Photography equipment and software reviews for nature photographers.
Zeiss Batis 18mm f2.8 – Review
I have to confess at the outset something unusual for a landscape photographer, I've never been much of a fan of ultra-wide lenses. In part this is because ultra-wide landscapes are difficult to compose, but mostly it's that I've never worked with a truly sharp lens below 24mm. I'm sure there are a few out there, just not ones that have...
Zeiss Batis 18mm f2.8 – Sample Images
As the sample images demonstrate, the Batis f2.8 18mm is remarkably sharp over most of the frame right from wide open. Only the corners suffer some softness. Note that the lower right corners of the mountainside shots are soft at wider apertures because of limited depth of field. The lens was focused on the distant mountainside and the lower right...
Sony A7RII Field Review – Part 1
Technology In A Box - This is a field review of the Sony A7RII as a landscape camera. The focus is primarily how well the camera functions in the field, as well as image quality considerations in landscape photographs, leaving technical studio details to the many camera review sites. I've been working with the A7RII for about six months in a variety...
Sony A7RII Field Review – Part 2
Technology In The Field - Image quality is perhaps the single biggest priority for landscape photographers looking to print large. To be sure, lenses and shooting techniques are a huge component of producing high quality images. But the quality of the imaging electronics inside a camera puts an absolute ceiling on what is possible. The imaging sensor combined with...
Canon Pro-2000 And Pro-4000 Printers
Canon recently announced four new wide format printers as upgrades to their current fleet of professional printers. The Pro-2000 and Pro-4000 are 24 and 44 inch printers respectively, targeted at the photography and fine art markets. The "S" models of those printers trade some precision for speed, aiming squarely at the signage markets. Notable upgrades over Canon's existing...
Phase One XF 100MP
At the beginning of the year, Phase One of Denmark broke a glass ceiling by introducing a 100 megapixel medium format camera, the XF 100MP. The introductory price has been set at an eye watering $48,990, which includes a Schneider Kreuznach 80mm LS lens. It is billed as the ultimate camera, and may well be the finest imaging device ever offered this side of the Defense Department. The specs...
