Looking at 2017 and 2018

As the end of the year is approaching fast I would like to take a look back and then another one forward.

The Team

Without question the most important change is that David joined the team. When David wrote his first review I immediately knew that it was a good idea to ask him for it since he offered a very experienced view on it and the other lenses he has reviewed since. He also enriches our constant behind the scenes discussions, only limited by a time difference of 10 hours.

Bastian has been the most active author on this blog in 2017. Among his reviews the Laowa 2/15, the Canon EF 1.8/200, Olympus OM 2/180 and the exotic MS-Optics 2.4/135 stood out to me. He also explored the use of front filters with rangefinder lenses and did an epic 35mm comparison. He also made the interview with Mr. Li, the designer behind the Laowa 2/15 possible.

Jannik had less time because he had to care for his young son but his review of the GM 2.8/24-70, the a7II vs a6500 comparison and FE 1.8/85 review were among our most popular articles in 2017. Also mentioned should be his epic GM 1.4/85 vs FE 1.8/85 comparison. Lately he has invested in a Nikon DSLR kit to keep up with his young one after trying the Fuji X-T2.

Continue reading Looking at 2017 and 2018

Review: MS-Optics Aporis 135mm 2.4 Fluorit MC

Introduction

ms-optics aporis 135mm 2.4 fluorit jch japancamerahunter miyazaki sadayasu review sony a7rII a7riii 42mp
Sony A7rII with metabones Leica-M adapter and MS-Optics Aporis 135mm 2.4

The Aporis 135mm 2.4 is the latest and also longest lens made by MS-Optics, a one-man-lens manufacturer. It even features one of Canon’s famous CaF2 Fluorit glass elements, which is mostly used in their great super tele lenses for minimizing color aberrations. Does it help to actually combine fast maximum aperture, small size and good image quality?

Sample Images

Sony A7rII with metabones Leica-M adapter and MS-Optics Aporis 135mm 2.4 bokeh loca portrait
Sony A7rII | MS-Optics Aporis 135mm 2.4 | f/2.4 | higher resolution
Sony A7rII with metabones Leica-M adapter and MS-Optics Aporis 135mm 2.4 bokeh loca
Sony A7rII | MS-Optics Aporis 135mm 2.4 | f/4.0
Sony A7rII with metabones Leica-M adapter and MS-Optics Aporis 135mm 2.4 bokeh loca
Sony A7rII | MS-Optics Aporis 135mm 2.4 | f/2.4

Continue reading Review: MS-Optics Aporis 135mm 2.4 Fluorit MC

Review: Minolta MD 28mm 1:2

Released in 1981 the Minolta MD 28mm 1:2 is Minoltas joungest manual 28 mm lens. In this review I test it on the a7II to see how relevant it is today.

Specifications

Diameter 64 mm
Length 50 mm
Filter Thread 49 mm
Weight 265 g
Max. Magnification 1:8
Close Focusing Distance from the sensor 0.3 m
Number of aperture blades 6
Elements/ Groups 9/9
The Minolta MD 28mm 1:2 usually sells for around $200 used at ebay.com or around 200 at ebay.de (affiliate links). 

Image Samples

You can find most of the images in this review and more in full resolution in this Minolta MD 2/28 flickr set.

Continue reading Review: Minolta MD 28mm 1:2

An Upgrader’s Notes on the new A7rIII Pt. 2

This is the second part of my series of notes on the upgrade to the A7rIII. In the last part I said that the improved manual focus capability was my favourite new feature. This time I’ll talk about the AF improvements, which are what probably most people have focussed on. The last part will be about haptics and settings: rather than just list my settings and say you must use them, I’ll talk a bit about why they are right for me, and what might be right for you.

Tracking and Frame Rate

Continue reading An Upgrader’s Notes on the new A7rIII Pt. 2