Demystifying Digital » Lenses

Mother’s Day Rebates: Tamron Limited Time Rebates On Two Popular All-In-One Zooms

Tracy Greene — Fri, 03 May 2013 11:00:16 +0000

Tamron USA has a special $50 Mother’s Day mail-in rebate on the award-winning 18-270mm Di II VC PZD All-In-One 15X zoom lens (model B008) for just eleven days starting May 3 through May 13, 2013. There is also a $30 rebate on the 18-200mm Di II All-In-One 11X zoom lens (model A14). The rebates are valid on purchases made at any Tamron USA authorized dealer from May 3-13, 2013. Rebate requests must be post-marked by May 27, 2013 to qualify. Download the rebate form here >>>
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Best Digital SLR Lenses: Tamron and Tokina

RoseEllen Sanfilippo — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:20:28 +0000

Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 Di VC Macro 1:1 USD

You can experience the full power of life-size macro with Tamron’s new 90mm f/2.8 lens—an updated version of the company’s renowned 90mm macro lens. The lens was refined for higher detail and sharper photos with a new eBand coating, which improves its antireflection performance to reduce flare and ghosting so you can make clearer, crisper photos. It also includes VC (vibration compensation) image stabilization to combat the effects of camera shake; now even in dim light you can shoot handheld with confidence.

Specifically for full-size Canon, Nikon, and Sony-mount digital SLRs, the upgraded lens features completely redesigned, state-of-the-arts optics. Two XLD (extra low dispersion) glasses and one LD (low dispersion) element reduce chromatic aberrations, so you get images with outstanding resolution. Its internal focus (IF) system, which focuses by moving only the…

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Pentax Offers Rebates on 645D System & Select Lenses Purchased with K-5 IIs DSLR

RoseEllen Sanfilippo — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 22:56:13 +0000

In conjunction with the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International Expo (WPPI), taking place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 11–13, 2013, Pentax Ricoh Imaging Americas Corporation announced consumer mail-in rebates on its 645D medium-format system as well as select Limited-series lenses when bundled with its K-5 IIs flagship DSLR.

The rebates, valid from March 11–31, 2013, range from $250 to $500. Photographers who…

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Olympus M.Zuiko ED 75–300mm f/4.8–6.7 II Super-Telephoto MFT Lens

RoseEllen Sanfilippo — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 11:03:21 +0000

Olympus is making super-telephoto shooting more accessible with the introduction of its economical M.Zuiko ED 75–300mm f/4.8–6.7 II lens (150–600mm equivalent). Olympus redesigned the lens to match its OM-D E-M5 and PEN Micro Four Thirds cameras and added a ZERO (Zuiko extra-low reflection optical) coating to keep scratches off and help eliminate ghosting and lens more »

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Sony E-Mount 20mm f/2.8 Pancake Wide-Angle & 18–200mm OSS Telephoto Lenses

Tracy Greene — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:10:16 +0000

Sony has expanded its Alpha E-mount lens system to 13 native E-mount lenses plus two converters with the introduction of its 20mm f/2.8 pancake wide-angle lens (SEL20F28) and 18–200mm f/3.5–6.3 OSS powered telephoto zoom lens (SELP18200). Both are compatible with all α E-mount cameras and semiprofessional camcorders.

SEL20F28. When you mount the SEL20F28 on any Sony α E-mount camera, the 20mm f/2.8 pancake lens creates a portable package designed for a range of everyday shooting opportunities, from…

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A Savvy Selection of 12 Enticing New Lenses

Tracy Greene — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:14:46 +0000

By Jason Schneider:

With increasing numbers of point-and-shooters moving up the ranks to acquire DSLRs and mirrorless compact system cameras (CSCs), and hordes of committed enthusiasts expanding and upgrading the capabilities of their new and existing interchangeable-lens systems, it’s not surprising that the interchangeable-lens market is red hot as we move into 2013.

Consumers feel that lenses are keepers that migrate with you as you upgrade to the latest cameras—they never go out of style and a lens that took great pictures five years ago may do even better when it’s mounted on the latest high-performance camera body. Not surprisingly, lenses also retain their actual monetary value a lot better than most cameras—a fact that’s pretty easy to verify by checking the eBay listings.

Interchangeable lenses also provide immediate real-world benefits by expanding your picture-taking possibilities, and as consumers become increasingly sophisticated, so do their lens choices. That’s one factor that accounts for the rapidly increasing popularity of wide-aperture prime (fixed-focal-length) lenses for DSLRs and CSCs, which provide shallow depth of field for portraits and gorgeous pictorial effects, along with extended low-light capability.

Other lens categories that have seen rapid growth over the past few years are ultra-wide-angle zooms, pro-caliber full-frame-coverage 24–70mm f/2.8 and 70–200mm f/2.8 zooms, macro telephoto lenses, and ultra-high-performance lenses for full-frame and medium-format cameras. Another trend: Quiet AF, a feature that will be much appreciated by the legions of photographers moving into HD video capture.

Here’s an enticing selection of the latest optical opportunities.

Samsung 12–24mm f/4–5.6 ED. Developed for Samsung NX-series cameras, this ultra-wide-angle zoom provides an equivalent focal length range of 18.5–37mm and incorporates one extra-low dispersion (ED) element and two aspheric lens elements aimed at delivering enhanced sharpness, color correction and freedom from distortion. Other features include Samsung’s i-Function ring for controlling camera settings from the lens and a minimum focus distance of 9.5 inches. $599. samsung.com

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70–200mm f/4G ED VR. Specifically aimed at providing…

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How to Make Environmental Portraits

Tracy Greene — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 11:03:33 +0000

An environmental portrait shows the subject encompassed in its surroundings. It reveals a habitat in which it belongs, lives, works, or plays. It provides a visual representation of what the human or wildlife subject does or who it is. Environmental portraits are frequently used in magazines, newspapers and by photojournalists recording images for varied publications. In a…

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DxO ViewPoint Restores Natural Proportions & Perspectives in Your Photos

Tracy Greene — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 12:47:09 +0000

DxO ViewPoint v1.1 is a software solution for Windows and Mac dedicated to correcting keystoning and shape deformations caused by wide-angle lenses. The latest version improves the accuracy of ViewPoint’s perspective and cropping tools, as well as its speed, for a better user experience.

DxO ViewPoint corrects the distortion of the subjects on the edges of images due to…

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Wide Angle vs Telephoto Lenses

Tracy Greene — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 11:51:51 +0000

Every category of lens focal length has its own characteristics. From fish eye to super telephoto, each possess inherent qualities.

©Russ Burden

Different families are fish eyes, super wides, wides, normal, telephoto, medium telephoto, and super telephoto. Add zooms to the mix that cover some of these families and it’s easy to see why beginning photographers find it difficult to decide what lens to add to…

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Tamron Roundup: See How Tamron is Helping Everyone Take Better Pictures

Tracy Greene — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 02:15:54 +0000

Tamron is a lens company that continues to impress. They truly want to help you take better pictures and are leading the way with innovative and interactive ideas. Here are a few of the ways you can use Tamron as a resource.

Iconic Places offers exclusive articles on their newly launched Tamron Lenses & How-To App. You’ll find professional photographers sharing photo and travel tips in the new Iconic Places category added exclusively to the how-to articles on the app. These articles cannot…

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