Digital Camera News and Reviews

Sony E 16mm f/2.8 SEL16F28

SLRgear has tested a new prime lens from Sony that is used for their new E-mount cameras NEX-3 and NEX-5. The lens is called Sony E 16mm f/2.8 SEL16F28 and seems interesting as it is pretty wide starting at 16mm (24mm equivalent). The Sony prime lens uses 49mm filters and does not come with a lens hood.

SLRgear ends up giving the Sony E 16mm f/2.8 SEL16F28 a good review, but the Sony lens has a few shortcomings. If you are looking for a lens that makes NEX camera more pocketable this lens is your choice, but it comes with a pretty high price tag and it is a bit soft if you use it wide open at f/2.8. Hopefully Sony will produce more prime lenses for the NEX series in the future.
Read the full review of the Sony E 16mm f/2.8 SEL16F28 prime lens here.

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS

Camera Labs has reviewed a zoom lens from Canon. This Canon lens is called Canon EF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS and is the standard kit lens following for some of their more expensive DSLR camera bodies. The zoom range and image stabilization seems very useful so let us hear what the reviewer thinks about this lens from Canon.

Camera Labs ends up giving the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS a “Recommended” rating with an overall score at 76%. The Canon lens scores highest on value for your money and specifications, a little lower on build quality and lowest on optical quality. The reviewer thinks it was a smart move from Canon to move away from the EF-S 18-55mm IS kit lens and to this new lens with longer zoom range. When you look at the price tag the 18-135mm performs well and you can not expect miracles with that price tag, but there are some downsides like soft corners, vignetting and some distortion. For new DSLR photographers this should be an excellent choice.
Read the full review of the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS lens here.

Samsung NX 30mm f/2

The German photo website famous for their lens tests has reviewed a new Samsung lens. The lens is called Samsung NX 30mm f/2 and is a part of the new mirror-less camera system from Samsung. The lens is a so-called pancake lens with a fixed focal length and it is pretty bright at f/2.

Photozone.de gives the Samsung NX 30mm f/2 a very good review as the lens is very sharp and takes good pictures. It also has good build quality, low price and has ok focus speed. There is about non distortions and chromatic aberrations. The only downside the reviewer finds with this Samsung lens is the quality of the bokeh which can be pretty harsh at times. Seems like a sure bet for all photographers who have invested in the NX system.
Read the full review of the Samsung NX 30mm f/2 lens here.

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm f/4G

The Nikon AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm f/4G ED VR is an interesting lens because it is the worlds first wide angle zoom lens with built in image stabilization for full frame cameras. The constant f/4 should be useful for most photographers looking for a wide angle zoom. Now let us hear what Photography Blog thinks of this new Nikon lens.

Photography Blog ends up giving the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm f/4G a very good review with an overall score of 4.5 stars out of 5 and a “Highly Recommended” rating. The Nikkor lens scores highest on image quality, ease of use, features and design while scoring a bit lower on value for your money. The only downside is a bit of barrel distortion at the wide end and the price tag is a bit steep. But overall this new Nikon lens seems very good so it should be a good choice if you are doing photography where you need a wide angle zoom lens.
Read the full review of the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm f/4G ED VR lens here.