Sony A7 - First Impression, Part I

It was my dream years ago, when I was using the 1Ds, that one day I would be able to shoot a full frame camera the size of a point & shoot, and that I could use all my legacy lenses on it without restrictions.  With the introduction of mirrorless cameras, that dream came pretty close and I have been happy with the Panasonic G1 and the NEX series for a few years.  But, I always wanted a full frame body to augment the mirrorless crop sensors, and that's why I still have a 5D Mark II. The new Sony A7s is the perfect camera for me. It ticks all the marks I want in a camera, but alas, it's priced out of my reach. The next best thing, is the Sony A7, which I bought a few days ago at the Sony Store.

The A7 feels more like a small DSLR than the NEX-6, due to its chunkier grip, but it has far more external controls. I might be biased here, but I feel that none the Sony cameras are as easy to operate as the Canon cameras (Rebels excluded since they don't have the command wheel at the back).  After years with NEX, and very little shooting time with the Canon, I still feel right at home once I hold and operate the 5D II or 1D III. The controls are just at the right place.  With the Sony, I am not confident at changing settings without looking at the camera.

The A7 is a much more configurable camera than the NEX-6, but thankfully not as hard or cryptic to configure as the Olympus E-M5.  The A7 has a dedicated exposure compensation dial, which I think is redundant; the control wheel or rear dial could be used for this purpose and is far more natural and easier to use. The front wheel is a welcome addition which the NEX-6 lacks, and this makes changing aperture quick and easy, when using AF lenses. Truth be told, I still haven't setup the camera the way I want, but it's functional enough that I can start using it. So far, I like it a lot.

To be continued...

Bicycles Crossing on Queen - Sony A7 & FE 35mm f2.8ZA @ f4. Click for larger.

Clothespins - Sony A7 & Olympus 35mm f2. Click for larger.

Bicycle - Sony A7 & Carl Zeiss S-Planar 60mm f2.8 Makro

Sony A7 and A7r - Game Changing Cameras?

Sony today unveiled the leaked, and much anticipated full frame cameras in a small mirrorless body. Reactions have been mostly positive around the net, myself included. This is the camera I have been waiting for a long time. Small, full frame, and most importantly, with a mount that has short flange distance which will take pretty much all kinds of lenses. I think Sony has a winner here, especially when it's priced below its main rivals, the Nikon D610 and Canon 6D, but I think Leica has the most to worry about. For me, it's a Canon full frame replacement.

The EOS to NEX smart adapters is on its second generation and fully supports the EF lenses: AF and IS. Yes it's a bit slower but to me it's not a deal breaker. With the A7's phase-detect capabilities, it will only be a matter of time before the AF speed and accuracy will improve for the Canon EF lenses. In the mean time, I can get rid of my 5D Mark II, which I like, but not as often used as I had hoped; I tend to grab the NEX-6 on the way out because my backpack is often very heavy with a laptop, bike lock, lunch, etc., and with the 5D II thrown in, it becomes too much. I am eagerly waiting for the A7's arrival on November. I don't much care about the A7r's higher resolution. 24 MP is more than enough for me and A7's better image quality is icing on the cake.

The only thing I wish the A7 would have, is in-body stabilization, preferably with the capability of Olympus' EM-1, but it's a minor issue for me.

One thing I think Sony is making a mistake is Zeiss branded lens prices. I know they are quality lenses, but $1000 for a 50mm f1.8?  That's ridiculous, unless the lens barrel is made of 24K gold. I hope the NEX 50mm f1.8 OSS won't vignette severely. How much better will the Zeiss version be, over the NEX version, besides the fact that it covers full frame? The pricing will put off many people who want to use the A7/A7r with AF lenses.  Sony should make at least one inexpensive, but good prime lens, like the NEX 50mm f1.8 OSS at introduction. But again, it's a minor issue for me as I will be using this camera with mostly manual focus lenses.

Good job, Sony. Your competition should be worried.

Lone man & bird - Canon 5D Mark II & Olympus OM 35mm f2.

The NEX Full Frame - Getting Closer

According to SAR, the Sony full frame NEX cameras A7 and A7r will be announced on October 16. The best news?  It's around $1700 for the 24 MP A7 with Phase Detect autofocus. I am excited. I will sell my Canon 5D II and buy this camera as soon as it's available, though I will still keep the 1D III for action shots. With an intelligent EF-NEX adapter, Canon autofocus lenses will be usable on the NEX full frame, albeit slower.

Think about the possibilities. All those Minolta MC/MD, Konica-AR, FD, and other lenses mounts that have too long a flange to be usable on Canon, will be supported on the NEX with full frame coverage. If Sony actually sells the A7 at $17000 Canadian dollars, I don't think they can make enough to meet demand.

Can't wait.

Fall Colours - Canon 5D Mark II & Olympus OM 35mm f2 @ f2

Olympus Zuiko 35mm f2 - Photo Set

Since I swapped this lens with Adam, I don't believe I ever used it on full frame, so I decided to give it a go on my newly acquired, used 5D Mark II. The 35mm focal length is one of my favourites on full frame. It's a comfortable view angle which makes composition relatively straight forward without pulling too much details into the view. This is the reason I have a handful of them.

Olympus truly made some awesome lenses with its OM system. I have not encountered a truly bad manual focus prime lens from Olympus. Perhaps that's why OM lenses have a huge following. Another reason is that they made some amazing lenses that even today, are exceptionally good. The OM 21mm f2, 24mm f2, 90mm f2 macro are just a few examples. If you understand that they made some of the best microscopes in its days, and no doubt the expertise was used to create some of these great lenses, then there is not much of a mystery why the lenses are so good. The OM lenses have always been pretty expensive in the used market, and I think it's even more so today.

The OM 35mm f2 is wonderful on the 5D Mark II. It's fast aperture makes the viewfinder bright and easy to focus, its optic is excellent, though on my copy, the far edges are slightly less sharp but still very good. The bokeh is nice, though in some situations, it looks quite distracting.

I think this lens is worth owning. Aside from its excellent optics, it's also very well build, and focuses smoothly. Truly a joy to hold and behold.

Olympus Zuiko 35mm f2 with hood & EOS Adaptaer. Click for larger.

Tail lights from a 1959 Cadillac Fleetwood - Canon 5D Mark II & OM 35mm f2. Click for larger.

Graffiti - Canon 5D Mark II & OM 35mm f2. Click for larger.

Bokeh - Canon 5D Mark II & OM 35mm f2 @ f2

Tree & Fence - Canon 5D Mark II & OM 35mm f2. 

The Ashbridge House - 2012

This is one of the oldest houses in Toronto and it's beautiful all year round.  I especially like it in the fall and winter.  On the south east side of the house was a garden a few years back, but I guess it was too much work, or cost the city too much money to maintain it, so it is now just a parkette with grass.  The parkette is surrounded by willow, maple and other trees on three of the sides except south.  The park is open to all visitors, but the house is rented out and people are actually living inside.  So if you do visit, be sure to respect people's privacy.

I have always wanted to take a picture from each season, and I think I have done it, but always seem to be missing a season.  May be I should make it a small project.

Ashbridge Estate - NEX-5N & Olympus OM 35mm f2. Click for larger.

The Allure of Olympus' New Lenses

Olympus, like Pentax, have been making small and wonderful lenses for decades.  Back in the film days,  Pentax was more popular and common, Olympus lens lovers are a more cult-like following.  In their OM days, the 90mm f2 macro, 21mm f2 wide angle, to name just two, were, and still are, phenomenally good lenses.  Lately, they are on a roll with superbly designed lenses: 12mm f2, 45mm f1.8, 60mm f2.8 macro, 75mm f1.8, and now the 17mm f1.8, all excellent lenses.  I can't say I am not attracted to these lenses, despite how much I like manual focus lenses.  This is making it even harder for me to choose between the OM-D and the Sony NEX-6.

"Rose Glow", Last Bit of Autumn - NEX-5N & Olympus 35mm f2 @ f2

Shades of Gray

Dark Clouds over Port of Toronto - NEX-5N & Olympus OM 35mm f2. Click for larger.

All my pictures are shot in RAW, and naturally, in colour, but I also love black and white (technically, gray). With certain subjects, the elimination of colours seems to add more impact and power.  Unfortunately for me, I am not very good at converting colour to black & white, so most of my black and white pictures are converted with pre-sets in Lightroom or filters in Photoshop with some slight tweaks.

Slow August

I can't explain it.  I am least photographically productive during the July and August months.  Maybe the heat makes me want to stay indoors, or I simply find the strong sun/lighting not ideal for taking pictures, or, I just want to take a break from taking pictures. I am sure I will resume my normal schedule of updating this blog comes September, when the temperature turns cooler and colours of tree leaves become more interesting.

Death of a flower - NEX-5N & Olympus OM 35mm f2.0

Dynamic Range & Colour Depth of Current Sensors

Downtown Toronto in the evening -- NEX-5N & Olympus OM 35mm f2

Couple days ago I was driving towards downtown Toronto on Eastern Avenue, and I commented to my wife on how beautiful and interesting the sun was behind the buildings. I stopped the car (no car was coming behind me) and took a couple of shots.  The picture above is one of the two, but it is not even close to the actual scene.  It was far more brilliant and colourful.  The sensor in the Sony NEX-5N is pretty good, but despite turning on the D-Range, the bright and dark range was still not captured large enough.  I think current technology is already there to increase the dynamic range and colour depth, but manufacturers are not willing to give it to us, at least not as much as we want.  The Canon 1DX sensor should be an indication of the trend that sensor makers are starting to make dynamic range and colour depth as new features, rather than high pixel count, which is encouraging.  I am sure in a few years time, sensors in digital cameras will be able to capture scenes closer to what human eyes can see.

Another Camera Show

Men at work -- NEX-5N & Zoomar Kilfitt 90mm f2.8 Makro. Click for larger.

Went to another photo show today, but managed not to spend too much this time.  Picked up a couple of lenses and a couple of enlarging lenses, one of which is a EL-Nikkor 63mm f3.5.  This lens has been rumored to have the capabilities to produce photographs in the UV spectrum, and thus the price was very high.  Not sure what the situation is now, but I thought it would be a nice complement to my EL-Nikkor 50mm f2.8.  Held it to my NEX-5N and took a test picture, and indeed it's an extremely sharp lens.

Also picked up a Canon FD 35mm f2.  The lens is in pretty bad cosmetic shape, but the optic is clean.  This is the first fast wide angle Canon FD lens I have.  The FD 35mm f2 is a highly regarded lens and I can confirm that it's optically superb.  Took some shots against the Olympus 35mm f2 and two things were noticeable.  The colour is warmer on the Canon and the OM 35/2 is more neutral.  The Canon is slightly sharper at f2 and even the edge (on the NEX-5N) is very good wide open.  Can't wait to shoot some pictures with it.  

Sunset on Field of Green

Last Ray -- NEX-5 & OM 35mm f2. Click for larger.

I have had used the Olympus OM 35mm f2 lens for a little while now after swapped my SMC Takumar 35mm f2 with Adam.  Over all, I am quite happy with the lens.  Not a great deal of difference with the SMC Tak 35/2, but the Takumar is slightly smaller in diameter (49mm vs 55mm filter size) but longer lengthwise.  If I had to choose, I would choose the OM 35mm f2.  Not sure why, but I think it might be because I have had many many Takumars over the years, but hardly any OM lenses other than the 50/1.4 and 100mm f2.8.  In any case, I am having a blast with the OM 35mm f2.

Toronto Traffics

Under Construction -- NEX-5 & OM 35mm f2. Click to see larger.

If you live in Toronto, you will understand how bad traffics is, pretty much any time of the day.  Downtown, highways, you name it, it jams with cars all the time.  The picture above was taken while stuck in traffic on the Gardinar Express Way.  I am so glad I bike to work everyday and only need to drive on the weekends and occasionally weekdays.

Change of Plan

Making phone calls -- NEX-5 & OM 35mm f2. Click for larger.

I have decided not to do any more lens comparisons for the next little while.  I find it extremely boring and tedious. My apologies. If I do decide to do it again, it would be once in a while.

Another change of plan, is the camera upgrades.  I have wanted a 5D II for over a year now, and it looks like the price is not coming down.  I have decided to upgrade my 1D IIn to a 1D III instead.  Looking back at the files I have with the original 1D III I had, I am very happy with the image quality, especially high ISO images.  ISO 3200 looks fantastic and that's probably the highest I would need for most shootings.  I would have kept the 1D III if it were not for the auto focus issues.  I am now looking for one that has a sub-mirror fixed in the factory, or Blue-Dot version of the camera.  Hopefully by the end of the week, I will have a 1D III again.  

The Fabulous OM 35mm f2

Seeds -- NEX-5 & Olympus OM 35mm f2 @ f2. Click to enlarge.

Adam and I swap our 35mm f2 lenses this week.  My Pentax SMC 35mm f2 for his OM 35mm f2.  Both lenses are in great shape with original articles.  I didn't use the SMC 35mm f2 much, other than at the time when I got it.  It a pretty good lens, even on full frame (used it on my 1Ds), but I always seemed to be using the Leica-R35mm f2.  I also bought a fungus-growing OM 24mm f2.8 from him at the same time, which I briefly used in Niagara Falls yesterday and today, and it sure looked impressive, even with some fungus on the rear elements.  But, that's for later.

When I saw that Adam was looking for swapping his OM 35mm f2 for an Takumar 35mm f2, I wanted to try the OM.  Olympus, like Pentax, made nice, beautifully small and optically excellent lenses.  I had a 100mm f2.8 before, it was sharp as heck.  I wanted to try their wide angle lens.  I am not disappointed with both the 35mm f2 and 24mm f2.8.  Both lenses work fabulously.  I especially like the 35mm.  It's very sharp at f2.  Will update this lens when I use it more.

Falls View Casino - NEX-5 & OM 35mm f2 @ f8.