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Choosing a 28mm(equiv) landscape lens for my Nex-7

Nagas

New member
Hi all. I thought this would be a good place for some wise advice regarding a lens purchase.

A year ago I sold my Canon 5DMKII and lenses and went all Nex-7. So far I have been very happy. I shoot 99% landscape from a tripod. I currently own the two sigmas (19 & 30), and a Contax Planar 50/1.7 mounted on a Metabones Speed Booster.

My most used lens is the Sigma 19 (28 mm is my fav. focal length), the lens is OK, but I have been struggling to get sharp images with this lens. One of my main issues with the lens is the lack of focus-scale. I do a lot of long exposures and night photography, and not having a scale on the lens barrel can be a real challenge.

I would like to purchase a 28mm (35mm equivalent) lens for landscape work. Sharpness is one of my main concerns. I value detailed prints, and they are simply not happening with the Sigma (the "Sigmarit" 30 is a fantastic lens though). My typical print would be 15-20 inch. I shoot black and white exclusively.

I have considered getting the Contax Distagon 28/2.8. The lens seems to have a fantastic reputation as a landscape lens, and mounted on the Speed Booster it would give me the desired FOV. I am just very worried that using a lens mounted in the SB might not be a very good idea for infinite-landscapes.

I would like to hear your opinions regarding this issue, I would value your recomendations. I have a ton of cash invested in filters, all in 77mm thread, so the filter size is a serious factor. I have considered the Zeiss 18, but the filter size and the price tag are a problem. I have a budget of roughly 500$. Anything more expensive would mean selling the SB and the Planar (Which I hardly use anyway) but staying within the 500$ budget would be a plus.

Thanks in advance for all your help and opinions.

Best,

Erik.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
You could consider the inexpensive Yashica ML 28mm (found easily on ebay UK) and pairing it with the SB.

I don't know why you would "think" that (SB+ lens) would not work?

BTW, I don't know why you call the Sigma DN 30/2.8 as "Sigmarit". It is shown to be better than the 50/1.4 Summilux Asph!
 

turbines

New member
Try a Yashica ML 28mm 2.8 with your SB. I think you might be surprised. It takes 52mm filters. I have no doubt the Distagon would not disappoint.

Good luck!

Paul
 

philber

Member
There is a simple answer, with a great lens that fits your budget even with an adapter, but you must make two concessions. It is the great Contax G 28mm. It is a rangefinder lens, so it is compact and light, and you should be able to get it for not more than 300$. You need an adapter, and the good ones (Kipon, Metabones) are not cheap (80$)
The compromises you need to make: because the lens has no focusing ring (focusing was on the Contax camera body), there is a focusing ring on the adapter, and it is not great; But most people, yours included, find that it works well, even it doesn't get prizes for smoothness. There is now an AF adapter that gives you all electronic functions on NEX, but it is too early to know how well that works, or not.
The other consession is that, like other RF wides, such as the ZM 18, it suffers from colour shift, which needs cleaning up with CornerFix or the LightRoom plug in.
If you can accept that, you have a truly great piece of glass, proud scion of the hallowed Zeiss stable.
 

Nagas

New member
Hi philber, and thanks for your response. But I am looking for a 28mm (35mm Equivalent). 28 in my Nex would be more like a "wide-normalise" and I am pretty happy with my Sigma 30/2.8 , it´s the wider range that I intend to cover.

Thanks again.
 

biglouis

Well-known member
Pardon a potential misunderstanding here but don't you need a circa 19mm lens in order to get a 28mm equivalent on a Nex-7. Or do you actually mean you want a 42mm equivalent lens? And yes, I know a 28mm is still a 28mm etc but I am talking the effect of a crop factor.

I only ask because having become a Sony convert by way of a RX-1 purchase I am beginning to think of the NEX as a system and I thought a NEX-n had a 1.5 crop factor.

LouisB
 

darr

Well-known member
Pardon a potential misunderstanding here but don't you need a circa 19mm lens in order to get a 28mm equivalent on a Nex-7. Or do you actually mean you want a 42mm equivalent lens? And yes, I know a 28mm is still a 28mm etc but I am talking the effect of a crop factor.

I only ask because having become a Sony convert by way of a RX-1 purchase I am beginning to think of the NEX as a system and I thought a NEX-n had a 1.5 crop factor.

LouisB
You are right! That is why I use a Nikon 20mm, but I was not going to say anything. ;)
 

Nagas

New member
Pardon a potential misunderstanding here but don't you need a circa 19mm lens in order to get a 28mm equivalent on a Nex-7. Or do you actually mean you want a 42mm equivalent lens? And yes, I know a 28mm is still a 28mm etc but I am talking the effect of a crop factor.

I only ask because having become a Sony convert by way of a RX-1 purchase I am beginning to think of the NEX as a system and I thought a NEX-n had a 1.5 crop factor.

LouisB
Louis, you are right. As a matter of fact it´s an alternative to my Sigma 19 (28mmm EQUIVALENT FOV) what I am looking for..

E.
 

turbines

New member
So why not a good 35mm on the Metabones Speed Booster? The Yashica ML 35mm is very good but can be difficult to find. The Distagon 35mm would be another good one. There probably are others that would also be compatible with the SB. It just looks like the best solution to me if you want a 35mm FOV on the Nex. You'll also benefit from a brighter view for critical manual focusing in poorly lit scenes.

Paul
 

Nagas

New member
As I have already stated a few times, I am looking for a lens that would give me the EQUIVALENT to a 28mm in full frame terms. I am not looking for a 35mm lens.

That basically leaves me with a 17/18/19 lens of some sort or a 28 (Yashica or Contax) mounted in the Speed Booster. In my original post I already pointed in that direction, but I am concerned about the quality impact the SB may have over the lens, specially considering critical, sharp landscapes at infinity is my aplication...

I have a feeling the only real way of knowing is pulling the trigger and buying a C/Y mount lens and test it thoroughly against the Sigma 19... :cool:

E.
 

Nagas

New member
So why not a good 35mm on the Metabones Speed Booster? The Yashica ML 35mm is very good but can be difficult to find.

Paul
Paul, I have been keeping an eye open for a Yashica ML 35/2.8 for many, many months now. Not ONE has shown up in my radar so far....

E.
 

turbines

New member
I searched too for about 6 months before finding a minty one in the UK. I did a BIN the same day it was listed. The folks that have them want to hold on to them.

From your original post I understood you were looking for a EFL = 35mm FOV and of course a 28 won't do that. Sorry about my confusion. I'd still recommend the ML 28mm and those are more plentiful.

Paul
 

Michiel Schierbeek

Well-known member
So what's wrong with the Sigma 30/2.8?
It is a terrific bargain lens and better then the 19/2.8

Oh oops that would make 45mm...
Well then I would go for the C/Y Zeiss Distagon with the Speedbooster.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
From what I've seen, one of the best lenses in this class for adaptation to a Sony NEX would be the Leica WATE, otherwise known as the Leica Tri-Elmar-M 16-18-21mm f/4 ASPH. That gives you 24, 27 and 32 mm EFoV lenses to work with in one piece. It's retrofocus design means no color shifting or corner falloff.

They're a touch on the pricey side, but worth it.

Godfrey
 

Nagas

New member
From what I've seen, one of the best lenses in this class for adaptation to a Sony NEX would be the Leica WATE, otherwise known as the Leica Tri-Elmar-M 16-18-21mm f/4 ASPH. That gives you 24, 27 and 32 mm EFoV lenses to work with in one piece. It's retrofocus design means no color shifting or corner falloff.

They're a touch on the pricey side, but worth it.

Godfrey
Certainly a very desirable lens, but completely out of my price range for now..


Thanks for all the advice, much appreciated. I think I am going to give the Distagon 28/2.8 a try together with the SB. I guess I'll never really know till I tr it, and worse case scenario I doubt it will be worse than the Sigma 19, everybody agrees its an awesome lens. I can always sell it if I'm not happy with it, but it may serve a double purpose since I have been wanting to shoot some film again for a while, I might get a Contax or Yashica body and goof around with Portra and Tri-x a little...

I also plan on getting a Yashica ML28 at some point, I really want to see how it fares against the Distagon. ML lenses seem to be real sleepers, but a lot of mixed feedback on the net...

Thanks again for all the input.




Quote · Like
 

scho

Well-known member
Certainly a very desirable lens, but completely out of my price range for now..


Thanks for all the advice, much appreciated. I think I am going to give the Distagon 28/2.8 a try together with the SB. I guess I'll never really know till I tr it, and worse case scenario I doubt it will be worse than the Sigma 19, everybody agrees its an awesome lens. I can always sell it if I'm not happy with it, but it may serve a double purpose since I have been wanting to shoot some film again for a while, I might get a Contax or Yashica body and goof around with Portra and Tri-x a little...

I also plan on getting a Yashica ML28 at some point, I really want to see how it fares against the Distagon. ML lenses seem to be real sleepers, but a lot of mixed feedback on the net...

Thanks again for all the input.




Quote · Like
Also take a look at the Canon FD 28mm f/2.0. Not as well constructed as the Distagon, but optically it performs just as well (I have both lenses) and is more compact.
 

asiafish

Member
I use a Minolta MC Rokkor-SI 28 f/2.5 on my NEX7 with great results. Only issue is that it has a radioactive element that can yellow when stored in a case over time. I left mine on the windowsill for a week and it cleared up nicely.

$50 ish on eBay will get you a nice one.

Much more money, but the Minolta Rokkor 24 f/2.8 (55mm filter thread MC or MD versions only) is a legendary lens that translates to 36mm on the NEX7. This lens is so good that Leica licensed it and sold it as the Elmarit-R 24. Only annoyance is that the front element and filter thread rotates when focusing, so polarizers are a pita with this.

Probably my best SLR wide-angle lens.
 
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