Why manual lenses on the Sony a7 series are a smart choice (by Phillip Reeve)
The following is a guest post from Phillip Reeve
Why manual lenses on the Sony a7 series are a smart choice
Do you think about how to improve your kit to take better pictures? In this article I want to tell you why buying cheap manual lenses is often the smarter choice than spending a huge amount of money on the very expensive native lenses.
Sony A6500 review by Max Galer, Tony Northrup and ePhotozine
We got two new A6500 reviews. On top you can watch Marc Galer’s video review. And ePhotozine posted the full text review and concludes:
Ignoring the price, the Sony Alpha A6500 offers a wide range of features, including excellent image quality, fast focusing and continuous shooting, all in a compact camera body, with good build quality. There’s also a good range of lenses available. We’re not really a fan of the menu system update, but saying that, there are worse menu systems out there, and it shouldn’t take long for users of this camera to get used to it.
Sony A6500 at [shopcountry 55972]
And here is Tony Northrup take on the A6500
First Image Quality comparison between the Fuji GFX (Sony 50MP sensor) and the Sony A7rII
A7rII vs GFX ISO 100 comparison at 100% enlargement (Click on the image to see the orioginal size).
I guess you were all curios to see if the 1.7 times larger Sony 50MP sensor of the Fuji GFX can easily beat the Sony A7rII image quality. Well now you can use the Imaging Resource Comparometer to make all the comparison you want as they just added the GFX Lab shots. Imaging Resource writes:
“This camera produces the best lab shots we’ve ever come across. Detail is fantastic, and high ISO performance is excellent.”
Here are a couple of short links to some of the full size images:
100 ISO: GFX vs A7rII
1600 ISO: GFX vs A7rII
It really comes down to very personal professional needs if the GFX advantage justifies the very high price of the camera. If you ask me I would like Sony to make a medium format camera with 55x41mm sensor. I think the image quality difference with FF would be really make a huge difference. But so would be the price :)
Here is the 100% enlarged 100 ISO comparison with the Phase One XF100 that uses the 55x41mm Sony 100 megapixel sensor (Click on image to see full size version):
First full size image samples shot with the new Voigtlander 40mm f/1.2 and 65mm f/2.0 FE lenses
DSLmagazine shared the first set of full size image samples you can download here:
40mm f/1.2 FE at DSLR magazine (Click on the thumbnails).
65mm f/2 FE at DSLR magazine (Click on the thumbnails).
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DSALRmagazine writes that they like the bokeh and the contrast of the 40mm lens. The 65mm has beatiful bokeh but it has some chromatic aberrations.
What are your thoughts on these lenses so far?
New 100mm STF and 85mm f/1.8 FE lens tests
Sony 85mm f/1.8 first look by Imaging Resource:
It’s amazingly comfortable and lightweight considering what you’re getting in return. Significantly lighter than traditional 85mm f/1.4 lenses, it even sports a convenient “focus hold” button (more on that in our forthcoming review). And the beefier hand grip of the A7 Mark II as compared to the original A7 is a big bonus with a lens like this, making for a well-balanced combination.
Sony FE 85 mm f/1.8 – “günstiges” Portrait-Objektiv für Sony FE im Hands-On Test (ValueTechTV).
Sony STF test at Techbang.com
New Sony FE lens preorder links:
85mm f/1.8 FE at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama. Amazon DE. Amazon UK. Amazon IT. Amazon FR. Amazon ES. PhotoPorstNeuwied.
100mm f/2.8 STF FE at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama. Amazon DE. Amazon UK. Amazon IT. Amazon FR. Amazon ES. PhotoPorstNeuwied.
HVL-F45RM Wireless Radio Flash at BHphoto, Adorama. PhotoPorstNeuwied.