Fun With Sony Cameras

[ggibson]

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

Bokeh-kitty:

 

[Malina DZ]

Re: Fun With Sony _____


Aermacchi MB-339 CB
a850+28/1.8 @ f/8

 

[SamSS]

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

Any lens that doesn't have OSS I would use on the a7ii
a7ii+Sigma Art 35 @ f2.2
Larger View

Larger View
@f2.8

a7+FE70-200 @f8
Upon close inspection from the larger view, notice dust particles flying off the deck
Larger View

Larger View

 

[Michiel Schierbeek]

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

View over Dieppe after the rain.

 

[Vivek]

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

Dieppe
(no idea what the fireball is :bugeyes: )

Something from that lens.

 

[Michiel Schierbeek]

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

Now I remember, I didn't have a hood with me and I tryed to get rid of a streetlight reflection in the lens with my hand but it turned out like this. The lens is lovely as is.

 

[W.Utsch]

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

" The Creek II "

BW110 ND




DSC02928.jpg by W.Utsch, on Flickr​

 

[Annna T]

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

I like it (not sure why, but the like button doens't seem to work for me to-day).
at least so it will be visible a little longer at the top of the other page.

View over Dieppe after the rain.

 

[Michiel Schierbeek]

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

Thank you Annna T,
I have the same undescript feeling about this image. I think it is the light just after the rain and the brown tones which make it work.

 

[Barry Haines]

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

Just another size comparison image of the Sony/Zeiss 35mm FE F1.4 Distagon against some other Sony lenses with the Voigtlander 35mm F1.2 Mk2 Nokton thrown into the mix (Taken with and without hoods).
Size and weight seems to be the main two stumbling blocks for this particular lens (other than price and fly-by-wire focusing that is)...I have absolutely no real grumbles personally with the weight, balance and size, I expect the handling would be further improved with the grip of the A7II having tried Ron’s camera with a similar size and weight lens. (Note. The 16-35mm is very slightly extended in length due to the fact that I accidentally knocked it to 24mm when I was removing the hood between shots...silly me!)
I did also weigh this lens against the other lenses shown. (Note. Not sure if my kitchen scales are deadly accurate but it should hopefully give you some idea)
All weights are inclusive of the manufacturer’s hood, front and rear lens caps and the Voigtlander adapter where shown. (Note. The Novaflex adapter is very slightly lighter, while the Voigtlander close up adapter is slightly heavier than the standard Voigtlander adapter shown)

Cosina/Voigtlander 35mm F1.2 Mk2 Nokton......... 586g
Sony/Zeiss 55mm F1.8 FE Sonnar....................... 350g
Sony/Zeiss 16-35mm F4 FE Vario-Tessar............ 594g
Sony/Zeiss 35mm F1.4 FE Distagon.................... 714g
Sony G 70-200mm F4 FE.................................. 960g

​

On a personal note I am extremely happy with these 4 Sony lenses...I would like to add either the 85mm Batis or the 90mm G Macro (Depending on forthcoming reviews).
My walk around kit would then be the 16-35mm Vario-Tessar, 35mm Distagon, 55mm Sonnar and an 85/90mm (Leaving the 70-200mm close by in the back of the car for the few times when it was required)
Cheers Barry

 

[Michiel Schierbeek]

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

Thank you Barry!
Besides AF, what lens would be better IMO the VC 35/1.2 or the Fe 35/1.4?
I don't want to put you up with a (boring) lens test, but just out of your experience after you get to know the FE 35 better.

 

[ggibson]

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

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.

Oh, wait this is an image thread? I'll share this one that surprised me with a lot of favs on flickr:

 

[Michiel Schierbeek]

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

" Time problem "

 

[Barry Haines]

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

Thank you Barry!
Besides AF, what lens would be better IMO the VC 35/1.2 or the Fe 35/1.4?
I don't want to put you up with a (boring) lens test, but just out of your experience after you get to know the FE 35 better.

Hi Michiel, first of all thanks for the "THANK" and also ggibson (excellent image BTW)...Very most appreciated.

Well I have only owned the lens just 24 hours, so some may say that I just haven't spent long enough time with it to come up with any worthwhile decisive conclusion, that maybe I'm just overly excited with my new purchase (Which in truth I am)...Well I have done my testing now (I won't be uploading it here for all to see as I did the tests selfishly for myself) as far as "I'm concerned" the short answer without any hesitation is that the Distagon is going to be a longtime resident here in Cornwall as far as I can foresee ...I was going to reveal this after I sold the CV 35mm on ebay, it's a bit late now you have forced my hand...no doubt CV35 prices will plummet
Joking aside the CV35 f1.2 has it's own particular signature rendering that I quite like, similar to an old classic styled lens a bit low in contrast WO for my own particular taste, as I have said before.
Plenty of fans out there and rightly so but I freely admit I personally never really fell in love with it like others have done before me.
The Distagon IMO is in a different league altogether a much more up to date designed lens with what looks like almost micro-contrast going on when comparing it against the CV35 images WO i.e. Better resolving of fine detail in highlights and shadows, probably due to the Zeiss glass with T* coating and the sun being out yesterday evening

Distagon praises are...

Colour, colour, colour...Did I mention colour, the colours are just Zeiss wonderful..3D Pop fantastic!...(I'm now starting to sound like Steve Huff...But I find myself agreeing with him on this occasion)...The other 3 Sony lenses are not as good as the Distagon for colour, although I need to do a proper test to prove this to myself once the sun is back out.
It resolves brilliantly in the centre straight from F1.4 (3/4 of the frame is good to go)...Sharpness/Resolution in the centre gets better radiating out from the centre as you stop down similar to how the Leica 50mm Asph S'Lux does it IMHO.
It was the rendering of the Distagon that instantly sold itself to me as opposed to the probable more sensible choice of going with the lighter, smaller and possibly even sharper Loxia 35mm (I went with my heart and not my head I suppose with no regrets whatsoever...This is the look that I was after
I had previously owned the ZM 35mm Biogon super sharp (also Leica M 35mm pre asph Lux and pre asph Cron) so I was pretty familiar with it's good and bad points although I liked the lens a lot except for the corners WO on FF and was less happy than most it seems with the OoF rendering of the ZM 35mm Biogon and 35mm Loxia Biogon (on APS-C it would have been a keeper for sure)...Although Charlie (uhoh7) has already proven to me on FM looking at his work that the ZM 35mm Biogon is still a great lens on a modded A7 series camera...The mod makes the difference it seems.
The Distagon corners are gorgeous WO soft not smeared and improve in resolution as you close down...I like creamy, dreamy OoF and it's a perfect 10 out of 10 for me, not twitchy nervous in the least, it's the perfect accompaniment to the 55mm Sonnar rendering if that is what you like...I know I do.

Low distortion

Higher contrast WO than the CV 35mm (CV 35mm contrast improves dramatically on stopping down just one stop).
Vignetting is present as you expect WO but not in your face and tidy's up nicely even at f1.4 with no smearing at any focus distance points.

Photographing a white board and I can just see some slight colour shift corners going on close up, although nothing that bothers me and I can't see it in my everyday outdoors photography.

Exif data present...Weather sealed and dust proof if I remember correctly.

No OSS but on a IBIS A7 series camera it's no big thingy anyway IMO, as I'm guessing IBIS will be present on the future A7RII/A9 cameras.

AF...Which I know you are not that keen on is truly excellent fast and accurate...Even a die hard MF worker like yourself will be tempted to switch it on and maybe even leave it on if the situation warrants it!...Needs latest Firmware 1.2 to get the best from the 35mm Distagon according to Sony...Strangely I did notice a drop in my battery life, I don't think I imagined it, hard to say.

No problem from the thick sensor stack (no double imaging going on out towards the corners) which the ZM 35mm Distagon is showing up on a non modded A7 series camera.

The FE 35mm Distagon just like the Loxia shows that the 35mm end of the 16-35mm is not that great for landscape work...I would rather sensor crop at 28mm to achieve the 35mm AoV.


35mm FE Distagon Negs...

Size, weight, price and not dedicated MF like a Loxia, I suspect will always be a problem for many.
Flare can still creep in even with a lenshood (not sure about your hands doing a better job ...Haven't seen any fireballs either yet
CA can be noticeable depending on the scene...but can be dealt with and fades away quickly on stopping down.

To conclude.
I owe thanks to CharlesK, John, Jorge and Werner + Others here and also over at FM for help making my mind up...Great info and thanks for sharing guys.
I think Charles summed it up perfectly earlier on another thread..."I think we are coming to point where side by side comparisons are not as relevant now. The FE 35/1.4 is an amazing lens"...It's all subjective and it's just a matter of personal taste what look you are after at the end of the day.

Hope this helps Michiel, apologies for such a long answer Cheers Barry

EDIT...Michiel...Apologies for uploading straight after your image...I was unaware you had uploaded while I was typing this out for you.

 

[Michiel Schierbeek]

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

Wow, I did not expect such a thorough review so soon! But that's you, thorough! Thanks a lot! Good for everyone to read. Looks like you are really happy with it and that will surely result in more great images.

As you know I am a fan of the Zeiss look and I like my C/Y version a lot. This will probably be a bit/lot better and AF can come in handy sometimes BTW I don't mind big lenses except for streetshooting.
There are now so many new lenses for the E mount I did not buy, that I don't know were to start. Probably none for the time being because, I have been building up a small collection of Pentax 645 lenses for a future purchase of the PentaxZ and my funds need a break to build up some fresh dough :grin:

This helps for sure ! In draining, not only mine, but a lot of wallets around this forum.

Your first impressions mini review/comparison is worth a new thread on this lens, I think.

 

[Barry Haines]

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

Wow, I did not expect such a thorough review so soon! But that's you, thorough! Thanks a lot! Good for everyone to read. Looks like you are really happy with it and that will surely result in more great images.

As you know I am a fan of the Zeiss look and I like my C/Y version a lot. This will probably be a bit/lot better and AF can come in handy sometimes BTW I don't mind big lenses except for streetshooting.
There are now so many new lenses for the E mount I did not buy, that I don't know were to start. Probably none for the time being because, I have been building up a small collection of Pentax 645 lenses for a future purchase of the PentaxZ and my funds need a break to build up some fresh dough :grin:

This helps for sure ! In draining, not only mine, but a lot of wallets around this forum.

Your first impressions mini review/comparison is worth a new thread on this lens, I think.

Yes very happy, many thanks Michiel...It would be interesting to see the C/Y 35mm Distagon reviewed with the FE version...You (And Chuck) may very well not be missing out on anything...It might be me

Good luck with the Pentax 645...I for one will be sorry to see you spend most your time over there...I will have to pick on someone else now :cussing:
Do stay in touch with the Sony A7 thread.

Apologies again for posting straight after your excellent clock image :thumbs: Cheers Barry

 

[Bill Caulfeild-Browne]

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

 

[Michiel Schierbeek]

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

Good luck with the Pentax 645...I for one will be sorry to see you spend most your time over there...I will have to pick on someone else now :cussing:
Do stay in touch with the Sony A7 thread.

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.

 

[Vivek]

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

As long as you are around (in the country or even the continent), it is fine with me.

 

[iiiNelson]

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

Hi Michiel, first of all thanks for the "THANK" and also ggibson (excellent image BTW)...Very most appreciated.

Well I have only owned the lens just 24 hours, so some may say that I just haven't spent long enough time with it to come up with any worthwhile decisive conclusion, that maybe I'm just overly excited with my new purchase (Which in truth I am)...Well I have done my testing now (I won't be uploading it here for all to see as I did the tests selfishly for myself) as far as "I'm concerned" the short answer without any hesitation is that the Distagon is going to be a longtime resident here in Cornwall as far as I can foresee ...I was going to reveal this after I sold the CV 35mm on ebay, it's a bit late now you have forced my hand...no doubt CV35 prices will plummet
Joking aside the CV35 f1.2 has it's own particular signature rendering that I quite like, similar to an old classic styled lens a bit low in contrast WO for my own particular taste, as I have said before.
Plenty of fans out there and rightly so but I freely admit I personally never really fell in love with it like others have done before me.
The Distagon IMO is in a different league altogether a much more up to date designed lens with what looks like almost micro-contrast going on when comparing it against the CV35 images WO i.e. Better resolving of fine detail in highlights and shadows, probably due to the Zeiss glass with T* coating and the sun being out yesterday evening

Distagon praises are...

Colour, colour, colour...Did I mention colour, the colours are just Zeiss wonderful..3D Pop fantastic!...(I'm now starting to sound like Steve Huff...But I find myself agreeing with him on this occasion)...The other 3 Sony lenses are not as good as the Distagon for colour, although I need to do a proper test to prove this to myself once the sun is back out.
It resolves brilliantly in the centre straight from F1.4 (3/4 of the frame is good to go)...Sharpness/Resolution in the centre gets better radiating out from the centre as you stop down similar to how the Leica 50mm Asph S'Lux does it IMHO.
It was the rendering of the Distagon that instantly sold itself to me as opposed to the probable more sensible choice of going with the lighter, smaller and possibly even sharper Loxia 35mm (I went with my heart and not my head I suppose with no regrets whatsoever...This is the look that I was after
I had previously owned the ZM 35mm Biogon super sharp (also Leica M 35mm pre asph Lux and pre asph Cron) so I was pretty familiar with it's good and bad points although I liked the lens a lot except for the corners WO on FF and was less happy than most it seems with the OoF rendering of the ZM 35mm Biogon and 35mm Loxia Biogon (on APS-C it would have been a keeper for sure)...Although Charlie (uhoh7) has already proven to me on FM looking at his work that the ZM 35mm Biogon is still a great lens on a modded A7 series camera...The mod makes the difference it seems.
The Distagon corners are gorgeous WO soft not smeared and improve in resolution as you close down...I like creamy, dreamy OoF and it's a perfect 10 out of 10 for me, not twitchy nervous in the least, it's the perfect accompaniment to the 55mm Sonnar rendering if that is what you like...I know I do.

Low distortion

Higher contrast WO than the CV 35mm (CV 35mm contrast improves dramatically on stopping down just one stop).
Vignetting is present as you expect WO but not in your face and tidy's up nicely even at f1.4 with no smearing at any focus distance points.

Photographing a white board and I can just see some slight colour shift corners going on close up, although nothing that bothers me and I can't see it in my everyday outdoors photography.

Exif data present...Weather sealed and dust proof if I remember correctly.

No OSS but on a IBIS A7 series camera it's no big thingy anyway IMO, as I'm guessing IBIS will be present on the future A7RII/A9 cameras.

AF...Which I know you are not that keen on is truly excellent fast and accurate...Even a die hard MF worker like yourself will be tempted to switch it on and maybe even leave it on if the situation warrants it!...Needs latest Firmware 1.2 to get the best from the 35mm Distagon according to Sony...Strangely I did notice a drop in my battery life, I don't think I imagined it, hard to say.

No problem from the thick sensor stack (no double imaging going on out towards the corners) which the ZM 35mm Distagon is showing up on a non modded A7 series camera.

The FE 35mm Distagon just like the Loxia shows that the 35mm end of the 16-35mm is not that great for landscape work...I would rather sensor crop at 28mm to achieve the 35mm AoV.


35mm FE Distagon Negs...

Size, weight, price and not dedicated MF like a Loxia, I suspect will always be a problem for many.
Flare can still creep in even with a lenshood (not sure about your hands doing a better job ...Haven't seen any fireballs either yet
CA can be noticeable depending on the scene...but can be dealt with and fades away quickly on stopping down.

To conclude.
I owe thanks to CharlesK, John, Jorge and Werner + Others here and also over at FM for help making my mind up...Great info and thanks for sharing guys.
I think Charles summed it up perfectly earlier on another thread..."I think we are coming to point where side by side comparisons are not as relevant now. The FE 35/1.4 is an amazing lens"...It's all subjective and it's just a matter of personal taste what look you are after at the end of the day.

Hope this helps Michiel, apologies for such a long answer Cheers Barry

EDIT...Michiel...Apologies for uploading straight after your image...I was unaware you had uploaded while I was typing this out for you.

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.