5 Affordable E Mount Primes That Punch Above Their Price Tags

Whether you like wide or telephoto lenses, there are E mount primes that will satisfy your needs and your wallet.

Photographers who shoot with Sony cameras are certainly spoiled for choice when it comes to lenses. There are tons of E mount primes that range from ultra-wide to telephoto. These lenses vary in price from incredibly affordable to I think I need to sit down. Here, we’re going to focus on five E mount primes that will make your wallet and your eyes happy. The lenses we have picked here are all fantastic, they’re under $600, and they scored very well in our reviews. Whether you’re looking for a wide-angle lens for landscapes. A standard focal length for everyday photography, a prime for portraits, or even macro, this roundup has you covered.

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4 Fixed Lens Cameras That Will Help You Be a Better Street Photographer

These fixed lens cameras are just the right size and offer enough performance to make you a street photography ninja.

Gear isn’t everything, but having the right camera for a certain situation can definitely help. This is especially true when it comes to street photography. When you’re out on the streets, you need to be able to rattle off images quickly and sometimes discreetly. This is something that can be hard to do with much larger cameras. Being able to remain nimble and having a camera that helps keep attention away from you is a must, and this is where fixed lens cameras come into play. These small, power-house fixed lens cameras have gorgeous optics that help capture detail-rich images, and blazing fast autofocus systems that will help you nail the shot every time you hit the shutter. If you’re on the hunt for a camera that will help you become a street photography pro, check out this roundup.

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Your Micro Four Thirds Portraits Will Come Alive with These Great Lenses

There are some outstanding lenses on the Micro Four Thirds platform for portraits.

If you’re a Micro Four Thirds photographer and have been wondering what lenses to consider for portrait photography, this roundup is for you. Here we will take a look at the five lenses that make up the best portrait lenses for the Micro Four Thirds system. We have picked out five portrait lenses that range in cost, so there are options for photographers with any budget. But, don’t think for a second that the cheaper lenses will leave you wanting more. All these lenses are ridiculously sharp, focus quickly, and produce colors that will leave you speechless. Let’s jump right in and take a look at the lenses you should be considering for Micro Four Thirds portraits.

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These Super Telephoto Zooms Make Capturing Winter Wildlife Easy

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Lots of photographers shut things down when the colder winter weather starts hitting. However, things are just getting started for wildlife photographers. Those who brave the winter winds and snow often get rewarded with spectacular shots of the wildlife around them. If you want to get in on the winter wildlife photography scene, you’ll need a lens that will help deliver the goods. After the break, we’ve rounded up five super telephoto zooms across multiple platforms that will get you closer to the action than ever before.

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There are Now Four Sony 35mm Lenses. Which One Do You Need?

We’ve reviewed all of the Sony 35mm lenses, and more.

We’ve said it before, and we’ll repeat it. 35mm primes are just about the most versatile prime lenses you can get. They are great for portraits, food photography, event and wedding photography, documentary photography, landscapes, and more. They’re a do it all lens, and no system is complete without one. With the new Sony 35mm f1.4 G Master’s arrival, there are three fast Sony 35mm prime lenses for the E mount. On top of these three, you have two fast options from Sigma (the 35mm f1.4 DG Art and the 35mm f1.2 Art DG DN) and another 35mm f2.8 lens from Sony. Whew! That’s a lot of 35mm primes to choose from. So, how do you pick the right one for you? Fortunately, we’ve reviewed all of them. After the break, we’ll compare them all for you.

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5 Quality Ultra-Wide Zooms That’ll Make You Capture the World Differently

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I’m not going to lie; I have a major soft spot for ultra-wide zooms. Ultra-wide zooms force you to look at your surroundings in a completely new way, and you’ll have untold amounts of fun doing it. Trust me when we say you need one in your arsenal. There are many ultra-wide zooms on the market that are cheaper than the lenses we have selected here. I have used them all, and they’re great. However, if you want to capture images that absolutely sing with every click of your shutter, these are the five premium ultra-wide zooms you need to take a closer look at. Whether you want to capture landscapes, cityscapes, architecture, astrophotography, or more, you will not be disappointed.

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Take Your Portrait Photography Up A Notch With These Powerful Lights

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Are you ready to take the next steps in your portrait photography journey by adding a flash or a monolight to your workflow? If so, congratulations! We commend you for wanting to learn a new skill. Many photographers think mastering flash photography is hard, but we’re here to tell you that’s simply not true. Adding external lighting to your workflow is an easy way to add drama and extra dimension to your images. The best part is you don’t have to spend a fortune to get started if you don’t want to. We have rounded up some of our favorite lights that we have reviewed over the years and have put them in one place for you. These lights are great for portrait photography beginners and even for pros.

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Upgrade Your Basic Kit Lens with These Great Standard Zooms

The difference in quality between a kit lens and these standard zooms will blow you away.

So, you purchased a new camera not too long ago, and you’re now starting to look at new lenses. You know you prefer zooms over the idea of primes, but what lenses do you start looking at? Honestly, standard zooms or those with a focal range between 24-80mm on Full-Frame cameras are a great place to start. If you shoot with APS-C, 16-55mm lenses are great, and 12-45mm on Micro Four Thirds cameras will fit the bill nicely. Compared to kit lenses, any non-kit lenses you buy will yield a huge return on your investment. You’ll immediately see the difference in image quality, build quality, and overall performance. The great thing about standard zooms is that they cover some of the most widely used focal lengths. In this roundup we’ll take a quick look at five standard zooms across different platforms that we highly recommend.

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Bang for Your Buck: Feature Rich, Full Frame Cameras for Under $1,500

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It wasn’t too long ago that Full Frame cameras cost over $2,000 for bare-bones entry-level models. Now, you can get feature-rich Full Frame cameras that cost less than $1,500. In fact, many of these cameras cost less than $1,500! Can you believe it? What a time to be a photographer. If you have always wanted to own a Full Frame camera, now is the time to add one to your collection. All the cameras we have listed after the break have more bells and whistles than you can shake a stick at, they have splendid sensors, and they will last a lifetime thanks to their build qualities. Check out our picks for the best Full Frame cameras under $1,500 after the break.

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Ultra-Wide Zooms: 5 Affordable Options You’ll Want To Use All the Time

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Ultra-wide zooms are spectacular lenses. Honestly, they’re one zoom that we recommend all photographers have in their lens bag. Ultra-wide zooms are perfect for landscapes, cityscapes, astrophotography, environmental portraits, architectural photography, and so much more. We recently took a look at 5 premium ultra-wide zooms that all landed around the $2,000 and up mark. However, there are plenty of fantastic options that have much lower costs of entry. In this roundup, we’re going to take a look at five ultra-wide zooms that are relatively affordable, and that will deliver images that will make you grin from ear to ear.

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These Affordable Camera Bags Will Protect Your New Camera with Ease

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If you just got a new camera over the holidays and you need to start looking for camera bags, you’re in the right place. Camera bags are a must-have accessory. They make carrying gear around incredibly easy. They will even protect expensive gear from bumps, bangs, and the weather when not being used. We have selected five camera bags from our reviews index that received great marks during our tests. The best part: all these bags are very affordable. If camera bags are high on your shopping list, check out this roundup of five of our favorite affordable options.

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5 Affordable 50mm Prime Lenses That Will Improve Your Skills

50mm prime lenses

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Did you get a new camera over the holidays? Are you confused about which lens you should buy first? If so, you’re in the right place. While your new camera may have come with a kit lens or two, we highly recommend grabbing a prime lens. Prime lenses will challenge you and they’ll help you grow simply because you cannot rely on zooms to get the shot you want. Primes make you think and compose with your feet. On top of that, prime lenses have much faster apertures than zoom lenses. This means you can shoot in low light situations, and you’ll be able to create gorgeous bokeh. 50mm prime lenses are ideal for new photographers because they provide a field of view similar to what the human eye can see. Here are five of our favorite 50mm prime lenses for new photographers.

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Tripods Are Still a Thing! Here’s 5 Worth a Closer Look

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Ah, the trusty tripod. These photography accessories are not talked about often. Now, thanks to IBIS, tripods have taken a seat even farther in the back. However, there’s still a need for tripods, and there are some great ones on the market. If you like to dabble in landscape, macro, or astrophotography, a tripod is essential. After the break, we’re going to share five tripods we have reviewed and loved. So, if you find yourself needing a three-legged friend, be sure to check out these solid options.

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New Year, New You. 5 Mirrorless Cameras Perfect For Beginners

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So, you want to get your first traditional camera after getting the photography bug from your smartphone. Congrats! This is a huge step in making your photography dreams come true. However, how does one know what camera to buy first? After all, the market is flooded with tons of Mirrorless cameras that cost less than $1,000. Fear not. We’re here to help. Before selecting the Mirrorless cameras in this roundup, we took several factors into consideration. The cameras needed to be under $1,000. The Mirrorless needed to have enough about them so that you can grow with them. They needed to have access to a robust lens lineup that features many affordable lens options. Lastly, they needed to have sensors that will put your smartphone camera to shame. Check out five of our favorite Mirrorless cameras for beginners after the break.

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The 10 Most Popular Cameras of 2020 Per Flickr’s Camera Finder

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Flickr has seen a bit of a resurgence in 2020. The photo-sharing platform has turned into a buzzing community again. I have been using Flickr to personally catalog my images and to interact with other photographers. So far, it has been great. After going through my account and getting things set up, I decided to dive into the website’s metrics to see what the most popular traditional digital cameras per Flickr’s camera finder are. Aside from smartphones (which take the top spots), you might be surprised to learn that DSLRs are still king. Mirrorless cameras are very much the flavor of the month, but there are so many DSLRs still out there. Still, Mirrorless cameras aren’t far behind. After the break, we’ll show you the ten most popular cameras in 2020 based on figures from Flickr.

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The Need for Speed: Create Magic Easily with These Fast Prime Lenses

Olympus 45 1.2

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We’re always looking for lenses that can perform magic. If you want to shoot in extremely low light situations or completely obliterate the background in your images, you need a lens (or two) that can do these with ease. This is where fast primes come in to play. Prime lenses can be magnitudes faster (when it comes to their aperture) compared to zoom lenses thanks to their simplistic designs. This is one reason why fast primes are adored by photographers everywhere. Fast primes, of course, come in a variety of flavors. We covered some very affordable fast primes in this roundup here. Now, we’re going to take a look at some lenses that redefine what fast is. If you need a ridiculously sharp lens, one that will let you see in the dark, or that will give you simply magical bokeh, read on.

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5 Affordable (and Fantastic) Must-Own Lenses for Micro Four Thirds

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We’re huge fans of the Micro Four Thirds platform here at The Phoblographer. The system’s small size and weight give it an advantage over many bigger systems such as APS-C and Full Frame. Honestly, you’re not giving up much in image quality either, regardless of what M4/3 detractors might say. I have used the platform professionally for two years now, and I’ve never had a problem. The five lenses we’ve listed are small, light, sharp, have rapid autofocus performance, and they are all incredibly affordable. If you’re new to the Micro Four Thirds platform and are looking to build up a solid lens collection without going broke, check out the five lenses we believe are must-haves for all Micro Four Thirds users.

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Some of the Most Rugged Cameras Are DSLRs – Here’s 5 To Consider

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Mirrorless cameras are fantastic. They have ushered in new autofocus technologies, IBIS systems, electronics viewfinders, focus peaking, and more. However, one area where they still lag behind DSLRs is in how rugged they are. Mirrorless cameras have come a long way, don’t get me wrong, but many pros who still prefer DSLRs simply because some of the most rugged cameras come from this era. I use both Mirrorless cameras and DSLRs, but I still reach for my trusty DSLR when the going gets tough. If you want ultimate durability, exceptional battery life, and stellar image quality, these are the five rugged cameras (DSLRs) we’ve reviewed that you should reach for.

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5 Great Third Party Lenses For Fujifilm X Mount That Will Inspire You

unique lenses

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Perhaps the biggest downer about Fujifilm cameras is that the X series system is a closed one. While Sony has opened the gates so that Sigma, Tamron, and others can create lenses without reverse engineering their AF system, Fujifilm does not want to go this route. This is fine, simply because Fujifilm creates gorgeous lenses. However, having choices in lenses (and price points) is always a win for the consumer. Still, there are, in fact, some third party lenses for the Fujifilm X mount; and they’re incredible. Not much attention is given to these mostly manual focus Fujifilm X mount gems. They should really be on your radar, though, if you want to branch out a little when it comes to lenses. After the break, we’ll share 5 third party lenses for the Fujifilm X mount that will leave you speechless.

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Fujifilm, Tamron, Have the Most Popular Lenses of 2020 Per Our Readers

fujifilm lenses

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For a while now, we’ve been rounding up the most popular lenses with our readers at the end of every month. Now, we’ll take a look at the most popular lenses for 2020. There have been plenty of new lenses across all of the major platforms this year. However, quite a few of the most popular lenses are now a good few years old. In fact, you really will be quite surprised with some of the glass on this list. If you want to take a peek at what has been selling well and what your fellow readers have been picking up to use, you’ll enjoy this roundup. The list is presented to you in order of popularity, with the best selling lens listed first. Take a look at the most popular lenses of 2020 after the break.

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5 Luxurious Cameras That Ooze Quality and Performance

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A lot of gear roundups we do focus on affordable, feature-packed cameras. Those cameras are honestly more than enough for 99% of photographers. However, what if money was not a problem? What if some luxurious cameras were calling your name? We’re talking cameras that feature the most beautiful build materials, cameras from brands that are steeped in history and heritage, luxurious cameras that are meticulously designed and crafted. In this roundup, we’ll take a quick look at five of the best luxury Mirrorless cameras that money can buy right now. If we had deep enough pockets, these are the five Mirrorless luxurious cameras that would be high on our most-wanted list.

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