02/20/14

Sony Nex-5N - Sigma Mini-Wide II 28 f2.8

This is a lens that I haven't seen too often in shops or offered on ebay (in Germany anyway) but it's turned out to be an ok lens. It handles nicely and the focusing ring is nicely damped. It has a metal mount and the lens is quite hefty when on the Nex-5N.

Images lack contrast and like all Sigma lenses that I've tried (including their modern lenses) has a slight yellow tint to them. Easily corrected in post of course but it's still an extra step to go through. They sharpen nicely in post and the finished images don't look too bad. It's quite probable that quality variation can be expected when purchasing these lenses so make sure you test it thoroughly.

The image above is typical of my minimalistic phases I get from time to time. The metal barrier was quite close and as you can see the lens did quite well at close focusing distances.

1413

NEX-5N
Focal Length: unknown
Aperture: f/1.0
Exposure Time: 1/80 sec
ISO: 100

Dil 02/20/14 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1413

• Sony • Nex-5N • Sigma • 28 f2.8

02/19/14

Lenses

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Sony Nex-5N - Sigma Mini-Wide II 28 f2.8

The first focal length I wanted to sort out were my 28mm lenses (35mm=42mm on the Nex system) which may not be an optimal focal length for many. It's not a medium wide like a 35mm or a normal focal length of 50mm. It's a middle thing like the Panasonic 20 f1.7 on the m4/3 system. I have my problems with that lens and that could be the reason I don't use it all that much. I prefer the Panasonic 25 f1.4 which gives me a normal (AOV) focal length of 50mm.

I must admit I have accumulated quite a number of these lenses and it's only now that I've actually got around to assessing them all. I bought these on ebay as offers came along that I thought reasonable (i.e. low price) and I just couldn't pass up on them. Such offers don't come along very often and I can always put them up on ebay again with very little, if any, financial loss.

The contenders here are:

Nikon 28 f2.8
Olympus OM 28 f2.8
Vivitar 28 f2.8
Sigma Mini-Wide II 28 f2.8
Pentax M Takumar 28 f2.8

What I still have to test are the:

Canon FD 28 f2.8
Konica Hexanon AR 28 f3.5

I know the Konica isn't f2.8 but most of my testing is done at f8 as my aim is sharpness throughout the image. The last two lenses might take a little time to test as I'll be recovering from surgery for some weeks and walking some distance is not an option for me. I'll be very restricted but it's something that has to be fixed, and quick.

So the coming posts will be dedicated to some 28mm images from all the lenses mentioned above (apart from the last two) and I'll be posting the lens that came out on top. Some images from the Pentax have already been posted so I'll be missing those out. If you want to see some images from the Pentax 28mm, just do a search and they'll be displayed for you.

1224

NEX-5N
Focal Length: unknown
Aperture: f/1.0
Exposure Time: 1/200 sec
ISO: 100

Dil 02/19/14 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1224

• Sony • Nex-5N • Sigma • 28 f2.8

02/18/14

Lenses

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Sony Nex-5N - Olympus OM 50 f1.8

This last image from the 50 f1.8 was taken specifically to check corner sharpness. This has not been cropped in any way, and as you can see, corner sharpness isn't a major problem with this lens on the Nex system. However, having said that, I still see an increase in image quality when used on the m4/3 cameras. When I have the time I will test this lens again on the same subject using both systems and I'll post my findings here, with images of course.

1092

NEX-5N
Focal Length: unknown
Aperture: f/1.0
Exposure Time: 1/400 sec
ISO: 100

Dil 02/18/14 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1092

• Sony • Olympus • Nex-5N • 50 f1.8

02/17/14

Lenses

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Sony Nex-5N - Olympus OM 50 f1.8

Another from the 50 f1.8 which doesn't look too bad. Where you will notice soft or distorted corners is when photographing relatively distant object, and if landscapes etc are your forte then you had better test a lens very thoroughly at close and near infinity focus.

1124

NEX-5N
Focal Length: unknown
Aperture: f/1.0
Exposure Time: 1/125 sec
ISO: 100

Dil 02/17/14 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1124

• Sony • Olympus • Nex-5N • 50 f1.8

02/16/14

Lenses

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Sony Nex-5N - Olympus OM 50 f1.8

As you may have noticed from recent posts, I've been using a lot of legacy manual focus lenses recently. The reason for this is to slim down the number of lenses I have and to select the best lens in each focal length to use with my Sony Nex system.

The next few posts will be about these lenses because I believe there are quite a few photographers out there who are still using these lenses with modern digital cameras. Personally I'm using the Sony Nex system and all kinds of m4/3 cameras (especially the old Olympus E-PL1). And just to add an OT comment here, the Olympus E-PL1 is still going strong and delivers perfectly good images. It's still a great camera (although it's got the old 12MP sensor in it) and the one I find the easiest to focus on when a legacy lens is used.

One of the lenses I raved about some time ago was the Olympus OM 50 f1.8 albeit on a m4/3 camera. I find using these lenses easier on the Nex system because of focus peaking, I have come to the conclusion that I get better results when using these lenses on the m4/3 cameras. This is largely due to the smaller sensor where the edges of the image are not used. Because the Nex incorporates an APS-C sensor (i.e. larger sensor) if a lens is not optimal the edges of the image will be soft. This is exactly what I have been experiencing with the lenses I have used in last few weeks.

The above image was taken with the OM 50 f1.8 on a Nex-5N body and the results show a decrease in image quality, corner to corner. When using focal lengths of 75mm and greater there is hardly a difference between the two systems. Wide angle lenses are, however, a different kettle of fish, and the lens used has to be of very high quality.

1139

NEX-5N
Focal Length: unknown
Aperture: f/1.0
Exposure Time: 1/160 sec
ISO: 100

Dil 02/16/14 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1139

• Sony • Nex-5N • Olympus • 50 f1.8

01/29/14

Lenses

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Sony Nex-5N - Pentax M Takumar 35 f3.5

Last image from this combination for now. I've made a little compilation at a higher than normal resolution so that the individual images can been seen at a reasonable size.

1289

unknown
Focal Length: unknown
Aperture: unknown
Exposure Time: unknown
ISO: unknown

Dil 01/29/14 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1289

• Sony • Nex-5N • Pentax • 35 f3.5

01/28/14

Lenses

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Sony Nex-5N - Pentax M Takumar 35 f3.5

Another Takumar lens from Pentax. A couple of weeks ago I posted some images from the Pentax Takumar 28 f2.8, and that lens seems to be the best of all my 28 f2.8 lenses. I'll be keeping that lens and the rest have to go. I have one test still to do and that is between an Olympus OM 28 f2.8 and a Nikon E-series 28 f2.8. I've heard some good things about both lenses and the images I've seen posted have also been spot on. It might be that I'll be keeping all three but we'll see after the final test which shouldn't be long in coming.

The Takumar 35 f3.5 has good build quality, actually it can't get much better and they don't build them like this anymore. It's an all metal lens which is quite heavy in the hand but manageable on the Sony Nex-5N.

Another couple of images from this combination after today.

1308

NEX-5N
Focal Length: unknown
Aperture: f/1.0
Exposure Time: 1/500 sec
ISO: 100

Dil 01/28/14 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1308

• Sony • Nex-5N • Pentax • 35 f3.5

01/27/14

Lenses

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Sony Nex-5N - Pentax M Takumar 35 f3.5

It's quite sharp corner to corner and has a nice rendition. Clarity is fine and is a candidate for my 35mm tests to decide which lens will be used in this focal length.

1084

NEX-5N
Focal Length: unknown
Aperture: f/1.0
Exposure Time: 1/500 sec
ISO: 100

Dil 01/27/14 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1084

• Sony • Nex-5N • Pantax • 35 f3.5

01/18/14

Lenses

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Sony Nex-7 - Sony E 18-55 f3.5-5.6 OSS

This is a second shot I found to be ok and it's postable I suppose, especially seeing it was taken with the kit lens. I won't be posting any more because the rest look similar to this one. I just thought it interesting to see a couple of these shots taken with a lens that isn't supposed to be of any use to anyone.

899

NEX-7
Focal Length: 55 mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure Time: 1/200 sec
ISO: 100

Dil 01/18/14 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 899

• Sony • Nex-7 • 18-55 f3.5-5.6

01/17/14

Lenses

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Sony Nex-7 - Sony E 18-55 f3.5-5.6 OSS

As we were walking we came across a pool with many dragonflies patrolling their territory to fend off rivals. I decided to stay for awhile and just watch them, then I tried to trck them with the Nex-7. Ever tried to get some dragonfly shots with a kit lens attached to a Nex camera? They're not known for their fast focusing and it's a real challenge.

I must have sat thee for about an hour attempting to capture these creatures and the camera was working overtime. I must have taken a few hundred shots in that time in the hope of getting a couple of decent shots. This is one of the few I deemed was a keeper.

1053

NEX-7
Focal Length: 55 mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure Time: 1/250 sec
ISO: 100

Dil 01/17/14 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1053

• Sony • Nex-7 • 18-55 f3.5-5.6

PhotoBlog of Random Images

Sony Nex-5N - Sigma Mini-Wide II 28 f2.8

Sony Nex-5N - Sigma Mini-Wide II 28 f2.8

Sony Nex-5N - Olympus OM 50 f1.8

Sony Nex-5N - Olympus OM 50 f1.8

Sony Nex-5N - Olympus OM 50 f1.8

Sony Nex-5N - Pentax M Takumar 35 f3.5

Sony Nex-5N - Pentax M Takumar 35 f3.5

Sony Nex-5N - Pentax M Takumar 35 f3.5

Sony Nex-7 - Sony E 18-55 f3.5-5.6 OSS

Sony Nex-7 - Sony E 18-55 f3.5-5.6 OSS

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