I started writing this review five years ago... and finally took the time to finish it off. Here's one of the best primes on the FE mount, the Sony "Zeiss" FE55F18ZA.
Read MoreSony Zeiss Sonnar T* FE 55mm F1.8 ZA Review
in Review
SEL55F18Z
Late Summer
in Blog, photo-journal
I'd not picked up a camera for weeks. It happens, and can be a difficult phase through which to pass. But pass through I have, and here are some images for your purusal.
Read MoreAround AIST
in photo-journal, Blog
I spent most of my whirlwind week in Japan north of Tokyo in a place called Tsukuba. It's known as Tsukuba Science City; a planned science park developed in the 1960s. Though many of the buildings indeed date back 50 years, the buildings of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) are comparatively modern.
Read MoreGoing Native
in Blog
I decided to take my A7R out with its native 55mm lens; SEL55F18Z.
Read MoreMade for each other
in Blog
It is easy to take a bad photograph, even with the best cameras in the world. A truly powerful image remains powerful, independent of lens, exif info, settings, format, and other quantifiers. It transcends to another dimension, able to stand alone, independent of such trivia.
But, it's nice to by a shiny new toy every once in a while, isn't it?
Read MoreFocussed on Fifty
in Blog
The majority of shots were taken at a focal length of ~50mm, which is actually rather new for me. Composition is a challenge, but this is exactly what I want from my photography; inspirational subjects, and challenges.
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NEX-7 & SEL55F18Z | 1/100s f/1.8 ISO250 55mm
Blend is Beautiful
in Blog
I agree with the above coffee advert - blend is beautiful. This sentiment is valid for certain aspects of photography, too. Often, it is desirable to have a very smooth blend of background blur, or bokeh (the Japanese word for blur).
Making sure that the building site isn't too loud
In the pursuit of the perfect blend, I've acquired Sony's latest FE-mount lens, the SEL55F18Z. As pointed out by friend and fellow photoblographer Björn Utpott (his blog is a source of daily inspiration), I have a lens with a similar focal length and aperture already - the Canon nFD 50mm F1.4.
Even though the weather today was completely overcast, I took both lenses with me on the way to the shops and performed something of a comparison.
This isn't a scientific test by any interpretation, but one thing is clear - the new FE 55/1,8 is very sharp wide open, and does not have any purple fringing, or suffer from chromatic aberration (CA). When the nFD lens is stopped down to f/4, the image is very sharp. The new Sony FE lens is sharper, but this may not matter to some. I would still recommend the nFD lens to those on a budget, or wanting to use manual focus glass... but I would recommend the new Sony FE 55/1,8 Zeiss lens over it... every time.
Incidentally, you may (or more likely, may not) have noticed a change to the homepage of this site. I hope you like it! I've also changed the "reviews and gear" section, listing my ramblings in reverse chronological order.
I hope that you enjoyed the photos, and found the (non-scientific) comparison interesting.
I made it just 2 days...
in Blog
Well, I made it 2 whole days (though just 1 shopping day) into 2014 without buying a new lens... though this lens was no impulse buy. It's the new Sony FE (full-frame image circle E-mount) Zeiss Sonnar 55/1,8 lens (model name: SEL55F18Z ). This lens has an MTF curve out of this world (stellar light transmittance, essentially - Zeiss have a white paper on the topic). In practice, this means that the lens has extremely high resolution and contrast "wide open" at its maximum aperture (opening). Designing a lens like this is no mean feat - I've never seen a curve like it. The lens outputs an image circle covering the size of a full-frame sensor, like my RX1, but I am currently using the lens on my trusty NEX-7.
Is this my next camera? There's a full-frame sensor squeezed inside the miniscule Sony A7R.
After purchasing the lens in Akihabara, we decided to go for a walk and test out the new lens. What better way to test a lens and camera than at night? :)
It's probably a little early for a verdict, but overall, I'm very impressed. The high pixel density, cropped sensor (APS-C size) of the NEX-7 really tests the central zone of any lens.
Sometimes it's easy to forget we're in Tokyo
There is a 50/1.8 lens, with optical stabilisation, already available for Sony E-mount cameras. It's been around a couple of years. It's maybe 1/3rd the price of this lens, but only covers the APS-C image circle, and thus would not be useful on any future full-frame camera. Rather than sink my money into a lens I'll use (happily) until I "go full frame", I decided to spend that little bit more, and "future-proof" myself with a world-class lens.
And I have no regrets.