Sony NEX 7
Give Me a Hug | 365 Project | September 7 ,2013 | 24mm, f/1.8, ISO 100, 1/400
This shot of me and my oldest son Caedon was taken by my younger son Gavin in aperture Priority mode with my new 24mm Zeiss lens. He's taken an interest in photography and I've walked him through a basic tutorial on Depth of field as you can see in this second shot. Manual focus as well.
Not a Selfie | 24mm, f/1.8, ISO 100, 1/400 | Manual focused by Gavin
Just Take It! | 24mm, f/1.8, ISO 100, 1/400
Right as I was putting the kids to bed, I happened to look out the window and notice the orange glow of the sun starting to descend. My wife was gracious enough to let me slip out of the house and I brought both a digital and a film camera. I took exposures 30 and 31 on the roll so I should have some images to share in the next couple weeks. For right now though, here's one that I really love.
One thing worth mentioning is that the time and the unknown are what kept me from really pursuing photography earlier. As I've mentioned before here on the site, I have owned quite a few film cameras. I mostly just treated them like a point and shoot. I didn't write down the settings I'd used or read books about Aperture, ISO and Shutter speed.
It's really too bad I didn't and yet, there's something that- at least for me- has made it accessible:
The freedom to fail.
I can take as many photos as I want and it doesn't cost me more money or time. I can try things I may never have attempted when I only had 36 chances. In fact, you could say that I've kind of gone crazy- taking many versions of each shot learning how to get the camera to do exactly what I want.
One thing that's been fun over the last few weeks has been the intentionality and the limited nature of the 36 exposures shooting with film. This time around I'm documenting every shot with an iPhone app called Pocket Light Meter.You just hold it up to the scene, choose a setting or two and then it gives you a suggestion for the third. Once you've got it composed, you click a button and it saves a snapshot with your settings and the scene to your iPhone camera roll.
I have already noticed that shooting with film has made me more intentional about how I compose and shoot with digital.
I'm so glad there's always something new to learn!
I'm a sucker for sun beams breaking through the clouds. AKA Crepuscular rays.
Crepuscular Rays | 365 Project | July 16th, 2013 | 24mm, f/7.1, ISO 100, 1/1600
If you aren't already familiar with my reviews, here's the deal- I only review items that I've chosen to purchase. What that means is that I did a bunch of research before I pulled the trigger and knew that this particular choice was probably the best for my purposes. These are the types of reviews that I like to read when I'm considering a new piece of gear.
Think Tank is certainly no new-comer to the world of camera bags, although this particular bag and the mirrorless mover line are both new. You can go check out their reviews and other products to get a feel for the quality of work they do. This line is specifically designed to complement the smaller Mirrorless cameras that are gaining popularity. There is a smaller model and a couple of larger models.
The model I chose, is the Mirrorless Mover 10. It's designed for a camera and 1 to 2 lenses depending on size. This bag has a Magnetic flap that swings over the top of the two way zipper of the main compartment. Insided the main compartment is a cell phone holder/divider partition that has slots for a couple of SD cards on one side. On the underside of the lid is a transluscent mesh pocket that's a great fit for a filter or an SD card. There's a zippered pocket on the front that has a retainer strap to make sure you don't lose the included rain cover. There are pockets on both sides of the bag. One side is a stretchy lycra that can hold a filter in a case. The other side is a pleated, but non-stretchy pocket.
Theres a plain nylon shoulder strap included and a woven fabric grab handle across the top of the case. In addition, there is a loop on the back of the bag for attaching to other bags or your belt.
The first thing you'll notice is the high quality of the hardware on this bag. I've used a handful of other bags in this size and price range and they all use cheaper plastic parts and less-solid zippers. If I have one complaint it would be that the strap is a little too narrow. As a result, I'm using a wider and heavier strap that came with a Waterfield Sleeve Case for one of my old Macbooks. The strap is nice quality, just too narrow for my tastes.
The seams are all really nice with an obvious attention to detail that is missing on a lot of other bags of this type. The materials are really nice. The fabrics are heavy duty and well engineered for their purposes.
I was using a competitor's bag and had to look for something else when I upgraded camera bodies from the Sony NEX 5N, to the NEX 7. The body is taller, and the lens is shifted just a little toward the right hand side (when looking at it from the front). The other bag was a perfect fit for the 5N with one extra lens, but just a little too small for the same setup with the new body. Here are some images that show the orientation that I use.
I place an extra lens in the bottom of the bag from front-to-rear and then place the camera in grip first on top of that. I can also still fit a cleaning cloth and a battery in the bottom below the grip, but there's plenty of space in the front pocket for those items. I usually have a Gordy's leather wrist strap on my camera and that fits in the case just fine. The stock Sony strap is pretty small and fits just fine too, but larger straps with neoprene pads and quick releases are tricky to fit inside.
I use the stretchy side pocket for a Neutral Density Filter in a case and the pocket under the lid for an SD card and a UV filter or lens cap. An extra battery and a remote fit in the front pocket.
You may notice that there's another divider in my photos. I borrowed that one from a Lowepro bag that I already owned to act as a buffer between my camera and the spare lens. I wish Think Tank included something like this, but hey, you work with what you've got.
You can buy it directly fromThink Tank's site or from Amazon .It's $44.75 both places.
If you are looking for a well-made bag for your Mirrorless or compact camera, I recommend you check this one out. I'm a couple months in and so far I'm very pleased.
This one is pretty silly. Also, I've never mentioned it before, but the Optical Stabilization on the native Sony lenses is pretty awesome. This is handheld at 1/8. Not super sharp, but totally useable.
Under the Table | 35mm, f/2.8, ISO 100, 1/8
I posted a preview of the Sony SEL3518 35mm f/1.8 E mount lens a couple months ago and it’s time to give you a little more from my day to day use. It has rarely left the body of my NEX 5Nand now the NEX -7 and has proved to be a great all-around lens.
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, my reviews are the type that I hope to read- What is it actually like to use this lens? Others have done a thorough job in showing zoomed in crops from the edges and comparisons from 6 different F stops with a critique of Chromatic Aberration and Bokeh artifacts. I’ll include technical details where I think they make a difference.
35mm on the NEX system has a field of view that is equivalent to a 52mm lens on an old 35mm Film camera or a Full Frame DSLR. For years, SLRs came with a single 50mm lens as a kit. To give some perspective, many folks believe that human vision is about the equivalent of 47-53mm. Sure you can see more to the sides, but that part is out of focus and is what we generally refer to as peripheral vision. Forget the explanation. Here are some photos taken with different focal lengths so you can see.
18mm
50mm
35mm
75mm
205mm
What I like about this length is the ease of composition. What you see on the screen or in the viewfinder when composing is pretty much what you see with your eyes. With wider or narrower focal lengths, there is often a distortion that happens in features, but that doesn’t happen as much with this lens.
Since I bought this camera system, I’ve been hoping for a compact, middle length “regular” lens. At about that same time, the 24mm Zeiss became available, but it’s quite a bit larger and more expensive. I really love the compact nature of the NEX system as it fits easily in a small case that I can take with me daily. Whether I’m stowing it in my bike pannier or slinging it over my shoulder in a compact case, I can always have it with me without a lot of bulk. All of the native lenses for the NEX system are pretty small compared to the larger lenses you typically use with a full size DSLR, but this lens is just the right balance between weight and size. Here is a shot L-R of the Kit zoom 18-55 f/3.5-5.6, the 35mm f/1.8 and the 50mm f/1.8
NEX Lenses
Focusing is relatively quick and accurate when stopped down to f/4 up to around f/18. This is pretty normal with fast lenses. Below f.4, the narrow field of focus means that the chances of the exact part of the frame being in focus are smaller. When I’m shooting with these larger aperture settings, I always use the micro adjustment feature to fine tune before clicking the shutter. This is the same technique I use with other large aperture lenses including the Sony 50mm. When you are using a smaller aperture setting, the lower available light can slow down the focus speed.
In my experience, This lens focuses quicker than the 50mm and the 18-55 zoom, but just a little slower than the 16mm prime. I usually leave the focus assist light turned off, but turned it back on for a few days to see how much difference it makes. In low light situations, it makes a big difference, but I don’t think the pluses outweigh the con of a bright orange light shining on your subject and potentially ruining the moment you are trying to capture.
This lens is really light. What that means is that there are metal parts combined with high density plastic pieces. After almost three months of daily use, I’ve seen no scratching or other issues and it seems to be holding up really well. I’m not worried about it at all. The focus ring is of the Focus-by-wire type which means that there aren’t hard stops on the extremes. For those who are used to manual focus rings, this can be a little weird, but the ring does have a nice damping and resistance that feels very linear and tactile.
This lens uses the same bayonet mounting system for the hood and 49mm threads that are used on most all of the E mount lenses. This interchangability is nice if you use either. I recently picked up a Neutral Density Filter and it is nice to know that I can use it on all of my lenses. The two exceptions that I know of, the 18-200 and the 10-18 zooms have a larger 62mm thread size.
I posted a story a couple weeks ago about a metal lens hood that I picked up to go with this lens. Here are a couple before and after photos.
Sony Plastic Lens Hood
Metal Lens Hood
I'm not gonna talk about it. I'd prefer to just show you some images. This Link will show you every post of mine that I categorized as 35mm. All of these photos are made with this lens. (UPDATE: I am now shooting with the Sony FE 35mm f/2.8 on the Alpha A7...and I'm using that tag for these photos too.) Here are a few images if you don't want to click through.
Basically, this is a great lens. Image quality is fantastic both stopped down and wide open. It's compact, well built and looks great. If you are a NEX owner, you should seriously consider adding this one to your camera bag. In fact, it just might become the center of your kit.
If you've found my review helpful and are considering purchasing this lens or another like it, I'd really appreciate it if you'd visit Amazon through one of the links in this review. If you make purchases through links on my site, Amazon gives me a small cut for sending you their direction and it doesn't cost you any more. Thanks for the support!
