BUYERS’ GUIDE GEAR
CANON 24-50MM F/4.5-6.3 IS STM £380/$299 canon.co.uk Canon’s latest RF-mount lens is a cost-effective, light optic, ideal for smaller full-frame cameras. The 24-50mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM is compact with quiet autofocusing thanks to an STM motor and minimal breathing. It supports image stabilisation with 4.5 stops. The lens incorporates a focus control ring on the barrel, directly adjusting shutter speed, aperture, exposure compensation and more via custom functions. At the front of the lens, the ring effectively adds a third dial to the main and quick control dial. Image quality is good as it uses two aspherical elements and a Super Spectra Coating, minimising ghosting and flare in its construction of eight elements in eight groups. It weighs only 210g/0.5lb and is just 69.6x58mm/2.7x2.3in long, although this increases to 134.6mm/5.3in at full extension.
T here is nothing that can beat the pure convenience of a zoom lens, especially one with a fast maximum aperture. Being able to re-frame your image without moving the camera can be a real time-saver. And by choosing a wide focal length – standard or telephoto – the look of your images will be different. It’s like having a few prime lenses all at once, although without the benefit of superfast apertures, of course. With so many mirrorless and cinema cameras having advanced AF systems, often a hybrid of phase detection and contrast detection systems, many people employ autofocus lenses. These can be from manufacturers’ own lens ranges, but there’s also an enormous choice of independent-brand lenses. These indie optics are not lesser copies, but often rival marque-brand glass, even surpassing them with more features. For the serious cinematographer, there are also standard-range zoom cine lenses designed to reduce focus breathing and zoom shift, which can blight AF lenses for stills cameras. We take a look at some of the best AF and MF zooms to suit all needs and budgets. Many filmmakers select a zoom lens as their everyday workhorse, so we examine the best standard zooms on the market
Pros: Small and compact Cons: Not the most advanced construction
SAMYANG AF 24-70MM F/2.8 FE £698/$789 samyanglens.com
Samyang’s AF 24-70mm f/2.8 FE might not be a direct copy of Sony’s original G Master version, but it looks like it’s been heavily influenced by it. Both have the same aperture range, nine rounded iris blades, 82mm front filter thread, similar close focus distance and are within a few millimetres of each other in size. Both come with a petal lens hood and are weather sealed. The Samyang has a slightly less advanced optical design with one fewer special lens element, and weighs in at 210g/0.5lb (23% more). But it costs under half the price. There is a two-position mode switch on the Samyang, meaning in M1 the focus ring acts as a conventional manual focus ring, but in M2 it becomes an aperture adjustment ring. You can change settings by plugging the lens into a Samyang Lens Station.
Pros: A bargain lens that performs Cons: Fly-by-wire manual focusing
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