The E-mount Lineup

Almost a month ago Wĕtăpunga asked me:

I like the 18-105/4 for video work also. Have you ever considered replacing the 10-18 with the 10-20/4?

Mostly for video I place one camera with the 10-18 somewhere for an overview 10-14mm position. Powerzoom is not needed and the difference for photography is not enough to spend more money....

I have an Alpha 7 IV with:

- Sigma 35 f/2 DG DN C: Plenty sharp, small, all metal build. I carry this one around when I'm just walking about with my camera and don't have a specific subject in mind.
- Sony FE 20-70 f/4 G: Super sharp even at f/4. The extra 4mm at the wide end is quite handy. I don't know how I feel about the aperture ring on a zoom. It seems to work really well on primes, but just feels a bit out of place on zooms.
- Sony FE 70-200 f/4 G Macro OSS II: I don't really have a need for this one's bigger f/2.8 cousin. I splurged on the mark II and haven't regretted it. Super sharp across the frame, quiet, smallish and quite handsome on the 7IV. 1:2 macro is really handy.
- Sony FE 200-600 f/5.6-6.3 G OSS: I love this lens for birding and animals. Super sharp given enough light. Only downside is the size and the slower aperture. I love the looks I get when people see me lugging this animal around though.
- Zeiss 55 f/1.8: I got this back when I had the 7II, purely because DPReview said it was so sharp, and I was not disappointed. Some of my all time favorite shots have come from this lens.

Formerly I had:

- Zeiss 24-70 f/4: Another really great lens. I got some really nice shots out of this one, and the zoom range was good for walking around without a particular subject in mind. I passed it onto xolunanoke when I moved up to the 7IV.
- Sony FE 70-300 f/4-5.6 G OSS: As above, an excellent lens. Sharp and well balanced on the 7 series cameras. I used it for animals and some light birding (though it was a little short), and passed it onto xolunanoke when I upgraded.

I have (apart from A-mount gear) a NEX-6 with:

- Sony E 16-50 F3,5-5,6 Kit lens good enough for quick use
- Sony E 18-105G F4 Walk around lens for general purpose
- Minolta MC 28 F2,5 Hardly used anymore
- Minolta MD 50 F1,2 My bokeh king
- Minolta MC 85 F1,7 Another bokeh queen
- Minolta MD 200 F4 Serious tele on APS-C

My wishlist includes:
- Sony E 11 F1,8 G
- Tamron Di IIIA RXD 17-70 F2,8
- Sony E 70-350 F 4,5-6,3
and another body (A6400)

I have a7IV with the 14mm and 24mm GM and that is good enough for me, but also have 11-24mm f4L and 35mm F1.4L II USM Canon that I use with the Metabones Smart Adapter EF to Sony E. Canon Lenses are not as sharp with A7IV as they are on a Canon body of the same mpx, do not know the reason.
Also, Metabones adapter is even worse on my a7RII.

UncleSam wrote: I have a7IV with the 14mm and 24mm GM and that is good enough for me, but also have 11-24mm f4L and 35mm F1.4L II USM Canon that I use with the Metabones Smart Adapter EF to Sony E. Canon Lenses are not as sharp with A7IV as they are on a Canon body of the same mpx, do not know the reason. Also, Metabones adapter is even worse on my a7RII.

Probably due to the glass cover of the sensor. Other systems are really bad (Leica M). Never noticed my Canon lenses are less sharp on my Sony with the Sigma MC-11 adapter. Never did check it though, so it might be the same. Unlikely it is the adapter.

Raabje wrote: I think I have read with Nex 6 and 7 the autofocus of the Sony 50/1.8 OSS doesn't work right. Specially in darker situations? It was probably in in the review section of this lens. So that made me pick/select the 55mm lens.

I've done stage and dance photography with my NEX6 + 50/1.8 OSS, frequently needed ISO 3200, f2.0 and 1/50th sec and never experienced any trouble with AF. Only caviat is I mainly used AF-S / center spot in most cases, never really tried AF-C or wider area coverage.

B.t.w. The 55/1.8 is a marvel of a lens also, only size wise it's a bit big on a NEX,

pegelli wrote: Raabje wrote: I think I have read with Nex 6 and 7 the autofocus of the Sony 50/1.8 OSS doesn't work right. Specially in darker situations? It was probably in in the review section of this lens. So that made me pick/select the 55mm lens. I've done stage and dance photography with my NEX6 + 50/1.8 OSS, frequently needed ISO 3200, f2.0 and 1/50th sec and never experienced any trouble with AF. Only caviat is I mainly used AF-S / center spot in most cases, never really tried AF-C or wider area coverage. B.t.w. The 55/1.8 is a marvel of a lens also, only size wise it's a bit big on a NEX,

Ok, thanks Pegelli and Addy too, good to know. This review stands out for me as a Nex-6 owner:

This lens is giving me a lot of trouble. While I really like the image quality and the results, it's very frustrating to shoot with. On my NEX-7 it is slow to focus, and consistently focus is off. Subject isolation is a pain with this lens as it tends to focus on the background and refuse to change focus. I have tried several different focus modes and improvements are incremental at best. Unfortunately this makes me go so far as to leave this lens at home instead of bringing it. For most of my 50mm-needs I now tend to go with the 16-70mm Zeiss zoom. Aside from the focus-troubles, this is a very nice Little lens that gives great results once you get it to focus properly.

I have this huge pile of Minolta MF lenses on sale, and when I sell a few good ones I have the money for a used 55mm. But sales are running slow so it will take some time.

Edited by Raabje - 17 January 2024 at 15:24