Latest Lenses

The Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR II is a seriously expensive lens. The cost is down to its professional build quality and its constant f2.8 maximum aperture, which, in a lens with this focal range, is quite an achievement. And don’t forget that this is a full-frame FX-format lens (though it can also be used on DX bodies, of course). The result, though, is a telephoto zoom which makes no concession to either size or weight. The length means you have to be fairly careful how you handle it

It’s not easy deciding on the best lenses to get for your EOS SLR, and Canon’s just made it that much harder. This brand new 15-85mm is a high-spec, high-quality ‘standard’ zoom for EF-S format Canons – they’re the ones which aren’t full-frame, and include the EOS 1000D, 450D, 500D, 50D and the new 7D. Its equivalent focal range is 24-135mm, which covers a classic focal range from 24mm (extra-wideangle) to 135mm (medium telephoto). This gives the new

Pancake lenses are designed to offer a much slimmer profile than a regular lens, with just a small compromise in maximum aperture. This 17mm f2.8, then is a classic example, and the 2x focal factor of the Micro Four Thirds format means that it’s equivalent to a 34mm, which is pretty much a standard focal length for the kind of candid, informal photography that made old-fashioned rangefinder cameras so popular. Make no mistake, though – this is a thoroughly modern lens, which

The arrival of the Micro Four Thirds format has given the digital camera market a much-needed shake-up. The Olympus E-P1 and Panasonic GF1 use this format to provide digital SLR quality in a compact body, a combination that photographers have been awaiting eagerly. But while these cameras might have a size advantage, they’re not cheap. In fact both cost more than a regular entry-level digital SLR, so they’ve got to provide good optical performance if they’re going to jus

This 70-300mm is one of Sigma’s DG lenses, which means it’s been optimised for digital SLRs with smaller sensors but can also be used on 35mm film cameras and full-frame digital SLRs. It offers a good telephoto range even on a full-frame camera, but on an APS-C digital SLR it equates to approximately 110-470mm. And at that kind of magnification, you’re going to be glad of Sigma’s Optical Stabiliser (OS) technology. Like other lens-based systems, it moves an interna

This Lumix G ‘pancake’ lens is normally sold with the new Panasonic GF1 camera, but it’s also available separately if you’ve bought the GF1 with the alternative 14-42mm kit lens, or if you already own a Panasonic G1 or GH1 camera. But who would want to swap a zoom for a fixed focal length lens? It’s not only more expensive, but more limiting too, surely? This is a topic we’ve covered before in lens reviews, but it’s worth covering again. It’

The new Micro Four Thirds cameras from Olympus and Panasonic may have grabbed all the headlines recently, but Olympus at least seems committed to carrying on with the regular Four Thirds format too. (Remember, Four Thirds is the conventional SLR design, Micro Four Thirds is the smaller, mirror-less version.) Indeed, Olympus’s latest E-620 digital SLR is very good and has done much to close any perceived gap between Olympus’s D-SLRs and the rest. But there is a complication. Th

In some ways, a fast maximum aperture isn’t particularly important with a macro lens. At very close focussing distances, depth of field is very shallow anyway, and it’s more likely you’ll want to stop down to make the most of it. There has recently been a fashion in close-up and studio/product photography, though, towards very shallow depth of field. This focusses attention (literally) on the main subject and lends an impressionistic blur to the rest of the scene. It can

The kit lenses you get with DSLRs are good value, but they’re not always terribly good lenses. The problem is, though, that the next step up from the camera maker’s own lens range is a big one. For example, Canon’s EF-S 17-85mm has a list price of £600 and Nikon’s 16-85mm is £550.The Sigma 17-70mm offers a similarly useful step up, but at a much lower cost. The list price is £330, but careful shoppers could almost certainly knock around £80 off thi

By any standards, this Canon EF 24mm f1.4 is a pretty specialised lens. It’s a fixed focal length optic in a camera world now dominated by zooms, and compared to the average zoom it’s also fantastically expensive. But it does have that f1.4 maximum aperture, and this gives it a two-stop aperture advantage over even a fast, pro zoom lens. There are two benefits to this. One is that it enables you to shoot in light that’s much dimmer than usual without risking camera shake (or wi