Photo.net have an interesting head-to-head comparison of the pro-level Canon EF 300/4L USM lens and the consumer Canon EF 75-300/4-5.6 IS USM lens.

“Despite lots of negative comments on the Canon 75-300 lenses, I think many of them may stem from users who simply don’t know how to use a 300mm lens. This could be because the 75-300 lenses are seen as “starter” lenses for beginners, and so tend to be bought and used by less experienced photographers. They may be shooting handheld at shutter speeds too low for sharp images, they may be shooting moving subjects or they may not be optimizing their images with a good image editor. I don’t know. I do know that the EF 75-300/4-5.6 IS USM is a decent lens. It’s not as good as a 300/4L, it’s not as sharp and it focuses significantly slower, but when used properly and with the help of a little digital magic, it’s a lens capable of yielding pretty sharp images. This especially appplies when shooting digital if, when at 300mm, you stop down a stop, optimize the image in PhotoShop and don’t try to make huge prints.”

Photo.net - Canon EF 300/4L USM vs. EF 75-300/4-5.6 IS USM Lens Review

Sigma UK Press Release

Sigma Announce Price of the New 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC

First deliveries of the eagerly anticipated Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC lens have arrived in the UK with a competitive suggested retail price of £329.99.

The 18-200mm will be available in Canon, Sigma, Nikon D and Pentax auto focus fitting. Delivery date of the Four Thirds fitting will be advised.

This high zoom ratio lens incorporates Two Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass elements and two hybrid aspherical lenses. This enables the lens to be housed in a compact and lightweight construction of 70mm diameter, and 78.1mm in length, and weighing just 405g. The lens also incorporates a zoom lock switch, internal focusing and a precision machine tooled metal back-mount.

CameraTown have reviewed the Lensbaby 2, a lens for SLR cameras that brings one area into sharp focus whilst creatively blurring the rest of the photograph.

“The Lensbaby, invented by Craig Strong of Lensbaby.com, is a selective focus SLR camera lens. The lens is mounted on flexible tubing, giving photographers the ability to move the in-focus “sweet spot” around the picture by bending the flexible tube. The lens will give you a unique look with blurring, glowing highlights, and subtle, prismatic color distortions - all without software manipulations. There are now two versions of the Lensbaby. This review will focus on the latest Lensbaby 2.0 model.”

Website: CameraTown - Lensbaby 2 Review

Website: Read my Review of the Original Lensbaby

ePhotoZine have published their review of the Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 EX APO IF HSM lens.

“With modern computer-aided design and manufacturing practices, complete dogs are becoming rare, but as this lens is aimed at professionals and high-end amateurs we expect the very. In our tests we found the contrast throughout the zoom range is consistently good and it’s virtually as sharp wide open as it is stopped down two or three apertures.”

Website: ePhotoZine - Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 EX APO IF HSM Lens Review

Photo.net have reviewed the Tokina AT-X 124Pro DX 12-24mm/F4 lens, which will be of particular interest to DLSR owners. The Tokina 12-24mm lens is available now in a Nikon or Canon fit.

“I have to say that this looks and feels to be a very well built lens. It’s fairly hefty with a lot less plastic than any of my other autofocus lenses. The lens is a constant f/4 throughout its zoom range and uses 77mm filters. It doesn’t seem to need thin mount filters, even standard polarizers cause no vignetting. It comes with a well designed, sturdy bayonet mount lens hood that fits on rather stiff and should provide good collision protection.”

Website: Photo.net - Tokina AT-X 124Pro DX 12-24mm F/4 Review

Lensbaby 2 is announced by Lensbabies. Lensbaby 2 is a lens for SLR cameras that brings one area into sharp focus whilst creatively blurring the rest of the photograph. Lensbaby 2 features an f2.0 aperture setting, plus f2.8, f4.0, f5.6 and f8.0. Lensbaby 2 is available for sale now at www.lensbabies.com for $150.

Lensbabies Press Release

Lensbabies Launches Lensbaby 2.0 for Brighter, Sharper, Faster Selective Focus Photography

March 21, 2005, Las Vegas, NV.  Today at the WPPI trade show, Lensbabies launched Lensbaby 2.0, a second-generation selective focus SLR camera lens, bringing brighter, sharper, and faster selective focus photography to professional and avid amateur photographers. 

“Lensbaby 2.0 has proven to be a wonderful creative tool for demanding photographic assignments.  Compared to The Original Lensbaby, Lensbaby 2.0 has a greater range of aperture settings, a much sharper ‘sweet spot’ of focus, and a new levitating magnetic aperture system, which makes it a snap to change apertures,” said Craig Strong, the inventor of the Lensbaby and Co-CEO of Lensbabies, LLC.

Lensbaby 2.0 and The Original Lensbaby bring one area of a photo into sharp focus, with that ‘sweet spot’ surrounded by graduated blur, glowing highlights, and subtle prismatic color distortions.  Photographers can fluidly move the sharp area around the photo by bending the flexible lens tubing.

Intro 2020 Ltd Press Release

Intro 2020 Ltd is the official UK importer and distributor of the Lensbaby.

“The beauty of these lenses is in their calculated imperfection,” said Lensbabies founder and professional photographer Craig Strong.  Strong invented the Lensbaby in an effort to create a digital equivalent to his Holga camera.

The Original Lensbaby combines several vintage camera technologies into a novel, patent-pending combination.  The shooter focuses a Lensbaby using the same general principle used with a bellows camera – by moving the focusing collar in and out with the fingertips.  The photographer moves the ‘sweet spot’ of focus around the picture plane by bending the glass optic out of a parallel position to the image capture plane, like a tilt-shift lens.  Finally, reminiscent of Waterhouse stops, the photographer swaps apertures by removing one aperture ring and replacing it with another.

Website: Read my Lensbaby Review

Pentax DA 12-24mm is announced. The The smc PENTAX DA 12-24mm lens is the sixth lens from Pentax designed specifically for their digital SLR cameras. The new Pentax DA 12-24mm lens has a maximum aperture of F4 throughout the zoom range and offers an angle of view from 99 degrees to 61 degrees. The smc PENTAX DA 12-24mm features a Quick-Shift focusing system that allows you to instantly switch the focus mode from auto to manual with a slight twist of the focus ring. Price and availability of the Pentax DA 12-24mm lens to be confirmed.

Pentax USA Press Release

GOLDEN, CO (March 15, 2005)…PENTAX Imaging Company has announced yet another compact, lightweight, interchangeable zoom lens for exclusive use with PENTAX digital SLR cameras including the *ist D and the *ist DS digital SLRs. The smc PENTAX-DA 12mm-24mm F4 ED AL [IF] is the sixth DA-series lens offered by the photo manufacturer.  The PENTAX-DA 12mm-24mm F4 ED AL [IF] will feature: 

* 2X zoom coverage in the ultra-wide angle range with an angle of view from 99 degrees to 61 degrees (equivalent in focal length from 18.5mm to 37mm in the 35mm format) when mounted on the PENTAX *ist D or *ist DS digital SLR camera body
* 13-element/11-group optical construction incorporating ED (Extra-low Dispersion) and aspherical optical elements
* The compact dimensions (diameter x length) of 3.3½ x 3.4½ (83.5mm x 87.5mm)

Photo.net have just reviewed the Tamron 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di Lens. The 17-35mm lens has a fast aperture of f/2.8 at its widest angle. The lens gives an angle of view equivalent to 28-55mm on a digital SLR camera (as most digital SLRs have APS-C sized CCDs).

“The Tamron SP AF17-35/2.8-4 Di LD Aspherical (IF) is a well built lens with overall good performance. At 17mm it’s very good and can be used wide open at f2.8 without much worry about image quality. The only negative is noticeable barrel distortion which could be a problem in some circumstances. Chromatic aberration is present but fairly well controlled throughout the zoom range. At 35mm the lens is slower (f4) and a little less sharp, though distortion is low.”

Website: Photo.net - Tamron 17-35mm f/2.8 Di Lens Review

Shuttertalk have reviewed the new Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC lens.

“In our opinion, the Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 EX DC is one of the best consumer/prosumer wide-angle zoom lenses we’ve used. While the price is a little higher than some lenses in this category, the constant – and usable! – f/2.8 aperture makes the lens a real winner in terms of value. While it would have been nice to have a HSM motor and a depth of field scale, the missing elements do not detract from its otherwise strong performance. If you are considering a wide-angle “digital lens,” do consider giving the Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 a try.”

Website: Shuttertalk - Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC Lens Review

Konica Minolta UK Press Release

Konica Minolta AF DT ZOOM 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 (D), AF DT ZOOM 11-18mm F4.5-5.6 (D), and AF DT ZOOM 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 (D) lenses to become available in Autumn 2005

Konica Minolta announces the development of three new “DT” lenses – interchangeable Digital Technology (DT) lenses designed for the Dynax Series digital SLR cameras, including the Dynax 7D.

These new zoom lenses will expand the line up of Konica Minolta interchangeable lenses for Dynax Series cameras. The DT lenses employ a new optical system that is specifically designed for digital SLR cameras, including the Dynax 7D, which incorporate an APS-C size CCD image sensor. Konica Minolta plans to launch these Digital Technology (DT) Lenses Worldwide in the Autumn of 2005.

Providing interchangeable lenses for digital SLR cameras with an optical system optimised for the popular Dynax 7D, meets the needs of users who would prefer to take ultra-wide-angle pictures, users who would like to take pictures with a compact standard zoom, and users who would like to easily take telephoto shots without interchanging the lens.

“Today’s digital photographers require the same versatility and high quality images that they’ve come to expect with their previous Dynax 35mm cameras” said Paul Genge, Product Manager, Konica Minolta Photo Imaging (UK) Limited. “The announcement of these new DT lenses confirms our message to photographers everywhere that Konica Minolta recognises the importance of the Dynax 7D SLR as a central building block for their digital camera systems.”

Sigma UK Press Release

Sigma Imaging (UK) Ltd is pleased to announce the launch of a FREE two year extended UK based warranty with all EX series lenses imported through Sigma Imaging (UK) Ltd.

You’d expect the world’s number one independent lens designer and manufacturer to offer something a little extra – and that’s just what we’ve done - extending the traditional one year international warranty of our world class EX lenses by two years free of charge, to provide Sigma UK customers with an unrivalled three years of cover in the UK.

From 1st March 2005 all new Sigma EX lenses come complete with a warranty leaflet, customers simply have to fill in the relevant information and return it to Sigma UK to register for their extended cover.

It seems that the price of the new Tamron SP AF11-18mm F/4.5-5.6 Di-II LD Aspherical (IF), a new high performance ultra wideangle zoom lens designed exclusively for digital SLR cameras using APS-C size image sensors, will be $981.95 in the USA. That’s a lot higher than the $550 price that I was told by a Tamron rep at PMA last month, and a lot nearer to the price of the Canon EF-S 10-22mm lens. Have Tamron pitched too high - will all the Canon, Nikon and Konica Minolta owners out there choose the Tamron as their wide-angle lens, or the Sigma 10-20mm (price to be confirmed)? I’m guessing that owners of the Canon EOS 20D and Digital Rebel DSLRs will opt for the Canon EF-S 10-22mm lens instead…

Thanks to Simon Heard for letting me know.

Meanwhile, take a look at some exclusive sample shots and my initial thoughts on the new Tamron 11-18mm lens.

I visited the Tamron stand today and took a few shots with the new Tamron 18-200mm digital SLR lens that has just been unveiled at PMA 2005 (Tamron AF18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) MACRO to give it its full name - even less appealing than the new 11-22mm lens). I already own the Tamron 28-75mm Di lens, using it on my Canon EOS 10D DSLR for the last 12 months. The Tamron 18-200mm has similar build-quality to the 28-75mm Di lens.

I visited the Tamron stand today and took a few shots with the new Tamron 11-18mm digital SLR lens that has just been announced (Tamron SP AF11-18mm F/4.5-5.6 Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) to give it its full name - very catchy). I already own the Tamron 28-75mm Di lens, using it on my Canon EOS 10D DSLR for the last 12 months. The Tamron 11-18mm has the same good build-quality as the 28-75mm Di lens.

The Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC HSM lens which was first announced a week ago is on show here at PMA 2005. I got the chance to have a brief try of the lens on my Canon EOS 10D during an interview with Sigma today.

In the usual Sigma EX tradition, the 10-20mm lens was very well made (despite only being a pre-production model) and it felt compact and well balanced on the 10D with battery grip fitted. Despite the dim lighting on the show floor and a slowish aperture of F4-5.6, the Sigma 10-20mm had no problems with focusing.

Tamron were showing their 11-22mm lens this afternoon,  which was first shown at Photokina in August last year. The The SP AF11-22mm F/4.5-5.6 Di-II LD Aspherical (IF), an ultra wideangle zoom lens, is Tamron’s first lens designed for exclusive use with digital SLR cameras using APS-C size image sensors. It seems that this lens is only just making it to market, with March being the month for it to hit stores in the USA. This could be a great wide-angle solution for all you DSLR users, as its available for Canon AF, Minolta AF-D, and Nikon AF-D systems. It has the same build quality as my Tamron 28-75mm lens and felt well-balanced on the Canon EOS 20D that is was being shown on.

smc PENTAX DA 50mm-200mm F4-5.6 ED lens has been announced by PENTAX Imaging Company, designed for use with the *ist D and the *ist DS digital SLR cameras. The smc PENTAX DA 50mm-200mm F4-5.6 ED lens features a responsive “Quick-Shift Focus System” and is equivalent to 76.5mm to 306mm in the 35mm format.

Pentax Press Release

Golden, CO. (February 17, 2005)…PENTAX Imaging Company has announced a compact, lightweight, interchangeable telephoto zoom lens for use with PENTAX digital SLR cameras.  The smc PENTAX DA 50mm-200mm F4-5.6 ED is the fifth DA-Series lens offered by the photo manufacturer.

Designed for exclusive use with PENTAX KAF-mount digital SLR cameras including the *ist D and the *ist DS digital SLRs, the new lens offers 4X zoom coverage in the telephoto range.  Further, the lens features an angle of view from 31.5 degrees to 8.1 degrees (equivalent in focal length from 76.5mm to 306mm in the 35mm format).

Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens is announced. The Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro is equivalent to the popular EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM when used on the EOS 20D, EOS 300D and the new EOS 350D digtal SLR cameras. The EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens will be available from March 2005 for £349.99.

Canon UK Press Release

Canon launches the EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens – New for Canon D-SLRs

Canon, leader in photographic and imaging technology, is pleased to announce the launch of the EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens. Targeted at advanced and creative D-SLR photographers, the lens exclusively fits those digital EOS cameras with an APS-C size sensor and an EF-S lens mount - the EOS 20D, EOS 300D and the new EOS 350D. Featuring a true 1:1 macro magnification ratio, the lens has a focal length equivalent of 96mm in the 35mm format. This very closely matches the EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM, Canon’s most popular single focal length lens.

Olympus announces 4 new Four Thirds lenses today - the ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-35mm (35mm equiv: 28-70mm), ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 35-100mm (35mm equiv: 70-200mm) , ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 90-250mm (35mm equiv: 180-500mm) and the the ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 7-14mm.

Olympus Press Release

Range of ZUIKO DIGITAL Zoom Four Thirds lenses set to expand

LONDON 17th February 2005

Olympus is today announcing the development of three new FourThirds standard, professional-grade interchangeable lenses for the Olympus E-System. Each of the lenses boasts exceptionally wide, fixed apertures and photographers can look forward to shooting with increased versatility and efficiency.