Almost forty years since it started to create new, innovative ways to improve the quality of photography, Sigma now proudly launches the APO F2.8 EX DC HSM 50-150mm lens.

Sporting a lightweight and compact construction, it provides optimum lens performance via the very latest optical technology. Four SLD glass elements are used for precise correction of chromatic aberrations. High image quality is assured throughout the entire zoom range. It is also equipped with HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor) with full-time manual focus override, and is compatible with Sigma 1.4x EX DG and 2x EX DG APO Tele-Converters.

Weighing at 770g / 27.2oz, this large aperture F2.8 lens is specifically designed for digital SLR cameras with an APS-C size image sensor.

Backed by decades of credible and reputable products under its belt, Sigma's APO is a great addition to photographers' equipment line to nourish that creative streak in them.

Want to turn your Canon IXUS into a microscope capable of photography? Well it seems that the guys over at X-Loupe thought of the same thing. They recently produced the X-Loupe PRO, an attachment compatible with the Canon IXUS digital camera.

This contraption is actually a mini-microscope, and when attached to your IXUS, has the capability to take 5-megapixel pictures or even videos. Its LED lens ring gives you the freedom to adjust the light on your subject depending on your taste. Moreover, you could preview your shots by connecting the IXUS to your TV, so you could share your pictures instantly to friends and family. Its battery lasts for about four hours, or approximately 150 pictures.

The X-Loupe PRO comes in 60X, 100X and 150X lens, and you could get it with the Canon IXUS online for US$1449. Not bad for something that could be used both for creative and educational purposes.

So go ahead. Satisfy your curiosity for all things little (or big) with the X-Loupe PRO and Canon IXUS.

Thinking of making your directorial debut now? Maybe you should check out the Canon HD Video Lens for your Canon XL H1 HD camcorder. It features 6x zoom, and produces sharp images due to its UA (Ultra High Refractive Index Aspherical) glass elements.

But it's strictly not for cinematographers only, as photographers alike could enjoy the lens' exciting features. Wanna capture some animals in an African safari, but don't want to get "too involved" (unless of course, you want to get bitten)? Just make use of the the Canon HD Video lens. With its 24.5 to 147 mm zoom, you could capture high-quality images that are not within your reach.

The lens would be released around mid-November, with a price tag of $2,999.

We do know that most of the time, you really shouldn't scrimp if you want to get the best accessories for your camera. But in this case, you won't need loads of it.

There are many makers of camera lenses out there but the ones being sold are just too expensive to experiment with. (A Nikon shift lens goes for over $1000.) In DigiHack, dennison provides us with an inexpensive way to create your own shift lens. You'll need a lens, a medium-sized flexible rubber plunger, a cardboard and a plastic body cap.

Using a knife, you hollow out the inside part and smoothen any burrs or rough spots.

Take your plunger and cut a hole in the top where you're going to stick in your lens (in this case, he used an 80mm Carl Zeiss lens). Make sure that the hole is tight enough so the lens is supported.

You then cut out a ring from the cardboard for your backing. The inner circle should be the same as the diameter and circumference of the lens cap and the outer part is the same as the plunger's bottom. You should hotglue this together. You can then attach it to the camera.

Here's an example of a picture he took. Notice that the eyelashes of the model are far clearer than most other parts of the picture, giving the photographer control over the viewer's gaze.

All of us are aware that we'll encounter some limitations with our digital cameras sooner or later - most especially with compacts - so we definitely need all the advice we can get on how to make the most out of them.

Fortunately for us, there are ways to improve our digicams in inexpensive ways. Here's one you can do yourself that greatly improve the images that you take. You can attach a wide-angle door viewer to the lens of your camera that will provide your old camera with a 160-degree wide angle view.

You need a wide angle door viewer which you can buy at any hardware store. You have to look for one that has the largest possible eyehole as the ones with small openings will not produce good images.

You then remove the threaded backing from the door viewer and then start snapping away. If your camera has a center-weighted mode, turn that on to force it to focus on the image that you've chosen.

You can also choose to edit photos you've taken in either Gimp or Photoshop to crop out the circular image (the object of the photo itself).

In connection with the planned release of the Leica rangefinder camera, the Leica M system lenses are getting a new code on the bayonet ring. This will enable the coming digital Leica M camera to recognize the lens type, helping the camera to optimize image quality.

All Leica M lenses to be released from July 1 of this year will bear the 6-bit coding. This coding has the six fields in the bayonet ring marked in black and white to represent a number from 1 to 64 in binary code, which will help the planned digital Leica M camera to identify the lens.

All Leica lenses bought in the past can be converted to bear the same coding. This can be done at the Customer Service of Leica Camera AG in Solms or the Leica agencies of other countries and will come with a EURO 95 ($120) price tag. Many of the lenses from 1963 onwards can be converted.

Although the upcoming lenses may now be considered 'digital', they will still be compatible with current analog cameras LEICA MP and LEICA M7, as well as classic models built after 1954.

In a never ending search for great resources on Digital Photography, I recently came across this one: The Digital Picture.  Now I'm a Canon guy, and it slants that way, so it suits my 'lifestyle'.  If you're from the Nikon camp, you might like to check out Nikonians. 

There's a great section with detailed reviews on just about every lens you could imagine (for a Canon SLR body).  Their reviews and ratings track very closely with preferences and suggestions that pro photographer friends of mine have made.  So I'll assume they're pretty spot-on here.

You can also find some nice tips for shooting, and understanding what your camera is actually doing.  All in all it's a very nice collection of information about Digital Photography.  Whether you're Canon or not, it's worth a peek and a read.

I was watching Mythbusters recently where they tried to light a fire using ice as the focusing element.  It was pretty cool (no pun intended) to watch as they were finally successful.  The big hurdle being that the hot sun was obviously going to melt the ice, diminishing the focal strength of the 'lens'. 

Well Matthew Wheeler responded to the source of the Mythbusters' trials, Scientific American.  He found the results weren't that difficult at all, and he wanted to take things to the next level.  So he decided to make a lens out of ice that he could use to actually take photographs.  The link below shows some of the impressive results he achieved.  The clearly, non-winter shots are the ones that impress me the most.

Proof that people with no life are more useful than party animals is a new type of tuneable liquid-crystal lens whose focus can be changed by applying voltage to it. Created by US physicists, the new device is said to be better than current liquid-crystal lenses because it only has small astigmatism and does not scatter light. We don't know what they meant by that but they say their new invention could be used for zoom lenses and other microphotonic devices.

Why are they better? Most liquid-crystal lenses exploit the fact that liquid-crystal molecules can change the way they point in an electric field. Now, if the field is big enough, they all line up like meek, lobotomized sheep in the direction of the field. This changes its refractive index and the focusing power.

The full article awaits after the jump!

If you're still looking for that perfect lens hood for your camera, maybe the reason why you still haven't got one is that the one you probably wanted to have is a bit too expensive. But you can always make a camera hood yourself, and it would only cost you a small amount (if any at all).

You can use recyclable materials like plastic bottles. You have to make sure, though, that the bottle you're going to use as a lens hood will fit  the camera just fine.

In this case, since the plastic bottle isn't the same size as a typical Russky lens, the cut has to be slightly concave to make the fit perfect. When you're faced with the same problem, you make sure to cut the material properly for a perfect fit.

After opening the neck hole, try to fit the homemade camera hood and see if it fits well. You should then paint it flat or matt black to make it look like the standard camera hood.

These are really easy steps if you want an inexpensive lens hood for your camera that works.