Sony NEX 7 and UWA lenses

[kit laughlin]

Hello all,

has anyone tried either of the Cosina Voigtlander UWA lenses (12/5.6 and 15/4.5) on the NEX 7? And, if so, how much smearing of detail is there at the edges?

TIA, kl

[nex100]

Dierk Topp actually used this combo for a couple of landscape shots.

NEX-7 with 12mm Heliar

Without Corner Fix

With Corner Fix

I downloaded the original file. Although the edges are not super sharp but I think it is still ok for landscape shots.

[kit laughlin]

Well—they look great to me. Did he mention what aperture? I can't help wondering if this problem has been exaggerated; I cancelled my NEX 7 order for that reason (the alleged smearing) and landscapes need detail in the corners and edges—and these images look great to me. Is Dierk a member here, does anyone know?

[kit laughlin]

I have contacted him via Flickr and asked him to join in here; seems like an important point to clear up. I am using the GXR (no AA filter) and almost a full range of CV lenses, and (especially on the UWA end) very happy with the results. Still, 24Mp and that EVF..

[etrigan63]

I have to agree Kit, the 12mm Heliar looks pretty good on the NEX-7.

[Vivek]

Kit, I have the 15mm CV lens , have tried it indoors. I will not be using it on the NEX-7.

I look forward to the 19/2.8 from Sigma and perhaps there will be others to follow.

The NEX-7 is a fine camera but those M mount/LTM lenses have severe limits on it.

Some Arriflex mount Zeiss distagons have been tried earlier on the NEX-5. Wolfgang (member "Arri") knows the 16/2 Distagon well.

[nex100]

No need to worry about corners when you crop. Just take the center of the lens. This is how much you can crop.

1:1 crop

Actual image

[Vivek]

NEX100, The links are from a 24/1.8 E-Sonnar.

[dierk]

I would like to answer your questions.

As far as I remember, it was f/8 on this particular photo (here without cornerfix):


if it is of any interest, I can upload the RAW file.
The bottom corner on the left look poor for me, the upper right corner looks better, but is more away. I use a very cheap M-adapter (only 38€), but wit an ultra wide the DOF at f/8 should compensate any misalignment of the adapter.

@nex100,
when using the 12mm Heliar, you crop by crop factor 1.5 already. When I have a 24 MPix camera, I want to use the full potential of the RAW (with slides in the analog world crop was no option anyway )
With my M9 I have to crop almost every image, as the finder is just not correct enough.

Landscapes with a 12mm for me is not the best solution and you often have to crop the bottom part, because it is useless (and you may get your feet into the picture). I use longer lenses and stitch. With this technique there are no problems in the corners and you get as many resolution and pixels, as you want.
For me the 12mm is best for dynamic scenes or extreme views and positions.

@Carlos, fantastic gear on your home page