All posts by Stephen Ozcomert

Stephen is a lawyer practicing in Atlanta, GA USA. He started getting interested in photography with film cameras but really got the bug when he got a Canon 20D digital camera. Following this, he stayed with Canon using the 1DSMiii, 5DM2 and eventually migrated primarily to manual focus lenses--Tilt Shift lenses and Zeiss ZE lenses. When he made the shift to Sony--A7r, A7rii, and now A7riii, his world of manual focus lenses opened up and he experimented with a host of manual focus lenses by Leica, Zeiss, Voigtlander, and others. Now a hopeless gear head, he enjoys primarily landscape photography though he dabbles in other genres. His other interests include classical singing, hiking, and travel.

Introduction:

The Sony FE 100 f/2.8 STF GM OSS lens is a lens that I purchased some time ago not really knowing what to expect. I had read about the lens, of course, but frankly I found that it took me some time to get an understanding of how best to use this lens. I think it is a very fine optic with excellent sharpness and anextraordinarily smooth quality of bokeh, however, it is also a lens that imposes a steeper than normal learning curve. It has a distinctive look in some situations that seems to be polarizing in the photo community. With use, I have come to like this lens very much and don’t plan on parting with mine anytime soon. In this review, I will attempt to explain why I like it and also some of its quirks so that prospective buyers might have a better idea about what to expect.

A few samples:

Continue reading Review: Sony FE 100 f/2.8 STF GM OSS Lens →

Phillip was kind enough to ask me to write a review of one of my favorite lenses: The Leica R Apo-Elmarit 180mm/F2.8 E67.

I love this lens because it is optically excellent from wide open, lacks field curvature, has pleasing rendering, is well corrected, is small enough to comfortably hand hold, and is bright enough at F2.8 to use even in less than optimal light. I use this lens on Sony because there is no comparable native lens available.

It has been called the world’s best medium telephoto lens. While I cannot confirm or deny this claim, it is indeed a very fine optic in my experience. As will be seen below, it has many virtues and few weaknesses.