It was one of those strange days when everything seemed a little...out of phase. I worked on a consulting project for a while, after swim practice and lunch, and eventually I ran out of productive steam and decided to go for a walk in the lovely Spring weather.
I looked around the office, vacillating about which camera to take when I spied the old Rokinon 14mm f2.8 cine lens which survived the Great Nikon Purge of 2016. I gently placed it on an adapter and then onto the front of the Sony a6300. Why not the A7R2? Because 14mm is way too wide for a narrow minded photographer like me. I generally like my lenses long and my naps longer. The 14mm on the APS-C frame of the a6300 would give me an effective focal length of 21mm; which is fine; I was looking to work outside my generous comfort zone.
Man! Even at 21mm, with the corners and edges cropped off, that lens has some serious distortion. Nothing Lightroom can't handle (with a little too much work) but more than you'd like to think about. Love it for the sharpness and contrast; less fond of it for the need for correction.
With my new found lens snobbishness it seems I'd better look to expand my envelope and buy some better wide angle glass. I have my eye on that Zeiss 18mm f2.8 Batis lens. Does anyone here have experience with it yet? Is it even out on the market now? Inquiring minds want to know (but are too lazy today to look it up).
2 comments:
Kirk, I don't know f the 18mm is available yet, but Zeiss doesn't have a very good track record when it comes to Batis availability. I wouldn't be surprised if the Sony 16-35 zoom is around the same size and price. Seems everything I see that was shot with that zoom, especially on the A7Rii, looks amazing.
Not a wide angle but if you are looking for a terrific E mount lens, have a look at the new Sigma 30mm 1.4. Just picked mine up a few days ago and used it seriously for the first time yesterday. All I can say is wow, what a lens. Made some portraits yesterday and I am thrilled with it. It really is incredible and has breathed new life into my Nex system, which I had given up on for a time. I now have 3 wonderful Sigmas for Nex...the 19mm 2.8, the 30mm 1.4 and the 60mm 2.8 Art lens. Very very pleased with the set of 3 primes. The 1.4 is less than $500, the other two were little over $200 each. Great value.
Post a Comment