I purchased the NEX7 as the digital body for my Contax SLR and Rangefinder lenses.

For travel, I would bring
NEX7
SEL1855
D25 f2.8
SP60 Macro f2.8
VS100-300

For weekend walk-about, I would bring
NEX7
D25 f2.8
G45 f2
P85 f1.4

Nice kit, ernestt. Is your 25 a C/Y or ZM?

Never mind, I answered my own question. The ZM appear to be a Biogon, not Distagon.

Starting to pare down my NEX lineup, now it looks like this:

NEX 5N
Sony 18-55 AF
CV 15
Contax G 28
Contax G 45
Contax G 90

SOLD:
Leica-R 50mm F2
Contax G 21
Contax 100-300

I am tempted to sell the CV 15 for the Sigma 19mm and sell the CG 28 for the Sigma 30mm.
I really enjoy changing lenses and composing carefully when I have the time and patience to do so, but I also am frequently in a mood where I don't want to bother.
So, I am really hoping for a 24-105mm or 24-70mm equivalent for the NEX lineup with Zeiss quality.

Panasonic brought out their 12-35 recently which looks very good and Olympus will release a 12-60 soon.
Maybe Sony will feel compelled to follow suit.

My absolute ideal setup would be a full frame NEX with 24-105 or 24-70, where the lens would weigh 400g or less, together with my Contax G glass.

freaklikeme wrote:
Nice kit, ernestt. Is your 25 a C/Y or ZM?

Never mind, I answered my own question. The ZM appear to be a Biogon, not Distagon.

Thanks. You are right, mine is the C/Y Distagon...

gobears wrote:


SOLD:
Leica-R 50mm F2
Contax G 21
Contax 100-300



My next target is actually the Contax G21. Would you share your experience with this lens? Thx.

Also surprise to see that you let go the Contax 100-300. Was it because of the weight?

hmm.
as far as i count the G45 is a must have.
but isn't the focal length 67,5mm (in FF) a little strange....?

regards
reinhard

rsrsrs wrote:
hmm.
as far as i count the G45 is a must have.
but isn't the focal length 67,5mm (in FF) a little strange....?

regards
reinhard


it's actually 46.5mm if i remember correctly, so more like 70mm equiv. some people seem unable to adjust to the focal length, but i find it quite nice for walk around shooting and indoor portraits. if you've spent any time shooting the ubiquitous 24-70mm or 70-200mm zooms you've probably actually used the field of view quite often.

The G21 was a great little lens, but I got tired of worrying about mounting it with perfect alignment of the fins and scratching the insides. The alternative is to trim the fins off. Also, I don't like using extra tools in my flow to correct corners (Corner Fix).

For the 100-300, it was indeed an incredible lens. However, I did not like the weight, bulk, and especially did not like the zoom creep. Very difficult to carry around and shoot with.

With the advances in aspherical telephoto lens designs, I think I don't need an old manual focus lens for these focal lengths.

Also, I realized that I enjoy MF lenses, especially Zeiss with their incredible micro-contrast, but am not willing to use them under all situations. That is why I am looking for a lightweight zoom lens with similar optical qualities to the Zeiss prime optics. If only a manufacturer would build such a lens, I would change systems and buy it immediately. The recent Panasonic 12-35 and upcoming Zuiko 12-60 give me hope that Sony/Zeiss will be forced into offering some decent zoom lenses for NEX. In my opinion, its quite unfathonable that they have not already done so!

My current lineup looks like this:

E 16/2.8 (borrowed)
E 24/1.8 ZA (the core lens)
either DT 50/1.8 SAM or a Nikkor 50/1.8 AI
85/2.8 SAM
Nikkor 300/4.5 AI'd

If I'm carrying light (ie no 300) and the Nikkor 50 I'll swap the 85/2.8 for either a Tamron 90/2.5 or a Nikon Series E 100/2.8 so I don't have to carry the LA-EA1 and the Nikon-E adapter.

I occasionally also use the following
DT 35/1.8 SAM (great lens, but I don't seem to use ~50mm-e all that much when shooting with anything other than my FM2)

CV 35/2.5 LTM (see DT35 for same issue)
Nikkor-S.C 5cm f1.4 LTM

If I want to carry extra-light I'll carry the LTM lenses and the ZA24 only. Actually if the Nikkor 5cm gave better colour I'd carry it permanently with my other Sonnar's (the ZA 24 and the 85 SAM), maybe I should consider a ZM 50 Sonnar?

Mawz, which NEX model are you using and how does your CV 35/2.5 perform on it?

I've been intrigued by the small size of this lens, but haven't seen much info on how it performs, especially on the NEX 7.

Jeff Kott wrote:
Mawz, which NEX model are you using and how does your CV 35/2.5 perform on it?

I've been intrigued by the small size of this lens, but haven't seen much info on how it performs, especially on the NEX 7.

I've got the NEX-7, and the CV35/2.5 does very well on it. No corner issues that I've noticed. Same for the CV35/1.7 btw, I own that (but don't really like it, it's too soft wider than f2.5 so there's no reason to use it over the smaller Color-Skopar).

gobears wrote:

Also, I realized that I enjoy MF lenses, especially Zeiss with their incredible micro-contrast, but am not willing to use them under all situations. That is why I am looking for a lightweight zoom lens with similar optical qualities to the Zeiss prime optics. If only a manufacturer would build such a lens, I would change systems and buy it immediately. The recent Panasonic 12-35 and upcoming Zuiko 12-60 give me hope that Sony/Zeiss will be forced into offering some decent zoom lenses for NEX. In my opinion, its quite unfathonable that they have not already done so!

I am looking into having the Carl Zeiss DT Zoom (SAL1680Z) + LA-EA1 for the sake of convenience over MF lenses, yet still able to enjoy Zeiss quality.

If you don't mind the weight, and possibly lower AF performance, this may works...

Note there's no lower AF performance with the SAL1680Z and LA-EA1, there's simply no AF. The DT16-80 is screwdriver AF and requires an LA-EA2 to AF on NEX, the LA-EA1 only supports SSM and SAM lenses for AF. The only high quality zoom option right now in that range with AF on the LA-EA1 is the DT 16-50 f2.8 SSM.

mawz wrote:
Note there's no lower AF performance with the SAL1680Z and LA-EA1, there's simply no AF. The DT16-80 is screwdriver AF and requires an LA-EA2 to AF on NEX, the LA-EA1 only supports SSM and SAM lenses for AF. The only high quality zoom option right now in that range with AF on the LA-EA1 is the DT 16-50 f2.8 SSM.
I repeatedly read that the af performance with the la-ea1 was terrible, like it took 3-5 seconds to focus. Is that still correct or did Sony improve their algorithmns?

My lens lineup:

Zeiss ZM 25/2.8
Zeiss ZM 50/2
Zeiss ZM 85/2
Sony SEL1855

Phillip Reeve wrote:
mawz wrote:
Note there's no lower AF performance with the SAL1680Z and LA-EA1, there's simply no AF. The DT16-80 is screwdriver AF and requires an LA-EA2 to AF on NEX, the LA-EA1 only supports SSM and SAM lenses for AF. The only high quality zoom option right now in that range with AF on the LA-EA1 is the DT 16-50 f2.8 SSM.
I repeatedly read that the af performance with the la-ea1 was terrible, like it took 3-5 seconds to focus. Is that still correct or did Sony improve their algorithmns?

No, Sony hasn't improved anything but it's not that bad with SSM lenses. 1-2 seconds at most. With SAM lenses the LA-EA1 is dog slow. I found the 16-50 on the LA-EA1 slow but usable (Basically P&S performance). I could make coffee in the time it took my SAM lenses to focus though.

Of course the SAM lenses aren't exactly known for speedy AF on anything. They're pretty slow on my Maxxum 7's or my A700 as well. The 16-50 is very fast on a PDAF system.

Realistically if you want AF with A mount lenses, you need an LA-EA2. But an SSM lens on an LA-EA1 can do AF in a pinch. Don't waste your time with SAM lenses and an LA-EA1.

I am looking into having the Carl Zeiss DT Zoom (SAL1680Z) + LA-EA1 for the sake of convenience over MF lenses, yet still able to enjoy Zeiss quality. If you don't mind the weight, and possibly lower AF performance, this may works...

Also considered that one, but rejected it due to size, weight, and poor AF.
Also, there have been reports of very uneven quality on that lens.

If Sony would scale that lens down for use on the Nex 7, and improve the quality control, then I would be set until somone comes out with an EVIL FF with a similar lens.

Adding two new lenses to my line up!

I have the Pentax 200 f/4 PK Mount and the Rokinon 135 f/2.8 K Mount on the way! Total spent for the two lenses and one adapter: $100!

Lens lineup for Nex-7
-Sony 50 1.8 E Mount
-Sony 35 1.8 SAM
-Sony 85 2.8 SAM
-Rokinon 135 2.8
-Pentax 200 4.0

Currently:

NEX 5N with EVF


CV 15
C 28
C 45
Zeiss Planar 50 1.8 (made in Germany) Rollei QBM mount
C 90
90 Leica Elmar - soft but beautiful images -- very lightweight on Nex

Minolta 58 1.2 (M42) which weighs a ton and keeps it off the NEX


Minolta Maxxum 35-70 a very nice compact lightweight zoom but why shoot with this when you have great primes?


I can see limiting myself to the CV 15 and the three Zeiss lenses as weight and balance add a lot to the pleasure of using this camera. Time will tell but I find I do not use the C 90 much. I alternate between the C 45 and the Planar 50 based on depth of field. The Planar has incredible bokeh. The C 45 is incredibly sharp for landscapes.

specifically for the nex 7

sony/zeiss 24 for an autofocus lens

with novaflex and hawk m to nex adapters

leica tri-elmar 16-18-21 m

voigtlander 35 f1.2 II vm

leica 50 summilux asph m

zeiss 50 sonnar zm

leica 90 elmarit m


the nikon mount lenses that i sometimes use but less because of novaflex/lens size

zeiss zf.2's 21, 35 f2 and 100

leica 80 summilux and 100 apo-macro elmarit r's that have nikon leitax mounts