A macro lens provides a new way to look at the world. When you’re so close to a tiny subject, you start to see details that are invisible to the naked eye. Insects look like they’re from Star Wars, flowers have intricate parts, and the colors are more prominent. Even everyday things like a key or a spiderweb take on a new look.
Macro lenses are specialized so that they magnify the world without adding distortion. Most telephoto lenses have a focal length of 80mm or longer, which allows them to do double duty as a portrait lens.

This guide helps you pick the right macro lens for your system without wasting time sorting through dozens of similar-looking options. We chose lenses that consistently deliver sharp detail, smooth focus handling, and reliable performance across Canon RF, Nikon Z, Sony E, Fujifilm X, Micro Four Thirds, and L-Mount. And because macro photography can be demanding, we highlight the strengths and trade-offs you should expect before buying.

Our Picks

This guide highlights the strongest macro lenses across each major mount. Macro photography depends heavily on magnification, working distance, stabilization, and optical clarity. The lenses selected here consistently deliver reliable performance in real-world close-up shooting, from product photography to insects and fine-detail textures.

Canon’s RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM leads the pack with its extended 1.4x magnification and close-range stabilization, making it one of the most flexible macro options for full-frame shooters. Nikon’s Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S remains the benchmark in the Z system thanks to its long working distance, vibration reduction, and consistently sharp S-line optics. Sony’s FE 100mm f/2.8 Macro GM OSS brings 1.4x magnification and optical stabilization to E-mount, offering close-up capability that goes beyond traditional one-to-one.

For Fujifilm users, the XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro provides true one-to-one reproduction, optical stabilization, and weather sealing, making it the strongest APS-C macro in the system. Micro Four Thirds shooters get the highest-magnification autofocus option available with the OM System 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO, which delivers 2x life reproduction and has in-lens stabilization. And for L-mount, Sigma’s 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art combines strong optical consistency with a comfortable working distance, making it the most balanced all-around macro choice for Panasonic, Leica, and Sigma bodies.

Our Picks at a Glance

Canon RF

Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM

What We Think

The Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM is a full-frame macro lens offering 1.4-times magnification. Hybrid Image Stabilization helps control motion at close distances. Weather sealing and L-series optics make it suitable for outdoor and studio macro work.

Reasons to Buy

• 1.4× magnification provides more reach than standard 1× macros
• Hybrid IS helps stabilize close-range handheld work
• Weather-sealed build for outdoor macro shooting
• Consistent sharpness across the frame.

Reasons to Avoid

• Focus shift can appear at certain distances
• Larger and heavier than many competing 100mm macros
• Not the quietest AF at very close focus distances

Specifications

• Magnification: 1.4 times
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.26 meters
• Stabilization: Hybrid Image Stabilization
• Weight: 730 grams

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I’ve shot with the Canon RF 100mm f/2.8. It’s the most capable all-around macro lens in Canon’s system because it goes past the traditional 1× limit, and is still a great portrait lens. Being able to shoot at 1.4× magnification gives you more room to work with smaller subjects without needing adapters or diopters, and the Hybrid IS actually very useful when shooting handheld at very close distances. It also transitions well outside strict macro shooting — the working distance and rendering make it a solid choice for product photography and controlled studio setups.

Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro

What We Think

The Laowa 100mm f/2.8 provides two-times life-size magnification for extremely small subjects. Its apochromatic design reduces chromatic aberration at close range. Manual focus enables precise adjustments for controlled macro shooting.

Reasons to Buy

• True 2× magnification without accessories
• Apochromatic optics reduce fringing at close focus
• Good working distance for a 2× lens
• Solid build with minimal focus breathing

Reasons to Avoid

• Manual-focus only
• No weather sealing
• No image stabilization
• Can be challenging handheld at 2×

Specifications

• Magnification: 2x
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.25 meters
• Stabilization: None
• Weight: 638 grams

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This lens is one of a handful of third-party lenses for Canon, and it’s a great macro lens as long as you don’t need to rely on autofocus. Since so many macro photographers change focus by moving the camera, the lack of autofocus is less of a problem than, say, in a portrait lens. This great lens is available for several mounts, and while it’s one of the oldest lenses in this guide, it holds up incredibly well against newer glass.

Nikon Z

Nikon Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S Nikkor

What We Think

The Nikon Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S delivers consistent sharpness across the frame. Its 105‑millimeter focal length provides a useful working distance for insects and product photography. Vibration Reduction improves handheld stability during macro shooting.

Reasons to Buy

• High optical quality
• Strong macro performance
• Useful working distance

Reasons to Avoid

• Reduced autofocus speed at close range
• Limited stabilization on some models
• Working distance challenges at higher magnifications

Specifications

• Magnification: One times
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.29 meters
• Stabilization: Vibration Reduction
• Weight: 630 grams

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The Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S is Nikon’s most consistent macro performer, offering strong optics, a useful working distance, and stabilization that makes handheld macro more realistic. At 1× magnification, the lens maintains clarity from edge to edge, which is a big deal when you’re shooting small subjects with complex textures.

The S-line coatings help keep contrast stable even in patchy natural light.

When not shooting macro images, the lens is a good (but not amazing) short telephoto lens. Autofocus performance for non-macro shots is good, but again not on the level of Nikon’s portrait-specific lenses.

Beyond macro, it doubles well as a general-purpose short telephoto. The rendering is clean, the weight is manageable, and autofocus performance is predictable for both macro and non-macro shoots.

Laowa 90mm f/2.8 2× Ultra Macro APO (Z mount)

What We Think

The Laowa 90mm f/2.8 is designed for mirrorless systems and provides two-times magnification. Its compact build is unusual for a lens capable of extreme macro work. Apochromatic optics help preserve clarity and color accuracy at close distances.

Reasons to Buy

• True 2× magnification in a compact design

• APO optics control color fringing well

• Lightweight for an extreme-macro lens

• Specifically optimized for mirrorless flange distance

 

Reasons to Avoid

• Manual-focus only

• No stabilization

• Very short working distance at 2×

• Not weather sealed

 

Specifications

• Magnification: 2x
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.20 meters
• Stabilization: None
• Weight: 619 grams

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The Laowa 90mm f/2.8 is compact for a lens that captures up to 2x life-size magnification, a range I refer to as “hyper macro.”

This lens was designed specifically for mirrorless cameras instead of being an SLR-era lens with a built-in adapter. I have not tested this lens personally, but have seen images from this lens, and they’re excellent, especially considering the lens is about a third as expensive as the Sony 100mm f/2.8 Macro GM.

As with most Laowa macro lenses, it’s a manual-focus lens that takes a bit more patience to get a perfect shot, but many photographers use manual focus instead of autofocus for this hyper-macro range.

This lens is also available for Sony’s E-Mount.

Sony E

Sony FE 100mm f/2.8 Macro GM OSS

What We Think

The Sony FE 100mm f/2.8 Macro GM OSS offers 1.4-times magnification for close-up subjects. Optical SteadyShot stabilization supports handheld shooting. The floating-focus system maintains detail during close-range adjustments.

Reasons to Buy

• 1.4× magnification extends macro capability beyond 1×
• OSS provides useful stability in low-light or handheld macro
• Excellent frame-wide sharpness and contrast
• Smooth focus transitions for close-up video work

 

Reasons to Avoid

• On the heavier side for Sony macro options
• Focus breathing is visible at some distances

Specifications

• Magnification: 1.4 times
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.25 meters
• Stabilization: Optical SteadyShot
• Weight: 715 grams

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Sony’s 100mm GM macro is my Editor’s Choice pick for macro lenses, and it’s one of the best macro lenses ever built. Optical quality blows me away, and autofocus is driven by Sony’s linear motors, with a total of four motors to drive the AF. Optical Steady Shot adds several stops of image stabilization, which makes handheld macro shooting easier than with any other macro I’ve used. At 1.4x life, macro images are already amazing, but the 2x teleconverter allows you to shoot at nearly 4x life size.

It is also a great portrait lens, giving you two lenses for the price of one.

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art (Sony E)

What We Think

The Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art provides a longer working distance for insects and detailed textures. Its mirrorless‑optimized optics ensure consistent frame-wide sharpness. The aperture ring and customizable functions allow flexible control for macro techniques.

Reasons to Buy

• True 2× magnification in a compact package
• APO design limits fringing at close distances
• Good balance on L-mount bodies
• Extremely high detail at maximum magnification

 

Reasons to Avoid

• Reduced autofocus speed at close range
• Limited stabilization on some models
• Working distance challenges at higher magnifications

Specifications

• Autofocus Motor Type: HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor)
• Image Stabilization: No (Relies on IBIS)
• Lens Mount Compatibility: Sony E (Full-Frame)
• Weather Sealing: Dust and Splash Resistant Structure & Water-Repellent Coating

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This lens was in my kit before the 100mm Sony came out, and it’s a great third-party macro lens.

The Sigma 105mm DG DN Art offers a solid working distance at 1× life, which makes it easier to photograph insects or small objects. Sigma optimized this version specifically for mirrorless bodies, and it has great image quality across the whole frame. The aperture ring adds control for careful exposure adjustments during macro sessions. I think all lenses, at least all high-end lenses, should have an aperture ring.

It’s also a lens that handles general telephoto tasks well, which allows it to shoot non-macro too. It has great rendering and almost no chromatic aberrations. For Sony shooters who want a predictable, well-built macro lens that doesn’t break the bank, this is the go-to choice.

Fujifilm X

Fujifilm XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro

Reasons to Buy

• True 1× magnification with strong edge-to-edge sharpness
• Effective stabilization for handheld macro
• Fast, accurate linear-motor AF
• Weather-sealed for outdoor fieldwork

Reasons to Avoid

• Large and heavy for an APS-C lens
• AF slows near the minimum focus distance
• Higher price than most Fuji primes

Specifications

• Magnification: 1x
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.25 meters
• Stabilization: Optical Image Stabilization
• Weight: 750 grams

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The XF 80mm f/2.8 is an image-stabilized 1× magnification lens with sharp contrast across the frame. The linear-motor AF system holds focus well even when subjects shift slightly, which is helpful for insects that don’t like to sit still. Most of Fujifilm’s lenses have weather sealing and sturdy construction, and this is no exception.

This lens is larger than many Fuji primes, but the performance justifies the bulk. The stabilization helps with handheld shots, and the image quality stays consistent even in tricky mixed lighting. It’s the lens that gives Fujifilm shooters the least amount of problems when they need reliable close-up detail.

I’ve only shot this lens for product reviews, but I have seen countless examples of the image quality from this nice piece of glass.

Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2× Macro APO (X mount)

What We Think

The Laowa 65mm f/2.8 is a lightweight macro lens that offers two-times magnification. Its apochromatic design minimizes fringing for cleaner close‑up detail. The compact size makes it useful for field macro photography.

Reasons to Buy

• High optical quality
• Strong macro performance
• Useful working distance

Reasons to Avoid

• Reduced autofocus speed at close range
• Limited stabilization on some models
• Working distance challenges at higher magnifications

Specifications

• Magnification: 2x
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.17 meters
• Stabilization: None
• Weight: 335 grams

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Laowa appears in this guide many times because they make a line of solid macro lenses. I’ve used several of them and have not been let down. This 65mm f/2.8 is a compact APS-C macro lens that still manages to deliver 2× lifesize magnification, which is rare at this lens size. The apochromatic design helps control chromatic aberration, keeping image detail, especially when you’re working extremely close. Its small size makes it easy to carry, which is one of the main advantages of APS-C.

It’s a manual focus lens, but for macro lenses, autofocus isn’t as important as with something like a sports lens. It gives Fuji shooters access to magnification levels beyond what the native lineup offers.

Micro Four Thirds

Olympus 60mm f/2.8 M.Zuiko Digital ED

Reasons to Buy

• Compact and lightweight for travel or field macro
• True 1× magnification
• Internal focusing prevents lens extension near subjects
• Weather-sealed construction

 

Reasons to Avoid

• No stabilization
• Shorter working distance than 90mm option
• AF slows at very close distances

Specifications

• Magnification: One times
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.19 meters
• Stabilization: None
• Weight: 185 grams

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I don’t shoot Micro Four Thirds often, but when I’m shooting MFT and want a macro lens, this is a great one to pick. It’s not the newest or the fastest, but it has great image quality.

This is an older Olympus lens that has been brought along in the transition from Olympus to OM Systems, but even as an older lens, it’s a great performer.

L-Mount

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art (L‑mount)

What We Think

The Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art offers strong optical performance and a long working distance. An aperture ring enhances manual exposure control. The lens maintains high contrast and detail at life‑size magnification.

Reasons to Buy

• High optical quality
• Strong macro performance
• Useful working distance

Reasons to Avoid

• Reduced autofocus speed at close range
• Limited stabilization on some models
• Working distance challenges at higher magnifications

Specifications

• Magnification: One times
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.295 meters
• Stabilization: None
• Weight: 710 grams

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This is the same lens featured in the Sony and Nikon section, only with a mount for Sigma’s L-Mount Alliance, a lens standard shared by several manufacturers. You can find more information on this lens above.

Laowa 90mm f/2.8 2× Ultra Macro APO (L‑mount)

What We Think

The Laowa 90mm f/2.8 provides two-times magnification while remaining compact for a lens with this capability. Apochromatic optics reduce fringing at close distances. At 619 grams, it offers extreme macro reach without excessive bulk.

Reasons to Buy

• True 2× magnification in a compact design
• APO optics control color fringing well
• Lightweight for an extreme-macro lens
• Specifically optimized for mirrorless flange distance

Reasons to Avoid

• Manual-focus only
• No stabilization
• Very short working distance at 2×
• Not weather-sealed

Specifications

• Magnification: 2x
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.20 meters
• Stabilization: None
• Weight: 619 grams

• Shop at Amazon

This is the same lens featured in the Sony and Nikon section, only with a mount for Sigma’s L-Mount Alliance, a lens standard shared by several manufacturers. You can find more information on this lens above.

The post Best Macro Lenses for Photographers: Our top Picks Across all Major Mounts appeared first on Imaging Resource.

Cameras may come and cameras may go, but good lenses last a lifetime! Well, if we’re lucky enough, they certainly might. We at IR are simply *crazy* about good lenses and decided to save the best for last here in our 2016 COTY awards.

Are you interested in a quality prime lens for a specific purpose? We have some absolutely terrific ones listed here. Or how about that perfect zoom for your chosen shooting needs? We have a high-caliber sampling of those for you here from 2016 as well. We look at the test results from our lab, the overall build quality, the innovations within, and the shooting experiences from our Field Testers, and then boil it down and select the best of the best for these awards.

If you’ve missed our additional Camera of the Year 2016 pages, links are provided at the bottom of this page, so make sure and circle back to find the right camera body to go along with any of these terrific lenses!

Lens of the Year, Best Wide Angle Prime:
Panasonic 12mm f/1.4

It was a great year for Micro Four Thirds shooters, and Panasonic’s 12mm f/1.4 is evidence to that fact. Relatively expensive by Micro Four Thirds standards, the 24mm equivalent ultra-fast prime lens nevertheless offers exquisite performance when used wide open at f/1.4 — the primary reason you buy a lens like this.

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Continuing their partnership with famed German optics company, Leica, Panasonic’s 12mm f/1.4 lens follows a Summilux design and not only offers excellent sharpness wide open, but also very low CA, minimal vignetting, and very low distortion. In addition to the optical performance of the lens, it is built extremely well, with metal construction and weather sealing.

The Panasonic Leica 12mm f/1.4 is truly a pro lens, with design elements such as a very long throw range for manual focus, and an honest-to-goodness aperture ring. The marriage of old-school techniques to new-world features is seamless, as the camera automatically employs aids like a magnified focus area and focus peaking when the lens is manually focused . The Panasonic 12mm f/1.4Â is a real pleasure to shoot with, and the resulting images are excellent.

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Lens of the Year, Best Standard Prime:
Olympus 25mm f/1.2 Pro

The allure of the fast standard prime is alive and well, and has until recently been the sole purview of full-frame sensor camera manufacturers (the notable example being the Canon 50mm f/1.2). That changed this year with the introduction of the Olympus 25mm f/1.2 Pro, which offers extremely sharp performance, even at f/1.2, and weighs less than its contemporaries.

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The lens is built with all the fixings that Olympus can bring to bear: all-metal construction with splash- and dust-proofing, an ingenious and effective manual focus solution, and a button on the lens with which to assign a custom function. Olympus has put a lot of effort into manual focusing as well: normally, the focusing ring on Micro Four Thirds lenses will turn forever, but when this lens is in manual focusing mode, hard stops at the close-focus and infinity-focus ends are engaged.

The Olympus 25mm f/1.2 is certainly more expensive than other Olympus prime lenses, but it doesn’t get any better than this, and it’s destined to become one of those classic lenses that retains its value over the years.

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Lens of the Year, Best Portrait Prime: Nikon 105mm f/1.4E

Innovations in lens technology have allowed for some incredible new designs: concepts that were deemed too costly or impractical become feasible, and the Nikon 105mm f/1.4E is a testament to those innovations.

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The Nikon 105mm f/1.4E is the fastest 105mm prime lens developed at the time of this writing. It used to be an adage that to get the best performance out of a lens, you had to stop down, which defeated the purpose of using fast glass. Improvements in lens design have thrown that adage out the window, as the Nikon 105mm f/1.4E produces sharp, contrasty images right out of the gate at f/1.4. This is the lens you buy to use at f/1.4.

Nikon doesn’t go for metal lens designs much any more, but you probably wouldn’t want it in the case of this lens — for a prime lens, it’s quite large. It’s also very expensive, but if you know you need a fast prime, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better alternative , and with the Nikon 105mm f/1.4 you more than get what you pay for.

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Lens of Distinction, Portrait Prime: Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM

Sony E-mount users were unanimously overjoyed when Sony announced the launch of their new premium line of lenses, the G Master series, earlier this year. Of the trio of lenses announced at the time, the FE 85mm f/1.4 GM lens stood alone as uniquely appealing to portrait photographers. When the lens hit our lab over the summer for a full test, it thoroughly impressed us, thus earning our Lens of Distinction Portrait Prime award for 2016.

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If not for the staggeringly good performance from the Nikon 105mm f/1.4 this fall, the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM would’ve taken our Portrait Prime of the Year award due to its excellent sharpness, distortion control, lack of aberrations and rugged build quality. This first 85mm lens for FE-mount cameras is not only a fantastic lens, but it’s the beginning of an important new chapter for Sony. This professional-grade, premium and precisely-engineered Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM is superb and definitely deserving of honor.

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Lens of the Year, Best Telephoto Prime:
Olympus 300mm f/4 IS Pro

Until the Olympus 300mm f/4 IS Pro debuted, there really wasn’t a true professional-grade telephoto prime lens for sports, wildlife and bird MFT photographers. Offering a massive 600mm-equivalent focal length, but at a fraction of the size of its DSLR counterparts, the Olympus 300mm Pro lens is a stunning feat of optical engineering.

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Like other Zuiko Pro lenses, the 300mm f/4 is fully weather sealed and excellently constructed. Autofocus is very quick, and its image quality is thoroughly impressive. Wide open, the lens is tack sharp across the entire frame and remains sharp if you need to stop down or even when you add the 1.4x teleconverter — which, by the way, gives you an easily hand-holdable 840mm-equivalent lens! Try doing that with a DSLR.

It’s also the first Olympus Micro Four Thirds lenses to feature optical image stabilization. When used with compatible Olympus camera bodies, up to a whopping 6 stops (or 6.5 stops with the new E-M1 Mark II) of stabilization correction is provided. A typical 600mm prime on a DSLR is so big and heavy, and while most also offer optical I.S., you typically end up shooting with a tripod or monopod. The 5-axis Sync I.S. with the Olympus 300mm f/4 Pro is stunningly great, making this lens even more versatile and easy to use handheld. With the original E-M1, we were able to get usable photos with this 600mm-equivalent lens at shutter speeds as slow as a full second!

The Olympus 300mm f/4 IS Pro a fantastic option for the professional and advanced photographer looking for a top-notch wildlife, nature or sports lens. It may be pricey, but this is one of the best lenses Olympus has thus far made.

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Lens of the Year, Best Travel Zoom:
Olympus 12-100mm f/4 IS Pro

Micro Four Thirds shooters have an excellent new travel zoom option with the Olympus 12-100mm f/4 IS Pro lens. With a weather-sealed metal body, this surprisingly compact lens proved to be a pleasure to shoot with. It has great ergonomics but even more important, it has excellent optics.

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The lens offers users a 24-200mm equivalent focal length range, which is very versatile. This level of versatility often comes with optical compromise, but not in the case of the Olympus 12-100mm which offers great performance across its entire range. The lens also includes powerful image stabilization, which when attached to compatible camera bodies, offers up to 6.5 stops of image stabilization performance at its telephoto focal length.

When considering its build quality, optical performance, image stabilization and focal length versatility, the Olympus 12-100mm f/4 IS Pro is a clear winner for 2016’s Best Travel Zoom Lens of the Year award. It checks all the boxes photographers look for in a travel zoom: portability, performance and durability.

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Lens of the Year, Best Telephoto Zoom:
Fujifilm 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6

Fujifilm comes out of the gate swinging with their first sports and wildlife zoom for X-series cameras, the XF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 OIS. Offering a 35mm-equivalent focal length range of 150-600mm and a variable max aperture of f/4.5-5.6, the lens comes as a welcome addition to the XF line for X-series shooters waiting for something longer to add to their arsenal. Sporting comprehensive weather sealing and an O.I.S. system rated for 5 stops of improvement (our tests showed 4-4.5 stops, which is still quite good), the lens is not only long but super-versatile as well.

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And how does it fare out in the field? We paired the lens with its most natural partner the Fuji X-T2 and shot with it in a full-blown hurricane, where it fired with unabated reliability. We then took it on a tour of several wildlife sanctuaries, where it captured nature’s finest specimens with aplomb and delivered solid continuous autofocus performance in conjunction with that camera. While not lightweight, the lens is very comfortable in the hands, balances nicely on the X-T2 (especially if you attach the optional battery grip!) and also comes with a removable tripod collar.

With only a few minor quibbles, we found the Fujinon XF 100-400mm WR to shine in the lab and in the field, making it an easy choice as the best long-zoom lens of 2016.

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Camera of the Year, Best High-Speed Capture:
Olympus E-M1 Mark II

Already taking home awards not only as the Best Professional Mirrorless Camera but also the Best Overall Camera of 2016, there’s one more feature we feel worth praising with the new Olympus E-M1 Mark II: high-speed performance. On paper, its specs are rather mind-blowing, with 15fps burst from mechanical shutter or a staggering 60fps with the electronic shutter (in S-AF mode). And yes, that’s 60fps even with RAW files. That’s just nuts! If you need continuous autofocusing, burst rates are a bit slower, at up to 18fps for electronic shutter mode and a very respectable 10fps for mechanical shutter mode.

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Thanks to the E-M1 Mark II’s dual quad-core TruePic VIII image processor, the camera can just chew through the frames. Taking burst shooting a step further, the E-M1 II introduces a unique ‘ProCapture’ mode that will continuously buffer through a maximum of 14 frames as you half-press the shutter button. Then, you fire off your burst (either 18fps for “low” or 60fps for “high”), and you have a handy (and perhaps critical) 14-frame safety buffer for those very hard-to-anticipate moments.

The E-M1 Mark II’s continuous autofocusing performance is also top-notch and significantly better than its predecessor’s. In our testing, the E-M1 Mark II nailed focus on pretty much every shot of a 60+ frame burst sequence, with both 10fps and 18fps burst modes.

Given the Olympus E-M1 Mark II’s compact size, the amount of performance this camera offers is incredible. It’s quick, nimble and downright fast when it comes to capturing photos of fast-moving subjects. Just be sure to pack your high-speed, high-capacity memory cards!

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Camera of Distinction, High Speed Capture: Sony RX100 V

High-speed capture is not a term typically associated with pocket-friendly cameras. With its RX100 Mark V, though, Sony throws convention out of the window, offering one of the best-performing cameras we’ve ever seen in a body that’s small enough to slip into a pants pocket. And there it can remain, almost forgotten, right up until the moment you need it — but once you pull it back out, you’ll have performance on tap that would leave your DSLR or mirrorless camera in the weeds!

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And we’re not exaggerating here, either: Look at a professional DSLR from the likes of Canon and Nikon, and at best you’ll see performance in the region of 12-16 frames per second. Yet somehow, the tiny little Sony RX100 V will rattle off a stunning 24 full-resolution frames every second, and still have time to adjust the focus between frames. And not only that, it’ll do so while providing a burst depth of up to 150 frames in JPEG mode, and as many as 60 frames even in RAW+JPEG capture.

Frankly, it blows our minds that Sony was able to pack so much power into a camera so small as the RX100 V. About the only thing which held us back from awarding it top honors in the High Speed Capture category was simply that the Sony RX100 V has a rather short zoom lens, and that’s not really the most conducive to sports photography, where all of this performance is a must. But if you can get close enough to your subjects to avoid the need for a longer zoom… Well, you’re not going to find a camera that gives you more performance for your dollar (and your pocket space) than the incredible Sony RX100 V!

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Camera of the Year, Most Unique Camera: Sigma sd Quattro

In a market where many cameras tend to blend together in both appearance and features, the Sigma sd Quattro stands out not only for its outward appearance, but also for its unique imaging pipeline. Powered by a Foveon sensor, the Sigma sd Quattro delivers distinctly sharp images. However, alongside its excellent resolving capabilities at low ISO, the sd Quattro also includes several quirks, earning it our Most Unique Camera of the Year award.

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Frankly, the sd Quattro is nearly as distinct in use as it is in appearance. Lacking the video and wireless functionality you tend to find in today’s enthusiast cameras, Sigma’s first-ever mirrorless interchangeable lens camera puts the emphasis squarely on image quality. In certain circumstances, this focus by the always adventurous Japanese manufacturer pays huge dividends as there isn’t a camera on the market for under $1,000 that offers anywhere near the resolving capabilities of the sd Quattro at low ISO.

The “Most Unique” Sigma sd Quattro stands alone in more ways than one. Sigma has created a camera that is not only very distinct in its class, but distinct in the entire camera market. Ultimately, if you’re willing to work through its quirks, you’ll find a camera that can deliver incredible images.

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Imaging Resource Camera of the Year Awards 2016

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Best Overall
Best Professional and High-End Cameras
Best Enthusiast Cameras
Best Premium Compact, Intermediate and Entry-Level Cameras
Best Prime and Zoom Lenses, Technology and more! (current page)

The post Camera of the Year 2016: Best Prime and Zoom Lenses, Technology and more! appeared first on Imaging Resource.

I imagine most of you are well aware of how expensive high-quality lenses can be. However, does good glass always need to come with a high price tag? SLR Lounge wonders if the “best” lenses are always the most expensive?

As a landscape photographer, I regularly consider new wide angle lenses to add to my bag. Every time a new (and often expensive) lens comes along I wonder if it might be “the best” or “the sharpest” lens. Howver, it’s not always such a direct correlation between the number of zeroes in the price tag and its optical performance as it relates to my own photography. This is a crucial thing to consider when looking at a lens, your photography. A portrait and wedding photographer has very different considerations for a wide angle lens than I do, for instance.

Let’s go through an example. Suppose I want a prime lens around 20mm; I have a handful of options for Nikon F mount. My primary considerations are edge-to-edge sharpness, build quality and the ability to accept filters. I also thoroughly enjoy night photography, so maximum aperture is something I will consider too. I don’t necessarily need fast autofocus — or autofocus at all — or a lightweight, compact construction. An event photographer might need reliable autofocus and something small, but not me. Our ideas of the “best” super wide angle lens might be significantly different and come with dramatically different prices.

My options for the photography I concentrate on include the Nikon 20mm f/1.8G ED AF-S Nikkor, Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art and Carl Zeiss 21mm f/2.8 Distagon T*, among others. Considering these three, based on my research the sharpest lens is likely the Carl Zeiss, the fastest (aperture-wise) is the Sigma, and the most affordable is the Nikon.

Nikon 20mm f/1.8G ED AF-S

The Sigma, despite its excellent performance-to-price ratio, has a built-in lens hood and won’t work with screw-on filters, so it’s out despite likely being the “best” 20mm lens for many photographers. On the other end of the value spectrum, the extremely sharp Carl Zeiss 21mm is an f/2.8, which is acceptable for night photography, so I’ll consider it head-to-head against the Nikon.

The Zeiss costs over twice as much as the Nikon, and that’s money I could spend on another lens or any number of things. With an aperture of f/1.8, the Nikon 20mm lens will work very well for night photography (although it does suffer from some comatic aberration). Both lenses are sharp across the frame when stopped down, so they’ll both provide good results for traditional landscape photography. They both accept filters, as well. Ultimately, for me, the “best” lens would be the Nikon because it’s both faster and more affordable.

Image captured on the Nikon D500 using the Nikon 20mm f/1.8G lens at f/1.8.

Not all photographers are after the same thing, and we don’t all have the same considerations. There’s no such thing as a perfect lens, especially not for everyone. There’s always a balancing act taking place with a variety of considerations, and these considerations are far from universal. So next time you’re trying to find the “best” lens, first figure out what you value the most. The best lens for you might not be the most expensive or have all the newest technology.

(Motivated by SLR Lounge)

Caffeine Priority is a series of short photo-tidbits to ease you into your day, and give us a chance to share a bit more of what life’s like here at IR. We’re more like a group of friends testing and talking about cameras and lenses than the buttoned-down, big-corporation world that some of our photo-friends at other companies work in; hopefully these little snippets will share some of that. So… grab another coffee and join in the conversation with us down below!

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The post Caffeine Priority: The “best” lens for you might be different than the “best” lens for someone else appeared first on Imaging Resource.

As we discussed in Part I of our Cameras and Lenses of the Year series, 2014 was an incredible year to be a photographer. Not only were the entry level camera options fantastic, but the glass released in 2014 was nothing short of incredible. In the prime arena, 2014 brought two of the sharpest primes ever created: The 55mm Zeiss Otus and Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art. And besides the Otus and the Sigma, we loved the Fujifilm 56mm f/1.2 and the Panasonic Nocticron. Our choice was not easy.

Our choice on the zoom end was even more difficult, but we ultimately settled on two lenses on the opposite end of the price and focal length scale. Olympus released the second lens in their Pro line, the 40-150mm f/2.8. Given the downright astonishing (35mm equivalent) range of 80-300mm you’d expect major image quality tradeoffs, but the lens is as sharp as it is well built. On the other side of the focal length and price scale, Canon’s 10-18mm lens was a bit of a dark horse candidate. It perhaps wasn’t the flashiest performer, but we were won over by the incredible $299 price for an image-stabilized lens with great image quality. Curious to find out which lens won first place in each match-up? Read on!

Lens of the Year, Best Prime Lens: Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art

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Sigma won Lens of the Year in 2013 for its amazing 18-35mm f/1.8 zoom, and this year repeats the feat with their 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM “A” (or “Art”) lens. Another entry in their Global Vision series of lenses, this new 50 f/1.4 astonished us not only for its exceptional image quality, but for its price (it’s currently widely available for $949). Before release, Sigma told us that they were confident in surpassing Canon and Nikon lenses in that focal length range, and instead saw the legendary Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus as their true competitor.

In our testing, we found that the Sigma 50/1.4 Art (review) actually slightly surpassed the Otus for center sharpness wide open, although the Otus was noticeably sharper in the corners. The Sigma also showed near-zero distortion and somewhat lower vignetting. Of course, the Sigma has the added advantage of being autofocus-capable, while the Zeiss is manual-focus only.

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While the Zeiss boasts marginally better performance than the Sigma, we do take price/performance ratio into account in evaluating products for these awards. On that basis, the Sigma mops the floor with any and all competitors. You could buy four of the Sigmas and have money left over, for what one Zeiss would cost you. (Or, looked at another way, you could buy the Sigma and a $3,000 full-frame body to shoot it on, for the cost of the Zeiss alone.)

Sigma’s been turning the lens world upside-down with their new Global Vision line of lenses, and their 50 f/1.4mm “Art” has done it again, in yet another category. Congrats to the lens engineers and designers at Sigma for another absolutely amazing optic.

Canon: Buy from Adorama | Buy from Amazon | Buy from B&H Photo
Nikon:Â Buy from Adorama | Buy from Amazon | Buy from B&H Photo

Lens of Distinction, Prime Lens: Panasonic 42.5mm f/1.2 Nocticron

Honestly, the Panasonic 42.5mm f/1.2 Nocticron (review) lens made us wish we could give out two top awards in this category; it’s an absolutely spectacular optic, extremely sharp and almost dead-flat across the frame, even at its maximum f/1.2 aperture. Not only that, but it’s also an autofocus lens with a very competent image stabilization system built-in. On a Micro Four Thirds cameras it’s designed for (available from both Panasonic and Olympus), this is an 85mm equivalent focal length, pretty much the ideal focal length for a portrait lens. It’s not cheap, but at current street prices of just under $1,400 (it had been on the order of $1,600 earlier in its life), it’s not quite into the Zeiss-world stratosphere. Pair this lens with a top Micro Four Thirds body like the Panasonic GH4 or GX7, and you’ll be blown away by the quality of the images you can capture. Big kudos to the lens-design team at Panasonic; the 42.5 f/1.2 set a new benchmark for optical quality for the Micro Four Thirds platform.

Buy from Adorama | Buy from Amazon | Buy from B&H Photo

Lens of Distinction, Prime Lens: Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4

While the Sigma edges it in center crispness wide open, distortion and vignetting, there’s no denying that the Carl Zeiss Otus is a phenomenal optic, and in fact outperforms the Sigma in several aspects. The Otus line is intended to be Zeiss’s premiere, high performance series of optics, of which this 55mm lens is the first. According to Zeiss, it was designed “without compromise,” and is what Zeiss is calling “the absolute best lens in the world today.”Â

This manual-focus optic is far from your average lens, not only in terms of price, but also in size and weight. At over two pounds of metal and glass, this stupendously large, all-metal, normal focal length prime lens is aimed squarely at professional photographers who demand the utmost in sharpness, resolution and contrast for portrait shooting. In our testing, the lens displays fantastic results. Supremely sharp images, on both full- and sub-frame cameras, even at f/1.4, with very low chromatic aberration and distortion, which we expected, given the hefty $4000 price tag. If price is no object, there’s probably no finer generally-available camera lens in the world than the Carl Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4.

[Editor’s note: Thanks to our reader Jay who astutely reminded us that this lens actually become available in late 2013, but since we were unable to test it in our lab until early 2014 we felt it deserved mention in this year’s awards.]

Nikon: Buy from Adorama | Buy from Amazon | Buy from B&H Photo
Canon:Â Buy from Adorama | Buy from Amazon | Buy from B&H Photo

Lens of the Year, Best Zoom Lens:
Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro

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The 70-200mm f/2.8 lens has long been a mainstay of the 35mm-based market. The Micro Four Thirds world has had a good lens in that range for a little while now, in the form of the Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8. Not content to let Panasonic have all the fun, Olympus considerably upped the ante with its 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro (review). Let us count the ways:

• Not content with a mere 70-200mm equivalent, Olympus gave us an 80-300 equivalent lens!

• The fast linear-motor AF drive means focusing is lightning fast for such a large lens.

• Build quality is *superb*. This is a lens you’ll love to use as much for how good it feels as the images it’ll let you capture.

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Best of all, the optical formula is incredibly advanced, consisting of 16 elements in 10 groups, with an aspherical element, an HD element and 5 ED elements. All that means the lens offers incredibly sharp images. We’d be surprised and pleased to find this kind of image quality in a 150mm f/2.8 prime lens for the Micro Four Thirds system; to find it in a 3.75x tele zoom lens is flat-out amazing. The complicated optical formula also allows for great close-focusing capability to a maximum 0.2x magnification on the sensor. Â All in all, a truly spectacular zoom for the Micro Four Thirds world.

Buy from Adorama | Buy from Amazon | Buy from B&H Photo

Lens of Distinction, Zoom Lens: Canon 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS

Canon APS-C shooters have long had an excellent option for an ultra-wide angle lens, in the form of the EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM. The 10-22mm is a great, sharp lens, though a bit on the larger size and, until recently, rather expensive (MSRP used to be around $800, though now it’s dropped some). However, this year, Canon introduced one of the best “bang for your buck” lenses currently on the market, with the EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM lens (review).

Priced at a mere $299 brand-new, the Canon 10-18mm is not only very affordable, but also very sharp, lighter in weight, and includes both image stabilization and fast, quiet STM focusing. It’s an excellent choice for users of Canon’s smaller Rebel and SL1 DSLRs, not to mention the rest of their APS-C cameras as well. While its aperture range isn’t as bright as the 10-22, nor its zoom range as long, for $299, the 10-18mm is absolutely a steal for a high quality, ultra-wide angle lens.

Buy from Adorama | Buy from Amazon | Buy from B&H Photo

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Imaging Resource Cameras and Lenses of the Year Awards

This is only the second installment in our multi-part Cameras and Lenses of the Year Awards for 2014. We launched the Best Entry Level Cameras of 2014 earlier today, and our choices for the best compact cameras of 2014 will land on the 26th. Look for the best Professional and Enthusiast cameras of 2014 and our overall choice for the Camera of the Year next week.

Best Entry-Level Cameras of 2014

Best Lenses of 2014 (this page)

Best Compact Cameras of 2014

Best Professional &Â Enthusiast Cameras of 2014

Camera of the Year, 2014Â (and Special Awards)Â coming soon

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