Introduction
Nikon Zf | Laowa 9mm 5.6 | f/5.6I am always looking forward to put this recap together, so without further ado let’s have a look at some of the highlights of 2024 together.
Videos and Social Media
A big novelty of 2024 was, that Martin also started offering some of his reviews in the video format and after only a few attempts they look very professional now.
You can find all his video reviews on our Youtube account, like and subscribe!
If you are not aware we also have:
A Discord server since the beginning of 2023, which has over 500 members now.
And Martin keeps taking good care of our Instagram account.
Reviews
Thanks to Martin’s support we managed to publish at least two new articles every week in 2024, many of which were reviews. We published reviews of:
- 23 E-mount lenses
- 13 M-mount lenses
- 22 Z-mount lenses
- 13 F-mount lenses
- 8 lenses for other mounts
I think we managed to strike a good balance of modern high performance lenses, affordable modern lenses as well as some exotic vintage lenses and also some “youngtimers”.
Several of these reviews have only been possible thanks to some of you parting with their beloved lenses for a few weeks, so that we can review them. You know who you are, thanks a lot for that!
Nikon Z6 | Megadap EFTZ211 | Canon EF 85mm 1.2L USM II | f/1.2I am still trying to fill in the gaps, so you can always have a look at my list of lenses I would like to review. If I don’t get back to you it is most likely because I am already too busy with other lenses and I am always trying to prioritize the more exotic ones.
I want to keep all the guides up-to-date as well, but in 2024 I did not yet find the time to do that properly. I did try a new format called “Lens Reviews in one Sentence” though, doing the same thing in an even more distilled way.
Highlights
Nikon Z 58mm 0.95 S Noct-Nikkor
Now obviously I have to start this list with Nikon’s f/0.95 lens. A lens so exotic, you couldn’t find any decent review discussing it – that is until now. It really showcases what can be done when there are little restrictions regarding size, weight and price in place.
There is no doubt, the Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM and Nikon Z 50mm 1.2 S are better choices for most people and also for these two you got in-depth reviews this year.
Nikon Zf | Nikon Z 58mm 0.95 S Noct-Nikkor | f/0.95When it comes to zoom lenses I think Sony is the manufacturer with the most innovative offerings these days and the Sony FE 12-24mm 2.8 GM and the Sony FE 20-70mm 4.0G are both testaments to that.
Sony FE 12-24mm 2.8 GM
Once Nikon was the company offering the best ultra wide angle zooms, but their Nikon Z 14-24mm 2.8 S looks like an outdated lukewarm update to the famous Nikon AF-S 14-24mm 2.8G, whereas this Sony lens actually pushed the limits of the f/2.8 ultra wide angle zooms by adding an impressive 12mm setting.
Sony A7III | Sony FE 12-24mm 2.8 GM | 12mm f/11Sony FE 20-70mm 4.0 G
While the aforementioned 12-24mm 2.8 GM is more of an exotic specialty lens, this Sony FE 20-70mm 4.0 G with its impressive zoom range is a lens for everyone. Having that zoom range in such a compact lens surely meant some compromises had to be made, but after having used this lens I could never go back to a 24-70mm 4.0 or 24-105mm 4.0. To me this is the most versatile standard zoom lens ever made.
Sony A7III | Sony FE 20-70mm 4.0 G | 20mm | f/4.0Laowa 10mm 2.8 AF
Many people have been waiting for it and for their tenth anniversary it finally happened: the first Laowa lens with autofocus has been released. The initial demand could not be met, but now this lens is finally readily available.
Sony A7III | Laowa 10mm 2.8 AF | f/5.6There are some expensive lenses on this list, but I also really like to see well made affordable ones, and that is what the three following lenses are.
Pergear 14mm 2.8 MK II
The first generation of this lens wasn’t really something special so I did not expect much when this updated version was announced, but we were pleasantly surprised by this well made, capable yet affordable ultra wide angle lens.
Nikon Z6 | Pergear 14mm f/2.8II | f/8TTArtisan 75mm 2.0 AF
Good optical quality, nice bokeh, autofocus, compact and affordable, what else you need?
Nikon Zf | TTArtisan 75mm f/2 | f/2TTArtisan 75mm 1.5 Biotar
In 2023 TTArtisan released the 100mm 2.8 Trioplan replica which was a huge success, so it was obvious they would come out with more lenses like that and in 2024 they chose to release a replica of the famous Zeiss 75mm 1.5 Biotar.
What I really like about TTArtisan is that they offer these lenses at reasonable prices, unlike some scam companies we had seen in the meantime.
Nikon Zf | TTArtisan 75mm f/1.5 | f/1.5Viltrox 28mm 4.5 AF Pancake
Viltrox is another lens manufacturer giving us actually innovative lenses and the 28mm 4.5 Pancake surely is one of those. It is a quirky lens, but it is also tiny and very affordable. A 28mm you can carry everywhere. The nifty 50 finally has a companion now, the 28 mate.
Sony A7III | Viltrox AF 28mm 4.5 FEThypoch 28mm 1.4, 35mm 1.4 and 50mm 1.4 Simera lenses
While many companies started making lenses for photography and afterwards released Cine lenses, DZO went the other way and after making a name for themselves in the Cine market are now offering photography lenses under the Thypoch brand.
In terms of optical performance these Simera lenses get a lot right and they do not only feature some of the best polished aspherical elements I have seen so far, but also the best diaphragm construction, which actually strikes the balance between perfectly round out of focus highlights slightly stopped down and nice sunstars stopped down further. I hope we will see some lenses with more unique specifications from them in the future.
Leica M10 | Thypoch 50mm 1.4 Simera | f/1.4Leica 35mm 1.4 FLE MK II
Before we talked about many innovative lenses, but this Leica 35mm 1.4 FLE MK II is the exact opposite of that. In my opinion it is merely a low effort cash grab attempt. I was also shocked that Leica cameras secretly alter your raw files taken with this lens to give the impression of less high vignetting, even when having all the corrections in camera turned off. For the asking price this should be a lot better than it is.
Leica M10 | Leica 35mm 1.4 FLE MK II | f/1.4After my Super Fast 50mm M-mount Lens Comparison in 2023, in 2024 I made a similar comparison of fast 28mm lenses. Martin also compared a bunch of 35mm lenses from different eras.
Sigma 28mm 1.4 Art | Nikon AF-S 28mm 1.4E | Nikon AF 28mm 1.4D | Laowa 28mm 1.2 Argus | Thypoch Simera 28mm 1.4 | Voigtländer VM 28mm 1.5 NoktonThis blog has been educating people about different sensor filter stacks and what they mean for us for years, so I built up on that and assembled a follow-up article, this time showing not only resolution but also bokeh differences of the same lenses used on no less than four different cameras. This article also gives us a better understanding of how M-mount lenses work on Z-mount cameras.
The article where I tried Speedboosters on fullframe cameras has also generated way more interest than I expected, seems there are some tinkerers among you.
Zhong Yi LensTurboII and Nikon AF 85mm 1.4D via Pixco Speedbooster on Sony A7rIII also bought the Nikon to Sony Monster Adapters LA-FE1 and LA-FE2 that are supposed to allow Sony users the usage of F-mount lenses with well working autofocus. There are some caveats as discussed in my review, but I am amazed we have options like this keeping old autofocus lenses alive.
Monster LA-FE1 | Monster LA-FE2The price for this year’s most obscure review goes to the TTArtisan Dot Sight though. A small device to help you frame birds and other small animals. I barely knew these things existed, but Martin sure made good use of it and many people were interested in learning more about it.
Supporting Us
I also want to use this opportunity to thank everyone who used our donation buttons, which helps us a lot with creating new content. Some of you even added small notes to the donations and you can be assured we read all of them with great joy.
We do not reply each one of you individually (getting the E-mail addresses from Paypal is also very time consuming) but I promise every message is being read thoroughly.
Some people even set up monthly or yearly donations this way, which shows how much trust you put in us to keep creating interesting content. We will sure try not to disappoint you.
via Paypal (BastianK)
via Paypal (Martin)
For those that are new here (Welcome!) some additional information I am sure the regular readers are already aware of:
Martin and I have our own donation buttons as well as affiliate links, so the money donated or generated through the links goes directly to the author of that article where you clicked on the button or link.
Sony A7III | Tokina 17mm 3.5 AF AT-X Pro | f/11 | PolarizerThese donations allow us to sometimes buy a lens with the sole purpose of reviewing it and selling it afterwards, which cannot always be done without a loss. For reviews I usually have to buy higher priced (used) lenses from a dealer, to be able to return them if they are faulty. These lenses are then being sold afterwards at a lower price on the blog/ebay/online forums. The first place I share when such lenses are available is our Discord Server.
What the Future brings
Nikon Zf | FTZ II | Nikon AF-S 28mm 1.4E | f/1.4As many of you already noticed I became a father in 2024. You have to thank my wife here for me still being able to work on new articles for you. This also led to me being more interested in AF lenses and I decided to buy some F-mount ones, as these currently strike a balance between optical quality, bokeh and price that I find quite appealing. So there will be more reviews of Nikon lenses from the AF-S era and also a guide discussing them.
Currently I am working on reviews of some higher end E-mount lenses though, the Sony FE 70-200mm 2.8 GM OSS II and the Sony FE 85mm 1.4 GM II. I am sure many people are waiting for my review of the updated 85mm, so that has a bit of a priority now.
Nikon F80 | Ektachrome 100 | Nikon AF-S 24-70mm 2.8G | 24mm | f/11For the fans of the Analogue Adventures I also have good news: after I have been mainly shooting Color-Negative film so far, we will next have a look at the Slide films still available. We will start with Ektachrome 100, Provia 100F and Velvia 100.
When it comes to new lenses there will also be surprises, as there are still new players (and this time from Europe) entering the market.
Nikon Zf | FTZ II | Nikon AF-S 58mm 1.4G | f/2.0As always I hope, many of you will keep following us on that journey to find out what the future in the world of photography and lens design brings.
Further Reading
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My name is Bastian and I am your expert here when it comes to ultra wide angle lenses, super fast portrait lenses (ranging from a 50mm f/0.95 to a 200mm f/1.8) and I also have reviewed way too many 35mm lenses. Don't ask me anything about macro or wildlife shooting though.
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