Tag: #lens

DxO releases 1,693 new Optics Modules, providing unrivaled corrections for Canon EOS R6 Mark II, Fujifilm X-T5, Sony A7R V, and a selection of Sigma lenses

DxO’s Optics Modules offer unparalleled corrections, including unique lens softness improvements and distortion corrections that maximize field of view. DxO’s software now corrects more than 80,000 lens and camera combinations.

Paris (France): DxO, the company that has pioneered calibration-based optical corrections for 20 years, today announces its latest batch of Optics Modules. The release of 1,693 DxO Optics Modules includes support for the Canon EOS R6 Mark II, the Fujifilm X-T5, the Sony A7R V, five lenses from Sigma, and more.

For quality-conscious photographers, DxO Optics Modules are a wealth of individually tailored, laboratory-grade corrections, which present the most accurate and powerful route to improving image quality on the market. Superior to other optical correction software, DxO’s adjustments vastly improve results, whether they are applied to entry-level lenses or professional-grade glass.

Essentially, the performance of any lens can be boosted by processing RAW files with DxO software: PhotoLab, PureRAW, FilmPack, and ViewPoint.

A unique approach to defeating lens softness

All correction software offers digital sharpening to combat lens softness, but DxO’s approach is unique and superior, taking into account the varying levels of sharpness across a lens’s entire field of view. Rather than applying general sharpening across the entire image (as with lesser software), DxO Optics Modules target sharpening as required, such as when a lens gets progressively softer towards its edges.

As seen with the Sigma 65mm F2 DG DN, the boost in image quality by DxO Optics Modules makes it perform better in terms of sharpness and distortion (while also eliminating vignetting and aberrations). As illustrated below, nowhere is this clearer than in combating lens softness. 

 

  • The uncorrected lens displays a significant difference in sharpness between the center of the frame and the corners.

 

  • Typically, photo editing software uses a generic profile to make a global correction across the entire image based on the sharpening required at the center.

 

  • Edge of frame sharpening from Adobe Lightroom® (left) and DxO Optics Modules (right). Unlike Adobe Lightroom, DxO Optics Modules are able to progressively increase corrections away from the frame’s center, allowing for a sharper overall image.

Sophisticated distortion corrections deliver greater image area

DxO’s Optics Modules frequently deliver a greater image area thanks to more refined assessments when correcting distortions. When needed, DxO Optics Modules give photographers the option to gain extra image area when compared with the crop applied as the result of Lightroom’s corrections.

Intelligent control of chromatic aberration

In addition, DxO’s Optics Modules remove chromatic aberrations — both longitudinal, and lateral. Chromatic aberrations vary depending on the focal length and distance, and DxO’s algorithms take these into account in order to perform more accurate corrections. Colored outlines are removed without degrading the image’s color or detail.

Vignetting accurately removed

Finally, vignetting is resolved, correcting the darker edges of the frame that can occur in certain lenses and at specific focal lengths.

The most exacting science, the highest quality

Each DxO Optics Module is created using individual camera and lens combinations. This means that any minor differences in the performance of a sensor can be measured across all the examples of it in a manufacturer’s lens mount range. 

For instance, with the new Optics Modules for the Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS S, measurements were not made using just a single full-frame Alpha camera, but with almost every Sony camera on the market.

Latest DxO Optics Modules

The latest DxO Optics Modules update — available now — includes the following cameras and lenses, each optimized for specific camera and lens combinations:

 

  • Canon EOS R6 Mark II
  • Fujifilm X-T5
  • OM System OM-5
  • Sony A7R V

 

  • Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN | C (L-mount)
  • Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN | C (Sony FE)
  • Sigma 65mm F2 DG DN | C (Sony FE)
  • Sigma 65mm F2 DG DN | C (L-mount)
  • Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS S (Sony FE)
  • Tokina ATX-M 11-18mm F2.8 (Sony E)

 

About DxO

For over 20 years, DxO has blazed a pioneering trail in the fields of photographic science and digital image processing. Built on principles of technical rigor and ceaseless innovation, we were at the forefront of bringing RAW development to photographers, and continue to build the most powerful and versatile software on the market, all designed to offer the greatest image quality and creative freedom. Along with its exacting Optics Modules, available in all our products, we publish DxO PhotoLab, which won the EISA 2020-2021 award for Best Photo Software and the TIPA award for Best Imaging Software in 2020, 2021, and 2022; the award-winning RAW preprocessing and noise reduction software, DxO PureRAW; and Nik Collection, the renowned suite of creative plug-ins for Adobe Photoshop®, Lightroom Classic®, and DxO PhotoLab.

Find Your Fashion Inspiration with Google Lens

See an outfit that’s caught your eye or want to find a similar style of a sold out item? Google Lens can help you get your wardrobe summer style-ready by searching what you see.  Whether it’s an image that you see online, a photo you saved on your phone or something in the real world that catches your eye, Google Lens makes the products you see instantly shoppable. And this is something I use almost daily and find it a valuable tool and a fine example below is one with trainers who my readers know that I am an avid collector of Nike trainers.

Google Lens can also show you new ways to style clothes you already own. Give new life to that old top you haven’t picked up in a year—simply point Lens at it to see how others have worn a similar one and find pieces that might match it. So if you see a leopard print skirt you like on social media, take a screenshot and use Lens to see how other people have styled similar looks.

Grainne Binns & Tolü Makay

How to use Google Lens as fashion inspiration:

  1. On your phone or tablet, open the Google app or Google Photos

  2. Select a photo from your camera roll/take a live photo of an item of clothing

  3. Get reviews on the product, shop the item, find similar items or style inspiration

Google Lens is available on Android from the search bar widget on the homescreen, the camera app on many flagship devices, and in the Google, Google Photos, and Google Lens apps on any smartphone.

Sony Continues to Redefine Excellence in Imaging with the Introduction of the new FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II

Sony announced the newest lens in their G Master lineup – the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II​, which delivers an extraordinary combination of resolution and bokeh as well as unequalled AF (autofocus) performance known to Sony’s G Master design.

“Listening to our customers around the world, we decided to develop a new, improved version of our 70-200mm F2.8: the G-Master FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II,” said Yann Salmon Legagneur, Director, Product Marketing, Sony Europe BV. “The improvements in weight and focusing speed with this new lens are immense and will make a huge difference for both photographers and videographers. When used in conjunction with our compact and lightweight full frame bodies, Sony is providing an ideally balanced and extremely portable combination.”

Designed to perfectly pair with Sony’s E-mount camera bodies, the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II​ not only offers outstanding optical quality and advanced AF performance, but it is the lightesti F2.8 70-200mm zoom in the world and allows for unprecedented shooting freedom and flexibility. Sony continues to strengthen the Alpha system with this newest addition to the broadest selection of mirrorless lenses on the market as the 65th lens in its E-mount lens lineup.

New Levels of Performance

The new FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II​ delivers outstanding image quality with high resolution and clarity. Users can expect a clean and clear image from corner-to-corner throughout the entire zoom range, even when the aperture is wide open. Thanks to the two aspherical lens elements, including one XA (extreme aspherical) element manufactured to 0.01-micron surface precision, the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II​ effectively controls distance-related aberration variations to ensure outstanding resolution throughout the image area.

The FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II​ also employs two ED (extra-low dispersion) spherical glass elements and two Super ED spherical glass elements to significantly reduce chromatic aberration without colour bleeding. This lens also includes an ED aspherical element for the first time in an Alpha system lens, which simultaneously suppresses chromatic and spherical aberration, common issues in other telephoto lenses.

Smooth, beautiful bokeh is made possible by a large F2.8 maximum aperture and a newly developed 11-blade circular aperture unit. In addition, the lens’ advanced optical design including an XA element thoroughly suppresses the unwanted ‘onion ring’ effect, further enhancing the bokeh. The FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II​ also offers excellent close-up performance with deep bokeh. The minimum focusing distance is just 15.7 inches (0.4 meters) at 70mm and 32.3 inches (0.82 meters) at 200mm, with a maximum magnification of 0.3x.　Moreover, the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II​ can be easily paired with Sony’s high-performance 1.4x or 2.0x teleconverter to extend the lens’ focal length to 400mm at an F5.6 aperture, all while maintaining its G Master quality.

To avoid any unwanted flare and ghosting in challenging lighting conditions, Sony’s original Nano AR Coating II produces a uniform anti-reflection coating on the surface of the lens. In addition, the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II​’s optical design also effectively suppresses internal reflections to improve clarity.

Industry-leading Autofocus

The FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II​’s state-of-the-art lens technology brings out the best in the advanced camera body it is paired with. The new lens uses four Sony-original XD (extreme dynamic) Linear Motors for extraordinary fast and precise AF, making it up to approximately 4 times faster and with focus tracking improved by 30% when compared to the previous model. When paired with Sony’s flagship Alpha 1, the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II​ is capable of high-speed continuous shooting at up to 30 fps. Superb AF tracking is also available even when using a teleconverter. For video, the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II​ offers smooth and quiet AF to reliably lock in focus and track fast moving subjects, even while zooming so the user can leave the focusing to the camera.

​Advanced Features for Video

With its constant F2.8 maximum aperture, astounding AF performance, versatile control, and solid reliability, the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II​ is a perfect choice for video. The new lens was designed to dramatically reduce focus breathing, focus shift, and axis shift when zooming so that there is minimal unwanted image movement and angle of view variations.

For easy video-use operation, the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II​ features independent control rings for focus, zoom, and aperture (iris), allowing precise manual operation. The aperture ring also has a click ON/OFF switch. Additionally, Sony’s Linear Response MF ensures responsive, low-lag manual focus control. The supplied lens hood also features an opening that allows convenient operation of circular polarising filters or variable ND filters for more creative flexibility.

Designed for Professionals

The FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II​ is the world’s lightest F2.8 telephoto zoom lens and is approximately 29% lighter than previous model, weighing just under 37 oz (1,045g). In addition to its light weight, the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II​ was designed for professionals to offer an ideal balance without front-heaviness, ensuring that the lens’ centre of gravity falls directly above the tripod mount. It also features internal zoom to keep the centre of gravity constant.

The FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II​ has been specifically designed for professionals based on their direct feedback. The new lens includes focus functions to support the user’s professional needs such as Full-time DMF, natural and linear manual focus response, and a focus-range limiter switch. The FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II​ also includes three customizable focus hold buttons that are provided 90° apart for easy access and convenient control when shooting in horizontal or vertical orientation, and just about any angle.

The FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II​ features both a click ON/OFF switch and an iris lock switch for quick, flexible aperture control. The aperture ring click stops can be turned ON to provide tactile feedback when shooting stills, or OFF for smooth, silent aperture control when shooting movies. In addition, the zoom ring torque is optimised and now includes image stabilisation with MODE 3 for moving subjects.

The FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II​ is designed to be reliable in even the most challenging environments. It features dust and moisture resistance, equal to the FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS and FE 600mm F4 GM OSS, based on feedback from professionals. The front lens element features a fluorine coating that repels water, oil, and other contaminants, while making it easier to wipe off any contaminants or fingerprints that do become attached to the lens surface.

Pricing and Availability

The new FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II will be available in November 2021 at a variety of Sony’s authorised dealers, for an estimated retail price of €3,000/£2,600

For detailed product information on FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II​, please click here.

Sony Introduces Three New High-Performance 50mm 40mm and 24mm G Lenses to Full-Frame Lens Series. #Sony

Sony today announced three outstanding G Lenses to its impressive E-mount line-up – the FE 50mm F2.5 G (model SEL50F25G), FE 40mm F2.5 G (model SEL40F25G) and FE 24mm F2.8 G (model SEL24F28G) All three lenses deliver high image quality and beautiful bokeh in a lightweight and compact design, perfect for photographers and videographers alike who strive for standout shots and easy mobility. When paired with a Sony full-frame camera or APS-C, all three lenses boast high resolution, intuitive operability and fast, precise and quiet autofocus capabilities. The lenses have been introduced as the perfect set for photo and video for a wide range of uses including snap shooting, portraiture and landscape shots.

“At Sony we are constantly innovating to produce the tools that creators need to capture the beauty of this world” said Yann Salmon Legagneur, Director of Product Marketing, Digital Imaging, Sony Europe. “With superb resolution and mesmerising bokeh, all housed in a compact and sophisticated design, the FE 50mm F2.5 G, FE 40mm F2.5 G and FE 24mm F2.8 G enable users to experience the joy of owning lenses that capture different perspectives of the same scene”.

These three prime lenses each deliver a focal length for any shoot with the 50mm best for portraits, the 40mm optimal for still or movie snap shooting, and the 24mm ideal for landscapes. With their intuitive operability and superb build quality they are a fantastic set of three.

What’s more, the three lenses are all the same size (68mm diameter x 45mm), all have the same filter diameter (49mm) and are almost all the same weight (FE 50mm F2.5 G 174g, FE 40mm F2.5 G 173g and FE 24mm F2.8 G 162g) and internal focus so lens interchange is easy – even when using a gimbal. They feature the same stylish exterior design, but focal lengths are clearly marked for quick switches.

High resolution in a compact design

The FE 50mm F2.5 G, FE 40mm F2.5 G and FE 24mm F2.8 G deliver the high image quality of a G Lens, whilst being compact and lightweight. The image quality is achieved by state-of-the-art optics using aspherical elements and ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass elements[i], delivering high resolution and suppressing colour fringing. The aspherical elements ensure high resolution performance in every corner of the image, even from the widest aperture with shallow depth of field. Enjoy shooting in high resolution using a compact design.

The stunning bokeh of the G lens is achieved with the optimisation of a circular aperture and is delivered at the widest point of each lens (F2.5 at 50mm, F2.5 at 40mm and the F2.8 at 24mm).

All three lenses were carefully designed for optimum mobility and are compact and lightweight enough to suit any location. Whether shooting with a full-frame or APS-C body for portraiture, landscape, snap shots or movies with a gimbal and more, the size and weight are balanced perfectly. Experience the benefits of interchanging lenses to suit any scene or subject.

Focus distances

As well as the 50mm angle of view being perfect for portraits and snap shooting stills or movies, the FE 50mm F2.5 G has a minimum focus distance of 0.35m (AF) / 0.31m (MF) and maximum magnification of 0.18x (AF) / 0.21x (MF), meaning it’s ideal for a variety of scenes and objects.

The FE 40mm F2.5 G 40mm angle of view is ideal for snap shooting stills or movies with a minimum focus distance of 0.28m (AF) / 0.25m (MF) and maximum magnification of 0.20x (AF) / 0.23x (MF). Particularly for movie shooting, 40mm is the preferred angle of view as it corresponds to the natural field of vision and for stills, 40mm allows subjects to stand out against backgrounds.

With a wide 24mm angle of view, the FE 24mm F2.8 G lens is perfect in situations where the background is included, such as gimbal or selfie shooting with a grip attached. And with a minimum focus distance of 0.24m (AF) / 0.18m (MF) and maximum magnification of 0.13x (AF) / 0.19x (MF), you can also shoot close-ups with a blurred background.

High operability and reliability

Despite their compact size, the lenses feature a focus hold button, focus mode switch, aperture ring, and Aperture click switch for ideal operability. The focus hold button is customisable from the camera menu and can be assigned a function that the user prefers. The aperture ring provides a more intuitive and direct feel, compared to operating the aperture from the camera body when shooting either stills or movies. The aperture also provides switchable click stops that can be turned off for movie shooting using the aperture click switch. Furthermore, with Linear Response MF, the focus ring responds precisely and linearly when focusing manually so control feels immediate and intuitive, directly reflecting the intent of the photographer and allowing delicate focus adjustments.

The aluminium exterior and engraved Sony logo ensure a premium, sophisticated finish as well as increased strength and durability. Conveniently, the diameter of the filter threads on the hood and the lens barrel are equal[ii] (49mm), allowing the same cap and filter to be attached to both the hood and the lens barrel. The lenses are also designed to be dust and moisture resistant[iii] to ensure usability in any outdoor environment.

Fast, precise and quiet autofocus

The FE 50mm F2.5 G, FE 40mm F2.5 G and FE 24mm F2.8 G feature two linear motors to deliver fast, precise autofocus (AF) with excellent tracking performance which is maintained despite instantaneous changes in subject motion – making the lens ideal snapping moving subjects. The AF is also quiet, so works for both still and movie shooting.

Pricing

The FE 50mm F2.5 G, FE 40mm F2.5 G and FE 24mm F2.8 G lenses will be available in April 2021 at a variety of Sony’s authorised dealers, for an estimated retail price of £630 and €700 each.

For detailed product information on the three lenses, please visit:

A variety of exclusive stories, videos and exciting new content shot with the newest cameras and other Sony products can be found here. Sony’s European photography hub is available in 22 languages and details product news, competitions and an up-to-date list of Sony events in each country.