Is the Problem of Lens Breathing Being Blown Out of Proportion?
This week, Chris, Jordan, and Jaron tackle the topic of lens breathing and whether or not it is “blown” out of proportion (pun intended) by YouTubers and lens reviewers.
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Sigma CEO Kazuto Yamaki spoke with PetaPixel contributor and former Imaging Resource publisher David Etchells, and Yamaki says that YouTube reviewers might be putting too much emphasis on lens breathing, which could take away development time and emphasis from other important lens manufacturing endeavors.
“So we know the professional cinematographers. And of course focus breathing is very important for that, and also parfocal designs. But there is no perfect lens. So I know that professional photographers or cinematographers can deal with a lens with some breathing or that isn’t perfectly parfocal. They know how to use it. But today, video reviews are so popular on YouTube that focus breathing has become very obvious and eye-catching, so people can easily point it out and say, ‘Hey, this lens breathes.’ In reality, though, you can use that lens without seeing obvious breathing in videos you make,” Yamaki says.
“It’s a little unfortunate that online video reviews of lenses have called so much attention to the issue when lens designers might be able to achieve better overall performance if they weren’t forced to place so much emphasis on insignificant levels of focus breathing,” Etchells comments.
Chris and Jordan obviously have an opinion on that, and they weigh in.
Additionally, the trio talk about the “scam” of printer ink, how Western Digital is now being sued by three groups for the SanDisk SSD fiasco, and Chris and Jordan explain what other lens terms mean so you can be better informed when you listen to their next review.
Other Links:
We use Riverside to record all our episodes in our online recording studio.
The best alternatives to SanDisk SSDs
WD refuses to answer questions about SanDisk
Printers that won’t scan if they are out of ink
Canon aggressively going after third-party ink sellers
Canon’s latest statement about third party lenses
Discussed in this Episode:
- 00:00 – Intro
- 06:48 – Canon was absolutely grilled over its ink cartridges
- 14:10 – WD has been sued by angry SanDisk users
- 19:39 – Sigma’s CEO says reviewer’s emphasis on focus breathing is misplaced
- 27:23 – Talkin’ Lens Terms Volume 2
- 47:06 – What have you been up to?
- 54:13 – Tech Support
- 1:09:06 – Never read the comments
We hope you enjoy the podcast and we look forward to hearing what you think. If you like what you hear, please support us by subscribing, liking, commenting, and reviewing! Every week, the trio go over comments on YouTube and here on PetaPixel, but if you’d like to send a message for them to hear, you can do so through SpeakPipe.
