DxO: Best lenses for the A77. NEX-5t test too.

Best normal-tele primes list.

Dxomark posted a double Sony related testing:

1) Best lenses for the Sony A77 (Click here to read). As expected most of the times Zeiss lenses are on top :)

2) NEX-5T sensor text (Click here to read). They write: “It’s human nature to feel disappointed that Sony didn’t improve the sensor between this and the NEX-5R but the few improvements in features over that model are welcome nonetheless.“

First Zeiss 55mm FE lens review via SLRgear! Says it “is a fantastic fast prime lens”

We finally got a first review of the Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 FE. Thanks to SLRgear.com (Click here to read it). And the testing show an impressive performance of the lens! SLRgear writes:

Optically, this lens is a stellar performer, as many Zeiss lenses are, with very sharp images on both the new full-frame cameras as well as sub-frame Sony cameras. Other factors like chromatic aberration and distortion are practically nonexistent with this lens, but there is noticeable vignetting, particularly on full-frame cameras at wider apertures — a pretty small price to pay for outstanding performance otherwise.

This lens is a real surprise. I want one, I preordered one :)

It will ship in late December and you can get it at (Click on the shop name to check lens price and availability): Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. In Europe at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT.

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Specs and Preorders in US and Canada:
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.

Specs and Preorders in Europe:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,  WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony  DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT
Zeiss 24-70mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, SE, PT
Sony G 28-70mm lens at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO.

Asia:
A7r at Digitalrev.
A7 at Digitalrev, Amazon Cina.
A7 with 28-70mm lens at Digitalrev.

Sony A7 test at Cinema5d.

Sony A7-first look from Johnnie Behiri on Vimeo.

Cinema5D (Click here) posted a new A/ first imrpession review seen from a videomaker perspective:

As you might see in the video above, the quality of video indeed improved over previous models. The “soft” look (out of the box) that bothered me with the A99 is now a bit better. Also, the low light capability of the camera is better. All the clips in this video were shot at ISOs between 800-1250.

More tests:
A7 images with Rokkor MC 50mm f1.4 by Phillip Reeve.
A7R + Zeiss biogon 35/2 ZM and Planar 50/2 ZM at Xexets
A7 hands-on at Chadwadsworth.blogspot.
The Mitakon 35mm f/0.95 almost covers the Full Frame area from the A7/A7r (Dchome.net)

Specs and Preorders in Europe:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,  WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony  DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT
Zeiss 24-70mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, SE, PT
Sony G 28-70mm lens at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO.

Specs and Preorders in US and Canada:
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.

Asia:
A7r at Digitalrev.
A7 at Digitalrev, Amazon Cina.
A7 with 28-70mm lens at Digitalrev.

Sony A7 and A7r reviews roundup (plenty of links and tests!).


Sony A7r and Leica M 240 Shutter Sound Comparison

Sexiness test: Sony A7r with mutliple legacy lenses at Pbase.
First impressions hands on comparing the A7 to the OM-D and 5DmkIII (Fotograf Stockholm)
HIGH ISO – Sony A7, A7r, Leica M and E-M1! (Steve Huff).
A7r is Rated to have the best picture quality of all full Format dslr and is therefore New picture quality reference at German Chip Foto Video magazin.
A7 test at Fotopolis.
A7 test at Itmedia.
Sony A7 test by Mapcamera and Yodobashi.
Sony A7r test by Yodobashi.
Sony Zeiss 35mm test by Yodobashi.

Specs and Preorders in US and Canada:
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.

Specs and Preorders in Europe:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,  WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony  DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT
Zeiss 24-70mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, SE, PT
Sony G 28-70mm lens at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO.

Asia:
A7r at Digitalrev.
A7 at Digitalrev, Amazon Cina.
A7 with 28-70mm lens at Digitalrev.

DxO about the Sigma 18-35mm lens: “Unrivalled Standard Zoom”


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DxOmark tested the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 lens:

The Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 DC HSM A remains an outstanding example of what’s achievable with modern lens designs. And at $799, it’s reasonably accessible in price as well.

The Lens also got tested at Dpreview (Click here). The Lens earned a Gold Award and the DP team writes:

Its relatively narrow zoom range is undeniably a little restrictive, but on the other hand, the image quality it can offer over that range is absolutely stellar. It’s let down a little by inconsistent autofocus, which makes it difficult to get consistently sharp results every time when shooting wide open. But if you’re prepared to live with this, the 18-35mm is capable of delivering truly exceptional results.

You can preorder the lens at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and Adorama (Click here). There is even a price drop on the lens at Amazon UK. But there is still not exact release date info from Sigma! And that’s really annoying!

New A7/A7r legacy lens test By Frank Doorhof and The.me (Lens compensation app)

Plenty of SAR readers are now receiving their A7-A7r cameras. And I guess most of them will use third-party lenses on their camera. Not all of them know that Sony has launched a new APP called “Lens Compensation” (available here). As you can see from the video on top this may be THE solution to fix most of the issues you can have on some wide angle glass. The problem now is that Sony still has to update it to make it work with our A7-A7r cameras! Let’s hope Sony will updated the APP with RAW support and also a database with some legacy lens settings!

Meantime let’s check out the new legacy lens test posted by two photographers:

Karel Van Wolferen:
KVW wrote an article about the A7r with a ton of legacy lenses at The.me (Click here).

The A7R is on the right track for people like me and others who believe in detail. I have not yet seen any large prints from it — and isn’t that among the main aims of good photography. Let me say that my hope have been given a lift.

Frank Doorhof:
He tested the A7r with Leica R glass (read here). According to Frank both, the 50mm f2.0 with Kipon and on the R4 a 135mm lens render a sort of 3D feeling image. He also tested the Zeiss Jenna 135mm f4 and a Petri 50mm (read here):

as mentioned before according to some people (actually a lot of people) the 36mp sensors would only perform well with top glass, this sample proves that you can actually get great performing glass for a small budget and it really shines on a camera like the A7r, I’m 100% sure that the lack of the AA filter helps a lot by the way.

Specs and Preorders in US and Canada:
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.

Specs and Preorders in Europe:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,  WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony  DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT
Zeiss 24-70mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, SE, PT
Sony G 28-70mm lens at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO.

Asia:
A7r at Digitalrev.
A7 at Digitalrev, Amazon Cina.
A7 with 28-70mm lens at Digitalrev.

Next big A7-A7r legacy lens test.

Zhang QianLi, a Chinese travel photographer who got early hands on with A7 and A7R has done a quick test of adapting an array of  M mount lenses with pre-production A7 and A7R (referred as engineering version 0.90 in his post) and posted his comment on Sina blog and images on flickr.

His post on sina blog: http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_643b266c0102e33e.html
test images with A7: http://www.flickr.com/photos/inikon/sets/72157637688730425/
test images with A7R: http://www.flickr.com/photos/inikon/sets/72157637668801615/

All images taken with tripod and magnified live-view manual focusing, and direct jpeg output and upload. File names are Camera body–Lenses model–Aperture value. For example: A7R-VM125.6-11 means Voigtlander 12mm f/5.6 lenses on Alpha 7R with aperture set to f/11″

He tested the following lenses and you see lenses and image samples on the Flickr links I posted on top:
[shoplink 22592 ebay]Voigtlander Ultra Wide-Heliar 12mm f5.6 Aspherical (click here to see acutions on eBay).
[shoplink 15490 ebay]Super Wide-Heliar 15mm F4.5 Aspherical II (here on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 21607 ebay]Voigtlander Color Skopar Pancake II 21mm F4 (here on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 21606 ebay]Zeiss Biogon T* 21mm f2.8 ZM (here on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 10899 ebay]Voigtlander Ultra 28mm f2 (here on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 21793 ebay]Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f1.2 Aspherical VM II (here on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 22603 ebay]Leica Summicron-M 35mm f2 ASPH (here on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 20202 ebay]Leica Summilux-M 50mm f1.4 ASPH (here on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 21848 ebay]Leica Summicron-M 50mm f2 (here on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 22846 ebay]Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f1.1 Aspherical (here on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 12485 ebay]Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f2 ZM (here on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 12505 ebay]Voigtlander Color Heliar 75mm F2.5 MC (here on eBay)[/shoplink].

SAR reader Aero” was so kind to provide us with a translation (Thanks!):
“Not a real test, just that we pooled the lenses I and friends had with us at the time and did some simple test shot. The results does not present official conclusion, it just represent the result on the two pre-production models, to provide some reference for ppl interested in adapting lenses.
Both bodies are version 0.90 pre-production model, one A7 and one A7R, first generation Kipon adapter was used in this test, I brought this adapter when NEX-5 was first releaseed. After test shots were taken, it was found out the vignetting issue are pretty apparent. I was able to purchase the newest voigtlander adapter in Hong Kong couple days ago, the build quality of the voigtlander adapter was way better than the Kipon one, but the vignetting issue did not seem to improve by much.
The leica m9 and type 240 performance are not better than A7R/A7. (Aero’s note: “I assume he’s talking about color shift and vignetting issue without software correction”)
Overall it can be said the result are not really good, for all wide angle under 35mm the results are hardly acceptable. Voigtlander 35 f1.2 II has magenta shift under big aperture, it gets better after f/2.8, and become acceptable.  The performance of Leica 35 f/2 was disappointing, Leica 50 f/1.4 has a little bit of magenta shift for aperture larger than f/2.8 as well. On the other hand, Leica 50 f/2.0, Zeiss ZM 50 f/2, and Voigtlander 50 f/1.1 performed acceptable. For tele-focal lengths there’s not much issue from magenta shift. In addition, it is also confirmed that color shift issue are much worse on A7R than on A7, strange since it is the A7R that supposedly have the micro-lenses adjustment.”

 

Specs and Preorders in US and Canada:
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.

Specs and Preorders in Europe:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,  WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony  DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT
Zeiss 24-70mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, SE, PT

Asia:
A7r at Digitalrev.
A7 at Digitalrev, Amazon Cina.
A7 with 28-70mm lens at Digitalrev.