Lenses

Most Recent:

Lens Test: Leica 14-50mm f/2.8-3.5
- By Julia Silber on December 16, 2008
Leica-Powered
Related Topics:
Lens Test: Sigma 70mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro AF

This full-frame, digitally optimized beauty is great for macro, low-light,
and portrait shooters -- digital or film.
- By Julia Silber on December 16, 2008
While this digitally optimized (DG), full-frame 70mm f/2.8 lens ($430, street) can be mounted on film or digital SLRs, it will probably find its widest application on DSLRs that have APS-sized sensors, where it converts out to (about) a 105mm. On such cameras, it offers not only excellent macro and low-light performance, but also a suitable focal length and depth of field for flattering portraits with creamy, defocused backgrounds.
Related Topics:
Lens Test: Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G DX AF-S

The kit lens for the Nikon D80 wins the award for general excellence.
- By Julia Silber on December 16, 2008
Nikon wanted a sexier kit zoom for its D80 than the ones it bundled with the D50 and D70. And now we have it: the new 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 digital-only, internal-focusing AF Nikkor (a 28-200mm equivalent), with a goosed-up zoom range, ED glass element, two aspheric elements, and Nikon's Silent Wave Motor ($400, street).
Related Topics:
Lens Test: Tokina AT-X 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 AF D

Distance shooters and filter fans get an internal-focusing powerhouse zoom.
- By Julia Silber on December 16, 2008
HANDS ON: With all-metal construction and a heavy, rugged feel, it has a nonremovable tripod collar and a zoom lock that holds it at its most compact size for transport. Its new felt-lined lenshood incorporates a spring-loaded "PL Assist" wheel that allows you to reorient lensmounted filters without removing the hood. The zoom action is stiff; the manual focusing action seems underdamped.
Related Topics:
Field Test: Sigma 300-800 f/5.6 EX APO HSM AF

This massive super-telephoto lens is great for wildlife photography or
daylight sports, just make sure you have a sturdy tripod.
- By Jack Howard on December 16, 2008
Get used to talking in superlatives with the Sigma 300-800 f/5.6 EX APO HSM AF (Street: $6,200), affectionately called the "Sigmonster" by photo enthusiasts.
The Sigmonster is the longest zoom lens for 35mm-based cameras. At 12.9 pounds, it is also the heaviest production lens for 35mm-based photography. At 26 inches long, with lens hood, and a maximum diameter of 6.5 inches, it's not so much big as it is gigantic.
Related Topics:
Field Test: Lensbaby 3G

Lensbaby's newest version locks into place, providing more control over those
far-out selective focus and depth of field effects.
- By Jack Howard on December 16, 2008
Be prepared for curious stares and lots of questions when you're out shooting with the the just-announced Lensbaby 3G. This is far and away the weirdest looking contraption to mount on the front of a camera in a quite a long time.
The Lensbaby 3G looks like a Lensbaby 2.0 that took an unexpected detour to Frankenstein's Lab. The 3G can be locked into position and even fine focused via those bolty knobby jobbers.
Related Topics:
Which Lens Should I Buy?

How to pick the best lightweight, compact, multipurpose superzoom for travel
-- at the right price.
- On December 16, 2008
A reader writes: My Canon EOS Digital rebel XT and I will be vacationing in China over the holidays. I'd like to take only one lens, and am especially interested in landscapes and close-ups (of food and calligraphy). I have serious budget and space limitations. Any suggestions?
Related Topics:
Lens Test: Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 APO EX DG HSM AF

A compelling choice for nature and wildlife close-ups.
- By Julia Silber on December 16, 2008
An update of Sigma's pro-quality 70-200mm f/2.8 APO EX zoom of the late 1990s, Sigma's new 70-200mm f/2.8 full-frame, digitally-optimized (DG) macro zoom ($889, street) offers improved coatings for suppressing flare, dramatically closer focusing, and "full-time" manual focus that allows manual touch-up, even when set to AF. This is also the first Sigma moderate tele zoom to use elements of high-tech and expensive ELD (Extraordinary-Low-Dispersion) glass-a component of the firm's longer APO super teles-for better control of chromatic aberration.
Related Topics:
SLR: World-Class Glass

The joys of shooting both wide and close, or from a distance, with Pentax's
unique fisheye zoom lenses.
- By Herbert Keppler on December 16, 2008
We've produced every possible useful interchangeable lens," the head of a major camera and lens maker told me. "Name one we haven't." I immediately countered, "A fisheye zoom."
He laughed and was joined by a number of the other top executives of the company. Who would want such a lens?
But one executive seemed more thoughtful. "Not a bad idea," he whispered.
Related Topics:
Lens Test: Nikon 105mm f/2.8G VR AF-S

Stop the shake with this rock-solid player.
- By Julia Silber on December 16, 2008
One of the most useful and praised lenses in Nikon history, the 105mm f/2.8 manual focus Micro-Nikkor of 1984 sired a line of high-speed close-up/portrait lenses, each growing in capability, size, and weight-up to this new 105mm f/2.8 ($830, street). But it goes its predecessors one better with the addition of Vibration Reduction (VR).
Related Topics: