828 Close-Up Lens VCL-3358

[Spyder_Web]

Hey rexus.. hi...

I'm just curious...I wanted to know how good this sony F828 ...in terms of image capture, time lag of camera, and etc...

Can give a brief on the Pros and Cons of F828

I've consider about this F828 apart from the Fuiji S20 pro.....

 

[rexus]

Hey rexus.. hi...

I'm just curious...I wanted to know how good this sony F828 ...in terms of image capture, time lag of camera, and etc...

Can give a brief on the Pros and Cons of F828

I've consider about this F828 apart from the Fuiji S20 pro.....

Hi spyder,
there has been a lot of post on the F828 on the internet and many of them are very true. The handling (and control layout) of the camera is one of the best around. If you have a chance to hold it, you will like it. Startup time for the camera is almost none existence and there is almost no shutter lag I can feel.

The Carl Ziess lenses are terrific with its 7x zoom (28mm wide angle to 200mm tele), thus making it very versatile for shooting under differernt situations. In fact (personally), the 8M pixel resolution sort of boost the existing 7x zoom further using smart zoom capabilities or self-croping. I was very surprise when I took a short at Sentosa one day and is able to recognize the face of the person extremely far away at 100%. Its mechanical zoom is also extremely fast for a quick framing. Its F2.0-F2.8 ratings allow a lot of light to get in to capture fast images :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

The image is sharp with acurate colours and saturations. (I have a personal webpage but is still developing it at the moment, I have a gallery of shots taken using that camera, PM me and i will forward them to you).

Another thing I like about the camera is its 640x480 30fps feature. I find it very smooth and neat to capture motion video.

So much for the good things...and now the some other facts...
F828 has CA/PF problems. HOWEVER, its does not happen most of the time unless there is a region of high difference in contrast in the image. It is only obvious when you do a 100% view on the image. Unless you are someone who like to pick faults on somethings, it definitely a problem most of us here are able to do with. Next, the RAW which is suppose to be a feature has been plague by its image handling technique and takes very long to save into the memory stick or CF card, disabling you from carrying on from shots to shots at a go.

The F828 is targeting at the proconsumers, so if you are looking for a point and shoot camera, you might want to reconsider. It maybe too bulky for causal use (still better than DSLR).

I have no experience in S20, so I can't comment much about it.

My half cent worth...hehe :bsmilie:

 

[snowspeeder]

Here's a website you can visit to read about the 828 review. One of the best written reviews in terms of objectivity so far:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/sony828.shtml

 

[snowspeeder]

I tried using the standard lens cleaning solution (which I used for my other filters) on the VCL-3358. Seems to have left "solution marks" on the surfaces of the lens. The lens have a sticky feeling when cleaning it. Can anyone advise how do I go about cleaning this up??

 

[bernards]

I guess it's a coated lens. Just use one of those micro cloths for spectacles and clean it slowly. I get the same problem with my B+W MRC filters.

 

[snowspeeder]

I guess it's a coated lens. Just use one of those micro cloths for spectacles and clean it slowly. I get the same problem with my B+W MRC filters.

Thanks. So if I can't use the cleaning solutions, will using the micro cloths alone be enough to clean dirt on the coated lens?

 

[King Tiger]

Thanks. So if I can't use the cleaning solutions, will using the micro cloths alone be enough to clean dirt on the coated lens?

I am not sure whether it can clean off the solution mark?
Have you try using a Lenpen?
I bought about $7~8 at CP which I ususally use to clean lens.

 

[bernards]

If it's just finger prints and some small marks. Microcloths seem to work very well. But if the mark is a little oily. Wah, those will take forever to clean. I usually use a little bit of cleaning solution and lens paper to remove the stains, then use the microcloth to remove the soultion marks.

As for the lenspen. I have two of them, but only use them in the field. And do remember to change them after a while. You don't want a dirt filled lenspen scratching your camera lens.

Anybody else with tips to share?

 

[snowspeeder]

If it's just finger prints and some small marks. Microcloths seem to work very well. But if the mark is a little oily. Wah, those will take forever to clean. I usually use a little bit of cleaning solution and lens paper to remove the stains, then use the microcloth to remove the soultion marks.

As for the lenspen. I have two of them, but only use them in the field. And do remember to change them after a while. You don't want a dirt filled lenspen scratching your camera lens.

Anybody else with tips to share?

As the lens is coated, using lens solution with lens paper seemed to make it worse. I find that quite puzzling too.

 

[bernards]

No idea man. Maybe the lenspaper option is pretty old school. Microcloths might work bette all round.