Lenses
16 Great Mirrorless Camera Lenses
March 26, 2019
Sigma 40mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art
With an optical design aimed at minimizing axial and magnification chromatic aberration, Sigma promises this new Art lens will deliver plenty of sharpness while shooting wide open. Capable of resolving up to 8K resolution during filming and plenty of pixels in still shooting, the lens is available for Sony E-mount cameras (as well as Canon and Nikon DSLRs). Its nine rounded aperture blades stop down to f/16 and the lens can focus on objects as close as 15.7 inches from the front of the lens with a magnification of 1:6.5.
Rokinon 35mm f/2.8 FE
Rokinon’s wide-angle Sony-mount lens offers autofocusing and multi-coatings to reduce flare and ghosting. It has a seven-blade aperture that stops down to f/22. The 35mm is capable of focusing on objects as close as 13.7 inches and accepts 49mm filters.
Zeiss Batis 2/40 CF
The 40mm f/2 Batis is built for Sony E-mount cameras and is able to focus on objects as close as 9.4 inches with a magnification ratio of 1:3.3. The lens supports autofocusing and features
Zeiss’ T* coating to reduce reflections. It’s sealed against dust and moisture, and has an OLED display to read out distance and depth-of-field information. It stops down to f/22.
Leica APO-Summicron SL 90mm f/2 ASPH
According to Leica, “state-of-the-art, extremely precise manufacturing methods and measuring technologies” were developed for the 90mm SL full-frame lens. Autofocusing is driven by a new Dual Syncro Drive stepping motor system which can travel the entire focusing range in 250 milliseconds, Leica says. This lens has an apochromatic to minimize chromatic aberration, and it stops down to f/22. The 90mm f/2 can focus on objects as close as 23.6 inches with a magnification of 1:5.
Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 50-200mm f/2.8-4 ASPH
With a 35mm equivalent focal length of 100-400mm this telephoto zoom is dust-, splash- and freeze-proof, with Panasonic’s Nano Surface coating to reduce flare and ghosting. The 50-200mm lens has a built-in image stabilization system and is compatible with Panasonic camera bodies that support the company’s dual stabilization technology (where the lens and camera body stabilizer work in tandem to deliver a sharper image). It has an inner focus drive system and a micro-step drive for accurate aperture control.
Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S
One of three new native lenses for Nikon’s full-frame mirrorless Z camera system, the 50mm f/1.8 is a speedy standard prime lens. The lens uses Nikon’s Nano Crystal Coat to reduce flare and ghosting, and features a dust-and weather-resistant build. It has nine aperture blades that stop down to f/16. It can focus on objects as close as 1.32 feet with a magnification of .15x.
Venus Optics Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D
One of the widest rectilinear f/2.8 lenses you can buy for APS-C mirrorless cameras, the 9mm has an optical design to minimize wide-angle distortion. Offering a 35mm equivalent focal length of about 13mm, the 9mm f/2.8 weighs in under .5 pounds and measures 2 inches long. It has seven aperture blades and can focus on objects as close as 12cm with a magnification of 1:7.5. It has a 49mm filter thread and accepts screw-in filters. It’s available in Fuji X, Canon M and DJI DL mounts.
Sony 24mm f/1.4 GM
The 24mm f/1.4 is a member of the company’s premium G-Master line of E-mount optics. According to Sony, the new lens is the lightest and most compact in its class at 15.7 ounces and 3 x 3.64 inches. It uses Nano AR coating to reduce flare and ghosting, and a pair of extreme aspherical (XA) elements to combat sagittal flare. The lens packs a new DDSSM (Direct Drive SSM) that delivers approximately three times greater thrust than the previous focus system for a faster, more accurate performance. You can focus on objects as close as .79 feet from the front of the lens. On the design front, there’s an aperture ring, a customizable focus-hold button, and a focus-mode switch to bounce between automatic and manual focusing. There are 11 aperture blades that stop down to f/16.
Olympus M.ZUIKO Digital ED 17mm F1.2 PRO
With a 34mm-equivalent focal length this new PRO series lens delivers “feathered bokeh” when shooting with a shallow depth of field, Olympus promises. It uses Z Coating Nano technology to reduce flare and ghosting, and is dustproof, splashproof and freezeproof (down to 14°F/-10°C). You’ll find a programmable L-Fn button and a manual focus clutch, which lets you switch between auto and manual focusing by pulling the focusing ring toward the camera body. The lens has nine aperture blades and stops down to f/16.
Hasselblad XCD 80mm f/1.9
The fastest lens Hasselblad has ever built is designed for its X1D mirrorless medium-format camera. It features a twin motor drive to power autofocusing. It supports close focusing up to 28 inches and stops down to f/32. Like all of the other XCD lenses, the 80mm uses a central shutter for flash sync speeds up to 1/2000 sec. It accepts 77mm filters.
Voigtlander Macro APO-LANTHAR 110mm f/2.5
This manual focusing lens for Sony E-mount cameras offers a true macro (1:1) image reproduction. The 110mm f/2.5 lens can stop down to f/22 and has 10 aperture blades to bring the bokeh. It has electronic contacts to transfer EXIF data to Sony camera bodies and to support Sony’s MF Assist function.
Canon RF 35mm F1.8 MACRO IS STM
One of four new native lenses for Canon’s EOS R, the 35mm Macro has a magnification of .5x. It delivers five stops of image stabilization and can focus on objects as close as .56 feet. The lens barrel features a control ring that you can program to adjust different camera settings (aperture, shutter speed, etc.). If you want the control ring de-clicked, you can send it to a Canon service shop (for a fee).
Tokina FiRIN 20mm f/2 FE AF
The newest lens in Tokina’s lineup of Sony full-frame optics, the FiRIN 20mm supports autofocusing and Sony’s MF Assist functionality. Thanks to electronic contacts on the lens, you’ll enjoy in-camera aperture control, optical corrections and support for image stabilization. The lens’s nine-aperture blades stop down to f/22 and you can focus on objects as close as 11 inches from the front of the lens.
Fujifilm Fujinon XF 8-16mm F2.8 R LM WR
This wide-angle lens maintains a constant maximum aperture of f/2.8 as you zoom and has a 35mm-equivalent focal length of 12-24mm. According to Fujifilm, the lens sports a floating lens element that adjusts according to the position of the zoom, ensuring edge-to-edge sharpness while also correcting the field curvature typically found in ultra-wide angle lenses. The 8-16mm lens is weather-sealed and can operate at temperatures as low as 14°F/-10°C. It uses a linear motor to drive autofocusing and Nano GI coating to reduce flare and ghosting.
Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD
According to Tamron, its Sony E-Mount lens’s RXD (Rapid eXtra-silent stepping Drive) has been designed to strike a balance between speed and low noise so you won’t pick up AF sounds during video recording. The lens can focus on objects as close as 7.5 in. at the wide-angle zoom setting with a maximum magnification of 1:2.9. At telephoto, you can focus on objects as close as 15.3 inches from the lens with a magnification of 1:4. There’s a nine-blade aperture that stops down to f/22. The lens elements are coated with Tamron’s Broad-Band Anti-Reflection coatings to minimize flare and ghosting. Tamron’s lens supports all of Sony’s lens features such as in-camera lens correction, eye AF, Direct Manual Focus (DMF), camera-based lens firmware updates and Fast Hybrid AF. You’ll enjoy weather resistance and fluorine coating on the front lens element to make it easier to clean. See the full review here.
Kipon Elegant
Kipon is the first third-party lens maker to offer lenses for both the EOS R and Nikon Z series. The new Elegant line consists of five f/2.4 prime lenses for both camera systems: a 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 75mm and 90mm. All of the lenses will stop down to f/16.
starting at $325 (50mm) | kipon.com
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Roger Cicala On What to Look for in a Prime Lens
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