New Samyang lens tests by John Sison and Nic Taylor

On top you can see John Sison 35mm f/1.4 FE lens review. And this is the conclusion of the Samyang AF 24mm f2.8 FE Review by Nic Taylor:

During my time with this lens so far I have been very impressed with how fast and accurate the autofocus performs, even in low light. The fastest of all of the AF lenses by Samyang so far. I think it says a lot that this lens performs so well even on my Sony A7R given the unreasonably bad AF performance of that particular camera when it comes to moving subjects due to it only having the vastly inferior contrast detection AF system. Undoubtedly this lens will perform even better and far more accurately on a later model Sony A7 series camera like the A7iii, the A9 or even an A6XXX series APS-C camera with a phase detection autofocus system. A possible downside to the lens for some photographers may be that due to it’s size it doesn’t feature a distance or depth of field scale. This lens also lacks weather sealing. Samyang’s AF lenses (AF 14mm f2.8 EF & AF 85mm f1.4 EF) for Canon have both featured a rubber weather sealing gasket at the rear of the lens. Maybe this could be something that Samyang introduce on future Sony E-mount lenses. However, this lens is very enjoyable to shoot with partly down to it being so compact and light weight but also the stunning, detailed images that it can produce. It does show some signs of chromatic aberration but this can be easily combatted with a simple click in Lightroom or other editing software. Despite being a lens with a relatively wide focal length it produces pleasing bokeh (out of focus areas) but you need to position the lens pretty close to your subject to get a shallow depth of field with the background. The lens is focus by wire and seems pretty responsive when in manual focus. This lens will no doubt appeal to travel and street photographers looking to carry a compact, lightweight yet well-performing lens and at a very competitive price point. I have a feeling that this lens will do very well for Samyang.

Links to all Samyang/Rokinon FF E-mount AF lenses:
14mm f/2.8 at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon. Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.
24mm f/2.8 at BHphoto, Adorama. Amazon. Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.
35mm f/2.8 at BHphoto, Adorama. Amazon. Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.
35mm f/1.4 at BHphoto, Adorama. Amazon. Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.
50mm f/1.4 at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon. Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.

New Sigma ART lens tests by Jason Vong and Lenstip

On top you can see Jason Vong’s ART lens test. While  Lenstip tested the Sigma 105mm f/1.4 test (Canon version):

The Sigma A 135 mm f/1.8 DG HSM was one of the best lenses we’ve had an opportunity to test so far. The Sigma A 105 mm f/1.4 DG HSM was even a greater challenge for optics constructors. They had to design a lens with a shorter focal length and the same size of the entrance pupil so the rays had to be focused much closer to the element. When you compare the dimensions of both lenses, their front elements and the diameters of the filters you see exactly how much more difficult that challenge really was.
The price they had to pay was significant – the Sigma A 105 mm f/1.4 DG HSM is a huge device, monstrous even, especially when you add the hood and the tripod adapter to its barrel. Still I suppose many people used to medium-format won’t feel any difference between work with the Sigma attached to the Canon 5Ds R or the Nikon D850. The sensational optics quality of the Sigma supported by excellent sensors of both these camera bodies will make you forget about any differences between that and medium format and we mean here dimensions, weight and the quality of photos too.
Sensational optics closed in a solid barrel and lack of any serious flaws – small wonder the Sigma, tested here, is another lens from that producer that gets our “Lenstip.com Editor’s Choice” badge.

New Sigma FE lenses:
Sigma 14mm f/1.8 for $1,599 at BHphoto, FocusCamera, Amazon and Adorama.
Sigma 20mm f/1.4 for $899 at BHphoto, FocusCamera, Amazon and Adorama.
Sigma 24mm f/1.4 for $849 at BHphoto, FocusCamera, Amazon and Adorama.
Sigma 35mm f/1.4 for $899 at BHphoto, FocusCamera, Amazon and Adorama.
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 for $949 at BHphoto, FocusCamera, Amazon and Adorama.
Sigma 70mm macro for $569 at BHphoto, FocusCamera, Amazon and  Adorama.
Sigma 85mm f/1.4 for $1,199 at BHphoto, FocusCamera, Amazon and Adorama.
Sigma 105mm f/1.4 for $1,599 at BHphoto, FocusCamera, Amazon and Adorama.
Sigma 135mm f/1.8 for $1,399 at BHphoto, FocusCamera, Amazon and Adorama.

 

 

Sony Cyber-shot DSC RX100 VI review at DPreview

Dpreview published the full RX100VI review. The camera earned the Silver Award:

The RX100 VI is a very capable camera, combining a flexible zoom range with impressive autofocus. However, the small maximum aperture required to keep the size down limits the image quality in some situations. The relatively high price means you have to really want its unequaled combination of capability and size.

The new Sony RX100VI is in Stock at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon, FocusCamera.

New A7III books by David Busch and Gary Friedman

You can now preorder the new A7III book from David Busch on Amazon US. And long time Sony guru Gary Friedman also released his A7III eBook. It’s available now here: http://friedmanarchives.com/A73/.He also posted these Youtube videos:

Sony A7III in USA at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon, BestBuy, FocusCamera, BuyDig.
Sony a7III in Europe at Amazon DE, Calumet Germany, Amazon UK, ParkCameras UK, WexUK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.