Top all-time · #10461
Phillip Reeve
Personal blog · phillipreeve.net/blogother
Phillip Reeve's personal blog at phillipreeve.net. Since 2020, 7 different Hacker News readers have linked it 17 times, most often “Lens Aberrations Explained”. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-11-01, and you can follow it by feed.
Too few sampled comments (6) to say how often HN recommends it.?
Why HN links it
Photography blog on lenses: aperture blades and sunstars, manual lenses, Sony E-mount lens lists, and lens aberrations. Commenters mostly cite its posts as references on these topics.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 6 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Sony α | Leica M | Nikon Z/F New articles every week
Most-linked posts?
- Lens Aberrations Explained2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2020-04-26
What Hacker News says?
The number of rays is determined by the number of aperture blades, as well as whether there's an even or odd number of aperture blades https://phillipreeve.net/blog/best-lenses-for-sunstars/#The_... Interestingly, some modern photography lenses have achieved aperture mechanisms with much rounder geometry, sometimes with near perfect circles at multiple apertures. This can result in a more desirable bokeh, at the cos…
Comment linking /blog/best-lenses-for-sunstars/
on “First images from James Webb telescope exceed expectations”Submitted Lens Aberrations Explained as a story · 108 points
HN discussionIf you want to go even deeper down the rabbithole the Alphas are also great manual lens platforms. https://phillipreeve.net/blog/manual-lenses-sony-a7/ Plus, a comprehensive list from the same folks for all the E mount lenses: https://phillipreeve.net/blog/fe-lenses-sony-comprehensive-i...
Comment linking /blog/fe-lenses-sony-comprehensive-independent-guide/
on “Why are modern 50mm lenses so damned complicated?”Submitted Working with Tilt/Shift Lenses (2022) as a story · 89 points
HN discussionIf you interested in great feeling and great IQ lenses with a small foot print look not further than the Zeiss Loxia line, Sony 24mm F2.8G / 40mm F2.5G and 50mm F2.5G, the new Sigma Contemporary lens line for both E and L mount and Voigtländer lenses for both E and M mount. All of them have metal bodies and some of these are even weather sealed and have AF. There is some Chinese lenses as well which seem to be very…
Comment linking /
on “DSLRs are dead, and lenses are never going to be the same”Submitted What Makes a Picture Good? as a story · 77 points
HN discussionI think "The gearheads can natter online" is a bit reductionist. You say that lenses are essentially perfect for "non-extreme" photography but for most "non-extreme" photography, frankly, a modern smartphone is just as good. These days, the main practical reason why most people would buy a dedicated camera is so that they can handle those "extreme" situations, so it does make sense to care about how far a lens can b…
Comment linking /blog/review-sony-fe-100-f-2-8-stf-gm-oss-lens/
on “Lens Aberrations Explained”Submitted The Team Edits Your Images: Aurora Borealis as a story · 27 points
HN discussion> Sony cameras have clumsiness all over the place. Agreed, especially in terms of UI. I shoot A7RIV and Fuji X-T3 and the Fuji is so much nicer to use. Technically though, it's fairly good these days. > Can you confidently count on getting 14 bit RAW files, or will you sometimes only get 12 bits? On the latest generation they've largely fixed this [0]. 12-bit if you use compressed RAW, 14-bit if you don't. > Are the…
Comment linking /blog/an-upgraders-guide-to-the-sony-a7riv/
on “The Sony “Star Eater” (2017)”Submitted Best lenses for sunstars as a story · 21 points
HN discussionI don't have pictures online to show around. After using that lens for years now I think there are a number of factors contributing to this 3D effect: * In the center of the image things behind the sujet are strongest out of focus. * With the focus "plane" wandering off to the rear towards the corners, you can put up some "visual pillars" on the sides which are somewhat in focus, but shouldn't be from our own visual…
Comment linking /blog/voigtlander-ultron-11-7-35-mm-review/
on “Clinically clean lenses are destroying what makes cameras special”Submitted Limitations of the Electronic Shutter Function (2016) as a story · 13 points
HN discussionSubmitted Lens Aberrations Explained (2023) as a story · 1 points
HN discussionSubmitted If you like something, that doesn't necessarily mean it is good as a story · 1 points
HN discussionSubmitted Finding Photo Opportunities Near Home as a story · 1 points
HN discussionSubmitted Analogue Adventures: Emulating Filmlook as a story · 1 points
HN discussion