Alex Gray presents his new blog site, “Inside Look at the Newest Lenses.” His site has reviews of everything from lenses to flashes and accessories. He has been working extensively with Sigma, Tamron, and Canon lenses.
Trying to review gear for consumers is a difficult task for any reviewer. Many consumers want to read about what is the best lens for the money, but it’s hard to compare different lenses without knowing how that specific lens will be used in the field. The other side of this coin is that many photographers need professional advice on what lenses to purchase for their specific needs, but it’s hard to find a high-quality review that is written by a professional in the field of photography.
Alex Gray hopes to provide both points of view through his website: he reviews each lens himself as a professional photographer and can give insight into what he uses those particular lenses for in his day-to-day work. Alex covers Canon, Nikon, Sony, Sigma and Tamron lenses in his reviews on his website; he also provides resource links to other reputable photography websites that provide additional information on each lens he reviews.
I have been a photographer for about seven years, since I was fifteen. I took photography classes in high school and now, in college, I am taking a class specifically about cameras and lenses. This blog is something that I started as a way to work on my writing skills, but also as a way to share some knowledge with my friends and family who are interested in photography.
In this blog, I will review new photographic lenses and accessories that come out. My goal is to help people decide if they need specific lenses or accessories. In the blog, I will give you the pros and cons of the items, along with some pictures of what the items can do.
I hope that you enjoy reading this blog as much as I enjoy writing it!
Lens technology continues to advance and improve, bringing new benefits to photographers. To help you keep up with these changes, we’ve asked three industry experts–photographers and lens reviewers–to share their insights about the most exciting new lenses. The following excerpts from the full interviews are presented here as an inside look at some of the newest products available today.
Excerpts from the Interviews
Question: Tell us about a new lens you’re excited about.
David Kilpatrick: I’m most excited about the Zeiss Otus line of lenses. They’re as close to perfect as we have now. Sharpness, contrast, color rendition…there’s nothing better in any price category. I’m also excited about Sony’s FE 85mm f/1.8. It’s simply a great lens that happens to be very affordable for Sony shooters given that it’s natively adapted to E-mount bodies. The only weakness is its external styling and build quality–though it is still quite good–and it has no weather sealing or dust/moisture protection, which may become a problem if you live in an area that experiences inclement weather a lot. But if you don’t shoot in bad weather or are willing to take precautions against damage if you do, I
The following is a list of some of the newest lenses and accessories that have recently been released which are either hard to find, very expensive, or both. For more information on the lenses on the list check out my website at www.a-gray-day.com or www.alexgraylensreviews.blogspot.com
The Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM lens is the new flagship lens for Sony full frame E-mount cameras, just like its brother, the FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM lens, is the new flagship lens for Sony telephoto E-mount cameras.
The 24-70mm focal length is ideal for lots of applications. It’s a very useful general purpose focal length when used on a full frame camera and it’s an extremely versatile focal length when used on an APS-C camera. The lens has optical stabilization and in this review I’ll show you how well it performs. And I’ll compare the sharpness to its predecessor, the Sony FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS lens.
Canon announced two new lenses this month: The Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM Lens and the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3L IS II USM Lens . In this review I’ll show you how they perform on a Canon 5D Mark IV DSLR and I’ll compare them to their predecessors, the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM Lens and the Canon EF 100-400
The Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art is the first lens in their Art line to cover a full-frame sensor. This medium wide-angle lens has a fast f/1.4 aperture, and is available for Canon, Nikon and Sigma mounts. Taking advantage of the higher resolution sensors on the latest full-frame cameras, the lens can capture some beautiful images with its smooth bokeh and artistic flare.
Are you ready to get some “in camera” bokeh?
Product Specs:
Lens Construction 13 Elements in 10 Groups (Sigma AA, FLD & SLD glasses)
Aperture Blades 9
Minimum Aperture 22
Minimum Focusing Distance 0.3 m / 0.98 ft
Maximum Magnification 1:5.6
Filter Size 77mm
Dimensions (Diameter x Length) 83 x 94mm / 3.27 x 3.70 in
Weight 765g / 26.87 oz (Canon mount) 694g / 25.16 oz (Nikon mount)**
Tripod Collar Yes; Removable with Arca-Swiss style Quick Release Plate Mounted
Price $899 USD**/$999 CAD**/$1299 AUD/$1099 GBP**
Currently, the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II is a great lens for the money, and it’s a lot less than $2000. I’ve been using my version of this lens for about 5 years, and I love it. But if you have the cash, grab the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II N instead.
The more expensive lenses are usually better optically, but not always. Check out our results below on what works best with each camera. I’ve included some sample photos to give you an idea of what to expect from each lens.
I also want to stress that every photographer is different and there’s no one-size-fits-all lens that everyone should buy – especially if you like to use different focal lengths or shoot action sports or wildlife. That’s why we test lenses in the first place!
