Now These Guys Take Photography Seriously

Imaging Resource has an article on a new toy recently delivered to technicians at LensRentals.com.  (It should tell you something that the writers at Imaging Resource call the article a "Nerd Alert".)

The "toy" is a custom designed machine from Optikos designed to facilitate calibration of camera lenses.

The machine works by shining three pin-point sized light beams through the lens.  The first beam travels straight through the lens assembly.  The other two beams hit the lens at an angle.  The sources for these two beams can be adjusted to change the angle at which the beam hits the lens.

The machine then produces a display showing the effect of shining the light beams through the camera.  These results can be use to determine whether the lens is off-center.  If the lens needs to be calibrated, it also produces real-time feedback while the lens is being calibrated.

The real-time feedback aspect promises to greatly decrease the amount of time needed to calibrate an off-centered lens.


LensRentals.com currently only rents equipment.  They don't offer repair or calibration services.  (They do sell their rental equipment after owning it for two year if you happen to be in the market for used lenses or camera bodies.)


The machine does seem to be something other companies might be interested in, including those that offer repair services. 


Check out the LensRentals.com blog to see the machine in use.

Camera and Lens Announcements and Reviews for the Week of March 23

Cameras

Panasonic announces Leica DG Summilux 15mm F1.7, and GM1 kit

Fujifilm FinePix S9200 Review

Pentax K-3: Eight pages added to our ongoing review 

Sony Cybershot DSC-HX400V Review

Casio Exilim EX-10 Hands-On Preview
  
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF6: Lab Test Results & Comments

How the Fujifilm X-T1 Shocked Me: A Quick Hands-On Overview




Lenses, Filters and Adapters

Panasonic Announces New F1.7 High Speed Leica Summilux 15mm Lens
Panasonic announces 15mm f/1.7 Leica-branded lens for Micro Four Thirds
Leica DG Summilux 15mm f/1.7 Pricing Announced, Pre-Orders Now Available

Tokina Launches First Cine Lenses
Two lenses for Canon full-frame  and APS DSLR Cameras
One for Panasonic micro four-thirds MILC.

Zeiss announces Compact Zoom CZ.2 15-30mm T2.9 lens

Pentax DA* 16-50mm f/2.8ED AL [IF] SDM Lens Reviews

Lomography x Zenit 85mm f/2.2 Petzval Art Lens Review

Sony FE 24-70mm Zeiss lens review




Nikon 35mm f/1.8 G FX – Field Review

Memory Card Sale

Adorama is advertising 25% off Lexar Professional Memory Cards.

CF, SDHC  and microSDHC cards are included in the weekend special.  (Special also includes a 32GB USB JumpDrive for those needing a little more off camera storage.)