I know I like 50mm and 28mm on film. I am considering a NEX for bad light / occasional snaps but wonder about crop factor.
It looks like I would need a fast 35mm and 18mm lens to simulate my film combo.
Whats your experience with using legacy lenses on the NEX? Any favorite focal length and lens speed?
Thanks
It looks like I would need a fast 35mm and 18mm lens to simulate my film combo.
Whats your experience with using legacy lenses on the NEX? Any favorite focal length and lens speed?
Thanks
dexdog
Veteran
I really like the CV 35/1.4 on the NEX 7. No vignetting and little or no color shift.
Disaster_Area
Gadget Monger
My most used focal lengths are 15mm and 35mm, I use 50mm and 25mm once in a while, but mostly those two.
hteasley
Pupil
I put a Super Wide Heliar on the NEX-7 last night and it was sort of awesome.
Kent
Finally at home...
Between 30mm (Sigma EX 2.8/30) and 57mm (Hexanon 1.4/57) in my case, 40,45 and some 50mm in between...
24mm also is pretty nice.
24mm also is pretty nice.
Jim Evidon
Jim
In addition to the kit lens, which is rather good, I have used my 40mm f2 Summicron, 28mm and 90 mm. f2.8 Elmarits, 35mm f1.8 Ultron and 1.2 Nokton a well as 15mm Heliar, all without a problem and with spectacular results. Say what you want about some of the ergonomic problems with the entire NEX series, but that APSC sensor on my NEX5N is really the best going right now. I can't speak for the NEX7, but the samples I have seen downsized in post processing to the equivalent of 16mpxls (see Luminous Landscape) are really amazing. Your legacy lenses are really going to sing.
peterm1
Veteran
The choice of lenses is so personal that its impossible to answer. I for example prefer longer lenses to wide angles and my favourite lenses for this camera reflect this. But the NEX is so flexible , having such a close flange distance, that almost any lens can be used on it. I have tried Leica M and LTM lenses (wide, normal and tele), Voightlander lenses in the same mounts, Nikon SLR lenses (old and recent), Pentax screw mount and Canon Fl mount lenses.
The lenses I prefer on the day will depend on how I feel, the type of photography I am planning, whether the NEX is to be my main camera on the day or a backup etc. The lens that is presently on my camera is a 1960 90mm f2.8 Elmarit in chrome. But this is unusual and a 50mm would be more common for me.
I find that the NEX works well with fast legacy lenses but is a bit slow to focus manually. This is because although the "focus peaking" function can help focus a lens its much less reliable with fast lenses shot wide open in which situation it's more accurate to rely on the focus-zoom function to enlarge the onscreen image and focus by eyeballing a portion of the subject. But with legacy lenses this requires some button pressing and that takes time and requires you to move the camera from the taking position. Great for static images - not so great for moving subjects, especially of course when the lens is fast and being shot wide open and DOF is correspondingly small.
As for bad light, one very good thing about the NEX is that as you are viewing the scene via an LCD, the camera automatically adjusts what you are seeing to give a bright image. Unlike an optical viewfinder which would be dim in this situation.
On balance I am happy with the NEX and have no plans to change any time soon.
Most of my relative contentment with the camera comes from its ability to mount a wide range of lenses - I seldom use the kit lenses which I have to say are pretty mediocre. The latter I put down to (a) building lenses to a price, (b) an auto focus system which too often picks the wrong focus point (rectified by relying on a single centre focus point) and (c) stretching the bounds of technology caused by having a large sensor in a small body with minimal flange distance. This has resulted in image edge performance which is quite ordinary with the kit lenses.
As a result the camera really only shines when you combine it with good legacy glass.
The lenses I prefer on the day will depend on how I feel, the type of photography I am planning, whether the NEX is to be my main camera on the day or a backup etc. The lens that is presently on my camera is a 1960 90mm f2.8 Elmarit in chrome. But this is unusual and a 50mm would be more common for me.
I find that the NEX works well with fast legacy lenses but is a bit slow to focus manually. This is because although the "focus peaking" function can help focus a lens its much less reliable with fast lenses shot wide open in which situation it's more accurate to rely on the focus-zoom function to enlarge the onscreen image and focus by eyeballing a portion of the subject. But with legacy lenses this requires some button pressing and that takes time and requires you to move the camera from the taking position. Great for static images - not so great for moving subjects, especially of course when the lens is fast and being shot wide open and DOF is correspondingly small.
As for bad light, one very good thing about the NEX is that as you are viewing the scene via an LCD, the camera automatically adjusts what you are seeing to give a bright image. Unlike an optical viewfinder which would be dim in this situation.
On balance I am happy with the NEX and have no plans to change any time soon.
Most of my relative contentment with the camera comes from its ability to mount a wide range of lenses - I seldom use the kit lenses which I have to say are pretty mediocre. The latter I put down to (a) building lenses to a price, (b) an auto focus system which too often picks the wrong focus point (rectified by relying on a single centre focus point) and (c) stretching the bounds of technology caused by having a large sensor in a small body with minimal flange distance. This has resulted in image edge performance which is quite ordinary with the kit lenses.
As a result the camera really only shines when you combine it with good legacy glass.
Ken Ford
Refuses to suffer fools
A 24/2.8 and 50/1.8 combination is working well for me for now, it replicates the FOV (but not apertures) of my Leica working kit of M6 with 35 and 75.
MIkhail
-
douglasf13
Well-known
The CV 35/1.4 shows no color shift on the NEX-7, but it has pretty extreme field curvature that never sharpens up corners even when stopped down, so choose something else if you're looking for a landscape lens. The Sigma 30/2.8 is sharper at the edges at f2.8 than the Nokton is at F8.
zb3
Member
i use a Vivitar 28mm f/2 most of the time on my NEX. I have a few fast 50's as well but the equiv. of 42mm compared to FF works well when I just want to use one lens. I like having a faster lens. The kit lens is just too slow most of the time.
Manuphoto
Member
I use both the Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 E ZA and the Sony 50mm E f/1.8. This gives me my walk around and small telephoto (35mm & 75mm equivalents). A great little combo IMHO.
The Zeiss is astonishing, even at 1.8. It has no distortion nor vignetting (at least not in real life pictures). Its only flaw is CA, which is more than easy to fix in Aperture (or any other program).
I was very surprised by the Sony 50mm f/1.8 E OSS. Not only it is a stabilized 1.8 lens, handy in low light, but the quality is incredible. Bokeh is very smooth, pictures are ultra sharp.
I also tried a Leica 35mm Summicron f/2 ASPH and a Nikkor 50 f/2 AI-S. Both gave me very nice results. In some rare cases, I had some colour shift visible with the Leica. Sharpness was, however, very good, as was colour rendition. The Nikkor perfumed surprisingly well. With focus peaking, focusing was a breeze. Almost too easy
You can find some shots I took with those lenses here : http://500px.com/manuphoto
The lenses are always identified.
The Zeiss is astonishing, even at 1.8. It has no distortion nor vignetting (at least not in real life pictures). Its only flaw is CA, which is more than easy to fix in Aperture (or any other program).
I was very surprised by the Sony 50mm f/1.8 E OSS. Not only it is a stabilized 1.8 lens, handy in low light, but the quality is incredible. Bokeh is very smooth, pictures are ultra sharp.
I also tried a Leica 35mm Summicron f/2 ASPH and a Nikkor 50 f/2 AI-S. Both gave me very nice results. In some rare cases, I had some colour shift visible with the Leica. Sharpness was, however, very good, as was colour rendition. The Nikkor perfumed surprisingly well. With focus peaking, focusing was a breeze. Almost too easy
You can find some shots I took with those lenses here : http://500px.com/manuphoto
The lenses are always identified.
pvdhaar
Peter
zvos1
Well-known
With Sony 16mm 2.8 the camera is so small I had it on almost exclusively durring my holiday last year. Now I am finding I am so used to that combo and focal lenght I can't use anything else....I need help
genji
Newbie
Couldn't agree more!. 24/25mm plus 50mm on APS-C (equivalent to 35mm and 75mm on full frame) is a wonderful combination. Happily, in these focal lengths, there are lots of excellent lenses to choose from.
BobYIL
Well-known
The 25/2.8 Biogon is an outstanding lens, both on APS-C as well as FF format.
The 18/4 Distagon ZM is also known as a great lens on both formats, better than the 15/4.5 Heliar.
Out of all Leica and Zeiss 35mm lenses I tested on the Nex-5N, the best performer (like a repro lens!) was the v.2. Summicron-R 35/2 (E55).
For 50mm fine choices are plenty.
The 18/4 Distagon ZM is also known as a great lens on both formats, better than the 15/4.5 Heliar.
Out of all Leica and Zeiss 35mm lenses I tested on the Nex-5N, the best performer (like a repro lens!) was the v.2. Summicron-R 35/2 (E55).
For 50mm fine choices are plenty.
flip
良かったね！
38 macro pen lens easily gets the most play. Just a perfect mate. Maybe I need to get one of them macro helicoid adjustment adapters.