7Artisans says the $169 pancake lens is the lightest autofocus F2 prime lens available for APS-C cameras.
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7Artisans has announced the AF 18mm F2.0 Lite lens. The new pancake lens for Sony E-mount APS-C cameras offers a wide field of view in a tiny package.
The AF 18mm F2.0 Lite provides a 27mm full-frame equivalent view on APS-C cameras, a focal length ideal for street and travel photography. 7Artisans says it is the lightest autofocus F2.0 prime lens for APS-C cameras, and it weighs just 109 g (3.8 oz). The lens measures just 32mm (1.3″) long, with a diameter of 64mm (2.5″).
Despite its compact size, the lens features a clicked aperture ring, providing on-lens aperture control. The lens also uses an all-metal build, which 7Artisans says is dust-sealed for added protection. It also has a USB-C port for firmware updates.
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7Artisans says the lens’s stepping motor delivers fast, quiet autofocus suited to both photo and video. It can focus as close as 0.2m (7.9″). The lens features a fast F2.0 aperture and a nine-blade diaphragm.
The optical design comprises nine elements in seven groups, including one extra-low dispersion element and one high-refractive index lens. It’s compatible with 52mm filters.
About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.
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A new physical mode dial gives photographers four analog creative effects without requiring a phone or app.
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Polaroid has announced its latest take on instant photography with the Polaroid Mod. The camera offers four in-camera creative modes, with the company’s press release describing it as “designed for creative people who want to do more than point and shoot, without needing to be an expert behind the camera.”
The creative modes – Split Shot, Double Exposure, Motion Freeze and Light Painting – are the standout features of the Polaroid Mod. Double exposure and light painting were previously available through Polaroid’s app, but the Mod provides access directly from the camera’s mode dial, making them easier to use.
Split Shot uses an included half-lens cap accessory to combine two non-overlapping photos in a single frame.Polaroid
“With Mod, we wanted the creative experience to be built into the physical design of the camera,” says Stine Bauer Dahlberg, Chief Product Officer at Polaroid, in the press release. “We wanted the camera itself to encourage you to try something different every time you pick it up.”
Double Exposure allows users to expose the same frame twice, creating overlapping images. Split Shot also involves two photographs in one frame, but it requires an included accessory that blocks half the lens. It allows users to combine two photos without overlap, provided the half-lens cap is rotated appropriately.
Motion Freeze uses a longer exposure with a flash fired at the end (a rear-curtain sync technique) to combine motion blur with a sharp subject. Lastly, Light Painting is simply a long exposure to capture trails of light.
The mode dial also offers an auto mode for more straightforward instant images. Like Polaroid’s other cameras, the camera features a brightness dial to adjust exposure.
The Mod features a brightness dial for adjusting exposure.Polaroid
In terms of general camera specifics, the Mod shares a lot in common with the Polaroid Now+ Gen 2 camera. It uses a two-lens system with a 94.96mm (roughly 35mm equiv.) close-up lens and a 102.35mm (roughly 40mm) distance lens. The camera automatically switches between the two: the close-up lens focuses from 0.40m to 1.3m (1.3 to 4.3 feet), while the distance lens covers 1.0m to infinity (3.3 feet to infinity).
Polaroid lists six usable apertures ranging from F11 to F64 and a custom shutter driven by a precision step motor, though it has not published the shutter-speed range. It also has a built-in flash powered by a vacuum discharge tube strobe system.
Polaroid
The Mod is compatible with i-Type and 600 film. It uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery with USB-C charging. The camera measures 161.7 x 110.2 x 98mm (6.37 x 4.34 x 3.86″) and weighs 520g (18.34 oz), making it slightly larger and heavier than the Now+ Gen 2.
The Polaroid Mod is available through the Polaroid website as of September 29 for $170. It will be available through other retailers in the US starting on October 6, with global availability early 2027.
About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.
Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add DPReview as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.
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