Shutter Release: Former Mythbuster fights a filter, new 50mm f/1.1 lens, dramatic portraits and more

by Jeremy Gray

posted Monday, July 3, 2017 at 2:00 PM EDT

Happy belated Canada Day to our Canadian readers. It is Canada's sesquicentennial, or 150th anniversary, so that is a great celebration for our neighbors to the north. As we prepare for Independence Day here in the US, let's kick off the first week in July with some fun and interesting photo stories. In today's edition of Shutter Release, our regular roundup feature, we watch former Mythbuster Adam Savage take a band saw to a Canon lens, look at a new third-party lens for Fujifilm X mount and finish with a couple of videos about lighting and composition. Let's get to it!

Adam Savage fights a filter with a band saw - Fstoppers

Although probably not the safest way to remove a stuck filter, many of us can relate to the frustration of filter problems and may have felt the urge to take a power tool to the end of a lens or two over the years. Norman Chan, an editor with Tested dropped his Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens and the filter got stuck. While the plastic filter wrench failed in the video below, they are typically effective, only cost around $5 and are very safe to use. Watch Adam Savage battle it out with Norman's stuck filter in the video.

Sainsonic Kamlan 50mm f/1.1 lens costs $150 and is coming soon to Fujifilm X mount - Fuji Rumors

Already available for Sony E mount and Canon EOS M mount, the Sainsonic Kamlan 50mm f/1.1 lens is a manual focus lens which is said to offer good central sharpness when shooting wide open, good distortion control and nice out of focus areas. There are some issues with fringing and corner sharpness, but hey, the lens is an f/1.1 optic and costs well under $200. Check out a video review below of the Sony E mount version. It is unclear when a Fujifilm X mount version might be coming, but word is that a Micro Four Thirds mount is on the way as well.