Photo news: Sigma's 1.8 zoom and the return of the magic lamp

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The often quoted "trinity" of zooms includes a lens with a focal length of 16-35 millimetres and an initial aperture of f/2.8. The other two, just for the sake of completeness, are usually 24-70mm and 70-200mm, also with f/2.8. And it is also almost customary for Sigma to break with such decades-old traditions. How about even more light, i.e. f/1.8? And please for APS-C, where fast zooms have become rare?

Optically this is possible, it just requires a lot of glass, which the new Sigma 17-40mm F1.8 DC Art brings to 535 grams despite the smaller image circle. And the 17 lenses in 11 groups have to refract a lot of light, which inevitably results in image errors despite the high standards of Sigma's Art series. These were also noticeable in the form of chromatic aberrations in the Petapixel test: blue and yellow color fringing at the edges of hard contrasts. This can only be removed with a lot of manual work, even when editing, if the details are to be retained.

Sigma's 1.8 zoom from mid-July

As with all fast lenses, these errors occur mainly at open aperture, stopping down helps of course – but f/1.8 is what makes such a lens so attractive. The question is also which subjects you are photographing, for example if you are taking available light photos at events, this can be distracting. The solution for the columnist with similar lenses was usually to stop down slightly and use a minimal fill flash. With such special lenses, it is always worth experimenting with different techniques.

Otherwise, however, the Sigma cuts a good figure, it is still quite sharp, especially at f/1.8, but this decreases towards the edges up to f/4.0. The versions for L-mount, E-mount and X-mount are to be delivered in mid-July, followed by the model for Canon's RF-mount in August. It is not yet clear whether Nikon will also give its approval for the Z-mount. Sigma charges 999 euros for all versions; according to the data published so far, the lens is not weatherproof. Incidentally, with a crop factor of 1.5 on APS-C cameras, the 17-40mm becomes around 26-60mm, so you almost have a 24-70mm zoom in your hand like on a full-frame camera.

Analog feeling with Echolens from 149 US dollars

The Echolens seems to be less technically sophisticated and more of a trend rider. Our column has already reported on the retro camera with retro image quality, and now its Kickstarter project has been launched. And with it, the price is also known: The camera is currently set to cost from 149 US dollars, with the first backers getting it for 99 US dollars. There are also a few technical specifications: As previously suspected, there is only the optical viewfinder and a fixed lens, which should correspond to a focal length of 35 millimeters. Behind this is a sensor with a full 8 megapixels –, which is what even every cheap cell phone offers today.

This also explains the earlier impression of mediocre image quality, which has at least improved somewhat with the new sample images. The Echolens, as its makers openly state, is simply intended to combine the fun of photography with an analog feel for small pictures. A mechanical image counter is also used for this purpose, which is actually needed, as a maximum of 54 photos can be stored in the internal memory, which cannot be expanded. Only by transferring them to a smartphone via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth using a dedicated app or to another device via USB-C is there enough space.

This is also necessary to view the images, as the Echolens does not have a display. This is probably also why it is cheaper than the Fuji X-Half, which we have already tried out. In view of the price, it may still pass as a photo toy if the promised functions such as the numerous movie looks and the app work properly. The camera is due to be delivered from October 2025, but as always with Kickstarter projects, you shouldn't necessarily rely on this. The Echolens has already found the targeted 1000 supporters, so there is probably a chance that it will actually be built.

Sony's beta for CAI seal of authenticity still only for professionals

Already available – finally – is Sony's solution for an authenticity seal for photos according to CAI/C2PA. Naturally, the industry giant uses its own brand for this, "Camera Verify". This is the name of the system, which has now been released as a beta version. A license is still required in the camera, and this is still only available for photo agencies, photojournalists and media companies. Nevertheless, C2PA-signed images can now be checked by anyone, and there is a freely accessible website for this purpose.

With the publication, Sony has also explained a little more about what is being checked. The Alphas not only record obvious metadata such as the location and time of an image, but also the 3D depth information. This is usually missing in AI-generated images, for example. Our detailed report reveals more. Incidentally, Sony also wants to support the technology for videos in the fall; for the time being, this only works with JPEGs and ARW raw files.

Magic Lantern for more Canon cameras

On the subject of firmware in the camera, there is also news this week from an old acquaintance: Magic Lantern is back. This is a project for unofficial firmware for Canon cameras that retrofits functions not built in by the manufacturer. The Magic Lantern is particularly popular with filmmakers, as professional functions such as focus peaking or even the internal recording of videos in raw formats were only possible with older Canon DSLRs.

After years of silence, there are now new versions of Magic Lantern, with the EOS 200D, 750D, 6D Mark II and 7D Mark II being supported for the first time. The functions are slightly different, depending on what the developers were able to reverse engineer in terms of hardware and software. A word of warning before the link: Magic Lantern is unofficial firmware, install and use at your own risk. Frozen cameras (bricked), which then have to be revived by Canon, possibly for a repair fee, can occur, as can crashes during operation. Nobody guarantees Magic Lantern, and before using it you should read up on the project's extensive forum. Keeping all this in mind, here are the new versions.

What you really need for fetish photography

Custom firmware for cameras is a niche – as is fetish photography. However, there is a lot of creativity in this field and just as many opportunities to portray people in more than just a sexual context. This requires not only technical know-how typical of the scene, but above all social know-how. Everything is based on respect and trust, and this is also the title of the latest episode of our podcast Click Boom Flash, in which fetish photographer Lisa Loepke talks about her work. The episode is our recommendation for a long listen on a Sunday evening.

(nie)