In-depth reviews and buying guides for mirrorless and DSLR camera lenses.
How 35mm, 50mm, 85mm and 135mm actually change a face, why f/1.2 is not automatically better than f/1.8, and how to choose a portrait lens for a crop sensor without guessing.
The redesigned 16-55 finally adds OIS and trims weight, making it the obvious choice for Fuji X shooters.
A lighter, sharper, faster-focusing 50mm GM that finally gives Sony shooters the no-compromise nifty-fifty they've been waiting for.
Lighter than the original by nearly 30%, faster-focusing, and visibly sharper. The new telephoto zoom to beat.
Tamron's second-gen 28-75 is the lens to beat under $1000. Fast, sharp, and shockingly light.
Sigma's Art-line redesign for mirrorless brings the 35mm classic into the modern era at a price that undercuts the first-party options.
Canon's flagship RF standard zoom adds image stabilization to a tried-and-true focal range. Worth the upgrade for working pros.
A wildlife and sports lens that pairs reach with portability. The L-grade lens most Canon shooters should buy.
A portrait lens that punches well above its price. Sharp, fast, and a no-brainer for Z6/Z7/Z8 owners.
Around 50-56mm on APS-C, which frames like 75-85mm on full frame. On Micro Four Thirds, aim for 42-45mm. Multiply full-frame advice by 1.5 (1.6 on Canon APS-C) or 2.0 for MFT.
85mm for headshots — it lets you stand back, which keeps facial proportions natural and separates the subject cleanly. 50mm is the better single-lens choice if you also shoot three-quarter length, groups or indoors where you cannot back up.
Compression is a distance effect, not a lens effect. Long lenses make you stand further back, which shrinks the relative size difference between the nose and the ears, so the face looks flatter. Crop a wide shot to the same framing and you get the same perspective as the wide lens.
For most people, no. The blur difference at portrait distances is modest, the depth of field at f/1.2 is thin enough that one eye can miss focus, and the lens is typically two to four times the price and roughly twice the weight.
Because blur quantity and blur character are separate things. Aperture blade count and shape, spherical aberration correction, aspherical element polishing and the lens barrel all change how an out-of-focus highlight is drawn, even when the amount of blur is identical.