lens

Carl Zeiss has begun selling its first two Touit lenses for Sony and Fujifilm compact cameras, high-end prime lenses whose existence reflects the steadying maturity of the market for smaller "mirrorless" cameras.

The $1,250 Touit 2.8/12 and $900 Touit 1.8/32 autofocusing lenses are geared for the Sony NEX and Fujifilm X series of cameras, both of which employ an APS-C-sized sensor common in lower-end digital SLRs. That means the 12mm lens has a field of view equivalent to an ultrawide 18mm lens on a full-frame SLR, while the 32mm is equivalent to about … Read more

The world is changing fast for Sigma Chief Executive Kazuto Yamaki.

The leader of the Japanese camera lens manufacturer has some successes on its hands, most notably the recent 35mm f1.4 DG lens that's brought new cachet to the Sigma brand. But at the same time, new contenders in the camera market have shattered the stable dominance of Canon and Nikon.

Camera makers old and new have begun jockeying for dominance in the chaotic world of small "mirrorless" models that bring interchangeable lenses to cameras much smaller than traditional SLRs. Contenders there include Sony, Fujifilm, Panasonic, … Read more

LAS VEGAS -- You won't see a new phone from Nokia at CTIA, but the company did reveal it was expanding its already impressive Here Maps for Windows Phone 8 devices.

Available today is an update that will integrate the company's LiveSight augmented reality feature. Previously available only through the CityLens app, LiveSight pulls up nearby locations and displays relevant information like the type of business or attraction, the hours, the address and phone number, and customer ratings.

You access LiveSight mode through a dedicated control in the Here interface. Once activated, you'll see the points of … Read more

After keeping wildlife and sports photographers waiting for years, Canon has put a price tag on its 200-400mm supertelephoto lens with an unusual built-in 1.4x telephoto extender.

And it's not cheap: $11,799, at least on B&H Photo's preorder page for the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender.

Canon one-ups Nikon's $6,400 200-400mm lens with the 1.4x extender, which changes the Canon lens range to 280-560mm with a f5.6 aperture.

The built-in extender can be engaged by flipping a lever, a rapid operation that … Read more

When you're young and observing or experiencing abuse, especially when it involves people close to you, it can be hard to find the strength to talk to someone about it. An innovative new advertisement could help direct children -- without alerting their parents or others who may be threatening them -- that there's a way to seek help.

Spain's ANAR Foundation (Aid to Children and Adolescents at Risk) created an anti-abuse ad that uses lenticular printing to display two pictures that differ based on the viewer's height. The group created the ad to reach abuse victims who might be accompanied by their aggressor. … Read more

Admit it: Whenever you see someone using their iPad as a camera, you giggle. Maybe even snicker. That two-handed grip and big ol' viewfinder screen, that's just comedy. Especially when something like this happens.

On the other hand, the iPad 3, iPad 4, and iPad Mini all have a respectable 5-megapixel sensor, an IR filter, face detection, and some other solid digital-photography features. All that's missing is a zoom lens. (The iPads do offer digital zoom, of course, but that's to be avoided at all costs. It ruins photos.)

Enter Photojojo, the outfit known for making smartphone … Read more

Aiming to make it easier for photography enthusiasts to evaluate photo gear, DxO Labs today announced a new method of measuring lens sharpness it hopes will make more intuitive sense.

The idea, called the perceptual megapixel, shows how much of a camera's original sensor resolution a particular lens can preserve when factors such as lens sharpness, optical defects, and sensor pixel size are taken into account.

One example the company provides: on a 21.1-megapixel Canon 5D Mark II, the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG lens gets a score of 17.2 perceptual megapixels and the much higher-priced Carl … Read more

Photography diehards and fans of printed T -shirts will like Dodge and Burn's latest camera-inspired collection. The New York-based company's latest Evolution TLR design highlights the history of the Twin Lens Reflex camera, a medium format film camera used in the '60s.

The site also offers a variety of other print designs, from the iconic Leica rangefinder camera to the classic SX-70 Polaroid film camera. Each shirt is printed using plastisol inks to create designs with textures that have a vintage and worn-out effect. … Read more

Two new higher-end but not top-end lenses will arrive in December, the $1,500 EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM and the $850 EF 35mm f/2 IS USM, Canon said today.

The 24-70mm f4 lens, though not inexpensive by any means, extends a Canon tradition of offering intermediate models for enthusiasts and pros who don't necessarily want to pay more for top-end lenses -- in this case, the alternative is the $2,300 Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM introduced in February, whose f2.8 aperture enables photography in low-light shooting and with a blurrier background … Read more