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Sony DT 55-300mm samples
Check out the full size samples (click on larger images) from the Sony DT 55-300mm F/4.5-5.6. All are jpegs directly out of the camera (A77), no changes were made. I posted two shots using two different apertures, although they were hand held so they don’t line up perfectly. Manual focusing was used. I took several shots of each scene and bracketed the focusing, and the sharpest shots are shown here. Heat shimmer is present on some of the longer shots.
Included are a few bokeh type shots, along with a close focus and ghosting/flare sample. Colors are dull because I have the camera set to standard/neutral for jpegs, RAW are much more colorful for some reason.
Canon Powershot G1X review posted!
Go to the old site and check out the Canon G1X review. It’s top heavy with lens testing, but there are already tons of reviews out there with good write-ups on the features and functions of the camera, so I skipped most of that.
The Canon G1X is a stellar performer, especially when you consider the size, and that is has a very useful zoom lens.
Folks that are picky about their images, and want to really learn how to take better pictures should look very closely at this camera. The pictures look great using auto mode, so you don’t have to worry about shooting in RAW and fiddling with apertures, shutter speeds and ISOs. Good pictures come from concentrating on composition and lighting, not the camera.
I bought this camera from B&H photo because I liked it so much, and now I use it for almost everything except paying jobs, although I have used it a time or two for Real Estate work.
NEX fisheye converter comp with Vivitar 7mm F/3.5 fisheye
Whoops, I forgot to post this with the NEX fisheye converter review, so here it is now. I’ve cropped the images in four different areas and added them to the gallery so you can see the quality of each lens without going through the full size images. The Sony NEX-C3 was used with the fisheye converter, along with the Sony A580 and Vivitar 7mm F/3.5 fisheye.
The NEX fisheye converter looks pretty good in the center and right side…
Sony NEX fisheye review
The Sony VCL-ECF1 (review here) is a cool little add-on lens for people wanting a fisheye experience using the Sony NEX system. While this converter is not an optical masterpiece, it actually works well, and can be very fun if you know how to use it. It’s not for ‘getting it all in’ in a general sense, so don’t use it simply as you would a wide angle lens. Check out my boring Sony 16/2.8 fisheye review for ideas, or Flickr for interesting fisheye compositions, some good, some bad.
Sad, but true, for about the same price of the Sony 16/2.8 fisheye lens, you can get the Sony NEX-5N, 16mm pancake lens, and the fisheye converter, which works almost as good!
Sony NEX 16mm optical viewfinder
Sony offers this bright optical viewfinder for the 16mm pancake lens as an aid for people that don’t like using the LCD in bright sunlight, or other reasons I suppose. The FDA-SV1 is part of the ‘smart accessory terminal’ system that currently includes the new EVF and two flashes.
This viewfinder is only for the 16mm F/2.8 lens, and will not provide the right field of view when using any other lens, or the two converters for the 16mm F/2.8 lens.
There isn’t much to this item, but check it out if you have nothing else better to do.
Sigma 10-20mm VS NEX ultra wide converter
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
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
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 50/1.8 OSS review ready
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 50mm F/1.8 OSS samples
Here are a few boring samples from the Sony NEX 50/1.8 OSS lens, using the just recieved Sony NEX-C3 camera. All images were taken in fine jpeg, ISO 200, no changes. I used auto focus, and hand-held the camera, so the images here shouldn’t be considered official, and won’t be part of the review.
So far, the lens seems pretty sharp, even wide open. There may be a little de-centering favoring the left side, so again, this may not actually be the case, as I haven’t really used the lens enough at this point to be able to say for sure. I notice some axial color fringing at F/1.8-2.5, but it’s not bad. There is some veiling haze too, but not really noticeable unless you shoot bright subjects. The landscape type shots shown here would normally be taken at F/4-5.6, not at F/1.8 as you see in the gallery, I did this to show the detail at that aperture. Shooting F/1.8 in darker conditions…
