Photo Review Reviews section

Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Lens

9 Rating

A professional-standard 24mm prime lens with the latest lens technologies.Replacing Canon’s popular EF 24mm f/1.4L USM, which has been on the market since 1997, the new EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM prime lens has been completely redesigned to match the company’s latest DSLR camera bodies. Although the basic specifications are essentially unchanged, the new model has a more complex structure.

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Lens

The EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens is a member of a suite of Canon zoom lenses that retain a constant f4 maximum aperture throughout the zoom range. Designed for use on 35mm SLR cameras, this ultra-wide zoom is ideal for capturing dramatic landscape shots and taking portraits of large groups of people. It will also prove useful for shooting in cramped interiors. [ia]

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM Lens

9 Rating

A high-quality macro lens with specially-designed image stabilisation plus dust- and moisture-resistant sealing.Back in July 2009, Canon announced a new ‘hybrid’ image stabilisation system designed for macro photography. Able to compensate for both the standard angular movement and the small shifts in the angle at which the lens is pointed during hand-held shooting. Announced less than two months later, the EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM is the first lens to use this new system.

Camera Armor

Impact protection for DSLR cameras.Camera Armor (note the American spelling) is a close fitting stay-on glove that is designed to protect SLR cameras against impact shock. Available in Black or Smoke, it consists of separate, shock-absorbing, flexible silicone camera and lens housings, a polycarbonate LCD shield and a lens cap tether. Separate designs are made for different brands and models to ensure photographers have access to all camera controls as well as battery and card compartments and interface ports. Most popular DSLRs are covered.

ThinkTank Photo Airport Antidote V. 2.0

8.5 Rating

A capacious backpack for serious photographers who frequently travel by air.ThinkTank Photo is a new brand name in the Australian market with products that are designed by photographers for photographers. The company’s design philosophy focuses on ‘speed’ and ‘accessibility’, helping photographers to ‘be ready’ when a photo opportunity presents itself. Three of the company’s designers are photographers (the fourth is a former Lowepro designer), while the ‘design board’, which provides direction and product testing, consists of 11 photographer/photojournalist members, selected from leading US publications.

ATP ProMax II CompactFlash Card and USB 2.0 Reader

A fast CF card that is designed to support cameras with the new UDMA interface.ATP Electronics Taiwan has recently introduced a number of memory card products to the Australian market, offering high data transfer speeds and support for the new UDMA (Ultra Direct Memory Access), which is beginning to be offered in an increasing number of digital still cameras and camcorders. UDMA supports faster data transmission through double transition clocking, in which data can be transmitted on both the rising and falling edges of the interface clock (unlike earlier systems which only sent data on the rising edge).

AF-S Nikkor 24mm f/1.4G ED Lens

8.5 Rating

A fast, professional quality 24mm prime lens for landscape and architectural photographers.Claimed as one of ‘the most hotly anticipated lenses in recent memory’, the new AF-S Nikkor 24mm f/1.4G ED lens has been designed for professional reportage and landscape photography. With its large maximum aperture and wide field of view, it features a new optical design that provides high image quality, minimal distortion and excellent edge-to-corner sharpness, especially at wider aperture settings.

AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G Lens

9 Rating

A compact, high-performance, large-aperture, single-focal-length lens for professional and advanced amateur photographers.Announced just before Photokina 2008, Nikon’s AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G lens is the latest upgrade to a long series of classic primes and the first new 50mm lens from the company in more than 30 years. As an AF-S lens it is compatible with even entry-level models, such as the D40, D40x and D60 because it supports full autofocusing without requiring a drive motor in the camera body. But it can’t be used on old manual focus film camera bodies.

AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED Lens

9 Rating

A fast, high-performance standard zoom lens for Nikon SLR cameras.Released at the same time as the AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, Nikon’s AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED lens combines versatility with superior optical performance. Both lenses represent a new series of professional lenses designed for Nikon’s 36 x 24mm format DSLRs. Like other G-type lenses, the AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G has no aperture ring, since apertures are set via the camera.