4 ms·

As someone who’s been photographing for a few decades now, it looks like the recent iterations of lenses from the big brands are basically “perfect.” 70s and 80

As someone who’s been photographing for a few decades now, it looks like the recent iterations of lenses from the big brands are basically “perfect.” 70s and 80s lenses had tradeoffs... with today’s lenses from Canon/Nikon/Sony, those made in the last 5 years or so, the optical quality after digital correction is so high that for any non-extreme form of photography they can be considered perfect. And that goes from lenses like Canon’s 35 1.4 ($1800) down to their 10-18 ($250). The gearheads can natter online but the returns here are now nearly fully diminished.

GuiA 6y ago
Many lenses from the 80s/90s hold their own compared to modern designs. We’ve been at the plateau of the S curve for a while. The really exciting stuff is happening in smartphones, where miniaturization is the driving variable - for instance the latest folded optics designs.
- londons_explore 6y ago
  I really wish mobile camera reviews would have lens teardowns and commentary on the design tradeoffs made... More people need to know about the engineering that went into them.
- DagAgren 6y ago
  I'd say the really exciting stuff happening in smartphones are the things going on with computational photography, like Apple's Deep Fusion. This is moving beyond the limitations of single lenses and single sensors and enabling some pretty impressive things.
- gerikson 6y ago
  > Many lenses from the 80s/90s hold their own compared to modern designs Possibly in tele designs. There's been a ton of progress in wide-angle designs, and in fast normal lenses. Of course these come at the price of expense and weight...
throwaway9d0291 6y ago
I think "The gearheads can natter online" is a bit reductionist. You say that lenses are essentially perfect for "non-extreme" photography but for most "non-extreme" photography, frankly, a modern smartphone is just as good. These days, the main practical reason why most people would buy a dedicated camera is so that they can handle those "extreme" situations, so it does make sense to care about how far a lens can be pushed. For example I shoot a lot of wildlife on Sony's A7RIV and given the sensor's crazy resolution, if I have a lens that can resolve enough fine detail, I can crop to get extra reach. This allows me to takes shots which would otherwise be impossible. For a less "extreme" case, regarding portraits, you might think people arguing about the quality of bokeh are "nattering" but it can make a big difference to your image. Compare the portrait shots in [0] and look at how different the background becomes. [0]: https://phillipreeve.net/blog/review-sony-fe-100-f-2-8-stf-gm-oss-lens/ https://phillipreeve.net/blog/review-sony-fe-100-f-2-8-stf-g...

GuiA 6y ago

Many lenses from the 80s/90s hold their own compared to modern designs. We’ve been at the plateau of the S curve for a while. The really exciting stuff is happening in smartphones, where miniaturization is the driving variable - for instance the latest folded optics designs.

londons_explore 6y ago
I really wish mobile camera reviews would have lens teardowns and commentary on the design tradeoffs made... More people need to know about the engineering that went into them.
DagAgren 6y ago
I'd say the really exciting stuff happening in smartphones are the things going on with computational photography, like Apple's Deep Fusion. This is moving beyond the limitations of single lenses and single sensors and enabling some pretty impressive things.
gerikson 6y ago
> Many lenses from the 80s/90s hold their own compared to modern designs Possibly in tele designs. There's been a ton of progress in wide-angle designs, and in fast normal lenses. Of course these come at the price of expense and weight...

throwaway9d0291 6y ago

I think "The gearheads can natter online" is a bit reductionist. You say that lenses are essentially perfect for "non-extreme" photography but for most "non-extreme" photography, frankly, a modern smartphone is just as good. These days, the main practical reason why most people would buy a dedicated camera is so that they can handle those "extreme" situations, so it does make sense to care about how far a lens can be pushed. For example I shoot a lot of wildlife on Sony's A7RIV and given the sensor's crazy resolution, if I have a lens that can resolve enough fine detail, I can crop to get extra reach. This allows me to takes shots which would otherwise be impossible. For a less "extreme" case, regarding portraits, you might think people arguing about the quality of bokeh are "nattering" but it can make a big difference to your image. Compare the portrait shots in [0] and look at how different the background becomes. [0]: https://phillipreeve.net/blog/review-sony-fe-100-f-2-8-stf-gm-oss-lens/ https://phillipreeve.net/blog/review-sony-fe-100-f-2-8-stf-g...