Photography News

Think you know everything about photography? From the hidden math behind your files to bizarre legal battles over monkey selfies, these facts reveal the fascinating technical quirks and strange history that most photographers never learn.

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An f/1.2 prime that is small, light, and relatively affordable changes how you think about portrait and video work. Instead of saving that look for rare jobs with heavy, expensive glass, you can consider shooting with it on long walks, travel days, or full wedding schedules.

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Most photographers and videographers spend as much (if not more) time editing as they do shooting. This is simply how the digital workflow is. It is nearly impossible to work from a laptop, so many of us end up buying monitors. Having a monitor that can do it all is hard to find, but the Dell UltraSharp U3224KB comes close. It’s a jack of all trades, but is it a master of any?

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You probably make at least a few of the same mistakes over and over without realizing it. Small habits like staying at eye level or avoiding bad weather quietly flatten your images and make your work feel more generic than it needs to be.

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For decades, I have struggled with retouching my headshot images. I deal with a variety of problems, ranging from fixing crooked neckties to removing flyaways. The biggest problem for me, however, is evening out skin tones, or more specifically, reducing redness in the skin. A new Color Variance slider in Lightroom may help anyone dealing with this issue.

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AI models in Photoshop are starting to do something that used to take hours of careful cloning and healing: bring cracked, faded family photos back to life while still looking real. Those images are often the only visual record of parents, grandparents, and whole branches of a family, and AI is starting to emerge as a legitimate option.

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Fujifilm’s X-T30 III takes a body a lot of people already know and pushes it with smarter autofocus, better film simulations, and upgraded video options. If you spend a lot of time juggling stills, clips, and travel, this kind of small camera can change what you carry and when you leave bigger gear at home.

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Win 1 of 10 Zoner Studio yearly licenses!

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If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by complicated photo editing software - or frustrated by high subscription costs - Zoner Studio is the breath of fresh air you’ve been waiting for. Created for beginners, hobby photographers, and anyone who wants to take their photo editing to the next level at half the cost of the main players. Zoner Studio delivers professional-grade tools in a clean, intuitive interface that makes the entire workflow faster, simpler, and genuinely enjoyable.

What makes Zoner Studio different is its rare combination of power and approachability. You don’t need to be a retouching expert to get great results, and you don’t need to fight your way through endless menus to find basic tools. Everything you need - importing, organizing, editing, retouching, layers, masks, video editing, and exporting - is right where you expect it. Whether you’re editing your first RAW file or batch-processing a full wedding shoot, Zoner Studio guides you from first steps to polished final images effortlessly.

A proper strength is its freedom of workflow. Unlike many well-known editors, Zoner Studio doesn’t force you into a catalog-only system. You can choose the method that works best for you: use the catalog for fast searching and organization, or edit directly from folders without importing anything at all. And here’s an even bigger advantage: your photo library stays fully accessible even after your subscription ends. No lock-ins, no disappearing edits, no unpleasant surprises. Your photos remain yours.

And whether you’re learning the craft or looking for inspiration, Zoner Studio is packed with helpful tutorials, tooltips, guided modules, and educational content that helps you progress. You’ll never be lost or stuck wondering what to do next.

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Today's Prize Win 1 of 10 Zoner Studio yearly licenses!

If you want a photo editor that respects your time, your budget, and your creativity, Zoner Studio is the perfect place to start - and the ideal companion as your skills grow. Whether you’re editing once a month or every day, it’s everything you need in one beautifully designed package.

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As a thanks to all of you who support the site by purchasing Plus Membership, you will receive 2 entries per draw.

Also, a huge thank you to all of our members, old and new, Plus and Free, for being part of our amazing community and to those clients who have supported us this year, through continuing tough economic circumstances. It's certainly been another challenging year, so thanks - we couldn't have made it through 2025 without you!

Wishing you all a lovely Christmas and here’s hoping 2026 will be healthy and happy all round. The ePHOTOzine Team.

[PRIZE_ENTRY]7006[/PRIZE_ENTRY]

 

Christmas is a great time of year to try out some macro photography, with loads of trinkets and brightly coloured objects to shoot. Here are some tips for festive macro photography.

  Subjects

As mentioned above, there are many decorative items that appear at Christmas that are ideal subjects for macro photography. Think baubles on the tree, festive garlands, centrepieces and ornaments, like candle holders, tea lights and reindeer statues. Think about the lighting too – if you're going for a festive look, then firelight, fairy lights and candles are the way to go. Look for interesting decorations that have plenty of colour and detail. Don't forget the other decorations that can be found around the house either. Snow globes, bowls of sweets and Poinsettias are all worth a quick photo.

Many ornaments are quite reflective so do check them to make sure your reflection isn't showing in them. This does mean you'll have to adjust your position or move the ornament if you do find your face to be in the shot.

If you're shooting with fairy lights in the background, they will create great bokeh for your image. Alternatively, use the lights as an abstract subject, turning them into circles of colour against dark backgrounds.

  Settings

If your camera has a specific macro setting, then that will be a good starting point. Those using interchangeable lenses should switch to a close-up or specific macro lens to shoot their photographs.

Do check your white balance as photos taken indoors can sometimes have a warm, orange tint to them. If you find this to be a problem switch from auto white balance to one of the other presets or you can manually set your white balance.
 

 

Support

You might need to use a tripod, or a gorillapod to achieve stability in a small space, especially if you are shooting in low light, such as firelight or candlelight for effectiveness.
 

Get Creative

Try setting up your own scene to shoot, rather than just shooting the objects where they are positioned. For example, if your tree is really too full you can take a few decorations off it to create a Christmas still life. The Nativity scene will make a really interesting macro shot too.
 

Turn Your Photos Into Cards

It's a little late for this year, however macro shots you take this Christmas can be used on cards you send out next year. 

 

 

We have here an exciting combination, the fine, energetic Korean lens manufacturer working alongside one of the legendary West German optical giants. LK Samyang have been building their reputation and excelling as they have moved into AF lenses. Schneider Kreuznach are one of the world's most respected high class optical manufacturers. Bringing the two together looks like a challenge to the best of current lenses. Let's see if the magic is there, coupling up the new LK Samyang AF 24-60mm f/2.8 FE lens with the 42MP Sony A7R III camera body. Let the sparks fly...

 

LK Samyang AF 24-60mm f/2.8 FE Handling and Features

First off, it looks good, well finished, relatively compact at 102mm x 126mm and weighing in at a very manageable 494g. There is a supplied petal lens hood that clips smoothly and positively into place. There is no locking catch, nor is there a need for one. Within the bayonet fit for the hood is a conventional 72mm filter thread.

The core of the lens is an Aluminium barrel. The high quality plastic exterior is treated with a water and oil repellent coating called “Hydro Shield”, in addition to the Fluorine coating on the front element. There are various seals throughout the lens, giving weather sealing against water droplets, light rain, snow and dust. This does at least give some indication of the degree of sealing; there is the usual caveat that it does not extend to being waterproof. Dust protection is however quantified as IP-5 and this equates to “dust protected”.

 

 

Our tour of the lens controls starts with the control ring. This is by default the focusing ring. Unfortunately, the A7R III does not support changing the function. The zoom ring is clearly marked at 24mm, 35mm, 50mm and 60mm. These settings are accurate. The focusing ring is electronic and as smooth as expected. The zoom ring does extend the lens but balance does not seem to be unduly altered and the action is much smoother than most competitors.

There is one innovative feature, a USB-C socket that can be used to transfer data and therefore update the firmware of the lens without having to use a docking station. A clever idea.

 

 

Focusing is down to 0.18m (0.59') at 24mm, for a maximum magnification of 0.27x, or 1:3.73. This becomes 0.32m (1.05') at 60mm, for a maximum magnification of 0.25x, or 1:4.01. This close focusing is extremely versatile, approaching macro distances. AF is provided via a stepping motor, which is fast, accurate and virtually silent. There is an AF/MF selector switch. There is also a single button that locks AF position. With some bodies this may enable access to other functions. 

Optical construction is 14 elements in 11 groups, including 3 Aspherical, 3 HR (High Refractive Incidence) and 2 ED (Extra Low Dispersion). The diaphragm comprises 9 blades, producing a rounded aperture. Finally, we have Samyang's impressive UMC multi-coating.

It is a great lens to use, a bit of bulk being saved by restricting the telephoto end. Most standard zooms of similar specification will extend to 70mm, but the reduction in size and weight may well be preferred by many photographers. There is no IS built in, thus relying on the IBIS of the camera body. This works very well and does help to keep the size of the lens down.

 

 

LK Samyang AF 24-60mm f/2.8 FE Performance

At 24mm, central sharpness is excellent from f/2.8 through to f/11, rising to outstanding at f/4. It is still very good at f/16 and f/22. The edges are good at f/2.8, very good from f/4 to f/11, good at f/16 and fair at f/22.

At 35mm, central sharpness is excellent from f/2.8 to f/11, very good at f/16 and good at f/22. The edges are good at f/2.8, very good from f/4 through to f/16 and good at f/22.

At 60mm, central sharpness is good at f/2.8, excellent from f/4 to f/11, very good at f/16 and good at f/22. The edges are fair from f/2.8 to f/8, very good at f/11 and f/16 and good at f/22.

This is a very creditable performance and the images look satisfyingly sharp and crisp.

Distortion is handled extremely well, measuring -0.55% barrel at 24mm, -0.33% barrel at 35mm and -0.12% barrel at 60mm. 

 

Samyang AF 24-60mm f/2.8 FE MTF Charts Previous Next

How to read our MTF charts

The blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges.

For this review, the lens was tested on a Sony A7R IIII body using Imatest. Want to know more about how we review lenses?

 

CA is tightly controlled in the centre and although there is a higher reading at the edges, for most subjects colour fringing is not obtrusive. Further correction could be made in software if required.

 

Samyang AF 24-60mm f/2.8 FE Chromatic Aberration Charts Previous Next

How to read our CA charts

Chromatic aberration (CA) is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software.

Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimize the problem, hence they usually cost more.

For this review, the lens was tested on a Sony A7R III body using Imatest.

 

Bokeh is pleasantly smooth and this holds true even with quite “busy” backgrounds. This is helpful in portraiture and with flower shots, with a sharp central core and a lovely out of focus background with gentle gradation.

Flare is rather impressively banished, with only the slightest sign of artefacts even under very severe lighting challenges. UMC multi-coating has always delivered the necessary flare suppression.

Vignetting results are better than average for this type of lens and are summarised in the following table.

 

Aperture 24mm 35mm 60mm f/2.8 -1.9 -1 -1.3 f/4 -1.8 -0.9 -1.2 f/5.6 -1.8 -0.8 -1.1 f/8 -1.7 -0.8 -1.1 f/11 -1.7 -0.8 -1 f/16 -1.4 -0.7 -1 f/22 -1.3 -0.7 -1

 

 

Samyang AF 24-60mm f/2.8 FE Sample Photos Previous Next

 

Samyang AF 24-60mm f/2.8 FE Aperture range Previous Next

You can view additional images in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own reviews, photos and product ratings.

 

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Value For Money

The SK Samyang AF 24-60mm f/2.8 FE lens is priced at £475.00

Alternatives for Sony FE might be:

• [AMUK]Samyang AF 24-70mm f/2.8|Samyang+AF+24-70mm+f/2.8[/AMUK], £618
• [AMUK]Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II|Sony+FE+24-70mm+f/2.8+GM+II[/AMUK], £1669
• [AMUK]Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM|Sony+FE+24-70mm+f/2.8+GM[/AMUK], £1535

Although not usable on Sony FE mount, users of Lumix cameras have a similarly specified lens:

• [AMUK]Panasonic Lumix S 24-60mm f/2.8|Panasonic+Lumix+S+24-60mm+f/2.8[/AMUK], £899

Overall, the new lens has a very attractive price and is great VFM.

 

 

LK Samyang AF 24-60mm f/2.8 FE Verdict

Jointly designed by LK Samyang and Schneider Kreuznach, the synergy of the two skill sets results in a very fine lens at a very attractive price point. Lenses from the Samyang stable have been impressive for many years, first with manual focus lenses that extended the repertoire from the basic marque offerings, then with a new range of AF lenses that took quality levels up a distinct step. Performance is excellent. It is true that sharpness falls off at 60mm, but even here, the use of smaller apertures will give critical sharpness right across the frame.

The slight trimming of the tele end to 60mm, as opposed to the more common 70mm, does keep the bulk of the lens down and for travel this could be a very good thing. The smooth bokeh will give an attractive backdrop to portraiture. The close focusing that approaches macro distances is a huge boon, adding to the versatility of the lens for general use. For document copying, the low distortion means straight edges remain straight, and the results here are very satisfactory for any lens, especially so for a zoom.

In summary, a versatile and excellent lens and an Editor's Choice.

 

LK Samyang AF 24-60mm f/2.8 FE Pros

• Excellent central sharpness
• Modest vignetting
• Weather resistance
• Low flare levels
• Smooth bokeh
• Close focusing
• Excellent construction standards
• Great VFM

 

LK Samyang AF 24-60mm f/2.8 FE Cons

• Lower edge sharpness at 60mm
• Some edge CA

 

[REVIEW_FOOTER]R_features=4.5|R_handling=5|R_performance=4.5|R_value=5|R_overall=5|A_level=5|A_text=Editor's Choice – A versatile, high quality standard zoom at a very attractive price.|E_id=8027[/REVIEW_FOOTER]

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This is not a guide, but a way to think about abstraction as one way for photographers to regain control and meaning when technology learns every technique.

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