Best performing 24 or 25mm on A7R

[Guy Mancuso]

Well one reason was exif data plus aperture control in camera why I went canon mount but more important was a canon 17 TS I could buy and have the adapter already. Nikon lenses the TS especially do not work on the Sonys they need electronic power. The Metabones has the electrical connection so I can use all there TS glass with it.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

I'll take a shot of camera for you

 

[Ben Rubinstein]

Makes sense Guy. The 17mm? Can I be exceedingly jealous of you? I just don't have the commercial architectural work any more to make it economically viable. I do want to standardise on a single lens for my wide angle work which makes it more difficult, it has to do commercial, urban landscape, project work, people work, etc. I love the 24mm focal length but commercial usually requires significantly wider than that, I was always at the wide ed of my 16-35LII. It would seem that it's worth waiting for the Sony FE 16-35 but I can't pretend that the significant distortion and corner lack of sharpness of the 24-70 is not worrying me. That and the f4 aperture would bother me. I'm thinking that a good 24mm and stitching could be the answer given how rarely I need a super wide these days. I just wish there was a smaller solution.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Why I sold the 24-70 but 24 being in the mid range of a 16-35 might be good. Sure like to see one come out.

 

[Ben Rubinstein]

It's rumoured to be the next lens to be announced apparently.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Small wides are tough to come by. Zeiss 18 is very nice not perfect but a good performer.

 

[jerome_m]

Maybe the following pages could help your choices. Some time ago, I tested my lenses at the horizon (so, this is basically a "landscape test"). The horizon is tilted so that we have some data in the extreme corners. Tests have been done on the Sony A900, Nikon D800 and Sony NEX 7. Each individual picture can be downloaded in full resolution using the flickr interface (click on the picture first, then on the "…" symbol, it used to be easier before flick redesigned their interface).

This is a test at 24mm:https://www.flickr.com/photos/jerome_munich/sets/72157625120824412/

The following image is the extreme corner of the 24mm f/2.0, 16-35 and 24-70 from Sony/Zeiss:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jerome_munich/5509726470/in/set-72157625120824412
and this is the midframe for the same lenses:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jerome_munich/5509726584/in/set-72157625120824412.

This is a comparison of the Sony/Zeiss and Nikon 16-35 zooms (on the A900 and D800) where the pictures with the slanted horizon have been turned for easy comparison:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jerome_munich/7479173752/in/set-72157630303410700

This are all lens tests I did and published to my flickr account:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jerome_munich/collections/72157629882006514/. You will find data for more lenses in the various sets.

 

[Ben Rubinstein]

Jerome, those tests are incredibly useful, very much appreciated! I found the tree image to be the most useful actually, as you wrote, very 'real world'. It shows that the very extreme corners do suffer even at f8 but it's not enough to bother me. Now if only it wasn't so large!

 

[Ben Rubinstein]

Are there any opinions on the 25mm f2.8 version of the Zeiss? I believe it's smaller and it's 1/3 of the price.

 

[biglouis]

I am a big fan of the CV Ultron 21/2.8 which I use on an A7. I thought I might get rid of it as and when the FE roadmap lenses for the 24 and 21 appear but the more I use it the more I like it.

It is going to get a lot tougher once these lenses appear although according to the roadmap they are f2.8 minimum aperture.

Guy, if you read this, did you get the 25 ZM?

LouisB

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Canon mount 25mm F2 ZE. So it's the DSLR mount

 

[jerome_m]

Jerome, those tests are incredibly useful, very much appreciated! I found the tree image to be the most useful actually, as you wrote, very 'real world'. It shows that the very extreme corners do suffer even at f8 but it's not enough to bother me. Now if only it wasn't so large!

You are welcome. I think that the Sony-Zeiss 24mm f/2.0 is actually a bit smaller than the Canon/Nikon-Zeiss 25mm f/2.0...

 

[Show Performance]

Just a few snaps with the Sony Zeiss 24/2. They don't really show edge performance but it is excellent. Looks to hold up right to the corner where it dissolves a hair.

 

[Show Performance]

Whoops! Those were on the A900. Here are some more test snaps on the A7 with the LAEA-4
Was mostly testing for center sharpness and bokeh but the first shot was stopped down to 5.6 and shows some good edge detail

 

[arize84]

If you don't mind the LAE4 adapter and going a little bit wider, then I would also recommend the Sony/Minolta 20mm 2.8. Its short and lightweight, focuses fast, sharp enough stopped down, and has wonderful Minolta colors. You will have to push a bit harder in post with this lens but the resolution and colors are there. The following pics were taken on an A99, but I would imagine performance on an A7 wouldn't be much different.

 

[Ben Rubinstein]

There was a rumour that metabones was looking at an adaptor with optics to fix the corner issues of rangefinder lenses. Roger Cicala from lensrentals was hinting about it a while back. I wonder if it's an idea that died or it's in progress.

 

[Chuck Jones]

I am looking for the best image quality possible for the A7R.
Does anyone have any real work experience with the Zeiss 25mm f2 ZF?
A friend told me he is getting good results with the Leica 24mm f3.8 Elmar-M ASPH.
Is this possible? I thought the Leica wide-angles were not working well on the A7R sensor.
Which 24mm retro-focus lenses work well on the A7R?
Sadly, the only old 24mm I have is a FD Canon 24mm f2.8 SSC.
Any chance this would work for now?

I truly appreciate any suggestions.

All the best,
Mike

Mike, try it, I think you will like it. Even the 20mm f/2.8 FD is fantastic on A7R.

 

[Professional]

Not sure where you can put Canon TS-E 24mm in this equation for this thread, isn't it on par with those Zeiss WA lenses such as 21mm?