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for photographers

Superzoom for crop: Canon EF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 NanoUSM vs STM

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 - a very convenient lens. Its advantage lies in its large focal length range. This lens provides a field of view equivalent to 29-216mm at full frame. This makes it possible to shoot from one point and get a multi-plane image.

Personally, I see the most sense in this lens for video shooting with tripod... You can comfortably shoot almost any event without moving from your place. This focal range to some extent turns your camera into a camcorder. Minus - low aperture ratio. If you have initial / old Canon crop camera, it is better not to shoot with such a lens indoors.

Concerning photos on Canon EF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6, it pleasantly surprises with a sharp image and very good autofocus. Minus - frankly weak color rendition. The original photos on the EF-S 18-135mm are faded and have low contrast. This can be compensated to some extent during processing. RAW filesbut in general for photographers I would recommend more Canon EF-S 15-85mm f3.5-5.6 USM.

On the other hand, 18-135mm will be a good help for newbies to understand the different focal lengths and to understand what is more to their liking for future optics purchases.

If speaking about superzoom in general, then Canon EF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 I think the best option. Lenses with a wide range of focal lengths such as - Tamron 16-300mm or 18-400 mmare too compromise in all respects. They not only have frankly poor image quality, but also disgusting autofocus and zoom ring, which severely limits the scope of use.

This review is about SLR lenses. But there is still a mirrorless lens Canon EF-M 18-150mm f3.5-6.3 STM for series Canon M, which can also be recommended. It is even more compact, has a slightly larger zoom and a slightly lower aperture.

What is the difference between the NanoUSM and STM versions?

The main difference is the focusing motor. These lenses are optically identical. The NanoUSM version focuses very quickly in photo mode. The STM is not bad either, but it is still inferior to the newer lens in photography. For video filming, both are good.

The older Canon EF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 USM still exists in nature. At the end of the name - without the word Nano and without STM. I do not recommend this lens, because it is inferior optically to both lenses from the review.

For more information about the differences between these lenses, see my video review:

Recommended these are the Hoya protective filters for your optics.

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for photographers

Pergear 35mm f1.2 review for crop mirrorless cameras

Pergear 35mm f1.2 Is a fast non-autofocus (manual) lens for mirrorless cameras with crop sensors.

I'll get down to business right away, optically it is a very compromise. On bAt close focusing distances, the detail is mediocre. When focusing at infinity, you can get good sharpness, but the result is unstable. Some shots are sharp, some are not. Moreover, it's not about manual focusing. The quality of the optical system is questionable. Nevertheless, despite all this, the lens may be of interest to enthusiasts of interesting bikes. The background blur is nice and soft.

Examples of bikes on Pergear 35mm f1.2:

A panorama stitched from 7 frames shot on Fujifilm X-S10 + Pergear 35mm f1.2:

The lens has an aperture of f1.2, and I personally noticed that it gives a stronger blur compared to ttartisan 35mm f1.4.

The lens from ttartisan is of higher quality optically and gives a predictable result. You can close it down to f5.6 and get very good sharpness. The same cannot be said about the analog from Pergear. However, I liked the bokeh in difficult conditions better on the Pergear 35mm f1.2.

The verdict is this: a lens for creative photography, not for viewing pixels.

(I.e. Buy Pergear 35mm f1.2 on Aliexpress

For more details, see my video review:

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for photographers

Review Fujinon XF 70-300mm F4-5.6 R LM OIS WR

Fujinon XF 70-300mm f / 4-5.6 telephoto lens was released in March 2021. After practical acquaintance with this lens, I will say that it is a very worthy model. In general, I am somewhat cool about the Fujifilm optics, but I liked this lens for the totality of its characteristics.

This lens is designed for crop cameras. It has focal lengths of 70-300mm and gives a full-frame equivalent of 105-450mm. This focal range is conducive to shooting outdoors. To some extent, it gives the effect of binoculars. You can view and photograph quite distant objects that can be difficult to see with just your eyes. At the same time, it weighs only 580 grams, which is really a little for such a telephoto. In the hands it feels medium in weight. With such a lens you can travel and it will not burden you too much.

Fujinon XF 70-300mm F4-5.6 R LM OIS WR with camera Fujifilm X-S10

The image quality made me happy. The lens provides a high-contrast and sharp image at all settings. You don't need to close the aperture or look only in the center. The image pleases with sharpness and pleasant color everywhere and always. The only caveat is that this lens requires a lot of light. In the room, you do not shoot with him despite the high-quality stabilization. The Fujinon XF 70-300mm F4-5.6 has a built-in optical stabilizer, and the Fujifilm X-S10 camera has matrix stabilization... As a result, you can shoot handheld at shutter speeds of around 1/30 at the long end of the tele-range. Only at these shutter speeds will you be able to shoot only completely static subjects, which severely limits the use of the lens in low light.

But on the street, such optics reveal themselves to the fullest - you can notice interesting details of the landscape, engage in secretive street photography, shoot sports and wildlife, take portraits from long distances (for this it is still better to take portrait lenses) and even take macro photography. The zoom ratio of 0.33x (0.5x on crop) allows you to shoot very close. In this case, the sharpness will be very high.

The autofocus of the Fujinon XF 70-300mm F4-5.6 is fast and tenacious, no complaints.

You can learn more about this lens and examples of photos for it in my video review:

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