Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM

A winning formula

Type of lens: Wide-angle prime Year: 2015 760g

Building on the success of the original, the Mark II ups its game, being the first lens to feature Canon’s BR (Blue-spectrum Refractive) optics. Based on an organic material that’s engineered at the molecular level, it refracts short-wavelength light particularly effectively. Used in conjunction with UD (Ultra-low Dispersion), Super UD and fluorite glass, the overall design delivers fabulous sharpness and contrast, with negligible colour fringing. Price when new: £1,599/$1,699

Buy it second-hand at MPB: bit.ly/100mpb4

hile the latest edition of Canon’s 70-200mm f/2.8 lens is merely a minor refresh, the f/4 lens launched at the same time is a major upgrade. Improvements include a completely redesigned optical path, a faster autofocus system, and a tricked-up image stabiliser with three switchable modes and up to five-stop effectiveness. Refreshingly light but beautifully built, it’s a great performer with an alluring price tag.

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anon’s EF 50mm f/1.2 lens has been a long-time favourite of photographers hankering after low-light performance and a tight depth of field. The RF edition for mirrorless full-frame cameras dwarfs its older sibling and is nearly double the weight. Indeed, it has nearly twice the number of optical elements, but it really bigs up the image quality in all respects.

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Denoting the size of the lens aperture, calculated as focal length / pupil diameter. A low number indicates a larger opening; a high number identifies a smaller opening.

When all of the optical components are flat or form part of a sphere. This is sometimes attributed to achieving superior out-of-focus areas.

Duplicated image detail, which is caused by light reflecting internally between the lens elements and back onto the sensor, but in a different location.

A predetermined distance beyond which objects will be rendered ‘acceptably sharp’. Calculated as focal length² / (f-number circle of confusion).

xThe image that is projected by the lens. The diameter of the projected image must cover the entire sensor area in order to avoid vignetting.

A system using movable lens elements to compensate for shift in camera position during exposure. This reduces blur and enables handheld exposures in lower light.

A system that shifts the position of the optical lens elements within the lens barrel, so that the front element does not rotate or extend. This is useful when you fit a lens filter on the front thread.

Optical glass with superior refractive properties. LD, ELD or ULD glass converges light of varying wavelengths more successfully, reducing fringing and chromatic aberration.

The size of a projected image to the size of the real-world object. For example, a coin measuring 22mm across is magnified with a ratio of 1:1 (life size), so the projected coin is also 22mm across.

A term for a lens’s horizontal axis (across the middle), which is perpendicular to the diagonal plane.

DIGITAL CAMERA 99

ust as with the 50mm f/1.2 lens, this new RF edition is a reinvention of an EF-mount classic. This time around, autofocus is much quicker, and bokeh is even more beautiful than in the older lens. The latter remains so even when you stop down a little, thanks to a much better-rounded diaphragm. Build quality is superior as well, with the inclusion of weather seals. It’s an absolute dream for portraiture and still-life photography.

Jor a tilt-shift lens, you’d probably go for a wide-angle option that’s ideal for correcting the perspective in architectural shooting and the like. Canon’s TS-E 17mm and 24mm lenses fit the bill perfectly but we’re even more impressed by the 50mm, 90mm and 135mm Macro editions. These also enable you to shoot extreme close-ups with a much larger depth of field than usual.

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ne of Fujifilm’s ‘red badge’ flagship lenses for its APS-C format X-mount cameras, this one gives a generous 24-84mm effective zoom range, with a fast and constant f/2.8 aperture. Typical highlights include a compact and reasonably light yet sturdy, weather-sealed and beautifully finished construction. Handling benefits from the design include a physical aperture ring, while the high-tech optical path delivers superb image quality.

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hoehorning a modestly wide viewing angle and fast f/2 aperture into a small, lightweight yet beautifully engineered package is something that Leica has been doing at the highest level with its Summicron 35mm lenses, all the way back to 1958. The third edition was launched back in 1979, with seven optical elements and a 10-blade diaphragm. It remains an absolute classic, despite being discontinued in 1996, when it was replaced by the current ASPH edition (pictured).

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pectacular for landscape photography, this lens has excellent corner-to-corner sharpness and an attachment thread for the easy fitment of filters. It’s also reasonably compact and light, as well as featuring the bonus of optical stabilisation. It beats the wider, faster Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 lens, which many regard as more of a ‘classic’, in all these respects. For our money, however, the latter now loses out to the directly competing Sigma Art lens.

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here’s no surprise that Nikon closely matches Canon when it comes to big-gun super-telephoto primes. Again, there are 500mm and 600mm f/5.6 options to choose from, as well as an 800mm f/5.6. Nikon also adds a 500mm f/5.6 PF (Phase Fresnel) lens to its super-telephoto line-up. Our overall favourite is this relatively fast 400mm f/2.8 lens, which is simply magnificent.

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ikon’s Z-mount full-frame cameras are refreshingly diminutive, but the DX-format Z 50 takes downsizing even further. The same goes for this kit zoom lens which, thanks to its retractable design, shrinks down to practically pancake proportions for stowing away. It’s incredibly light as well, partly thanks to its plastic rather than metal mounting plate, but certainly goes large in terms of image quality.

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his dinky little telephoto zoom has an effective range of 80-300mm, giving impressive reach from such a small and light lens. Despite being very inexpensive to buy, the 40-150mm features ED and high refractive index elements, and a fast yet smooth and virtually silent autofocus system that works equally well for stills and movie capture. At the price, you simply can’t go wrong.

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his first version of the legendary 50mm Super-Takumar lens was only manufactured for two years and famously used radioactive glass in its construction. Despite the 1960s design, centre sharpness is amazingly good even when you shoot wide-open, while bokeh is lusciously smooth. Control over colour fringing and distortion is also very impressive. Overall, this lens is the stuff of legends, and rightfully so.

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entax launched this full-frame compatible lens at a time when it only manufactured APS-C format DLSRs. It’s naturally come into its own with the subsequent launch of the K1 full-frame series, but it gives a mighty 230-690mm effective zoom range on crop-sensor bodies. High-tech and feature-rich, it’s a lens that packs plentiful on-board controls and delivers upmarket performance.

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amyang now makes no less than nine autofocus prime lenses for Sony E-mount cameras, fully compatible with both full-frame and APS-C format bodies. The 50mm f/1.4 was first out of the traps and remains one of the best. The classic standard focal length and fast aperture combine to deliver excellent versatility and image quality. If you’d rather have something smaller and lighter, check out the newer AF 45mm f/1.8 FE.

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reaking into superzoom territory, this lens has a mighty 27-202.5mm effective zoom range on Sony’s APS-C format mirrorless cameras, yet it’s impressively compact and light, and comes complete with optical image stabilisation. The widest available aperture shrinks to f/5.6 at the long end, but that’s not bad in the current mirrorless climate. With in-camera corrections, the lens is capable of great results.

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ike many modern macro lenses, this Sony works as well for general shooting as it does for extreme close-ups, especially as it features a three-way focus range limiter and optical image stabilisation. Like many Sony lenses, it also comes complete with a useful customisable focus-hold button. Image quality is nice and sharp, and remains so even at the very narrow apertures often preferred for macro shooting.

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his triumphant 35mm prime was designed by Tamron to celebrate 40 years of the company’s Super Performance line-up. As such, the developers were keen to make it the best Tamron lens ever, and we think they’ve succeeded. Sharpness is epic right out to the extreme corners, even when you shoot wide-open, while bokeh is beautifully soft for a 35mm lens.

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amron has a legendary line of 90mm macro lenses that run through its history pages, but the latest is undoubtedly the best. As we’ve seen in some Canon macro lenses, it has a hybrid image stabiliser that compensates for X-Y shift as well as angular vibration, making it particularly effective for extreme close-up shooting. Exotic glass and a combination of nano-structure and conventional coatings boost image quality.

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ith a name derived from

‘sonne’, meaning ‘sun’, this game-changer of a lens combined a fast aperture with a small and lightweight build. Although mostly a favourite for rangefinder cameras, Sonnar lenses of longer focal lengths have also been used with SLRs. Proving that it’s more than stood the test of time, the latest C Sonnar T* 50mm f/1.5 ZM edition is still on sale today.

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£184.95 £89 (excellent)