The Sony A7 thread [Merged]

[k-hawinkler]

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WATE @ 16 mm

 

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Sony A7R + Leica Tri-Elmar-M 1:4/16-18-21 ASPH

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[Thomas Chen]

WATE @ 16 mm

 

[ATTACH]411744[/ATTACH]

 

Sony A7R + Leica Tri-Elmar-M 1:4/16-18-21 ASPH

 

K.H.,

 

Can you try setting in the creative style if "standard", contrast +1 and sharpness +1 for the same scene.

 

Thomas Chen

[Rick]

Karl. That is a great shot. And, I think the value of my WATE just went through the roof.

 

Also, I can't imagine the amount of detail the WATE is going to record on that sensor.

[k-hawinkler]

Karl. That is a great shot. And, I think the value of my WATE just went through the roof.

 

Also, I can't imagine the amount of detail the WATE is going to record on that sensor.

 

 

Thanks Rick. I have to check out the WATE more carefully, but it was just way to cold!

My fingers were numb after 5 minutes. I didn't even bother to get the tripod.

Here is an image in B&W with 21 mm, now looking south.

 

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Now a 100% crop

 

 

On a tripod I should do a lot better though.

Too bad the A7R doesn't have IBIS as the E-M1 does.

That would kick up the performance another notch!

[Rick]

Really nice. I bet these files aren't going to compress very well.

 

You sufficiently incentivised me to at least shoot the lens around the house tonight (it is dark when I get home) and it seems great. I'll get to take these lenses out during the day over the next 3 days. Are you finding any corner problems at all with the WATE. I can't tell very well just shooting the interior of our house.

[k-hawinkler]

Really nice. I bet these files aren't going to compress very well.

 

You sufficiently incentivised me to at least shoot the lens around the house tonight (it is dark when I get home) and it seems great. I'll get to take these lenses out during the day over the next 3 days. Are you finding any corner problems at all with the WATE. I can't tell very well just shooting the interior of our house.

 

Thanks Rick. I can't tell yet for sure.

Weather conditions haven't been cooperative.

It was snowing last night and most of the day.

So, hopefully the weather improves tomorrow.

Then I will put the gear on a tripod and try out a number of distances.

I certainly have not seen a color cast yet.

But as soon as the sky clears I will know for sure.

The WATE seems to be the best bet yet.

I'll let you know as soon as I find out.

Please, do the same. Thanks.

[michali]

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Karl Heinz these are great thank you for sharing!

 

Best

[Mr_Jones]

Sony were doing a presentation day at classic cameras but personally I will not be going back there again because of the owners attitude. Len in RG Lewis said the Sony rep should be in his store next Friday but I would check with him first

 

I know what you mean about classic cameras. They are very high pressure on the sales side and very dismissive if you don't spend. I have spent a lot of money there (they had something I wanted) they gave me a good deal and good service all round, markedly different attitude from before I spent some money!

 

I got the impression that they will tell you anything to make a sale though. I bought a ZM 50 1.5 once and they wouldn't acknowledge the inherent focus shift although they did swap the first copy as it didn't calibrate with my body at 1.5.

 

The ZM 50 1.5 is fantastic on the A7r if a 50mm is your kind of length by the way.

 

I know Len can be quite a handful if you ask the wrong questions! My favourite for polite service and high quality second hand stock is Richard Caplan, the sales people there have always been very polite and patient including Richard. Red Dot is the wrong side of town for me, it's a good thing otherwise I would be there a lot more often.

[jaapv]

I think I see some evidence of IR contamination on shots across across the net (For instance Ashwin Rao’s flower shot (yellow highlights) and tower visitor shot ( a bit of magenta)) Can anybody check this more reliably, like comparing against the M9?

[gyoung]

Gerry,

 

Thnaks! You might be right. As a matter of fact, the environment of when taking the 544 is different, no sunshine and a little bit of foggy in the dusk.

 

As to me the 35Cron ASPH is used as an on-the-go lens, I never try focusing at dead infinity, no idea what it really works out there. And I'm not sure the 35Cron ASPH on the Hawk Ver.3 adapter enables focusing at the infinity (without adjustment), if not, the Hawk Ver.3 allows for adjustment so as to be able to focus to the infinity as described in the link #3297. Although I've no experience doing so.

 

I will use R lenses with A7R to make landscape photo that often needs focusing at the infinity, thus will not concern that much about the capability of 35Cron ASPH in this regards.

 

Best Regards,

 

Thomas Chen

 

Hi Thomas, unfortunately I take about 50% of my pictures with the 35/2 asph, and at or quite close to infinity on landscape and architecture

I don't have any R lenses either (not anymore) although I do have a lot of Nikon stuff, but the idea is to have a small high quality digital camera to take out with the M6 & M3, and therefore ideally needs to share M mount lenses. So far I haven't seen any M mount 35 (or 21 for that matter) that comes close to equaling what I get on film, or for that matter on the Nikon D7000 with a (cheap) Tamron zoom.

 

 

Gerry

[3D-Kraft.com]

Meanwhile I had some time to test the Summilux 50/1.4 ASPH on the A7R. Although it seems to be perfectly suited to a Leica M, it also looks nice on the Sony:

 

 

Some first snapshots just for fun:

 

Goblin's Xmas Decoration (open aperture):

 

 

 

(Click on images to see other sizes)

[Thomas Chen]

Hi Thomas, unfortunately I take about 50% of my pictures with the 35/2 asph, and at or quite close to infinity on landscape and architecture

 

Gerry,

 

I'll have an opportunity to take picture at the infinity in the late December. Maybe I bring the 35Cron ASPH with me and share with you some images to let you know how they looks like.

 

Thomas Chen

[Thomas Chen]

A mixed bag? The closer shots look ok to me, but as soon as you get to near infinity such as 544 the dges look poor.

 

Gerry

 

Gerry,

 

If you don't mind the contents of the image I can do it again for the identical scene as 544 the day after tomorrow by accurate focusing.

 

And the meaningful landscape images comes later.

 

Thomas Chen

[hossegor]

this is my A7R and Noctilux if i remember correctly. could have been the 75 Lux though.

 

[Thomas Chen]

Meanwhile I had some time to test the Summilux 50/1.4 ASPH on the A7R. Although it seems to be perfectly suited to a Leica M, it also looks nice on the Sony:

 

 

Some first snapshots just for fun:

 

Goblin's Xmas Decoration (open aperture):

 

 

 

(Click on images to see other sizes)

 

Wunderbar!

[gyoung]

Gerry,

 

If you don't mind the contents of the image I can do it again for the identical scene as 544 the day after tomorrow by accurate focusing.

 

And the meaningful landscape images comes later.

 

Thomas Chen

 

Thanks Thomas,I'll look forward to seeing them, there are some landscape shots with interesting stuff perpendicular to the lens axis earlier in this l-o-n-g thread, fine and sharp in the middle but distinctly fuzzy at the edge, corners are always harder to judge as DoF comes into play

 

Gerry

[petermcwerner]

Vanda Orchid - Camera set to AUTO - Jpeg Resized in Gimp 2.8

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[michali]

QUOTE: I think I see some evidence of IR contamination on shots across across the net (For instance Ashwin Rao’s flower shot (yellow highlights) and tower visitor shot ( a bit of magenta)) Can anybody check this more reliably, like comparing against the M9?

 

Jaap here are some very quick snap shots for comparison with the WATE on the A7r & the M9.

No PP at all, just converted from RAW to Jpeg.

 

A7r & 16mm WATE

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M9 & 16mm WATE

 

A7r & 18mm WATE

 

M9 & 18mm WATE

 

A7r & 21mm WATE

 

M9 & 21mm WATE

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Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[k-hawinkler]

Thanks Mike. Which aperture did you use?

[Paul J]

Hi Paul, it was actually a tongue and cheek remark. I guess I was just pointing out that almost everything posted so far seems to be about 100% crops, hence the joke. People buying this camera seem to be more interested in MPs and image quality or lack there of.

 

Thanks for a considered response.

 

I had gathered it was tongue in cheek though I think it's fairly natural for people to consider how much of an increase in IQ one can hope for in an upgrade and 100% crops is what I judge it by. It's really the only reason I upgrade. My M9 is as nice a camera I could ever want and hope for in terms of haptic and I love it for that, but I'm always very eager to see how I can push things in terms of IQ. It's a constant strive to make everything better and personally that's all I ultimately care about.

 

But, I take your point and agree that image quality is important and that is the reason I purchased the A7R. But, I will say that it is more difficult for me to, at this point in time, for me, to take the kinds of pictures I have taken with my M camera system. So, for me, it is equally about the "haptic" of the cameras at this level of image quality

 

I would always agree that it is important to feel inspired by a camera. I feel more excited when holding a camera that I love. The M and the Hasselblad V for example. Of corse Ergonomics is important too but at the same time, personally it's not a big issue. Anything is easy after 10x8. The M is an absolute dream in that regard and was a real revelation and why I'm pushing so hard for higher IQ so I can get rid of the Medium Format Digital which isn't as easy to use.

 

I am not a wedding photographer or a portrait and studio photographer. I'm not lining them up and snapping a picture. There is a creative aspect to seeing something and using the M to quickly shoot that lends itself to the way I take pictures. At this point in time I'm not sure that the Sony would be as easy for me to create the pictures I want.

 

I'm none of these either. I work in the studio a lot but even the commercial work is about being creative rather than knocking them out which is why it's very important for me to not be thinking about the camera at all. Perhaps I've just been lucky but I have found the difference between a good design and a poor design is only a matter of months. Of corse YMMV, just what I"ve found. Once I have the core basics and I'm familiar with how the camera works then it's time to stop thinking about the camera. I've never fell for that whole - dSLR's are over complicated sell line. All I need is the aperture wheel, shutter speed dial and shutter button. Anything else is a bonus if it works in and I've never really had a camera that I've missed shots from, because of it's design, once I've gotten used to it even with ergonomically challenged cameras such as the Fuji GX-680. We are creatures of habit and it certainly is very much a part of changing cameras.

 

If, I can't create the picture I want then it doesn't matter if the camera has a few more whatnots and Mega Pixels. Again, I don't shoot on a tripod too often where the extra resolution can be exploited. It isn't how I'd ever get most of the picture I want. So, for the most part the little bit of extra resolution (image quality) is moot. Not to mention, the Sony is going to have a hard time getting the image quality the Leica M system gets in the focal lengths I mostly shoot because, Sony isn't making any lenses yet of that quality.

 

I fully agree the extras are only useful if you can accommodate them into your work. I've not had the issue of tripods and high res cameras though handholding is what I prefer any day and even with medium format digital I don't find this a problem. Again it's working these new features and benefits into your work and workflow. I actually hate tripods at the best of times. I only use them if it's require for a locked off series or something.

 

So, at this point, I can shoot second party lenses on the Sony A7R and that may work into my shooting style with time. But, right now it is a whole lot easier to shoot MF lenses on the M as apposed to the A7R, for me. The A7R just isn't really designed for a fast, loose manual-focus shooting style. Racking the peeking-sparkles back and forth in the EVF and then hitting the mag. button twice while trying to keep my finger off the shutter, then recomposing is just too "non-haptic" of an experience for me.

 

All good points. I've never actually used an EVF yet so can't comment on that. The thought of it does bug me but just the same I would expect to get used to it if the results were worth the adoption and change of method/technique.