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55 1.8

V

vjbelle

Well-known member
Joe.... your back yard looks similar to mine.:D If my 55 looked like that I would keep it in a heartbeat. I'll post some examples of left vs right at f4 to show you why my lenses are history.

Victor
 
Guy Mancuso

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
fotografz said:
Just a quick run down on the fast Zeiss 85mms from yesteryear:

The CY Planar manual focus 85/1.4 was okay, better when using film, started to show its age on digital.

The rare and expensive manual focus Zeiss 85/1.2 Anniversary was, and still is stellar, maybe the best f/1.2 ever along with its companion lens the Zeiss 55/1.2 Anniversary ... however, while it was converted for use on 5Ds Canon via dumb adapters, I've not seen it used on any of these higher meg cameras like the D800 or this A7R.

The ultra-sonic motor autofocus Zeiss Planar N 85/1.4 optically improved on the CY version, and IMO has not been equaled or surpassed since. Unlike the current ZA 85/1.4 for Sony A mount, it features internal focusing ... and was built like a tank, so probably to big for the A7s.

The current ZA 85/1.4 has beautiful OOF rendering, Zeiss color and contrast, but shows some CA & Fringing (cleans up okay in post, but still fuzzes some edges a bit), it is slower focusing using the A7R with Sony LA-EA4 adapter because it doesn't have the SSW motor in lens ... hard to do grab shots of moving subjects in lower light ... slower AF than on the A99 (and I presume the A7).

- Marc
Click to expand...

Thanks Marc and thanks for replying to my PM. i figured to get the ZA anyway
 
kuau

kuau

Workshop Member
Has anyone considered that its not necessarily a decentering issue on the FE55 but a possible A7r mount alignment issue? Just a wild guess yet again 36mp FF requires everything to be absolutely perfect and the longer the focal length the more noticeable it becomes.
 
H

hcubell

Well-known member
vjbelle said:
No we're not..... look at the Red Barn series and read what he says about the left side of his lens being soft and his concerns about sample variations. My two samples were severely afflicted with soft focus on the left side..... like I said I'm done.

Victor
Click to expand...
Ok, we may be looking at the same website, but we are not READING the same web site. There is no way that anyone looking at the 100% crops in the most RECENT tests Lloyd did AFTER the Red Barn series who would conclude that the left side of the lens he tested was "soft". In his red barn series with the 55 1.8, he described the performance of the lens through 2.8 as "stunning". He ascribed the loss of sharpness at the smaller apertures to shutter vibration, not a "bad" lens. Yes, the upper left crop is a bit less sharp than the other corners, but that's also been true with some $4,000 lenses I have owned.
 
V

vjbelle

Well-known member
Yes we are. Chambers clearly states that his copy of the 55mm has a softer left side than right. I could care less about his latest samples which, to me, are very difficult to descern as to planar sharpness. If you're sold then buy one of those puppies..... Mine are going back.

Victor
 
V

vjbelle

Well-known member
Quick down and dirty samples of Sony 55 vs Leica 50mm Summicron. None of these images are sharpened and all at f4 - an aperture I would never use for everyday shooting. Note that there is smearing on the left hand side of the 55mm crop.

Victor
 
tashley

tashley

Subscriber Member
kuau said:
Tim, can you share your sharpening setting in C1 for the A7r
It seems like general consensus is C1 is working better the LR5

Steven
Click to expand...
I'm rolling with default for now - it is a little less crisp than I like but it'll take me time to work out what suits me best: C1 sharpening is not my strong suit!
 
D

Deleted member 7792

Guest
tashley said:
Has anyone else noted that when you mount the 55mm F1.8 and go to the lens compensation tab in the menu, the Auto option for Lens Distortion is selected and greyed out and can't be turned to OFF whereas when you use the 35mm F2.8, that option is selectable as liked? The other options remain selectable with both lenses.
Click to expand...
After installing the Sony Lens Compensation app in the A7R, the Lens Distortion menu selection becomes available and can be selected (Auto or Off) with the 55mm f/1.8 mounted. Haven't tried it with non-native lens yet.

Joe
 
D

Deleted member 7792

Guest
nikonf said:
Hi Joe,

How do you like the 55mm f1.8 on the A7R?

Mine arrives today or tomorrow - depending on UPS.

Take care,
Mike
Click to expand...
Mike,

I like it. See my earlier post (#140) in this thread. My copy seems to be sharp edge-to-edge and focuses reasonably fast. Good luck with yours, and Merry Christmas!

Joe
 
D

Daure

Member
One question :
Have somebody using this lens see that, during AF, the aperture don't change to full (and going back to the selected aperture when The shutter is released) ?
Or is it only mine or only my mistake...
 
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