A Few Thoughts about Sony's New Products

Sony maybe a giant in the electronics and broadcast TV industry, but they are an underdog when it comes to interchangeable lens cameras. While the giants are becoming complacent, iterating their product lines with minor changes and call them new products, Sony is truly creating new and unique products or product niches. This may sound funny coming from a long time Canon user, but I am not a Sony fanboy. I use products that meet my needs and budget and at the moment, Sony products are the best match for my needs right now.

The RX series are brilliant ideas. Certainly not a new category, but Sony combines great sensor technology with very good optics and body design that is appealing and desirable. If I want good quality and pocketability, I would go for the RX-100/RX-100II; if I were rich, I wouldn't think twice buying an RX-1/RX-1R; if I were a serious enthusiast who demands great image quality and optical performance, I would get an RX-10.  In fact, despite the high price, I think Sony will sell a lot of the RX-10s; the zoom range and constant f2.8 aperture of the lens on this camera is simply too good to resist. If I were not a lens slave, the RX10 would satisfy 99% of my photography needs and in the long run, saves me tons of money buying mediocre lenses that most people would buy for their low end cameras, like the 55-200mm f4-5.6.

But my desirable camera is the A7/A7r. The A7/A7r may not appeal to some, especially those who only want to use it with auto focus lenses. The auto focus lens selection is a bit limited at the moment, but the two prime Zeiss lenses are exceptionally good, though pricy. To a lens whore who has lenses in many mounts, the A7/A7r is like a wet dream. Like everyone else, I realize there are issues with ultra wide angle rangefinder manual focus lenses which exhibits colour shift and severe vignetting. It's totally a non-issue for me.  I don't own any wide angle range finder lenses. The widest I have is the 40mm f1.4 Voitglander Nokton. Most of my lenses are in reflex mounts, like Canon FD, Minolta MC/MD, and of course EF mounts. The A7/A7r can use all of them through adapters; exactly what I am doing with my NEX-6, except now all the lenses will see the light as they were designed with no cropping.

Exciting times.

Downtown Toronto - Sigmarit 30mm f2.8 @ f8 & Sony NEX-6. Click for larger.

The L Tower

The L Tower is one of the more unique building designs I have seen in Toronto recently.  Most other new high rises are traditional looking, but this one is eye catching, even before it is completed. The picture below does not show the true uniqueness of the building as it's looking at the flat side. From other directions you can see the interesting shape of the building. The official site for the L Tower gives you a better look with a rendered picture. Note the construction crane is outside of the building, whereas almost all other buildings the crane would sit where the elevator shaft would be.

The L Tower as seen from the 17th floor - Sony NEX-6 & Sigma 30mm f2.8 @ f9.

Italian Wedding Soup

I had a chuckle when my wife saw me converting this picture for this post, and said that the white round circles look like Italian Wedding Soup that she was selling today.  I took this picture while waiting for her to finish work. It was shot through the window. The round white circles were de-focused  rain drops on the window. I thought it looks interesting.

Apologies to Michael, for using the Sigma 30mm f2.8 for this picture :)

Italian Wedding Soup - NEX-6 & Sigma 30mm f2.8. Click for larger.

Sigma E-Mount 19mm f2.8 Shoots Kensington Market

Personally, I think the Kensington Market in Toronto is a quirky, off-beat place. Many of its buildings are old and run-down, but at the same time, many more are uniquely decorated and colorful. The shops sell a variety of products from second hand bicycles to freshly grown produce with many restaurants, cafes and specialty food stores spread through out the market.  What strikes most first time visitors is the many wonky shop names and interesting painted store fronts. Definitely a great place for photos.

The lens I used for this shoot was the E-Mount Sigma 19mm f2.8. It is the sister lens of the 30mm f2.8, which I am very enamored of. Although the lens is very sharp in the center at f2.8, its corner sharpness is not as good as the 30mm f2.8, even when stopped down. At f8, the corners are acceptably sharp, but not quite up there to the level of the 30mm. The barrel distortion is also quite a bit worse as well, but miles ahead compared to the kit zoom lens at the same focal length and it's quite a bit better than the Sony E-16mm f.28 pancake. I know it's not fair to compare a very wide angle (19mm) to a mini wide (30mm). The design is different. The wider the lens, the more challenges the designers must overcome to achieve a balance of cost vs quality; both material and optical. At $99, it's a very good deal.

Kensington - NEX-6 & Sigma 19mm f2.8. Click for larger.

Truck & the run-down house/shop - NEX-6 & Sigma 19mm f2.8. Click for larger.

What colors - NEX-6 & Sigma 19mm f2.8. Click for larger.

One of the many "painted houses" - NEX-6 & Sigma 19mm f2.8. Click for larger.

Bistro - NEX-6 & Sigma 19mm f2.8. 

Sigma E-Mount 30mm f2.8 - Mini Review

Of all the auto focus lenses I have ever bought, the Sigma E-mount 30mm f2.8 comes up on top of the value for the money category. I bought this lens along with the 19mm f2.8 when B&H had a dual lens deal for $199. Essentially, the cost of the lens is about $130 with taxes/shipping to Canada. It's indeed a great deal, especially when you factor in the exceptionally good optics that it possesses.

Build Quality
The lens has a metal mount, and high quality plastic lens barrel. It does not look or feel cheap. Compared to most plastic kit lenses, this one actually stands out as of very good build. For normal use, it will last a long time, I am sure. The electronics will probably die before you will see mechanical problems. It strikes a good balance between cost and quality of materials used.

Downtown Toronto - NEX-6 & Sigma 30mm f2.8. Click for larger.

Size
I think many people are disappointed that for this focal length and maximum aperture of f2.8, the lens is not pancake sized. It's just very slightly longer than the Sony E16-50mm kit lens, but almost twice that of the E16mm f2.8 pancake lens. Do I find this (relatively) larger size an issue? Not at all. The NEX-6 is not exactly a pocketable camera, even with a very thin pancake lens, it would be difficult to fit it in your pocket. I think the Sigma 30mm lens looks nice on the NEX-6. Would I like it smaller? Definitely, if image quality is not compromised.

Focus Speed
This is one aspect of the lens/camera combination that is disappointing. The NEX-6 is not exactly a speed demon when it comes to focusing speed. I can feel the difference between the Sony 50mm f1.8 OSS and this lens. I am not sure if it's due to the very cold (-10c) temperature, but this morning when I was shooting, even in very good light, sometimes it took a long time to achieve focus. It's not a deal breaker, but frustrating. One other thing. This lens does not support the new phase-detect auto focus feature of the NEX-6/5R. Not that it really matters much.

St. Lawrence Flea Market - NEX-6 & Sigma 30mm f2.8. Click for larger

Image  Quality
A very cheap lens that does not produce quality pictures is not a good deal, regardless how little it costs. Fortunately, the Sigma 30mm f2.8 is one of the sharpest lenses I own. In fact, the lens out-resolves the 16 MP sensor by a such a large margin, that in many situations, moire is readily more apparent than other lenses. Already very sharp at f2.8, even around the edges. Stopping down improves sharpness but not by much. One has to wonder how Sigma could design and make a lens this good, and sells it for so little. If this lens is a bit wider, say 35mm equivalent, I would probably have it on the camera most of the time. It's one of the best bargains in auto focus lenses today.

What Don't I Like About This Lens?
Very little. I would like it to be a bit faster, both focus wise and in terms of maximum aperture, but then it wouldn't be selling at this ridiculously low price. The noise from the lens when not powered, is unnerving, but knowing that it was part of the design with a linear motor, I am sure it is not a problem. Also, this lens, unlike almost every lens Sigma ever sold, does not come with a hood. It's true that flare resistance is excellent on this lens, but I still would prefer to have a hood on it, mostly for protection of the front element.

Cement truck - NEX-6 & Sigma 30mm f2.8 @ f2.8.

Old & New - NEX-6 & Sigma 30mm f2.8.

G.A.S Attack

The Sigma twin lens deal has been going on for a couple of weeks now. Two Sigma lenses, the 19mm f2.8 and 30mm f2.8 lenses for $199 at B&H. The stock went out pretty quick and it was back ordered until the 28th of January. I was not going to buy them, but fellow blogger lucindale emailed me about it. As I said, I am weak when it comes to lenses. The email just pushed me over the edge. The lenses arrived yesterday.

I was excited. There are a lot of good things being said about these Sigma lenses. On my way home from picking up the lenses, I put on the 19mm f2.8, and shot a few frames. The very first frame is what you see here. I am happy I bought them. It's optically excellent, albeit a bit slow with an f2.8 maximum aperture.

One thing almost gave me a heart attack was the noise from these lenses. I didn't notice it when I put on the 19mm, but when I got home, as soon as I took the 30mm f2.8 out of the box, I heard something moving inside. Not just a small sound, but it feels and sounds like a large part is loose inside the lens. I was swearing inside, thinking the lens had to be returned. Quickly I put on the 30mm and tried it on the NEX-6. Not a problem at all. Focused fine, picture is razor sharp at f2.8. Then I lightly shook the 19mm and sure enough, it makes the same noise as the other lens. The noise is very disconcerting. A quick search indicates that the noise comes from the linear motor; when no power is applied, some of the lens elements float. Phew!

Curiously, the 19mm f2.8 comes with a lens hood, but not the 30mm f2.8. This is very unusual. The normal Sigma way of doing business is that every lens, regardless of how cheap, comes with caps, hood, and a nicely patted lens case. This puts certain lens maker to shame; unless you pay a premium for lenses that have a red ring, no hood and lens case for you!

Jimmy Simpson Park - NEX-6 & Sigma 19mm f2.8 wide open.