Lens Reviews

To make a better lens, one that avid photographers might even be inclined to leave on their DSLR camera permanently, Tamron set aside all of their former notions about lens design and construction and went straight back to the basics with the new Tamron SP 35mm f1.8 Di VC USD (Model F012) and SP 45mm f1.8 Di VC USD (Model F013) prime lenses, which are the subjects of this review. 

If you spend a lot of time photographing wildlife, sports, aircraft in flight (or even UFO’s) I'm sure you've longed for a lens with extreme telephoto reach. Sigma now offers a tough, quality 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports lens that can fulfill the wishes of many nature and action shooters. In addition to the ultra long reach, the fact that the lens is a zoom makes it easy to frame the precise composition you want at a wide variety of distances from the subject—and for subjects in a variety of sizes.

A lens aficionado once told me, “the more reach you have, the more you want.” This remark, of course, was directed at the wide array of telephoto lenses available today for outdoor photographers and their obsession with getting up close and personal with wildlife.

If I had to choose a single lens to use for the rest of my mountain life, without question it would be a wide-angle zoom. In my case, it would be Nikon’s AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm f/4G ED VR wide-angle zoom lens. (But anything similar would probably do the trick as well.) I would choose this over a fixed lens, which would be slightly sharper, because it offers versatility to shoot both landscapes and action with more focal lengths.

I got a lot of feedback – mostly positive but with a few spirited rejoiners – to last month’s editorial “Smartphones (Still) Can’t Compete with Great Camera Gear,” that I feel I should “double down.” Again, this isn’t a knock against using smartphones for shooting images. As I mentioned last month, I do it all the time with some pretty decent results. And many serious photographers are constantly turning to that little phone in their pockets and have produced many spectacular photos.

There was a time when I’d avoid a zoom lens as much as I’d avoid a swarm of midges. But in the digital age, the zoom lens has taken on new purpose, at least for me. Midges, however, are still a pest that is best avoided—especially when you’re changing lenses. And if you’re out in a marsh shooting spectacular scenic views, the Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM lens gives you the needed range of focal lengths so you can reign supreme over any landscape, as you avoid changing lenses while sidestepping concern that those midges will infiltrate your camera.

I’ve been writing about and playing with—emphasis on play—Lensbaby lenses since they were introduced in 2004 and ten years later they’re still coming up with new ideas. All their products, including the Medium Format 3G with "Marvin the Martian"-like antennae, have been interesting and the new Lensbaby Velvet 56 portrait lens not only looks like fun but appears to be the most practical Lensbaby product ever.