SAR note: This is a guest post from Carbon Studio. If you want to write for SAR contact me (Andrea) at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com. Thanks!

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“Perspective”

The Sony A7s has proven to be one powerful little camera. After our previous video, “Moonlight” https://vimeo.com/105690274
we showed the high ISO capability and how well it did filming in complete moonlit situations. We wanted to explore the option of recording 4K with it.

We were given the opportunity of flying around San Francisco, CA at night and film the city. So we got ahold of an Atoms Shogun and started our plan of attack.
On the day of filming got our gear packed and headed to the airport. We used the Movi M5, Sony A7s, and the Atomos Shogun. Such a light set up and a guaranteed powerful combination.

The Sony A7s has an amazing dynamic range when filming. I have been noticing that it picks up a lot of ambient light.
It made the buildings seem fake, sort of CGI, with the amount of light it was able to bring in.
As you can see in the photos below, these are ungraded frame grabs from the 4K.

I’m am really impressed with the amount of resolution this little camera can output in video. We filled up about one 480gb San disk SSD during the flight which is a manageable size for the amount of footage we collected.

The light form factor mixed with the powerful images it produces, makes this my favorite camera to shoot with on just about any shoot. It makes filming with a Movi or a Ronin effortless with its weight.

Here is the video:

Perspective | 4K from Carbon Studios on Vimeo.

Sony A7s store links:
Sony A7s in USA/CA at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Sony USA, Sony Canada.
Sony A7s in Eu at Sony DE, UK, ES, FR, IT, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, NO, FI, PL. And Wex UK.
A7s Gariz leather case in [shoplink 27569 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 27570 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 27571 ebay]Red (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 27572 ebay]Orange (Click here)[/shoplink].

SLRgear (Click here) is the first site having published a full detailed review of the new Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 FE lens. They write:

Image quality from the new 35mm ƒ/1.4 lens is very good, with excellent sharpness — though being an ƒ/1.4 optic, there is some softness, especially in the corners, when shot wide-open. Other optical qualities such as CA and distortion control are also very good, and while vignetting is understandable strong at ƒ/1.4, it’s less of an issue at smaller aperture.
Overall, Sony has produced yet another very good lens for the A7-series cameras — a super-solid lens with excellent build quality, a nice feel and great image quality. Sure, it’s significantly larger, heavier and more expensive than the earlier FE 35mm ƒ/2.8 lens, but if you’re a professional or advanced enthusiast photographer in need of a superior low-light lens for the your full-frame Sony mirrorless camera, this is the one to consider.

The Zeiss can be preordered here:
in USA at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
in Europe at Sony Germany, Sony UK, Sony FR, Sony IT, Sony ES, Sony NL, Sony BE, Sony AT, Sony CH, Sony SE, Sony FI, Sony NO, Sony PT.
in Asia/Australia at Digitalrev, Sony Australia.

What’s hot with the lens:
– The lens has super fast Direct Drive focusing
– Advanced Aspherical Lens
– Aperture ring with click or clickless switch
– It’s weather sealed

All new FE lens preorder links:
In USA at:
Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 FE at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Sony US.
Sony 90mm f/2.8 FE at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Sony US.
Sony 24-240mm FE at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Sony US.
Sony 28mm f/2.0 FE at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Sony US.
Sony Fisheye Conversion Lens for FE 28mm F/2 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony Ultra-Wide Conversion Lens for FE 28mm F/2 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony Fisheye Converter for E 16mm F/2.8 and E 20mm F/2.8 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony Ultra-Wide Converter for E 16mm F2.8 and E 20mm F2.8 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
In Europe at:
Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 FE at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Sony 90mm f/2.8 FE at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Sony 24-240mm FE at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Sony 28mm f/2.0 FE at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Wide Angle converter at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Fisheye converter at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Wide angle converter for 16 and 20mm lenses at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Fisheye converter for 16 and 20mm lenses at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
In Asia/Australia at:
Sony 24-240mm FE lens at Digitalrev, CameraPRO, Sony Australia.
Sony 28mm FE lens at Digitalrev, Sony Australia.
Sony 90mm FE lens at Digitalrev, Sony Australia.
Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 FE lens at Digitalrev, Sony Australia.
Wide angle converter for 16 and 20mm lenses at Digitalrev, Sony Australia.
Fisheye converter for 16 and 20mm lenses at Digitalrev, Sony Australia.

The new FE 28mm lens on the A7II: preorders on Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto. And Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.

Pantip just completed what is the first and only real world review of the new Sony 28mm FE lens. Pantip allowed me to repost some image samples. Many more can be seen on his site! Let’s start with his PRO and CONS list mentioned by the reviewer:

Pros:
– Very sharp straight from the maximum aperture. At f/2.0 is sharp almost ont he entire frame (with very little loss on corners)
– Negligible distortion
– Very compact lens
– When using the converter EXIF data gets correctly transmitted

Disadvantages
– close focus point could be…closer
– The fisheye converter on the 28mm lens is quite heavy
– Not really a very good bokeh (but that’s something the lens is not designed for)

And now let’s take a look to some of the more “explicative” images:

Sony Zeiss Distagon T* FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA lens review – for Sony Alpha 7 cameras

So far according to Amazon Lens sales ranking the new Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 is the “less” preordered of the four new lenses. It may have to do with the high price tag and with the fact that there are only very few tests seen with this lens yet. So let’s sum up what we know so far:

1) On top you see the video review from Whatdigitalcamera. They like the lens although they say it’s not perfect as it has some vignetting at wider aperture (but that may be something people likes to have).

2) Steve Huff (Click here) previewed the Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 FE lens and writes:

For me, this is TRULY the 1st native “WOW” lens for the Sony full frame FE system. It easily surpasses the 55 1.8 for me as well as the 35 2.8 that I have been using since the launch of the A7 system, and those are both beautiful lenses when it comes to image quality. The 35 1.4 has such a beautiful character and rich rendering.

3) Amateur Photographer (Click here) tested the Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 FE lens and writes:

4) MTF graph and image samples can be seen on that SonyAlphaRumors post. And full size image samples at Dpreview.

The lens certainly has a very good optical performance. My only drawback is the size. But that’s because I personally prefer smaller and less intrusive lenses when doing street photography. If you do landscape, wedding or studio shooting this will certainly not be an issue.

All new FE lens preorder links:
In USA at:
Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 FE at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Sony US.
Sony 90mm f/2.8 FE at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Sony US.
Sony 24-240mm FE at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Sony US.
Sony 28mm f/2.0 FE at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Sony US.
Sony Fisheye Conversion Lens for FE 28mm F/2 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony Ultra-Wide Conversion Lens for FE 28mm F/2 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony Fisheye Converter for E 16mm F/2.8 and E 20mm F/2.8 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony Ultra-Wide Converter for E 16mm F2.8 and E 20mm F2.8 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
In Europe at:
Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 FE at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Sony 90mm f/2.8 FE at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Sony 24-240mm FE at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Sony 28mm f/2.0 FE at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Wide Angle converter at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Fisheye converter at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Wide angle converter for 16 and 20mm lenses at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Fisheye converter for 16 and 20mm lenses at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
In Asia at:
Sony 24-240mm FE lens at Digitalrev.

Image courtesy: Photozone

Our severe German reviewer and friend Klaus from Photozone (Click here) tested the Zeiss FE 16-35mm lens:

It is capable of delivering sharp results at medium apertures. In fact it’s pretty much excellent around the 20mm mark especially considering the 36mp sensor of the test camera. The weakest spot is at 35mm where the corners could be better at f/4 and f/5.6 but beyond they are just fine actually.
Typical for most Sony-made lenses the build quality is impressive. The tightly assembled, weather-sealed metal body feels reassuring and it’s simply a joy to use it out there. While AF speed isn’t really an important value proposition on such a lens, it is decent although not outstanding.

16-35mm Zeiss FE lens store links:
USA/Canada  at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Sony Store US, Sony Canada.
Europe at Sony DE, UK, ES, IT, FR, CH, AT, NL, BE, FI, SE, NO, PT.
Australia and Asia at Sony AUS, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev.

[/shoplink] The new Heliar III on the left. It’s larger than the II and I versions because it has been optimized for the use on FE cameras.

Voigtlander really sees the importance of their M-mount lenses for the Sony FE system. That’s why the new Voigtländer 15mm f/4.5 Heliar III has been designed with the Sony FE cameras in mind. It means the light hits the Sony FF sensor in a more “favorable” way. And this should bring a considerable improvement on the corners. The lens is already shipping in [shoplink 33949 ebay]Hong Kong (Here on Shenikon)[/shoplink] and will ship the next week in [shoplink 34274 ebay]Germany (Here on Fotomundus)[/shoplink].

And at last we can see a first review with plenty of full size image samples at DC.watch (google translation here). As you can see from the image on top the lens is much larger than the first and second generation Heliar 15mm lenses. But the really important part of the review is that one. Click on the images to enlarge:

The difference is really big! Here are the enlarged bottom left and right corners:

As you can see there is more detail, less vignetting and less color shift on the new lens.

I do not mind using an [shoplink 34266 ebay]M to E-mount adapter[/shoplink] to use that Voigtländer lens. But I still hope that in future Voigtländer will design proper native E-mount lenses. That would be great!