First impressions of the LAOWA 10-18mm F 4.5-5.6 FE C-Dreamer Ultra Wide Zoom, a pre production sample (by Dierk Topp)

A few weeks ago we could read about a fascinating new UWA lens from Venus Optics.

on A7RII with L-bracket

About two years ago I had the chance to test a pre production LAOWA 12mm Zero-D. And now I am very lucky to get a chance to test the new LAOWA 10-18mm F 4.5-5.6 FE C-Dreamer Ultra Wide Zoom. It has a Sony E-mount and I don’t need an adapter as with the 12mm Zero-D.

Venus Optics is a very young company and they offer us very interesting and creative new lenses, that did not exist before. Great for all creative photographers.

I want to mention, that I am not a professional photographer but love photography since decades. And I my mother language is not English, so please be gentle :-)

Instead of just showing the lens with examples at various focal lengths and apertures and center and edge crops I want to concentrate more on the aspects of using such a wide lens with examples. At this focal length almost every mm in focal length makes a difference.

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First test of the new Sigma 56mm f/1.4 E-mount lens

The new Sigma 56mm f/1.4 E-mount is an exciting ASP-C lens that will cost you 429 Euro only. One of our readers shared this first picture of the lens mounted on the Sony A6000. Below you can also see some lo resolution samples he shot with this combo. He told me this:

I was at the announcement yesterday. This lens is very compact. My initial impression is that the bokeh is very good as shown in the attached photos. It’s too soon to judge the image quality since I have no pc right now but it looks sharp on the camera screen and the longitudinal CA is quite low. However the autofocus isn’t the fastest. The hall is very dark so maybe it’s A6000’s fault. Today I have chance to play it again.

Curiosity: This is how crazy sharp the A7rIII with 85mm f/1.8 FE combo is!

This weekend I did a 2 days hiking tour over the Dolomites. I took most shots with the light and optically superb 85mm f/1.8 FE lens. And this was a JPG file, not even RAW :)

The Sony 85mm f/1.8 is a must have lens in your bag!

85mm f/1.8 FE at [shopcountry 75280]

Sony 24mm f/1.4 GM preorders now open in the USA and Europe

You can finally preorder the new Sony 24mm f/1.4 GM at Bhphoto. Adorama. Amazon USA. BuyDig. FocusCamera. Calumet Germany. WexUK. P.S.: The Sony A7III is now in Stock at Adorama (Click here).

I know we were hoping to see a lot more than just one lens. But that said the new 24mm GM is truly amazing. It’s compact and super sharp. It’s one lens I am considering to buy now although I would prefer to have a 21mm focal length with the same speed…

And here is a nice video to watch. Ted Forbes highlights what’s so special with the new 24mm GM lens and the Sony lens technology in general:

Sigma 135mm f/1.8 FE review by Marc Alhadeff: “superb optics for outdoor portraits”

Sigma 135mm f/1.8 for $1,399 at BHphoto, FocusCamera, and Adorama.

Marc Alhadeff tested the new Sigma 135mm f/1.8 FE lens:

The Sigma 135mm F1.8 DG HSM Art (1400 euros) is a superb optics for outdoor portraits. Considering the focal length and aperture, the size and weight is reasonable and much more manageable than the Sigma 85mm F/1.4 DG HSM Art

  • Sharpness is exceptional including in the corners even wide open at F1.8
  • Bokeh, background blur , color rendition are very good
  • AF its fast and silent and its efficiency is  good in general but with still some issues vs a Sony lens : expect to get 15% misses focus (tested on Sony A7RIII)
  • Ergnomics are ok but not perfect
    • no focus hold button that could have been assigned to eye Af 
    • No aperture ring which makes it less practical and more noisy for video

Alternatives

  • Zeiss Batis 135mm F2.8 (2000 Euros) Excellent lens but which does not achieve the same aperture and therefore less background blur. AF is very efficient and reliable
  • Samyang 135mm F2 AS UMC (560 euros) : excellent manual lens with excellent sharpness everywhere & very good color rendition
  • Sony 135 F1.8 GM : expected for end 2018, but expect a price higher than the 1400 for the Sigma

If you need an AF you can trust 100% , I would wait still a few months to see if the Sony will do better , if not the Sigma is a exceptional optics capable of wonderful images