02/19/14

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.

1091

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 1091

• 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.

1009

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 1009

• 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.

1018

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 1018

• 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.

1017

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 1017

• Sony • Nex-5N • Olympus • 50 f1.8

02/15/14

Cameras

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Canon G1X

This is the last from the G1X for the present. I hope you've enjoyed the images from this somewhat excentric camera. I still think this was an experiment by Canon because it doesn't quite fit into any camera class. Since it's release there hasn't been a firmware update and I don't think there'll be one. A G2X will not be coming either in my opinion. They collected all the information they wanted and the project has been dropped. Again, that is just my opinion. Since the release of the G1X, the EOS-M has come onto the market but I don't think that camera is doing well either.

Nikon and Canon will have to carve out their market share with other cameras apart from their DSLRs because that's the way the market is going. Sony have released the A7/A7r and I think they will abandon their DSLT market altogether. C'mon Nikon and Canon, let's see what you can do.

Interesting times ahead.

967

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

Dil 02/15/14 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 967

• Canon • G1X

02/14/14

Cameras

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Canon G1X

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1013

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

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

Viewed 1013

• Canon • G1X

02/13/14

Cameras

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Canon G1X

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1069

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

Dil 02/13/14 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1069

• Canon • G1X

02/12/14

Cameras

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Canon,G1X,

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1106

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

Dil 02/12/14 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1106

• Canon • G1X

02/12/14

Cameras

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Canon G1X II

Now this is surprise! Since I'm in the middle of posting some images from the Canon G1X and embarassing myself stating that I didn't think Canon would bring out a second version of this camera, well I've just been proved wrong. It does look interesting and I'm going to wait and see how the image quality is. They have, I must admit, made some significant improvements to the camera that matter to me. A faster lens, a longer lens that goes from 24mm to 120mm which is excellent. The lens on the G1X was rather short at 112mm at the long end. They finally got rid of that useless OVF and replaced it with an external EVF (wish it was internal like the Panasonic GX7 but we can't have everything). It's smaller than the original although the EVF gives it a hump again. All in all, a good upgrade and although the pixel count is down, it's plenty for my use.

Available in May this year, depending on where you live.

937

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

Dil 02/12/14 08:54 comments (0)

Viewed 937

• Canon • G1x II

02/11/14

Cameras

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Canon G1X

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

Dil 02/11/14 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1076

• Canon • G1X

PhotoBlog of Random Images

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

Canon G1X

Canon G1X

Canon G1X

Canon,G1X,

Canon G1X II

Canon G1X

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