Digital Camera News and Reviews

Canon has today announced two new tilt shift lenses. The first one is called Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L and is a ultra wide tilt shift lens. According to Canon this lens is actually the widest tilt shift lens on the marked today.
The lens features sub-wavelength structure coating (SWC) for the minimization of flare and ghosting, high-precision aspherical front elements to keep distortion to a minimum and multiple UD elements to reduce chromatic aberration.

The Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L will be available in May 2009 and cost about $2,499.

Press release:
Canon U.S.A. Expands Its Lens Portfolio With The Introduction Of Two New Wide-Angle Tilt-Shift Lenses

Canon Introduces the New TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II and the TS-E 17mm f/4L Tilt-Shift Lenses

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., February 17, 2009 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging and optics, today introduced two new Tilt-Shift lenses, the TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II and the TS-E 17mm f/4L. These two new L series lenses expand the Company’s extensive lens line-up of TS-E lenses giving photographers creative control over perspective and depth of field in their images. Both the TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II and the TS-E 17mm f/4L are specialty lenses ideal for landscape and architectural photography and are compatible with all Canon EOS system single lens reflex cameras1. The TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II, a replacement for Canon’s TS-E 24mm f/3.5L introduced in 1991, has significantly improved operability with low distortion when photographing buildings, consistent image quality throughout the image and reduced chromatic aberration when shooting at ultra-wide angles. The TS-E 17mm f/4L is the world’s shortest focal length Tilt-Shift lens with full-frame 35mm coverage.

“These two new lenses are Canon’s answer to photographers who have requested wider angle Tilt-Shift lenses, with the new TS-E 24mm for wide angles and the all new TS-E 17mm for ultra-wide angles. We continually seek to expand our optics portfolio to meet the demands of our photographers to ensure that they have the best tools available to capture some of the most stunning images on the planet,” stated Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A.

An innovative feature on both the TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II and the TS-E 17mm f/4L lenses is Canon’s new TS Revolving System. This feature allows tilting and shifting lens movements to be adjusted in parallel or at right angles to each other, with detents at 45˚ intervals. Additionally, once the TS Revolving System has been set, the orientation of the entire lens can be rotated freely through a range of ±90˚, with detents at 30˚ intervals. The amount of tilt is ±8.5˚ for the TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II and ±6.5˚ for the TS-E 17mm f/4L. The amount of shift is ±12mm for both lenses. The image circle diameter for both lenses is an impressive 67.2mm. (The diagonal measurement of the full-frame 35mm format is only 43.2mm.)

The high-precision glass molded aspherical and UD glass lens elements and accurate aspherical GMo along with a large diameter in new TS-E lenses deliver outstanding image quality, high resolution and super-low distortion to all edges of the image. Each lens incorporates a new type of anti-reflection coating, Canon’s SubWavelength structure Coating (SWC) that continuously changes the refractive index on the lens surface via wedge-shaped structures more minute than wavelength of visible light. Canon’s SWC helps minimize flare and ghosting caused by bright light from large angles of incidence. The new TS-E lenses are the 2nd and 3rd Canon EF series lenses with SWC, following the EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM that was introduced in 2008.

Pricing and Availability
The TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II is expected to ship in May for an estimated retail price of $2,199.00*. The TS-E 17mm f/4L is expected to ship in May for an estimated retail price of $2,499.00*.

Tamron AF 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5

Dpreview.com has reviewed the super wide angle lens from Tamron, the Tamron AF 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 SP Di II LD Aspherical (IF) lens. This lens is the widest lens you get for the mounts it is designed for and it has a pretty nice price.
The lens will be available for Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Sony mounts.

Dpreview ends up giving the Tamron AF 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 SP Di II LD Aspherical (IF) lens a “Recommended” rating due to that it is a very wide lens and it does not have much distortion. There are some downsides to the lens because it is a bit soft wide open and has soft corners at all apertures and focal lengths.
Seems like an interesting lens if you are into wide angle photography.
Read the full review of the Tamron lens here.

AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm F/1.8G

Nikon has announced the new AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm F/1.8G. According to Nikon this is the first fixed focal length lens with such fast aperture.
This lens seems very interesting for Nikon photographers who want to separate they want to photograph from the background. This is especially a good feature for portraits.

The Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm F/1.8G lens will be available in March 2009 and cost about $200.

Press release:
Nikon Introduces The Fastest DX-Format Lens To Date: The AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm F/1.8G

MELVILLE, N.Y. (Feb. 8, 2009) – Nikon Inc. today announced the AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G lens, which is the first fixed focal length, fast-aperture DX-format lens that affords photographers superb image quality along with the creative possibilities and versatility of the classic 50mm focal length (FX-format equivalent of 52mm). When mounted on a DX-format camera body, it enables photographers to document their world with a lens that produces a picture angle similar to the field of vision as seen through the human eye. Whether new to D-SLRs or a seasoned enthusiast, users will appreciate the extreme low-light performance and the expanded ability to dramatically separate the subject and background with the new 35mm DX lens’ wide f/1.8 aperture.

“The development and release of the 35mm f/1.8 NIKKOR lens delivers new and added versatility to the Nikon DX-format digital SLR system and provides DX-format photographers with a broader range of fast-aperture lens options,” said Edward Fasano, general manager for marketing, SLR Systems Products at Nikon Inc. “This f/1.8 prime lens provides users with exceptional control of background and foreground, superb low-light ability, and the natural focal length that has been the staple of photography since its inception.”

Lightweight, compact and affordable, this lens can easily become a fast favorite for any level of photographer, and is the perfect complement to D60 users who are just starting to learn D-SLR photography or enthusiasts who love their D90. The AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G lens is ideal for travel, general photography, landscape shooting, portraiture or pushing creative boundaries. The stunning sharpness, clarity and color reproduction are all proof positive of more than 75 years of NIKKOR heritage and experience in optics engineering.

This lens continues the tradition of NIKKOR precision optics to provide photographers with sharp, high-resolution images and the ability to focus as close as 0.98 feet, while the integration of an ultra-compact Silent Wave Motor ensures fast, whisper-quiet AF operation.

The 35mm DX lens construction consists of eight elements in three groups, with an aspherical element to reduce size and weight, while contributing to the enhanced balance when mounted on a smaller DX-format D-SLR. A rounded diaphragm opening combined with the nine-blade aperture contributes to a substantially more circular bokeh for a more natural appearance of out-of-focus background elements. Additionally, instances of lens flare and chromatic aberration are suppressed using Nikon’s exclusive Super Integrated Coatings, which also help ensure vividly accurate color balance.

The AF-S NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G lens is scheduled to be available at Nikon authorized dealers beginning March 2009 at an estimated selling price of $199.95.* For more information, please visit www.nikonusa.com.

Nikon D700

DIWA Labs has tested the AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED lens on the Nikon D700 DSLR camera body. According to DIWA Labs this lens seems to be a good match for the D700 and it also has a very nice price tag.

Read all the tests of the Nikkor 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED lens on Nikon D700 camera body here.
The tests done by DIWA Labs are very technical so you need to read their test guide to understand the test results.

Buy the Nikon D700 from BH Photo and get free shipping.