Leica 35mm Summicron Autofocus on the NEX-6

Leitz Wetzlar 35mm f/2 Summicron on a Sony NEX-6

Leica M 35mm Summicron Lens Autofocus via Contax G Adapter

MxCamera posted their video of a Leica 35mm f/2 Summicron lens from 1960 on the Sony NEX-6 from 2012. The 52 year gap is bridged by a Contax G 28mm lens housing which has been modified to allow autofocus on NEX cameras. If only Dr. Mandler can see what his Summicron can do now.

Thanks MXcamera HK!

Sony DSC-RX1 vs Leica M Type 240 via CameraStoreTV

Sony DSC-RX1 vs Leica M Type 240

TheCameraStoreTV posted their review of the Leica M Type 240. They also brought along the Leica M9 and the Sony DSC-RX1 to compare. The Leicas were fitted with the Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux, while the RX1 comes with the Zeiss 35mm f/2 Sonnar. The RX1 image had a slight advantage over the M Type 240 in both low and high ISO shooting.

Check out the full review by the Camera Store below.

Leica M Type 240 Reviw by The Cameras Store

DxOMark Sony NEX-7 vs Leica M 240

Leica M Type 240 vs Sony NEX-7 Sensor from DxOMark

DxOMark published their analysis of the new Leica M Type 240's sensor and we compared it against the Sony compact heavyweights, the NEX-7 and the Sony DSC-RX1. The NEX-7 is about the same as the new Leica M in the color depth and the dynamic range scores. It just fell short in the low-light ISO score which we can attribute to having an APS-C sensor compared to the Leica M 240's full frame sensor. We are hoping that the upcoming Sony NEX-7N will have ISO 50 to improve that score.

Leica M Type 240 vs Sony DSC-RX1 Sensor from DxOMark

But the full frame sensor of the RX1 is somewhat ahead of the new Leica M Type 240 according to DxOMark's measurements.

Check out DxOMark's review of the Leica M Type 240.

Thanks DxOMark!

Sony NEX-7 with Leica 60mm Macro Elmarit-R

Here are a few shots from Old Sturbridge Village using our newly acquired Leica 60mm f/2.8 Macro Elmarit-R on the Sony NEX-7. The Leica 60mm Macro is said to have "excellent image quality at close-up range..." and "superb results at greater distances" when stopped down. We used the Macro Elmarit-R wide open all day at f/2.8 and only stopped down to f/5.6 when the depth of field was needed. The NEX-7 was set to Aperture Priority and ISO 100 outdoors or Auto ISO indoors. A basic Leica R to E-mount lens adapter was used.

NEX-7 with Leica 60mm at f/2.8 ISO 100

The NEX-7 with the Leica 60mm is a nice match in good light. We had no problem of keeping the shutter speeds up at f/2.8 in snowy New England.

NEX-7 with Leica 60mm at f/2.8 ISO 800 to 1600

The Leica 60mm Macro Elmarit-R has a long focus throw and focusing indoors takes some practice with moving subjects. The focus ring is well damped and provided nice feedback for critical focus.

NEX-7 with Leica 60mm at f/5.6 ISO 100

NEX-7 with Leica 60mm at f/2.8 ISO 400-800

We don't shoot Macro too much but that can change with the Leica 60mm with the 1:1 adapter. Here are shots at f/2.8, f/8 and f/22 at minimum focus distance.

NEX-7 with Leica 60mm at f/2.8 with 1:1 Adapter at Minimum Focus Distance

Sony NEX-7 with Leica 60mm Macro Elmarit-R

Above is the NEX-7 with the Leica 60mm Macro Elmarit-R. We enjoyed shooting with the lens and it will be added to the NEX travel kit.

Voigtlander 21mm Ultron Aspherical on Sony NEX-7

NEX-7 with Voigtlander 21mm f/1.8 Ultron via Novoflex Leica M to E-mount adapter.

TechTalk with Ron Sheffler tested the new Voigtlander 21mm f/1.8 Aspherical Ultron against three other Leica M 21mm lenses on the Leica M9. He also used the lenses on the Sony NEX-7 and found that the Voigtlander 21mm f/1.8 the best at farther distances and large apertures. The Leica 21 f/3.4 Super Elmar-M came in second, the Zeiss 21mm f/2.8 Biogon in third, and the Leica 21 f/1.4 Summilux at the back of the pack. At f/4 all the lenses performed equally well on the NEX-7's APS-C sensor.

Here are some samples from the NEX-7 and the Voigtlander 21mm wide open at f/1.8. You can see more samples at TechTalk.

Sample Images from NEX-7 with Voigtlander 21mm f/1.8

Check out TechTalk with Ron Sheffler for an extensive review and comparison between the four 21mm Leica M mount lenses mentioned above. There are also plenty of sample images from the Leica M9 with the lenses.

Voigtlander 21mm f/1.8 provides an equivalent field of view of 32mm on the NEX sensor.

Images courtesy of ronsheffler.com.

Thanks Ron S!

Sony NEX-7 with M-Rokkor 28mm

All shots are from the Sony NEX-7 with a M-Rokkor 28mm f/2.8 and a close-focusing Leica M mount adapter. Happy holidays everyone and thanks for following the blog.

NEX-7 with Voigtlander Sigma and Fuji Lenses in Turkey

NEX-7 with Voigtlander 15mm, Sigma 30mm, and Fujinon 50mm lens

Here is a set of pictures by Emmanuel C. taken in Turkey with his Sony NEX-7. He brought along a pair of adapted manual focus lenses: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 Super Wide Heliar and the Fujinon 50mm f/1.9 lens. He also used the native E-mount autofocus the Sigma 30mm f/2.8 DN lens. This provides a nice set covering 22.5mm, 45mm, and 75mm equivalent field of view.

Check out Emmanuel's website at EmmanuelChampagne.fr.

Leica M - Target of the NEX System

The new Leica M

This is the new Leica M camera and this is where the NEX system should be headed. The Leica M has technologies proven in NEX cameras such as focus peaking, detachable and tiltable electronic viewfinder, accepting other lenses via adapters, and a movie mode. The Leica M adds the following to the NEX system: a full frame sensor, rangefinder focusing system, a weather proof body, and a GPS accessory. The Leica M will be around $7000, around 6x the cost of the Sony NEX-7. Kudos to Leica.

Voigtlander 21mm Ultron NEX Friendly?

Voigtlander 21mm f/1.8 Ultron

Here is a new Leica M mount lens from Voigtlander. It is a fast f/1.8, 21mm wide angle lens. This translates to 30mm (effective FOV) for the Sony NEX sensor. The big question is, will it play well with the APS-C sensor? We are hoping that it does and give us a fast, wide angle lens similar to the Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 ZA E. The manual focus and aperture, Leica M mount, Voigtlander 21mm f/1.8 Ultron will cost £1149. It is almost twice the weight of the Zeiss 24mm.



21mm f/1.8 Ultron Specs from Voigtlander Germany:

Due to its large diameter elements, you can shoot with available light even in severe light condition, and also shallow depth of field and super wide angle, this mix of features offers you a chance to emphasize main things with great bokeh.
Any kind of aberration is corrected properly by the construction of 13 elements 11 groups with Aspherical element.

13 elements in 11 groups with Aspherical lens
Full Metal Barrel with high stiffness and durability
Manual Focus only but Smoothly and Perfectly focusing
10 aperture blades brings you a beautiful Bokeh

Lenshood included (non-detachable)

Focal Length	21 mm
Aperture Ratio	1:1.8
Smallest Aperture	F22
Lens Construction	11 groups, 13 elements
Picture angle	91°
Aperture blades	10
Closest distance	0.5 m
Focus range	∞ - 0.7m
Diameter	69.0 mm
Length	78.4mm (with lenshood)
Weight	412g
Filter size	58 mm
Mount	VM

RX1 35mm Sonnar Lens MTF Chart

Sony RX1 35mm Zeiss Sonnar Autoocus Lens

Sony RX1 35mm Sonnar Lens MTF Chart
at f/2 and f/8; 10 and 30 lp/mm

Here is the calculated MTF Chart for the 35mm f/2 Sonnar lens on the Sony DSC-RX1. We will try go give a quick explanation of the RX1 MTF charts above. The red lines show how well contrast will be reproduced by the lens. The green lines show sharpness or resolving power of the lens. The higher on the chart the better. The horizontal axis represents the point from the center of the lens. This tells us the corner performance of the lens.

The Sony's RX1 35mm Zeiss Sonnar lens as described in the press release:

Complementing the full-frame sensor is a fast, bright Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* lens with a fixed focal length of 35mm – a versatile choice for portraits, street photography and everyday shooting. Recordable dynamic range is reduced at sensitivity levels below ISO100. Full-frame Image Sensor APS-C Image Sensor3 Derived from the German word “Sonne” (“sun”), the Sonnar name reflects the ability of the lens to capture as much light as possible. This premium lens features newly designed optics including an Advanced Aspherical (AA) glass element. This contributes to the camera‟s extremely compact palm-sized dimensions while keeping extremely high performance of the lens.

The lens‟s wide F2 maximum aperture and 9-bladed circular aperture enable beautiful "bokeh‟ (defocus) effects. A Macro switching ring on the lens barrel instantly shortens minimum focusing distance to just 20cm (from image plane), making the Cyber-shot RX1 ideal for capturing small close-up subjects with exquisite detail.

Below are actual measured MTF charts for the other 35mm f/2 compact lenses, the Zeiss Biogon and the Leica Summicron. Calculated and measured mtf charts should not be compared but we wanted to see what the Sony and Zeiss engineers were targeting when they designed the 35mm Sonnar lens for the RX1.

Zeiss 35mm Biogon ZM Lens MTF Chart
at f/2 and f/4; 10, 20 and 40 cycles/mm

Leica 35mm Summicron MTF Chart
at f/2 and f/5.6; 5, 10, 20 and 40 lp/mm

The MTF Chart for the Sony DSC-RX1 is from the Sony Hong Kong RX1 Press Releasewhich contains a lot more information about the new RX1.

MTF Charts Explained by Carl Zeiss AG.

Sony RX1 with Zeiss 35mm Sonnar - a NEX?

Sony RX1 with Zeiss 35mm f/2 Sonnar Lens

Sony has set the digital camera world abuzz with leaks of the Sony RX1. The RX1 uses the full frame, 24 x 34 mm, 24 megapixel sensor from the soon to be released Sony SLT-A99 camera. The pictures show that Zeiss developed an autofocus 35mm f/2 Sonnar lens for the RX1.

Is it a fixed lens camera? Zeiss will display three new prime autofocus CSC lenses later this month at Photokina. Could they be for the RX1? A 35mm, shown above? a 50mm standard? and a 90mm macro?

The speculated price for the RX1 with the Zeiss 35mm Sonnar is $2799. This is line with Sony's pricing since the NEX-7 with the Zeiss 24mm Sonnar is $2300.

RX1 with Built-in Pop-up Flash

RX1 showing Video Button

Below is a quick mock-up of the Sony NEX-7 with the Zeiss 24mm ZA ($2300), a Leica M9 with a 35mm Summicron ($9700), and the Sony RX1 with the Zeiss 35mm Sonnar ($2799).

Sony NEX-7 with 24mm Sonnar, Leica M9 with 35mm Summicron, Sony RX1 with 35mm Sonnar

What do you think about the Sony DSC-RX1? Would you buy a 35mm fixed lens full frame camera? Would you wait for the eventual Interchangeable Lens version?

NEX-7 Lens Resolution Tests via Imatest at LensRentals.com

R.C. at LensRentals.com performed a test on several lenses on the NEX-7. The lenses comprised of the native E-mount lenses from Sony and Sigma. A Leica Summilux was also thrown into the mix since it's done well in previous Imatest challenges.

The numbers below represent MTF-50 at aperture f/4. The NEX-7 was set at ISO 400 and each lens was manually focused and bracketed so that focus errors were eliminated.

from Imatest.

Device or system sharpness is measured as a Spatial Frequency Response (SFR), also called Modulation Transfer Function (MTF). MTF is the contrast at a given spatial frequency (measured in cycles or line pairs per distance) relative to low frequencies. The 50% MTF frequency correlates well with perceived sharpness— much better than the old vanishing resolution measurement, which indicated where the detail wasn’t.

Now let's look at the test results at aperture f/4.

Lens	Max	Avg
Sony 16mm f/4	915	646
Sigma 19mm f/4	920	765
Sony 24mm f/4	1000	795
Sony 18-200 f/4	855	680
Sony 18-55 @20 f/4	855	640
Sony 30mm f/4	940	725
Sigma 30mm f/4	1040	840
Sony 50mm f/4	885	835
Leica 50mm f/4	1020	870

Photo by jerome_Munich

What can we learn from this test? At f/4 most of these lenses, from $4000+ Leicas to $200 Sigmas, will be separated by the technique of the photographer with regards to resolution. Keep the camera still when taking a shot by using a high shutter speed, a tripod, a remote shutter release, etc. If you want maximum resolution, it looks like the Sigma 30mm DN Lens is the best bang for the buck.

Here's a quick quote from the article regarding the NEX-7 vs the Canon 5d Mark III and the Nikon D800.

• (NEX-7) resolution at f/4 with a good lens is about what we see with a Canon 5DII or III (1050 / 800 or so LP/IH) with a good lens, not quite as good as a Nikon D800 (1200 / 1000 LP / IH).

Read the complete NEX-7 Lens Resolution Comparison by RC at LensRentals.com.

Read more about sharpness from Imatest.

Thanks RC!

NEX-C3 in the Sahara Morocco and High Atlas

A Owens posted pictures of his adventure with his sons in the Sahara desert. Here is what he wrote:

Left all the Canon gear at home for this trip and went light with the NEX C3 only together with Voigty 15mm, Zeiss 21/4.5 and 50/2 and Elmarit 90/2.8. My youngest 2 sons were with me camping into the desert to sample life without Xbox, TV, western comforts etc.. They loved it.

Here are A Owens shots with the Sony NEX-C3 and some manual focus lenses. It's nice to see that the C3 won't be a stumbling block for making great memories.



















Check out more of A Owens NEX-C3 Western Sahara / Morocco shots in his dpreview gallery.

Thanks A!