I Want My TS-E

[AlphaNut]

I am ready to be a convert. So last month I bought an A850 and the 24-70 because I knew it would be a great camera and lens. It lives up to my expectations, besting my Canon 24-70 L and returning images that are just so nice to work with. Build quality it outstanding for both the camera and lens.

But as a working pro the SONY systems falls short. I just received the Canon 17 TS-E today and it's amazing. It's sharp, offers creative opportunities unlike anything I've used since my Hassy SWC and oh how I wish it mounted on my A850.

I hope SONY delivers to the needs of a pro, they're so close, but not quite there.

[Javelin]

well if these lenses are making money for you then I don;t see why keeping both is a problem?

[David Kilpatrick]

No company has ever designed a lens like the 17mm TS-E before. You have to consider, it's a 17mm able to cover nearly the equivalent of 6 x 4.5cm with zero distortion. The shortest wide-angle so far made to cover 6 x 4.5cm is 28mm (Hasselblad with curved image, Mamiya Phase One straight line) and the shortest lens for 6 x 4.5cm is 24mm (fisheye curvilinear rendering, Mamiya). Both these lenses can be used as tilt-shift on the A850 with an adaptor.

However, setting aside the tilt function and looking only at the wide angle aspect, the A850 24.6 megapixels offers enough additional 'real estate' for a 12-24mm Sigma or a 14mm Tamron, Sigma or soon-to-arrive Samyang to do much the same job as the 17mm TS-E used with shift - and the Sigma 12-24mm specifically offers possibilities which the 17mm can not, as digital correction of verticals can be applied and nothing else will get you the extra 41% on the angular field of view.

palmacathedral8-web.jpg (125.18 KiB) Viewed 3466 times

This is the full view at 12mm (and it is impossible to get any further back in this particular location!)

palmacathedral17-web.jpg (145.06 KiB) Viewed 3466 times

This is a crop with adjustments and represents something which the SWC could not have done, it was only ever equal to a 20mm lens on 35mm cropped to square and lacked movements. For that you needed the 35mm Rodenstock on the Arcbody or the other technical Hasselblad body (can't remember the name now). I used the SWC for several years for travel and of course it had many other merits including being very small and almost totally silent.

David

[AlphaNut]

Interesting information, thank you David.

Using the 17 is quite an experience. It is VERY sharp and the lack of distortion impressive.

Since SONY has as much as said they're not pursuing the pro market I doubt we'll ever see any TS-E lenses from them.

[Winedarksea]

Interesting information, thank you David.

Using the 17 is quite an experience. It is VERY sharp and the lack of distortion impressive.

Since SONY has as much as said they're not pursuing the pro market I doubt we'll ever see any TS-E lenses from them.

I think it was pretty disingenuous of the Sony PR people to imply that they would not go after the pro market, while at the same time bringing out cameras and lenses that make many pros drool. I see a lot of signs that Sony is preparing itself for the pro market--but I suspect that Sony will never say that it is trying to compete in that market. It will just happen.

Dulaney

[Winedarksea]

By the way, David, a glorious image of a stunning buiding.

[AlphaNut]

... I suspect that Sony will never say that it is trying to compete in that market. It will just happen.

Dulaney

Absolutely, that is what they are doing.

I own the best Canon has to offer but when I want to go just shoot for fun I pick up the A850 with the 24-70. If I could go out and work with a comprehensive lens group I'd switch, but that's not an option, yet.