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Photo Jottings

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New wide angle lenses from Sony

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Sony announces two new super wide angle lenses for their 'e' mount with full frame coverage.  Both are zooms; a 16-35/2.8 which is a faster version of this lens, and the other one was a bit unexpected, a 12-24mm F/4.

The 16-35mm F/2.8 'G Master' is a 16 element in 13 group design, which looks to be significantly more complicated than the F/4 Zeiss version with a configuration of 12 elements in 10 groups.

Pluses for this lens; lightweight for a fast zoom, focus hold button, 11 blade circular aperture, (I prefer 6-8 straight blades for more defined sunstars, but that's just me), dual DDSSM focusing, and dust and moisture resistant.

Now on the downside; no OSS, or optical steady shot; huh?  Super expensive at $2200, 82mm front filter also expensive.

I have the Sony FE 16-35mm F/4 OSS, (review here), and like it a lot, so this new faster version will have to be

 

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Century old snapshot from Marblehead MA

Posted in Blog, Film Negative Tagged with

Greetings from the corner of Mugsford and Washington st!  I thought I'd display another sample from my glass plate negative collection, (this one is tiny for back in the day, but considered large by today's standards), it measures exactly 2¼ x 3¼" (6x9).  Our Georgian style Isaac Mansfield designed subject is The Old Town house in Marblehead Massachusetts, built in 1727, more info here.  I'm guessing the image was probably taken in the teens to early 1920s as the car on the left suggests; looks like a

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Where there’s fun, there’s a snapshot…

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So says the box of the iconic Crapsey designed Kodak Brownie Hawkeye.  I reviewed this camera about 8 years ago on the old site, and it still gets quite a few reads after all these years.  The little Hawkeyes are  a lot of fun, and very simple to use; look through the viewfinder, and press the shutter button!!  Go to the review to see how to get the best out of the Kodak Brownie Hawkeye.  I've also covered how to take them apart for cleaning and fixing any problems; this is about as simple as a camera gets. They're pretty inexpensive on ebay; get one for about $5-15 plus shipping.

Although not really a 're-post' to this site, I did freshen it up by formatting the article properly, adding a couple more large images, making some corrections based on additional use, and added some links for the camera, and 620 film, which is making a comeback!

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Zeiss 25/2, and Rokinon 24/1.4 resolution comparison.

Posted in Blog, Comparisons, Lens Reviews Tagged with , , , ,

Check out some comparison crops, and the full size versions too of the Rokinon 24mm F/1.4 which I'm currently reviewing. The relatively inexpensive Rokinon is not to bad in resolution in the centers and corners, but contrast is lacking, as is quality control, see the bottom of the comp for more info.

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Sony G Master 100-400mm lens

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Sony unveils a new telephoto zoom lens for the 'FE' system, and a 'G' 'Master' for you pixel peepers with deep pockets!  The Sony FE 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6 GM OSS has a whopping 22 elements in 16 groups, even more than Canon's newest version here.  Weight-wise, the Canon comes in almost 200 grams heavier than the new Sony 100-400mm.

This new lens has a totally different optical configuration than the 70-400mm I reviewed years ago for the 'a' mount.  The MTF graph from Sony looks promising, but right now they're only charting 10-30 line pairs/mm, I'd like to see at least 40.

Also good news; the Sony FE Teleconverters will work on this lens!!

I'll be reviewing the lens in due course.

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New Sony A9, does it take good pictures?

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Sony today announced a new mirrorless camera, and a new series! The Sony A9 offers a lot for action and video shooters, with a touch screen and super fine 3.6m resolution viewfinder.  The new camera is not really geared towards my use as an interior photographer, but there are some features here that I hope will be in the next new Sony ILCE release.

Good things; nice EVF, one more custom button, touch screen (not really for me), dual card slots, 24mp sensor, (less is better I hope), longer lasting battery, silent shutter.

Bad things; all new NP-FZ100 battery, (I have 5 NP-FW50 for my A7R, that's $400 for new batteries!!), flash sync 1/250th, (when will we get the old pro standard of 1/500th?), was hoping for an articulating screen like the A99/77, Sony SURE price of $4500!!  That old A7RII looks pretty good now.

Looks like a nice camera, and I hope it takes good pictures for fast action pro shooters.

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