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Considering the NEX system, looking for a specific lens
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 12:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So yeah, after 2 months of scouting the internet, eBay and my close ones for a NEX body and some decent piece of vintage glass, I finally found what I wanted Very Happy

First, the camera. I got a NEX-C3 because of the improved sensor and battery life over the NEX-3. It looks very good, also, and it's the smallest APS-C camera in the world, so that helps too Smile I think the NEX-5 grip is better for my hand, but once you start holding the camera from the lens, it's a non issue. I find it very easy to use, focus peaking works great most of the time, but you have to be really careful at wide apertures, of course. I miss the viewfinder sometimes, but it's great to shoot from the hip, as if with a view camera. All in all, I'd say it is a great buy and a good investment. I'm talking this camera everywhere with me, it weighs basically nothing next to my Nikon D90, it's small and inconspicuous and lets you have fun with photography in a more calmed, relaxed and old-fashioned way. What I like best is the ability to forget about ISO, shutter speed and all the mechanics of this business and just take pictures, focus on composition, choose an aperture, focus and shoot. Just shoot. For me it's like a point and shoot camera with DSLR quality and DoF control Very Happy The bad: battery life. I took it for a 2 hour test and managed to drain it close to 50%, so I might need another battery for whole-day outings. But I have no problem buying a spare battery if the trade off is having something so small and fun to use!

Second, the lens. I was lucky enough to find a Zuiko 38mm f/1.8 in decent shape for a killer price, with body. The only problem is that the iris has some oil, and it's somewhat sluggish when you stop it down in the Pen body. I guess it might be a real problem if I planned to actually use the Pen, with the fastest shutter speeds. However, with the NEX I will be using it in a preset-aperture fashion, so it's not an issue at all. I might keep the body or sell it to get some money back, I'll see. About its optical qualities, I really don't want to extend myself a lot because prices are already quite inflated as they are. Some folks are asking 300€ for one of this lenses, and people are cashing in. For 300€ you can get a new Sigma 30mm f/1.4 HSM, which is one of the best autofocus primes money can buy for DX, but that's missing the point of course. All in all, the Zuiko is great, it's sharp enough from f/1.8 and has its own character and bokeh. I'm sure some will love the way it renders a scene, and some will hate it Smile I'll let the pictures do the talking:









So, in conclusion, a really good combo and nice value for money, specially if you like to carry your camera with you everywhere but don't feel like lugging 1-2Kg of equipment around all day. And, last but not least, with the best picture quality available today in this sensor size (I believe we're talking about the same sensor as the Nikon D7000/Pentax-K5, so expect great dynamic range and great noise handling up to ISO 3200) and the ability to produce creamy bokeh, which is one of the reasons I can't like compacts. Hope you enjoy the pictures!


PostPosted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

congrats.. seems you found your lens!

The pictures are looking very good, may I ask for one with the Zuiko mounted on the NEX?


PostPosted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 9:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tedat wrote:
congrats.. seems you found your lens!

The pictures are looking very good, may I ask for one with the Zuiko mounted on the NEX?


I don't know when I'll be able to take one, but you can find some in Google or Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/leemik/5741520409/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chadcullen/5018445941/
http://vintagetechobsessions.blogspot.com/2011/10/tale-of-two-cameras-50ish-years-of.html


PostPosted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 8:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A couple pictures of the combo, for those who asked:





PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 1:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Anacondo wrote:
So yeah, after 2 months of scouting the internet, eBay and my close ones for a NEX body and some decent piece of vintage glass, I finally found what I wanted Very Happy

First, the camera. I got a NEX-C3 because of the improved sensor and battery life over the NEX-3. It looks very good, also, and it's the smallest APS-C camera in the world, so that helps too Smile I think the NEX-5 grip is better for my hand, but once you start holding the camera from the lens, it's a non issue. I find it very easy to use, focus peaking works great most of the time, but you have to be really careful at wide apertures, of course. I miss the viewfinder sometimes, but it's great to shoot from the hip, as if with a view camera. All in all, I'd say it is a great buy and a good investment. I'm talking this camera everywhere with me, it weighs basically nothing next to my Nikon D90, it's small and inconspicuous and lets you have fun with photography in a more calmed, relaxed and old-fashioned way. What I like best is the ability to forget about ISO, shutter speed and all the mechanics of this business and just take pictures, focus on composition, choose an aperture, focus and shoot. Just shoot. For me it's like a point and shoot camera with DSLR quality and DoF control Very Happy The bad: battery life. I took it for a 2 hour test and managed to drain it close to 50%, so I might need another battery for whole-day outings. But I have no problem buying a spare battery if the trade off is having something so small and fun to use!

Second, the lens. I was lucky enough to find a Zuiko 38mm f/1.8 in decent shape for a killer price, with body. The only problem is that the iris has some oil, and it's somewhat sluggish when you stop it down in the Pen body. I guess it might be a real problem if I planned to actually use the Pen, with the fastest shutter speeds. However, with the NEX I will be using it in a preset-aperture fashion, so it's not an issue at all. I might keep the body or sell it to get some money back, I'll see. About its optical qualities, I really don't want to extend myself a lot because prices are already quite inflated as they are. Some folks are asking 300€ for one of this lenses, and people are cashing in. For 300€ you can get a new Sigma 30mm f/1.4 HSM, which is one of the best autofocus primes money can buy for DX, but that's missing the point of course. All in all, the Zuiko is great, it's sharp enough from f/1.8 and has its own character and bokeh. I'm sure some will love the way it renders a scene, and some will hate it Smile I'll let the pictures do the talking:









So, in conclusion, a really good combo and nice value for money, specially if you like to carry your camera with you everywhere but don't feel like lugging 1-2Kg of equipment around all day. And, last but not least, with the best picture quality available today in this sensor size (I believe we're talking about the same sensor as the Nikon D7000/Pentax-K5, so expect great dynamic range and great noise handling up to ISO 3200) and the ability to produce creamy bokeh, which is one of the reasons I can't like compacts. Hope you enjoy the pictures!


I think there's a surge in manual focus lens in recent years since the mirror less camera pop up. However by diving into the market of used manual lens people forget about the digital counterpart... that sigma 30 1.4 is a prime example (no pun intended). For 300 bucks or so you can get a 30mm 1.4 AF, that's killer, that should be the reason why people should stop trying to buy fast normal manual lens, it makes no sense, the 30 1.4 is as good as it's gonna get, I haven't seen any 1.2 manual lens less than 300, and even so they're in the 50+mm range. I for sure never saw a wide fast prime in the range of f1.4 in the manual market, at least not comparable to the 30 1.4 for 300 bucks.


PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 9:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

clockwork247 wrote:
I think there's a surge in manual focus lens in recent years since the mirror less camera pop up. However by diving into the market of used manual lens people forget about the digital counterpart... that sigma 30 1.4 is a prime example (no pun intended). For 300 bucks or so you can get a 30mm 1.4 AF, that's killer, that should be the reason why people should stop trying to buy fast normal manual lens, it makes no sense, the 30 1.4 is as good as it's gonna get, I haven't seen any 1.2 manual lens less than 300, and even so they're in the 50+mm range. I for sure never saw a wide fast prime in the range of f1.4 in the manual market, at least not comparable to the 30 1.4 for 300 bucks.

I see your point. However, it makes all the sense in the world if you enjoy manual focusing (I kind of do) and don't want to lug around a bulky DSLR with a 1/2 Kg chunk of glass attached to it Wink