NEX-7 with Contax 28mm Distagon via Speedbooster

Here are some sample shots from the NEX-7 and the Contax Zeiss 28mm f/2.8 Distagon using the Metabones Speedbooster. It was great shooting the 28mm at close to its natural focal length. The lens was always set wide open at f/2.8 and the NEX-7 was at ISO 100. We are very pleased with the Speed Booster.

Sony NEX-7 Rear Button Focus

Figure 1. Rear Button aka AF/MF Button Controls Autofocus.

Here's a way to autofocus using the rear AF/MF button instead of the shutter button. You can then separate focus from locking exposure with the shutter button half press. This will also prevent the lens from prefocusing when in AF or DMF mode.

Setting up the NEX-7 to use AF/MF Rear Button Focus.

• Set the camera to Manual Focus, Figure 2.
• Set the AF/MF Control to HOLD, Figure 3.
• Set the AF/MF Button to AF/MF Control, Figure 1.
• Set the Function Button to Focus Settings, Figure 4. This will let us control the focus point via Flexible Spot. You can also use Center focus point then Recompose. The camera must be in MF or DMF mode, Figure 2., to use Focus Settings.

Figure 2. Set the camera to MANUAL FOCUS.

Figure 3. Set the AF/MF Control to HOLD.

Figure 4. Set Function Button to Focus Settings.

Here is the Sony NEX-7 Manual for download for more info.

Carl Zeiss Touit 12mm Distagon and Miami

Delano Hotel South Beach

Here are some shots from the Zeiss Touit 12mm Distagon from Miami. It was a quick trip and the weather did not cooperate. The 12mm Touit is a nice match for the NEX-7 due to its lightweight design yet being so well built. The lens was glued to the NEX-7 for most of the trip. The 18mm FOV will take more practice since it's such a wide perspective.

Car Inside Trump Sunny Isles

La Sandwicherie South Beach

Mac's Club Deuce

Airport Code: EWR

Zeiss Touit 12mm Lens in Istanbul Not Constantinople

The plan: spend the 5 hr layover in Istanbul Ataturk Airport to visit the Asian side of Istanbul by ferry.

The plan was devised by my friend and I with no planning. Our other companions stayed behind and wished us luck since we needed it. First one needs a $20 visa to enter Turkey, this took 15 minutes. Next was the passport check line, this took 25 minutes - we have 4 hrs and 20 mins left before our plane left to our final destination. The easiest way to get into Istanbul is by the Metro. We had to take the Subway then the tram to the ferry. Luckily we had no map and were depending on strangers to get us to our destination. We arrived at the ferry one hour later with no complications except for the slow and jam packed tram - 3 hrs and 20 mins to go.

And the problems began. We were told that the ferry was free - it was not. We had to scramble to get tokens - where did the Turkish Liras go? We were rushing to catch the next ferry, and did not confirm its destination. We boarded and waited for 5 mins for the ferry to launch. We saw the Asian side to the left of us, and it stayed to the left of us. The ferry took 15 mins to arrive at its destination which was still the European side of Istanbul - oops. We had no choice but to retrace our steps back to the airport. We finally acquired a map and saw where we went wrong. We took the wrong ferry. The ferry fiasco took 40 mins - 2 hrs and 40 mins left.

We missed the first tram back - 10 mins wait. We got on the next one and slowly countdown the stops in order not to miss the transfer to the subway. It always felt faster returning but this time it did not. Everything was new and we didn't notice how close the tram was to the people and the sidewalks - did we get on the right tram? We did as confirmed by the tram map. We transfer to the subway and get back into the airport - one hour gone, 1 hr 30 min left.

We had to go through two security checks - one has not seen a film camera before. We also had to go through the passport / visa check again and ran through the airport. We checked the flight status boards and saw that our flight was blinking red - FINAL CALL. We arrived at our gate with 10 mins before take off and the airline ticket attendants questioned us. A special screener was assigned to my friend since he had no checked in luggage. We eventually boarded the plane with cheers and jeers from our companions. It was a good yet unsuccessful adventure on a nice day in Istanbul not Constantinople.

Here are a few photos I managed to snap with the new Carl Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8 Distagon lens on the NEX-7. I was hoping I had more time to shoot but this was low on our priority list. The camera was on Aperture Priority and Autofocus.

How Zeiss Touit Lenses Are Made

Manufacturing of Zeiss Touit Lenses for NEX Cameras

One Hundred Pieces Hand Assembled

Carl Zeiss shows the time and care invested into each Zeiss Touit lens for your NEX Camera.

Zeiss Touit Press Event Coverage

Zeiss 12mm f/2.8 Touit with the Voigtlander 12mm f/5.6

Here's what we learned from the Zeiss Touit Lens press event yesterday.

• Zeiss sees the Compact System Camera on an upward trend while the DSLR market peaking.
• More Touit lenses will be announced within 12-24 months.
• The 50mm f/2.8 macro will be announced this fall.
• The lenses are much lighter than they appear.
• The focus ring is well damped.
• The lenses are designed to work with the latest NEX firmware.
• The 12mm Distagon and the 32mm Planar will be available early June.
• The 12mm and 32mm MTF charts are posted below.

Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8 Lens MTF Chart

Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Lens MTF Chart

Thank you Richard, Nicole, and Tobias!

Pre-order your Touit Lenses at Unique Photo.

Zeiss Touit Lenses Explained by Dr. Pollmann

Compact Lens for a Compact NEX System

Dr. Michael Pollmann Carl Zeiss Program Manager discusses the Touit Lens Line.

Here is Dr. Pollmann of Carl Zeiss discussing the Touit lens concept. The Touit autofocus lenses are designed for NEX cameras as was the Zeiss 24mm Sonnar. With the introduction of the Touit line, NEX owners have access to Zeiss' legendary lens designs, Distagon, Planar, and Sonnar. The first Touit lenses will be available around June.

Inner Workings of a Zeiss Touit Lens

Pre-order the Zeiss Touit lenses from Unique Photo.

Keukenhof Tulips by H. Stanbury and NEX-7

Here are H. Stanbury photos from Keukenhof also known as the Garden of Europe during the spring tulip bulb display. He used his Sony NEX-7 with the 18-55mm OSS lens and a Vivitar 24mm f/2.8 in Minolta mount for the photos.

Keukenhof by H. Stanbury

You can see the complete Keukenhof gallery at flickr.

Thanks flickrdelusions!

Zeiss Touit Lenses for NEX Cameras

Carl Zeiss Touit 32mm Planar

Touit, pronounced "do it," is the new name of Carl Zeiss autofocus lenses for NEX cameras. There will initially be three Touit lenses, 12mm, 32mm, and 50mm. They are expected to be available by the summer.

From the Carl Zeiss camera lens blog:

Touit is pronounced like the English “do it.” Touit stands for good visibility, agility, mobility and diversity, qualities which also aptly describe the new ZEISS lenses for mirrorless camera systems. The name Touit comes from the band-tailed parrots. This bird is very small and agile, and its plumage is deep green. The Touit parrots live in Latin America and the Caribbean in a wide range of different habitats, from damp-tropical island regions to lowland rainforests to thorn-bush savannas and even high in the Andes Mountains at altitudes of up to over 20,000 feet.

Please check our previous post for details on the three Touit lenses from Carl Zeiss.

Carl Zeiss Touit 32mm Planar mounted on Sony NEX-7

Carl Zeiss Touit 12mm Distagon

More info about the genus touit from wikipedia.

Thanks Carl Zeiss!

NEX-7 with Speed Booster vs Nikon D600

Sony NEX-7 with Speed Booster vs Nikon D600

TheCameraStoreTV posted their hands on video with the Metabone Speed Booster for NEX cameras. They used the Canon EOS to NEX Speed Booster lens adapter on the NEX-7.

In the video they compare the NEX-7 and the Nikon D600, a full frame camera, to see if there are perceptible differences. They used a Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM lens on both cameras. The exposures were set to be equal at ISO 200 and aperture set at f/8. The NEX-7 with the Speed Booster registered and aperture of f/5.6 due to the full stop of light from the adapter. The D600 registered f/8. The image above is a side by side comparison at 400% enlargement. Would you be able to tell the difference?

Check out the full hands on video with the Speed Booster below.

Metabones Speed Booster Review by TheCamaeraStore

Thanks Jordan and TheCamerStore!

The Metabones Speed Booster can be found here.

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.