Tokina AT-X 16.5-135mm f/3.5-5.6 DX

'Tokina AT-X 16.5-135mm f/3.5-5.6 DX'

Tokina’s 16.5-135mm zoom might be the only lens that some users ever need. Its 8x zoom range is impressive in its own right but even more so taking into account the 16.5mm wideangle starting point. The lens is also usefully compact although it has a significant mass and may start to feel heavy on a long trek.

The front half of the lens barrel is home to manual-focus ring, which is enabled on the camera body rather than on the lens itself. The ring has a light touch and a very short throw of only about 30; it is complemented by a focused-distance scale but there are no depth-of-field markings.

The rear half of the lens barrel is filed with a generously-wide zoom ring that, on the review sample, felt rather stiff. Extending the lens to its maximum focal length approximately double its overall length. There’s reversible, petal-type lens hood but there is no image stabilization system, which would be useful at longer focal lengths.

Read More......

Sony 20mm f/2.8

'Sony 20mm f/2.8'

Sony’s 20mm f/2.8 lens has been around for some time. Curiously, Sony’s website says that the lens has a focus-lock and a focus-limiter but in fact neither of these features is provided (nor necessary) on this lens.

This is a cleanly-designed lens with a super-sleek appearance. The manual-focus ring is tucked away on the flared flange at the front of the lens but can be easily located when required. This is important because the manual-focus ring rotates in AF mode so needs to be kept unobstructed when it is not being deliberately deployed.

A generous focused-distance window fills the main part of the lens barrel and is accompanied by full-frame depth-of-field markings. And that’s it: there are no switches, sliders or push-buttons. Changing between AF and MF modes is carried out focusing  a switch on the most on the host camera body, not on the lens itself.

A petal-type lens hood is included and can be reversed for storage. A soft drawstring pouch is also provided: this is slightly on the large side but it protects the lens from dust and knocks when it is being carried in a jacket pocket rather than a bespoke camera bag.

Read More......

The Histogram

While reviewing images on the rear screen of your camera can sometimes be enough to assess whether the exposure is correct or not, it should only be used as a rough guide-surrounding lighting conditions can distort what you seen on screen, and on bright days, can make it hard to see the screen at all.

The best way to check exposure when you're reviewing your images is to review the histogram for the image. The histogram is a graphical interpretation of the image, showing the spread of tones - the left hand side showing the darkest areas, while the right hand side shows the light areas.

There's no such thing as a good or a bad histogram - it simply shows you the tonal range of the image. A well - exposed image will have peaks that are evenly distributed across the image, while overexposed shot will have the graph clumped over to the right - hand side, with the opposite being the case for an underexposed shot.

Read More......

SIX MOST FAVOURITE of LENS

1.       Fixed Focal Length

Fixed lenses offer some advantages over zoom. They’re generally smaller and lighter, with wider maximum apertures and superior image quality. An ultra-fast (eg f/1.8) 50mm lens is perfect for low light, 85-105mm is ideal for portrait, while a fast 300m (or longer) tele is a popular addition to any wildlife or sports shooter’s kit.

2.       TELEPHOTO ZOOM

Telephotos make subjects seem closer. They’re great for sport and wildlife, while short teles are good for portraits. Telephotos magnify camera shake, so consider one with Image Stabilisation if your camera doesn’t already have it, or buy one with a wide maximum aperture.

Read More......