Photo Jottings!

Sigma 10-20mm VS NEX ultra wide converter

Posted by Kurt on March 31, 2012 in Jottings Reviews

Here’s a quick comparison using the Sony A580 with the Sigma 10-20mm F/4-5.6 lens at 12mm, and the Sony NEX-C3 with 16mm F/2.8, and the just reviewed  VCL-ECU1 ultra wide converter.  The equivalent coverage with each set-up is 18mm in 135 format, or more commonly full frame.

Both test images were taken at F/8, which is optimal for each lens, meaning the whole image is about as sharp as it’s going to get, if you stop down to F/11 the centers and mid-sections soften a little bit, but the extreme corners sharpen up just a hair.  Each image was saved as a jpeg.

The ultra wide converter is not handling the very small details too well in the mid-sections, the chain link fence in the background is almost gone, as is some of the bark detail in the tree branches, however, the corners seem quite similar between the two…

Sony NEX ultra wide converter review

Posted by Kurt on March 29, 2012 in Jottings Reviews

Sony designed the NEX 16mm F/2.8 lens to be used with a couple of different converters, one of which is the ultra wide angle 0.75x.  This converter gives you the same coverage as 12mm, or 18mm in full frame (135 film) format; that’s pretty wide!

The Sony VCL-ECU1 Ultra wide converter is very economical and convenient, and it does a good job if you aren’t extremely fussy about image quality.

Look for a quick comp with this converter and the Sigma 10-20mm zoom lens at 12mm in a couple of days.  In the mean time, check out the review and see if this ultra wide converter is right for you!

Sony NEX 30/3.5 macro review

Posted by Kurt on March 26, 2012 in Reviews

The newest Sony NEX lenses have been very impressive so far; including the spectacular, but expensive CZ 24/1.8, the inexpensive 50mm prime reviewed a couple of weeks ago, and don’t forget the nice 55-210mm zoom.  Unfortunately, Sony’s hot streak has come to an abrupt end with the new 30mm F/3.5 macro lens.  It’s not that it’s a bad lens, it just isn’t very impressive.

If you want a true macro lens, and don’t mind using manual focus, along with a working distance of about an inch at the max reproduction rate, then go for it.  If you’re looking for a small sharp prime as a walk-around lens in this focal length, I’d look elsewhere, like the kit (18-55mm) lens.

With that said, there are a few good qualities to mention; like the lack of distortion, light fall-off…

Sony NEX 30mm F/3.5 macro samples

Posted by Kurt on March 23, 2012 in Images Jottings

If you have nothing but time on your hands, how about checking out some full sized samples from the Sony NEX 30/3.5 macro lens.  Included is the usual stamp shot, and a couple of images showing how close(!) you need to be to get to the maximum reproduction ratio of 1:1.  The subject is about 5/8″ (16mm) from the end of that goofy hood, and it’s pretty hard to light.  The stamp is .87″ or (22mm) wide.   Also see the landscape shots taken at F/3.5, F/5.6 and F/8.  These were hand-held, so they aren’t lined up good, but you see the results easy enough…

Canon G1 X and Sony A580 RAW comps

Posted by Kurt on March 20, 2012 in Images Jottings

Here are a few boring samples from the Canon G1X, placed along side the Sony A580 using the CZ 16-80mm and DT 35/1.8 lenses.  RAW really helps out the Sony, it makes the images look as good or better than the Canon, although there isn’t a lot of difference, you have to look  very closely and flip back and forth between the two in your image browser.

The photos do not have the exact same coverage because of the different aspect ratios…

Sony NEX 50/1.8 OSS review ready

Posted by Kurt on March 17, 2012 in Jottings Reviews

The Sony NEX 50mm F/1.8 OSS lens is a welcome addition to the NEX family, producing sharp images with good contrast at nearly all apertures, very smooth bokeh, and almost no distortion.  While there isn’t really much to dislike about the lens, there are a few qualities I’d like to see improved.  One, the reproduction ratio is a little low, so you can’t focus very close.  The other thing I noticed right off is; I see a somewhat high amount of axial color fringing, (occurring all over), but that kind goes away as you stop down, and isn’t so noticeable in low light.  I’d consider the color fringing issue to be minor to moderate depending on how picky you are.  Landscape shooters using smaller apertures (F/5.6-8) should not be bothered by this, or people shooting in low-light with limited DOF.  Check out the review to see if it meets your demands!

Sony NEX 50/1.8 and Sony AF 50/1.4 comparison

Posted by Kurt on March 15, 2012 in Images Jottings

Just for kicks I thought I’d compare two fast 50mm lenses from Sony, the new NEX model, and the old slot-screw focusing (and full-frame) 50/1.4.  Obviously, one would normally think the full frame model has several advantages, but this is 2012, and lens technology has come a long ways!

For testing purposed, I started the Sony full frame lens at F/1.7 because I couldn’t get F/1.8 on the consumer grade Sony A580, although you can dial F/1.8 on a full frame camera.  The distance to subject was about 7′ or 2.1m.  That distance is about the same as a waist-up portrait shot with a 50mm focal length and APS-C sensor, so it has more meaning than a close focus test chart.  The Sony AF 50/1.4 images are not exactly straight, however, all images and crops are right out of the camera, saved as jpegs.

If you don’t feel like going through the 24 crops, I’ll sum up the differences for you: the Sony AF 50mm F/1.4…

New Rokinon 24mm F/1.4 now shipping

Posted by Kurt on March 14, 2012 in Jottings

Rokinon’s new full frame 24mm F/1.4 is currently in stock at B&H.  I’ll be reviewing this lens in the future, not sure exactly when.  I wonder how it holds up against the CZ 24/2 or NEX CZ24/1.8?

NEX-C3 and Canon G1X ISO comparison

Posted by Kurt on March 12, 2012 in Jottings

I’ve worked up an ISO comp using the Canon G1X and Sony NEX-C3 with the Sony NEX 50/1.8 OSS lens.  Normally you shouldn’t fuss over sharpness when viewing ISO performance, but one can’t help but be impressed by the super high quality lens on the Canon G1X, it’s crazy sharp!  Before you ask the usual questions like: did you use a tripod, or turn off SteadyShot, or did you make sure the Sony lens was focused properly; be advised it’s a big 10-4 on all three.  I triple checked the Sony focus (in three different sets) to be sure it was perfect, however, I didn’t check the Canon focus, so those crops may not be the absolute sharpest!  The Canon is at a 2mp disadvantage, but is showing a noticeable increased in resolution.

So just to clarify things, I used a tripod, set the camera to manual focus, used RAW+jpeg (only jpegs are shown here), and the timer at two seconds.  The distance to subject was 13.5′ or 4.1m, and I set the Canon’s zoom lens to cover the approximate area as the Sony.  Aperture was set at F/5.6.  The is a megapixel difference, as well as the aspect ratio, so both to not match up perfectly…

Sony LA-EA2 adapter new lower price

Posted by Kurt on March 11, 2012 in Jottings

The new Sony LA-EA2 NEX adapter has quietly been lowered to $299 here. Not anymore!  Sony’s US website is still listing is for $399.  I jumped on one of these this weekend, basically for the purpose of using the Sony 70-400mm lens (review) with the NEX-7.  Focusing was dead-on with this combo on my loaner, don’t know why I sent it back; well, I need it now, but I didn’t then.  Also, the AF micro adjustments on select NEX cameras work only when using this adapter, it isn’t for NEX lenses.