Lenses

Most Recent:

Lens Test: Leica D Vario-Elmar 14-50mm f/3.8-5.6 AF

This image-stabilized 28-100mm equivalent comes only with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10.
- By Julia Silber on December 16, 2008
The image-stabilized kit lens for Panasonic's Lumix DMC-L10, this Leica-branded Four Thirds system zoom is marginally slower and smaller than Panasonic's similar 14-50mm f/2.8-3.5 Leica (now $900, street) that shipped with the L1. The new lens, a 28-100mm equivalent, is available only with the L10.
HANDS ON
Related Topics:
Field Test: Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro

This manual focus lens allows for extreme close-ups!
- By George Ponder on December 16, 2008
Maybe you've been playing around with macro photography, either with a dedicated 1:2 or 1:1 prime macro, or with a zoom lens that close focuses to about 1:3 magnification. Maybe you've even experimented with extension tubes or magnification filters to get even more macro action through your viewfinder.
Related Topics:
Lens Test: Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 AF

A venerable, high-speed prime takes on a new role for Pentax-loving portrait shooters.
- By Julia Silber on December 16, 2008
This high-speed, normal prime ($199, street) has been around for a decade. Why test it now? No other lens in the current Pentax catalog can throw backgrounds into creamy defocus like this. Even better, on a Pentax K10D, K100D, or K100D Super DSLR, it scales up to a medium-tele 75mm, a fine choice for portraits. Better still? The low price.
HANDS ON
Related Topics:
Lens Test: Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM AF

This full-frame image-stabilized zoom does double duty as the kit lens for the Canon EOS 40D.
- By Julia Silber on December 16, 2008
A full-frame Image Stabilizer, the Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS ($410, street) is sold both separately and as part of high-end Canon EOS 30D and 40D kits (adding only $200). We tested it years ago as a full-framer, but we wanted to see how it performs on the 40D's APS-sized sensor.
HANDS ON
As noted in our original test (June 1998), the lens is bulky for its class, handsomely finished in matte black, with finger-friendly zoom and focusing rings. Turning action is adequate. And we still find the AF motor eerily silent.
IN THE LAB
Related Topics:
The 2007 POP Awards: Lenses
- By Pop Photo Staff on December 16, 2008
Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G DX AF-S VR
Our first thought when we saw this lens: Where's the astronomical price premium normally tagged on for VR (vibration reduction)? This affordable ($250, street ), sharp, compact zoom gives a 2-3 stop handheld advantage in low light and is the perfect addition to your Nikon camera bag. (www.nikonusa.com)
More details about the Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G DX AF-S VR
Photos taken by the Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G DX AF-S VR

Pentax DA 70mm f/2.4 limited
Related Topics:
Lens Test: Olympus Zuiko Digital 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 ED AF

Long Ranger -- This pro tool gives the equivalent of 400mm reach and superior performance for Four Thirds DSLR shooters.
- By Julia Silber on December 16, 2008
Don't include this $1200 (street) tool in the large class of 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 lenses from other lensmakers. Though it has a similar range, the Olympus Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 is much more a pro's lens than those slower kit zooms. On an Olympus or Panasonic Four Thirds DSLR, it converts to a 100-400mm equivalent, making it one of the brightest and most compact lenses to reach 400mm.
Related Topics:
Lens Test: Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 EF-S IS USM

Fast & Steady -- Photojournalists, event photographers, and other available-light shooters get a fast, new digital-only zoom.
- By Julia Silber on December 16, 2008
This digital-only, 27-88mm equivalent ($1,000, street) is a pro-caliber upgrade of Canon's popular 17-85mm amateur Image Stabilizer lens ($515, street). It has the hallmarks of Canon's professional, full-frame L-series (solid construction, aspheric elements, UD glass). But it couldn't be labeled "L" because it won't work on all EOS bodies.
Related Topics:
Lens Test: Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II AF

This wide-to-moderate tele zoom offers you a chance to upgrade your wide-angle kit zoom. So what are you waiting for?
- By Julia Silber on December 16, 2008
DSLR photographers looking to move up from the distortion and limited sharpness and speed of their kit lens will welcome this new wide-to-medium tele. Tamron has toted out big-gun technology for its 26-78mm equivalent ($450, street). This Di II (digital only) optic boasts a high speed, constant aperture, two aspheric elements, internal focusing, one element of low-dispersion glass, and another of a super low-dispersion XR (Extra Refractive Index) glass for, the company claims, better control of chromatic aberration.
Related Topics:
Lens Test: Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS AF

The optical image stabilizer is just one of the reasons to love this new zoom for Canon, Nikon and Sigma DSLRs.
- By Julia Silber on December 16, 2008
Sigma's long-awaited, second Optical Stabilizer (OS) lens ($549, street) is an 11.1X digital-only superzoom with one SLD and three aspheric elements. A 29-320mm equivalent, it follows Sigma's first OS lens, an 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 ($999, street), by more than four years, and outdoes its predecessor with a sophisticated new autopanning sensor that detects extended lateral movement, then engages only the vertical stabilizer to allow blur where you want it.
HANDS ON:
Related Topics:
Lens Test: Panasonic Leica D Summilux 25mm f/1.4 AF

A new lens for Panasonic and Olympus DSLRs, this normal is everything you'd expect from Leica glass.
- By Julia Silber on December 16, 2008
Made in Japan by Panasonic to Leica's specifications, this $800 (street) optic is only the second lens Panasonic has introduced for its well-reviewed DSLR, the Lumix DMC-L1. A 50mm equivalent in the Four Thirds system, the lens fills a gap in the Olympus/Panasonic lens catalogs, and it's fitting that Panasonic should start with that most basic component, the high-speed "normal" prime.
HANDS ON:
Related Topics: