Sony NEX-7 135mm Lens Battle Part 2

The 135mm Lens Battle Combatants Part 1 for Larger Pictures

Here is the second part of our NEX-7 135mm Lens Battle. Part 1 discussed 135mm lens handling on the NEX-7. We tested three prime lenses (Canon 135/3.5 LTM, Konica 135/3.5, Minolta 135/3.5 MD) and two zoom lenses (Canon 70-200/2.8L, Olympus 75-150/4). The zoom lenses were set at 135mm approximately. The lenses tested are around $100 or less with the exception of the Canon zoom.

The shots were taken at wide open aperture (f/2.8, f/3.5, or f/4) and the at f/8. We have labeled each sample a color and a number. The NEX-7 or lens was on a tripod, ISO100, and JPG Fine output. The samples below are arranged as follows:

• One is shot wide open. It shows the full scene with standard editing.
• One Crop is shot wide open with no editing. It is a 100% crop.
• Two is shot at f/8. It shows the full scene with standard editing.
• Two Crop is shot at f/8 with no editing. It is a 100% crop.
• Three is shot at f/8. It shows the full scene with standard editing.

Here are the samples. Please comment on which samples you like best.

Blue Sample

Red Sample

Green Sample

Orange Sample

Yellow Sample

This post will be edited with the answer key.

Here is the answer key for the sets above: blue, green, orange, red, and yellow. These 100% crops of the RAW file developed by Adode Camera Raw with Daylight white balance. Thanks for participating.

Sony NEX-7 135mm Lens Battle Part 1

Composite of Four 135mm Lenses at f/8 with the NEX-7

Here is a first part of our 135mm focal length test used on the Sony NEX-7. This gives us an equivalent FOV of 202mm. We don't really shoot much at this focal length but we wanted to see how the NEX-7 and the various 135mm lenses worked with each other. These lenses are around the $100 mark with the exception of the Canon zoom. The lenses tested are:

• Canon 135mm f/3.5 LTM
• Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L EF
• Konica Hexanon 135mm f/3.5 AR
• Minolta 135mm f/3.5 MD
• Olympus 75-150mm f/4 Auto Zoom

First let's rate the handling. The Minolta and the Konica are the lightest of the group. This makes them the easiest to handle. The Olympus zoom is next and is most versatile being a zoom lens but it is longer than the Konica and Minolta. The Canon LTM is heavier than the first three but is the most compact in size. The aperture ring is at the end of the barrel and when adjusted, it also adjusts the focus. The Canon EOS zoom is the biggest and heaviest of the group. We do not have the Conurus EF NEX Smart adapter so we cannot change the aperture.

The NEX-7 was set on Aperture Priority, ISO100, and 2 sec self-timer. The camera or lens was set on the tripod. Here are the pictures of the 135mm lenses with the NEX-7.

Sony NEX-7 with 135mm Lenses taken with NEX-5 with 18-55mm Lens

Canon 135mm f/3.5 on NEX-7 via LTM to M Adapter > M to NEX Adapter

Canon 70-200 f/2.8L on NEX-7 via Canon EOS to NEX Adapter

Konica 135mm f/3.5 on NEX-7 via Konica AR to NEX Adapter

Minolta 135mm/f3.5 on NEX-7 via Minolta SR to NEX Adapter

Olympus 75-150/4 Zoom on NEX-7 via Olympus to EOS adapter > EOS to NEX Adapter

We'll post the images on Part 2 of the NEX 135mm Lens Battle.

The images from the 5 lenses above are posted in Part 2.

Sony NEX-7 with Rokkor-M Konica and Contax Lens

Sony NEX-7 ISO 800 with 18-55mm OSS @52mm f/5

We posted earlier about our trip to Unique Photo to see the new Sony NEX-7. It was an open house with Sony representatives exhibiting the new Alpha and NEX cameras, Sony lenses, and flash guns.

There was a lot of interest with the new cameras so our time with the NEX-7 was curtailed. The Sony representatives were all very helpful allowing lens changes and personal memory card usage to grab some images of the pre-production NEX-7.

The brief time with the NEX-7 was great. Since the NEX-5 was our main camera, it's been a while since we used a viewfinder. The NEX-7's EVF was a new experience. It felt odd in the beginning putting a small electronic screen up to your eye but we adjusted by the end of the night. We didn't have time to adjust the diopter, which we should have. All the information from the rear LCD is translated to the 2.36 million dot, 0.5" XGA OLED EVF. The EVF and slightly larger body of the NEX-7 made shooting with quite heavy SLR lenses very manageable.

We did not use the two new dials on top of the NEX-7 since we were using manual lenses. The dials felt great when we did play with them briefly. There was an additional button by the Shutter button that we will most likely reassign to a new command.

We learned a few things about the NEX-7. It responded to the same remote control as the other NEX and Alpha cameras. Also in the menu there was a Micro Adjust option for auto focus lenses. Lastly the NEX-7 was considerably lighter than it looks and will make for a great travel companion.

What would we change with the NEX-7 from our brief encounter? Change the Exposure Bracketing to +/- 3EV with a 5 shot option. The extra button by the Shutter button hopefully is customizable. We would set it to EVF or LCD mode only and not rely on the sensor.

We set the NEX-7 to Shutter priority, and Auto-ISO when the light allowed. The camera was set to JPEG output and that is what's posted here. The posted images are resized and 100% crops from each lens. No other changes were made to the file. All the lenses handled great with the NEX-7. The snapshots are not the best but we had a great time playing with the NEX-7.

Sony NEX-7 ISO 160 with Contax Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 Planar - the shutter speed at 1/60 didn't help this shot.

Sony NEX-7 ISO 200 with Minolta 28mm f/2.8 Rokkor-M

Sony NEX-7 ISO 400 with Konica Hexanon 57mm f/1.2

Sony NEX-7 ISO 6400 +1EV with Voigtlander 12mm f/5.6 Ultra Wide Heliar

The CV 12mm Ultra Wide Heliar shot above was not focused and was taken to see if red-shift at the corners was present.

Thanks to Unique Photo, Sony, and the lovely model in the photos above.

Sony NEX-3 with Konica Hexanon 40mm 1.8

Konica Hexanon AR (AutoReflex) 40 mm / F1.8

zackiedawg shows us his Sony NEX-3 with a Konica Hexanon AR 40mm f/1.8. This is considered a pancake lens but with the Konica Hexanon AR to Sony E-mount lens adapter being almost as big as the lens, the term pancake is negated. It is still a lightweight solution for a 60mm equivalent low light lens on the NEX.

Here are some sample photos by zackiedawg of the NEX and the Hexanon AR 40mm at various apertures.

Aperture = f/1.8

Aperture = 5.6

Crop of above

Aperture = f/1.8

Aperture = f/1.8

Aperture = f/1.8

Aperture = f/8

Thanks zackiedawg!