Category: Camera & Lens Experience

While trying out a new lens for my system (a 35mm f/1.4), I went out to take some photos of some hay bales I had seen before, close to an old and abandoned house. I waited for sunset to have some good light, and off I went.

I tried some compositions, including the one below, catching the Moon and bicycle.

Having such a fast lens available, I then thought about using it at extremes of aperture range, in this case, from f/16 to f/1.4. The results are shown below, in the following order: f/16, f/1.4 (maintaining focus on the bike), and f/1.4 (focusing on the house).

Normally, when shooting such subjects, I tend to favour  a deep depth-of-field, so that both the foreground and background are acceptably sharp. However, later on, when I looked at the images, my favourite of the series was #2, focused on the bike, and shot wide open at f/1.4. In my mind, the bicycle and hay bale are given more prominence, while the house is still there, identifiable. All bathed by the warm and golden light of the sunset.

Talking about sunset, this is what it looked like that day. Wonderful.

Currently, where auto-focus reigns supreme, it may seem odd to use a manual focus lens. But sometimes, for photographing at a more leisurely pace, a manual focus lens is a valuable tool. No need to think about auto focus modes, camera drive modes, just take full control about where, and when, you want your lens to focus. When travelling, or when simply on a stroll photographing on my own, I enjoy the simplicity provided by manual focus, and manual aperture setting, on the lens.

Since I use a Sony Alpha 7 camera system, it is possible to adapt hundreds of so-called vintage lenses, from other mounts, to the Sony E mount. And I have done that before. But for the standard focal length, 50mm, I have never tried to use a manual focus lens; I was used to the excellent Sony Zeiss 55 f1.8 lens. Recently, I am trying the Zeiss Loxia 50 f2 lens, which is completely manual in operation, but has the electronic contacts to “talk” to the camera, since it is a native E mount lens. In all other aspects, it feels, and handles, like any other high-quality Zeiss manual focus lens, which means is a pleasure to use.

I am familiar with Loxia lenses, because I have used the 21mm and 35mm ones in the past. The lens line is rounded up by the 50 f2, and more recently, the 85 f2.4. Today I want to share some photos, and impressions, from using the Loxia 50 is a recent trip to Odeceixe, a well-known beach located in SW Portugal. I spent a couple of days in the area with my wife, profiting from a balmy end of October, with unseasonably warm temperatures for the time of the year. After some picnicking and swimming, we took the trail that links Odeceixe to the small fishing village on Azenha do Mar to the North.

This trail is very easy to do, and affords great views along the coastline, plus crossing coastal dunes and farmlands. This time of the year, it is sweet potato pick up season. In fact, some of the best sweet potatoes come from this region, with yellow, orange, and purple varieties. But that will be perhaps the subject for a future article, in case I manage to visit the sweet potato festival in Aljezur at the end of November.

Mounted on my Sony A7II, the Loxia 50 balances and handles perfectly; it works and feels like the precision instrument that it is. Manual focus is easy, with all the technological assistance provided by the camera, in terms of peaking and magnification at your fingertips. All the hallmarks of the Zeiss heritage are present in the lens, with the vibrant colours (but never over the top), contrast, sharpness, and resistance to flare. At the end of the day, in Azenha do Mar, I spend some time taking some long exposures off the tripod, photographing the boats in the small harbour.

For those who enjoy manual focus, the Loxia lenses combine tradition and modern performance in a very good way. I will certainly be keeping my copy of the Loxia 50.

The Sony FE 90mm f2.8 Macro G OSS lens (to give it its full name) was introduced in early 2015, as the first dedicated macro lens in the system. Besides the obvious macro application (the lens can do 1:1 magnification), a short telephoto lens also works nicely for landscapes and portraits. Because I often shoot macro and close-up, I was of course very interested in this lens. I recently had the opportunity to use it for a couple of days in the town of Odemira, in southwest Portugal.

I used the lens on my Sony A7II, and I felt that the balance was good when handholding. The lens is not small, but it is not heavy either, even though it feels robust. Operating the lens is straightforward, which is nice when working in the field. Most of the shots were tripod-based, because I was shooting before and around sunrise; with the required stopping down to get acceptable depth-of-field, I quickly ended with exposures close to 1 second.

People interested in the lens know by now that this is a high-quality lens, and the images it produces are clean, crisp, and colourful. In the macro range, the backgrounds are rendered smoothly. I strolled through the streets of Odemira looking for potential subjects, including landscapes, details of the houses, and flowers in the local garden. I have tried auto focus and manual focus in the macro range, and both worked fine; make sure you use the focus limiter switch on the lens. The optical stabilization in the lens works very well for hand held shots, when required.

After two years in the market, there are no surprises coming from this lens; this is a highly recommend lens for those that like to shoot macro, landscapes, and portraits. To me, the focal length is preferable compared to other shorter (50mm) macro lenses, because it provides more working distance between the camera and the subjects.

I recently spend the weekend near Almograve, a very nice beach located in the Alentejo coast. This is an area that I know very well, and for many years now, as you can ascertain from the several posts I have made until now. During this last stay, I took the opportunity to use a recent wide angle lens for the Sony ILCE system: the Tokina Firin 20mm f2.

Tokina are introducing this new lens line for the system, and the 20mm lens is the first one. After using the Zeiss Loxia 21 f2.8 for a while, I was curious to see how this new contender would fare. In short, the new lens is very good, both in terms of optical quality, and in terms of usability in the field. Mind you, it is only manual focus, but for my intended use (landscapes) I see no problem with that.

Compared to its natural competitor, the Loxia 21, the lens is bigger and heavier, since it is one stop faster; it is also not fully metal build, but that does not mean it feels flimsy or not well constructed (far from that). One can feel the heft of the lens, no doubt the result of some nice glass inside, and robust materials outside. In terms of usability, the only nit I have is the lens’ aperture ring turns a bit too easy for my liking; in this regard, the Loxia has more firm detents.

Other than that, the lens shows very well controlled geometrical distortion (I have not had to resort to correction during image processing), good colours and sharpness across the frame, and of course some vignetting wide open (as expected). Even against the light, the lens performed very well, with no detrimental effect on the contrast or appearance of spurious reflections.

Below are some images shot during sunrise and sunset times, along the coast; some were taken using the long exposure provided by a neutral density filter. Personally, I highly recommend this lens to anyone looking for a wide-angle landscape lens; it also allows to save a significant amount of money compared to the price of a Zeiss Loxia lens, which may be important.

For me, one of the advantages of the Sony A7 system is the capability to use some Leica M mount lenses. This post is about the Leica M Summicron 90 f2 lens, which I have recently acquired in the used market. I have always enjoyed using prime lenses, and particularly a set consisting of a trio of wide angle, standard, and short tele. In this regard, the Summicron 90 perfectly complements my Zeiss M C Sonnar 50. For wide angle, I am currently trying the new Tokina FE Firin 20 f2 lens, but that will merit a dedicated post in the future.

There is no point in describing how a 50-year-old Leica M lens still feels and handles like a precision instrument; it is just a joy to use. In a recent family, Easter weekend trip to the southwest coast of Portugal (one of my usual roaming grounds), I made myself the challenge to use only the 90mm lens; the trip involved some driving around in the region between the villages of Odemira, Santa Clara a Velha, and Odeceixe.

In Odemira, I visited a flower garden; in Santa Clara, we picnicked and relaxed in the dam; and in Odeceixe we visited the “Folar” fair (folar is a traditional Easter sweet bread). So, there was no lack of varied subjects to choose from: flower close-ups, portraits, landscapes, and even an old baby foot game in a local café.

The lens is a joy to use, inviting a more leisurely approach to photography; it invites one to slow down, and join the rhythm of life taking place around you. It invites me to look and really see what is going on, while trying to find interesting subjects. It is always to recommend a Leica M lens, but with this one, it is even easier: it can be bought with confidence in the used market (these things are built to last), it performs to high standards, and it is a lot cheaper than the current APO version! Furthermore, it cost me about half-price of a new Loxia 85 f2.4, and it is almost 1 stop faster. What’s there not to like?

As a final practical note, for Lightroom users, I found that the lens correction profile for the lens is not there, but the profile for the APO lens works fine.

Today I just want to share some photos that I made this last weekend in one of my favourite regions, the Southwest Portugal Coast of Alentejo. I am talking about the area that roughly goes from Milfontes in the North, to Zambujeira in the South, along the coast; and also, goes inland towards the hills of Odemira. The purpose of this weekend was not photography, but simply relaxing and taking care of Spring planting in my backyard!

Still, you cannot be a photographer and go on a weekend without carrying a camera, right? In my case, that was the wonderful small and highly capable Fujifilm X100T, and a small travel tripod for good measure… my wife, being a wonderful and understanding lady, came along for the trip, and only returned to the car at Cabo Sardão (our last stop of the day for sunset shots), because of the cold winds.

It is wonderful to travel in the area at this time of the year, without the presence of the many tourists that flood some locations in the Summer. The fields are turning green with the approaching Spring, flowers are popping up, and there is an overall quietness that makes life happy. These were the feelings that I was experiencing while making the photos in Milfontes, Odemira, Longueira, and Zambujeira.

As always, the trusty X100T performed very well, the focal length is suitable for my subjects. Plus, its Macro mode is very useful for the occasional close-up of flowers.