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Archive 2014 · The State of lenses available for the Sony A7 Series Cameras Plus

  
 
naturephoto1
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · The State of lenses available for the Sony A7 Series Cameras Plus


I thought that I would report back some information of what I was able to come back with after attending PhotoPlus in New York City earlier today. Much or most of this is in reference to the Sony A7 series cameras and full frame lenses for these cameras.

I spoke with Richard Schleuning, National Sales Manager for Zeiss and I believe also Christian from Zeiss regarding the new 50mm and 35mm Loxia lenses for the A7 series cameras. He indicated that the Loxia lenses could be adjusted for 1/3 stops as the came, could be changed to 1/2 stops, or to have no stop points. Richard indicated that Zeiss was working to introduce additional Loxia lenses, but he was suggesting that the first lens may be a very wide or ultra wide angle lens probably followed by a short telephoto like an 85mm lens. Richard suggested that he was hoping to have the ultra wide angle lens for showing at PhotoPlus next year. When asked when he thought it would be available he suggested he would expect it soon after? PhotoPlus. He suggested that the short telephoto lens would probably follow the ultra wide angle lens. Richard also indicated that the ultra wide angle lens was going to be a problem and difficult to design; Zeiss was not going to be able to use any of their existing designs for these lenses for the Sony A7 cameras. He also suggested that Zeiss was not going to compete with Sony for native lenses for the A7 series cameras, and that they were going to work on prime lenses and most or all? of them were going to be manual focus. When asked about AF lenses he indicated that this might be possible in the future. When I asked him why Zeiss had manufactured the new Loxia lenses with the focus direction the same as the Leica and Canon lenses but the aperture ring operated in the opposite Nikon direction he indicated that he hadn't even noticed that and that I was the first to ask about this. He suggested that I speak with Christian? who I believe was part of the design team and was in charge of or responsible for the Loxia lenses (in the US?).

I spoke with I believe Christian of Zeiss regarding the focusing direction and the aperture directions of the new Loxia lenses and he indicated that this arrangement was made for the videographers who had the preference for this arrangement. Christian was surprised that I indicated that still photographers had some concern about this arrangement for working with the lenses and that had a preference for either the Leica/Canon operation direction or the Nikon operation direction, not a hybrid. Christian also indicated that Zeiss may either have a new Loxia lens either possibly be released before or announced at PhotoPlus of next year. Like Richard, he indicated that Zeiss was working on a number of Loxia lenses but it would be sometime before they would be announced and/or released.

I also spoke with people from both Sigma and Tamron regarding lenses for the full frame A7 series cameras and both representatives indicated that their companies had no plans at this point for these full frame cameras. But, they were watching and would possibly offer something in the future. But, neither company could provide any idea as to how many A7 series cameras would have to sell before they might design any lenses for the cameras.

I also looked at and handled the new Sony FE 16mm-35mm zoom lens. I did not take any photos with the lens but I did find that the lens balanced well on the A7r camera and focused and seemed to lock quickly on their targets. I found that manual focus operation to be smooth, but it did not really feel like a good MF lens like a Leica or Zeiss. The lens was substantially larger than the Leica 16mm, 18mm, 21mm Wide Angle Tri Elmar lens which Leica camera allowed me to mount on my A7r. This lens was substantially smaller, thinner, and lighter than the Zeiss FE 16mm-35mm zoom lens even taking into account the Phigment Leica M to Sony E mount adapter.

Additionally and this may be of interest to many Leica R users, Steffan of Leica Camera indicated that I should keep (and not sell) all of my Leica R lenses hinting that Leica may actually have something coming for the R lenses. But we have heard this before and Steffan would not provide any additional information or any idea as to when such a camera may be coming.

Finally, Brian Bell, the Leica National Sales Manager for Sports Optics (who I have known for years and has been with Leica USA for 24 years) agreed with me that the Leica M240 was designed as hand held camera and not really designed for usage on a tripod. Additionally he agreed that the Leica R lens usage for the camera was basically an after thought.

For those of you looking for native lenses then it seems that probably for the next year you will only be able to use Sony FE lenses and the 2 new Zeiss Loxia lenses. For ultra wide FF native lenses it appears that the only lens that will be available for the next year or so seems to quite possibly be the new FE 16mm-35mm zoom lens. Any other lenses that you want to adapt at this point appear to be SLR/DSLR or Leica or other M mount lenses. And for the time being, unless the new Sony FE 16mm-35mm zoom lens outperforms the Leica WATE, the expensive Leica WATE and a few even more expensive other Leica M ultra wide angle lenses are the best performing very wide and UWA on the A7 series cameras.

Rich

Edited on Oct 30, 2014 at 11:31 PM · View previous versions



Oct 30, 2014 at 07:48 PM
kzoockof
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · The State of lenses available for the Sony A7 Series Cameras Plus


Wow, that was too much for me to read. But I am going to give you a "like" because with all those words it looks like it probably took a lot of thought and time


Oct 30, 2014 at 08:05 PM
hiepphotog
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · The State of lenses available for the Sony A7 Series Cameras Plus


Liked and thank you. Really interested in the UWA Loxia. If they have to design one from ground up, I hope it's a 15.


Oct 30, 2014 at 08:21 PM
naturephoto1
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · The State of lenses available for the Sony A7 Series Cameras Plus


hiepphotog wrote:
Liked and thank you. Really interested in the UWA Loxia. If they have to design one from ground up, I hope it's a 15.


Thank you. my suspicion from what I was gathering from Richard is that the first UWA lens would be closer to 21mm or so. I would guess it will be easier to design a 21mm or an 18mm lens than a 15mm lens. But, we know there is a new Voigtlander 15mm V3 M mount coming. So, we will have to also wait and see how that lens will perform on the A7 Series cameras.

Rich




Oct 30, 2014 at 08:26 PM
banpreso
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · The State of lenses available for the Sony A7 Series Cameras Plus


very interesting comment regarding the leica r... what can it possibly be? R DSLR? mirrorless?


Oct 30, 2014 at 09:17 PM
charles.K
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · The State of lenses available for the Sony A7 Series Cameras Plus


Thank very much Rich!! Wonderful to have a real live perspectives I must say I am very happy to have acquired my WATE to compliment my A7r's for now.


Oct 30, 2014 at 09:40 PM
naturephoto1
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · The State of lenses available for the Sony A7 Series Cameras Plus


banpreso wrote:
very interesting comment regarding the leica r... what can it possibly be? R DSLR? mirrorless?


I can't say at this point, but my guess is mirrorless. I hope that we aren't mis hearing what we thought we heard. There were 2 of us there at the time. My friend Jim Lager (author of 8 Leica books) and I were there at the time. But we do know that Leica is quite aware that many of us are quite upset with things as they are regarding the entire camera line. Jim and I both have extensive R collections and spent quite a bit for our systems (my investment is larger). But Jim has been vocal at different presentations for Leica Historical Societies in the US and I believe in Germany. Jim had asked whether what ever we were hearing about would be in his lifetime. Jim is still quite healthy and 73. Steffan's comment to Jim's question was yes. But I hope Steffan isn't just fooling with us.

charles.K wrote:
Thank very much Rich!! Wonderful to have a real live perspectives I must say I am very happy to have acquired my WATE to compliment my A7r's for now.


Charles,

Thank you. To help me with my decision regarding the WATE, do you need to do anything due to loss of sharpness, smearing, or color fringing with your lens? That is are you noticing any of the known problems with the wide angle RF lenses that need to be addressed for color fringing or loss of sharpness that you do for processing the images and if so what and at which apertures? Are you noticing anything at f4 or f5.6 and do you find that you need to be stopped down to f8 for sharp images into the corners for landscape work and at closer distances?

Sorry for the questions, but this is going to be a large investment on my part even if I am able to recover some of the investment through the sale of my Contax (C/Y) 21mm f2.8 Zeiss Distagon. If I do order the lens directly through Leica Camera USA I am going to need to wait for 4 to 6 months for the order to be filled.

Thanks.

Rich






Oct 30, 2014 at 10:50 PM
charles.K
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · The State of lenses available for the Sony A7 Series Cameras Plus


Hi Rich. I do not wish to make any decisions for you regarding the WATE, as I have suggested before is to rent/loan one and test on your A7r. IMO the WATE on the A7r is one of the best landscape/seascape setups I have had. I have had no issues with sharpness, smearing or color fringing. But this is coming from having had the M9/M240 where there is the infrequent magenta fringing depending on the angle of the sun with WA's, and is relevant for the WATE on the A7r too.

For the size and weight of the WATE combined with the A7r is amazing. I have made many large prints from the files, and the detail, DR is outstanding.



Oct 31, 2014 at 12:19 AM
mcbroomf
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · The State of lenses available for the Sony A7 Series Cameras Plus


Thanks Rich, a great update. The comment on R lenses seems odd but perhaps heralds an non-RF camera with better LV and/or an EVF. Of course if they were to make something like this with an M mount and thin coverglass it will have a high drool factor for WA M lens owners

Mike



Oct 31, 2014 at 04:45 AM
retrofocus
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · The State of lenses available for the Sony A7 Series Cameras Plus


Heard good things about the WATE lens in combination with the A7 series. Just wanted to mention an alternative which I personally find very suitable if focal lengths below 21 mm are less needed. I recommend the CV 21/1.8 Ultron lens - it is faster and of very high IQ for the price, relatively compact size and well built. Only disadvantage is the fixed lens hood design - could become an issue with use of graduated ND filters. So far I used my copy for landscape shots in combination with a 58 mm 3-stop ND filter which worked very well.


Oct 31, 2014 at 08:12 AM
Vern Dewit
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · The State of lenses available for the Sony A7 Series Cameras Plus


Thanks for the update! I also want to point out that there are other options out there than the WATE, especially for the A7S. I have personally used and own the VC15II, OM18 and OM21 and these lenses perform very well to excellent on the A7S. Once you get out to the 24mm range your options are even greater.

I used to own an A7R and it was much fussier with the wide angle primes though - I must admit...



Oct 31, 2014 at 08:26 AM
ken.vs.ryu
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · The State of lenses available for the Sony A7 Series Cameras Plus


Zeiss knows the holes in FE lineup, they hinted at 2 more Loxia next year.


I tried the 1,4/35 Distagon and it felt great, much better focus dampening than the Otus.


http://38.media.tumblr.com/507dd3b7112dba7bbb01977d021af752/tumblr_ne9trqmyUF1qjnwe9o1_1280.jpg



Oct 31, 2014 at 08:30 AM
naturephoto1
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · The State of lenses available for the Sony A7 Series Cameras Plus


Vern Dewit wrote:
Thanks for the update! I also want to point out that there are other options out there than the WATE, especially for the A7S. I have personally used and own the VC15II, OM18 and OM21 and these lenses perform very well to excellent on the A7S. Once you get out to the 24mm range your options are even greater.

I used to own an A7R and it was much fussier with the wide angle primes though - I must admit...


Vern,

I suspect that part of the A7r being fussier with the UWA lenses than the A7s is the much higher pixel count for 36 mega pixels than the 12 mega pixels for the A7s.


By the way there can be something said about the small size and weight of the A7 series cameras with the smaller lenses that can be attached. This is one of the major things that I noted while handling the WATE on my A7r and after of course previously handling the camera with my Contax (C/Y) 21mm f2.8 Zeiss Distagon and the new Sony FE 16mm-35mm zoom lens. The same can be said regarding many of the other options that many are suggesting as a WATE alternative.

Having a system for my A7r consisting of the WATE (which offers 3 focal lengths and everything in between) with my Minolta CLE MC 40mm f2 M-Rokkor (both of which use the same M adapter) along with my Leica R 28mm f2.8 Elmarit V2 with my Leica R 100mm f2.8 APO-Macro-Elmarit (and both Leica R lenses using the same adapter) seems extremely appealing to me.

Rich



Oct 31, 2014 at 08:32 AM
Gary Clennan
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · The State of lenses available for the Sony A7 Series Cameras Plus


ken.vs.ryu - would you care to share your experience with the ZM35/1.4? Were you able to take any pics and evaluate the results? How did you find the size?


Oct 31, 2014 at 09:03 AM
philber
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · The State of lenses available for the Sony A7 Series Cameras Plus


Gary Clennan wrote:
ken.vs.ryu - would you care to share your experience with the ZM35/1.4? Were you able to take any pics and evaluate the results? How did you find the size?


+1. I am very interested in that combo! Please, please, pretty please!




Nov 01, 2014 at 02:57 AM
Jonas B
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · The State of lenses available for the Sony A7 Series Cameras Plus


...and me, add me to the list of wanna-to-learn-about the ZM35/1.4.
And no, your openings post was not too long.



Nov 01, 2014 at 08:24 AM
Gary Clennan
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · The State of lenses available for the Sony A7 Series Cameras Plus


Ron Scheffler was kind enough to post a few samples on the Leica thread....

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/920070/1065



Nov 01, 2014 at 05:21 PM
Taylor Sherman
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · The State of lenses available for the Sony A7 Series Cameras Plus


Thanks for the write-up Rich!




Nov 01, 2014 at 05:41 PM
ken.vs.ryu
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · The State of lenses available for the Sony A7 Series Cameras Plus


These are all at f/1.4. The lens felt great to use, very nice focus ring. It's not light but it was manageable on the a7r.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cdIjosVJps0/VFeNnkl9x9I/AAAAAAAAF7s/6qbp77w92U4/s1600/sony-a7r-zeiss-35mm-distagon-zm-%2B1.jpg


http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hlCV6zbwWSY/VFeNpEnCbVI/AAAAAAAAF8A/lmvIBW9TA1g/s1600/sony-a7r-zeiss-35mm-distagon-zm-%2B2.jpg


http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7UpW9bLYHhI/VFeNrq21-lI/AAAAAAAAF8g/0y_KlFdnlCY/s1600/sony-a7r-zeiss-35mm-distagon-zm-%2B4.jpg


Focused at the Sony sign in the top left.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AhfYQM93UOM/VFeNqV5xVXI/AAAAAAAAF8M/Tbp6YbxaXvc/s1600/sony-a7r-zeiss-35mm-distagon-zm-%2B3.jpg



Nov 03, 2014 at 12:45 PM
Jonas B
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · The State of lenses available for the Sony A7 Series Cameras Plus


ken.vs.ryu wrote:
These are all at f/1.4. The lens felt great to use, very nice focus ring. It's not light but it was manageable on the a7r.


In the second image, is it mechanical vignetting or is it a curved focal plane causing the ceiling sharper to the left and right than in the center? One or two of Ron's images also showed a somewhat puzzling "focus distribution".
Still, a super interesting lens. The price here will be SEK 19 500 taxes included (USD 2.600 or EUR 2.100) and I'll need to see more images before deciding about my desires.

EDIT: Thank you for the images!




Nov 03, 2014 at 01:20 PM
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