, head on over to our site to learn what little more there is and get your name on our list for your own copy of it. http://robertscamera.com/18-35mm-f-1-8-dc-hsm.html



An Interesting Interview About Developing Tamron’s 24-70mm VC

img_diagram

Call me biased (because I am), but I actually really enjoyed reading this interview with the people at Tamron who helped develop their new SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di VC USD lens, the first image-stabilized 24-70mm. Those of you who’ve only ever shot Nikon or Canon might not understand the appeal of such a thing, since their company line has always been that at shorter focal lengths and f2.8 stabilization isn’t need, but any of you who’ve had a system with in-body IS will likely know just how handy it is even on fast standards. But, making one work for full-frame was apparently an endeavor, and the developers talk about shrinking the VC unit and giving it more power, developing their own USM focus drive, figuring out an optical formula to keep the lens shorter, and more. It’s a good read, especially for what’s proving to be a gray and chilly Indiana Friday out here. Read it yourself via the source link.



AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR available to pre-order.

2208-AF-S-NIKKOR-80-400mmThis is good news indeed, folks. If you’re a Nikon shooter with a thirst for telephoto zoominess and you’ve been sitting around staring at a pile of dollars sufficient to buy Nikon’s AF-S NIKKOR 70-200 f/2.8G ED VR II but just can’t bring yourself to buy it, keep waiting and adding to the pile because sometime in April we’re supposed to be getting another telephoto zoom from the Nikon, the AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR.

Nikon indicates it’ll be retailing for $2699.95 – a bit higher than the sleepy, old AF VR 80-400 (currently on rebate for a lot less money). From the nomenclature we know that it’ll focus faster as it’s got Nikon’s Silent Wave Motor and it’ll focus on bodies without a screw drive and that it’s got the newer G aperture system, controlled entirely by the camera body. If we look to the specs table we see that they’ve added 3 elements and a lens group and the MTF chart indicates this is a sharper lens than the D model. Nikon’s also tightened up the minimum focusing distance from 7.5′ to 5.74′ – no small change. It’s also grown on us from 6.7″ to 8″ in length (wow!) and from 47 to 56 ounces.

Get on our pre-order list today!



Olympus Announces New XZ-10, Revamped 75-300mm for M4/3

Hungry for more camera announcements? Sure, why not? Glad we could agree on such enthusiasm. Today’s is a bit shorter, so, I won’t take too much of your valuable “reading this at work instead of working” slacking time, I promise. I mean, it’s not like I’m pointing out Tontie still exists online or anything. Just talking about new Olympus products. The first of which is the new XZ-10 compact, which is aimed to sit below the flagship XZ-2 model.

nr130130xz10e_01

 

The XZ-10 will have a 1/2.3″ sensor with 12 megapixels, a 26-130mm equivalent f1.8-2.7 lens with image stabilization, a 3″ 920,000 dot resistive touchscreen display, shutter speeds from 30-1/2000 second, 5fps continuous shooting, and HD video and RAW format support. It also has a new “Photo Story” mode, which lets you take multiple pictures of a scene and composite them into one photo somehow. Like Voltron, I hope. Two would form the legs, two the arms and body, and one shot would form the photo’s head!

Ahem.

But that’s not the best part of the XZ-10. Oh no. The best part would be the optional “dress up silicon jackets.” No, really, check these out:

nr130130xz10e_04

 

See? I told you that was the best part. The XZ-10 will come in black, white, and brown, but we don’t have any word on pricing yet. Keep your eyes peeled, we’ll report back when we do.

The other new Olympus product is a revised 75-300mm for their PEN/OM-D lines of Micro Four Thirds (and which will also work with Panasonic’s G-series Lumix cameras as a result). The M.ZUIKO Digital ED 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 II is a 150-600mm equiv lens in 35mm FOV terms, and features a new body design meant to better match the newer Pen bodies, and especially the sweet retro OM-D E-M5.

m-zuiko-digital-75-300mm-f4.8-6.7

 

Also, much like the bikini was the answer to “what’s smaller than the atome (that’s French for “atom” for those of you in the home audience)?” the new 75-300mm has a new optical coating dubbed “ZERO (ZUIKO Extra-low Reflective Optical)” that pretty tidily answers what coating could be smaller than Nikon’s “nano” coating. Get it? because the only thing smaller than nano is nothing? yeah? yeah? Sigh. OK, have some pictures of old-timey swimsuits instead.

swimsuits

Anyway, the new 75-300mm will run $549.99 when it starts hitting shelves next month. See, I can stick to the facts sometimes. Honest.

 



Sigma Introduces 4 New A-series Lenses

Sigma today has announced 4 new lenses for its “A” series. For those of you who missed it, Sigma has recently reorganized its lens categories into A (for Art), S (for Sports), and C (for Contemporary). And while that organizational scheme leaves much to be desired–and even more to be understood–along with them have come better build quality and service commitments as well, forming an all-new, more pro-ready Sigma.

feature01_main_img

The first of their new lenses is for crop-body DSLRs, like Nikon’s D3xxx/D5xxx series, or Canon’s EOS Rebel and xxD line-ups. It’s a 30mm f/1.4 DC HSM, and it’s aiming to do for crop bodies what the very well-reviewed 35mm f1.4 Art model is doing in the full-frame space. It’s built with 9 elements in 8 groups, closes down to f16, and utilizes a 9-blade diaphragm for the aperture. It’ll also support firmware updates using a dock just like the 35mm f1.4 for full-frame.

We don’t have a price yet, but you can read more here: http://robertscamera.com/30mm-f-1-4-dc-hsm.html

feature01_main_img (1)

 

The other three lenses are for interchangeable lens compacts (Olympus & Panasonic Micro Four Thirds bodies and Sony NEX E-system bodies, to be exact). There’s a 30mm f2.8 (60mm equiv on m4/3, 45mm equiv on Sony), a 19mm f2.8 (38mm equiv on m4/3, 28.5mm equiv on Sony), and a 60mm f2.8 (120mm equiv on m4/3, 90mm equiv on Sony). No word on pricing or availability yet, but that’ll go a long way to bolstering the affordable prime selection for those two systems once we see them.



More CES: Nikon Bolsters Nikon 1 System with 2 Bodies, 2 Lenses (No Partridge Nor Pear Tree, However)

Tired of me yet? Yes? Well, tough, like Jon Davis I’m here to stay, and so long as CES continues to explode my feeds, my suffering is your suffering. So, let’s grab another cup of coffee and continue working our way through the deluge of cameras I’ve become wedged under. Next up is some stuff in Nikon’s not-so-new-anymore 1 system. For those of you just joining us, the Nikon 1 system is their series of interchangeable lens compacts. You know, those cameras that are like DSLRs except they don’t have mirrors or optical viewfinders, and which frequently work more like point-and-shoots. The 1 system is built around a custom-sized CX sensor that’s smaller than APS-C ones, but bigger than 2/3″ compact sensors, and which requires special CX-mount lenses designed just for it and it’s odd 2.7x crop factor.

J3_10_30_WH_front.low

So, while it feels like it’s only been just shy of 4 months since I announced the Nikon 1 J2, CES has graced us already with the Nikon 1 J3. While the J2 brought with it tweaked build quality, more colors, and a lower price point, the J3 rolls up with some actual improvements to show for itself. For example, it inherits the 12 megapixel sensor first seen in the more pro-oriented V2 model, as well as a new Expped 3A processor. If we break out my trusty comparison tables, things look sorta like this:

Spec J2 J3
Megapixels 10 12
Sensitivity 100-3200 (6400 push) 160-6400
Contiuous FPS 5 5
AF Points 135 area 135 area
X-Sync 1/60 1/60
Shutter Speeds 30 – 1/16,000 30 – 1/16,000

As you can see, things hit parity there near the end. But, the maximum shutter speed on these models is worth revisiting, since most consumer DSLRs top out at 1/4000, and pro ones at 1/8000. So, if you need action-stopping power in good light, the 1 series is certainly no slouch, which is a bit unexpected honestly.

Like the J2, the J3 will come in a one lens kit with the 10-30mm lens, or a two lens kit with the 10-30mm and the 30-110mm lens. Unlike the J2, it will come in a third kit with the new 10-100mm f4-5.6 lens I’ll talk about in a moment. There are also some color choices, but they vary by lens kit, so, have a table:

One Lens Two Lens All-in-One
Silver X
White X X X
Black X X
Red X X X
Beige X X

The one lens kit will run $599.95, the two lens is $849.95, and the all-in-one is $1,049.95.

J3 links:

Also, Nikon has expanded the body lineup. Since launch there has been the consumer-oriented J model, and the pro-oriented V model. But now there’s the beginner/entry-level S model being added below the J line. The first in this new line is logically named the Nikon 1 S1, and it looks like this:

S1_10_30_RD_front.low

The S1 is even more point-and-shoot-esque than the J series, ditching the mode dial off the shoulder and using a touch-interface for mode selection a la higher-end compacts. As far as guts go, the S1 is not too dissimilar from the J3, although it has the older 10 megapixel sensor. Combined with the new processor, though, that sensor realizes an ISO rage of 100-6400, better than the J3 above it.

The S1 will only come in kits with the alternate standard kit lens (11-27.5mm) or that plus the 30-110 as a two lens kit, but you do need another table to break down your many color options:

One Lens Two Lens
White X
Black X
Red X X
Pink X X
Khaki X X

The one lens kits will be $499.95, and the two lens ones will cost you $749.95.

S1 Links:

 

V0920_BK.low V0820_BK.low

 

Lastly, there are two new lenses. One, as mentioned, is a 10-100mm f4-5.6 all-in-one (not to be confused with the older, power-zoom 10-100mm f4.5-5.6 PD-ZOOM released back at the system launch.) Like most of the 1 lenses, it’s got VR baked in to steady up your shots, and really is pretty eensy at 2.7″ long. With the weird CX crop applied, it has a field of view similar to a traditional 27-270mm, making it a pretty versatile option. A la carte it’s going to run $549.95.

http://robertscamera.com/1-nikkor-10-100mm-f-4-0-5-6-vr.html

 

The other new lens is a 6.7-13mm f3.5-5.6 VR. While the fuky decimals in the focal lengths seem to reinforce how weird a 2.7x crop actually is, they do describe a very welcome end result: this lens is effectively similar to an 18-35, giving the 1 system a proper ultra-wide zoom now. But, making such tiny focal lengths isn’t cheap, and the wide zoom costs almost as much as the all-in-one above at $499.95.

http://robertscamera.com/1-nikkor-6-7-13mm-f-3-5-5-6-vr.html

 



Olympus Announces New M.ZUIKO 17mm f1.8 Prime

 

Woo! It’s not often we see a company come out with a product ahead of schedule, but Olympus’ promised “early 2013″ 17mm f1.8 prime has decided it couldn’t wait and wants to be a real product as of today. In 2012, not 2013! As with all of Olympus’ new primes, this one is clad in metal and is focused at people wanting a bit more of a pro focus for their m4/3 system. This is, of course, going to be a 34mm equivalent, which aims it squarely at those of you yearning for street photography, but will probably appeal to landscapers as well. Or, you know, anyone else, because reviewers who try to tell you this lens is for this and this lens is for that are doing you a huge disservice. This’ll be a 34mm equivalent, and if that’s what you want to rock for your work then it is ready to roll.

The lens also features a neat “snapshot” focus mode. The focus brings slides back to reveal the usual focus and distance scales of yore so you can set your focus blindly for faster reaction times.

The 17mm f1.8 will be available sometime next month for right at $500, which I’m led to believe does not include the hood. At the time of this writing, Olympus does not have the full product page up, so I can’t talk specs just yet. I can say that you can preorder yours here, or hit the jump for the press release.

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