the last word

Next up in my search for rangefinder wide angle lenses that work well on the Sony a7S: the Leica 18mm f/3.4 Super-Elmar-M ASPH. I also tested the Zeiss 21mm f/2.8 Distagon ZF.2, an F-mount lens with a  retrofocus design that shouldn’t have any angle-of-incidence problems. I don’t have an F-mount 18mm prime, or I would have… [Read More]

Today I continued my search for rangefinder wide angle lenses that work well on the Sony a7S. The current candidate is the Leica 24mm f/3.8 Elmar-M ASPH. I also tested the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 G ED, an F-mount lens with a seriously retrofocus design that shouldn’t have any angle-of-incidence problems. First, a couple… [Read More]

Here are crops of the upper right corner of the images from the preceding post. Both are darkened by the corner falloff — usual for f/1.4 lenses used wide open. It’s clear that there is something seriously wrong with the Summilux on this camera. Getting better, but the Leica lens still has serious problems at f/2…. [Read More]

After yesterday’s test of the Leica 28 mm f/2.8 Elmarit ASPH I’m no longer sanguine about how rangefinder lenses — which, fo me means Leica M-mount lenses — will do on the Sony a7S. I think each one has to be tried, at least until the focal lengths exceed 75 or 90mm. I thought I’d… [Read More]

…and, as a bonus, on the Leica M240. When I tested the Zeiss 35 mm f/2 Biogon ZM on the a7S, I thought it was the worst-case lens for the camera. Wrong. I received a request to try the Leica 28mm f/2.8 Elmarit ASPH on the a7S. “Why not?” I thought, but I didn’t really… [Read More]