My stream is intended to show various aspects I have discovered when using particular lenses and cameras. It is not to showcase my work or photographic skills. I shall be grateful to know if my work has been of help to anyone.

 

I'm an old-school photographer. Dedicated to capturing an image right the first time, with little to no post processing. As film supplies have dwindled to the point where I have great difficulty to purchase and even more difficulties to process, I have reluctantly shifted to digital. With the entry of the Sony A7R, I can now use any film lens, if it can be adapted.

 

I have used every brand of film camera and lens: Hasselblad, Rollei, Leica, Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Contax to name a few.

 

The first time I used Zeiss lenses, I was hooked. My favourite lens for IQ is the Zeiss Contax G45, next is the G90. Fabulous IQ, but these lenses have no manual focus ring, so must rely upon inferior adapters, and thus difficult to use daily with the A7R. Sadly, the G28 has a wide exit angle and mounts too close to the sensor, and thus creates too much magenta shift to be useful for digital.

 

For focal 50mm, the next best lens (to the G45) I have found to match very well to the A7R is the OM Zuiko MC 1.4/50. This is proving to be a remarkable lens as I learn its secrets and character. It offers excellent IQ, and its superb mechanics make it a joy to use. Another excellent Zuiko is the OM F.Zuiko1.8/50. Mine is the single coated variant, which has high resolution but requires some postpro to bring out the best it can give.

 

update:

As I am now taking more group photos and 'scapes, I needed a top 35mm lens. For the A7+ camera, only a SLR legacy lens can be used and it must be retrofocus, lest the exit angle be too wide [to avoid the problem with RF lenses]. I have exacting requirements, so the search was long. I settled upon the Rolleinar-MC 2.8/35: it has very high resolution, excellent colours, near zero CA, and excellent mechanics.

 

I find my legacy Nikkor zooms to be of very limited utility on my A7R. The lens size, weight, register are too great for the camera, rendering the lenses to be near useless.

 

The Sony 28-70 kit lens is proving to be a good zoom lens. It is very good for video, as it is fully integrated to the camera.

 

I shoot mostly RAW now, as this provides far superior photos after postpro, as opposed to lossy JPG. I have used M/S, Apple, Unix, and have settled now upon the superior Linux platform using Ubuntu as the o/s. I use GIMP when necessary: Showfoto/Digikam near daily to view and very quickly touch up raw/jpg photos as necessary.

 

Currently residing in Shanghai. I delete/add to my gear slowly (sold my Leica while it still had value). Currently, my gear includes:

* Digital FF: Sony A7R camera; with Sony 28-70 lens.

* Digital DX: Canon 20D camera; with Canon 17-85 lens and Canon flash. (no longer used)

* 35 RF Film: Contax G2 camera; with Zeiss G 28mm, 45mm, 90mm lenses; with Contax tla280 flash.

* 35 SLR Film: Nikon F4 and F100 cameras; with Nikkor 24-50/3.5, 35-70/2.8, 80-200/2.8 lenses; with various Nikon flashes, cables, filters.

* 120Film: Seagull TLR (for fun)

* Bogen tripods (small, medium, large) and monopod.

* Legacy lenses: Zeiss Contax primes, Zuiko primes, Nikkor zooms and primes, Rolleinar primes.

 

A few blogs:

 

1/ Subject

Every great photo has one attribute: a subject.

 

2/Sharpness.

Sharpness is a mantra used by the industry to trick consumers, especially amateurs. All lenses produce sharp photos, when used properly, since the beginning days of photography. Edge-to-edge sharp photos are dull: in other words, not interesting. A photo that is sharp from edge to edge will include elements unrelated and distracted from the subject. Subjects need to stand out: the subject must be sharp, while other details should be subdued. The less a photo shows, the more powerfully it shows the subject. I have yet to find any lens that will not give a sharp subject, when used properly.

 

3/ Legacy lenses require post-pro.

In digital, all cameras have firmware to optimise the image from each dedicated lens. In addition to basic exposure, the firmware will alter each image to adjust contrast, reduce barrel or pincushion distortion, alter the colour balance, noise compensation, and many more aspects. This is termed "lens profiling". Digital is not about "taking" an image, but rather about "manipulating" an image. Legacy lenses are not dedicated and thus have no in-camera profile. Thus, images from legacy lenses must be post-pro'd to bring out the best of the image. I loathe post-pro and thus seek means to reduce the need. One critical means is the lens, which is why I have chosen certain lenses. Another is the ability to manually adjust in-camera settings, which is one reason for choosing the A7R.

 

4/ Legacy lenses for Sony A7R+

Why use legacy lenses? 1/ Rendering. Lenses designed specifically for digital sensors tend to render a flatter image. 2/ Thrift. Why toss excellent legacy lenses into the rubbish bin? 3/ Skills. Legacy lenses require skill to use, thus maintain the lessons used years ago. 4/ Fun and Pleasure. I have more pleasure from the results of applying old-school techniques.

I have found very few legacy lenses will render satisfactory images for digital sensors. A good adaptor is expensive and adds weight upon the camera mount. To be practical, a legacy lens should be small and lightweight. MF lenses are out of the question. RF lenses were my first choice, but the register for these is too close and the exit angle too wide, causing magenta shift and other aberrations. I learned the best lens family is the SLR lenses and, specifically, lenses that are retrofocus in design. The better the SLR lens, the better the image.

 

Thanks for reading and viewing my stream!