Author Archives: Roger Cicala
Sensor Size Matters – Part 1
by Roger Cicala
We get a lot of questions about sensor sizes and crop factors. Most people know the difference between a standard (APS-C) crop sensor and a full-frame sensor. Not many, though, know how much smaller a 2/3” sensor is than a 4/3 sensor, and fewer still the difference between those and a 1/1.8” sensor. Plus Canon [...]
A Bit of 3250mm Fun
by Roger Cicala
It’s winter. It’s slow. We get bored. We have lots of stuff to play with. Too much stuff and too much time leads to all kinds of trouble. I mean experimenting to find combinations of equipment that might benefit our customers. So anyway, Joey decided it would be a superb idea to take a tiny [...]
Serial Numbers, Circa 1870
by Roger Cicala
I had a fun surprise today. We were cleaning a couple of old Petzval lenses, getting them ready to show off at Imaging USA next week. One of our Darlot lens from circa 1870 or so gave us quite a surprise.
Lens Repair Data 2011
by Roger Cicala
What Is This? We started doing this several years ago. We have a unique opportunity: we own a very large number of lenses subjected to rather harsh conditions: they get packed in boxes, tossed around by UPS, and sometimes the user isn’t as careful with them as you would be with your own lenses. Our numbers [...]
The Great 50mm Shootout
by Roger Cicala
Every so often the Universe realizes I’m getting a little cocky and sends someone to ask me a simple question I can’t answer. It happened again the other day. Michael Plumridge and Peter Lik asked Tyler what the sharpest 50mm lens was. They were shooting on Red Epics with adapters so neither brand, mount, nor price [...]
The Most Important Developments in Photography
by Roger Cicala
In my last article I listed the three most important developments in photography. Then someone pointed out that I’d made an error. I mean, I may have misspoken. Wait, I mean I was less correct than I might have been. I listed the invention of the camera first (that part is pretty hard to argue [...]
Reflections on Reflections. Coatings: The Most Important Part of Your Lens.
by Roger Cicala
Reflection is an interesting word with many meanings. To a philosopher it means careful or considerable thought on a subject. To an anatomist it means a structure that bends back along the path it came from. To a narcissist it’s their image in a mirror. To a photographer it usually means subjects mirrored in water, [...]
The Gear Head Pixel Peeper Quiz
by Roger Cicala
I admit it. I am a card-carrying gear-head pixel-peeper. But I have an excuse (well, at least now I do): gear is my business. There was a time, before I got honest with myself, when I thought I was a just a photographer who was really interested in the tools of my craft. Eventually, I [...]
Roger’s Under $50 Photographer’s Christmas List
by Roger Cicala
As usual, I’m supposed to write a Holiday article this time of year. And subtly suggest that a Lensrentals.com gift certificate would make the perfect gift for everyone on your list. So, OK, we’ve covered the gift certificate thing. That’s good since last year’s Holiday article was an epic fail that way. And caused enough trouble [...]
Sharing a Good Read
by Roger Cicala
One part of my job that gets to be a job sometimes is reading. The writing I do requires a lot of research reading. Making purchasing and troubleshooting decisions for Lensrentals requires a lot of research reading. So when I received a copy of Steve Simon’s book The Passionate Photographer: Ten Steps to Becoming Great [...]