Tag: Zoom Lens

  • Review: Sony SEL1670Z APS-C Lens

    Review: Sony SEL1670Z APS-C Lens

    Introduction

    The Sony SEL1670Z has been introduced to the market for some time. It is one of the few Sony native APS-C standard zoom lenses. 

    The little Zeiss blue badge indicates that this lens is designed to give a high-quality optical performance with the Zeiss T* coating, one Advanced Aspherical element, and one Extra-low Dispersion element.

    SEL1670Z - Side View
    (more…)
  • Review: Sony SEL2470Z

    Review: Sony SEL2470Z

    Introduction

    In short, the Sony SEL2470Z is a Zeiss constant aperture zoom lens with dust and moisture resistance for the Sony E-mount full-frame cameras. The lens comes with a “matched” price tag (SGD 1,599).

    SEL2470Z
    SEL2470Z
    (more…)
  • Review: Sony SEL18200LE

    Review: Sony SEL18200LE

    Introduction

    Sony had introduced three full-range zoom lenses into its E-mount camera system. They are the SEL18200, SEL18200LE, and the SELP18200. The SEL18200 is the largest and heaviest among the other two brothers, and it comes with a silver chrome body. The SEL18200LE is the lighter edition of the SEL18200, which is smaller and lighter and comes in a black body. Both of them use a mechanical zoom ring, while the SELP18200 uses the power zoom, which comes in a black body.

    SEL18200LE
    SEL18200LE

    The lens that we are going to review today is the SEL18200LE. Due to the full focal length coverage by the SEL18200LE, this review is extremely long. Please be patient and ready to go through the rest of this post to see how does this lens perform 😉 I provided a summary at the top of each testing section if you want to get the result at a glance.

    (more…)
  • Photography Tips: 5 Essentials to Get Bokeh

    Photography Tips: 5 Essentials to Get Bokeh

    Bokeh! A special optical effect that almost every photographer is pursuing. It is pronounced as “boh-kay”, which originated from Japanese that means something blurry. In the photography world, Bokeh is defined as how the lens renders the out-of-focus region. The Bokeh can be the background with a circular out-of-focus effect or smooth blur out-of-focus rendering background. There is some debating for the definition, but we treat both of them as Bokeh here.

    Circular Bokeh Effect
    Circular Bokeh Effect
    Bokeh
    Smooth Bokeh Rendering

    Bokeh is always one of the key difference between the interchangeable lens camera (ILC) and compact camera because it is challenging to get this smooth-rendered background from the compact camera. However, some people are using ILC but do not get the Bokeh effect as well. So we will have a look at what is essential to get the Bokeh in our shots.

    (more…)
  • Photography Tips: 5 Reasons to Own a Zoom Lens

    Photography Tips: 5 Reasons to Own a Zoom Lens

    Zoom Lens
    Sony SEL2470Z

    Zoom lens usually consists of one focus ring and one zoom ring, and the focal length indicator as shown above. 

    We discussed the reasons to own a prime lens in the last post – 5 Reasons to Own a Prime Lens, but that does not mean we should always use prime lens. Today I’m going to tell you why we should get a zoom lens as well.

    1. Convenience

    Would you like to bring along your whole prime lens collection that covering 24 mm to 200mm (5 to 7 lenses) when traveling? Or do you prefer to travel in a lightweight and enjoy your trip? If that is the case, a lens like 24-105mm standard zoom or 18-200 mm full-range zoom is the ideal choice. Of course, I assumed you did not take the constant F2.8 cannon-size zoom into account.

    (more…)
  • Photography Tips: 10 Consideration Before Buy a Lens

    Photography Tips: 10 Consideration Before Buy a Lens

    IIn the previous posts, we discussed 5 Considerations Before Buy a Camera5 Reasons to Own a P&S camera5 Reasons to Own a Mirrorless Camera, and 5 Reasons to Own a DSLR camera. If you buy a Point and Shoot (P&S) camera, then congrats, you can start your photography journey immediately. However, if you want to buy a mirrorless camera or DSLR, you must have at least one lens to pair with your camera before starting shooting.

    Sony A-Mount Lenses Image taken from: Sony Official Website
    Sony A-Mount Lenses Image taken from: Sony Official Website

    So which lens should you buy? How to choose a proper lens for yourself?

    1. Kit Lens

    Kit lens, a standard zoom lens that comes with purchasing your new camera at a very low price. It covers the standard zoom range from 28mm to 70 mm in 35mm equivalent for normal daily usage. If you are new to photography, a standard kit lens is enough for you to learn all the necessary skills for photography.

    (more…)