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Lens experience with Sony Nex-5 and Nex-7

monza

Active member


Excuse the fact that they are all upside down. :) I don't have enough rear lens caps at the moment...

Left to right: 28/2 'Hollywood', 50/1.7, 50/1.4, 85/2.8, 60/2.8, 100/3.5. This was shot with the 18-55.

Here's a pic of the 18-55 next to the 50/1.7 on the Fotodiox for size comparo.

 

waardij

New member
if you want to go really wide, there is always the sigma 8-16, here at 8mm. The lens is a bit big, not very sexy, but has good manual focus and performs great on a nex-7.
 

Michiel Schierbeek

Well-known member
Michiel, you aren't alone on the C/Y front, although I don't have a 7 yet. :)

I have used the 35/2.8, 50/1.7, and the 85/2.8...as I posted earlier in the thread, I have settled on 28/2, 50/1.4, and the 60/2.8 Makro Planar C. I also have the 85/2.8 (about the same size as a 50/1.7) and 100/3.5. Decided to sell the 100/2..too big and heavy...and will soon do a shootout between the 85 and the 100/3.5, and pick one.

I'll post some size comparisons shortly. I use a Fotodiox C/Y adapter which works well.
Monza, the 100/2 is a stellar lens, one of the best in the whole line.
Is is not much bigger then the 28/2. (If I were you I would sell the 100/3.5, if you have to. It is very good and small but the 100/2 does everything a little better.)
I bought the 28/2.8, much smaller and very good IMO.
I have got 12 C/Y lenses now, 3 zooms included.
I would never be able to choose between the 85/2.8 and 100/3.5.:)
I like them both.
There are 3 on my wishlist but I am in no hurry the 21/2.8, 60/2.8 Macro and the 85/1.4
BTW Your Macro-Planar S 60/2.8 does not go to 1:1, right?
Can you tell me more about the difference?

Looking forward to your comparisons!


Michiel
 
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Hi Michiel & Monza,

The flexibility of the NEX to accept virtually any lens is obviously a huge boon to those of us with large prior collections, but it also makes things complicated! In reviewing some of these threads, I've come to realize that there are essentially three groups of roughly equivalent high-quality lenses just from Zeiss: the current ZM rangefinder lenses (quite compact, fairly expensive, not so easy to find used), the C/Y Contax lenses you prefer (only available used, but in an extremely wide variety), and the Contax G series (fewer models, but also reasonably priced). I was at first debating which series might be best, but then realize that I already own 11 Canon primes (15–400mm), so perhaps the best plan for me is to purchase the Conurus EF to Sony NEX lens adapter that will be shipping next month. Even though it's $399 USD, it will suddenly make all that glass usable, even if some of it is rather oversized.

I tried out my new Zeiss 24/1.8 ZA lens today, with somewhat surprising results on an NEX-5N. In the center of the field and stopped down to f/5.6 or f/8, compared to the Sony 18-55 kit lens at the same aperture, the two are barely distinguishable (not sure whether that's a strike against the prime, or for the zoom — maybe both). With both lenses opened up to f/4 at 24mm and comparing the extreme corners, the Zeiss is significantly better. As others have reported, both have substantial LaCA, but this cleans up quite well in Lightroom. By the way, I noticed today that the beta of Lightroom 4 has done away with the individual Red/Cyan and Blue/Yellow sliders in the Lens Correction panel of Lightroom 3. Instead there is a simple checkbox for removing chromatic aberration that engages a very sophisticated algorithm that is extremely effective. I also experimented with the various focus modes on the NEX-5N and rapidly came to understand why fine manual focus lenses are so popular with this group — when was focusing a lens ever so fraught?!
 

Perrew

New member
Philber, may I ask what was the reason for not going with the Sony Zeiss 24/1.8?
Tks P

On my NEX 5:
Contax G 28, 45, 90
Zeiss ZM 18
Leica R 60 Makro, 35-70 f:3.5
Declined to buy: ZA 24 f!1.8
Sold as unusable: Contax G 21
On order: Zeiss ZM 35 f:2.0, Leica 24 Elmar f:3.8

On my NEX 7, the ZM 18 shifts horribly, and the G 28 also, but less so. The suitability of the Elmar 24, as and when it arrives, is in question. ZM 35 should be OK, but only stopped down. Am trying out the ZA 24 again, in case it is better optimized for 7 than for 5N (odd chance).

If I get a really good 24mm solution on the 7, it will be "bye-bye 5N", with the acquisition of another WA, such as Sigma 19mm e-mount, or Leica R 19mm.
 
Last night I wrote a reply to Michiel and monza's recent posts, and previewed and posted it without receiving any error message or noticing any problem. After posting, I saw the standard message about it not appearing until approved by the moderator. Now, nearly 24 hours later, I'm wondering if it is going to appear? Since I'm new to this forum I don't yet have a good feel for the routine delay due to moderating. Thanks.
 

monza

Active member
Monza, the 100/2 is a stellar lens, one of the best in the whole line.
Is is not much bigger then the 28/2. (If I were you I would sell the 100/3.5, if you have to. It is very good and small but the 100/2 does everything a little better.)
I bought the 28/2.8, much smaller and very good IMO.
I have got 12 C/Y lenses now, 3 zooms included.
I would never be able to choose between the 85/2.8 and 100/3.5.:)
I like them both.
There are 3 on my wishlist but I am in no hurry the 21/2.8, 60/2.8 Macro and the 85/1.4
BTW Your Macro-Planar S 60/2.8 does not go to 1:1, right?
Can you tell me more about the difference?

Looking forward to your comparisons!
Yes I agree, the 100/2 is stellar. But it is actually substantially larger/heavier than the 28/2. I'm thinking of swapping the 28 for a 25 but really like that fast f/2.

In the past I also had the 35-70, sweet lens, but annoying push-pull.

The Makro Planar C is a 1:2. As you can see, it's small, weight 270g, 55mm filters. The 60/2.8 Makro Planar that goes to 1:1 is 570g, and uses 67mm filters - quite a bit bigger.

Here are the spec sheets:

http://www.zeissimages.com/mtf/cy/Makro-Planar2.8_60mm_e.pdf

http://www.zeissimages.com/mtf/cy/Makro-Planar2.8_60mm_C_e.pdf
 
Robert,

Remind yourself to never invite me over. You may find your collection a little light afterwards...

Wish I never sold the 85 2.8




Excuse the fact that they are all upside down. :) I don't have enough rear lens caps at the moment...

Left to right: 28/2 'Hollywood', 50/1.7, 50/1.4, 85/2.8, 60/2.8, 100/3.5. This was shot with the 18-55.

Here's a pic of the 18-55 next to the 50/1.7 on the Fotodiox for size comparo.

 

monza

Active member
Last night I wrote a reply to Michiel and monza's recent posts, and previewed and posted it without receiving any error message or noticing any problem. After posting, I saw the standard message about it not appearing until approved by the moderator. Now, nearly 24 hours later, I'm wondering if it is going to appear? Since I'm new to this forum I don't yet have a good feel for the routine delay due to moderating. Thanks.
It appeared in my email notification...did you then delete the post?
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member


Excuse the fact that they are all upside down. :) I don't have enough rear lens caps at the moment...

Left to right: 28/2 'Hollywood', 50/1.7, 50/1.4, 85/2.8, 60/2.8, 100/3.5. This was shot with the 18-55.
Monza, that's one of the coolest line-ups I've seen ever :thumbs:
 

lowep

Member
Has anybody tried the Leica-R Elmarit 28mm f2.8 on the Nex-7? Or any other legacy "symmetrical-design" Leica R lens? I am a bit concerned about color cast that is reported to be more of an issue with symmetrical lenses like these on the Nex-7 than the 5N.

Am I right this is not an issue if the images are converted to B&W or are other qualities of the image apart from color also effected by drinking old wine from this new bottle?
 

jonoslack

Active member
Has anybody tried the Leica-R Elmarit 28mm f2.8 on the Nex-7? Or any other legacy "symmetrical-design" Leica R lens? I am a bit concerned about color cast that is reported to be more of an issue with symmetrical lenses like these on the Nex-7 than the 5N.

Am I right this is not an issue if the images are converted to B&W or are other qualities of the image apart from color also effected by drinking old wine from this new bottle?
HI There
I'd be very surprised if you had any issue with any of the R lenses - the distance from the rear element to the sensor should be far enough to ensure that the incidence of light doesn't create any issues.
Can't be certain of course, but it's certainly not something I've seen on any of the R lenses I used (including the 21-35).

I hope this re-assures. Of course, black and white will be fine anyway.

all the best
 

sflxn

New member
Anyone have any comments about the focusing ring smoothness of the Kipon or Metabones adapter for Contax G? Also, does the Kipon adapter "lock" onto the lens like the Metabones one?
 

scho

Well-known member
Contax G 35, 45, and 90 - all good on both the 5N and 7.
Contax G 28 - Good on 5N but magenta corners and smearing on the 7.
Zeiss 35mm f/2.8 C ZM - Good on 5N, magenta corners and edges on 7.
Canon FD 28mm f/2 - Good on both 5N and 7.
Konica AR 40mm f/1.8 - Good on both 5N and 7.
 

fotoingo

Subscriber Member
Contax G 35, 45, and 90 - all good on both the 5N and 7.
Contax G 28 - Good on 5N but magenta corners and smearing on the 7.
...
I can confirm that and add :
Sony NEX 16mm f2,8 - Good on 5N but magenta corners on the 7.
Leica 24mm Elmar-M - Good on 5N but magenta corners on the 7.
Leica 35mm Summilux Asph (non FLE) - Good on 5N but tiny magenta corners on the 7.
Leica 50mm Summilux Asph - Good on 5N but tiny magenta corners on the 7.
Leica 90mm Macro Elmar-M -Good on both the 5N and 7.

Greets !
 

uhoh7

New member
Nice to see a thread starting to nail down n7 performance--though obviously we have some varied standards here. The plot on nex-7 with wide aperture on MANY lenses is getting very thick. See the new thread with links to photozone.

First hints were how the n7 needs a few more stops to bring in the edges than the M9--at least on the lenses tested at LL.

Obviously the 7 is colorshifting much more than the 5n---but the degree is not totally clear--magenta edges were the least of the colorshifting issues on the old 5--you had big blobs in the upper center of frame on tons of RF wides. I'm not clear on the n7 in that regard.

Most important are the edges and good samples with the good glass are not everywhere. Corners matter, but wfrank shows at FM that the contax 21 is just killer on the 5n--regardless of the corners.

see:
Contax G 21/2.8 Biogon - a set on Flickr

anyway the bottom line is nothing beats a nice full sized sample :)

then each can apply their own standards to reality.


my prefered set on the 5n now:
zm18
cron 28
CV 35/1.2
cron 50 v4
cv 75/2.5
TE 90 canada
 
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bcm

Member
Has anyone tried the problematic WA lenses using the Hawk's M adapter? I'm wondering if at full extension the adapter makes enough difference to partially cure the colour shift problem. I don't have any M wides myself even though I have the adapter so I can't check it.
 

philber

Member
Confirming what has been written about Contax G: 21 shifts even on 5N, 28 is fine on 5N but shifts on 7, 45 and 90 are fine on both.
Regarding Leica, WATE (Tri-Elmar 16-18-21) is fine on both, even on 7 wide open and at 16mm, also fine on both: R 60mm Makro, R 35-70 f:3.5. M Summicron 28 is fine on 5N, shifts on 7
Regarding Zeiss: ZM 18 is fine on 5N, shifts on 7. ZM 25 is not totally problem-free even on 5N.
 

FlypenFly

New member
Are there any decent 24mm or wider equiv lenses for the NEX-7 with no smearing and excellent corners under $1000?

Must have aperture control.

I was looking at the Pentax 15mm Limited DA but you can't control the aperture.

I suppose the Sigma 8-16mm is a good choice but I would prefer something a lot smaller.
 

uhoh7

New member
Are there any decent 24mm or wider equiv lenses for the NEX-7 with no smearing and excellent corners under $1000?

Must have aperture control.

I was looking at the Pentax 15mm Limited DA but you can't control the aperture.

I suppose the Sigma 8-16mm is a good choice but I would prefer something a lot smaller.
leica-r 19mm?
 
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