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Two days ago Photoscala tested the Zeiss 24mm f/2.0 lens and was pretty disappointed. They compared the lens with the Nikon and Canon 24mm f/1.4 lenses. The Nikon an Canon lenses were both sharper than the Zeiss. But whcih is the best 24mm lens? Surprise, it’s the cheapest of all of them, the Sigma 24mm f/1.8 EX DG Macro!!! (Click here to read the full test at Photoscala). The user reviews on Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here) are quite positive. And also SLRgear (Click here) gave the lens a high rating! You can also take a look at a set of image samples on Flickr (Click here). So is the Sigma $549 lens really better than the Zeiss $1,249 lens? What do you think?

Check the Sigma 24mm availability and price by clicking those direct links: [shopcountry 7067].
And here are the links to the Zeiss 24mm f/2.0: [shopcountry 3037].

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We love measurebation or not? Than take a seat and read the full detailed and überwissenschaftliche review made by the from Photoscala (or click here to read the google english translation). Those german guys used three different software to analyze the lens: DxO Analyzer, IE Analyzer and Imatest! And now let’s drop the bomb. Photoscala says the lens is a not as good as they have expected from a Zeiss lens. The resolution of the other tested lenses, the [shoplink 7046]Canon 24mm f/1.4[/shoplink] and [shoplink 7047]Nikkor 24mm f/1.4[/shoplink] is much higher even wide open…at f/1.4! Only at medium apertures you get good results. There are also bigger issues with color aberrations. I have to say that I am very surprised to see such bad results. They might got a lens with production issues because the conclusion are quite the opposite we have seen at Photozone (Click here) where the lens gets Highly Recommended!!!
Check the lens price and availability at [shopcountry 3037].

There is also a new Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC review at Jhpvideotutorials (Click here). He used the lens on the Sony a55: “As you might have guessed this Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC lens is a little bit soft wide open at f/1.4, but still totally usable. The edges suffer the most from the softness, but the center of the frame is not to bad.”
Check the lens price and availability at [shopcountry 7044].

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You can read the full Sony A580 review at DPreview (Click here). It earns a very high score of 75% and a “Silver Award”. The Sony A55 sister got 76%. That’s a short excerpt of the conclusion: “The Sony DSLR-A580 is an excellent all-round performer that gets all the important stuff – image quality, metering, focus – right most of the time. Whether you like its slightly live-view centered design and user interface is pretty much a question of taste and shooting style.”

At that point I want to remind you that the Sony A580 is probably the last Sony camera having an optical viewfinder. The future is SLT (translucent technology with electronic viewfinder). The A77 and next fullframe cameras will be SLT models. As long as Sony can improve the electronic viewfinder technology that shouldn’t be a problem for any of us!

You can check the Sony A580 price and availability by clicking those direct links: [shopcountry 5509].
And here are the links for the SLT version, the A55: [shopcountry 3617].

Now you have a new reason to play a little bit with the DxO mark comparison tool. They just added the Sony 35mm f/1.4 G lens test results inside their database (Click here). And you can see how the lens performs when used on different cameras. See for example the Sony A900, A700 and A550 lens results (Click here). As you can see the lens is neither a winner neither a looser. I hope there will be soon an upgraded version, maybe a 35mm 1.4 Zeiss for Alpha? Let’s cross the finger!

Check the Sony 35mm f/1.4 price at [shopcountry 7016].

We just got that screenshot that describes a new feature of the upcoming A35 (to be announced on June 3). The text is pretty clear and I don’t have to add naything to that :)

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Photographyreview (Click here) tested the Sony A55: “The Sony Alpha SLT-A55 is a great camera with an innovative design, great performance and excellent image quality. It’s not quite the sports camera I was hoping for but it’s a very capable all-round performer that most people will be very happy with – especially people who value video as much as still photos.”

Day 5 of the Sony A55 review at ThePhoBlographer (Click here). He also made some ISO tests and those are the conclusion for the RAW noise test: “When viewing images at a normal size, noise starts to become noticeable around ISO 1600 but it’s nothing to be concerned about. I probably wouldn’t make any post processing noise adjustments until ISO 6400 unless I was blowing up the image to a larger size. I think this is impressive ISO performance from a consumer DSLR. ”

Jhpvideotutorials (Click here) also tested the A55: “If you’re looking for a SLR style camera that takes much better HD video than Canon or Nikon SLR’s, and takes very good photos, then this camera might just be the one for you!  If you’re a Photographer looking for the best image quality possible and plan to use studio lights, then I would not recommend this camera for you.” (P.S.: You have to click on the small page numbers at the bottom of the post to see all 5 page long review).

CLick those links to check price and availability of the A55: [shopcountry 3617].

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Kurtmunger (Click here) tested the Tamron 60mm f/2.0 macro lens for Sony: “I would highly recommend the Tamron 60mm F/2 lens when used out in the field at longer distances, where F/2 can come in handy for getting a defocused background, or hand-held available light situations.  For people wanting a good macro lens with plenty of working distance, and will be using it at close focus, I’d recommend the Sony 100mm macro.”
Click on shopnames to check price and availability of the Tamron: [shopcountry 6803].
And click here to check price and availability of the Sony macro: [shopcountry 6805].

On Dpreview forum (Click here) a user tested the Samyang 35mm f/1.4 on the NEX-5.

P.S.: “jieying” made four new reworked Kowa 55mm f/1.0 lenses for NEX. He is selling them on [shoplink 6804 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].