Initial impression: SEL35F18

I've had my eye on this lens for a long long time for the simple reason that the 35mm gave an equivalent field of view as a 50mm on a full frame camera. The 50mm is my favourite focal length and find it almost natural to compose and shoot using just that one lens.

There aren't that many reviews on this lens which surprises me honestly. I spent the last few days trolling through the interweb trying to find as many reviews as I could on this lens before biting the bullet and actually purchasing it. From the few reviews I read, I got mixed reviews, some said it was soft some said sharp. To me, personally, I don't pixel peep or look at photos of brick walls. If they look sharp then it's good enough for me. I'd resisted buying this lens for a long time now solely because it's not cheap. $420+. I was lucky enough to find a second hand copy in mint condition for a LOT cheaper than that. I was torn between the Sigma 30mm f2.8 or this lens, but in my opinion, 2.8 is just too slow for my liking.

I've already got a few 35mm lenses for the NEX system, the Fujian f1.7 and the MIR24n f2.0, both lenses are wonderful for different reasons, the Fujian gives a swirly almost dream like look to it and the Mir24n has beautiful smooth bokeh as well as the ability to focus ridiculously close to subjects. So why would you buy another 35mm if you already have 2? Here's my reasoning:

1) Autofocus - Don't get me wrong, I love manual focussing, in fact, my most used lenses on the Nex system are in fact MF lenses, the 35's for example and the Minolta 58mm f1.4 are my most used lenses. However, there are times when you just want the ability to have AF, know that you're going to hit your subject. Although manual focus does make me slow down and almost make me feel nostalgic - like i'm shooting film - it is frustrating at times trying to nail focus and being slightly off every now and then. Having a lens that just works, takes one thing out of the equation when trying to get the perfect shot. On that note, there are times when you pass the camera off to other people to take a photo of you/for you. A lens that auto focusses makes that a lot easier as well.

2) (probably most importantly) Corner Sharpness - The issue with the Fujian and Mir is that they suck in the corners, simple as that. The Fujian - if you're shooting subjects further than a few meters and not in the centre, forget about it. Distant objects are not sharp, corners are blurry and smudgy - basically unusable if not centred. The Fujian does give fantastically sharp images and can create some beautiful portraits/pictures only IF you're after that dreamlike look. 

As you can see, the corners swirl and give off that dream like look, it does add to the effect if you're after it and honestly, I don't mind it, except for the fact it restricts you to shoot in the centre. As you can see, the Fujian IS as sharp as a razor if you nail the focus - not bad for a $30 lens hey?!

The beauty of the Nex system is the ability to adapt lenses of virtually any make to the camera and use them as dummy lenses (full manual). The problem I find, is that, unless you spend a LOT of money on quality glass, I mean in the thousands, generally lenses are going to be a little softer and have smudgier corners when used on the Nex system as opposed to being used on their native bodies. Although adapters are made so that lenses of any brand can be used on the Nex system, there are bound to be minute intolerances in the adapters that will surely reduces contrast and sharpness etc in the lens. Buying a lens made for the Nex system shows off the sensor to its true potential. 

And here it is. Small, compact, sharp. In the centre and corner!

So what are my initial thoughts on the lens? i've only had it for a few hours - literally - and so far i think it's absolutely fantastic! small, compact, light. The lens feels solid, metal construction but not heavy at all. The black in my opinion is damn sexy and makes the camera look schmick! The autofocus is surprisingly fast. Not DSLR speeds fast, but fast enough for the type of shooting I do with then Nex system. I was initially a bit worried about the AF speed on the 5n as there have since been 2 later models of the 5 series that have added the phase and contrast detection on the camera sensor that in theory, gives the camera faster AF and more accurate whilst tracking subjects. I read somewhere that the new improved AF is almost negligible when it comes to use with the 35mm, so that's a win to me for using an older model camera!

Excuse the boring photos but I only had a few hours before it got dark, but I think they clearly demonstrate the abilities of this lens. (Most shots if not all are at 1.8)

@f1.8 - sharp!

@f1.8 

@f1.8

At f1.8 the lens does a pretty good job at isolating the subject from the background even if you're not super close to your subject. The depth of field is greater than it would be on a full frame camera, it's probably closer to 2.8 on a full frame.

Again, pretty dang sharp @f1.8

One thing that sets this lens apart from the other 35mm lenses for mirrorless cameras, is that this is the only 35mm with built in VR, IS or OSS as Sony likes to call it - image stabiliser. I've never needed an image stabilised 50mm lens before so to me I didn't think it would be very useful, however, after using it tonight, i've changed my mind. I'm glad it's there! I did some quick and dirty hand held tests to show the effectiveness of the Sony OSS.

ISO1600, 1/250th @f1.8 

ISO1600, 1/10th @f8.0

ISO1600, 1/4th @f14

Now i'm no pixel peeper, but if you were to ask me, these results are pretty damn impressive! To hand hold a shot at 1/4th of a second with minimal motion - what's not to like?!

So I guess that kind of wraps up my quick initial impression on the lens. So far - very impressed and one of the best lenses I have in my Nex line up. I can see this lens never coming off!

Lens review Part II: Mir 24n 35mm f2 on NEX

As the title suggest, I'm going to do another quick first impression review of this lens as my Nikon-NEX adapter finally arrived after 3 long weeks, which felt like eternity. As you can see, the lens looks rather big on the camera and yes, it is pretty big - not overly big and uncomfortable however.

Like I mentioned in my last lens review, I bought this lens specifically to be used on my NEX system. The reason I chose the 35mm is that it replicates roughly the same field of view as a 50mm on a full frame body. Having shot full frame for the past few years, i've grown to really love the FOV the 50mm gives. It's a natural feeling view, not too wide or tele, but just right for general walking around and capturing intimate moments.

So, lets get into the nitty gritty, how does it feel and handle. Well first off, the lens does make the camera lens heavy, a lot of the weight is towards the front (obviously) however it doesn't feel too unbalanced. Shooting manually with this lens, my hand is under the lens all the time anyway, so this heaviness from the lens isn't an issue.

Focussing is still an issue with this lens, not the actual mechanism - bit stiff, nothing to cry over - but it does take 2 or more FULL turns to focus from min to max focussing distance. This can be an issue when doing quick focus pulls, as it is impossible to focus that distance within one turn of the ring. My focus is a bit stiff, but i've heard that many Russian lenses are a bit stiff anyway, might have to let it sit in the sun one day and see if that loosens the grease up a bit.

So far the image quality from this lens is awesome. Like i mentioned last time, i'm not scientific lens tester, if a lens is good in real world situations, it's a good lens. As you can see, it's sharp. Shooting wide at f2 is sharp enough for me anyway. Like i mentioned last time, this lens focusses very close, you'd be forgiven for thinking this was a macro shot. The lens produces nice contrast in the images which give it a bit of oomph in the images.

Due to the size of the sensor, the depth of field from this lens is a bit mreh. Obviously comparing 50mm  equivalent on a crop sensor and 50mm on a full frame sensor is like chalk and cheese and to really get a similar result i'd have to buy a 35mm f0.95/1.0? - obviously a lens that would be stupidly expensive. The below shot was shot wide open at f2 and it's not THAT bad. It renders the background out of focus quite well, but again, it's not full frame.

Like i said, the field of view is quite comfortable and very easy to adapt to. The 50mm equivalent is one of my favourites due to its low level of distortion, making it very easy to keep verticals straight. The 50mm also renders a very natural field of view, replicating human vision nearly.

Getting closer to subjects does a good job at blurring out the subjects and really shows off the advantages of having a relatively fast lens. Like I said, incredibly close focussing distance on this lens makes shots like this possible without having to move back and forth.

NOW time for the kicker. I have a 35mm lens already. I have a 35mm lens that's smaller, faster aperture, smoother focus and lighter, so why did I buy another 35mm?

My beloved Fujian 35mm f1.7. This lens has always been my go to lens when going out on social occasions to photograph my adventures. It's small, light, inconspicuous, very cheap and very easy to focus, so what gives? why buy another one. For one simple reason. Spherical focus. The Fujian suffers from spherical focus (ps probably a word i made up), which is basically where the plane of focus in the lens is uneven.

In my crappy diagram, the rings try to illustrate how the focus on the Fujian is. The red in the centre shows the area that has sharpest focus and the outer rings try to demonstrate how focus falls off not in in a straight line like normal lenses, but in a circular pattern that is very unique to this lens, almost Holga/toy lens like.

This effect is negligible when shooting subjects up close, where the effect actually adds to the image and can make portraits look really nice and dream like.

So, as you can see, kind of, when up close to your subject, the spherical focus really exaggerates the focus and makes the lens look like it's shooting at f1.4 or something crazy like that. 

For a clearer example. I've posted these photos below. The Mir 24n, although not super sharp in the corners, GREATLY outperforms the Fujian hands down. The lens has relative corner sharpness and I can shoot distant objects without losing a whole lot of image quality and having the image ruined by spherical focus. 

Mir 24N

Fujian 35mm.

This frustration is pretty much the only reason I bought the Mir. Although I love bokeh and love getting in close to my subjects, there ARE times when you just need to shoot subjects further away than a few meters. Sure, I could stop down, but I love shooting wide open. sue me if you disagree. If you mainly shoot your subjects dead centre of frame, then you have no problem, but like most people, I do like uneven composition every now and then, and from the picture above, you can clearly see how it would be near impossible to have anyone in the corners sharp. Definitely unusable.

Now i'm not bashing the Fujian and saying that it's a sh*t lens, it's absolutely not. It's actually bloody sharp. Can you tell which one was shot with which lens? Most likely not.

So, back to the Mir. It's pretty big.

Although i haven't had a lot of time to play with this lens, i'm already really happy with it - overall. Hopefully over the next few days and nights i'll have more time to take some more real world examples and really show off the full potential of this lens. 

My final thoughts of this lens (for now): 

Pros: 

- Good FOV on the NEX system, very comfortable and easy to adapt to.

- Nice bright f2.0 lens, eats up 1 extra stop of light over a 2.8 lens. 

- Solid design, feels like it's built to last. 

- Extremely close minimum focussing.

- Sharp sharp sharp.

- Cheap for its focal length and aperture size. 

Cons:

- Heavy - can make the camera feel uneven if holding it with one hand.

- Focus takes 2 - 3 full turns to focus the whole focus range - not very suitable for video.

- Focus is a bit stiff - may need to warm up, but still. 

So these are the pros and cons i've noticed so far, i'm sure a few things will change along the way within the next few weeks and months when I hope to really put this lens through it's paces. And hey, if I really don't like this lens, at least i'll have a 35mm f2 for the D3s.  =D 

That's it for now, hopefully it's shed a bit of light on people wanting to buy this lens for their NEX setup, definitely a good buy if you can get it at a good price!

Lens Review - Mir 24N 35mm f2

As i'm doing my Project 365, i'm going to consider that this review be part of my P365 as i'm still adding photos :p

So I received my lens in the mail today and I was pretty excited. Didn't know what to expect as there weren't many reviews on this lens. I bought this lens basically to be used exclusively used on my NEX 5n, as I wanted a natural 50mm field of view on my NEX and was getting fed up with the unsharpness from the Fujian 35mm f1.7.