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Fun With Sony Cameras

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Vivek

Guest
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

I will wait for that FE 28/2 alike FE 35/2. Just need a compact, affordable and decent performing 35mm prime.
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

I will wait for that FE 28/2 alike FE 35/2. Just need a compact, affordable and decent performing 35mm prime.
Do you think that they will release another 35mm this soon with 3 already available? I'd think they will fill the other gaps and fill the other focal lengths with "options" first. There's still the Loxia though it's not really that affordable and the 35/2.8 is about as compact as I'd imagine any would realistically want/need... although it left me desiring so much more hence the 35 Distagon purchase.
 

Annna T

Active member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

I will wait for that FE 28/2 alike FE 35/2. Just need a compact, affordable and decent performing 35mm prime.
Is the 35mm F2.8 not OK then ? DXO mark test results show that both lenses are offering very similar performances (only difference is one stop larger aperture) : the 28mm is a tad sharper in the corners than the 35mm, but nowhere near of the 55mm F1.8
 
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Barry Haines

Active member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Barry, you ought to get Sony to give you a sales commission! I've been flirting with the idea of getting the FE 35/1.4 Distagon for several weeks after reading various reviews and tests but have been endlessly prevaricating - until I read your opinion.

Now I'm $1,700 poorer and waiting for the mail from Hong Kong.

Interestingly, my kit is going to be very like yours. I have the FE 16-35 on my a7r, then either the FE 24-70 or the FE 55 on my a7II and the FE 70-200 in the bag. What has concerned me is that the FE 24-70 just can't match the FE 55, whereas it sounds from all the reports I've read, that the Distagon does. (I'll keep the 24-70 as walk-around lens when it's the only one I'm carrying but otherwise it'll stay in the closet.)

So thank you (I think...)
Bill
Bill, You are most welcome...I always enjoy helping others to spend their money ;)
That's a good selection of Sony/Zeiss lenses you have yourself there, It just goes to show that great minds think alike ;)
The 24-70mm does make for a very nice single lens walkabout choice...Although it was all the reviews that have put me off getting one...To be honest I have never even tried one to see for myself.
Regarding the 35mm FE Distagon lens, I gathered up as much info that I could as 35mm is my very favourite focal length. To be honest I was getting fed up keep chopping and changing all the time and I didn't particularly want to make yet another expensive mistake. What finally persuaded me were the excellent threads over on FM, which are well worth looking at. I had it down to just two lenses in the end either the ZM 35mm Distagon (with the A7R Mod) or the FE 35mm Distagon as I wanted a fast 35mm lens - I still favour 35mm and 50mm F1.4 Summilux lenses over F2.0 Summicron's as you gain that extra stop with a beautiful WO rendering, even if you do end up sacrificing a little bit of sharpness in return.
I was in a similar situation I couldn't find anybody that had it in stock in the UK (not at a sensible price that is)...I purchased mine from the Netherlands (Photospecialist) and it arrived pretty quickly I'm glad to say.
I really hope you don't regret your rather expensive purchase if my little write up finally ended up swaying you...Please do share your thoughts once you have tried it...Cheers Barry
PS. I just recently noticed that DXOmark have the 35mm FE Distagon in 2nd place just behind the 55mm FE in the native Sony lenses (Although the 2 Loxia scores are not in yet)...The 28mm is no slouch either and looks to be a great buy for the money.

http://www.dxomark.com/Reviews/Sony...m-F1.4-ZA-vs-Carl-Zeiss-Sonnar-T-35mm-F2.8-ZA

+ The MTF charts of the 85mm Batus look to be as good as the 85mm OTUS.
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/85mm_otus_vs_batis.jpg
...You can start saving for that now :LOL:

_______________________

I don't intend to leave this thread nor am I going to sell my Sony stuff. I even might be buying the new Sony A9, or whatever sooner then the PentaxZ. That camera is merely for special projects.
I probably can't wonder around the streets incognito with the Pentax swinging around my neck like I do with the Sony set up.


That's great news Michiel...Sorry I obviously got "the wrong end of the stick" as I often do!
I thought you were trying to raise money by selling off all your gear to the members here by lightening their wallets :LOL:
I used to own a Pentax 67 so I'm only to aware of the whiplash you get when taking it off your neck...Cheers Barry

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Nice comparison! I have the 16-35 + 55 as my walk-around combo. With a lot of folks trading out their 35/2.8 for the f1.4 or 28/2, I'm seriously tempted to pick up the little prime to add to my collection. The 55mm is an awesome 1-lens solution... but sometimes I might like something a bit more compact.

Graham, same here those 2 lenses (16-35mm + 55mm) make for a great versatile combination..The 28mm looks to be an excellent choice for something a bit more compact...Good luck on whatever you decide upon...Cheers Barry
______________________

Thanks for this. My lens came last Friday but I haven't had time to try it out yet because I've been away for work this week. I plan on mounting it some time soon as I will be back home tomorrow afternoon.


You're most welcome Tre + Congrats on your new lens :)

I bet you are itching to try it out :)
Will look forward to your findings once you have had a chance to play with it, especially as we have shared the same taste in lenses over the years...Cheers Barry
______________________

Thanks again everybody for the "Likes" and "Thanks" etc....Cheers Barry
 

biglouis

Well-known member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Barry - great set of information and size comparisons.

Do you own the 24-70? Is the 16-35 of the same size and weight? Any chance of a comparison photo?

Just asking!

LouisB
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

I do not care what Dox or SAR say. If Sony do not come with a line of F2 primes, it is money saved for me. :) The 3rd party options are fine for those who need them. :)

Is the 35mm F2.8 not OK then ? DXO mark test results show that both lenses are offering very similar performances (only difference is one stop larger aperture) : the 28mm is a tad sharper in the corners than the 28mm, but nowhere near of the 55mm F1.8
Do you think that they will release another 35mm this soon with 3 already available? I'd think they will fill the other gaps and fill the other focal lengths with "options" first. There's still the Loxia though it's not really that affordable and the 35/2.8 is about as compact as I'd imagine any would realistically want/need... although it left me desiring so much more hence the 35 Distagon purchase.
BTW, the 55/1.8 does not look that bad now. If the future body will AF as fast as the A7s in low light, I may even consider buying one. :)
 

Barry Haines

Active member

Annna T

Active member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Barry - great set of information and size comparisons.

Do you own the 24-70? Is the 16-35 of the same size and weight? Any chance of a comparison photo?

Just asking!

LouisB
The 16-35mm is heavier and bigger than the 24-70mm. My copy of the 24-70mm is better than that of the 16-35mm up from 24mm. Both of these zooms are sharper and better at the short end than at the long end.
If you look at the specs the difference doesn't seem important, but in reality I find the 16-35mm quite bigger :
Weight : 518 /426 gr
Diameter : 78 /73 mm (max)
Filter : 72 / 67 mm
Length : 98.5 / 94.5 mm
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

I agree. I owned the 24-70 for about 6 weeks before I got rid of it. It was not horrible but I don't think it was great for the price they're asking. If you do a lot of daytime photography then I think it would be a better value to that type of user. I don't do too much of that and I reinforced my preference for primes in the middle and to let the zooms do the really wide or really long shots. If it were a $6-800 lens I would've kept it but once you get above $1K I expect a lens to not have any serious caveats for my uses so it in effect got voted out the camera bag.

I think a good copy of the kit lens gives performance that isn't too far behind so if I were buying a A7II I'd add the kit zoom for a extra $2-300 depending on where you buy. Just my opinion
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

BTW, the 55/1.8 does not look that bad now. If the future body will AF as fast as the A7s in low light, I may even consider buying one. :)
I think the 55FE would make a great "natural pair" with your 28FE for a smallish walk around kit. Just my opinion though and that was my intention before the Batis announcements. I've since bought the 35 Distagon as you know and wil await the 25/85 Batis to add to my kit.

I don't know if you tried it on the A7s but all the lenses I tried (35FE, 55FE, 24-70, and 70-200) locked on pretty quickly and accurately in lowlight conditions. I have not tried the 55FE on the A7s since the lens update and I don't know if it'll improve AF performance even further. Might be worth looking into though if that's a concern of yours.
 

BSEH

New member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

:worthless:

so some Indian Chennai, Marina Bech - 7r 16-35 f/4 - a blackbird, a ice wagon and a boy... and sometimes you get this

 

biglouis

Well-known member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

My back garden. Sony A7R, CV21/1.8 Ultron - HDR merge in LR6 then post-processing in Color Effex.

 

scho

Well-known member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

A few 2-3 shot panos with the A7r+Cambo Actus+Rodenstock 55mm APO-Grandagon taken at the Cornell Arboretum ponds on a glorius spring afternoon (finally!). Merging was done in LRcc using the new Photomerge function (no longer need to export tiffs to PS or Pano software).





 
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Bill Caulfeild-Browne

Well-known member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

I agree. I owned the 24-70 for about 6 weeks before I got rid of it. It was not horrible but I don't think it was great for the price they're asking. If you do a lot of daytime photography then I think it would be a better value to that type of user. I don't do too much of that and I reinforced my preference for primes in the middle and to let the zooms do the really wide or really long shots. If it were a $6-800 lens I would've kept it but once you get above $1K I expect a lens to not have any serious caveats for my uses so it in effect got voted out the camera bag.

I think a good copy of the kit lens gives performance that isn't too far behind so if I were buying a A7II I'd add the kit zoom for a extra $2-300 depending on where you buy. Just my opinion
I'm keeping my FE 24-70 for casual occasions when I don't need the best possible quality. The problem is that I compared it with the FE 55 at 55 mm and the difference in file quality was rather pronounced! (As you'd expect comparing a zoom with a prime.)

It is actually a good performer at 35 mm, better than the 16-35 at that focal length, but judging by the reviews I've read (and Barry's enthusiasm!) I think there will be a marked difference with the FE 35 1.4 Distagon. If that lens performs anything like the FE 55 I'll be very happy indeed.

Fedex estimate Thursday delivery and I'll post some shots next weekend.
 

CharlesK

New member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Barry thank you very much for the kind words :)

I agree the FE 35/1.4 is a superb lens. Yes it is larger than I would like, but it is now one of the first lenses I take to go.

Shots yesterday from my wife's birthday.
A7II and FE 35/1.4





 
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