Sony FE 35mm f/1.8 review at Opticallimits: “decent performer but it doesn’t excel in all categories”

Opticallimits tested the 35mm f/1.8 FE lens and concluded:

The Sony FE 35mm f/1.8 is a decent performer but it doesn’t excel in all categories. In terms of resolution, it is basically as good as it gets in the image center but the corners are “only” good to very good at mainstream settings and fairly weak corners at f/1.8. Lateral CAs are on the high side although this can be easily corrected. The slight pincushion distortion isn’t an obstacle for auto-correction either. The same can’t be said about vignetting which is very high in RAW files and still visible with activated auto-correction. The quality of the bokeh is pretty good, especially in the image background. Bokeh fringing (LoCA) can be visible at large-aperture settings though.

The build quality is pretty good without reaching pro levels. You can feel that the outer metal shell is fairly thin but Sony made a decent effort for a consumer-grade lens. The chassis is dust- and moisture-resistant and it doesn’t extend during focusing – as it should be. The broad focus ring is very smooth to operate. The AF is quick and noiseless. It would have been nice if Sony implemented an optical image stabilizer. However, most Sony cameras feature IBIS these days so it’s an understandable decision in order to keep the costs at bay.

The Sony FE 35mm f/1.8 is certainly a very reasonable option in this market segment. Thanks to its aperture of f/1.8, it avoids the bulk and costs of f/1.4 or f/1.2 lenses while still being way faster than any zoom lens. As such, it resides in a sweet spot albeit maybe not the most exciting one.

Sony 35mm f/1.8 FE at Adorama, Amazon, FocusCamera, BHphoto and Henrys. EU at Calumet DE, ParkCameras, WexUK, Calumet NL.

Sony A1 Lab Test at CineD – Rolling Shutter, Dynamic Range and Latitude: “state-of-the-art consumer camera”

Sony A1 at BHphoto. Adorama. Amazon. Focuscamera. FotoErhardt DE. Calumet DE. Fotokoch DE. Park UK. WexUK.

CineD published their full Sony A1 Lab Test and the summary is the following:

As anticipated, the Sony A1 shows state-of-the-art consumer camera results in the lab test in all disciplines: rolling shutter, dynamic range, and latitude, using the internal codecs. This camera clearly shows that old paradigms like the need for large pixels to achieve good dynamic range are not true anymore. After all, we are talking about a 50 megapixel sensor here!

To me it seems rather clear that as long as these cameras use the current 12bit sensor read out architecture for video we cannot expect much more than these results. Just for your reference, the benchmark so far is the ARRI ALEA Mini LF which exhibits about 2 stops more in the dynamic range and latitude discipline.

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P.S.: Join the Sony A1 Facebook group here.

Emin Kuliyev created this funny solution to avoid 8k overheating with the Sony A1

Emin sent me those images with the following text:

I’m Photographer from New York https://www.facebook.com/emin.kuliyev.54/
I just mount a Portable Handheld 14$ Fan by rubber pieces
and keep the temperature on Sony A1 cold till my camera battery died (I shoot 8K)
it was a little bit warm on the bottom but colder than usual (without the fan and without shooting 8K)

Not a beautiful solution…but it works :)

In a second message he told me this:

I have updated yesterday and increase shooting time from 30 min (4K120) (this is a maximum (as dpreview report) to shoot 77min (i have added a second fan and use a flash bracket to hold it)
I know nobody will shoot continuously 77 min (maybe some interview) 
but this 77 min allows me to shoot almost all day long with small breaks (I’m improve shooting time 2.5 times) for 25$
4K120 mode will burn your fully charged battery for 30 min of shooting that’s why i use a power bank to charge my battery

 

Sirui 75mm f/1.8 Anamorphic review by Marc Alhadeff

Get the new anamorphic lens in USA at BHphoto and Amazon.
In Europe at Amazon US, Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR.

Marc Alhadeff from SonyAlpha.Blog tested the new Sirui 75mm f/1.8 Anamorphic lens and concludes:

The Sirui 75mm F1.8 Anamorphic is a nice addition to the existing Sirui 24mm F2.8 Anamorphic, Sirui 35mm F1.8 Anamorphic, Sirui 50mm F1.8 Anamorphic to cover most situations.

This one is more focused on portrait and achieves its target with globally a nice rendering for portrait but inferior to a standard portrait lens .

  • Sharpness is OK wide open but you gain a lot by closing by one stop.
  • Color rendering is a good but not very neutral.
  • Background blur is good and soft in general but can quickly become nervous
  • Bokeh balls are quite small as min focusing distance is big : 1.2m

So very good for an anamorphic lens, average if you compare it to a standard portrait lens

Sony Alpha 1 meets Capture One 21

Guest Post:

Sony Alpha 1 meets Capture One 21

Last year, photographer Philip Edsel was one of the first in the world to test the powerful new Sony Alpha 1 – now he’s testing the images with the new Speed Edit tool in Capture One 21.

Before anyone knew about Sony’s incredible Alpha 1 camera – I took a flight to Los Angeles with very little information and a signed NDA that swore me to secrecy. Turns out, I was one of the few lucky photographers in the world to test out the new Sony Alpha 1 before its official release.

In this blog, I’ll give you a glimpse into how revolutionary the camera is – and how seamlessly it fits into my photo editing workflow with the new Capture One 21.

The Sony Alpha 1 is an especially exciting camera for me for a few reasons. First, it’s body is in the style of my favorite Sony camera to shoot with: the Sony A9. There’s nothing like a solid mechanical dial, and as someone that is often capturing a range of fast-moving action, as well as more intimate portrait moments, the drive and autofocus mechanical dial is a huge plus. Second, the specs are outrageous. 50MP at 30fps with no blackout? That type of performance was unheard of just a few short years ago. Combine that with 8K video in one mirrorless body and you’ve got the end-all be-all of camera technology. Finally, as someone who also shoots a lot of athletes and dancers with strobes, a 1/400th shutter sync is a big deal, even if it snuck under the radar on a stacked spec sheet. This camera can truly do-it-all. But combined with the power and efficiency of the new Capture One photo editing software? Forget about it.

I first started using Capture One years ago, after I’d heard they’d made a version specifically to handle Sony RAW files. I imported a few images, compared the un-edited image with the same file in Lightroom, and I haven’t looked back since. Most of my work is shot tethered as well, so using a software that is quite literally plug-and-play has been a lifesaver. These days it feels like every client wants more content in less time, so every second I can shave off my workflow adds up. Even with the Alpha 1’s 50MP files or the Sony A7rIV’s 63MP files, Capture One pulls in and displays image previews insanely quickly, so you can cull and make selects directly from the card if you’re in a hurry. This comes in especially handy when you’ve forgotten you were shooting 30fps at 50MP on the Sony A1 and you have a lot of large files to go through!

Of course, the things I’ve always loved about Capture One just keep getting better. Here are a series of images shot for a boutique fitness client in Chicago, graded entirely with Capture One. A few quick temperature and tint adjustments and we’re starting to feel pretty darn cinematic. And now with Capture One 21’s new ProStandard Profiles and modular color grading tools, creating edits like these are so easy. Like, weirdly easy.

All-in-all, I’ve been a believer in the beautiful relationship between Sony cameras and Capture One, but with the release of the new Alpha One and Capture One 21, the quality and efficiency of my workflow just keep getting better and better.

Get Capture One here.

Post by Philip Edsel with permission from Capture One.