The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

New lens lineup for the A7rII

Annna T

Active member
Preliminary indoor light color wall test has the CG28 looking very good wide open except some light fall off. This I am not sure is just how close those tabs are to that sensor. Kinda looks like it would be very close.
Many thanks for this report ! I'm curious about the corners sharpness too : on the A7r I'm getting smeared corners; is it improved on the A7r2 too ?

Yes, I'm worrying about the protruding tabs getting too near of the sensor too. Some people are cutting those wings away in order to avoid that. Up until now I didn't have enough the boldness to treat mines.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Have to say my head is starting to spin on lens choices. I got a couple holes a mid-zoom and something in the 200 range but given this new body and the AF abilities it has now. I'm starting to think going native is the best option on some things. I have the VC 15mm version III which is now a permanent fixture in my bag both Batis lens s and the Zeiss Sony 35 1.4 those four lenses are my mainstay. This 200 mm thing is really getting old trying to figure this out. I loved my Minolta 200 and I may try and buy a members unit back in my hands. Seems only a canon zoom or Sony zoom can effectively handle the best AF features. I'm really left with two choices the 70-200 F4 Sony or the Minolta 200mm with LA-E4 adapter which does not give me the AF points I am after


As far as the mid zoom again bought it twice rented it 4 times but I may just buy it back the 24-70 for PR stuff. Trying to find a real bargain price here on that one
 

scho

Well-known member
Many thanks for this report ! I'm curious about the corners sharpness too : on the A7r I'm getting smeared corners; is it improved on the A7r2 too ?

Yes, I'm worrying about the protruding tabs getting too near of the sensor too. Some people are cutting those wings away in order to avoid that. Up until now I didn't have enough the boldness to treat mines.
My CG 28 was converted to M mount so I don't have any tabs to worry about, but unfortunately it still produces smeared corners. I'll stay with the Sony FE28/2 that performs beautifully with the A7RII, as does it's older sibling the FE35/2.8.
 

Amin

Active member
I'm gonna have to add the 35mm Loxia to my list. Just tried it out and really loved it as a complement to the 35/1.4. And Guy talked me back into the 85 Batis, lol.

So the revised list:
Batis 25
Sony 35/1.4
Loxia 35
Sony 55/1.8
Batis 85
 

UHDR

New member
for me:

VC 12mm
VC 15mm
leica 28-35-50mm (yes! i decided to stick with me trusty leica tri-elmar)
FE 55mm

for tele end, depends how light i need to go:
ZE 135mm
canon 70-200 f4
sony a-mount 85mm + LAEA3

might swap FE 55mm with VC 40mm if there are alot of street photograhy :grin:

my current problem is, im not sure if i want to keep a7r as second body to A7rII or i should trade it in for A7rII and only keep one body....
 

Mark Muse

New member
My CG 28 was converted to M mount so I don't have any tabs to worry about, but unfortunately it still produces smeared corners. I'll stay with the Sony FE28/2 that performs beautifully with the A7RII, as does it's older sibling the FE35/2.8.
scho,

Who did the CG conversion to M for you? It must have added a focusing helicoid (I don't believe there are floating elements), is it good and smooth? Or does it simply couple to the screw drive like the adapters do? Regardless of how the 28 performs on the r2 (though I hope it does well because I have one too), I would love to have a nice smooth focusing mechanism and less weight from the adapters for my 45 and 90 CG. I am particularly in love with the 90 rendering.

Thanks,
Mark
 

Jim DE

New member
My CG 28 was converted to M mount so I don't have any tabs to worry about, but unfortunately it still produces smeared corners. I'll stay with the Sony FE28/2 that performs beautifully with the A7RII, as does it's older sibling the FE35/2.8.
I have not tested my CG28 outside but with your results and my anxiety about those tabs being too close to the sensor I will not even give it a try outside and will put it back in my ContaxG2 kit with the 21, and 35 ;) thanks!! I have the 16-35mm if I need that focal length without concern about tab clearance.
 

Quentin_Bargate

Well-known member
It's interesting that hardly anyone chooses to include the Zeiss 35mm F/2.8 in their list, yet its almost the perfect lens for the A7 series in many ways.

Its small, feels great on camera, sharp, reasonably fast-ish, gets the benefit of in-body stabilisation with the A7RII. Great general purpose focal length.

Is it the forgotten jilted partner more afficianados should consider ahead of more exotic, newer glass, I wonder? I own one and its on my list.
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
It's interesting that hardly anyone chooses to include the Zeiss 35mm F/2.8 in their list, yet its almost the perfect lens for the A7 series in many ways.

Its small, feels great on camera, sharp, reasonably fast-ish, gets the benefit of in-body stabilisation with the A7RII. Great general purpose focal length.

Is it the forgotten jilted partner more afficianados should consider ahead of more exotic, newer glass, I wonder? I own one and its on my list.
I think many of us have owned it, never forgot it, decided we didn't like it, and moved on for many reasons to include sample variation where a touted mythical "good copy" seems to be the exception instead of the rule, lack of speed for a prime, expectations, optical quality, etc. If size were a priority I'd personally recommend that someone choose either the 28/2 or the 35/2 Loxia (based on how important AF is to you) otherwise it's the 35/1.4 Distagon FE that ranks as the premier lens in that focal length IMO.
 

scho

Well-known member
It's interesting that hardly anyone chooses to include the Zeiss 35mm F/2.8 in their list, yet its almost the perfect lens for the A7 series in many ways.

Its small, feels great on camera, sharp, reasonably fast-ish, gets the benefit of in-body stabilisation with the A7RII. Great general purpose focal length.

Is it the forgotten jilted partner more afficianados should consider ahead of more exotic, newer glass, I wonder? I own one and its on my list.
Couldn't agree more Quentin. It is always in my bag and I have no complaints about image quality. I don't shoot in environments that require 1.x apertures so I can do without the bulk. This lens, the 28/2 cousin, and the little CV 15 III are currently my main primes.
 

scho

Well-known member
scho,

Who did the CG conversion to M for you? It must have added a focusing helicoid (I don't believe there are floating elements), is it good and smooth? Or does it simply couple to the screw drive like the adapters do? Regardless of how the 28 performs on the r2 (though I hope it does well because I have one too), I would love to have a nice smooth focusing mechanism and less weight from the adapters for my 45 and 90 CG. I am particularly in love with the 90 rendering.

Thanks,
Mark
I think that this eBay seller is the same one that converted my cg lenses about 3 years ago. The lenses do have a helicoid focusing unit, smooth, and no screw drive. I had to have one (the 45) re-calibrated, but otherwise no problems. The names (Chinese) of the owner(s) and company seem to change over time, but still based in the Rowland heights area of California. I could not find his listing in eBay for conversion service so he may not be doing it any longer.
 

JMaher

New member
Quentin,

I keep the 35 2.8 in my bag all the time. It's small, it's good and it's small :)

I also have the 55 1.8 and a few Minolta lenses including the 135 2.8 and 200 2.8. I also have the manual Rokinson 14 2.8 and a Sony 85 2.8 (which is a very nice studio lens)
I am still struggling with a 24-70 option as well as considering the 16-35.

Of all of these the 55 is on my camera much of the time.

Jim

- - - Updated - - -

Also drooling over the Batis option, the 85 and 25. However I can only buy so much at a time.

Jim
 

Mark Muse

New member
It's interesting that hardly anyone chooses to include the Zeiss 35mm F/2.8 in their list, yet its almost the perfect lens for the A7 series in many ways.

Its small, feels great on camera, sharp, reasonably fast-ish, gets the benefit of in-body stabilisation with the A7RII. Great general purpose focal length.

Is it the forgotten jilted partner more afficianados should consider ahead of more exotic, newer glass, I wonder? I own one and its on my list.
Maybe I got a good one, don't know, but I think it is under-rated. I like mine. It is not as sharp as the 55/1.8 or the 90G, but It is plenty sharp enough for landscape work for those occasions when I actually use it for that. I find myself using it most for interiors... events with lots of people. It is light, quick to focus, unobtrusive.... It does a good job.

Based on the performance of the 35 Sonnar I might buy the 28 to replace my 30mm Pentax K and my Zeiss 28 Biogon G (see post about the Biogon on the r2).
 

Mark Muse

New member
The Zeiss 28 Biogon G on the r2 is vastly improved over the r1 and A72. I see no color shading at all. Smearing is reduced but not eliminated. Not workable for landscapes in my opinion, but perhaps good for street?
 

dandrewk

New member
It's interesting that hardly anyone chooses to include the Zeiss 35mm F/2.8 in their list, yet its almost the perfect lens for the A7 series in many ways.

Its small, feels great on camera, sharp, reasonably fast-ish, gets the benefit of in-body stabilisation with the A7RII. Great general purpose focal length.

Is it the forgotten jilted partner more afficianados should consider ahead of more exotic, newer glass, I wonder? I own one and its on my list.
A few times I've thought about selling mine, and now I am very glad I didn't. It is a sweet little lens, and I'll match it's performance/cc³ with any other lens. It's the perfect walk-around prime lens when you gotta go small.
 

Viramati

Member
For the time being my light kit which all fits easily in my Billingham Hadley Small is

A7rII with FE55 (can be used in crop mode as near 85mm lens)
CV 12/5.6 v.1 with CV come-focus adaptor. Used in crop mode this gives me an 18mm equivalent and nearly 18mp file (works well with good edge sharpness and no vignetting).
Leica Q
iPad air 2 + spare batteries, wallet etc

This way I can cover from 18-85mm. 28 and 55 are my most used focal lengths and doing documentary work I have always worked using 2 bodies and these focal lengths.

The FE16-35 will be used for landscape/architectural work and the FE24-70 will get some use on my A7s.
I bought the FE28/2 before the Q was announced but will hang onto it as for it's low cost it is pretty good
I may well sell my WATE and CV12/5.6 and get the CV15/4.5 as it seems to get good reports on the A7 series and is very compact
I will probably keep my Elmarit-M 90 and apo-telyt 135 as they both work vey well though the FE 90/28 macro is texting but with the CV close-focus adapter and the IBIS system in the rII I can get close enough for my needs.
 

gDallasK

New member
I'm starting to think about maybe getting a Canon 85L and adapter instead of the 85mm Batis.
Hmmm ........ I'm probably going the other way. After testing all my Canon lenses last week with my A7R2 and a Metabones 4 I first eBayed the ones that definitely didn't work (135L & 200L). I then realised that I had the ranges of my Canon 35L and 50L well covered by my Zeiss 35 F2.8 and 55 F1.8. So the Canon glass has now gone. And I didn't think I'd get much use for the 24-105 F4L so that now has a new owner.

This leaves me with the 70-300 DO which performs quite respectably with the Metabones adapter. And my 85 F1.2L II. Frankly, this lens was the primary reason that I had held on to my Canon gear and 5D2 (now sold) for so long.

I've ordered both of the Zeiss Batis lenses (though I've no idea when we'll see them in the UK) and it will be interesting to see which of the two 85mm lenses I eventually keep. I'm presently thinking that the integration of the native lenses with the A7R2's features will be enough to win me over. The IBIS on the A7R2 is brilliant - and more than compensates for the loss of aperture.
 
Last edited:

scho

Well-known member
My current lens kit for the A7RII consists of the CV 15 III, FE 28/2, FE 35/2.8, and FE 55/1.8. Lots of other MF legacy lenses that will get swapped in/out of the base kit when needed.
 

ErikKaffehr

Well-known member
Hi,

Hopefully I'll get my Sony A7rII next week. Right now I have only two lenses to use it with:

  • Canon 24/3.5 TSE
  • The 90/2.8 G Sony macro

So my plan is to use it with the existing A-lenses I have, like 24-70/2.8ZA, 70-400/4-5.6G, Sigma 12-24 etc.

In the longer term I may consider the two Loxias, and I am considering to add a Hartblei HCam TS adapter so I can use my Hasselblad lenses for tilt and shift, that would give me 40/60/100/120 mm (I also have a 180/4 but I think it is to long for TS).

I would also like a decent standard zoom, but the 24-70/4 has not gotten very good reviews. The 28-70 kit lens seems worth the price however, so I may buy one.

I am a bit vary of image stabilisation and like manual focus, and I am a f/8 shooter. With 90 mm it is a bit different, I want to use that lens with full aperture. Originally I ordered the Batis 85/1.8 but the 90/2.8 is dual purpose, seems to be excellent and available today…

Best regards
Erik
 

dchew

Well-known member
Currently:
CV 21
Leica 24 Elmarit
FE 35 f/2.8
Leica 50 APO
Leica 90 f/2 ASPH

Soon I will get the Batis 25 and sell the CV21 and 24 Elmarit

Not sure what to do about 35mm. Mine seems pretty good and I can't get over how light it is. I just have no use for autofocus and usually fight it. Maybe the Loxia 35.

Dave
 
Top