Personal
Phillip’s flickr page – Phillip’s everyday photography
Phillip’s second flickr page – Full resolution images, images for this blog and postprocessing samples
Our facebook page
phillipreeve.de – Phillip’s German blog
Forums
Fredmiranda.com Alternative Gear and Lenses – Our favorite forum for lens and camera related talk. We can only recommend the Sony A7(r) Images Thread.
Systemkamera Forum – a German community for mirrorless cameras
Lenses
lensrentals.com/blog – Roger Cicala is a photo geek par excellence and runs the quality control department of lensrentals. Which is great for the photocommunity because when he tests lenses he can test many copies of the same lens so his data is much more reliable than for example mine because he can test many copies and not just one.
Ron Scheffler’s Blog – Ron has published some really informative tests mostly on rangefinder lenses
mirrorlessons.com – good coverage of all mirrorless systems
edsawyer.com – A large collection of old magazine tests
manuelle-objektive.nemski.de‘s flickr sets of many manual lenses
Minolta
eazypix.de – Dennis has created the most comprehensive database on Minolta lenses I know of, especially useful is his Minolta lens index
Das Minolta Forum – a German forum for Minolta and Sony related talk. Their Knowledge about Minolta is huge and Phillip’s love for Minolta was kindled there.
artaphot.ch – Stephan has published some great reviews of the most important A-mount lenses and he also tested some Minolta Rokkor lenses on a Nex-5n and an a7. Some parts of his homepage are in German.
rokkorfiles.com – the site has many reviews from the film era which are still informativ today
Ad Dielmans lens gallery – high quality images of most Minolta Lenses
Inspiration
Ben Horne’s Youtube Channel – He is a large format landscape photographer and produces some awesome video journals
Thomas Heaton‘s Youtube Channel – Also a landscape photographer
onlandscape.co.uk – online magazine about landscape photography, a bit film centrist and British but I like that
Optical Knowledge
Introduction to lens design by Brandon Dube
To whom it may concern
I would like to check with you, on SEL2470Z about the lens. Where is the lens made? As mine is made of plastic at outer of the lens. Hope to hear from you.
Cheers,
Keith
Hi Phillip, thanks for your informative site. Have you used, or do you know about, the Tokina Minolta AF 28-70mm AT-X Pro f2.6-2.8 on the Sony A7R? Thanks for your kind reply. Gilbert
Hi Gilbert,
I have no experience with that combo, sorry.
Philip
Hi!
First of all, thank´s for great info and thoughts about lenses and cameras. Also nice pics that can give the reader some positive new creative ideas.
A lens tip: Sigma 70 mm f2,8 macro. I have used it in my work as a professional Photographer together with Sony A7mk2 and a Metabone (Canon). The 70 mm is sharp from corner edges to the center already on f2,8 (some vignetting). It has a nice way of dealing with details that are not in focus, and is very usable at f16 with excellent result specially att closer distances with leaf, fungus, plants etc . Landscape works perfectly with this lens, since there are not many lenses that can separate the needles in e.g. a distant Pine forest,
Lasse Arvidson, Photographer specialized in Forestry and forest in the Nordic countries. My work is mainly for magazines and Forestry companies.
Hi Phillip,
I’ve been inspired by your blog to test my own lenses and have been looking for a way to best view/present my results for comparison purposes. I like the format that you follow here, showing the sample photo with red rectangles over sections of the image, then showing 100% crops of those areas at various apertures. What software do you use to create this layout? I’ve tried using Lightroom to create contact sheets but I’m struggling to figure out, e.g. how to create same-size crops of the same section of an image from multiple frames, how to add text, etc. Could you possibly point me to an online tutorial that shows how to do this?
Hi Steph,
I use Photoshop to create these. I export my 4-7 images as layers to PS and there I have created actions to crop the relevant parts and put them into my template. Quite difficult to explain but I just use basic PS-techniques. It has been many years since I learned those skills though and I wouldn’t know an online resource.
Thanks for this, Phillip. At least now that I know that I need to learn how to use layers and actions in Photoshop!
Hi Phillip,
I really like your website and am happy that you now have a few contributors to help you.
May I recommend you try to do a review of the Vivitar 135mm Auto Telephoto Close Focusing 1:2.8 lens ? This lens really shines in my lens stable, and is a very good complement to my Minolta MC/MD squad…
Thanks to you and your team for your excellent work, it is a pleasure to read any new article written.
Marc
Thanks for the tip, if I get tve opportunity I might give it a chance 🙂
Phillip,
Love your web content and photos. I found this article this morning and thought the content was very good. http://yannickkhong.com/blog/2016/2/8/micro-contrast-the-biggest-optical-luxury-of-the-world
In the further reading section, there are some very good examples of micro contrast vs. some more modern zooms with little to no micro contrast.
I read the short review of the Minolta MD 24mm 2.8 on yuor site and wondered how it compared to the Minolta MD W.Rokkor-X 24mm 2.8. My copy seems to be very good and has very nice color rendition. Here’s a photo I took with it on my A7 II. https://www.flickr.com/photos/12405060@N05/36154638903/in/dateposted-friend/
Doug
Curious if you will be reviewing the IRIX Firefly 15mm f/2.4 lens. They are going to release (soon) an adapter for use on the Sony FE mount.
It should compete with the Laowa 15mm and perhaps even the Tokina Firin 20mm.
Your thoughts?
Crazy flare, soft corners at wider apertures, huge vignetting and at over 700g with adapter (which needs to be very high quality for a 15mm) I am pretty sure no one in the team is interested. Price is the only advantage I see and the adapter will add to the costs.
Briefly tried the Irix 15mm 2.4 at Photokina, didn’t like it and now the Laowa 15mm 2.0 rendered it completely useless for FE shooters.
I would appreciate your collective opinions please !!
I hope this isn’t too confusing !!
I have looked at the lenses that you all use in your ‘kits’ for Landscape & the focal lengths / type etc & am trying to make a decision.
I am literally ‘just’ coming to digital photography after 30 years with film – ektachrome 65 / Kodachrome 50 / slide / Pentax ME Super & various pentax lenses.
I have the Loxia 21mm / 2.8 & Sony A7rii & would like to own one other – longer – prime manual lens !!
I had a very versatile 75 -150 pentax 3.5 – but the images don’t hold up in todays climate – however this was often my ‘go to’ focal range & I often seemed to find a composition around 100mm.
I am very interested in the Voigtlander 65 macro but feel that 65 isn’t quite a functional enough jump in focal length & thought long & hard about the Batis 135 – deciding against it due to the focus control – I really like the loxia focus
The loxia 85 is – of course – in the middle – but I feel that it too is not different enough from the 65mm – however I don’t want to go up near to 200mm at all.
Do you think 65 / 85 is a good landscape lens & – in fact – could I find that that I am losing information & making composition more difficult with the longer 135.
I do enjoy blending multiple frames for panoramas – enabling better image quality & an easier crop – So !! My dilemma is – Could I achieve the same as the 110 / 135 by manipulating the images combined from the shorter 65 / 85 focal length lenses or does the longer focal length sit as nicely in the middle as I seem to feel it does.
With a 21mm – which length would you guys add to your kit to be a useful multipurpose lens – I am tending towards 135mm / 110mm & am monitoring the new / delayed Voigtlander
Thank you for your time & for any advice you can offer
CB
PS – Have you heard any updates on the voigtlander release
You have to crop the shots from 65 or 85 to get the similar field of view of 110 or 135mm.
This is connected to a serious loss in image quality.
The difference between 65mm and 85mm I would not neglect.
So get the 85mm Loxia or wait for the Voigtlander 110mm if you want something longer (and significantly bigger).
Thank you so much for that Bastian !!!
I was already thinking that a 135 could be too long & that I would be reducing the amount of object image / view that was available.
Fortunately the answer is already decided for me as I really don’t like the focussing of the Batis – my new lens will either be the Voigtlander 110 or Loxia 85 – I will wait for the Voigtlander & see how useful the focus throw control is for Landscape. (I know a good web site where I’ll be able to go & look for a review !! 🙂
In theory the 110 looks a more versatile lens & because I like to produce a ‘story’ on any given image by taking each image with a ‘local’ collection of more intimate & macro images – it might be the one to choose.
The loxia – however – will be smaller, lighter & will fit all the filters & fitments that I have for the 21mm – I love the 21mm 2.8
I tend not to worry about weight as I use a tripod all of the time so hand holding isn’t really a problem & it’s the landscape photography that is getting me out & about after a heart attack – so I don’t go very far !!! –
Something as simple as carrying half a litre less of water in my pack / or less snack bars to be honest !!! 🙂 – will compensate for the extra weight if I get the bigger lens & have to carry it around !!!
Not a bad problem to have – either way !!!!
Thank you for taking the time to get back to me
Very much appreciated & best wishes
Thank you & everybody for the work you do, the web site information & the motivating images that you produce – discovering the site was the reason I bought the Sony.
This is because I have learned, from yourselves, that I can carry on with my 30 years of manual / semi automatic photography – but with all the fascination of modern image production & management !!!
All the best
Colby
I often carry a small 16mm extension tube alongside the Loxia 85 which gets me into near macro territory.
Obviously this is less convenient than a single lens that goes from 1:1 to infinity, yet it still works quite well for me.
Thank you
Just followed the link to the 16mm extension tube & read the presentation – Thank you so much !!!!
I’m sorted !!!
I can achieve what I want – either way !!!
Just a last point !!!
Are reverse adapters still available
I have a reverse adapter for my 75 – 150 pentax lens & when it is fitted to the lens & the lens on the camera – ‘Back to Front’ so to speak !!
Zoom becomes focus & focus becomes zoom at the most amazing magnification
These are just camera specific metal discs with a filter thread on one side & camera mounting slots on the other – absolutely no optics involved – just a machined piece of metal about 7mm thick & 20DM in today’s money
Just a thought
CB
I just checked, these are still available for around 6€ on ebay for Sony E-mount.