tjack wrote:
Can't really get a better or smaller lens with this camera then the FE 35mm, easy to shoot with, light and fast...for me. Handheld with an ND8 filter today.
Curious what you used the ND8 for as I didn't notice any subject motion blur from a longer exposure in any of the shots, and the A7(r) shutter should be plenty fast to shoot wide open (w/ f2.8 lens) even in full sun.
Agree.. But I do wish it was a bit beefy, it doesn't inspire confidence that it will last long enough. The FE 55 seems to have higher built quality..
Yesterday, my A7 was shocked quite badly when I was trying to pick it up but the straps were accidentally stuck to an obstacle. The A7 continued to work normally but the FE 35 attached didn't want to focus and the aperture blades keep closing down. The lens also fail to communicate with the camera, no lens indication turned on the LCD.
For FE 35 owners, please beware to handle it with care.
Yes, have to agree the lens is somewhat delicate, thanks for the tip on just how delicate it can be.
Curious what you used the ND8 for as I didn't notice any subject motion blur from a longer exposure in any of the shots, and the A7(r) shutter should be plenty fast to shoot wide open (w/ f2.8 lens) even in full sun.
First a correction, I was using a Tiffen 49mm ND0.6 ND filter.
I have quite a few ND filters and I almost always have one on a lens or I feel naked...
ND filters have lots of uses and helping with smoothing water is one but by far the only reason to use one. Yesterday I wasn't concerned with shutter speed but I do like to shoot without having to step the lens down so far on a bright day. My main reason is to help with even and correct exposure in harsh afternoon sun. They don't effect color or make the picture darker in fact they make the picture more colorful and sharper. Once you start using them you will see and quickly look to having one on your lens.
Heres one from today with same filter on the 55mm.
R.Young wrote:
I'm not sure there is any logic to that. Nd filters cannot enhance colours or sharpness. They can only shift colour balance and reduce sharpness
I can understand a shift in color balance, but reduction in sharpness is probably negligible if shooting in bright light without having to worry about stopping down for exposure reasons. Say, for minimizing DOF in harsh light. If you're using an ND with longer shutter times, then extreme sharpness probably isn't the main goal as there will be blurred water (intentional), clouds, foliage and their branches/leaves, or anything that moves or is moved.
tjack wrote:
An ND filter is to a camera lens what a pair of sunglasses is to a human.
Actually it has no effect on color or sharpness, but it is perceived (appears)that way when the light is affected with the filter.
Here is another example shot tonight around 8:30 in evening with filter on and shot with wide open lens.
To my eyes the filter enhanced the colors even in the dim light and it did not suffer any in sharpness.
Sunglasses are often tinted though, I personally prefer amber colored lenses in my glasses, which are also polarizing. Between the polarization effect, and the warming effect, the world does look better with them... HOWEVER, a ND filter, as the name implies, is just that, "Neutral" meaning it shouldn't impart any color cast, save for some mild color shifts I see with some 10 stop ones, mainly due to IR.
If your ND filter is having an effect on color, (for good or bad) then I wouldn't say its a very good ND filter.
I've got B+W and Marumi ND's and as the name implies, they impart zero effect on the color of the scene, just reduce the exposure a given number of stops.
I bought them for my Fuji 23mm f1.4 and 56mm f1.2 (both sold/returned) because my XPro had a max shutter speed of 1/4000th and a base ISO of 200, so no way I could shoot those lens close to wide open without the ND.
Likewise, with my RX1 I often needed a ND as its leaf shutter was limited to 1/2000th at f2.0, but again, didn't get any color saturation effect etc from it, just reduced the exposure, which the camera compensated for.
