Bit the bullet and bought a Sony NEX 6 to use with Leica M glass.
I am using it with 21 SEM, 35 Lux FLE (and 50 Lux ASPH and 90 AA).
Wanted to report there is no smearing or colour shift issues with these lenses. I know Sony tinkered with the sensor for optimising the AF, so there was a doubt in relation to how this may perform with wides compared with NEX 5N. Can't comment on how this performs with other wides thought.
I am blown away by the camera. I have the 5D II , plus Zeiss glass and am considering downsizing. Initially I was very dissappointed with the images using the Sony software, the images looked very soft. I am used to Canon's DPP software which is much better in comparison. I am using LR4 now and am impressed.
The camera is great. It feels and operates really nicely. The build quality is great. Unlike the NEX 7, it features a lot of rubber and speccled paint. Feels very much like my 5DII build wise.
The mf experience is awesome with focus peaking and magnification.
This is my first NEX camera, and I'm just really impressed with the it. The EVF is awesome, the menu, and camera layout is straight forward.
The eyecup is close to the flash mount and it can get a bit crammed when mounting an external flash.
Here are some test shots, these are processed witht the Sony software. Most are in very harsh midday sunlight, will post more shots when I get a chance. Thanks.
I think you will only see a loss of sharpness with testing software, otherwise maybe 1/1000 shots may show some artifact due to interpolation, I believe there are threads here and @ DPR about that.
Thanks for posting your experience.
All good news thus far, I cannot imagine they will not be working on the corner issues. The camera sure looks good. It would not be like Sony to bugger up the sensor resolution.
'The mf experience is awesome with focus peaking and magnification.'
Isn't it great, I am an instant convert with the a99 I just received.
Finally, forget the IDC s/w, it is just good enough to delude the casual viewer into almost accepting the results. LR or ACR as Adobe is now up to full speed with Sony RAW files.
I use a M9P with some leica lenses, and recently bought a Nex 5N with two sigma's (19/2.8 and 30/2.8)
I bought a adapter to use the leica's on the nex, just for fun. But can't say I really see the point in doing so.
I compared the sigma 30mm with the leica 28 summicron ASPH and 35 summicron ASPH. And the leica 18 SE ASPH against the 19mm sigma.
I found the sigma 30mm to be almost on par with the leica's. Colors are great, sharpness is good. And even the build is nice if u keep in mind its a 159 euro lens.
With the 18 SEM and 19 sigma the difference is not big either. The leica 18 has some soft edges (not at all on the M9) were the sigma is sharp across the picture.
After that I don't really use the leica on the nex any more and always go for the sigma's. Suit the nex IMO a lot better.
Bijltje wrote:
Did u buy these leica's only for the nex?
I use a M9P with some leica lenses, and recently bought a Nex 5N with two sigma's (19/2.8 and 30/2.8)
I bought a adapter to use the leica's on the nex, just for fun. But can't say I really see the point in doing so.
I compared the sigma 30mm with the leica 28 summicron ASPH and 35 summicron ASPH. And the leica 18 SE ASPH against the 19mm sigma.
I found the sigma 30mm to be almost on par with the leica's. Colors are great, sharpness is good. And even the build is nice if u keep in mind its a 159 euro lens.
With the 18 SEM and 19 sigma the difference is not big either. The leica 18 has some soft edges (not at all on the M9) were the sigma is sharp across the picture.
After that I don't really use the leica on the nex any more and always go for the sigma's. Suit the nex IMO a lot better. ...Show more →
Thanks very much.
I am hoping to use the lenses on Nex as a stop gap, my ultimate goal is to use these on a FF body.
if sigma 30mm is on pair with cron 28, have you tried 30mm sigma on M9? .... would be a good money saver.
such a BS...
Bijltje wrote:
Did u buy these leica's only for the nex?
I use a M9P with some leica lenses, and recently bought a Nex 5N with two sigma's (19/2.8 and 30/2.8)
I bought a adapter to use the leica's on the nex, just for fun. But can't say I really see the point in doing so.
I compared the sigma 30mm with the leica 28 summicron ASPH and 35 summicron ASPH. And the leica 18 SE ASPH against the 19mm sigma.
I found the sigma 30mm to be almost on par with the leica's. Colors are great, sharpness is good. And even the build is nice if u keep in mind its a 159 euro lens.
With the 18 SEM and 19 sigma the difference is not big either. The leica 18 has some soft edges (not at all on the M9) were the sigma is sharp across the picture.
After that I don't really use the leica on the nex any more and always go for the sigma's. Suit the nex IMO a lot better. ...Show more →
The 24mm Elmar is insanely sharp and (micro)contrasty on the NEX-6. There is some slight vignetting, and possibly tiny shift, in the corners. However, the resolution is astonishing out to the corners.
I also second Bijltje's comments on the Sigma 30 -- it is also amazingly sharp out to the corners, even wide open. I can't believe it was selling for $100 in the twin pack! It's just a great bargain. I also have the 35 Lux FLE, a wonderful lens. However, any time I'm out where there's decent light and things might get banged around a little, the sigma is my go-to lens. It has to be the best quality/price deal out there for AF lenses.
Do you have CV 12/15 or ZM 21/25 to test? Those are the lenses that show problem with 5N, the Leica lenses are usually fine (at least the latest versions).
Skumar, I concur wih your findings. Just a suggestion. Have you tried a helicoid adapter for your M lenses? I have a Hawks', and it does wonders for the MFD of both my 24 Elmar and my 50 Summilux, to the extent that I can do close-ups of flowers.
philber wrote:
Skumar, I concur wih your findings. Just a suggestion. Have you tried a helicoid adapter for your M lenses? I have a Hawks', and it does wonders for the MFD of both my 24 Elmar and my 50 Summilux, to the extent that I can do close-ups of flowers.
Thanks very much Philippe. Will definitely look at getting one.
This is the thread I've been looking for. If anyone else has experience with Leica or Voigtlander glass on the NEX-6 please do post up! I am in love with my NEX-6 (and the 32Touit once the firmware is updated) but I am looking for more manual yet compact Leica/Voigtlander options.
I'm especially interested in a big wide angle somewhere in the 12-15mm range. I realize the Touit 12 is an option but I'm considering others.
vovkinson wrote:
if sigma 30mm is on pair with cron 28, have you tried 30mm sigma on M9? .... would be a good money saver.
such a BS...
Read my text. I'm talking about using the lens on the nex system.
I have the 28 cron myself and used it on the M8 and M9P. It is a stellar lens and one of my all time favorites.
I tried a couple of leica lenses on my nex and found out (much to my surprise) the sigma's are really fine lenses and really close/ on pair with the leica ON THE NEX.
Thats why I don't see the reason to buy a 28 cron (or the 18 SEM) for a couple of grand to use on a camera like the nex 5 when there are much cheaper lenses out there like the sigma who are really close, costs only 100 euro for 2 lenses and have the benefit of AF and such.
You can find it BS, it is my finding after using both. Sigma did a great job with those two dn lenses.
Zephoto, there aren't many choices for WA on a NEX. Basically, 2 native WA lenses, the Sony 10-18mm zoom. I thought it was good, and no more, but Andrew (snowboarder), has found it good enough to buy it, which is serious praise coming from a serious guy. The other one is the Touit 12mm. I liked it enough to buy it, and haven't looked back since.
As far as Leica goes, there is "only" the WATE (wide angle tri Elmar) 16-18-21mm. It has absolutely no corner issues or colour shift even with the NEX 7 (!), but it cost a fortune, and I thought the IQ was a bit less inspiring than the SEM 18, itself not as brilliant as the SEM 21 and Elmar 24.
Voigtländer make 2 lenses which you could use, a 12mm and a 15mm. I don't remember anyone regularly posting pics wth the 12mm, which says something. There are quite a few pictures with the 15mm coming from good photographers, but they require CornerFix, and, even then, are not really clean in the corners IMHO.
As far as finding info related to what I have written, a lot of it is based on NEX 5N, which is the same as the 6 IQ-and-lens-compatibility-wise.
Biljtje, you are not alone in having such as high opinion of the Sigma twins. Bobu (Boris) thinks the same, and I trust his judgement. He actually says that the lens in the DP2M is a bit better than the one for NEX, and is every bit as good as the Summilux he had at the time.
Thank you for that.
