Photototo

Metabones Speed Booster Ultra review – Part II – Canon EF 50/1.2 L

2014-11-05T15:10:00.001+01:00

You can read first part of the review here – http://www.verybiglobo.com/metabones-speed-bosster-ultra-review-part-i/
For comparative part of the review, I decided to go with Canon EF 50/1.2 L .
Changing lenses on the adapters and especially using LTII without aperture control, while trying to shoot real life images is simply too challenging and it might cause serious damage to my cameras. But don’t worry, this comparative part of the review, should give you solid idea about adapters performance and in the following parts, I will test Speed Booster Ultra with many more lenses. Click here to continue reading review on our new redesigned Verybiglobo blog

Metabones Speed Booster Ultra Review - Part I

2014-11-04T12:51:00.000+01:00

I am starting to work on the review of the new focal reducer - Metabones Speed Booster Ultra, made again in cooperation with Caldwell Photographic, company its founder - Brian Caldwell, was first to introduce concept of focal reducers for mirrorless cameras, few years ago. Metabones Speed Booster Ultra is replacing older version of Speed Booster, and I was lucky to get one sample for testing.
I don't want to lead you through technical specifications and to re-write press release to increase the traffic. Instead, I ordered competitive focal reducer from ZhongYi Optics - Mitakon lens Turbo II, and together with my own Speed Booster I, I started to make comparative tests. However, If you are technical type and want to learn more about focal reducers, I would suggest you to read Metabones SB White Paper - http://www.metabones.com/assets/a/storie/Speed%20Booster%20White%20Paper.pdf.
If you don't want to read all those 29 pages in the link above, here is short explanation what is focal reducer, and why you might consider to own one. Focal reducer is opposite of tele-converter :-) or if you like - inverse tele-converter. Tele-converter is made to increase magnification, or if you like - to narrow field of view. Focal reducer does the opposite - it reduces magnification or if you like it widen the field of view. This is great simplification of technical description, but that's most important thing that we should understand. Click here to continue reading review on our new redesigned Verybiglobo blog

Bushman Panoramic - Gobi and Amarula

2014-11-04T12:46:00.002+01:00

Panorama photography has many followers and it represents one of the most challenging photo techniques. You can achieve best results only with appropriate accessories, such as panorama heads. However panorama heads, especially well made and precise ones, are either expensive or large or often both.
I am using Novoflex panorama system, that I rarely take with me because it is huge and heavy and tough to pack within my usual set-up. BTW, it cost somewhere around 700 EUR when I bought it new many years ago.
Recently I discovered interesting panorama head called Gobi, made by Bushman and I started to search-up...
Bushman is a company settled in the Czech Republic - country where I live, in a small city in Moravia - Krnov. There were many famous camera and equipment producers here before, such as Meopta with famous Flexaret e.g., but situation changed. Apart of Bushman, there are just few more active local producers. That makes me curious about Bushman products and we asked them for Amarula and Gobi testing samples. Company founder and owner - Gerald Blondy, not only organized those samples for us, but he found the time to thoroughly explained us every detail related to its products. It is always nice to speak with people from which enthusiasm and passion about their job simply shines around.

Click here to continue reading review on our new redesigned Verybiglobo blog

Sony FE 70-200 f/4 G OSS Lens Review – Part 4 - Final Word

2014-11-04T12:41:00.000+01:00

I spent almost two months with the Sony FE 70-200 F/4 G OSS now, and I have crystal clear opinion about the lens. In short - it's very good. This post will therefore be more about images than about written text. Click here to continue reading review on our new redesigned Verybiglobo blog

Sony FE 70-200 f/4 G OSS Lens Review – Part 3

2014-11-04T12:37:00.001+01:00

Let's take a look at 200mm performance and few more aspects starting with obligatory ISO 12333 chart. (Please note, that chart has over 70cm width, but the distance from the camera was still close to MFD. That is important to remember for later analyze…)

Click here to continue reading review on our new redesigned Verybiglobo blog

The first part of this review can be found here – http://www.verybiglobo.com/sony-fe-70-200-f4-g-oss-lens-review-part-1/ and the second here - http://www.verybiglobo.com/sony-fe-70-200-f4-g-oss-lens-review-part-2/

Zeiss Loxia 50/2 review

2014-10-18T20:24:00.002+02:00

Intro:
Zeiss brought to the market new line of lenses - Zeiss Loxia. Loxia lenses are specially developed for Sony E mount full frame cameras, such as Sony A7, A7r and A7s recently. Lenses could be of course used on any Sony E mount camera, including NEX and later APS-C models without limitation.
Zeiss Loxia are manual operated lenses with electronic transmission of data to the camera where they are recorded in EXIF. That is fairly unique in the recent lens offer for E-mounts, because all previously available lenses in the native E-mount where either fully manual without electronic contacts (Samyang e.g.) or fully electronic, where manual focus is so called - by wire, electronically coupled with the AF motor.
To be precise, there are on the market option to use Canon EF lenses in a full manual focus mode (with smart EF/E mount adapters), but aperture is controlled electronically only, or to use manual aperture but with focus by wire (Smart Contax G to E mount adapter). In both cases, EXIF will record most important data.

Click here to continue reading on our new redesigned blog

Sony FE 70-200 f/4 G OSS Lens Review – Part 2

2014-09-26T14:03:00.003+02:00

The first part of this review can be found here - http://www.verybiglobo.com/sony-fe-70-200-f4-g-oss-lens-review-part-1/
In this part, I will take a look at 100mm performance and something that arisen, during the test as an interesting topic for debate.
Let's take a brief look at obligatory ISO 12333 chart. Please note, that chart has over 70cm width, but the distance from the camera was still close to MFD. That is important to remember for later analyze...

Click here to continue reading on our new redesigned blog

Photokina 2014 – Sony FE PZ 28-135 f/4 G OSS RAW samples for download

2014-09-23T18:55:00.000+02:00

We got quite high response on our last Sony FE 16-35 f/4 ZA OSS post with RAW files available for download, so I decided to post also few shots with new Sony FE PZ 28-135 f/4 G OSS, lens made mainly for video, but of course, it can be used for still photography too.
This time however, I don’t have images taken from the same place, but rather images at different FL and f-stop settings. All images here were down-sampled for HD resolution to 1920 x 1280 (approx) size, because most of them are taken at high and some at very high ISO. Looking at those images at their full size can give you idea, what quality you can expect in full HD, without further noise reduction and pp.

Found out more on our new redesigned blog http://www.verybiglobo.com/photokina-2014-sony-fe-pz-28-135-f4-g-oss-raw-samples-for-download/

Photokina 2014 – Samsung NX1 – First Impression

2014-09-23T13:04:00.002+02:00

While biggest stars on Photokina Sony stand were new lenses, and variety of other products was imprerssive, Samsung stand was NX1 dominated.

There were some fifty cameras prepared for visitors, around at least four blocks with different subjects for testing. Subjects were nice models, ready to pose for your NX1 first experience and to promote – new sophisticated AF system, new sensor, new flash, and improved WiFi connectivity (with Samsung latest smart-phones and tablets of course).

Found out more on our new redesigned blog http://www.verybiglobo.com/photokina-2014-samsung-nx1-first-impression/

Photokina 2014 - Sony first impression - FE 16-35 f/4 OSS ZA - some RAW samples for download

2014-09-19T19:16:00.003+02:00

I promised to add some RAW files taken with Sony FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS Vario-Tessar T* and A7r for download. Please note, that the conditions were more than difficult, low lighting, lot of people around, no good target, possible miss focusing (I used manual focus on Sony sign in the middle of the frame) etc. But despite those problems, I think that you will be able to judge the lens performance to certain extent. Things like CA, PF, SA, Coma etc. should be visible from those samples too.

Don't forget that at longer focal lengths, DOF changes too and thus corners might fall slightly off DOF. From my initial observation, it looks that lens performs better at wider end 16-24mm, but that is most probably due to the difference in DOF.

Found out more on our new redesigned blog http://www.verybiglobo.com/photokina-2014-sony-first-impression-fe-16-35-f4-oss-za-some-raw-samples-for-download/

Photokina 2014 – HandeVision IBELUX 40mm f/0.85, hands-on

2014-09-19T19:11:00.000+02:00

At the Kipon stand (mostly known as the lens adapter producer), I was attracted by the lens, that I heard about and saw some images, but never get a real idea about its performance or attractiveness.
Here is what Hande-Vision says about the lens on their pages - "The worldwide highest speed lens for system cameras." At f/0.85 it might well be...

Found out more on our new redesigned blog http://www.verybiglobo.com/photokina-2014-handevision-ibelux-40mm-f0-85-hands-on/

Photokina 2014 - Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM | S on Sony A7r - hands on

2014-09-18T21:50:00.001+02:00

There were many new lenses on this year Photokina and one would need much more time than I had to try them all. So, while I was mainly interested in Sigma Art series with their excellent 50/1.4 and 35/1.4, I couldn't resist to put this new Super-Tele Sigma on my Sony A7r.
It happened many times though, that when I lifted my Sony camera in Canon lenses department, helpful (and very handsome) Sigma representatives, tried to send me toward Sony lenses stand. But I had Metabones Canon EF/E SA III and Nikon G/E mount adapters instead, because most of the third party lenses are first released in one of those two mounts.
This was the case with the new Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM | S, and thus I had to give it a try.

Found out more on our new redesigned blog http://www.verybiglobo.com/photokina-2014-sigma-150-600mm-f5-6-3-dg-os-hsm-s-on-sony-a7r-hands-on/

Photokina 2014 – Sony FE 28-135 f/4 G OSS first impressions

2014-09-17T13:08:00.003+02:00

New Sony FE 28-135 f/4 G OSS Power Zoom lens is the first lens in Sony FE line that is clearly targeted for video use. It is huge in size, (compared to standard FE lenses), but not very heavy. Being made from polycarbonate, lens has rubber rings for aperture and focus, both being ribbed for easier connection with focus and aperture pulling external rigs.

Found out more on our new redesigned blog http://www.verybiglobo.com/photokina-2014-sony-fe-28-135-f4-g-oss-first-impressions/

Photokina 2014 - Zeiss Loxia Story

2014-09-17T12:59:00.000+02:00

Zeiss stand on Photokina is... different. There is a large oval with various cameras which are hard but flexi wired to the desk, each with different Zeiss lens. All around, there are always 3-4 photographers waiting to put their fingers on those optical gems. Unlike many other producers, Zeiss let you put card in camera and shot as much as you wish. Probably only flower arrangement in the middle of the oval, serving as a garden for test shots, could have been more inspirational.
First lens that I tried was new 85/1.4 Otus on Canon 5D MIII. That is one hack of the lens, but later on it.
After short but intensive experience with a lens that most Sony E users would die for (if it will be half the size and 10th the price) to have in native mount, I moved further to get to the Loxia lenses mounted on two Sony A7r cameras. I put my card in a wired test camera and took few shots with 50/2 and 35/2.

Found out more on our new redesigned blog http://www.verybiglobo.com/photokina-2014-zeiss-loxia-story/

Photokina 2014 - Sony first impression - other announced Sony lenses

2014-09-17T12:55:00.002+02:00

Keeping it fast and furious...
Most attractive lenses were behind thick glass wall :-( and all my begging to let me try them, went nowhere...
But I managed to get one extra info, however unreliable it might be...
Sony brought back to life, original concept of ultra wide and fish-eye extender for the new announced Sony FE 28mm f/2. So far they have only exactly that in name - Sony FE 28/2 and "Wide extender for Sony FE 28/2 together with Fisheye adapter for Sony FE 28/2

Found out more on our new redesigned blog http://www.verybiglobo.com/photokina-2014-sony-first-impression-other-announced-sony-lenses/

Photokina 2014 - Sony first impression - FE 16-35 f/4 OSS ZA

2014-09-16T14:11:00.003+02:00

Just a brief report from Sony stand. It's huge. There are many stands on which you can hold and try most of the novelties, and some very expensive video cameras and many different tools and toys.

When I approached closest stand, my hands felt instantly on the long-expected Sony 16-35/4 OSS and I asked If I can take some images with it on my Sony A7r. Nice lady in a simple Sony T-shirt uniform, first said no, later, she asked her supervisor, but he was also indecisive... I said - if I promise that I won't publish the results would you borrow me it than? He said - yes and she said - so please don't publish it, but then she whispered - or do what you like.
Guess what I like :-)

Found out more on our new redesigned blog http://www.verybiglobo.com/photokina-2014-sony-first-impression/

Sony FE 70-200 f/4 G OSS Lens Review - Part 1

2014-09-13T04:13:00.001+02:00

Sony FE 70-200 f/4 G OSS is a full frame standard tele-zoom lens made for Sony E-mount cameras. It is a longest lens in a so called holly trinity - zoom lenses which covers FL from 16-200mm (usually 16-35, 24-70 and 70-200) that most professional photographers relies on. Sony introduced first Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70 f/4 ZA OSS, lens that has that famous Zeiss "Z" on the body. I haven't buy that lens, nor I plan to do, but according to the reviews, it is not without flaws, especially in the corners. On the other hand, I have seen many "real life" images, which were mostly nice and crisp and I certainly haven't seen significant corner smearing. The only drawback of that lens in my opinion is rather high price. But that's Sony...

Read more on our new site: - www.verybiglobo.com - http://www.verybiglobo.com/sony-fe-70-200-f4-g-oss-lens-review-part-1/

We are moving to the new address!!!

2014-09-09T16:27:00.004+02:00

Dear friends and photo fans,

We started transition of Verybiglobo blog to the new engine and layout, few months ago. Work is still in progress, but I guess it will never ends :-)

Check our new layout here - http://www.verybiglobo.com/

From now on, you will find new posts on that new address, so if you liked our blog, you might consider to bookmark it.

To celebrate this transition, we decided to visit Photokina 2014 and bring you as much short news and opinions as possible.

If you have any questions/suggestions what to check or look at on Photokina, let us know on our new blog forum - http://www.verybiglobo.com/forums/forum/photokina-2014/

Thank you for your support and hope to see you again.

Viva Lobography!

Be first to join my 3 day workshop in Prague!

2014-08-11T21:15:00.000+02:00

While it might look that I forgot my blog, in reality I am trying to spread my photo activity all around.

My blog is now going through serious redesign that should include comparometer for legacy lenses and many new exciting features, but at the same time, with my friends I prepared first workshops in Prague with me as a guide, tutor, teacher, friend, beer mate or whatever you'd like to call me. (Dude, His Duderness, El Duderinho etc. is also possible)

The idea is to offer you 3 days Prague visit with a clear focus on photography and fun. Starting in early October, I opened 3 possible dates, with the price that includes classy accommodation in the old Prague district, transport to locations, transport from and to the airport, all necessary permissions for museums and monuments that we have in plan to visit and my fee :-)

Beside all that theory and talk about how to shot this or that and what camera and lens are the best, I will take you to the places that only few local photographers knows, where you can enjoy exclusive view to Prague castle, 100 towers and many bridges.

I believe, that this is great opportunity to meet each other, spend some friendly time together and allow you to capture some remarkable images of this beautiful city.

But it won't be only this building or that bridge, it will be also about Street Photography, plenty of tips and tricks how to remain inconspicuous but also ethical dimension of stealth photography.

To make things even more interesting you will be assigned with few small challenge tasks and vote for winners.

Book your place now, and ensure friendly, promotional price for the first three events.

I am also planning 14 days Iceland workshop for the August 15. 2015, but that is still in progress.

For more information, check our workshop site - http://www.photoworkshop.eu/ or write me for more information on viktor.pavlovic@gmail.com

Extreamly Swirly Bokeh - Short Tutorial

2014-06-09T00:06:00.001+02:00

Here is my story...

Over years, I collected some 20+ Helios 44 lenses. (If you never heard of this lens, it is Russian copy of Zeiss Biotar 58/2, one of my favorite standard lenses). I did so partially out of curiosity to see how many variations I might discover (it is believed that anyone who would like to learn about all Russian lens variations, would need highest degree on the Hogwarts University) and partially because they are real bargain, being made in huge numbers.

Few days ago, I found an offer on our local Craig's list, for the Specially adapted Helios. There was a link to the images made with that particular lens and when I opened the link, I was surprised to see images similar to this one:

Helios 44 (Just like Biotar 58/2) are one of those lenses known for so called Swirly bokeh, but I never saw image with a bokeh that wild.

I started to search on the web, and found some crazy adaptations of Helios, but they were going in the oposite direction, adding apodizing filters close to the aperture, to smooth highlights and tonal transitions. Apodizing filter is basically neutral density circular filter that is letting less light to pass in the edges of the image than in the center. Check the Minolta 135/2.8 STF review on my blog or search the web to find more about apodizing filter effects.

What I was able to find were some rather crazy adaptetions going in that direction, like rotation of the Helios rear lens element above small candle for a quite long time, to make a soot that will block the light! It look like barbecue party!

Spending quite some time in that wrong direction, I finally dig few bits of info about making background more crazy.

The rest of the story is here - after many trial/error efforts, I can tell you my dear friends, how to make images like those, of course only if you have twisted sense of humor...

Before I tell you how to adapt your Helios, I should mention that it can be made with most lenses. Helios is great mainly because, it is widely available and not expensive. The images that you can see here are not made with Helios, but with another lens that I would like to keep as my little secret so far :-) But Helios 44 adapted, will give you almost identical results.

What would you need?

1. Time

2. Space

3. Microfiber cloth to put bellow the lens

4. Photographic gloves, because you will touch the glass

5. 1 x table spoon of Helios 44 (I used 44-2, but as there are many different versions of this Helios, I can't guarantee that it will be the same procedure with others. But I think so.)

6. Lens opener. (Yeah, what the hell is lens opener? You will need to unscrew protective rim on the front of the lens, which is keeping front lens element tight on its place. There are many ideas on the web how to make your own opener, I am using a plumber rubber tape (very elastic tape made of rubber, that doesn't leave marks) and put it around anything that has slightly smaller diameter than the lens top. Some people are using reversed lens cover and piece of chewing gum. You can even buy some rubber discs on eBay made specially on purpose -

http://www.ebay.com/itm/18-Sizes-Pro-Rubber-Lens-Repair-for-DSLR-lens-Openning-Tool-Open-Wrench-fix-/261456322469?pt=Digital_Camera_Accessories&hash=item3ce002dfa5

7. Beer. To celebrate if you succeed, or relax if you don't.

And here is the trick.

Remove protective rim on top of the lens with the opener of your choice. Carefully turn the lens until front glass doesn't fall into your palm (gloves remember?) Reverse the glass and carefully place it back where it was. Tighten up protective rim again. Done, drink a beer, mount the lens and run out to try it!

BTW, it might happen, that reversed glass will touch the elements bellow, but that is the price for this SFX adaptation and considering the price of Helios 44-2, I think you can live with it. In the worst case scenario, your adaptetion might be permanent.

As you can see, trick is very simple - reversed front lens element. But there is more to come, and that is part of the fun...

If you want to enjoy your own research, trials/errors and excitement when you find out how to make those images, stop reading right here! Take your lens and go experimenting,

That's what I did anyway. My first attempts were not really promissing. Looking on those images, I first tought, that I need backlight to get lot of highlights. The opposite is true. You would need direct sunlight on your background, but also some highlights in it. Folliage makes a perfect pattern.

Be sure to have light behind you, if you want maximum effect.

Distance from the background is extreamly important. There is no general rule, as it will depend of the structure of the background - size of the leaves e.g. and light direction. For this one you have to experiment. Here is what I would suggest - First - decide what will be your main subject and try to compose it the way you like it. Now focus on that distance (to have your subject sharp) and start looking for the swirly background. You will find it in the leaves, grass etc. Adjust your distance to the background accordingly and bring your subject in the frame, or if the subject is on the ground level (most flowers are), turn around, up and down to see if the Mr. Swirly is somewhere there.

Aperture should be usually wide open, but in some situations you might try to close it a bit. It all depends on the background.

Water drops might create great additional effects. In front of your focus plane (shooting through the grass with morning dew e.g) they will make interresting arrow like shapes, while in background they will create stroked circles. This will work best in macro magnifications (water drops are small, right?) You can use a small spray bottle with water if you are lazy (like me) to wake-up early. If you want to be like a pro, you might use glycerine instead of the water and virtually create your own water drops, bigger and more durable, exactly where you want them. And if it is cloudy day, or your subject is in the shade, use flash.

Try different subjects and different backgrounds. I played with leaves mostly, but there are some urban structures and patterns that might work equally well, such as glass block walls e.g. Sometimes, you want less complicated swirl...

That is basically it. If you can't find your own Helios 44, or if you are afraid of doing this modification. I can make one for you for arround 99 USD (including lens of course), plus shipping. You can also try to do this or similar modification with any older lens that you have at home. Some lenses will make interesting effect when you take out rear element or reverse it. (In most cases you will losse infinity though). Also consider to put your Helios (M42 mount) on the adapter with focus helicoid. That will give you some interesting macro options.

But most importantly, TWIST AND HAVE FUN!!!

BTW, my very first image that I made with adapted Helios 44-2, make it on Flickr into explore group with some 20 faves and over 1000 views in the first 24 hours.

Check it here - https://www.flickr.com/photos/viktor_viktor/14172687000/

Sony Alpha A6000 - World's fastest AF - Part 2

2014-05-11T03:08:00.002+02:00

I made few initial AF tests in one of my previous posts - click here, and I promised to make more tests to see if I can come to some conclusion...

Meanwhile I saw and received few rude and disrespectful comments, mainly from anonymous people who probably misunderstood my original intention.

But let me try to explain once more, what and why I am trying to find out...

- I don't care about Sony, Nikon, Canon or other producers. I paid for my equipment full price and I have no sentiment or any kind of relation to any of the camera or lens producer. In other words, in this A6000 AF posts, I have no other agenda than trying to see, what new AF system is really capable of, and what settings would work better in different situations.

- I am working in advertising all my life, and I know the power of the advertising campaign. Is it fair? No. Can I change the world of advertising? No. Can I try to add a bit of objectivity to balance those powerful claims, if I see the opportunity? I hope so.

- When I wrote that I am not frequent AF user, it doesn't mean that I don't know how to use it. Reason why I am not using it often, is that I shot MF lenses mostly, and my main subjects are products and studio-portraits. That is part of my paid work. My hobby is landscape and little bit of the street style. None of those require AF.

- I am not attracted by BIF, but it doesn't mean that I can't shot them. If you want to see few of my sharp photos of BIF you can check this small set - here. I can hardly differ between pigeon and seagull, though.

If you want to challenge my AF skills more, few Airshow shots are - here and few action shots are - here.

But than again, there are situations, where AF will be of little use and I find myself more often in those situations.

- Finally - I wrote at the very beginning of my little blog adventure, that English is not my first, not even second language. I am well aware of the fact, that my posts are full of mistakes, but I still believe that most of it, could be properly interpreted.

I had to make this self promoting introduction, because most of the rude comments that I saw or received, related to my original post, were referring to my absolute incompetence to use AF or test equipment. Sure. Keep shooting your back yard wildlife and look somewhere else please.

Apologize to those, who added something constructive in their comments, offered to participate in further testing and in general, treat Internet as a place for discussion and not arguing fan-boys arena.

Following post is only for you :-)

Testing AF...

While most of the comparison tests (of cameras, or lenses, or even cars) are usually flawed a bit, there is still good base to get some use of them. By base I mean methodology, that should somehow equal the conditions for comparison and make sense to the conclusion.

Doing same for AF performance, is in general a bit more tricky. There are too many variables involved, to make some reasonable comparison between cameras of the same producer, not to speak about comparison across the systems.

I have seen very few valuable AF tests overall, (and this one is not going to be anywhere close to those few), but lot of praising or bashing of the AF systems, based on the photographers experience. That makes most AF tests related to the authority of the tester, which on the other hand, leaves open question about their relation with producers.

Here are just few of those above mentioned variables that comes to my mind - Lens AF speed, lighting conditions, ability of the tested subject to repeat movement several times, type of the lens (tele-wide), speed (aperture) of the lens, DOF related to the FL, and lens speed, operator errors, different camera settings and so on...

The last one - camera settings, was (and still is) my main critique to Sony, for not providing thorough user manual, explaining in detail how their AF settings works and interact together.

Using (typical) DSLR, makes settings and their understanding easier, because we have to deal with one system in time - PDAF for most situation, or CDAF for some Live View modes. I said typical, because there are some DSLRs, with hybrid systems involved too, but I never owned or tried any of those (Canon EOS 70D e.g.)

Sony A6000 has hybrid AF system. According to Sony, phase detection sensors, planted on the image sensor are responsible for the fast AF adjustment, while Contrast detection is supposed to take care of fine tunning.

Let me quote Sony official specification of the AF system (Link):

Focus Control
- Focus Features : Lock-on AF, Eye AF, Predictive control, Focus lock, AF illuminator (with Built-in LED type) Approx. range; 0.3- approx. 3.0m (with E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS lens attached)
- AF Illuminator : Built-in LED, Range: approx. 3' 4” - 9' 9” (0.3m-3.0m)
- Focus Sensitivity : EV0 to EV20 (ISO100 equivalent with F2.8 lens attached)
- Focus Area : Wide (179 points phase-detection AF, 25 points contrast-detection AF), Zone, Center-weighted, Flexible Spot (Small, Medium, Large)
- Focus Points : 179 points (phase-detection AF) 25 points (contrast-detection AF)
- AF Modes : AF-A (Automatic AF), AF-S (Single-shot AF), AF-C ( Continuous AF), DMF (Direct Manual Focus), Manual Focus
- Focus System : Fast Hybrid AF(phase-detection AF/contrast-detection AF)

Beside repeating few things in their own specification (which doesn't help in description - does it?), I will be really happy if someone can decode it for the normal people, to let them understand, what focus mode or feature they should use in which situation.

Here is one example for all...

In my several efforts to test different AF modes and features (using Sony terminology), I think (but I am not sure) that Lock-On AF is using only Contrast detection AF. What I also can't clearly understand is how Lock-on AF is dependent on the selected AF area.
You will see, that no matter what AF area is selected, lock-on square (that changes its size and shape deliberately it seems), will move all around, and only when the subject is lost, AF area will be switched to the originally set one.

Sounds complicated? It's even worse than that, because I still haven't take into consideration AF features - Eye AF, Face/Smile detection etc. If you are asking - what is that AF feature in the specification called - predictive AF, I guess it is related to the possibility to set pre-AF (active AF prior to pressing shutter button), but it can also be related to one of two Lock-on AF activation modes.

Many people bought and plan/will buy this camera because of the promoted super fast AF. They will probably switch the camera to iAUTO and try to shot their running kids, dogs or BIF. They might be successful, but doing similar settings to the scene "sport" mode in my previous post, I was disappointed with results.

When we speak about AF tracking, we might speak about two different things actually:

a) AF tracking of the subject that we are trying to keep in the selected AF zone by panning with the camera. This is in fact - Continuous AF (C-AF), and the success of the resulting focus will be highly dependable on our own tracking skills.

b) AF tracking within selected AF area, without moving the camera, where different AF points (linked to the AF sensors) are engaged to keep focus on the moving subject. In Sony world, this is Lock-On AF feature.

With most DSLRs that I have been using, settings were much simpler, because there was phase detection AF used in most situation. All I had to do is to select the AF area, than to find the subject within AF area, lock the focus by half-pressing the shutter button, and let AF sensors (within selected area), do the rest). (Of course, in more sophisticated cameras, such as Canon Pro bodies, there are many other settings, but there are very logical and with Canon published support, it is easy to understand which function does what and how they are related to each other).

Now, if you leave Sony Focus Area in Wide or Zone, you will be able to see (if selected) little green squares dancing around your subject (or more often somewhere else), indicating the focus points (groups of focus sensors) that are active. But, if you select Flexible Spot, you will be able to see only that one square and you don't really know what AF points (within that flexible spot square are engaged). That would still be OK (at the end of the day, why should we care about which points are engaged), as long as our Flexible Spot square covers the subject, right?

Well, not so fast...

There are many reasons why we would like to know which exactly AF point is engaged, because even the smallest flexible spot is still wide enough to have few of those AF points inside, and if we want to have right eye of our lovely model or eyes of motorcycle racer wearing the helmet in critical focus, without knowing more precise where single active AF point is, our effort might fail.

That's where Eye AF should come in right? Maybe, in the single shot, if our model stays still (and looks like human). That won't help us in the C-AF mode.
Last but not least - if I select that Lock-On AF in any of the "focus area" modes, a little double stroked something (square that changes size and shape upon its own mind) will appear and all other AF display animations will be override, in the moment you press the middle control button to lock-on AF.
That little Lock-On AF something have also two modes - Lock-On AF and Lock-On AF with shutter press. I am yet to test the second option, but with the first option, you should find your subject within that little something and then press middle control button to lock AF on it. Little something will than change to green, telling you that AF is locked.

My question is - when Lock-On AF is confirmed, how it is related to the selected AF area and does it use Phase Detection AF or Contrast Detection?

You see, with most DSLRs that I have been working with, when I select focus zone, I am telling the camera which AF points to keep active to cover my subject if it falls out of my main AF point.

With Sony I can either select:

1. Wide or Zone AF - without possibility to select single AF point (and as a result, usually get AF on something else than my subject, unless I shot BIF against the sky). (There is also center weighted area that I have yet to try, but what is different from the zone focus (placed in the center) only Sony knows.)

2. Or I can use Flexible spot in three sizes, but if my selected size is too small, I will have hard time to keep it on my moving subject, and if it is too large, I have no control on the focus points inside and thus it can be fooled with something around.

3. Or I can combine any of the above zones with the feature Lock-On AF, but than I completely lost the idea of not only which AF point is used, but also which AF method is used...

I have tried all, but before I show you my results, let me just say few words about lenses...
As I wrote in my last post - what sense does fastest AF camera in the world make, without fastest AF lens? And that one is still not in the Sony offer (on my local market). Testing AF with WA lenses doesn't make much sense to me, but I bet that due to much larger DOF, results will be... much better.
I am waiting for the FE 70-200 f/4 OSS to come, and while I am not excited about its speed and price, I will buy it for testing.
Meanwhile I still used two longest lenses that I own - SEL 55-210 (with the latest firmware) and FE 55/1.8.

1. Wide and Zone focus with Lock-On AF set to Off.
Here are results of my effort to keep running Max in focus using Zone and Wide focus. Actually, here is only wide, because Zone, was total failure. Little green points were dancing all around my subject, and no matter what zone I selected, it kept ignoring Max for whatever reason...

This is how scene looked like.

Max was standing behind and started to run toward camera on my command. My camera (actually two cameras, because I recorded some video too) were on the tripod with the ball head at low friction, that allowed me to pan with the camera, while preventing camera shake (mostly).

Here are 100% crops from this effort:

Next to the each 100% crop, there is screen shot from the LCD of A6000, showing where approx. camera placed those AF points. I am sorry for the reflections in the LCD that makes observation harder (I will get rid of it next time), but clicking on the original image, you should be able to get the idea.

Here is also link to the video documenting this effort - Area Wide, No Lock-on AF.

As you can see from the above, camera was somehow able to cope with the subject at the beginning, but completely lost the idea of what to focus on with Max coming closer.

2. Flexible spot (large) focus area, with Lock-On AF set to Off.
This was best setting for this situation and results are very encouraging...

Here is a link to the video documenting this effort - Flexible Spot (Large) No Lock-On AF

It isn't perfect, but it is very good, and much better result than any other mirror-less camera that I had chance to try. Considering that this was shot with the budget and slow SEL 55-210 f/4.5-6.3 OSS lens, results are really promising and I am looking forward to repeat the test, with serious AF lens, such as FE 70-200 f/4 OSS should be.

It will be easier to see limitations of this set-up in comparison to Canon 1D Mark III with EF 70-200 f/2.8 L IS II in the similar setup:

And directly compared 100% crops:

I choose Canon 1D Mark III, because it can be found used for the similar price like new A6000 and it is still very capable action camera. But the main difference here are in the used lenses, so let's see how this comparison will end, whe I finally got my FE 70-200 f/4 OSS to try.

Following tests are trying to figure out, how that Lock-On AF feature works...

This is my second setup

3. Zone focus area, with Lock-On AF set to On.
I decided to shot only JPEG fine (Clear) Picture Style for this settings and that was probably mistake. Due to the aggressive Sony JPEG compression, most of images looks like over-sharpened crap to me, but it is what it is... Next time only RAW as usual.

While my subject was further from camera, focus was OK as far as I can tell from that JPEG blotchy detail. When he gets closer to the camera, situation changed...

I spent quite some time, evaluating critical sharpness in that JPEG mess, and I used green (good) and red (failed) dots to express when sharpness was OK and when it wasn't. Apart from the start of that sequence, you can see kind of pattern in the AF behavior - two shots good, two shots bad, that good again. This is typical for the CDAF behavior and it is main reason why I believe that Lock-On AF is actually using Contrast Detection AF to follow the subject. It might work also in some loops - CDAF - PDAF - CDAF e.g. but without Sony explanation, I doubt that we will ever find it.

Oh, not to forget, I used FE 55/1.8 ZA for those tests.

Here is a link to the video documenting this effort - Zone Focus Area, Lock-On AF

4. Flexible Spot (Large) focus area, with Lock-On AF set to On.

Finally, I tried to use Lock-On AF in combination with the Flexible Spot. As you would see from the results and from enclosed video, it didn't make much difference IMHO.

Here is a link to the video documenting this effort - Zone Focus Area, Lock-On AF

What is my conclusion?

There is not any yet... I need to get FE 70-200 f/4 OSS first to be able to exclude lens AF speed and optical qualities as a possible reason for blurriness.

I haven't tried SEL 18-55 nor any other lens (I don't have any PZ as I wouldn't use them normally), which is probably pity, because most of the potential owners of A6000 will use SEL 16-50 I believe.
Generally speaking, AF is vastly improved in comparison to any other E-mount camera as of today. No arguing about that.

But is it the fastest AF in the world?

To be honest, I have no idea... Maybe with some lens at certain settings and certain circumstances.

What I know however is that, if action photography will be my main occupation, I will either go with some used pro or semi pro DSLR or learn to focus manually.

A6000 AF seems too sophisticated (and Sony doesn't help with instruction manual support) and unpredictable in many situations.

If you rely on AF and have or want A6000, don't be discouraged, just don't expect that it will make every shot sharp, right out of the box, as you might get impression from the advertising around. Take your time to test different settings, and learn about related AF behavior.

I acquired best results (for the action shots) with following (AF related) settings:
AF mode - C-AF
AF area - Flexible spot (smaller the size that you can keep on your subject, better results to be expected).
Lock-On AF - Off
(Face/Smile/Eye detection all Off).

All your comments (except rude ones) are very welcomed.

Forgive me that I am not able to respond on emails any more.

To help this page survive, your donation will be highly appreciated.

Sony Alpha A6000 - ISO comparisons, corner smearing, color casting

2014-04-19T21:29:00.002+02:00

Sony A6000 besides most prominent feature of Auto Focus performance, brought also new (in Sony camera range) 24 Mpx sensor design.

While the resolution remain same as it was on NEX 7 sensor, Sony claim that new sensor has gap-less design, new micro-lenses and of course is linked to the new processor - Bionz X.

I can't speak about JPEG performance, because I am not experienced in JPEG settings, but I was curious to see, how does it improve corner performance in Sony ARW format. (Considered as a RAW, but lossy compressed with software corrections hard coded).

To be honest, while testing AF was rather out of curiosity as I rarely use it, corner performance for me was of a most interest and A6000 didn't dissapoint there.

With NEX 7, most IQ problems (besides lossy compression) were related to the magenta color casting and excessive corner smearing with most symmetrical designed WA lenses for RF cameras.

With the later firmware, Sony applied (in RAW) greenish counter mask to suppress magenta casting, and that resulted in overall improvement, but using lenses without electronic communication involved lot of unpredictable results especially in different lighting conditions.

I went back to original firmware because of that and learned to use Adobe Flat Field plug-in for NEX 7 images taken with problematic lenses. One of those was Sony's native SEL 1018 f/4 OSS, mainly at 10mm end, lens that otherwise is my most used E-mount landscape optics.

Using additional post processing, it was usually possible to get rid of the color casting (but not always easy), however firmware updates couldn't do much about corner smearing. I never had two NEX 7s side by side, and when new firmware is installed it can't be rolled back, so I couldn't make direct comparison, but I have feeling that NEX 7 with later firmwares did crop images a bit, trying to improve corner performance, by cutting out extreme corners and interpolating resulting image.

Finally, with original NEX 7 firmware I never had problem with blotchiness in intensive gradual transitions, that I experienced with firmware 1.01 and all later Sony E-mount bodies. Different compression algorithm or psychosomatic problem?

For all those reasons (and few others that I wrote about some time ago - http://verybiglobo.blogspot.cz/2013/01/sony-nex-7-firmware-101-metabones.html)
I am still using NEX 7 with its original firmware, so regarding color casting, comparison results presented here are not representative for the latest firmware upgrades.
But even with those, I witnessed lot of magenta and smearing problems with lens like CV Heliar 15/4.5 e.g. from my friend who is using it.

Another friend borrowed me that lens shortly, to see how does it work on Alpha 6000 and here are few results for your consideration.

And few with crops from SEL1018 f/4 OSS at 10mm

And related extreme corners crop - notice the reduced smearing with A6000

In the last comparison image, you might notice subtle, but existing difference in detail resolving ability, especially on the "windows" crop. This slight "clarity" or even resolution improvement could be due to the new sensor design or even weaker AA filter.

I found A6000 IQ to be noticeably improved especially in the corners and with legacy Heliar. Don't get me wrong, NEX 7 is still great camera when it comes to IQ, and with some pp you can have almost identical results, but A6000 images are better in that respect, right out of the box.

When it comes to high ISO, A6000 images converted from RAW in LR 5.4 with standard settings, are actually pretty impressive.

Here is one comparison image of 4 cameras 100% crop night shot from tripod at ISO 6400

I am working on few more comparisons layouts from 100% crops including Sony A7, A7r, Nikon D800E and few more cameras. When I finish them, they will be posted here. Meanwhile, you can check full size images on the dedicated - Flickr albums.

1 - ISO comparison at original image size (click to open)

I might be also able to give you link to download original RAWs only to explore them for yourself (not for any unauthorized publishing purposes). If interested, leave message in the comment box bellow, and don't forget to register, so that I can send you PM or email with the link.

So far A6000 seems like very interesting APS-C camera, that is certainly at the top of current technologies.

To help this page survive, your donation will be highly appreciated.

Sony Alpha A6000 - World's fastest AF?

2014-04-16T03:52:00.002+02:00

This new APS-C range finder styled camera from Sony - a6000 is promoted as a game changer when it comes to AF performance.

If anything, Sony E-mount cameras are permanently criticized for few things - lack of native lenses, lack of proper weather sealing, bad interface ergonomics and slow Auto Focus.

To delete last critics from the list, Sony comes with ILCE-6000, supposingly fastest AF camera with interchangeable lenses.

Here is what Sony says about it: (Official announcement at San Diego - 11.2.2014)

"New ultra-fast AF system
Even quicker than most professional DSLRs, the phenomenal autofocus speed of the α6000 camera is powered by Sony’s advanced Hybrid AF system. The new model features a focal plane phase-detection AF sensor with an extremely wide autofocus coverage area – 179 focal points– that is teamed with high-precision contrast-detection AF. This potent combination allows the camera to accurately track and respond to a subject moving through nearly the entire frame, and to shoot at an eye-popping speed of up to 11 frames per second with continuous autofocus. It’s an unprecedented combination of speed and frame coverage in today’s market."

I have camera only 2 days, and I didn't have much time for testing: I did however brief preliminary test of that magic AF and I am - disappointed?

Not really, I never believed that marketing crap anyway :-)

(My, myself and AF.
I don't use AF often. In fact I use it very rarely. I am not shooting BIF, neither I shot sport or other situations where fast automatic tracking of desired subject is of a benefit. But from time to time I do shot some tennis, or trying to shot some wildlife. For that purpose I am using recently Canon 1Diii with fast AF lenses.)

First problem with World's fastest AF camera that you might find is AF settings.

Canon released some useful publications of how should you set AF system for different situations.

Sony gives you electronic manual for a6000 that says virtually nothing (or very little) about AF functions and their interaction.

(e.g. To set Sony a6000 to track your subject, you have three options (neither will ring the bells to someone looking for "subject tracking" by the names)

AF lock-on - off
AF lock-on - on
AF lock-on - on (start w/shutter)

Logic would tell that difference between last two is only in the pre-focus. At on, it should pre-focus on different targets, so when you press shutter speed you should save some time before focus lock.
But if you actually follow behavior of tracking in both modes, it is quite different. While at AF lock-on, you can see multiple little focus squares, that are trying to stick with your subject, in the start w/shutter mode, you can see something like flexible spot with variable size and shape (green square that change its size). Important trick is that in lock-on mode you have to point camera so that your subject (that you want to keep tracking) is in the middle of the frame and than press "enter" button (middle part of the cursor control) to lock the focus. A square will appear and will try to track your subject being green when shutter button is half pressed and focus is acquired. But behavior of two modes stays somewhat different anyway, because AF lock-on stays regular square and same size, while AF lock-on start w/shutter adapt ithe focus area during tracking.

Finally, here is the link with user manual with much more information - http://download.sony-europe.com/pub/manuals/consumer/ILCE6000_HG_EN.pdf#page60

Many things remains difficult to understand, especially when it comes to interaction of different settings, but at least some of the settings are better explained.

But, let me start from the beginning - you got your camera, you want to go with your kid and dog to the park, and want to use the fastest AF system in the world to get lot of crispy keepers - right?

There is simple solution for you - switch the camera in the "Scene" mode, select "Sport" and you are ready to go.

There are however few serious limitations too - in this mode you can't choose AF area. Selected AF area is Wide - and you should first be sure to lock focus on your subject and than hope that it will hold on before you manage to press the shutter. Also ISO is locked on Auto and you can't change exposure settings.

In this mode, camera seems to prefer aperture f/4, push the ISO quite high and as a result - acquire very fast shutter speeds. 1/2000s seems to be its sweet spot.

Here are few 100% crops of the images out of 35 in sport/scene mode. Max and Lilly are not in the very speedy mood, so camera should have been easily tracking them (tracking Max in fact as I locked focus on his face in the first shot)...

And here is another situation, when I asked them to run toward me:

You can look at original size files by clicking - here

As you can see, tracking was not really successful. Camera also set a very fast shutter speed (1/2000s) that wasn't necessary for this action, but I wasn't able to change it. As a result, ISO was also unnecessary high and Sony JPEG engine didn't really help, so overall result is - disappointing.Positive is, that you can select RAW or RAW/Jpeg and see if you can get better noise reduction with external application.

If you feel competent and experienced, as action shooter, you would certainly work in one of creative modes, and set all parameters to best meet your needs.

This is what I tried in my second AF test.

I selected S-mode (shutter priority) and set 1/250s, which is not quite enough, but I wanted to let some flexibility to increase DOF as much as possible with the anyway very slow lens SEL 55-210 f/4.5-6.3 OSS.

I set Auto ISO, because in this mode, camera tends to keep ISO lower if possible.

As focus area, I decided to try flexible spot - large size, to try to keep Max face in frame. I was not looking for the critical eye focus, not with this lens and at this shutter speed anyway, so focus somewhere on the head would be ok. (There is large DOF remember?)

AF drive was set to C-AF, face detection to off, to let high speed drive to work on its best - 11f/s.

As I was testing AF and didn't expect any real keepers, for once I selected only JPEG fine and - large 24M size.

I put the camera on tripod and asked Max to run toward it. That is one of the most challenging situation for the AF, and one that I was most curious to see results.

You can look at original size files by clicking here.

The high speed drive mode at 11 f/S is really impressive. I didn't count how many frames that were in reality (it depends on the settings), but you can see that it was really fast and long burst before buffer was full. Click here:http://youtu.be/KJzmqIUlsT0

As you can see, camera was able to track Max for the first couple of frame, and than AF was lost and couldn't hang with him. Camera tried hard, but didn't succeed, being always somewhere close (not completely lost), but not quite there. As I said, 1/250s was not quite enough to freeze Max, but that shouldn't affect AF - which you can see in most shots as being back or front focused (beside the motion blur).

Max is very fast. On top of that he doesn't have contrast colors on him - no red or pink or what we used to see in promotional videos. It wasn't easy situation for camera, but it was far better from many situations that potential buyer will face - theatrical performance, soccer players with unpredictable moving, kids running in the living room etc. There was plenty of light in the right direction.

I tried same AF settings with different focus area settings - wide focus and zone focus, but there were even less keepers. Wide area was complete disaster, while zone focus worked only when Max was close to camera. I even tried combination of zone focus and face detection without encouraging results.

Finally, there is another big question related to the camera with fastest focus in the world - what lens to put on it?

Maybe FE 70-200/4 and FE 24-70 f4, will focus faster than FE 55/1.8 and SEL 55/210 f/4.5-6.3, but both are rather slow lenses for sport and action, where even f/2.8 is sometimes on the edge. OSS in those situation, when fast shutter speed is needed won't help.

So when Sony claims - A6000 can focus at 0.06s, let me ask - on what, with which lens, and at which FL?

I don't want to blame this camera for AF yet, because it is still possible that I did something terribly wrong. I just wanted to send a fast message to those who are considering this camera because the world fastest AF - if you can, wait for more professional reviews, or try it for yourself. It won't work magic out of the box, and you will need to spend quite some time trying to figure out, how to set it to get best results.

Update is posted - here.

To help this page survive, your donation will be highly appreciated.

10 minutes lens test - portrait session

2014-03-31T06:38:00.002+02:00

I can't say what is harder - finding "Perfect Lens" or finding "Perfect Testing Method". Especially knowing that neither exist.

I published many "controlled" tests, mainly using ISO 12333 chart, but those charts and walls usually tells only part of the story.

Unfortunately IMHO, most readers are referring to MTF tests and results, in general terms, considering lens A to be better than lens B.

It is a bit like trying to promote the idea that photo-realistic (hyper-realistic) painting is better than impressionistic, at that one is better than cubism.

That reminds me a little anecdote - Einstein said to his friend - I just discovered that everything is relative! You are absolutely right! - replied his friend.

I believe that every lens has its place under the sun, same as every moment or every place has its own story that can be told. At the same time, I don't pay much attention to cameras, because to me - they represents canvas, while lenses are artists brushes and light gives colors and contrast.

In an effort to give you my dear followers, another POV on different lenses from my collection, I come with - 10 minutes lens tests idea.

10 minutes lens tests are based on a simple rule - to keep each lens only 10 minutes in action, while trying to accomplish genre shooting session.

This first part is created as a portrait session, and each lens that you will see here was used (in action) only 10 minutes. The reason for 10 minutes is to give me a time frame that will allow me to test 5-6 lenses at once, but from the user perspective and not in the controlled environment.

My first task is therefore - classic portrait with a standard lenses and I picked following optics:

1. Sony FE 55/1.8 Z - a lens that every single review praise recently. This is typical representative of a modern lens with recognizable Zeiss signature - outstanding sharpness and micro contrast. What surprises me most with this lens is its rather pleasing bokeh, while there are no typical aberrations, usually related to the smooth (or otherwise interesting) bokeh. Put the rather flat focus plane on top and this little lens is really as close to lens Nirvana as possible.
But there is one thing to check - how all those superlatives works in the field, and in this case for the purpose of a standard portrait.

2. Canon EF 50 f/1.2 L - this was the lens that basically pushed me toward my own lens testing. When I bought it several years ago, I haven't read any review about it. I simply wanted fast standard lens and knowing that Canon L is supposed to be one of the "best" options I checked few images on the Flickr and bought it. It was still in the box, when I first started to search for the reviews, that were supposed to confirm that I have one of the best standard lenses on the market. But... as you probably know, almost all professional reviews, bashed poor Canon to the death. WTF?
I checked some images on web again - they all looked fabulous to me. I checked reviews again - no, not a single one saying how great this lens is.
Than I put the lens on my Canon 1V and shot few roles of film.
And afterward I made many images on digital.
I learned my lesson - what might look like a worst lens ever in the lab, can be one of the most interesting performers with unique signature.
It might not be the sharpest lens around, it might have tons of aberrations and focus shift problem, it might be even overpriced for most, but for me, it is certainly most used 50mm lens with the nicest bokeh and great colors.

3. CZJ Biotar 58/2
I am Biotar man. I love Biotar 75/1.5, I recently found Biotar 50/1.4 /from Pentaflex 16mm camera) that after few shoots looks amazing and I also love the cheapest Biotar on the market - 58/2. I even like their Russian knock-offs Helios, especially first silver one and latest 44-6 and 44-7.
Why do I love Biotars? Main reason is their compressed tonal range and specific colors rendering. Hard to explain, but whenever I see image from Biotar lenses, it simply appeals me.

4. MOG Primoplan 58/1.9 V
Another Oldie but Goldie! Primoplan is famous because of its specific bokeh. Interestingly, it is much more expensive than above mentioned Biotar today, while when new it was actually cheaper. Primoplan is capable of really unique subject isolation and even wide open it doesn't glow much. Stopped down just a bit, it is very sharp. It is one of quite saught after standard portrait lenses, so I thought it should be included here.

5. Leica Summicron R 50/2 3cam Canada
This is living legend, mainly in M version, but R is no slouch either. It is just bigger. Summicron 50/2 (R) is the lens that I like mainly because of the nice mixture of contrast and colors. It is not the sharpest lens around, but it is still one of the sharpest, when you need it. Something about its micro-contrast and colors, makes that pop-up effect usually linked to Zeiss lenses.

Those are 5 lenses that I took for the afternoon with my son Max and Sony A7r. The whole shooting session took around 3,5 hours with a transfer to locations. I haven't used flashes, but only reflection board, to save some time.

Each lens was on the camera approx. 10 minutes in action (I didn't count time in between, when searching for new location, but even that didn't take too long.) and I tried to make standard compositions and lighting situations so that you can easier consider lenses for your potential usage.

It was fun, but also quite hard to make it in time (before sunset) and thus I made few focusing mistakes (I used only MF as I usually do when shooting portraits in studio.)

First shot in each set was made on the same spot for easier direct comparison. The rest of the shots were taken all around, as occasion come.

All shots were imported in LR and I post processed them quite much as I normally do with my portrait shots, n terms of basic processing. (No skin smoothing, eyes accent etc.)

CZJ Biotar 58/2

As written above, Biotar is the lens with quite unique rendering. It is not as "magical" as its much more expensive brother (75/1.5) but it is certainly not boring. While it can be silky soft at f/2, stopped down to f/4 or f/5.6 it is as sharp as it gets. If some 100 USD still sounds like too expensive, consider its cheaper Helios 44 version. It is optically as good if not better (it depends on the model and condition), but build quality is lower.

MOG Primoplan 58/1.9 V

The last image probably best describes where Primoplans signature lay. Due to the spherical aberration mainly, you can see that circular swirly background that makes your model stand out in a unique way. But Primoplan is surprisingly sharp even wide open, sharper than Biotar e.g. and that is probably the reason for its high price today. You should get most interesting results when shooting against specular highlights, placing your main subject close to the image center.

Leica Summicron R 50/2

Most of the shots with Summicron 50/2 above, are wide open because that's where this lens really shines. At this aperture it gives a nobles, gentle rendering, on one hand neutral (unlike with Biotar or Primoplan who render image with significant dose of reality modification, especially in the background), but on the other hand - sentimental, emotional, open to the hidden story.
Leica Summicron is the lens that makes me feel good and calm, from the moment I put it on the camera. It is joy to use and it has huge potential. One thing that is not that obvious, is that Summicron 50/2 R can also make remarkably swirly bokeh. But to make that happen, you'll need to live with it some time. It won't reveal all its finesses at the first shot :-)

Sony FE 55/1.8 Z

This lens is a reason to switch or add Sony E-mount cameras in your arsenal. For the price (not cheap but affordable) it is remarkable piece of modern engineering. For once, I will not whine about software corrections (but I suspect that in this case, they are not overused), because the result from Sony FE 55/1.8 Z are outstanding without any post processing needed. Still, almost perfectly corrected and with outstanding resolving power, you might feel that it is a bit cold, restrained, distant... At least I do now, but I am very much into that compressed tonal range and low contrast lately, so you shouldn't take that opinion seriously.

Canon EF 50/1.2 L USM

This is that bad boy that none pro reviewer likes. But that is usually related to its optical qualities related to MTF, vignetting, CA, LoCA etc. There is focus shift problem on top of that, so I can understand today, why it scored so low.

But evaluating its creative potential, you might come to the conclusion as I did - this is one of the most prominent characters in the standard FL world, lens that has much more to give than is possible to quantify in charts and figures. Feel free to like it or hate it, but I doubt that it will leave anyone indifferent.

Mounted on Metabones SA III, it does AF on Sony A7r, but in most situations, DOF is so thin, that I would suggest to use at least DMF and max. magnification.

It is not an easy lens to master, and thus I can understand some users being dissapointed, but all I can say is - give it another try and be patient.

It is not the lens that will make anyone better photographer by putting it on camera, but it is the lens that can help you express more, than most other lenses in its range.

And if you think that it is a bit soft in the first image, take a look at the same composition when stopped down to as little as f/2.2

I hope that this first 10 minute lens test will help you to see the potential of presented lenses, some characteristics and flaws of the each. Remember - there is no best or worst lens, just the one, that you might like more or that might suit better for intended purpose.

That is bad news, because in other words it means - yes, you need'em all :-)

A little bonus for the end...

Just two more shots from entirely different lenses from the first scene:

MOG Trioplan 100/2.8

and my precious....

Canon EF 200/2 L IS

To help this page survive, your donation will be highly appreciated.

Sony FE 55mm f/1.8 Z vs Canon FD 50mm f/1.2 L

2014-03-26T02:12:00.000+01:00

Long time after my last post, but here is one short article about two nice "standard" lenses tested in a field on Sony A7.

In the left corner - one of the holly grail standard lenses from the film era, holder of L title in the Canon World Lens League, highly sought after among lens freaks around the globe, Greaaaaaat, Faaaamooouuus, Canon FD 50mm f/1.2 L!!!!!!

In the right coooorner, there is raising star with big S, lens that just recently entered professional ring, lens that despite its seemingly slower speed, doesn't afraid to challenge even the best in the business such as Otus 55/1.4 with which it shares same Zeiss camp, all modern, all fresh, or beautiful - Ssssooooony Zeisssss FE 55mm f/1.2.

Proven build quality against fancy hi-tech materials, careful craftsmen work versus robotized precision, legendary opticians versus computerized modeling, old vs new in every respect...

Even the first look at the image above, clearly shows the giant leap in design evolution. What a shame, that Sony didn't ask Zeiss to design their A7/r cameras too :-)

Canon is actually smaller (shorter) lens, but with its E-mount adapter (as shot above), it equalize in that respect with Zeiss. However, Canon FD is slightly heavier lens.

Size might be surprising considering that FE 55/1.8 is actually full f-stop slower. There is AF of course, but thinking of Canon EF 50/1.8, Zeiss still seems bigger than necessary.

When you take caps off, the difference in speed and related glass diameter is more than evident.

Much more glass on the left, but filter diameters are not so different - Canon has 52mm, Zeiss 49mm. Kudos to Sony for being quite consistent at 49mm across the lens line, because that can save not only finance but most importantly amount of necessary equipment and allow more convenient use of filter systems. (There is nothing as annoying as looking for the proper adapter ring for LEE system, or polarizer that is surely somewhere in the backpack, but can't be found while sun is getting lower and lower...).

Even more significant difference is on the rear side of the lenses.

As you can see, Canon rear glass element is almost in the same level as the mount itself, while Zeiss is deeply recessed. Rear element is also wider (it has to deliver twice as much light) but lack of baffling might cause some flaring problems, related to the sensor reflections (it wasn't problem with the film). In my brief tests on Sony A7 (camera that has sensor reflection problems) I haven't noticed anything significant though.

Built quality of both lenses is very good, but I have to give an edge to Zeiss in that regard, it looks more refined and more importantly it is supposed to be weather sealed.
On the other hand, while Zeiss has well engineered focus ring, it is still focusing by wire, and that will never result in a subtle tactile feeling that well dampened MF focus ring gives.

Image quality
Both lenses were tested on Sony A7 in this article. (In some upcoming articles I am planning to use Sony A7r and Sony a6000 for lens test too).

Comparison 1 - resolution at peak f-stop (f/8)

Sony FE 55/1.8 Z at f/8

Click here for original - https://www.flickr.com/photos/97543230@N02/13411870183/sizes/o/

Canon FD 50/1.2 L at f/8

Click here for original - https://www.flickr.com/photos/97543230@N02/13411851865/sizes/o/

And few comparison crops at 100%

Click here for original - https://www.flickr.com/photos/97543230@N02/13412122664/sizes/o/

While in Lab Zeiss 55/1.8 Z (DxO, Photozone etc.) deliver amazing resolution results on Sony A7r and A7, in a real life, those numbers doesn't shows up that significantly. At least, I can't see some deal braking differences at f/8 from the image above.

Both lenses performs really well in this test scenario as far as I can see.

Here is another comparison scenery at f/5.6.

Sony FE 55/1.8 Z at f/5,6

Click here for original - https://www.flickr.com/photos/97543230@N02/13412165844/sizes/o/

Canon FD 50/1.2 L at f/5,6

Click here for original - https://www.flickr.com/photos/97543230@N02/13411886995/sizes/o/

And related 100% crops

Click here for original - https://www.flickr.com/photos/97543230@N02/13411882323/sizes/o/

At f/5.6, some slight edge in resolution should be given to Zeiss, but the questio is how much that is a) field relevant, b) result of slightly larger magnification (55 vs 50mm), c) differences in a focus plane.

Overall, I don't think that anyone would complain about resolution of either lens in a real life, especially when you find something more exciting to shot than I did.

Where I can see differences though is color rendition. Zeiss shifts more toward magenta while Canon toward green. While I usually like those greenish Canon colors more, I have to say, that in this case, Zeiss 55/1.8 attracts me much more.

Here is comparison shot where you can hopefully see what I am talking about

Click here for original - https://www.flickr.com/photos/97543230@N02/13413340144/sizes/o/

Not a big deal, but you can see more magenta in the sky and water on Zeiss shot, and that makes overall color feeling more appealing to me.

I also tried to apply my post processing routine to the shots above and here are related larger crops (still 100%, but larger crop from the original image).

Click here for original - https://www.flickr.com/photos/97543230@N02/13413099953/sizes/o/

There is little doubt that despite raving reviews about Zeiss 55 f/1.8 Z resolving power, one can see almost no difference at most apertures smaller than f/4 between those two lenses in that regard. But is is also obvious, that both lenses renders outstanding amount of details.

You can see original files (post processed) here - Zeiss and Canon

While those fast standard lenses are used in many photographic situations, they are most often used for shallow DOF photography. As I have no nice models to stand and pose, all I can show here is a little spring green just showing up on the trees.

Click here for original - https://www.flickr.com/photos/97543230@N02/13412132634/sizes/o/

While Canon FD 50/1.2 L wide open does blur the far background just a little bit more, what is much more apparent is its vignetting at that aperture.

Difference in DOF will be more significant if the background would be closer to the subject in focus, but than there are lenses better suited for subject isolations. In the setup above, bokeh looks OK, but nothing more than that. Don't jump on me please, both lenses delivers nice bokeh in this situation, but Canon EF 50/1.2 L is much smoother and MOG Primoplan 58/1.9 (e.g.) will go swirly circus, so both will deliver something more distinguished.

To see original images click for Canon at f/1.2, Canon at f/1.8 and Sony at f/1.8

So far, it seems that both lenses handle CA quite well too, but I am sure that in a critical conditions (high contrast areas in back light and shiny highlights in general) Zeiss will beat Canon due to moder coatings.

Finally, comparing sharpness and bokeh in the evening scene, didn't reveal any drastical differences either.

Those are crops from original images that you can check here - Canon at f/1.2, Canon at f/1.8 and Sony at f/1.8

You can see some green highlight outlines on Canon wide open which disappears stopped sown a bit, while Sony is "cleaner" in that regard. Overall Zeiss delivers more pleasing rendering of highlights in my opinion.

One thing is important to add here - Zeiss has 9 blades aperture, while Canon 8. That would be apparent at smaller apertures and it is matter of taste what you would prefer. I like 8 blades slightly more.

Who is the winner of this match?

The owner of either lens.

Both lenses are much better than I will ever be as photographer, and both will make their owners feeling special and rewarded with some signature images.

In a direct comparison I would say that I expected Zeiss to be really good and it certainly didn't disappoint, but it's rather Canon that really surprised me.

Here is my little summary:

(1-10, 10 is max)

Build Quality: Zeiss 8, Canon 8
Design: Zeiss 9, Canon 6 (no, red ring doesn't help...)
Speed (Low Light): Zeiss 7, Canon 9
Sharpness: Zeiss 9, Canon 8
Colors: Zeiss 9, Canon 7
Subject isolation ability: Zeiss 6, Canon 7
Bokeh: Zeiss 7, Canon 6
Contrast: Zeiss 9, Canon 8
Vignetting at f/1.8: Zeiss 9, Canon 9
Price: Zeiss 3, Canon 4
Not tested - flare, CA, distortion...

OK, Zeiss is better, but not by miles and Canon can be found cheaper.

If you don't need AF, investing in Canon FD 50/1.2 L is not bad idea. Unlike new Zeiss, there is only limited number of Canon 50/1.2 Ls now on the market, and there is little to break (no AF, electronic contacts, etc.) in the future, so it might retain its value better too.

Speaking about performance, in most situations you will hardly see field relevant difference and that extra stop of Canon, can be sometimes very useful.

One thing is clear - whichever you choose, you will have great lens to enjoy for years.