Lens News

The Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) member magazines recently convened for their General Assembly to vote for the best photo and imaging products launched by the industry in the last 12 months. The voting took place during the General Assembly that was held in spring, 2014, in Vancouver, Canada.

Although many zoom lenses are labeled as "macro" that designation generally refers only to moderately close focusing ability. With a few exceptions, such zooms are not adequate for a dramatic frame-filling image unless the subject is quite large. (A few tele macro zoom lenses are capable of much higher magnification, however.) On the other hand, true macro lenses can...

The mid-range zoom I started with when I bought my Nikon D300 was no speed demon, and I was hankering for an f/2.8 lens in the (effective) 70-200mm range. What first attracted me to the Tokina AT-X 535 PRO DX was the fast, constant maximum aperture, providing a bright view every step of the way. What’s more, the barrel on this tele-zoom does not rotate when zoomed: all movement is entirely...

Does a 5mm scratch in the center of the front element ruin a lens? We gouged a brand new, straight-from-the-box, $499 Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 zoom to find out. Then we shot some test subjects. Was the defect visible in the images? See for yourself…

Inexpensive kit lenses typically only add a hundred bucks or so to the cost of a new camera, and they provide a means of getting you get started before you can afford to upgrade your glass. In the video below, you’ll learn a few tricks for achieving interesting effects with these bargain lenses, and have some fun in the process.

This will probably surprise you, but for someone writing about the advantages of heading out with one camera and one lens, I mostly don't do that. As a professional photographer who emphasizes travel images and loves to apply special techniques, I most often carry a rather full kit of lenses and a back-up DSLR, plus filters and a tripod.