Brightin Star’s New $180 60mm f/2.8 Macro Lens Offers 2:1 Magnification https://petapixel.com/2026/01/27/brightin-stars-new-180-60mm-f-2-8-macro-lens-offers-21-magnification/ #mirrorlesslens #brightinstar #Equipment #macro #News #60mm #apsc

TTArtisan Brings Its $200 75mm f/2 AF Prime to L-Mount https://petapixel.com/2025/03/28/ttartisans-200-75mm-f2-af-arrives-on-l-mount/ #mirrorlesslens #Equipment #ttartisan #lmount #News #75mm

Pergear’s New 25mm f/1.7 APS-C Lens Costs Is Available Now for $69 https://petapixel.com/2024/04/23/pergears-new-25mm-f-1-7-aps-c-lens-costs-is-available-now-for-69/ #microfourthirds #mirrorlesslens #pergear25mmf17 #Equipment #25mmlens #pergear #News #apsc

New Lens Company SG-Image Debuts Super-Fast 35mm f/0.95 APS-C Prime https://petapixel.com/2024/04/02/new-lens-company-sg-image-debuts-super-fast-35mm-f-0-95-aps-c-prime/ #sgimage35mmf095 #mirrorlesslens #chineselens #Equipment #apscprime #apsclens #sgimage #News #f095

Sigma’s New 500mm f/5.6 Lens is So Popular, It Can’t Keep Up With Orders https://petapixel.com/2024/03/01/sigmas-new-500mm-f-5-6-lens-is-so-popular-it-cant-keep-up-with-orders/ #sigma500mmf56dgdnsport #mirrorlesslens #emountlens #lmountlens #production #Equipment #primelens #popular #sigma #News

Sigma 500mm f/5.6 DG DN OS Sports Lens Is a Mobile Pro-Grade Ultra-Tele https://petapixel.com/2024/02/20/sigma-500mm-f-5-6-dg-dn-os-sports-lens-is-a-mobile-pro-grade-ultra-tele/ #sigma500mmf56dgdnsport #mirrorlesslens #emountlens #lmountlens #Equipment #sigma #News

The Full-Frame Laowa 10mm f/2.8 Zero-D is Laowa’s First AF Lens https://petapixel.com/2024/02/20/the-full-frame-laowa-10mm-f-2-8-zero-d-is-laowas-first-af-lens/ #laowa10mmf2-8zerodff #ultrawideanglelens #mirrorlesslens #venusoptics #Equipment #laowa #News

TTArtisan’s New 10mm f/2 APS-C Lens is Ultra-Wide and Costs Just $160 https://petapixel.com/2023/12/18/ttartisans-new-10mm-f-2-aps-c-lens-is-ultra-wide-and-costs-just-160/ #ultrawideanglelens #ttartisans10mmf2 #mirrorlesslens #ttartisans #Equipment #apsclens #News

Viltrox Unveils $380 50mm f/1.8 for Sony E and Nikon Z-Mount

Viltrox has announced a 50mm f/1.8 lens for both Sony and Nikon mirrorless cameras, adding to the company's expanding list of third-party lens choices for full-frame mirrorless bodies.

Without a lens cap and hood, the new Viltrox lens is relatively lightweight at just 350 grams (12.4 ounces) compared to the Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 which weighs 415 grams (14.7 ounces), for example. The company claims the bright f/1.8 aperture is well suited for working in low-light conditions and gives greater control over the depth of field.

Compatible with Sony E and Nikon Z-mount full-frame cameras, it can also be used with APS-C models where it will deliver a 75mm equivalent focal length. The lens is constructed of 11 elements in 10 groups, which includes one extra-low dispersion element, two high-refraction elements, and two aspherical lenses.

Viltrox says that the extra-low dispersion element reduces color fringing and chromatic aberrations that results in better clarity and color accuracy, while the high refractive elements help control spherical aberrations and reduce distortion. Viltrox claims that the lens autofocus motors minimize errors when photographers review and compose using live view, and brings "precise and smooth" focus to the shots.

The lens has a nano multi-layer coating, which has been applied to individual elements to suppress flare and ghosting for "greater contrast and color fidelity" when shooting in harsh light.

Same as the recently released 85mm f/1.8 autofocus lens for Canon RF mount, the new 50mm lens features an aperture range of f/1.8 up to f/16. The minimum focus distance is 55 centimeters (1.8 feet) and the lens has a 55mm front filter thread.

The aperture can be selected using an integrated manual aperture ring for "tactile exposure control." The ring also has an "A" position for automated, camera-based aperture selection. The lens also comes with an integrated micro-USB port which can be used for downloading future firmware updates.

The new 50mm f/1.8 lens is priced at $380 and can be purchased through Pergear, one of Viltrox's distributors, among others.

In addition to the new 50mm f/1.8, Viltrox has also released a Sony E-mount option for the 35mm f/1.8 lens which was made available for Nikon Z-mount earlier this year. Both mount options are available on Pergear's online store for $400.

#equipment #news #50mm #mirrorless #mirrorlesslens #newlens #nikon #nikonz #nikonzmount #pergear #sony #sonyfe #sonyfemount #viltrox

Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Review: This Can’t Possibly Be Good, Can It?

The new Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD for E-mount and X-mount is an all-in-one APS-C lens with the power of 16.6x zoom. These types of do-everything lenses have a tradition of being subpar, but Tamron may actually have what it takes to pull off a winner.

Design and Build Quality

While the 18mm to 300mm zoom range in an APS-C lens (27-450mm full-frame equivalent) is very handy for traveling, it’s hard to ignore its size and conclude it’s indeed a travel-friendly lens in a traditional sense. When Tamron calls it a “compact design” and “ideal for travel” in their marketing, I think it’s plain to see the company must be speaking comparatively against carrying a bag of lenses that match everything this all-in-one zoom does. It’s not compact, but I can see it being more compact overall than dealing with that.

The lens measures three inches (7.6 centimeters) in diameter and is 4.9 inches (12.4 centimeters) long when set to the 18mm focal length. Extending out to 300mm, the lens increases in length to eight inches (20.3 centimeters). Overall, the 18-300mm weighs in at one pound, six ounces (620 grams).

The exterior of the lens is plastic and has a large rubberized zoom ring on the end, a zoom lock switch, and a thin plastic focus ring. Although the lens does feature vibration compensation (VC), there is no on-off switch on the outside, nor is there an AF/MF switch or any other control; these are toggled using the camera’s menu system.

Tamron does mention the lens has a weather-sealed construction, including gaskets for the front element, zoom and focus rings, and rear mount. A lens that zooms out an extended three inches is sure to pick up some dust and moisture eventually, so it’s good to see Tamron add in protection here for when it’s collapsed. The front element features a fluorine coating for easy cleaning, which is nice but fairly standard.

Image Quality

Inside, the Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 uses 19 elements in 15 groups, including three aspherical elements and four low dispersion elements. It even includes BBAR-G2 coating to fight ghosting and flaring, which sure enough I did not notice in my time with the lens.

It is certainly not the worst offender I’ve ever seen, but there is a little bit of chromatic aberration visible with this lens. For example, in my photos with the moon, there is slight green and purple fringing at its edge. Overall I don’t find it very concerning and honestly, I would have expected much worse from an all-in-one zoom lens.

That being said, sharpness, or more specifically resolution, is definitely not going to be a strong suit of this lens. What is gained through a wildly incredible zoom range pays the price by being a touch soft in detail almost anywhere throughout. By that I mean it does have decent edge sharpness needed to make photos not completely fall apart, however, the fine textures within objects are not cleanly reproduced.

At 300mm it’s worse, and contrast is also noticeably abandoned here. In my testing of edge sharpness, I found that at the 18mm end, the optimum aperture for sharpness was f/5.6. At the 300mm end, stopping down to f/16 gave me the sharpest results.

Shot at 18mm. Camera unmoved, now shot at 300mm.

Looking at the barrel distortion when at 18mm, I’d consider it to be moderate. Fixing it in Capture One without a lens profile was as easy as dragging a slider, however, some of the edges of the frame are lost in doing so. At 300mm, this wasn’t a concern.

Examining the vignetting produced by the 18-300mm with in-camera lens corrections turned off, I find that there’s a decent amount of vignetting at either end wide open. At 18mm when stopped down to f/5.6, the vignetting is mostly pushed back to the corners, and at f/8 it’s virtually cleared. At 300mm where the wide-open aperture is f/6.3, it’s two stops down at f/13 where the vignetting clears out.

Example of barrel distortion at 18mm. Same scene as above shot at 300mm.

Autofocusing with the new Tamron pairs well with the Sony a6600 I reviewed it with. Even at 300mm, spot focusing across the focal plane and tracking subjects was reliable. The 18-300mm uses a VXD linear autofocus motor and is nearly silent in use and sounds like a soft tap rather than a mechanic whirr.

It’s All in One, But Isn’t All or Nothing

What can’t be understated with the Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD is its power to capture a huge variety of images while you are standing in the same spot. It made me smile every time when I’d be composing a wide shot at 18mm, zoom in a little and reframe for a medium shot, then go all in at 300mm and get something that looks completely different than the previous two images. There’s no lens switching necessary or the neex to jump out of your creative zone, and that is really enjoyable to me.

Shot at 300mm. Shot at 141mm. Shot at 20mm.

The downside in its ability to free up your mind and camera bag is that the resulting photos are not going to have perfect image quality in terms of resolution, contrast, and distortion. It’s a compromise. You can’t have everything, but what you do have is still quite endearing.

Are There Alternatives?

There really aren't any true direct competitors to this lens. “All-in-one” has generally meant an APS-C lens in the 18-200mm range, as seen with the nearly 10-year-old Sony E 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS LE. On the Fujifilm X-mount side, competition is even more non-existent as the closest thing would be the Fujifilm XF 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR lens.

Tamron is offering a unique 16.6x zoom with the same maximum apertures as the Sony 18-200mm, plus big upgrades around the board like a VXD linear autofocusing system and improved optics. For now, it really stands alone.

Should You Buy It?

Yes. The Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD is an all-in-one zoom that is a lot of fun to photograph with. The world really opens up once you have a lens in your hands that does it all without the fuss.

#equipment #reviews #allinone #allinonelens #fujixmount #landscape #lensreview #mirrorlesslens #sonyemount #tamron #tamron18300f3556 #travel #wildlife #zoomlens