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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

NEX-7 and the SEL1018

I currently used the NEX-7 with the 16mm/2.8 + Fisheye converter with my NEX-7 so when Sony announced the SEL10-18/4 lens, I pre-ordered it.

I must say that when I took the first couple of shot, I was disappointed with the magenta cast.  At least there's no smearing of details or colour-shifting problem.

Here is the first photo I took with my NEX-7 + SEL10-18/4.  Sorry its just a quick snap outside as weather hasn't been really good here in Melbourne, Australia (and it should be summer!).

1/1600 @ f/4 - 10mm ISO 100
As you can see from the photo, there is some magenta casting but not that much and post processing (ugh!) will be able to minimise this issue.

Now to find a way to minimise this magenta cast;  first suspect was the AWB of the NEX-7. Why the white balance? I've noticed that when I converted the files to DNG in Adobe LR4.3 the Temp is around 5450 and the Tint always has a +3 towards the magenta side.

I went into the NEX-7 White Balance setting and instead of shooting AWB, changed it to Colour Temp/Filter, and dialled in the following setting;

  • Temp: 5400 
  • Filter : A-B:B1 and G-M:G1


1/4000 @ f/4.0 - 10mm ISO 100

You can still see some slight magenta cast but its not as 'bad' as the first one.

This is NOT a SCIENTIFIC test as I still am trying to find the best setting to at least reduce the magenta cast.  

This however highlights another 'weakness' of the NEX-7, the ability to save your setting :(  Come on Sony, at least give us one memory option to store our setting.

Using the lens indoors; the magenta cast is a non-factor.  Here is a quick snap sample (sorry as the photo is not that interesting).  

1/15 @ f/4/.0 - 10mm ISO1600

All I can say personally is that I can work with the NEX-7 + SEL10-18 combo.

I will be doing more testing on the SEL10-18 NEX-7 combo during the holiday period.   For now, I will be keeping my NEX-7 and the NEX-6 and decide which one to keep after the Christmas season.

Keep shooting! :)







Sunday, December 16, 2012

My Sony RX1 - Rolling Review

Before I begin, let me tell you why I chose the RX1 over the A99. I have been a long time a-mount user and slowly gotten rid of it when the NEX cameras were announced.  And since I don't shoot professionally, the A99 will be too much (money and feature-wise) for an enthusiast who just loves taking photos and getting the best image quality.

When Sony first announced the RX1, the internet is abuzz with people that is for it and against it. The main reason is the price! People wanted more functionalities for that price tag.  For the same price, you can get the Sony FF SLT, the A99.

The main concerns of photo enthusiasts it that it should have a built-in EVF and an interchangeable lens.  Another lens mount?? We already have the A-mount and E-mount on the Sony lineup.  And the other thing that concerns other people is the branding, this camera is not under the Sony Alpha family but under the CYBERSHOT RX-series family.

Is the RX1 worth its price tag of almost AU$ 2999 ?? Personally, the answer is a resounding YES.

Here is a comparison of the NEX-7 with the Zeiss 35/2 Distagon and the RX1 with Zeiss 35/2



The lens used in the RX1 is specifically made for the RX1 sensor. Reports are that the rear lens element is just millimetres away from the actual sensor.  Now that is a technological feat on Sony's engineers.


Here is my first shot with the RX1; the rendering of the out-of-focus area is simply Zeiss :)   The sharpness / colours are spot-on.  I haven't gotten into customising the camera for my personal taste/preference so this is what it produced straight-out-of-camera.

Since it's almost Christmas, Melbourne City Christmas Tree;


I also took a photo of a family friend's daughter; again wide open and some cropping.

On the next part of this review, I will show some of the things that I don't like about the RX1 (mostly on the menu system). But it still is the BEST CAMERA I've ever own, bar none.


Thursday, December 6, 2012

a Busy weekend and week ahead - STAY TUNED

Hello everyone.  Sorry I haven't been updating this blog as much as I want to. 

But that is all about to change.

Yesterday my NEX SEL10-18 and the Sony RX1 :) was waiting for me on the front door.  Can't contain my excitement to be honest and there's more on the way..

I am still waiting for the NEX-6 from Sony Australia and hopefully it will get here by Friday (fingers crossed) as I have two Christmas parties to attend to on the weekend.

I will keep this short for now but here are the things that I will be testing (not scientific testing but more for what I need/want from a camera).
  1. NEX-7 with SEL10-18
  2. NEX-6 with SEL10-18
  3. Sony RX1
But before I go, I want to say a big thank you to Sony Australia. Appreciate everything and getting the RX1 to me a week ahead and the other things ;)
And now, here's a side-by-side pic of the Sony RX1 and its little brother, the RX100.


Finally together!

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