Photozone: Most current NEX lenses are not good enough for the NEX-7!


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Thoth

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Saw the following comments from Photozone. Disappointing for NEX 7 users that Sony hasn't develop any good lens good enough for the 24MP sensor. Maybe only some Leicas, Voigtlanders or Carl Zeiss can do a decent job.

sonyalpharumors | Blog | Photozone: Most current NEX lenses are not good enough for the NEX-7!

1) The Sony E 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS (Click here to read the review) kit lens isn’t good enough for the NEX-7: “it may perform decently on lower resolution NEX cameras (the 3 and 5 series). However, its capabilities are clearly overstrained on Sony’s 24 megapixel sensor. In so far it is very surprising that Sony is also offering it bundled with the NEX 7.”

2) The 16mm f/2.8 pancake (Click here to read the review): “the Sony E 16mm f/2.8 may be a controversial lens on lower resolution NEX cameras. However, it seems rather pointless to use it on the NEX 7 – 24 megapixel are way beyond the capabilities of this tiny lens.”

3) Klaus also tested the A-mount Zeiss 85mm Planar lens on the NEX-7 (Click here to read the review) and while it definitely performs much better there are still some issues: “even the mighty Zeiss isn’t perfect anymore on the 24 megapixel sensor. At max. aperture the center performance is certainly very good but the border quality is a bit lower than expected. This is somewhat surprising considering the fairly big lens to sensor distance due to the required adapter. The decrease in border quality either relates to a difficult sensor characteristic or, possibly, to a sub-optimal sample of the lens.”

I am currently using the Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.7 and it's definitely better in resolving the details. Not to mention a sweet bokeh. Affordable value for money lens I must say. :thumbsup:
 

Tested with different lenses. Even the best prime lens, the Sony Carl Zeiss 24mm f1.8 for Nex is not able to maximise the resolution of Nex 7. Won't feel it if you are printing normal photos, but if you zoom to the max to crop the pictures, you can tell it is not as detailed as some other lenses.

Tried Voigtlander Nokton 35mm F1.2 version II with Nex 7 and it can maximise the resolution. Super sharp and no magenta cast.

50mm Summilux F1.4 Asph is another lens I tried which demonstrate even better sharpness than the Nokton 35mm.

The Zeiss 35mm f2 Biogon is similar to the Nokton 35mm in sharpness at f2 and it is very light, but has slight magenta casting at corners.

This is pixel peeping which is not what photography is meant for though, and it will be the skill of the user to make good photo from it, be it with the worst lens.
 

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Tested with different lenses. Even the best prime lens, the Sony Carl Zeiss 24mm f1.8 for Nex is not able to maximise the resolution of Nex 7. Won't feel it if you are printing normal photos, but if you zoom to the max to crop the pictures, you can tell it is not as detailed as some other lenses.

Tried Voigtlander Nokton 35mm F1.2 version II with Nex 7 and it can maximise the resolution. Super sharp and no magenta cast.

50mm Summilux F1.4 Asph is another lens I tried which demonstrate even better sharpness than the Nokton 35mm.

The Zeiss 35mm f2 Biogon is similar to the Nokton 35mm in sharpness at f2 and it is very light, but has slight magenta casting at corners.

This is pixel peeping which is not what photography is meant for though, and it will be the skill of the user to make good photo from it, be it with the worst lens.

:sweat: i already gave up on that expensive lens and here you are poisoning us
 

Saw the following comments from Photozone. Disappointing for NEX 7 users that Sony hasn't develop any good lens good enough for the 24MP sensor. Maybe only some Leicas, Voigtlanders or Carl Zeiss can do a decent job.

sonyalpharumors | Blog | Photozone: Most current NEX lenses are not good enough for the NEX-7!

1) The Sony E 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS (Click here to read the review) kit lens isn’t good enough for the NEX-7: “it may perform decently on lower resolution NEX cameras (the 3 and 5 series). However, its capabilities are clearly overstrained on Sony’s 24 megapixel sensor. In so far it is very surprising that Sony is also offering it bundled with the NEX 7.”

2) The 16mm f/2.8 pancake (Click here to read the review): “the Sony E 16mm f/2.8 may be a controversial lens on lower resolution NEX cameras. However, it seems rather pointless to use it on the NEX 7 – 24 megapixel are way beyond the capabilities of this tiny lens.”

3) Klaus also tested the A-mount Zeiss 85mm Planar lens on the NEX-7 (Click here to read the review) and while it definitely performs much better there are still some issues: “even the mighty Zeiss isn’t perfect anymore on the 24 megapixel sensor. At max. aperture the center performance is certainly very good but the border quality is a bit lower than expected. This is somewhat surprising considering the fairly big lens to sensor distance due to the required adapter. The decrease in border quality either relates to a difficult sensor characteristic or, possibly, to a sub-optimal sample of the lens.”

I am currently using the Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.7 and it's definitely better in resolving the details. Not to mention a sweet bokeh. Affordable value for money lens I must say. :thumbsup:

discussed to death. we all already know that. if you had searched you would have seen the thread
 

Tried Voigtlander Nokton 35mm F1.2 version II with Nex 7 and it can maximise the resolution. Super sharp and no magenta cast.

But shot wider than 2.8 and the purple fringing is terrible and hard (if not impossible) to remove in highlights... I have stopped using this as my primary low light lens because of this. Kinda silly seeing that it is so fast and why I bought it in the first place!
 

kei1309 said:
discussed to death. we all already know that. if you had searched you would have seen the thread

Yeah. But seems d best e mount lens is d SEL 50mm f1.8.
 

Yeah. But seems d best e mount lens is d SEL 50mm f1.8.

yup... also discussed to death on that :bsmilie:

so our only option as NEX-7 Shooters is to go for 3rd Party.

hopefully the Samyang FE will be able to resolve the sensor
 

This is pixel peeping which is not what photography is meant for though, and it will be the skill of the user to make good photo from it, be it with the worst lens.

agree. pixel peeping isnt a good habit.

when we post a photo online or share it on facebook, no one really zoom in 100% to look at our photos

unless we need to print anything bigger than A4, it isn't really going to matter much
 

yup... also discussed to death on that :bsmilie:

so our only option as NEX-7 Shooters is to go for 3rd Party.

hopefully the Samyang FE will be able to resolve the sensor

Samyang FE?? Can elaborate so we dun haf to discuss to death? LOL
 

agree. pixel peeping isnt a good habit.

when we post a photo online or share it on facebook, no one really zoom in 100% to look at our photos

unless we need to print anything bigger than A4, it isn't really going to matter much

True but if you take some landscape pic, having this habit to zoom in to check how sharp the building or subject is... :confused:
 

True but if you take some landscape pic, having this habit to zoom in to check how sharp the building or subject is... :confused:

:bsmilie:that is nothing...

When i take portraits, I zoom in 200% to see if the eyelashes are razor sharp.... :confused:

but my family/friends/clients don't care about sharp eyelashes, they just want "nice" photos:bsmilie:
 

True but if you take some landscape pic, having this habit to zoom in to check how sharp the building or subject is... :confused:

:bsmilie:thats why it's a bad habit...

shouldn't only check how sharp the buildings/subjects are;
should be more concern about the composition/exposure/mood/art direction etc.....
 

:bsmilie:thats why it's a bad habit...

shouldn't only check how sharp the buildings/subjects are;
should be more concern about the composition/exposure/mood/art direction etc.....

But sharpness is important for landscape, building photography..........................:)
 

Saw the following comments from Photozone. Disappointing for NEX 7 users that Sony hasn't develop any good lens good enough for the 24MP sensor. Maybe only some Leicas, Voigtlanders or Carl Zeiss can do a decent job.

sonyalpharumors | Blog | Photozone: Most current NEX lenses are not good enough for the NEX-7!

Klaus at Photozone hasn't tested the Sigmas, but he promises he will. Take a look at lenstip's test. Anyway, the $250 Sigma 30mm resolves every bit of the NEX 7's resolution. Take a look at this test

LensRentals.com - NEX-7 Lens Imatest Results

But a lens is more than just sharpness. Some people like landscape photographers are nuts about sharpness in the corners. Personally, my favorite is the CZ 24mm on the NEX. It's as sharp as any lens ever made in the center and has beautiful rendering. Being a close focus lens, it is extremely versatile. It's expensive, but worth every penny. I have a few other CZ and Voightlander lenses and they may be slightly sharper than the 24mm in the corners, but they are too clinical for my taste. Also, wide rangefinder lenses on the NEX 7 have purple corners and the minimum focus distance is often unacceptable. So you give up quite a bit if you use them.
 

Jeremy1 said:
But sharpness is important for landscape, building photography..........................:)

Guess sharpness is d main reason we r having BBBVirus all d time. LOL
 

photoart said:
:bsmilie:thats why it's a bad habit...

shouldn't only check how sharp the buildings/subjects are;
should be more concern about the composition/exposure/mood/art direction etc.....

Agree. Just can't sway off d feeling tat d subject or building isn't sharp even d composition is nice. LOL
 

kei1309 said:
ah my bad! we discussed this on SAR! a new thread is needed!

Oh. Got new thread?? Where ar?
 

tsammyc said:
Klaus at Photozone hasn't tested the Sigmas, but he promises he will. Take a look at lenstip's test. Anyway, the $250 Sigma 30mm resolves every bit of the NEX 7's resolution. Take a look at this test

LensRentals.com - NEX-7 Lens Imatest Results

But a lens is more than just sharpness. Some people like landscape photographers are nuts about sharpness in the corners. Personally, my favorite is the CZ 24mm on the NEX. It's as sharp as any lens ever made in the center and has beautiful rendering. Being a close focus lens, it is extremely versatile. It's expensive, but worth every penny. I have a few other CZ and Voightlander lenses and they may be slightly sharper than the 24mm in the corners, but they are too clinical for my taste. Also, wide rangefinder lenses on the NEX 7 have purple corners and the minimum focus distance is often unacceptable. So you give up quite a bit if you use them.

Yeah. Saw d reviews on d sigmas. One of my fren is using d 19mm e mount one. Very good review. Just needed a much wider angle lens but e mount Sony 16mm doesn't really perform well. Sigh
 

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