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| The Sigma 17-40mm F1.8 was one of our favorite lenses in a year of great lenses. Photo: Mitchell Clark |
We recently argued that this year had some of the most interesting camera releases that we've seen in a long time. But cameras are only half of the equation when it comes to photography, and, looking at our lens timeline, it's clear that it's also been a weird and wonderful year for optics, too.
We've seen interesting updates to bread-and-butter lenses, wildly ambitious primes and zooms, and things that we may never have thought to ask for, but are glad they exist. And, unsurprisingly, the innovations haven't all been happening at the major camera companies; you'll see Sigma, Viltrox, Laowa and others pop up just as often as we cover what's made this year such an interesting one for lenses.
The ground-breaking normal
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| Nikon's new standard zoom this year still managed to break the mold. Photo: Nikon |
While it's always fun to talk about exotic and specialist lenses, they're not what most photographers will end up buying and using. Thankfully, there have been several lenses that cover standard focal lengths and use cases, but that come with some eye-catching feature or innovation.
The quintessential example of this is probably Nikon's 24-70 F2.8 S II; it's a workhorse full-frame standard zoom, refreshing an option that, honestly, wasn't all that old. But with it, Nikon managed to do something that we hadn't seen before: make an F2.8 standard zoom with a fully internal zooming design, making it easier to handle and more weather resistant.
Speaking of standard zooms, how about a medium format one? Hasselblad's XCD 35-100mm F2.8-4 E is a 28-76mm F2.2-3.2 equiv., with a size and weight that's strikingly similar to its full frame counterparts. Paired with the company's new X2D II, it provided a walkaround photography experience that was so normal, you could be forgiven for forgetting you were using a camera packing a 100MP sensor.
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| Photo: Abby Ferguson |
Going the other direction, we also saw two great APS-C standard zooms this year. We're delighted that the Nikon Z DX 16-50mm F2.8 VR exists, though, arguably, it's mostly exciting because the company hasn't allowed anyone else to make that kind of lens for its Z mount cameras. What really impressed us was Sigma's 17-40mm F1.8 DC Art; it follows up on a legendary lens from the DSLR era, but now there are cameras that can actually focus it. Its price, size and weight are all really impressive given its fast aperture, and it's the kind of thing you'd only see from a company committed to driving APS-C systems forward.
Sigma also released the 35mm F1.2 DG Art II this year, which is smaller and lighter than its predecessor, making it an F1.2 prime you could conceivably walk around with. It's also somewhat affordable, at a fraction over half the price of the 35mm F1.2 Nikon put out this year. However, if you're looking for less expensive fast primes, it's hard to ignore what Viltrox has been doing with its Lab and Pro series this year, entries in which have garnered positive reviews, even when compared to more expensive options from more established brands.
We hope the 45mm F1.2 is just the beginning of a line of compelling budget options from Canon
And while we're talking about primes, it's also worth calling out Canon's latest 45mm F1.2, since its $470 price tag makes it the cheapest autofocus F1.2 lens we've ever seen. It's only 1/3EV faster than the F1.4 lenses Nikon's been releasing (which are faster focusing and a bit stronger when it comes to IQ), but we hope it represents just the beginning of Canon providing a line of compelling budget options to its mirrorless lineup.
Off the beaten path
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| The Sigma 135mm F1.4 isn't a compact lens by any means, but it's certainly a looker. Image: Sigma |
Of course, if companies had just come out with good versions of lenses we'd usually expect, this year would hardly be winning any superlatives. Thankfully, we've also seen a slew of lenses that did something completely new or provided an option that we haven't had for a long time.
Sigma was one of the leaders in this space, with several of its press releases starting by declaring a lens as a first at something; the first 200mm F2 for full-frame mirrorless systems, the first full-frame autofocus 135mm F1.4, the first lens for mirrorless with a 18.8x zoom ratio, etc. The company put out so many lenses that made us go "hold on, now, that's an interesting idea," that we potentially could've written this article based on its work alone.
Thankfully, we saw other brands trying new things, too. Perhaps the most notable is Sony's 50-150mm F2 GM. While we've seen other F2 zooms before, getting a telephoto option opens up a whole new world; it's a versatile lens that lets you achieve a large degree of subject separation, and that isn't an absolute beast to carry around with you.
This year also saw Nikon release its first full-frame power zoom lens, focused on video, Panasonic making a full-frame ultra-telephoto zoom lens that doesn't break the bank and takes teleconverters (partially made possible by a clever spring mechanism) and OM System coming out with its long-awaited 50-200mm F2.8.
Wait, weren't these supposed to be boring?
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Fujifilm's latest kit lens, paired with the X-T30 III, seems perfectly suited for the audience the camera's aimed at. |
Even the kinds of lenses that would usually be completely unremarkable have something that make them interesting, this year. Sigma and Tamron both released all-in-one zooms – the 20-200mm F3.5-6.3 and 25-200mm F2.8-5.6, respectively – which offer reasonable image quality for their range despite being shockingly small and light for full-frame lenses. Meanwhile, Fujifilm and Canon put out entry-level APS-C kit lenses that go surprisingly wide in a way that might appeal to people who are mostly used to shooting with their phones. The Fujifilm 13-30mm collapses, making it absolutely tiny when paired with a camera like the X-M5 or X-T30 III, and the Canon is a powerzoom with a remarkably quiet motor that you won't hear in your video.
Why is this happening?
While we've (perhaps over-throughougly) covered what made this such an interesting year for lens releases, that does raise the question: what made everyone suddenly start throwing a bunch of surprisingly good ideas at the wall?
The basics have been taken care of, it's time to get creative
While it's hard to say for sure, it's probably a similar story as it is with cameras; for most mounts, the basics have been taken care of, and there aren't any obvious holes in the lineup. There are some exceptions, sure (especially in APS-C land), but most photographers will be able to get most of the lenses they need. That leaves engineers free to work on less conventional ideas and to focus on things that they think might give their system a competitive edge.
Speaking of competition, customers have more and more options when it comes to standard lenses. If you're looking for a fast, autofocus prime on E or Z mount, you have not only the one or two options from Sony or Nikon, but upwards of half a dozen offerings from third parties like Sigma, Viltrox, Meike, 7artisans, TTartisan, the list goes on. It's possible the bigger brands are releasing lenses that they think won't be so easy to replicate in the near-term.
Whatever reasons the manufacturers have, it's a win for the rest of us. We here at DPReview appreciate having interesting things to test and write about, and consumers benefit from having even more options, including ones that may allow them to try out niche things they couldn't before. So here's to the year that came before, and to an even weirder 2026.
from Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com) https://ift.tt/1OYeErg