Lens News

Here is another video from innovative artist Mathieu Stern (number 6 in his "Weird Lens Challenge" creative series) and this time he is testing a large format camera lens from 1880—this was one of the first lenses to feature an iris diaphragm.

Call them what you will – ultra-wides or super-wides – I love ‘em. By covering a breathtaking expanse, these types of extreme wide-angle lenses are not only capable of capturing most landscapes, they also help sweep you into that landscape, making you feel a part of the scene in the process.

Bird, wildlife and nature photographers may have found another tool to add to their arsenal. Olympus just announced the Olympus M.ZUIKO Digital ED 300mm f4.0 IS PRO lens for Micro Four Thirds mirrorless cameras at the CES 2016 show in Las Vegas today. This new 300mm is a compact super telephoto lens offering a high level of image quality in a splashproof and dustproof build.

Sigma has introduced the unique, new Water Repellent (WR) Ceramic Protector, an innovative lens filter that features new Clear Glass Ceramic material and provides enhanced protective qualities.

Filmmaker John P. Hess at Filmmaker IQ brings us this highly informative video that expertly documents the science behind the evolution of photography’s most vital tool—the lens. 

Many, many years ago a coworker at Altman Camera in Chicago showed me that it was possible to screw a Vivitar +10 Macro Adapter into a partially disassembled set of Nikon K-series extension rings and thereby build a soft focus lens that practically exploded with delightfully horrendous aberrations. It was fixed-focus, you had to bob to-and-fro like a drunken sailor to use it, but it was sensationally unsharp and I’ve been hooked on this genre ever since.