Philnick said:

Telling folks just getting into photography, and are primarily concerned with whether the lens/camera combination they're looking at can capture enough light in low light situations that the f/2.8 lens they're looking at is really an f/4 lens is totally misleading to the ordinary photographer, and is primarily designed to steer them to buy more expensive full-frame gear.

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@neuroanatomist is not telling you that at all. What he and those articles is pointing out is that an f/2.8 lens on a crop handles low light to exactly the same S/N as an f/4.5 on full frame (4.5 = 1.6x2.8). Just raise the iso on the FF by 1 1/3 stops and use the same shutter speed on both and you will get the noise quality on both. The crop f/2.8 and the FF f/4.5 lenses have the same diameters and areas, and throw the same amount of light onto the image. If you know that, then you will realise that a cheaper f/4 lens on FF will actually perform better in low light than buying a perhaps more expensive f/2.8 and then putting it on a crop.

Richard CR said:

as long as they fire the dude that decided the 75-300 was a good idea.

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If they can make money for essentially no outlay, I would think whoever made that decision would get a promotion.

Mikehit said:

Thank you Alan. I guess it is down to the trawl and a bit of luck....

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I hope you will find someone. The 600/4 ii is too good, too new and still too expensive to write off. Of the ones suggested by Gemini, these were top of the list:

• Fixation (London): One of the most famous names in the UK. Though now part of Wex Photo Video, they operate as a specialist workshop for Nikon, Canon, and Sony. They offer sensor cleaning, lens calibration, and "while-you-wait" services.1
• A.J. Johnstone (Glasgow): A highly regarded repairer in Scotland with nationwide postal services.2 They are an authorised repair agent for several major brands like Canon and Nikon.
• DKAVS (Horley, Surrey): An authorised service centre for Panasonic (Lumix), Sony, and others.4 They are known for being one of the few places capable of handling complex electronic repairs on modern digital bodies.
• Camera Repair Direct (Surrey): A digital specialist with over 30 years of experience, known for fast turnaround times on DSLRs and compact cameras.
  
  

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Del Paso said:

I more or less expected a "Canon über alles"

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I'm not sure why, this site has long been critical of a lot of Canon products and commercial decisions.

Maximilian said:

Thanks for the examples, Alan!
I was looking at RAWs SOOC with Canons original DPP.
And there the results were not as good as yours look here.

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DPP is absolutely cr*p at high noise reduction. It's using decades old technology (and that's not an exaggeration), which is iinadequate high noise and sacrifices detail. It's OK for well exposed images. The images I posted aren't as good as I would normally want, but they are good enough for much of what I do.

Some things never change, huh.

bcd01 said:

I don't know about anybody else, but I would like to have the option to set one of the back buttons to manual focus momentarily. I do wildlife photography and sometimes the autofocus likes to lock on a nearby branch, leaf, or whatever, but not the critter I want to capture. Time is of the essences when shooting wildlife. Using the switch on the lens, movement of the camera lens costs valuable time. With the recent update to the R5mkII, it has only made focusing worse. A quick access to manual focus would help me make an adjustment to the focus needed to get the sharp picture.

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As has been pointed out not all lenses allow FTM. You can assign the AF-On button to 'AF-off'. Or you can try programming 'registerAF function' button.

Mikehit said:

set your lens to 'full time manual'

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not every lens supports this e.g. 100L macro

Del Paso said:

And just let the usual whiners criticise it's a software corrected lens.
I tested one, and must say it is visibly better than my beloved Zeiss Classic 21mm f/2,8 in EF mount!

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Any lens that surpasses the legendary Zeiss 21mm is a total win.

Richard CR said:

It's difficult to make a very good ultra-wide, especially one that is considerably faster than 2.8. The 20mm VCM was such a generational leap for Canon; arguably, it's the best f1.4 ultra wide made.

The MTF is exceptional, and it's very well chromatically corrected.

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And just let the usual whiners criticise it's a software corrected lens.
I tested one, and must say it is visibly better than my beloved Zeiss Classic 21mm f/2,8 in EF mount!

Zadak said:

I kind of agree, while the 20mm 1.4L is probably a great lens (haven't tried it), it's just one piece on a whole line of VCM lenses, which I wouldn't count as "great", just a good "mid"-L lens. Nothing groundbreaking there

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It's difficult to make a very good ultra-wide, especially one that is considerably faster than 2.8. The 20mm VCM was such a generational leap for Canon; arguably, it's the best f1.4 ultra wide made.

The MTF is exceptional, and it's very well chromatically corrected.

EricN said:

Really? I'm absolutely incensed neither Sigma or Tamron were mentioned.

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I was tempted to put in the Sigma 200/2 - it was close as the runner up.

Exploreshootshare said:

If the Nikon Z5iii gets the nod over the Canon R6iii because of ones favors "value for money" over "overall specs with all the whistles and bells" that premise should be applied to lenses as well. In that case, the 45mm F1.2 should be favored over the Sony 50-150mm f/2 GM. Don't get me wrong, the Sony lens is absolutely great, but I just don't get why in one case "value for money instead of overall specs" makes the decision and in the other category it is the opposite.

The 45mm F1.2 brought together two things that I´ve never seen put together: F1.2 and cheap (or at least affordable). That imo is an absolute game-changer and easily the best "value for money" this year concerning lenses.

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meh, sorry, i didn't like the 45mm f1.2 - it's a very specialized lens that you have to like the look out of the lens. if you don't, then it's dead to you. Not everyone wants a lens with that yes, it's a f/1.2, but it's a f/1.2 because they are allowing a literal dump truck of aberrations to exist.

And the Sony 50-150 is a lens that has never been done before, and it's optically, mechanically, everything, excellent.

if the 50-150 didn't make the cut as the best, then there's tons of others I would choose over the 45mm even if I had to take into account "bang for buck" - ie: the Sigma 200/2, or the freakishly incredible Sony 100mm Macro. there's just way too many amazing lenses out there this year, that in my mind would be above the 45mm.

I do like Canon making bang for the buck lenses that will have their followings - much like the EF mount, so it's all a good thing. as long as they fire the dude that decided the 75-300 was a good idea.

Zahnete said:

The day Canon releases an R3 with higher resolution—if it ever does—there won’t be a single photographer willing to buy it, because everyone will already be with Sony and the A1.

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I have the A1 and the R5ii - there are so many differences (and none of them relate to image quality) in real world use that it comes down to personal preference. And the R3ii will probably still be a grand less than the A1.

AlanF said:

Unfortunately, Lehmann has ceased trading. I asked gemini google for names of independent repairers and it came up with too many to paste in here.

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Thank you Alan. I guess it is down to the trawl and a bit of luck....

bcd01 said:

I don't know about anybody else, but I would like to have the option to set one of the back buttons to manual focus momentarily. I do wildlife photography and sometimes the autofocus likes to lock on a nearby branch, leaf, or whatever, but not the critter I want to capture. Time is of the essences when shooting wildlife. Using the switch on the lens, movement of the camera lens costs valuable time. With the recent update to the R5mkII, it has only made focusing worse. A quick access to manual focus would help me make an adjustment to the focus needed to get the sharp picture.

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set your lens to 'full time manual' and half-press the shutter button while turning the focus ring.

Canon Rumors said:

Canon’s EOS R5 Mark III is expected between late 2027 to mid-2028, but that’s exactly why now is the time to speak up. Once specs are finalized, it’s too late to shape what the next generation of this popular hybrid camera will become.

Read The Full Article

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When customising buttons, I would like (a) options to assign any function to any button (no idea why they limit it) and (b) have the option to press+hold or toggle on/off.
And a bigger buffer.
And zebras/blinkies in the VF

neuroanatomist said:

It sparks joy to know that there are people out there who still believe in fairies, wizards and the magic of the crop factor.

Who needs a longer lens and a bigger sensor when a shorter lens with a smaller sensor gives the same 'effective focal length'?

View attachment 227141

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What cameras and lenses were used here? Since no camera you list has more than 24MP, for all we know the degraded left-hand image was an APS-C crop from from the center of a 24MP full-frame image - and is thus barely more than 9MP, not to mention the lower resolving power of a shorter lens - particularly if it's shot at a smaller aperture incurring more shot noise? Hardly fair. Doesn't "spark joy" to see such a post.

Mikehit said:

I am using a EF Canon 600mm f4 Mkii and it has recently started playing up when it is on my R5ii.
When I first put the lens on the camera (or first turn it on), everything look good but it wont autofocus and the menus wont come up when I press the 'menu' button. If I press the lens release button and rotate the camera then twist is back into position, everything is absolutely fine. This is the case whether I use the lens-adapter lens release or the adapter-lens release.
At first I thought it could be a software thing so I update to firmware 1.2.0 but this has not solved the problem.
I have tried cleaning the contacts but no luck there.

I have called CPS but the lens is now out of service life so they will not touch it.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
I am living in the UK -does anyone know of any reputable third party repairers who may be able to help? (my favourite is H Lehmann in Stoke-on-Trent but I have not been able to contact them - maybe they have stopped trading)

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Unfortunately, Lehmann has ceased trading. I asked gemini google for names of independent repairers and it came up with too many to paste in here.

m4ndr4ke said:

Oh boy, that’s gonna be harsh for sure

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Actually, after reading the review, they were pretty gentle; I thought they would have gone much worse then they did

neuroanatomist said:

Equivalence means the resulting images are equivalent – same FoV, DoF and noise. It's right there in the word, equivalent is defined by the Oxford dictionary as equal in value, amount, function, meaning, etc. Equivalent doesn't mean two things are the same and one is different. That applies in any context, not just photography. You're saying that having two apples and an orange is equivalent to having three apples. Toddlers know better.

Incidentally, the difference in focal length is not what causes the DoF to change, and keeping focal length, distance and f/number constant but using a different sensor size does not hold DoF constant. Seems there is more than one photographic concept where your understanding is sorely lacking.

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What causes the depth of field and background blur to change when putting the same lens on a smaller sensor is if you move the camera back to get the same framing.

Move further away to get the wider full-frame angle of view and the relative distances of the subject and background to the camera become more similar, so the background is more within the depth of field.

Leave the camera in the same place and let the framing change because of the smaller sensor and the depth of field and background blur are unchanged.

The increased depth of field is an artistic choice tied to the choice of framing, not an immutable scientific fact.

Telling folks just getting into photography, and are primarily concerned with whether the lens/camera combination they're looking at can capture enough light in low light situations that the f/2.8 lens they're looking at is really an f/4 lens is totally misleading to the ordinary photographer, and is primarily designed to steer them to buy more expensive full-frame gear.

If a blurred background is the paramount virtue you aim for in photography, go for it - but you're not talking the language of most photographers.

But I'm sure Canon, Nikon, and Sony love what you're saying - it'll make them more money. And you'll look more impressive with bigger gear, But leave the rest of us alone.

EricN said:

Really? I'm absolutely incensed neither Sigma or Tamron were mentioned.

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The 300-600mm f/4 and the 135mm f/1.4 would definitely be good contenders, but the crown has to go to the 50-150mm f/2.
I wouldn't award the 20mm f/1.4 VCM. It's probably the best 20mm f/1.4 lens currently in the market, but there's several options already, while the other two Sigma lenses are still high end offerings and truly innovative.

Chig said:

I would argue that the RF 45mm f/1.2 STM is a freakishly good lens for the money giving extreme compression and amazing portrait possabilities for a very affordable price.

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The 45 could almost win simultaneously best and worse lens prizes
Compression is unrelated to aperture, though. A 45mm lens on full-frame is no big deal in terms of background compression, in fact, it's as neutral as it can get, by being the closest to the 43mm diagonal we've ever been on Canon.

EDIT: to be completely accurate, and before someone kills me in the replies, background compression isn't even dependant on focal length, but I mean that the perspective of 45mm is close to the most neutral we can get for a full-frame camera, therefore providing an unaltered view.

EricN said:

Really? I'm absolutely incensed neither Sigma or Tamron were mentioned.

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I realize your comment was very much tongue in cheek, but Sigma did have a number of excellent releases in 2025. There's just so much going on (and that Sony 50-150/2GM is such a groundbreaking lens) that it's hard to mention everything.

This year (on the high end of things!) Sigma released the 35/1.2 II ART, 135/1.4 ART, 200/2 SPORTS, 300-600/4 SPORTS for FF lenses, and the 18-40/1.8 ART for APS-C. On the more pedestrian side, the 20-200/3.5-6.3 Contemporary (FF) has also been very well received, and they released a 16-300/3.5-6.7 for APS-C.

If nothing else, 2025 finally brought a few Sigma lenses onto RF-S. Would be lovely to see that extended onto FF RF, but I'm not holding my breath.

I think Sigma had a pretty epic year, and I hope 2026 brings stuff like a 28/1.4 ART, 40/1.4 ART, and maybe a 105/1.2 ART.

Richard CR said:

I'm not a fan of sony cameras, but they really do hit it out of the park for lenses. overall, it was a great year for lenses.

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I've owned Canon, Nikon, and Sony ILCs as my main kit at various times over the past 30 years. It's just a matter of being willing to adapt and learn a new system.

Richard CR said:

overall, it was a great year for lenses.

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It was! Sony also brought out the 100/2.8 GM 1.5:1 Macro, which can take TCs. Pretty cool lens, but at a price.

Sigma had an epic year with a TON of great releases. I hope they carry that momentum into 2026.