E mount prime lens quality.

[cosmonaut1959]

Thanks, Mark. I suppose with an effective focal length of 45mm it's not that high a priority and the reviews have been good and the price is certainly attractive.

OSS can be handy on this focal length when shooting at low shutter speeds. For what I use the NEX for, that doesn't happen too often and if it does, I'll use some kind of support or bump up ISO's. ISO1600 on my 'old' NEX3 still gives excellent IQ when not cropping. So, for me, OSS on this focal length is no must.

@cosmonaut1959: I share your feelings of the Olympus MFT camera's. However, they do have some great lens options for that system. My girlfriend uses a PEN-EPL1 and although I don't like the camera for handling, speed and noise, the Olympus ZUIKO f/2 50mm Macro she uses is better than anything Sony has to offer IMHO. Also, the small, well built MFT primes are everything Sony does not offer. In a perfect world, we have the NEX camera quality with the Olympus MFT lens collection. I'll keep dreaming for now and hope some manufacturer will expand the NEX collection of lenses. For me, Sigma did well with the 30mm.

Mark

I thought the 50mm F/2 was 4/3rds? Anyway I just feel Olympus let me down. I wanted so bad to go wide but was unwilling to drop $1200.00 on a used 7-14mm on an unsure bet.
With no yes or no info on the next 4/3rd camera I felt abandoned. I picked up the Sigma 8-16mm for half the price of the 7-14mm.
It is also hard for me to go backwards in terms of image quality. If I have to carry a bigger camera, less lens choices so be it. With the SLT adaptor there is unlimited Sony choices for the NEX, just like your 50mm f/2. I think the biggest part of the m4/3rd glass on the market is kit lens quality. If I sound a little bitter maybe I am. I think Olympus is using smoke and mirror tricks putting the same sensor in different bodies. I feel sorry for the ones that continue to drop money upgrading with no improvement in image quality.

[mvanrheenen]

I thought the 50mm F/2 was 4/3rds?

Yes, you are correct. She uses one of the small FT/MFT adapters from Olympus. As it's used for macro, speedy AF is no issue.

Anyway I just feel Olympus let me down. I wanted so bad to go wide but was unwilling to drop $1200.00 on a used 7-14mm on an unsure bet.

Did you shoot FT or MFT? That 7-14mm beast + adapter on a PEN isn't really balanced to say the least! Add to that the somewhat awkward handling of the Olympus MFT bodies and you have a system that doe'sn't work with you. IMHO off course.

With no yes or no info on the next 4/3rd camera I felt abandoned. I picked up the Sigma 8-16mm for half the price of the 7-14mm.
It is also hard for me to go backwards in terms of image quality. If I have to carry a bigger camera, less lens choices so be it. With the SLT adaptor there is unlimited Sony choices for the NEX, just like your 50mm f/2.

Well, on that, I have a NEX and used the LA-EA1 adapter on it. The pros of having a smaller body soon disappears when you put an A-mount lens on it. All the compactness the NEX system could have is gone when you go that route. I feel the same way for most of the current E-mount lenses.

I think the biggest part of the m4/3rd glass on the market is kit lens quality. If I sound a little bitter maybe I am. I think Olympus is using smoke and mirror tricks putting the same sensor in different bodies. I feel sorry for the ones that continue to drop money upgrading with no improvement in image quality.

I can understand your 'bitterness'. You should be glad you've made a somewhat informed opinion on what you want. Most hobbyist don't. If there is one thing I've learned reading all the photography related websites and fora I visit, is that you should invest in a system that suits your needs, not because of some false sense of brand loyalty. The brand isn't loyal to you, so why should you return the favor?

Mark

[cosmonaut1959]

Thanks Mark. I will always have a soft spot for Olympus and hope they can get back in the game. If they were to come out with a camera of equal IQ of some of the competitors I would pick one of their cameras up. Their 4/3rd HG and SHG is awesome lenses.
If the OM-5 were to put up some nice numbers on the DXO scale I would be all over one.

[edrice]

I will always have a soft spot for Olympus and hope they can get back in the game.

And I can understand that. It's where the nostalgia goes back to. I use a Minolta lens cap on my CZ16-80 and will soon have one for the 18-55 on the NEX-7, just to keep the legacy alive and remember where I have been. Nothing wrong with soft spots.

Ed

[mvanrheenen]

I've just ordered the Sigma 19mm F2.8 EX DN for NEX too. When it arrives, I'll try to find some time to replicate the tests I did for the 30. I've seen some first sample shots from people who have done similar tests and if the replies are correct, we could be looking to the old Sigma QC/sample variation problems again. Some users report corner sharpness variation between lenses from different batches. How trustworthy those replies are I don't know, but because I've had similar experiences with Sigma products myself, I'm not supprised. All possible problems aside, I still ordered one.

Mark

[agorabasta]

There's a very nice and relevant comparison of a few lenses including the 19mm on both the 5N and the 7 - http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read. ... e=41144521.

The 7 looks much better in the corners for all the more telecentric lenses. It's actually quite contrary to the 'findings' from Photozone.de who simply relied on the Imatest result figures - looks like that stupid Imatest doesn't distinguish between real detail resolved and the intermodulation-induced parasite components.

Based on my experience I must say that the 5N simply can't compete with the 7 - the 7's optical image quality is simply in the different league.

[Mark K]

Thanks everyone for the input. I am very happy with my Sony macro....and has been thinking about the Sigma 30mm.