philber wrote:
Let's be honest, Bob, real photographers, like you, can do it with any lens. It's only the plodding ones, like me, who need truly better lenses
So, being a bit bored tonight, I started playing around with lenses for my NEX-7. I have a Metabones Smart Adapter that I typically use with my Zeiss 21 Distagon, 50/100MPs and Canon 14/2.8L II. Then, I decided to try out my 70-200/2.8 II. Of course, it looks near ridiculous. I tried to handhold the lens but critical sharpness was so damn narrow with the focus ring.
So I put the rig on a tripod and added to 1.4 teleconverter (version II). This gives me an effective zoom of 200 x 1.4 x1.5 or 420mm. The sharpness of this combo really surprised me! The first image below is the view from my balcony with a 50mm lens. The next two are with the above 420mm combo and the last is a 100% crop of number three.
Clearly this combo will only work on static images . . . at least in my hands.
Another observation is the max aperture I get when I put on the 1.4TC. Wide Open jumps to f/5.6 on the NEX with the Smart Adapter yet it reaches f/2.8 without the TC. It's like the NEX reads the TC as a 2X. Any others out there with similar experience?
Anyway, some fun stuff. I didn't buy the adapter to use with a long zoom but it's nice to know what I can achieve with it.
philber wrote:
Errz, the magenta cast can be cured with CornerFix. So how bad it is does not matter that much IMHO, because, either one is prepapred to use Cornerfix (or another similar system, such as Capture One), and then it is OK, or one is not, and the cast is unacceptable. Just my $.02
thanks for the advise. think i'll save the $$ till the annoucement of the new NEX lens. waiting for the 11-18 pancake lenses.
anyway, bought 2 Contax lens yesterday. G45 (after poison deeply by sebboh's shots) and G90.
I'm looking for a good/fast/small 35mm for the NEX.
I've got the Sigma 30 f/2.8, which is a very nice lens, but I really prefer MF lenses on the NEX. I also have the 35mm CZJ Flek f/2.4 which is great in the center but the edges are weak. Anyone using the ZM 35 f/2 on the NEX? I thought about the 35 G, but I'm not too happy about the MFD, although I guess I could get the helicoid adapter - and I don't like the lack of a MF ring on the lens itself. Any other suggestions?
michael49 wrote:
I'm looking for a good/fast/small 35mm for the NEX.
I've got the Sigma 30 f/2.8, which is a very nice lens, but I really prefer MF lenses on the NEX. I also have the 35mm CZJ Flek f/2.4 which is great in the center but the edges are weak. Anyone using the ZM 35 f/2 on the NEX? I thought about the 35 G, but I'm not too happy about the MFD, although I guess I could get the helicoid adapter - and I don't like the lack of a MF ring on the lens itself. Any other suggestions?
the zm 35/2 is by all accounts crazy sharp corner to corner stopped down (and pretty sharp wide open too). the only caveat on it is it's kinda big and i'm not a fan of what i've seen from it's bokeh. the m-helicoid adapter is a must for it. the zm 35/2.8 is also very good with nicer bokeh, but not quite as crazy sharp at infinity.
the contax 35/2 is very solid and can focus quite close. wide open it has funky bokeh and pretty weak corners and needs to be stopped down to f/4 to really fix both those problems. i would guess it is never as sharp in the corners as the sigma, but it is sharp enough for landscape and has the zeiss color and microcontrast. the on adapter focusing is not that bad (i still prefer it to the focus ring of an autofocus lens), after consistant use you get used to it and it doesn't bother you. i find the fact that the focus ring turns the "wrong" direction to be more of a problem.
you might also consider the pen f 38/1.8 (sharper than the contax g but with swirly bokeh and no zeiss punch), nikon s-mount 35/1.8 or canon ltm 35/2. all of these are older lenses that will probably have flare issues.
a few samples with the contax g:
wide open at mfd:
wide open at medium distance:
stopped down at medium distance:
i'm afraid the only stopped down shot at infinity i have online was pushed to iso 12800:
sebboh wrote:
the zm 35/2 is by all accounts crazy sharp corner to corner stopped down (and pretty sharp wide open too). the only caveat on it is it's kinda big and i'm not a fan of what i've seen from it's bokeh. the m-helicoid adapter is a must for it.
+1
This lens is nuts no matter what format you shoot it on. Agreed on the bokeh, but if you can manage f/2.8 or higher, it's a little less objectionable.
I had the 35/2 ZM on a NEX5N for a few months. The color signature, bokeh and general IQ were similar to the Contax G 45 but it wasn't as sharp and 3x the price. I ended up selling it and keeping the G45. Here are a few pics taken with the 35/2 ZM:
@ around f/2.8
@ f/2
@ around f/2.8
michael49 wrote:
I'm looking for a good/fast/small 35mm for the NEX.
I've got the Sigma 30 f/2.8, which is a very nice lens, but I really prefer MF lenses on the NEX. I also have the 35mm CZJ Flek f/2.4 which is great in the center but the edges are weak. Anyone using the ZM 35 f/2 on the NEX? I thought about the 35 G, but I'm not too happy about the MFD, although I guess I could get the helicoid adapter - and I don't like the lack of a MF ring on the lens itself. Any other suggestions?
I don't expect sharp edges at f/2, but by f/2.8 I'd like reasonably sharp edges, and by f/4 I would like edges that are quite sharp, esp for group portraits, etc.
My CZJ Flek is fantastic in the center, but the edges aren't so great.
I tend to use the CZ 50 1.7 (which is fantastic at the edges by f/2.8), but I'd like something a bit wider. The Sigma 30 2.8 is probably what I should use, I just find the NEX much easier to use with manual lenses.
Michael, I own a ZM 35 f:2.0 on my NEX 7. I don't know exactly why, but that lens hasn't lived up to how good I was lead to expect that it would be. Rendering is a bit flat, as are colours, which doesn't combine too well with very strong micro-contrast, giving sometimes a harsh result. Otherwise, it is a very fine lens in terms of sharpness, and bokeh is only very rarely objectionable. As its colours are less pleasing than my memories (and pics) of ZM 35 f:2.8 and ZM 50 f:2.0 on my NEX 5, Iwill have to check with my NEX 5N if it is a "lens thing", or if it just doesn't combine well with the 7. I will study some more and report...
^ - thanks, I could live with a 35 f/2.8, although f/2 would really be nice. I've considered the FD 35 f/2 as well, which is a nice lens, but a bit bulkier than I'd like, plus I've really come to enjoy the build and feel of the zeiss glass.
I don't expect sharp edges at f/2, but by f/2.8 I'd like reasonably sharp edges, and by f/4 I would like edges that are quite sharp, esp for group portraits, etc.
My CZJ Flek is fantastic in the center, but the edges aren't so great.
I tend to use the CZ 50 1.7 (which is fantastic at the edges by f/2.8), but I'd like something a bit wider. The Sigma 30 2.8 is probably what I should use, I just find the NEX much easier to use with manual lenses.
the g 35 should be fine for that at f/4, probably not at f/2.8 though...
michael49 wrote:
^ - thanks, I could live with a 35 f/2.8, although f/2 would really be nice. I've considered the FD 35 f/2 as well, which is a nice lens, but a bit bulkier than I'd like, plus I've really come to enjoy the build and feel of the zeiss glass.
Any reason you are not considering the CV 35/1.2 II?
Phillip Reeve wrote:
I had a G35 for a short while and performed some testswith it, wasn't too impressed
those results mirror mine, you have to stop down to at least f/4 to get usable corners. i almost never used it wide open except for individual portraits. i quite liked it's look stopped well down as well it's zeiss colors and contrast.
despite the fact that the pen f 38/1.8 was sharper across the frame from wide open the g35 would often end up looking sharper even wide open. for example:
pen f:
contax g:
on inspection at the focus point in these two shots you can clearly see the pen is sharper, but at normal viewing sizes the contax g looks sharper imo.
. yes. both lens looks good from some test shot
