There is a large number of third party lens attachments for smartphones available. You can choose from fisheye, wide-angle, macro or tele lenses, or even attach an entire camera module. The Micro Phone Lens Kickstarter project is different though. It’s a minuscule lens attachment made from a scratch-proof polymer that turns your smartphone or tablet into a microscope with a 150x magnification factor. Learn more
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Lensbaby is well known among DSLR photographers for its array of special-effect lenses. Now the Portland, Oregon-based company wants to expand into mobile photography and has launched a Kickstarter project to fund the final development stage of its Lensbaby Sweet Spot lens for iPhones. Learn more
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
One of the drawbacks of running a company devoted to renting out photographic equipment is that it’s necessary to evaluate and service equipment just about every time it comes back. That’s why the team at LensRentals.com have just purchased and installed a massive and cumbersome looking lens calibration system. In one of the geekier unboxing articles, they show every step of the assembly of the device. Learn more
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Zeiss will have its new Compact Zoom CZ.2 15-30mm T2.9 lens on display at this year’s National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas, April 7-10. The new lens fills the wide-angle gap in Zeiss’ cine-style zoom lineup, complementing the already available CZ.2 28-80mm T2.9 and CZ.2 70-200mm T2.9 lenses. Also at the show will be a new Arri/Zeiss Master Anamorphic MA 135mm T1.9 lens. Learn more
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Sony has announced its new Alpha 3500 (a3500) which, at this point, is only for the Australian market. The camera is identical to the a3000, with the exception of a new kit lens. This 18-50mm F4.0-5.6 lens is less impressive than the 18-55 F3.5-5.6 that came with the a3000, as it’s shorter, slower, and lacks image stabilization. The a3500 will be available soon for AU$ 499.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
With its 16MP ISOCELL 1/2.6-inch sensor, F2.2 aperture, 4K video, reflector integrated LED-flash, water-resistant body and hybrid AF-system, the recently announced Samsung Galaxy S5 looks like one of 2014’s hottest options for mobile photographers. However problems in the manufacturing process of the S5’s new 6-element lens could delay its release in some markets. Learn more
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
We’ve revamped two of our most popular site tools – our camera and lens feature search pages. We didn’t want to completely reinvent the wheel, and changes mostly relate to design and user experience. The tools now look friendlier (we think), search options should be a little more logical and the process of narrowing down searches should be less confusing. We’ve also added a few new fields here and there while removing some outdated ones. Click through for links.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Fujifilm has announced firmware updates for five X-series cameras and three zoom lenses. It adds XF 56mm F1.2 lens compatibility to the following cameras: X-Pro1, X-E1, X-E2, X-M1 and X-A1. Improved optical image stabilization functions are added to the XC16-50mm, XF18-55mm and XF55-200mm lenses; the latter two also gain improved AF focus tracking on the X-E1 and X-T1. Get the updates
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Sigma gives us another behind the scenes look at their Aizu, Japan lens factory in a video released during the CP+ trade show. It’s an artsy factory tour highlighting the craftsmanship and the process of how their lenses are assembled. They released a similar video during Photokina 2012 and have since gained some popularity with their higher end 35mm F1.4 DG HSM and the 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM lenses. See video
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
SLR Magic has created the Anamorphot 1,33x – 50, an accessory lens for film makers that compresses the image horizontally by a factor of 1.33x. This allows footage to be shot for 2.35:1 widescreen projection using the standard 16:9 aspect ratio that most cameras record, without having to crop vertically and lose resolution. The lens will be available by March 2014 and cost $ 899.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)