Why are the new A7 lenses so large and slow?

[uhoh7]

Other postings that remained include:

@ uhoh7...

...''it would be nice to have more .....


I read this posting, and I started to wonder what such statements had to do with photography.

It is humor, sir, often attempted on this site. 🙂 In this case the poster was referring to the metaphorical qualities of various lenses, which is something many photographers have done over time.

Such humor itself can be quite inspirational for some, and actually produce photos which might not have been taken or shared.

When it comes to wit, like photographs, the value is is in the eye of the beholder, and can vary considerably.

Again, thank you. 🙂

 

[uhoh7]

I wrote Stephen about this humor. No surprise we see few female RFF members posting when such sexist remarks are posted.

Since you find the post that offensive, I'm deleting my response. It was certainly not my intention to insult anyone. Please PM me in future if you would like me to remove any post.

 

[Samouraï]

My head is hurting from this thread.

Why can't I have a native version of the $150 Canon 40mm pancake on this A7 body? Get on it Sony.

I'm hoping Sigma brings their Art line to the Sony E-mount. If the Art line fills out, I may migrate to it entirely.

 

[uhoh7]

My head is hurting from this thread.

Why can't I have a native version of the $150 Canon 40mm pancake on this A7 body? Get on it Sony.

I'm hoping Sigma brings their Art line to the Sony E-mount. If the Art line fills out, I may migrate to it entirely.

I used to say, "Why can't I have a full frame nex, get on it Sony!"

By God, they did! 🙂

I did just buy a very sweet little m-rokkor 40/2 for 350usd right here, which I plan to use as normal on the A7r 🙂

 

[hausen]

Can't wait for my 50 Summicron and Canon 50/1.4 to be my normal on A7r.

 

[BMacW]

You are comparing apples and oranges. You have to add 27.46 mm tube to the Pentax lens to get same size (the part "hidden" in the camera).

No I'm not. I was simply responding to the other post about size of retrofocus design lens. Typically misconception is they have to be huge as commonly seen on DSLRs.

Fact is as with many Pentax lenses designed to cover full frame, if they take away the ultrasonic motor for AF and the stabilization in the lens, they can be fully mechanical and rather small in size, even comparing it to a symmetrically designed rangefinder lens.

The take away here is, zeiss can probably make a native MANUAL FE mount lens just as small with good design that does not have corner issue. You can simply look at the Leica WATE and the Zeiss ZM 18 f4 has no corner issues on any digital cameras with short flange distance. Both of these lenses are still relatively small and have modern lens design.

Sorry, I should've made it more clear that I wasn't suggesting the pentax lens with adapter would be a small alternative on the A7r. Simply saying, once you get rid of all the electronic crap, a lens can be designed to cover FF with short flange distance.

 

[uhoh7]

Another pro raving about the A7r:

"What I really like about the files from the A7r is the quality of the “pixels” now let me explain.
A lot of RAW images are fine but as soon as you start pushing the pixels around they will often break down, this can be because of dynamic range, noise or simply because….. you fill in the blanks. Medium format files are in my experience always rock solid, as long as you don’t lift too much shadows they can be pushed around like crazy without “breaking”. The A7r files are very close, due to the lack of the AA filter the images are incredibly sharp, and I really mean incredibly sharp, there is detail there that you will never see on a normal DSLR, however you have to realize that your choice of glass get’s incredibly important, if you use mediocre glass you will get very mediocre results, however if you use top quality glass…. well there is without a doubt a big wow effect to put it mildly."

http://www.frankdoorhof.com/site/2013/11/sony-a7r-review-part-ii-small-flash-and-more/#more-11566

Fashion shooter 🙂

 

[willie_901]

Frank Doorhof has a vivid imagination. But I did enjoy his unique insights… "if you use mediocre glass you will get very mediocre results.

The sensor quantum efficiency, full-well capacity and read noise at base ISO determine the signal-to-noise ratio. SNR happens to be the prime determinant of how well images respond to pushing shadow regions. Many contemporary cameras perform exceptionally well in this regard… even APS-C cameras with wide aperture lenses. Dynamic range is directly related to SNR. DR is crucial when selectively pushing shadow regions because as DR increases, the SNR of the shadow regions increase while retaining required highlight detail. This advantage is enjoyed right up to the point where the post-acquisition electronic-amplification of brightness (a.k.a. ISO) ends and further brightness is achieved by digital multiplication.

As Doorhof is a fashion photographer he must use off-camera flash. The A7r sync speed is only 1/160 sec. So being able to push shadows would be an important consideration for him if he used the A7r for fashion work (though the A7 has a 1/250 sync time).


Sharpness (which I must assume is actually resolution) is also available with with any number of big-quality lenses and bodies with high-pixel density sensors without an AA filter.

The advantage of the A7r seems to be these benefits are available in a small, lightweight body that can be used with a variety of adapted lenses. Well, at least non-mediocre adapted lenses.

 

[uhoh7]

great post, willie 🙂

It appears the 55/1.8 is a killer piece of glass:
http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Sony_Alpha_A7r/sample_images.shtml

not available till jan, i think 🙁