Third-Party Lens Reviews

Sigma lenses on the Sony A7r II: a personal and on-going round-up

21/12/2015 By Mathieu 22 Comments

Since we purchased the Sony A7r II for our in-depth analysis, I have had the chance to test the camera with many different lenses including third-party DSLR lenses. There are two main reasons behind testing non-native E-mount glass. First, it was part of my in-depth autofocus test where I came to quite a positive conclusion. The second is a consequence of the first reason: I wanted to find out if some of these lenses could be integrated into a mirrorless system despite not being designed for Sony cameras in the first place.

Sony A7r II and Voigtländer VM lenses, Chapter II: 35mm f/1.7 Ultron Aspherical review

08/12/2015 By Mathieu 9 Comments

Now that our full Sony A7r II test is complete, it’s time to continue with our reviews of interesting Voigtländer lenses to use on the camera. The former German brand has an interesting collection of compact lenses that go from extreme wide angle to fast medium focal lengths. These lenses are designed for the Leica M system but can easily be mounted to the Sony A7 series via a thin adapter (I have the Voigtlander VM adapter).

A day in Cambridge – Hands-On with the Zeiss Loxia 21mm f/2.8 (Sony E-Mount)

23/10/2015 By Mathieu 10 Comments

Today we spent a very pleasant day at the Zeiss Headquarters in Cambridge where we had the chance to try the new Loxia 21mm f/2.8 lens for the Sony E-mount system. In truth, this wasn’t the first time we’d seen the lens, as a prototype was on display at the Milvus event in Oberkochen (see our report here). But since the lens was still under embargo, we were kindly asked to remain quiet about it until the official announcement that happened the following week.

ZY Optics Mitakon Speedmaster 25mm f/0.95 for Micro Four Thirds Review

01/10/2015 By Heather 13 Comments

Say the words “0.95 aperture” to a Micro Four Thirds user and their ears will certainly prick up. The main benefit of a lens with an aperture this fast is of course the extra shallow depth of field, which is more difficult to achieve with a Micro Four Thirds sensor than with a larger sensor.

The manufacturers that have stepped in and created some very fast manual focus lenses for Micro Four Thirds include Voigtlander with its f/0.95 Nokton series, SLR Magic with its Hyperprime range, and ZY Optics, the creators of the Speedmaster series which comprises both f/0.95 and f/1.2 aperture primes.

Voigtländer VM lenses on the Sony A7r II, Chapter I: 12mm f/5.6 Ultra Wide Heliar and 21mm f/1.8 Ultron

22/09/2015 By Mathieu 23 Comments

When the original A7 and A7r were released in December 2013, one of the most popular topics was the use of adapted lenses including old SLR, Leica and third party M glass. Adapting M glass to Sony’s full-frame sensor, especially the shorter focal lengths, proved quite challenging. Since Sony’s sensors have a thicker cover glass, the light rays that come from the lens and pass through the cover can produce astigmatism (details on the edges of your image appearing blurred), colour shift and chromatic aberration. The severity of the results depends on the specific lens.