I made it just 2 days...

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.

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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.

Tengu & Mt. Takao

Yesterday, I took my brother to visit Mt. Takao, on the western edge of Tokyo. It was my brother's first time to visit the mountain, and I thought it might make a nice break from the extreme hustle-bustle and crowds of Tokyo.

The above picture shows the image of Tengu imprinted on an Ema, a wooden plaque on which worshippers write their wishes at shinto shrines.

Tengu (天狗, "heavenly dog") are a type of legendary creature found in Japanese folk religion and are also considered a type of Shinto god (kami) or yōkai (supernatural beings)). Although they take their name from a dog-like Chinese demon (Tiangou), the tengu were originally thought to take the forms of birds of prey, and they are traditionally depicted with both human and avian characteristics. The earliest tengu were pictured with beaks, but this feature has often been humanized as an unnaturally long nose, which today is widely considered the tengu's defining characteristic in the popular imagination.

I last visited Takao in October last year, when the weather was much cooler and the long-range visibility significantly better. However, the late afternoon sunlight broke through the trees and lit our way in a very pleasing manner.

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My brother at the shrine

It was a very hot day, but the trees provided welcome shading from the intense heat of the sun. 

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Suspension bridge across the valley

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We finished off our 3-hour hike with a "2-hour-all-you-can-drink & all-you-can-eat" buffet near the summit. In typical Japanese fashion, no-one was taking advantage of the facilities, or being disorderly. I suppose I'm a bit of a cynic, but I can't see an all-you-can-drink/eat buffet lasting very long in the UK before it was shut down due to health and safety concerns, or drunk people destroying it. 

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I definitely recommend a trip to Mt. Takao, if you have time. It can be easily and cheaply accessed from central Tokyo, via the Keio line. It's a day trip which leaves one feeling completely removed from the neons and 24-life of the city.

Showers

Showers are the theme for June. Rain showers, and bathroom showers. It's almost constantly raining at the moment, and is predicted to continue raining for as long as weather forecasts dare... erm, forecast. The rain's fine, really. I am from the UK, after all. I lived in Manchester for 7 years, which is famous for its near-constant rain. It's the elevated temperatures and humidity that are the killer in Japan during tsuyu, the rainy season.

Just look at that forecast!

You wake up, sticky. You shower. Within 5 minutes of leaving an air-conditioned room, you want a shower. You arrive at work, feeling as if you've jogged the entire way wearing a polyester shell suit. You go through the entire day wishing you were in a desert, or some kind of arid landscape. Occasionally you think back 6 months, when you were wearing moisturiser due to the severe dryness, a scarf, a duffel coat, and shivering in the street. Rushing into the relative warmth of the trains with their heated seats. How on earth can this be the same place?

Rain, a few drinks, DSC-RX1

Rainy season is truly upon us. It's been raining solid since the weekend, with barely a break. The relentless humidity renders everything moist. Condensation pours down almost everything, made all the more noticeable with a nice cold beer.

DSC-RX1

I had the pleasure of meeting up with a friend after work this evening, who happens to own a Sony DSC-RX1 full-frame camera. Just before heading home, I remembered that I wanted to take a quick shot of similar subjects with my NEX-7 & Zeiss and compare it to the RX1. I know from online tests that the RX1 has fantastic low-light capability and immense depth of field, but I'm very pleased with my NEX-7's performance, which is made better when coupled with the Zeiss SEL24F18Z.

Please excuse the changing perspective; I'd had a couple of beers by this point. For a more in-depth review, please visit dpreview.com or something. There's not really much in it, to be honest. The NEX-7 holds up at 1600 in my experience, but not for pixel peeping. I tend not to bother pixel peeping unless I'm very bored, anyway. The RX1 is arguably just as good at ISO 3200, possibly higher. There's also noticeably more bokeh with the RX1, which is to be expected "wide open" due to its full frame sensor. The bokeh on both is extremely pleasing, and though I still want an RX1, I wholeheartedly recommend the SEL24F18Z to anyone sitting on the fence. Get it. It's great. The new Touits are sure to impress too... photos by the end of the week, I promise!

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I'll finish by saying that after quickly analysing the RX1 files, that the shadow-recovery is excellent, and perhaps more noticeable still, is the high level of detail. ISO 100 picked out flecks and dirt beyond what I could see in the bar. Look around the "SPA" lettering and you'll see what I mean. Very high levels of detail indeed - wide open. Stopped down, I think this camera is unrivalled [for its size], and has a very particular niche which it fills well. There is no one camera which can satisfy all of our demands, but the RX1 meets quite a few of mine.