Sigma 16-28mm f2.8 E and L mount

The companion for Sigma’s highly regarded 28-70mm f/2.8 compact zoom adds an unbroken range down to 16mm while retaining a small c. 77x100mm size, 72mm filter fit, and 450g weight. It is announced today and will be available to buy from June 17th for £749.99 (UK SRP) or $899 (US retail before tax).

The new 16-28mm seen fitted to Sony’s compact A7C, with the companion 28-70mm left. The two lenses together weigh only 920g.

The full-frame Sigma 16-28mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary offers a promise of exceptional optical quality with a faster constant maximum aperture in barrel size similar to existing f/4 16-35mm designs. Special attention has been given to field curvature correction for edge-to-edge sharpness, important in wide-angle views – this is enabled through the use of a built-in lens profile, correcting distortion and vignetting in-camera or during raw image processing. 

It uses five FLD (fluorite-like glass) elements and four aspherics to minimise chromatic and off-axis aberrations. The lens has an inner zoom mechanism that keeps overall length and the centre of balance constant, improving performance when zooming during a gimbal take. The 72mm filter thread is larger than the 67mm of the similarly light and small 28-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary.. At just 100.6mm long (L-mount version) and 450g it’s appealing for outdoor, social, street and travel photographers who want a lightweight outfit for day-long use.

The lens is constructed using aluminium and thermally stable polycarbonate, performing well in temperatures from the arctic to the equator, and has a dust and splash resistant mount. AF uses a proven stepper motor compatible with high-speed AF, DMF and AF or MF modes with an MF switch on the side. It focuses down to 25cm with a maximum image scale of 1:5.6, 0.17X and has a nine-blade rounded aperture. On the L-mount version only, linear and non-linear focus ring behaviour can be set using the USB Dock UD-11.

The lens is supplied with front and rear caps and a bayonet mounted petal lens hood. Sigma WR or WR Ceramic,WR UV and WR Circular Polarising 72mm filters are optional extras.

Sigma UK – https://sigma-imaging-uk.com

Product information – https://sigma-global.com/jp/lenses/c022_16_28_28

Sony aims for the sky – RX1?

According to Sonyalpharumours, on Wednesday Sony will not only announce the Alpha 99 full frame SLT, but will reveal a compact bodied full frame fixed lens model with the same 24 megapixel sensor, called the RX1 and taking the concept of the RX100 zoom ‘one inch’ format model to a new height (photo – from Sonyalpharumours).

It’s a retro-appeal camera, with a mode dial, an over-ride dial, lens apertures set round the lens, a conventional hot shoe and a a manual focus ring which doubles as a fast means to switch between two AF ranges, 20-35cm and 35cm to infinity. It has no viewfinder, just a fixed positon rear screen, but apparently will have EVF and optical finder attachments.

Inside Sony, I think there’s been some serious divisional competition between the former Minolta Alpha group and the more powerfully connected Cyber-shot team. All the indicators are that sometime earlier this year the two divisions were put into a competing situation and there may ultimately be one winner, one loser. That’s how Sony culture is structured, according to every insider view I have heard since Sony acquired the Minolta camera brand in 2006. Groups, departments, teams and individuals are weighed against each other as well as against their industry rivals. The winners are rewarded with promotion and bigger budgets, the losers have to survive with diminished resources. It’s a deliberately competitive environment.

I believe the Cyber-shot team got hold of this sensor to compete head-on with the NEX team. This is part of Sony’s internal camera design Olympics and only Gold counts. The RX100 has been a sell-out success and given the division the authority to take Cyber-shot models to places where the DSC-R1 was once heading before Alpha and NEX arrived on the scene and shut that line of development down. They kept the RX100 under wraps to spring it on the world – including other Sony camera teams – as a blockbuster surprise. Now they have done the same with the RX1. Where next?

But, will a camera like this sell? Did it ever sell in the era of film – and why should anything be different today, give or take temporary fashions for the limitations of retro-style specifications?

Konica Hexar 35

In fact there were plenty of cameras with lens specifications around 35mm f/2 over the years, but very few survived after zoom lens compacts arrived. The era of Hi-Matics, Canonets, Yashica or Ricoh 35s saw apertures up to f/1.7 and focal lengths ranging from 35mm to 45mm. By the time 20 years of zoom lens SLRs and 10 years of zoom compacts had destroyed that market, it had moved in favour of boutique level pocktables like the Contax T2, retro Rollei 35, Minox 35 and their copies. The 35mm focal length won the day in the smaller bodies, but f/2.8 replaced faster apertures to keep size and weight down.

Minolta broke away with the titanium-bodied TC-1, one of the most expensive such cameras ever made. It had a 28mm f/3.5 G-series lens designed with a large rear element and a concave front surface, using new aspherical technology. Instead of a variable aperture, it used perfectly round laser cut Waterhouse stops which eliminated diffraction effects. This proved a valuable precursor to digital camera lenses later on, needing the same technology for ultra-short focal lengths and small sensors.

But it was left to Konica reintroduce the rangefinder-style body with a fixed 35mm f/2 lens, in the form of the Hexar 35, another very expensive and beautifully made design. The Hexar was the fin-de-siècle failure that bad design detail ensured it would be. No-one wanted a leaf shutter camera – even one with a near-silent slow winding mode for filmset and concert shooting – that was limited to 1/250th top shutter speed. Leaf shutters were perfect for synchro-sun flash, but plenty of focal plane shutters could do 1/250th. If the camera had been equipped with a 1/500th or 1/1000th top speed its hybrid electronic control system and Aperture Priority basis would still have missed the mark. Konica went on to show a full Hexar RF Leica M mount system at photokina 2002, finishing it off with some revolutionary additions at the same event in 2004, by which time Minolta and Konica had merged.

Within days of the close of photokina, the Hexar 35 and the RF system were discontinued. Whatever feedback they had received, the merged Konica Minolta dropped the Konica brand and with it the highest end Konica cameras. The fact was they had not sold, and had not sold profitably.

Which could be why the Cyber-shot division is aiming for the sky with the RX1, and pricing it at a rumoured $2799.

That’s over £2,000 in British money with VAT, for a fixed lens camera – even though it will shoot 5fps, 24 megapixels, and has a Zeiss Sonnar lens. It may also be the first time a Sonnar has covered this angle at f/2, previous incarnations have either been f/2.8 at 63° coverage or been longer relative focal lengths at f/2 (I stand to be corrected on this – the Contax G system used a 35mm f/2 Planar).

To that $2799 you can add a viewfinder and possibly other accessories. This is one camera for which I would expect to see both 0.7X wide angle and 1.5X tele lens converters (24.5mm and 52.5mm equivalents). Combined with intelligent cropping and resampling, the 24 megapixel full frame should also offer 1.4 or 1.5X and 2X digital tele, or perhaps a variable digital zoom, and a likely 3X/2X/1.4X range of video crops. Then again, Sony may be playing very clean and avoiding these options even if they would improve the experience of a fixed 35mm lens for many users.

35mm logic

I have to say that at this point, Sony has left me behind. It’s neat focal length in the Leica system because it’s been around in optically acceptable form and fast maximum apertures since the 1960s.

The classic lens sets for 35mm full frame started with the 35/50/85-90mm trio. This was because so many rangefinder cameras used interlens shutters and interchangeable front groups rather than entire lens in front of focal plane shutters. Anything shorter than 35mm was expensive and huge, anything longer than 90mm couldn’t be focused very reliably. So we ended up with launches like the Leica CL – just a 40mm and 90mm lens pair. But Leica had moved on long before in the M-series, starting with the M2 (35mm widest lens) alongside the M3 (50mm, anything wider needing ‘spectacles’ or a separate finder), then the M4-P which for the first time put 28mm on board. So the Minolta CLE Leica-mount kit appeared with 28/40/90mm as its kit, and fifteen years later the Contax G system came with 28/45/90 as an alternative to the more affordable 35/90. Konica offered their RF straight out with a 28/50/90mm set.

Fuji’s XPro-1 has been a success, and its launch lens set is 27/52.5/90mm. Now there’s a big gap from 18mm to 35mm (actual focal lengths) and they will fill it with a 35mm-equivalent. But would you want that on its own? I know someone who has a Leica M9 with just a 35mm f/2. That was a budget decision. Given enough money they would have the 24mm, 28mm, 50mm, 75mm and 90mm too!

Well-mannered and perfect though it has every chance of being, a 35mm f/2 on full frame is as uninspiring for me as the Fujfilm X100’s fixed 23mm f/2 on APS-C was. It’s a good focal length for small groups indoors, general house and garden shots, and street candids. It’s too short for conventional portraiture and too long for environmental editorial people pix. It’s easy to use and fairly boring.

Most of all, it is extremely easy to MAKE. The history of photo gear is one where lenses with a 60-65° angle of view have been good. Unlike early 28mms, 35mms were OK. The same angle of view on any compact digital, of any sensor size, is still good and many are f/2, even if they don’t offer the same lazy solution to defining the centre of interest in a shot.

I do not need to spend $2799 to get what the RX1 appears to offer. I didn’t even want it in the NEX-7 and have never felt tempted to buy the 24mm f/2.

I think, perhaps, that after a long time of ignoring photographers Sony finally listened. They may have listened to the wrong ones. The lens enthusiasts of dPreview represent a tiny minority. Those who will spend nearly $3k on a fixed lens compact – even with full frame – are even fewer.

Now, when do I get to apply for a job selling it into China? There is one place with new buying habits to match this camera perfectly!

– David Kilpatrick

Sony collapsible pancake zoom specs

The Sony NEX system collapsible zoom will be an f/3.5-5.6 design focusing to 0.3m if specifications accidentally included with the information on the NEX-5R are accurate. And it will be a power zoom, we think.

The Sony.com info includes in the camera specification this line:

“AF Illuminator : Built-in, LED type (with a range of approx. 0.3-3.0m (with E PZ16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS attached))”

This is not the existing 18-55mm OSS lens shown on the camera product shots, or included in the list of compatible lenses. The clue is in the name, E PZ instead of just E or SEL. The 50mm could easily be a typo, but combined with the different focus range (down to 30cm instead of the 25cm minimum) we think this reference is definitely to a new compact, collapsing 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 power zoom.

Those who are hoping for an f/2.8 might indeed get one of a different type,  but this specification looks competitive as a replacement for the 18-55mm, and not unlike the Olympus/Panasonic Micro FourThirds 14-42mm collapsible power zooms.

All the stocks of the NEX-5R currently being offered, and all the samples apparently previewed by the press, have been fitted with the old (existing) 18-55mm OSS lens.

Here is the page on which you will find, under the specs for the AF illuminator only, the reference to the previously unannounced E PZ lens model:

http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666484205#specifications

Here is a page listing all the current compatible lenses (expand to view 10):

http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666484205#compatability

It is worth noting that the Phase Detect PDAF system of the NEX-5R could reduce the true resolution of the central focus zone by as much as 20% locally (vertical) and raw image interpolation will restore the integrity of the images despite 99 focus points, each one of which uses three different sensel-based phase detect pixel pairs to cope with the range of exit pupil positions found on different lenses. Since the outer zone of any image is usually slightly lower resolution than the centre, the effect will be to make the NEX-5R more even in sharpness/resolution across the frame but lacking the very sharp centre zone normally found.

Added: we calculate that the PDAF uses 594 single pixels at the minimum based on three pixel pairs (one for each of three exit pupil positions) per AF point.

Effective PDAF depends on the camera knowing the actual design of the lens, because the focus distance and the rear exit pupil (rear nodal point and exit pupil diameter) are both needed for the camera to switch seamlessly to the correct pitch of on-sensor PDAF points. On-sensor PDAF is a bit like the old microprism or split image screens, it depends on a relative darkening of one side or the other of a pair of pixels as focus is changed. It works best close to the lens axis and over a specific range of apertures.

New lenses can be designed to be highly efficient with on-sensor PDAF. On-sensor PDAF has probably been designed to be usable with older lenses. What you probably can not expect from the 5R, or other on-sensor PDAF models, is reliable PDAF using SSM or SAM Alpha lenses on an LA-EA1 adaptor. It may be that it won’t work at all with some Alpha lenses even if they function with contrast detect focusing (and will still use that on the 5R).

– DK

David and Goliath? Nikon D4 dwarfs NEX-7!

Side by side on my light table (which collapses with a ‘pop’ when sixteen tons of Nikon is placed on it), and the NEX-7 is given the foreground role to avoid any accusations of using perspective to make it look tiddly.

I’m writing some reviews of the Nikon and other new professional DSLRs for the British Journal, so I won’t say anything about the Nikon’s rather wonderful 16 megapixel full frame sensor or its stunning low light performance. I hope when Nikon read my reports they’ll decide to send me to photograph in the Arctic Circle in December – there would be plenty of light for this beast.

This picture won’t be going to the BJP. I like it because these are equivalents. The Nikon’s 28-300mm VR is admittedly f/5.6 at the long end (and a vast amount better than any Sigma or Tamron 28-300mm or 18-200mm yet made). But otherwise, these are zooms with the same range of angle, both stabilised, both very quiet in both focusing and IS action, both very well-made.

And the cameras are both a real pleasure to use and produce 100% professional results. The difference is that if I stick the NEX-7 combo under my coat, I do not look like a shoplifter or terrorist with a concealed weapon of mass-perturbation.

Watch out for our NEX-7 review soon. I’m not hurrying and it may be a month or more.

– David Kilpatrick

Sony NEX generation launched


SPLIT, Croatia, breakfast over – Sony Europe presents the new NEX-3 and NEX-5 mirrorless, HD video capable slim interchangeable lens APS-C digital cameras. This has been a launch anticipated by almost complete and accurate leaking of the specifications of the two cameras. Sony UK also provided advance information to all dealers, including pricing, before the press launch – allowing retail websites to have full data up and running as from May 11th.

Toru Katsumoto presents his team’s latest offering (he holds a silver NEX-3)
The entire system with accessories is to be available in June at once, no waiting for anything except the 18-200mm lens which will arrive a month later. Edit: the brochure says ‘October’ for the 18-200mm, at the presentation it was said that it would follow in a month or so. October is four months or so.
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Sigma’s DP2 – Camera less obscure

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Sigma’s DP1 was launched in 2007 (with production models available in 2008) to great critical acclaim. occupying a unique spot in the marketplace by combining an APS-C format sensor with a compact “point and shoot” style body. There were a few controversial design choices, and the user and reviewer feedback varied greatly with the time and effort people were prepared to put in learning about the camera, yet the verdicts on the optical performance were united – the DP1 was astounding. Now the DP2 has arrived, with production-quality units available from UK retailers.
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Sony Alpha 230, 330 and 380 update

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The new Alpha 230, 330 and 380 models are radical ergonomic redesigns of the existing 200, 300 and 350 series. There is a 15% reduction in size (volumetric) and weight, an update to the styling, and a completely revised user interface with graphic representation of setting adjustments – with a built-in ‘handbook’ to accompany the modes and options. They also have mini-HDMI image output, compatible with Bravia TVs and with interactive software inside the camera to allow the Bravia’s own remote control to change, orient and zoom into images (Bravia Sync). Twin card storage is MS ProHG Duo/SD and only one card is usable at a time, with a hardware switch to change slots. A smaller battery type (shared with the HX1 Cyber Shot) is used. A new self-timer drive mode grabs a quick burst of 3 or 5 frames, cutting the chances of spoiled portraits and groups shots when someone blinks at the wrong moment.
The new flashgun HVL-F20AM operates as a wireless flash controller for the full-frame α900. “While Sony’s flagship DSLR does not have its own integrated flash, the HVL-F20AM can be used as an inexpensive trigger for wireless remote flash heads” according to Sony UK.
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