Justin D wrote:
Trying to track down reliable comparisons/reviews of the 1.4 57s and 58s, but I find other forums less reliable than FM.
I had both the Rokkor 58 1.2 (two copies) and the 58 1.4 (still sitting on a shelf in pieces actually). They are not even on the same planet as far as IQ. I was so disappointed with the 1.4 that I actually ended up using it's mount and other parts for future conversions (it wasn't that expensive to begin with). The 1.2 though deserves it's reputation. Great lens, particularly for portraits.
I think I may eat my words, and bite the bullet and get another 5N (in addition to the NEX7 I already have) once the new 5 whatever comes out. I shot a bit with the 7 and the 28 Summicron and while it can be an amazing combo if shot properly, I may have undervalued the adaptability of the 5N. One thing for certain, for use with native lenses, you can't beat the controls of the 7.
I find it interesting that the new NEX-F3 has such a similar body style to the NEX-7, but without the built-in EVF and tri-navi. This is pure speculation, but I wonder if the next "5" series NEX will also be of a similar body style, with the ability to use a hotshoe EVF, but with Tri-Navi included? Sony sure did a lot of branding with the "Tri-navi" system if their plans are to only use it in one camera.
Does anyone have much experience with the E-mount Sony 50mm 1.8? With the current rebate it can be picked up for just short of £200, and it seems quite decent (with OSS to boot).
Yep, I've got the Sony 50. It's pretty sharp, although not remarkably so. The bokeh is very creamy, almost too creamy, to some. The AF isn't as fast as the Ziess 24. I think it's a pretty good portrait lens, although I wish it was a little smaller.
OK, someone tell me I'm doing something stupid here.
I normally shoot my 5N with manual lenses. So when the light begins to fade I switch to Shutter priority mode, set my aperture and shoot in auto ISO and all is well.
....but when using my new Sigma 30 f/2.8 and shooting in Shutter priority mode (say 1/160 as I needed this speed to stop action) in auto ISO the camera chooses f/4 and ISO 3200 instead of f/2.8 and a lower ISO - why? Shouldn't the camera choose the widest aperture and then start raising the ISO? Am I doing something wrong here? This makes using electronically controlled aperture lenses on the NEX a bit of a problem.
I normally shoot my 5N with manual lenses. So when the light begins to fade I switch to Shutter priority mode, set my aperture and shoot in auto ISO and all is well.
....but when using my new Sigma 30 f/2.8 and shooting in Shutter priority mode (say 1/160 as I needed this speed to stop action) in auto ISO and the camera chooses f/4 and ISO 3200 instead of f/2.8 and a lower ISO - why? Shouldn't the camera choose the widest aperture and then start raising the ISO? Am I doing something wrong here? This makes using electronically controlled aperture lenses on the NEX a bit of a problem....Show more →
Time for a NEX-7!
The reason the shutter priority trick works so well with manual lenses is that the camera can't physically change the aperture, so all it can do is change the ISO to reach a "proper" exposure. If you mount an electronic lens, the camera is doing what it's supposed to do - it will change the aperture and ISO in tandem to reach the "proper" exposure. The only way you could counteract this is to not use Auto ISO, but then you've run out of control wheels on the 5N, so it would involve a lot of menu work. The NEX-7 has enough external control options to allow this type of flexibility.
I normally shoot my 5N with manual lenses. So when the light begins to fade I switch to Shutter priority mode, set my aperture and shoot in auto ISO and all is well.
....but when using my new Sigma 30 f/2.8 and shooting in Shutter priority mode (say 1/160 as I needed this speed to stop action) in auto ISO the camera chooses f/4 and ISO 3200 instead of f/2.8 and a lower ISO - why? Shouldn't the camera choose the widest aperture and then start raising the ISO? Am I doing something wrong here? This makes using electronically controlled aperture lenses on the NEX a bit of a problem....Show more →
Idiotic program curves which try and keep the lens in its sweet spot rather than keeping the ISO down. Aperture priority or manual are the only way to go with native lenses.
mawz wrote:
Idiotic program curves which try and keep the lens in its sweet spot rather than keeping the ISO down. Aperture priority or manual are the only way to go with native lenses.
this really is one of the most embarrassing things (or should be for the sony design team) about the nex interface: adapted lenses are easier to use with the camera than electronically coupled lenses.
sebboh wrote:
this really is one of the most embarrassing things (or should be for the sony design team) about the nex interface: adapted lenses are easier to use with the camera than electronically coupled lenses.
Yep, it's a great camera in the idiot modes (and some of those are surprisingly good, most notably the Auto-Pano and Auto-HDR modes), a great camera with adapted lenses, but a frustrating camera to use seriously with native lenses. One oddity though was I find the ZA 24 to work reasonably well, but the 50 OSS frustrated me to no end and the difference was almost entirely in the differing sensitivities of the focus ring. Overall the ZA24 is the only native E lens I truly like.
Among other things I'd love to be able to disable Auto-zoom focus assist (which I loathe) without also disabling the manual assist (which I love). Also selectable program lines would be nice, Pentax has done that in the past and it's a nice feature. Minolta actually used to have little SD-sized cards with different program lines/features available in the past.
Good thing I mostly use adapted lenses. And that the A mount lenses work so well (aside from AF on the LA-EA1, which really is a joke.)
mawz wrote:
....
Idiotic program curves which try and keep the lens in its sweet spot rather than keeping the ISO down. Aperture priority or manual are the only way to go with native lenses.
That is incredibly frustrating and this may cause me to stick with non-native lenses on the NEX, which is really sad because I love the Sigma 30 so far.
Here is an example of a situation where this is a problem for me. Shooting on a hike in a dark forest with a non-native lens (in this case the C/Y 28 f/2.8).
I set to shutter priority, auto ISO and set the lens to f/2.8 and I just adjust exp comp as needed. This is the simplest way to shoot in this situation, whereas if I use the Sigma 30 in shutter priority the camera with choose f/4 and a higher ISO.
Aperture priority doesn't work because it chooses as shutter speed of 1/60s which is too slow for moving subjects. Why isn't there a minimum SS selection available?
mawz wrote:
Among other things I'd love to be able to disable Auto-zoom focus assist (which I loathe) without also disabling the manual assist (which I love). .
Agreed, that's another problem with using native lenses on the NEX.
There's an Opteka remote you can pick up on Amazon for seven or eight bucks. The Sony remote made for the Alpha series also works, but if you don't already have one, its more expensive without picking up any useful functionality.
