11/05/13

Sony Nex-5N - Sony E PZ 16-50 f3.5-5.6 OSS

This is one lens that I definately have a love-hate relationship with. I'm not 100% sure that I like it or not and I've come to the conclusion that it's not a lens that I will use on the Nex-7. As a matter of fact I find it difficult these days to find a native lens that I like using on the Nex-7.

However, looking at the above image, I have to say it's not bad at all. Taken on the Nex-5N (which is a great camera by the way) it seems to perform better. I had no incident like I did on the Nex-7 where there was a camera-lens communication problem and the lens performed admirably. One thing I find a little irritating is the in-camera software distortion correction. When I've taken an image and it comes up in the viewfinder, I can see the distortion correction taking place, which means that a little of the image is always cropped out. It's only a minor niggle but it's there all the same.

I like the micro contrast here and the colours are good. I can't complain really and it seems that the lens will stay on the Nex-5N for now.

914

NEX-5N
Focal Length: 16 mm
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure Time: 1/400 sec
ISO: 100

Dil 11/05/13 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 914

• Sony • Nex-5N • 16-50 f3.5-5.6

11/04/13

Lenses

full image

Olympus E-M5 - Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25 f1.4

I just love the way the clouds are just coming over the tree tops, it looked a little like a wave breaking on a beach. Well, that's the way I saw it anyway. The lens balances well on the E-M5 and I can see me using it again on this camera.

Having used the Nikon V1 a lot lately and having enjoyed using it, I can definately say I can see a quality different when returning to a camera with a larger sensor, albeit the difference isn't all that much. The m4/3 sensor is larger and I do like the quality more than the Nikon V1 CX format sensor.

It also pays to purchase a good lens; one that you're happy with. Only then can you go out with confidence and enjoy your photography because you know that the lens will deliver. My moto nowadays, buy less but buy well. Spend a little more for those few lenses you will own and you can't go wrong. Buy so-so lenses and you will regret it, and probably spend more in the long run when buying the lenses you should have bought initially.

1063

E-M5
Focal Length: 25 mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure Time: 1/500 sec
ISO: 200

Dil 11/04/13 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1063

• Olympus • E-M5 • Panasonic • 25 f1.4

11/03/13

Lenses

full image

Olympus E-M5 - Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25 f1.4

This is an impresssive lens, it doesn't matter which camera you put it on it seems to always deliver. In this case I put it on the Olympus E-M5 and that camera has enough dynamic range that the highlights didn't blow and the blacks didn't block, which normally is the case. It is very sharp and seems to be best at f4 - f5.6. It was set at f5.6 for this image. Micro contrast is good and the colours are snappy, just the way I like it.

998

E-M5
Focal Length: 25 mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure Time: 1/160 sec
ISO: 250

Dil 11/03/13 19:01 comments (0)

Viewed 998

• Olympuy • E-M5 • Panasonic • 25 f1.4

11/02/13

Lenses

full image

Olympus E-PL1 - Voigtländer 90 f3.5 M Mount

The last post regarding this combination at present. I think this 90mm lens will be used pretty frequently in the future. I still have to see what it's like on the Nex-5n and Nex-7 cameras and I have a feeling the image quality will be a little better than on the m4/3 cameras.

906

E-PL1
Focal Length: unknown
Aperture: f/1.0
Exposure Time: 1/1600 sec
ISO: 200

Dil 11/02/13 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 906

• Olympus • E-PL1 • 90 f3.5 • Voigtländer

11/01/13

Lenses

full image

Olympus E-PL1 - Voigtländer 90 f3.5 M Mount

Some may find the colours in this image a bit off, but I like it the way it is and the image is sharp. I like this focal length which might explain why I have a few of these 90mm lenses which gives 180mm 35mm eqivalence. I'm just going to post a couple of images from this lens which shows what can be expected from this combination. I'm thinking that I'll get better performance from the E-M5 so I'll test it on that camera when time permits.

1156

E-PL1
Focal Length: unknown
Aperture: f/1.0
Exposure Time: 1/1250 sec
ISO: 200

Dil 11/01/13 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1156

• Olympus • E-PL1 • Voigtländer • 90 f3.5

10/31/13

Lenses

full image

Olympus E-PL1 - Voigtländer 90 f3.5 M Mount

I've been looking for one of these for some time. The ones I found were in excellent condition but the asking price was simply too steep. And then one came up on ebay for a good price and I took the plunge. I've heard good things about it and wanted it for my Nex and Olympus systems. I tend to use the Nex system mostly for manual focus legacy lenses and the Olympus E-PL1 gets used for the same purpose. I find manual focusing with the E-PL1 better than all the remaining Olympus cameras. Don't ask me why, it must be a personal thing. The fact that it has the old 12MP sensor in it doesn't really matter, although when using the new sensors you can tell that the sensor is getting old. The new sensors Olympus are using are so much better.

I've been waiting for a m4/3 camera with focus peaking and all of a sudden Olympus and Panasonic bring them out onto the market. Which one I'll go for is uncertain but I will buy one just for these lenses. If anyone is interested in these manual focus lenses I can highly recomment the Voigtländer lenses (made by Cosina) because they offer a lot and the price is right. Build quality is very high and they really shine on these modern cameras. You can buy some very cheap legacy lenses from all manufacturers (present and past) but I like to know what I'm going to get. I'll spend a little more, but guaranteed the image quality is that much better.

Take a look at the composite above and tell me that you're not impressed by the image quality.

1198

unknown
Focal Length: unknown
Aperture: unknown
Exposure Time: unknown
ISO: unknown

Dil 10/31/13 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1198

• Olympus • Voigtländer • E-PL1 • CV 90 f3.5

10/30/13

Lenses

full image

Panasonic G5 - Panasonic G Vario PZ 14-42 f3.5-5.6

I really don't know what to make of this lens. Since I used it on the GF1 a few months ago and it performed ok-ish I thought it might perform better on the G5. I took it for a little outing just to see how it performed and it turned out to be a worse performer on the G5 than on the GF1. I had a lot of misfocused images that I was about to put it on ebay to get rid of it. I must say this must be the worst performing lens in Panasonics arsenal, though I haven't tested the PZ 45-175 lens and to tell you the truth I'm not even going to contemplate it. It's the same design as the PZ 14-42 and since they're smaller than the other lenses it would have saved me a lot of space, if things had turned out ok.

On the G5 the images were quite soft and focusing was a hit and miss affair. The combination is very fast focusing and the image in the EVF looked sharp and I even got a green focusing confirmation box. Well, after running the images through LR5 and opening them in PS I immediately had to throw away about 50% of the images. They were simply misfocused or very soft. The soft images were not misfocused, just soft and I was quite shocked. I never expected this.

My conclusion is this lens will only be used on the GF1 where it perfoms ok and only when I really need to save space. I believe this is the first lens from any manufacturer that I simply cannot recommend. In this case you really get what you pay for - not a lot! Shame.

1116

unknown
Focal Length: unknown
Aperture: unknown
Exposure Time: unknown
ISO: unknown

Dil 10/30/13 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1116

• Panasonic • G5 • 14-42 f3.5-5.6

10/29/13

Lenses

full image

Nikon V1 - 1 Nikkor 32 f1.2

I took the V1 down to the aquarium a couple of weeks ago. I stuck the 32 f1.2 on it to see what it could really do under these conditions. I think the above compilation says it all. People who say that this system is useless and totally crap, do not know what they're talking about. Ok it's still not as good at high ISO values but personally I'm not complaining. That silent shutter is amazing (plug: the GX7 has one too). Strange how I keep coming back to that camera.

1057

unknown
Focal Length: unknown
Aperture: unknown
Exposure Time: unknown
ISO: unknown

Dil 10/29/13 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1057

• Nikon • V1 • 32 f1.2

10/28/13

General

full image

Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1 - Panasonic Leica 14-150 f3.5-5.6 O.I.S.

I sometimes go back and look up my old images from the archives and sometimes I really find an image that I missed at the time I processed them. Some photographer say that once you have processed your images, don't look at them for a couple of months, then come back to them and look at them again. This is supposed to get some distance from those images and when you come back to them, it's like seeing them for the first time with a fresh eye.

That's exactly what I did here but the images are a few years old. I still think they are great images and that from a camera that looks like a brick and has one of the worst OVF of all time, but that's my opinion. The Panasonic is still on ebay for around €300 to €400 and the Leica Digilux 3 (same camera, different firmware) is going for between €500 and €600. That says something about this now ancient (in digital terms) camera.

I think this is my favourite camera of all time because I got some marvelous images out of it, but then again I was using it with a couple of great lenses. The kit lens, 14-50 f2.8-3.5 OIS, was quite heavy but has great image quality. I still use mine today although I haven't used it for some time because I've been testing some other stuff lately. The second lens is the PL 14-150 f3.5-5.6 OIS and is still my favourite lens of all time. It is sharp at all focal lenths and at all apertures. Those that haven't used this lens don't know what they've missed. It's pure magic on the L1. But, it's still quite expensive today. It's still going for over a €1000 new. That's about how much I paid for it, and that is some years ago. Worth every cent though.

Although the camera was only a 7.5MP camera The resulting images were of a very high standard. I used to process these using Silkypix and I was very happy with the resulting images. Just look at the those images in the compilation above, I think it says it all.

So why bring up these images again now? Well I was thinking about the Panasonic GX7 camera and it really reminds me of the L1. Personally I think this is the new L1 because they really look alike. Some say that it's the next GX1 or G3 replacement but I don't buy that at all.

This is the new L1 and I'm looking hard at that camera. One of the main reasons I'm looking at it is that it has focus peeking (in different colours) and it has a built-in wiewfinder as well as an internal OIS system. This really makes it perfect for me as it's what I was waiting for in a m4/3 camera. Some may be asking why not the Olympus E-P5? Well, I just don't want a camera with a large hump on top, especially when I have to pay extra for it. That's it for me, no more cameras with an external viewfinder.

Now, about that Panasonic GX7.

1131

unknown
Focal Length: unknown
Aperture: unknown
Exposure Time: unknown
ISO: unknown

Dil 10/28/13 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1131

• Panasonic • L1 • Leica • 14-150 f3.5-5.6

10/27/13

Lenses

full image

Sony Nex-7 - Sigma 60 f2.8

Just another little compilation from the Sigma 60 f2.8. These are just snaps I took on a little walk a week or so ago and I'm even more impressed now than I was with this lens. The Nex cameras aren't really known to be fast focusing cameras so it doesn't matter what lens you put on it, it's not going to speed the camera up in that area. I can't really tell you what the focusing speed is on m4/3 cameras but I should imagine it's a little faster than the Nex.

I won't be purchasing these lenses for the m4/3 system since I have the Olympus 12, 45 and 60 macro for that format which are really fast and sharp lenses. They cost more than the Sigma lenses but they really shine on the m4/3 cameras. If these Sigma lenses had been out before I purchased the m4/3 lenses, I'm sure I would have purchased the Sigma lenses because there is quite a difference in price.

1308

unknown
Focal Length: unknown
Aperture: unknown
Exposure Time: unknown
ISO: unknown

Dil 10/27/13 19:00 comments (0)

Viewed 1308

• Sony • Sigma • 60 f2.8 • Nex-7

PhotoBlog of Random Images

Sony Nex-5N - Sony E PZ 16-50 f3.5-5.6 OSS

Olympus E-M5 - Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25 f1.4

Olympus E-M5 - Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25 f1.4

Olympus E-PL1 - Voigtländer 90 f3.5 M Mount

Olympus E-PL1 - Voigtländer 90 f3.5 M Mount

Olympus E-PL1 - Voigtländer 90 f3.5 M Mount

Panasonic G5 - Panasonic G Vario PZ 14-42 f3.5-5.6

Nikon V1 - 1 Nikkor 32 f1.2

Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1 - Panasonic Leica 14-150 f3.5-5.6 O.I.S.

Sony Nex-7 - Sigma 60 f2.8

counter_url="../documents/counter.php?pid=96&d=1&root=false&visible=1&w="+ screen.width+"&h="+screen.height+"&m=0&referrer="+escape(document.referrer); $.get(counter_url,function(data){$("#counter").html(data);});