Notable Lens Releases of 2022 & 23, with Kevin Rickert

04/14/2023

“Do I really replace lenses or just buy more of them? That’s the major question,” says Kevin Rickert, B&H Photo’s Senior Sales Trainer for cameras and lighting, in the heat of discussion for our Notable Lens Releases of 2022 and 2023 episode.

Listen in as we assess the latest crop of optics from Canon, FUJIFILM, Hasselblad, Nikon, OM SYSTEM, Sigma, Sony, and Tamron. The full list makes for a lot of glass, so we’ve narrowed things down to a focused selection of primes and zooms spanning medium format, full frame, cropped sensor, and Micro Four Thirds formats.

As in our annual Cameras of the Year show from December, we mix up the tech talk with practical anecdotes to help match lenses and customers based on user experience. Among the many threads of our chat, we commend the release of some new and different focal lengths—from Nikon’s 26mm pancake to Sony’s 20-70mm f/4 G-series zoom to Tamron’s 50-400mm f/4.5-6.3 telephoto. “Maybe the 26mm will be the new 28, which is great,” says Rickert. “We like choices, and a lot of brands are going this route with their lens offerings.”

Guest: Kevin Rickert

Canon RF 135mm f1-8 L IS USM

Canon RF 800mm f5-6 L IS USM

Canon RF 1200mm f8 L IS USM

FUJIFILM XF 150-600mm f5-6-8 R LM OIS WR

FUJIFILM XF 56mm f1-2 R WR

FUJIFILM XF 18-120mm f4 LM PZ WR

FUJIFILM XF 30mm f2-8 R LM WR Macro

FUJIFILM GF 20-35mm f4 R WR

Hasselblad XCD 38mm f2-5 V

Hasselblad XCD 55mm f2-5 V

Hasselblad XCD 90mm f2-5 V

Nikon NIKKOR Z 400mm f2-8 TC VR S

Nikon NIKKOR Z 600mm f4 TC VR S

Nikon NIKKOR Z 26mm f2-8 Lens

Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f1-2 S

OM SYSTEM MZuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f2-8 PRO II

OM SYSTEM MZuiko Digital ED 90mm f3-5 Macro IS PRO

Sigma 50mm f1-4 DG DN Art

Sony FE 50mm f1-4 GM

Sony FE PZ 16-35mm f4 G

Sony FE 24-70mm f2-8 GM II

Sony FE 20-70mm f4 G

Tamron 50-400mm f4-5-6-3 Di III VC VXD

Tamron 20-40mm f2-8 Di III VXD

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Episode Timeline

1:45: Canon RF 135mm f/1.8L IS USM lens and its unique cat-eye bokeh.
6:32: Four new Canon RF-S lenses for APS-C cameras, plus RF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM and RF 1200mm f/8L IS USM super-telephotos for wildlife and sports.
9:20: FUJIFILM XF 56mm f/1.2 R WR for portraits, XF 150-600mm f/5.6-8 R LM OIS WR for wildlife and sports, XF 18-120mm f/4 LM PZ WR for everyday use, XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR, and FUJIFILM GF 20-35mm f/4 R WR lens for medium format.
12:42: Hasselblad XCD 38mm f/2.5 V, XCD 55mm f/2.5 V, and XCD 90mm f/2.5 V lenses.
18:49: Nikon Z 26mm f/2.8 pancake lens, Z 85mm f/1.2 S for portraits, 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S, and Z 600mm f/4 TC VR SZ super telephotos for wildlife and sports.
25:06: Episode break
25:58: OM SYSTEM 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS Pro lens, and the benefit of IP53 weather sealing.
31:43: Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG DN Art for L-mount and E-mount systems, plus rerelease of lenses for X-mount and Z-mount systems.
36:06: Sony FE 50mm f/1.4 GM, FE PZ 16-35mm F4 G, FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II, FE 20-70mm f/4 G lenses.
43:58: Tamron 20-40mm f/2.8 Di III VXD, 50-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD lenses.

Guest Bio:

Kevin Rickert is B&H Photo’s Senior Sales Trainer for Cameras and Lighting. It’s Rickert’s job to collaborate with camera and lens manufacturers to create curriculum for training B&H’s world-renowned sales staff. He knows his stuff! Born and raised in New York and self-described as a ballpark journeyman, Rickert has traveled to—and photographed—all Major League baseball stadiums in the United States since 2008. Earlier this year, he helped to represent the B&H Sales Team, in Nashville, at Imaging USA 2023―where he discovered how hot Nashville hot chicken, really is!