s. Let’s take a look at a portion of the opulent optical barrage that came from Cologne.
Tamron
Tamron showed an attractive SP AF 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for APS-C-format cameras that goes wider, longer, and a tad faster then their popular 11-18mm. In addition, Tamron unveiled Soiny and Pentax mount versions of their fast long tele-zoom the SP AF 70-200mm f/2.8 (IF) Macro that’s quite compact despite its reach and speed and covers full frame cameras. It also gets down to just below 1 meter at all focal lengths for a maximum magnification ratio of 1:3.1.
Tamron’s esteemed tele-macro, the SP AF90mm f/2.8 was shown in Nikon mount with built-in motor. Said to be digitally optimized, its gets down to 1:1. Finally, we were able to handle the previously announced 15X Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical (IF) Macro with built-in Vibration Compensation and can report that its handling and finder image stability are excellent.
Sigma
Sigma came through with two exciting new fast fisheyes for Pentax and Sony mount APS-C format DSLRs, a 4.5mm f/2.8 circular-image fisheye with a minimum focusing distance of under six inches and a maximum magnification of 1:6 which makes it useful for creative close-ups, and a full frame 10mm f/2.8 fisheye with 180-degreee diagonal coverage that gets down to 1:3.3 and focuses closer than one inch from the front element.
Sigma also unveiled a new 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM lens using ELD and SLD glass for superior correction, has a Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM), covers the full-frame format, and is available in Sigma, Nikon, Canon, Pentax, and Sony mounts. Sigma’s final entry is a high speed medium telephoto lens for Four Thirds format DSLRs, the 50mm (100mm equivalent) f/1.4 EX DG HSM that gets down to about 18 inches for a maximum magnification ratio of 1:7.4 and has shallow depth of field at wide apertures for pleasing pictorial effects.
Leica
Leica showed a fascinatingly fast and admirably adept trio of ASPH lenses in M-mount that fit the new Leica M8.2 and the M8, as well as the 35mm M7 and MP. The Noctilux-M 50mm f/0.95 is the fastest M lens ever and it uses aspherical surfaces, exotic glass, and advanced multicoating to achieve outstanding image quality. It is said to perform as well as the acclaimed 50mm f/1.4 Summilux ASPH at f/1.4 and at smaller apertures, and to outperform previous ultra-speed lenses at maximum aperture. It’s priced at a breathtaking 10 grand, but rumor has it that demand has outpaced supply by a considerable margin.
Equally impressive are two new ultra-wide lenses that also qualify as the fastest ever in their class, the Summilux-M 21mm f/1.4 ASPH and 24mm f/1.4 ASPH. Rounding out Leica’s new M lenses is an exquisitely compact, lightweight Elmar 24mm f/3.8 ASPH.
Zeiss
The venerable firm of Carl Zeiss announced a bunch of new Zeiss ZF lenses in Nikon mount lenses at Photokina. The new Distagon T* 35mm f/2 and Distagon T* 25mm f/2.8 both cover the full-frame format and are said to deliver ultra-high imaging performance. The acclaimed Distagon T* 21mm f/2.8 (shown), now available in Nikon, Canon and Pentax K mount, is claimed to provide outstanding performance even at maximum aperture thanks to its floating element design and T* coating.
Beside the wide angle lenses Zeiss also unveiled a pair of Super Fast ZEISS ZF Macro Lenses in Nikon F Mount. At f/2, the new Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 2/50 ZF and Makro-Planar T* 2/100 ZF are the fastest macro lenses currently available for for 35mm full-frame shooting A floating element design enables the Makro-Planar T* 2/50 ZF to deliver very high image quality over the entire focusing range.
The Makro-Planar T* 2/100 ZF employs an optical design originally developed for high-end cine applications and is said to deliver extraordinary optical performance never before available for still photography. Both wide-aperture macro lenses have very shallow depth-of-field at their widest apertures, allowing photographers to use selective focus to isolate the subject from distracting backgrounds.
Carl Zeiss really took the Photokina cake with its incredibly huge, stupendously expensive Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 1700mm f/4 lens designed to fit a 6x6cm Hasselblad 203FE. Weighing in at a staggering 564 pounds, it is claimed to be the largest telephoto lens ever made for non-military use, and it employs a unique focusing method (that is, servo controlled aiming and focusing mechanisms) because of the unprecedented weight of each element. The lens was custom designed for an unnamed private owner—some writing on the lens is in Arabic and it bears a State of Qatar emblem. Zeiss is keeping mum about the price too, which is, quite literally, princely, but they did say the lens has 15 elements in 13 groups and that the owner has a keen interest in long distance wildlife photography.
On a slightly more modest, but still gargantuan scale is the Sigma APO 200-500mm f/2.8, which comes with an optically matched, dedicated 2X tele-converter that transforms it into a 400-1000mm f/5.6 without sacrificing any optical performance. Shown in pre-production form at PMA 2007 it’s now officially on the market. Unlike the aforementioned Zeiss 1700mm f/4 which costs as much as a fair sized yacht, Sigma’s long, fast tele-zoom can easily be transported by two average-sized guys and you can actually purchase one for a mere $24,000.
