Zeiss Otus 55/1.4 vs. Sigma 50/1.4 Art vs. Nikkor 58/1.4G vs. Nikkor 50/1.4G vs. Nikkor 50/1.8G

Zeiss-Sigma-Nikkor

This test is a side-by-side comparison of the above lenses – meaning you will actually be able to see the exact differences in an A/B comparison. And well, C and D and E, too. This review is for anyone who is interested in seeing facts, instead of “Look-how-great-this-lens-is” images of lamps on bedroom ceilings. Speaking of this, I also wanted to use images that I’d actually shoot, and not pictures of the mess on my office desk or the storage in my back yard. Or stuff like that. You get the idea.

Interested? Good, let’s do this.

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Concerning the Nikkor 58G/1.4… (an invitation)

PS-Nikkor-58-14Since there’s so much debate about my verdict on the 58G:

Other than my up-front language suggests, I’m open to revise my assessment. I’m not only open, I WANT you to make me revise my statement. So, this is an invitation.

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Does Lens Sharpness Make A Difference?

Lens-Sharpness-TitleOk, so you’ve read an article where you’ve seen a lens performing extremely well with perceived sharpness. What you ask yourself is: Those comparisons always show images are at a 100% magnification. But the normal picture is viewed at a lot less magnification, say in forums, on Flickr and all those. So, does it really matter, this level of detail? When you rescale the image and sharpen, can you still spot the difference? Let’s check. Continue reading

Neutral Density Filters:
Are Haida Filters as good as B+W?

Are Haida Filters any good?

This review compares Haida ND Filters and B+W ND Filters.

Haida vs. B+W Test

The test compares Haida an B+W filters, more precisely the 10-stop ND filters available from both brands.

Haida Pro II MC ND 3.0 Filter Test

This is the normal version of the Haida filter frame.

Haida Slim Pro II MC ND 3.0 Filter Test

This Haida filter is the same multi-coated version, but with a slim filter frame.

Haida Slim ND 3.0 x1000 Filter Test

This is the first version Haida filter, with a slim filter frame and no coating.

Test B+W 110 ND 3.0 F-Pro MRC Filter

Are B+W Filters really the best?

I’m a big fan of cheap stuff that does a good job. Yeah, who isn’t. While there are many people who believe that a cheaper product is always worse quality, and, even worse, people who believe that an expensive product is always expensive because it costs more to make it better quality, there are always exceptions.

Recently, I came across the Haida Filter brand and became interested if they are one of those exceptions.

I have this rule that anything that I put in the optical path of my image should be best possible quality. So when I mount a filter onto my Tigmaron 28-300mm f/4.5-7.1 all-in-one zoom lens – nah, just kidding.

Not the Haida.

Haida filters are made in China, and they claim that they use Schott glass, suggesting good quality despite the lower price. The first versions weren’t even coated, meanwhile there’s a multi-coated version available, too, and they make slim and non-slim versions. Their 1000x ND filter that I was looking for costs around 30 Euros for the 77mm Slim version. There are a couple of people who got one and are totally content (if you understand German, check out this article by Gunther Wegener and this one by Stephan Uhlmann). But so far, I haven’t found anyone who compared those filters thoroughly. So, let’s do this. Continue reading

Jinbei besser als Profoto?
Vergleich von Profoto D1 500 Air, Jinbei DPs III 500 und Walimex pro VC-300 und VC-600 plus

Hinweis für den Neueinsteiger in diesen Artikel: Es gab einige Fragen und Kritik zur Vorgehensweise, insbesondere der Farbtemperaturmessung. Sobald ich dazu komme, werde ich den Artikel diesbezüglich ergänzen. Bis dahin kann sich jeder selbst ein Bild davon machen, inwieweit er Informationen vermißt oder Methoden fragwürdig findet, und entsprechende Kritik unten in den Kommentaren posten.

Um einem Mißverständnis gleich zu Beginn vorzubeugen: Alle folgenden Ergebnisse beziehen sich logischerweise ausschließlich auf die getesteten Geräte und nicht auf andere Marken. Wer also glaubt, er könnte hier Rückschlüsse auf Hensel oder Helios, Multiblitz oder Mettle machen, irrt. Vielleicht liefert der Test aber den Impuls, das mit seinem eigenen Blitz einfach mal selbst zu testen – das Setup (Seite 2) ist kein Hexenwerk. Viel Spaß!

Triptychon

Ich bin ein großer Fan von Aufräumen, spezifisch mit Missverständnissen, wiederum spezifisch mit den sog. Mythen, wiederum spezifisch mit solchen, die sich hartnäckig halten. Großartig im Bereich Fotografie ist dieser legendäre Artikel von Michael Hohner. Wer den noch nicht kennt: Einfach mal abchecken.

Und jedes Mal, wenn sich in irgendeinem Forum ein Einsteiger nach der richtigen Wahl für Studio-Blitze erkundigt, fallen ebenfalls schnell ein paar Klassiker. Schon mal gehört? Eine der zahlreichen Unterschiede zwischen den „richtigen” Studioblitzen gegenüber sog. „No-Name”-Dingern? Ein paar Statements, die so kursieren: Continue reading