Boasting the title of the world’s first aspherical f/0.95 prime lens is the Leica 50mm f/0.95 Noctilux-M ASPH.

‘Breaking the optical sound barrier of lens speed, 1.1 has been the Holy Grail of lens design for many years,’ said Leica in a statement. ‘Notably, the Canon 0.95 ‘dream lens’ was a bold attempt. However this was prior to modern aspherical lens technology.’

Leica bills the lens as the fastest (35mm camera system) aspherical lens.

The firm claims its new star delivers less distortion and vignetting compared to Leica’s 50mm f/1 optic.

Leica trumpets benefits including ‘a depth of field so shallow as to allow the most aesthetic portraits or detailed studies… low light becomes even less of a barrier’.

Hand assembled in Solms, Germany, it doesn’t come cheap, priced £6,290.

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Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S The fastest and widest of Nikon’s full-frame zooms, this pro lens ($1,800, street) scales up to 21-36mm on the Nikon D300. Introduced with the full-frame D3 and unofficially matched to Nikon’s 24-70mm and 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses, this superfast, constant-aperture, full-framer is almost in a class by itself.

HANDS ON: A large chunk of glass, with a fixed lenshood, this internal-focusing Nikon weighs a hefty 2.19 pounds. It incorporates expensive, high-tech aspheric and low-dispersion glass elements. Distinguished by a large black-on-gold “N” (for Nikon’s flare-resistant Nano Crystal Coating), its matte-black finish, large ribbed and rubberized focus and zoom collars, and bright gold markings make for a very attractive package. Both collars turn well, although the zoom action is a little uneven and rough, and manual focusing a bit loose.

Autofocus is absolutely silent, fast, and accurate on our test camera, the D3. As you would expect from such a big lens, when mounted on the smaller D40x, it throws a shadow at all zoom settings when used with the camera’s built-in flash. Due to its ultrawide angle of view and fisheye-like convex front element, this lens is that rarity that makes no provision for front- or rear-mounting filters.

IN THE LAB: Sharpness and contrast, as measured by the SQF system, were in the Excellent range at the three tested focal lengths. DxO Analyzer 2.0 distortion tests revealed its true forte: Visible barrel distortion at 14mm (0.51%); Slight barrel at 18mm (0.12%); and Imperceptible pincushioning at 24mm (0.02%) — incredible distortion control by ultrawide, full-frame standards.

Source: www.popphoto.com

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Click photo for more images of the Ricoh R8.

Ricoh has upgraded its Caplio R7 point-and-shoot with the R8. The R8 uses a new 10-megapixel sensor and 460,000-pixel, 2.7-inch LCD, and retains the f/3.3-5.2, 28mm-200mm 7.1x zoom lens and sensor-shift optical image stabilization of its predecessor. Ricoh has made a few changes to the design of the ultracompact camera as well. The R8 sports a rubber grip, new strap eyelets, a metal top cover, and metal detailing on the lens barrel, mode dial, and shutter release. In addition, the camera’s Adjust button functions have been expanded for more efficient menu navigation.

Other notable new features include a 1:1 aspect ratio shooting mode, a minimum-aperture-priority mode that sets the lens at the minimum aperture and calculates exposure automatically, selectable autofocus and autoexposure points, and two selectable zoom speeds. There are also new fine-tuning controls for brightness, contrast, and color tone, as well as in-camera cropping.

Like previous Caplio R models, the R8 offers a macro mode that can focus as close as 1 centimeter at wide angle and 25 centimeters at telephoto, a top light-sensitivity setting of ISO 1600, and a shutter speed range of 1/2000 to 8 seconds. The camera does not offer manual or priority modes (except for the minimum-aperture mode), but it does provide some exposure flexibility with autobracketing and a spot meter.

Pricing and availability have not yet been announced.

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Pre-PMA 2008: As part of Sigma’s bumper lens launch, it has announced what might be the ultimate wildlife lens. Sigma claims the APO 200-500 f.2.8 is the world’s first lens to offer an f/2.8 aperture at 500mm focal length. It comes with an "attachment" to give users a handy 400-1000mm f/5.6 option. The lens (which is cosmetically reminiscent of a piece of military hardware) weighs nearly 16kg and uses a dedicated Li-ion battery to provide power for focusing and zooming. It will be available in Sigma, Canon and Nikon mounts.

Press Release:

An ultra telephoto zoom lens offering a fast aperture of F2.8 at the 500mm focal length

The Sigma Corporation is please to announce the new APO 200-500mm F2.8/400-1000mm F5.6 EX DG
Lens.

• The world’s first ultra telephoto zoom lens that offers a fast aperture of F2.8 at the 500mm focal length.
• The dedicated “Attachment” ensures autofocusing at the 1000mm focal length.
• SLD and three ELD glass elements provide high image quality from the maximum large aperture
• Supplied with ø72mm filter holder at the rear

This lens is the world’s first ultra telephoto zoom lens that offers a fast aperture of F2.8 at the 500mm focal length and F5.6 at the 1000mm. It covers widely used focal lengths from 200mm to 500mm and as a large aperture of F2.8 throughout the entire zoom range. This lens can be used to create amazing image expression with various types of photography such as astrophotography, portraits, wildlife, sports. SLD (Special Low Dispersion) glass and three ELD (Extraordinary Low Dispersion) glass elements provide excellent correction for all type of aberrations.

The super multi-layer lens coating reduces flare and ghosting and provides high image quality from the extremely large aperture. The lens hood, designed exclusively for this lens, blocks out extraneous light. A 72mm filter can be inserted at the rear of the lens, and a circular polarizing filter can be used in situ thanks to the ingenious internal rotation mechanism. The dedicated Li-ion battery BP-21 is used to power the zooming and AF operation. This battery is built in the lens barrel. For the convenience of the photographer, focusing distances and focal lengths can be viewed on the lens`s built-in LCD panel.

Sigma lens specifications

Source: www.dpreview.com

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ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 50-200mm f2.8-3.5 SWD Lens

The ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 50-200mm f2.8-3.5 SWD is a high-performance super-telescopic zoom lens that features, for the first time, the SWD (Supersonic Wave Drive) autofocus system and covers a zoom range equivalent to 100mm to 400mm of a 35mm camera lens. ED lens elements are used extensively to correct the color blurring that can occur when telescopic lenses are extended to their maximum focal length, while the digital-dedicated design ensures high-definition performance with clear, crisp images from edge to edge. Close-up shooting capability is also superb, with a minimum shooting distance of just 1.2 meters throughout the zoom range.

Autofocus is powered by Olympus’ breakthrough SWD, enabling this lens to achieve an AF speed about two times faster2 than the previous ED 50-200mm f2.8-3.5 model. The ideal partner for the E-3, this lens maximizes that camera’s high-speed autofocus capability, and with its superior tracking capability, this lens is ideal for sports photography and outdoor shooting applications.

Source: www.livingroom.org.au

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