Samyang 24-70mm f/2.8 FE test by Lenstip: “didn’t impress me with its performance”

Samyang  24-70mm f/2.8 FE: In USA  at BHphoto, Amazon US&EU, WexUK. FotoKoch DE. FotoErhardt DE.

Lenstip reviewed the Samyang 24-70mm f/2.8 FE and concluded:

I have to admit the Samyang AF 24–70 mm f/2.8 FE didn’t impress me with its performance. During our test we noticed too many slip-ups and medium results for a good contemporary lens with the journalistic 24-70 mm f/2.8 parameters. Mind you, its dimensions and weight are noticeably higher than those of the majority of its rivals.
As a kind of consolation, you get the price – currently the tested Samyang can be bought for about $800, noticeably less than its cheapest rival, the Sigma A 24-70 mm f/2.8 DG DN which is priced as high as over $1100. The prices of brand name lenses of this class start from $1600.

Sony FE 100-400mm review by Opticallimits: “it isn’t as superlative as the high price tag and the GM label may suggest”

Opticallimits reviewed the Sony FE 100-400mm GM and concluded:

The Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS is interesting for users who prefer a more compact size, lower weight and higher versatility compared to the current breed of 500mm/600mm zoom lenses. However, it isn’t as superlative as the high price tag and the GM label may suggest.

I also do think the 100-400mm GM is one of those lenses that are in need for an update!

TTArtisan 100mm F2.8 Macro 2:1 Tilt & Shift at SonyAlphaBlog

TTartisan new 100mm f/2.8 Tilt Shift 2xmacro lens you can preorder on their shop page at Pergear shop and Amazon worldwide store.

SonyAlphaBlog published the full TTartisan 100mm review and concluded:

The TTArtisan 100mm F2.8 Macro 2:1 Tilt shift (400$ / 499 euros) try to do it all in one lens. It is quite big and heavy and ergonomics are average with very hard focusing and aperture rings and a not enough dampened tilt shift mechanism
If you close down by one stop you can reach excellent sharpness performance in the centre. Closed to F5.6 and it will be very good to excellent on the entire frame
Macro , Tilt Shift results are very good but some specialised lens in macro do better (e.g. Laowa 90mm F2.8 macro 2:1 – 659 euros)
The bad resistance to flare and vintage colors outside make it no well suited outside of macro work for me
Although Tilt shift is interesting the Shift is mostly to be used on wide angle, so you should primarily look this lens as macro and a bit of Tilt

Astrhori 50mm f/1.4 Tilt Review by ThePhoBlographer

Astrhori lens at Amazon US&EU and BHphoto.

ThePhoBlographer reviewed this very unique lens and concluded:

Buy the Astrhori 50mm f1.4 Tilt if you need to break free from technically sterile images and want to do so with a slice of focus, fun flare, and an affordable price tag. The lens delivers some pretty great images with it’s tilt capabilities and wide aperture. The metal build also makes it a joy to shoot with.
Avoid the Astrhori 50mm f1.4 Tilt if chromatic aberration is one of your pet peeves, you want a lens that can go out in a drizzle, or you love pixel peeping. Beginners that haven’t yet mastered manual mode should also steer clear at least until some of those modes are mastered.

Sony ZV-E1 Review by Inverse: “The Perfect Vlogging Camera for a One-Person Show”

ZV-E1 at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama.

Also Inverse seems to really like the new ZV-E1. They reviewed it and concluded:

Vlogging as a one-person team is a massive challenge in itself and Sony wants to make that much more approachable. As someone who has historically shied away from shooting video, the ZV-E1 showed me that it can be fun and simple. Even with my lackluster videography skills, I kept the camera on the Intelligent Auto mode for the most part and the footage still came out great. The ZV-E1’s powerful specs and ease of use made me more willing to dabble in video.

If you have some experience as a content creator, I’m positive the ZV-E1 will slot into your vlogging kit nicely. It may not be ideal for someone just dipping their toes into vlogging, but if you’re looking to take vlogging more seriously, the ZV-E1 is worth the investment.

AstrHori 85mm F1.8 STM review by SonyAlphaBlog: “not recommended”

This is the first autofocus lens from Astrhori so it’s interesting to read at SonyAlphaBlog if this lens can keep up with the best:

The AstrHori (279$ / 319 euros) can provide very good results in term of sharpness and very nice portraits withy smooth background blur and very nice bokeh balls. But at this stage with V03 of the firmware the AF is not very reliable at f1.8 so you either take each photo 3 times or you better use it at F2.8

The ergonomics and build quality are also an issue : weight is huge and focusing ring much too stiff not allowing to manually focus

Many other cheap or marginally more expensive 85 F1.8 exist that all provide lighter weight and much reliable AF with as good optical performances globally

The conclusion is clear, this ain’t a good lens :(