Nex with alternative / legacy lenses group
 

I'll be having some fun experimenting with the Sony Nex 5n and several Leitz, CV and Contax G lenses plus some OM Zuikos...

The focus peaking feature is very easy to use. And I don't miss a viewfinder with the waist level flip out screen...

Started a Flickr group for wider reference..join in! Here's a sample. Contax G 35mm Planar @ 5.6 with Metabones.

[IMG] Untitled by transalper, on Flickr[/IMG]

I am loving using my NEX 5 with legacy lenses too - so far I have adapters that allow me to use Leica M; Nikkor F; Canon FL/FD and Pentax screw mount Takumar lenses. (How sad is that - I actually own lenses in all of these systems.)

One thing I have found is that I prefer to rely on the focus zoom function for most focussing when the opportunity allows. I find I can focus better this way than with focus peaking - there is always some doubt as to where the peak actually is, I find. I still use focus peaking for a quick focus when that is required or when I have stopped right down and can rely on DOF to get me through. But all in all - great fun.

My main problem is that I am having such a whale of a time testing lenses of various types that I have not done much serious photogrpahjy with the set up.

This is pretty much my finding, too. The NEX-5N is pretty easy to focus reliably, when the subject is static and you can magnify (the focus peaking is a very useful focusing aid here), preferably all the way to highest magnification. Otherwise, I don't trust the peaking too much. Sometimes it's perfect, other times I would be much better off scale focusing a fast wide open lens right on the spot.

After a few more hours this afternoon with the G lenses I think you're right with regard to the zoom fucntion. The touch screen makes that easy too. At waist level i'm using my body to lean into the focus point for close up work - it's easier than the slightly ratchety metabones adapter - an unavoidable function of linking to the g lens focussing cam. THe Nex certainly seems easier to focus than my Panasonic GH-1 so far..

with the 45mm planar wide open at close focus distance...
[IMG] Nex planar rose by transalper, on Flickr[/IMG]

Contax G 90mm sonnar
[IMG] the fence by transalper, on Flickr[/IMG]

Here's one from the CV 75mm Colour Heliar wide open at ISO 3200. You can see I missed the focus point, but it's nice rendering for portraiture. The lens handles really well on the Nex 5n.

[IMG] Bel by transalper, on Flickr[/IMG]

Anyone have a recommendation for a 200mm prime that is compact and sharp?

I know Nikon and Oly made several that were FF and quite compact in their day. Does anyone have first hand experience using one on a digital camera.

om 200/5 is lightest 200 I know, reasonably sharp, but the sony 55210 is lighter and roughly same size.

uhoh7 - that is a beautiful image from lovely zuiko glass. To me part of the joy of the Nex is the new life that it can give older lenses. And it might encourage us to re-discover our film body OMs, pentaxs, minoltas nikons canons etc etc!

an example with the Cle Rokkor 40mm /2 @2.8. ISO3200. Note mods in Lightroom however so not original Minolta glass rendering. However, it is a lovely lens to fit on the Nex. As is the CV 40/1.4 if you want more speed.

[IMG] Kiddos by transalper, on Flickr[/IMG]

John some great shots, bravo.

the late Minolta 200/4 MD is VERY nice, sharp and light.

ty for kind words. more often i use the nikkor 180 AIS ED

The CV 25mm Snapshot Skopar has fast become my favorite lens on my Nex 3, set to hyperfocal it's an amazing street lens.

I just got done ordering the Canon FDn 200mm F/4.0

I didn't see your MD recommendation, but, I investigated both the Nikkor and Zuiko OM lenses of the same speed and focal length

The Canon FDn is light and not too long or wide, and it focuses the closest at 1.5 m.

I suspect you'll be pretty happy with it. I recently bought one (so inexpensive it's almost comic), and it seems generally on par with the Nikon 200/4 AIS. Plenty sharp from wide open, though fringing is an issue in high contrast transitions. Stopping down a little helps with that quite a bit.

I'm mostly a Nikon shooter, but I've largely standardized on Canon FD for my NEX primes, and I'm very happy I did. Their 50/1.4 (FDn and FD SSC are optically identical, so far as I can tell from testing both) is easily better than Nikon's 1.4s, and as good as anything, short of an ASPH Leica. I also recently picked up an FDn 100/2, and it's stunning. It handles very nicely, and is actually sharper than the Nikon 105/2.5 AI/AIS at equivalent stops, which is remarkable. That gives me 50/1.4, 100/2, and 200/4, all of which have slim barrels, 52mm threads, and share a common compact NEX adapter. Still not sure about whether to add a 24/2 FD, or to try a rangefinder wide in that range.

I've got my 35 summilux pre-asph on my NEX-5n. Love shooting the combo.

28 cron makes a decent normal :)

A short-eared owl (?) - NEX5 with Canon 400mm/4.5 FD

With ZM 18/4.

And I do like your b/w conversion. How do you do it?

Sharp-shinned Hawk by the looks of it.

Thanks! I don't have one single process that works for all images. Most are converted to B&W with a gradient overlay in PS, sometimes I'll use PS's B&W adjustment layer tool. I find the adjustment layer works better if there's large areas of red in the image. Tonally, a reds and a blues encountered in real life, especially clothing have the same lightness, so a gradient overly will render them as the same shade of grey, so in this case I'd use an adjustment layer to get one of the colors to pop.

The gradient overlay can also be tricky, the less contrast in the original image, the more contrast the gradient will give to the B&W, and vice versa... it's a great tool for some images and craptastic for others.

After black and white conversion, I have a few PS actions I've put together to do a micro-contrast boost, an edge only sharpen and a slight high pass overlay. It took me a while to develop them, I was trying to emulate the results I was getting with Neopan 100.

Yep, probably. Here's a good ID page, with some tips on distinguishing a Sharp-shinned from a Cooper's Hawk:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/Abo...terIDtable.htm

Now, back to lenses....

;- )