02/26/14

Sony Nex-5N - Olympus OM 28 f2.8

As expected from Olympus,the quality and feel of these OM lenses is just superb. I also own the 50 f1.8, 100 f2.8, 135 f3.5 and the 135 f2.8 OM lenses and they all perform really well on the Nex cameras.

I expected this lens to be top of the 28mm list but it actually came in second. After posting some images from this lens I will post a composit from 4 28mm lenses where it's possible to see the differences between the lenses, even at the size that my images are posted.

As you can see from my images from the 28mm lenses I attempted to take the same scene or as near as I could with each lens, I had to have some reference points to look at the image quality from each lens (i.e. How the lens renders on the Sony body). It's only when you do this with a few lenses you come to realise the subtle differences between each lens and manufacturer.

1334

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

Dil 02/26/14 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1334

• Sony • Nex-5N • Olympus • 28 f2.8

02/25/14

Lenses

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Sony Nex-5N - Nikon 28 f2.8

The second example from the Nikon 28 f2.8, just to show what to expect from a lens of this vintage. Just as a reminder, my copy of the lens wasn't stellar so expect better from a lens in pristine condition.

1152

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

Dil 02/25/14 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1152

• Sony • Nex-5N • Nikon • 28 f2.8

02/24/14

Lenses

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Sony Nex-5N - Nikon 28 f2.8

I had high hopes for this lens as my Nikon 50 f1.8 and the 100 f2.8 are very sharp and are a dream to use in the field. However, this is the worst 28mm lens I have used to date. There's a lot of play in the focusing ring and the aperture ring must have some wear to it as it moves too easily. Every time I took it out of my bag I had to recheck the settings which proved necessary. It seems to be decentered as the left side is pretty soft and the right side could be sharper as well. All this makes me believe I bought, not a bad copy, but certainly one not in pristine condition. After using my 50 f2.8 and 100 f2.8 from Nikon, the 28mm can't be this much worse. Built quality is great, and if I has received a better example then I believe this lens could have been up there with the best of them. I didn't receive a great example so I have to live with it.

I don't think I'll be purchasing a second copy of this lens as I have several good to great 28mm lenses already. However, I will post a couple of images from it just to show what it's capable of. A better example can produce better images obviously but the posted images are considered good enough for web use.

1111

NEX-5N
Focal Length: unknown
Aperture: f/1.0
Exposure Time: 1/320 sec
ISO: 100

Dil 02/24/14 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1111

• Sony • Nikon • Nex-5N • 28 f2.8

02/23/14

Lenses

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Sony Nex-5N - Vivitar 28 f2.8

The is the only image I'll be posting from the Vivitar 28 f2.8 which turned out to be a surprise because if I remember correctly postage was dearer than the lens itself. You don't find those too often.

Again it has a metal mount and handles very nicely. Images are pretty low in contrast, as the Sigma 28 f2.8, but they prove to be very processable in LR and Photoshop. As you can see in the image above, the end results are presentable, but that's it.

Having said that, it wasn't the best lens I tested and this will not be staying in my collection.

1131

NEX-5N
Focal Length: unknown
Aperture: f/1.0
Exposure Time: 1/320 sec
ISO: 100

Dil 02/23/14 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1131

• Sony • Nex-5N • Vivitar • 28 f2.8

02/22/14

Lenses

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

The same applies to the above image, the more I look at it the more I like it. That doesn't mean there wasn't a lot done in post to get it to look like it is above.

This is the last image from the Sigma 28 f2.8 for the present but I will be coming back to it in my conclusions for the 28mm lenses.

1427

NEX-5N
Focal Length: unknown
Aperture: f/1.0
Exposure Time: 1/320 sec
ISO: 100

Dil 02/22/14 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1427

• Sony • Nex-5N • Sigma • 28 f2.8

02/21/14

Lenses

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

To be honest, if I leave images that I've processed and come back to them after a couple of weeks, I get a completely different feel for the images. The same has happened to these images from the Sigma 28 f2.8. They look better and better the more I look at them now. After I'd processed tham I really didn't think much about the image quality, but when looking again at the above image I quite like it.

1202

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

Dil 02/21/14 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1202

• Sony • Nex-5N • Sigma • 28 f2.8

02/20/14

Lenses

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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

PhotoBlog of Random Images

Sony Nex-5N - Olympus OM 28 f2.8

Sony Nex-5N - Nikon 28 f2.8

Sony Nex-5N - Nikon 28 f2.8

Sony Nex-5N - Vivitar 28 f2.8

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

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

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

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