RSS
 

Posts Tagged ‘superwide’

Weekly Photography Challenge: Super-Wide

14 Jul

It’s time to dig out your widest lens. If you don’t have a super wide-angle maybe you can rent or borrow one from a friend or go out shooting with a group and share one. Or buy one for your mobile phone even! Think outside the box about how you can shoot super-wide.

Canon 5D Classic, ISO 100, 15mm fisheye lens, f/22, 1/8th second.

Need some tips or ideas – here are some for you:

  • Tips for Using Your Wide-Angle Lens Better
  • 7 Ways to Get More Out of a Wide-angle Lens
  • How to Create Compelling Wide-Angle Portraits Using One Off-Camera Flash
  • How to Use a Wide-angle Lens with Wildlife for a New Perspective
  • 10 Tips for Photographing Wide-Angle Landscapes

Weekly Photography Challenge – Super-Wide

Simply upload your shot into the comment field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see or if you’d prefer, upload them to your favorite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge. Sometimes it takes a while for an image to appear so be patient and try not to post the same image twice.

Share in the dPS Facebook Group

You can also share your images in the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.

The post Weekly Photography Challenge: Super-Wide appeared first on Digital Photography School.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on Weekly Photography Challenge: Super-Wide

Posted in Photography

 

Aurora Aperture launches 16-stop ND filter and rear filters for Canon’s super-wide lenses

28 Apr

US filter brand Aurora Aperture has announced a neutral density filter that it claims reduces exposure by 16 stops. The company has launched a new family of fixed factor ND filters called PowerND and is offering strengths of 6, 12 and 16 stops in screw-in and square formats.

The ND64, ND4000 and ND65000 filters will be available for threads of 37-95mm as well as a special 105mm version that will fit an adapter for the Nikkor AF-S 14-24mm F2.8G ED wide-angle zoom. Those preferring a filter system will be able to use the 100 x 100mm square filters. The 16-stop filter is designed for those wanting to make long exposures in daylight conditions and can knock a 1/1000sec shutter speed situation down to 1 minute.

Aurora Aperture has also introduces a series called Aurora CR with filters designed to fit over the rear mount of Canon super-wide lenses. The arch-window-shaped Gorilla Glass filters slide into a holder that screws on to the rear of the lens, and while aimed at users of the Canon EF 11-24mm F4 L USM the system will work with a range of the company’s wide-angle zoom lenses.

The filters are available via Kickstarter with delivery and general sales due to begin in August. Prices start from $ 34 for small screw-in filters of any of the strengths, to $ 117 for the 150mm circular filter. The CR kit including the holder and three filters is $ 165. For more information see the Aurora Aperture website and the company’s Kickstarter page.

Press release

Aurora Aperture Introduces PowerND Family and an Industry First Rear Mount Glass Filter for Canon EF 11-24mm F4L USM

Aurora Aperture Inc., a Southern California startup, today has introduced the PowerND family of high quality fixed neutral density (ND) filters.

The PowerND family consists of three ratings of light reduction capability: ND64 (6 stops),ND4000 (12 stops), and ND65000 (16 stops). Four different formats are available: circular filters from 37mm to 95mm, 100 x 100mm square filters compatible with popular square filter adapters, 150mm circular filters with an adapter for the Nikon AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8G ED lens, and the Aurora CR format, an industry first, a rear mount glass filter for the Canon EF 11-24mm F4L USM lens.

The 6 stop filter is typically used in low light conditions such as during sunrise or sunset for sub-second shutter speed. The 12 stop filter can slow down shutter speed to minutes in dusk and dawn conditions. The 16 stop filter can do magic on a bright day, allowing photographers to expose up to several minutes or more.

The ND4000 and ND65000 have distinct advantages in having more stops than the typical ND1000 or ND32000. They allow users to avoid diffraction softening by enabling users to avoid very small aperture settings or alternatively allowing for longer exposures. In the case of the PowerND 4000 that means two more stops than the typical ND1000 and for the Power ND65000 there’s one additional stop.

“We introduced a variable ND family last year and it was embraced by photographers and videographers worldwide,” said Jinfu Chen, founder and CEO of Aurora Aperture Inc. “the fixed ND family we introduce today is much more powerful in terms of light reduction capability and offers even better optical performance, along with more formats for different camera lenses.”

A small rear mount filter using Gorilla® Glass for the Canon EF 11-24mm F4L USM is an industry first. Prior to this users would have to use extremely large filters with diameters up to 186mm with a bulky front lens shade adapter. The Aurora CR format filter mounts in the rear of the lens, making it much easier to carry and lower in cost. Other Canon lenses that Aurora CR format filter can be used in* are the EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye, EF 11-24mm F4L USM, EF 14mm f/2.8L US, EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye, EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM, and EF 17-40mm f/4L USM.

Designed in California by Aurora Aperture, the Aurora PowerND filters employ up to 128 layers of double sided nano coating** in order to achieve color accuracy and powerful light reduction capability. Hydrophobic and oleophobic coating is applied to filter surface with PFPE coating. The end result is that water droplet on the filter surface can maintain a static contact angle of 110 degrees, one of the best in the industry.

Availability and Pricing
The Aurora PowerND family will be available through Kickstarter starting in April 2017 and to dealers and direct orders in August 2017. List price starts at US$ 42 and varies depending on filter format and size.
http://www.aurora-aperture.com
info@aurora-aperture.com
* As of April 21, 2017
** ND4000 and ND65000

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Aurora Aperture launches 16-stop ND filter and rear filters for Canon’s super-wide lenses

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Zeiss adds super-wide and tele- options to Milvus line

11 Sep

Zeiss has announced it’s adding 15mm F2.8, 18mm F2.8 and 135mm F2 options to its manual focus Milvus line. Counting these three, there are now nine lenses in the Milvus range. Zeiss puts an emphasis on robust construction with their full metal barrels, video-friendly features and optical designs that minimize chromatic aberration and distortion. 

The new lenses will be available in October. The 15mm F2.8 will cost $ 2699/€2699, the 18mm F2.8 will cost $ 2299/€2299 and the 135mm F2 will cost $ 2199/€2199.

Press release

Three new lenses for the ZEISS Milvus family

The lens family with manual focusing for DSLR cameras is now also available with focal lengths of 15, 18 and 135 millimeters

Oberkochen, September 8, 2016

Two super-wide angle lenses, the ZEISS Milvus 2.8/15 and ZEISS Milvus 2.8/18, and the telephoto lens ZEISS Milvus 2/135 have expanded this family of manual focus lenses for DSLR cameras, bringing the total number of ZEISS Milvus focal lengths to nine. “The ZEISS Milvus family of lenses is an invaluable investment for the future due to its excellent imaging quality and its large range, which now covers 15 to 135 millimeters,” says Christophe Casenave, product manager at ZEISS Camera Lenses. Delivery of the new ZEISS Milvus lenses begins at the end of October 2016.

For high-end DSLR cameras

“The ZEISS Milvus lenses have been designed in particular to fulfill the requirements of today’s powerful digital cameras and those of the future thanks to their high imaging performance, even in difficult lighting situations,” says Casenave. The new lenses are characterized by a harmonious bokeh and very high degree of flare control due to the T*® anti-reflective coating from ZEISS. Further optimization of the lens coating has also ensured less likelihood than ever of ghosting, flare or shading effects, even in critical lighting situations. And all ZEISS Milvus lenses come with a floating elements design, which compensates imaging errors at different distance settings.

ZEISS Milvus for video

The new ZEISS Milvus lenses also allow the user to create high-quality film shoots with a pleasing cinematic bokeh. “Due to their extremely high contrast rendition, the lenses fulfill the most modern video standards of 6K and higher, and have uniform color characteristics,” said Casenave. All ZEISS Milvus lenses have a focus ring with a very large rotation angle to enable precise focusing, and are made of comfortable rubber to ensure a good grip while focusing. The De-Click function on lenses with a ZF.2 mount lets cinematographers set the aperture in a soft and infinitely variable way so they can work professionally in changing lighting conditions. The ZEISS Milvus lenses’ robust full-metal barrel ensures long and reliable usage. In addition, the lenses are protected against dust and spray water. The robust metal lens shade is an integral part of the overall product design and included with all ZEISS Milvus lenses.

The new focal lengths of the ZEISS Milvus family are also compatible with the ZEISS Lens Gears, providing filmmakers with additional value-add. The ZEISS Lens Gears, which are made of high-quality aluminum with a hardened surface coating, slide into the respective lens and are attached to the focus ring by turning two counter-rotating rings through a simple mounting procedure.

The new ZEISS Milvus lenses in summary:

ZEISS Milvus 2.8/15:

This super wide-angle lens with a field of view of 110 degrees allows every photographer to consciously compose using extreme perspectives. The lens has excellent imaging performance – even with an open aperture – thanks to the correction of color errors. Color fringing and distortion are minimal. This is all thanks to a ZEISS Distagon® lens design with 15 lens elements in 12 groups, including two aspheric lenses, special glass with anomalous partial dispersion, and the floating elements design. A removable lens shade and the 95-millimeter filter thread also make this lens the ideal companion for special applications with additional slide-in filter holders.

ZEISS Milvus 2.8/18:

This compact super-wide angle lens with a newly calculated ZEISS Distagon optical design has 14 lens elements in 12 groups, including two aspheric elements. The ZEISS Milvus 2.8/18 has a short close-up distance of 0.25 meters and internal focusing. With an angular field of 99.9 degrees, this lens is the ideal companion for landscape and architectural photography, as it allows creative shots to be taken using unusual perspectives. The filter thread has a diameter of 77 millimeters. The ZEISS Milvus 2.8/18 delivers outstanding imaging performance and very good distortion correction.

ZEISS Milvus 2/135:

This fast telephoto lens delivers excellent correction of all color errors. Thanks to a large aperture and pleasing bokeh, it is the perfect lens for portrait photography from a medium distance. The angular field is 18.7 degrees. The short minimum object distance of 0.80 meters makes this lens even more versatile. It has an optical design with 11 lens elements in eight groups and, like the ZEISS Milvus 2.8/18, a filter diameter of 77 millimeters.

Price and availability

The delivery worldwide of the three new lenses will begin at the end of October 2016. The lens shade is included with the corresponding lens. Sales prices are EUR 2,699 (including 19% German VAT) or 2.699US$ for the ZEISS Milvus 2.8/15; EUR 2,299 (including 19% VAT ) or 2.299US$ for the ZEISS Milvus 2.8/18; and EUR 2,199 Euro (including 19% German VAT) or 2.199US$ for the ZEISS Milvus 2/135. For ambitious cinematographers and photographers, a set solution is also available for up to six ZEISS Milvus lenses. A discount of 8% is available with the purchase of three to four lenses. Purchasing more than five lenses gives the user a 10% discount.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Zeiss adds super-wide and tele- options to Milvus line

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Zeiss unveils super-wide Batis 18mm F2.8

15 Apr

$ (document).ready(function() { SampleGalleryV2({“containerId”:”embeddedSampleGallery_1690428628″,”galleryId”:”1690428628″,”isEmbeddedWidget”:true,”standalone”:false,”selectedImageIndex”:0,”startInCommentsView”:false,”isMobile”:false}) });

Zeiss has added the 2.8/18, a super wide-angle autofocus lens, to its Batis line for Sony E-mount. The full-frame lens joins the current 25mm F2 and 85mm F1.8 offerings. The 18mm lens provides the same dust and weather seals as its siblings, along with an OLED to display focus distance and depth of field information.

The Batis 18mm F2.8 comprises 11 elements in 10 groups, and four of those elements are aspheric on both sides. The lens provides a minimum focus distance of 0.25m/9.8in. Weighing in at 330g/0.74lb it measures 80mm/3.1in in length.

Scheduled to arrive in May, the Zeiss Batis 2.8/18 will cost $ 1499/€1260. 


 Press release:

New ZEISS Super Wide-Angle Lens with Autofocus

ZEISS Batis 2.8/18 Expands Full-Frame Lenses for Sony Cameras with E-Mount

OBERKOCHEN/Germany, 14/04/2016.

The ZEISS Batis 2.8/18 expands the Batis range of lenses with a super wide-angle lens. For the Sony1) á system with E-mount the new lens, which features a diagonal angular field of 99 degrees, is currently the shortest full-frame fixed focal length with autofocus. The new ZEISS Batis 2.8/18 with innovative OLED display to show focus distance and depth of field is also impressive thanks to its high image quality across the entire image field. The lens will be available from May 2016.

“The ZEISS Batis 2.8/18 follows on from the highly successful first two focal lengths the ZEISS Batis 2/25 and the ZEISS Batis 1.8/85. In spite of the extremely wide angle, we have succeeded in adapting the image quality of the ZEISS Batis 2.8/18 perfectly to the two different lens types,” says Dr. Michael Pollmann, Product Manager of ZEISS Camera Lenses. “With the expansion of the ZEISS Batis range of lenses, we are offering creative and discerning photographers yet another professional tool,” says Pollmann. With the ZEISS Batis 2.8/18 customers can now enjoy the super wide-angle full-frame lens they’ve been waiting for. 

A vast range of applications

The new ZEISS Batis 2.8/18 is impressive on account of its high image quality across the entire image field. “By virtue of the large diagonal angular field of 99 degrees, this lens is ideal for capturing unique images in landscape, architectural and astro photography and for impressive interior shots of small spaces,” continues Pollmann.

Features for discerning users

The super wide-angle camera lens has 11 lens elements in ten groups and draws on the ZEISS Distagon optical design. Four of the lens elements are aspheric on both sides and seven are made from special types of glass. The Floating Elements design permits constantly high image performance in the focal plane – from the minimum object distance to infinity.

The new ZEISS Batis 2.8/18 also features an innovative OLED display to show focus distance and depth of field depending on the camera sensor used. “The electronic display is easy to read even in low light,” explains Pollmann. The fast, quiet AF drive with linear motors keeps the subject sharply in focus. In addition to the autofocus, a handy, rubberized focus ring supports precise manual focusing – meaning the photographer has full creative freedom when it comes to image composition. ZEISS Batis lenses are also equipped with dust and weather seals, allowing them to be used in even the harshest weather conditions. All ZEISS Batis lenses support all the operating modes and functions of the current range of E-mount cameras.

The origins of the name Batis

Since 2013, new ZEISS lenses in one series have been given the same family name that conveys a common identity. These family names have been derived from the Latin names for birds. The name Batis is derived from a small bird that is found in the forests and scrub of Africa. These birds are characterized by great speed, excellent reflexes and boast a plumage rich in contrasts. Metaphorically speaking, this also applies to the ZEISS Batis lenses, whose fast autofocus enables photographers to capture stunning shots rich in contrasts.

In addition to the ZEISS Batis range of lenses, there are two further ZEISS ranges for Sony E-mount cameras: the ZEISS Touit and the ZEISS Loxia. 

Available from May 2016

Orders are now being accepted for the ZEISS Batis 2.8/18. The lens will be available from May 2016. The suggested retail price is €1,260 or US$ 1,499 (excl VAT) 2).

Zeiss Batis 2.8/18 specifications

Principal specifications
Lens type Prime lens
Max Format size 35mm FF
Image stabilisation No
Lens mount Sony E (NEX)
Aperture
Aperture ring No
Optics
Elements 11
Groups 10
Special elements / coatings 4 aspherical, 7 'special glass' elements
Focus
Minimum focus 0.25 m (9.84)
Maximum magnification 0.11×
Autofocus Yes
Motor type Linear Motor
Full time manual Unknown
Focus method Internal
Distance scale Yes
DoF scale Yes
Physical
Weight 330 g (0.73 lb)
Diameter 78 mm (3.07)
Length 80 mm (3.15)
Sealing Yes
Colour Black
Filter thread 77.0 mm
Hood supplied Yes
Tripod collar No

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Zeiss unveils super-wide Batis 18mm F2.8

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Lee Filters introduces updates to super-wide SW system to fit more lenses and reduce flare

28 Mar

A new version of the Lee Filters SW150 system holder has been introduced that allows compatibility with a broader range of extreme wide angle lenses, and which has been designed to reduce the impact of reflections from the rear surface of fitted filters. The Lee Filter SW150 Mark ll now allows the existing 150mm-wide filters that were developed for the original SW150 to be fitted to four lenses using model-specific adapter rings – with more on the way. Read more

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Lee Filters introduces updates to super-wide SW system to fit more lenses and reduce flare

Posted in Uncategorized