Lens Tips

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Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Jul 12, 2024  | 

Turn mundane everyday subjects into intriguing creative images by distorting surrounding objects in an imaginative way with a Lensbaby Sweet 22. Here's our hands-on review and several images.

Ron Leach  |  Jun 05, 2024  | 

Choosing the proper aperture setting is a fundamental aspect of all genres of photography, especially when shooting landscapes with both near and far elements in the scene. The f/stop in use has a major impact on depth of field, which is why many outdoor photographers prefer leaving their Mode dial set to Aperture Priority.

Jon Sienkiewicz  |  May 10, 2024  | 

Cameras come and go, but Lensbaby lenses are timeless. They add dynamic energy to ordinary photos and empower creatives to express unique visualizations. I can think of more than 101 reasons to use a Lensbaby, but I'll share just five big ones.

Shutterbug Staff  |  Mar 18, 2024  | 

Ever wonder why some portraits snap while others snooze? It could be the camera equipment — specifically the lens. Get better results consistently with used camera gear from MPB. With spring's outdoor portrait weather afoot, now is the time to gear up. Leverage the pleasant weather and shop at MPB without breaking the bank.

Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Nov 04, 2022  | 

It’s November, and that means retail stores and malls are shifting into end-of-year holiday decoration mode. Soon the red-suited elf will be shaking his bell outside the train station. Is it rushing the season? You be the judge. One thing we know for sure: it’s not too early to pick up a few new ways to give your holiday photos that extra sparkle.

Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Jul 01, 2022  | 

Sony offers a wide assortment of excellent optics for their popular mirrorless full-frame and APS-C cameras, but so do other high quality lens manufacturers, including the three we identify here. Sometimes adding the “just right” glass to your lens arsenal gives you a whole new way to look at things.

Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Dec 24, 2021  | 

Got a new camera? Great feeling, no? Here are 10 camera accessories to enhance your photography pleasure. A few of them are downright necessities.

Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Nov 26, 2021  | 

Time to hit the Reset Button and put your notions of Image Quality on Pause. In our everyday lives as photographers we prize sharpness, saturation, acutance and absence of aberration when we idealize the images we want to capture. Now it’s time to recognize that images that are blurred, smeared, warped and otherwise traumatized can be beautiful.

Lensbaby lenses produce images that are intentionally unsharp, because optical aberrations can be beautiful. In a word, a Lensbaby turns blur into bliss.

Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Apr 02, 2021  | 

7Artisans just released the updated Mark II version of their popular 7.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye lens and it’s about the most fun a photographer can have for $139. We borrowed an early sample in Fujifilm X mount and here’s what we discovered.

Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Jun 27, 2019  | 

In the late 1980s Canon introduced a 135mm f/2.8 autofocus lens that featured selectable softfocus. In addition to delivering dreamy out-of-focus images on demand, it’s also tack-sharp and extrapolates up to the equivalent of a 216mm f/2.8 when used on a crop-frame Canon.

Ron Leach  |  Mar 17, 2017  | 

I tend to travel on the wide side when it comes to lens selection, so it was exciting to get a hold of Tamron’s new super telephoto zoom—the SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 (Model A022). And what better way to give this big beauty a try than to take it on safari? Admittedly, this “safari” was of the local variety with a quick trip to the recently renovated Audubon Zoo barely two miles from my home in New Orleans. I also spent an afternoon with the Tamron 150-600mm G2 ($1,399) on one of the many bayous running through Southern Louisiana to shoot some gators and less exotic wildlife.

George Schaub  |  Oct 26, 2015  | 

One of the main tools we have for creating visual effects are lenses, the photographer’s eye on the world. Every choice of lens has implications about what you can and cannot include in the frame, how subjects within the frame relate to one another and how we use aperture settings and focal length to create a special point of view. In this chapter we’ll explore lens choice as well as lens controls that are essential to creative photography, including depth of field and focusing options.

Jim Zuckerman  |  Jun 20, 2014  | 

There are various ways that you can use to focus very close to small subjects. Here is a list of choices.

 

Macro Lenses. You can purchase a lens that is specifically designed to focus closely. These are called “macro” lenses, and they are available in focal lengths between 50mm and 200mm (figure A). They can also focus to infinity so you can use them for landscapes, portraits, etc., but photographers buy them primarily to use in close-up work.

Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Feb 17, 2012  |  First Published: Jan 01, 2012  | 

When Olympus and Panasonic launched the Micro Four Thirds system they offered adapters that enabled the use of regular Four Thirds lenses. Smart move, because it immediately expanded the library of available glass. The goal of Micro Four Thirds is smaller and lighter SLR cameras. The unanticipated benefit is compatibility with tons of lenses we all thought we’d never use again.

Lynne Eodice  |  Dec 01, 2005  | 

Lynne Eodice is an accomplished writer/photographer and a regular contributor to Photographic magazine.

 

Throughout the decades, artists have depicted still life scenes--arrangements of inanimate objects--in paintings and photography. Shooting still life subjects is one of the best ways to sharpen your photographic skills. You can take your time, and your subject...

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