The photographic test: mirrorless lenses with a non-silver camera

Last May, Sony, known for its unconventional solutions in designing high-quality cameras, again surprised the world and introduced the most compact non-smooth camera with interchangeable optics NEX-5. After a while, the world wide web began to describe the novelty as follows: “the best ratio of image quality and features per gram of weight. Sales all over the world, including America, crawled up and formed a large group of fans of the new model.

Let me briefly remind you of a camera that was already tested in the magazine #9 36 , 2010 . The most striking feature of an interchangeable lens camera is its innovative design. Dimensions of the camera without lens so small 117×63×34 mm that it seems that not the lens is attached to the camera, and vice versa. Weighs only 300 grams with batteries. On the body only 6 buttons and joystick with a rotary wheel.

All camera controls are done through the on-screen menu on the LCD display. Trimming is also possible with this image stabilizer. And yet it’s a fully-fledged camera with a large stock of interchangeable optics and superb image quality, as the manufacturer claims.

I was excited to try it in different situations, the more so because I had the idea of a test to see what the NEX system can do. The thing is that I’ve been for many years sticking to the idea that it’s not the camera that takes the good photos, but the photographer. The camera only helps, hinders or is neutral to the scene. It is not even the camera, but its combination with optics, plus the convenience of controls, the quality of the display or viewfinder, the speed and accuracy of the lens focusing and the accompanying mood of the photographer can get just the picture, and not just a set of well-drawn lines or unnecessary color spots.

So, during my traditional spring expedition to the untouched wilderness areas of Northwest America, I decided to take a set from NEX-5 camera and an interesting for me set of interchangeable optics, which was kindly picked up at New York office of the company. So I have a small purse in front of me that usually barely holds one DSLR camera with a standard zoom lens.

And here is a complete kit for the traveling photographer. This camera itself, complete with a standard Sony 18-55 mm f/3,5-5,6 E OSS zoom lens for the new proprietary lens mount, with a stretch of 18 mm, three lenses for SLR cameras series “Alpha”: macro 50 mm f/2,8, long zoom 55-200 mm f/4-5,6 and telezoom 70-400 mm f/4-5,6, and an adapter LA-EA1.

The purpose of this set is to reduce the weight and size of the working expeditionary kit of equipment as much as possible without compromising the final result. The key component of this kit is a Sony LA-EA1 adapter, specifically designed to install lenses from the Alfa SLR system on the NEX series cameras. A small device that lets you take your compact camera to new heights.

Of course, I understood perfectly well that a small camera could not pretend to be the first fiddle in our scientific photographic expedition. There are other tools for that – with familiar controls, waterproof and weatherproof. The camera is packed in special cases, which are reliably placed in the back of the ATV. And the little NEX-5 is always at your fingertips. The working moments, expedition participants’ everyday life I shot only with this camera, and almost always with standard Sony E 18-55 OSS zoom.

It focuses quickly and quietly and produces good images at all focal lengths. At the widest angle of 18mm you could see some geometric barrel distortions, but it doesn’t make the photo unappreciated. Picture quality is very good at full open aperture. Built-in optical image stabilizer lets you confidently shoot at slow shutter speeds.

The lens has the traditional “trunk” design, where the front lens slides forward when you change the focal length. This critical component is made very reliably, there is no backlash or uncontrolled free movement of the lens barrel elements. The body is made of magnesium alloy. Focus and zoom control knobs are not rubberized.

It’s probably done for design reasons, to keep the style. However, the fine metallic corrugation of these rings changes their appearance rather quickly with active photography. Shooting against the light, t. e. when the sun is in the frame or near the frame boundary it helps create very effective photos and is at the same time a serious test of the optics. The standard 18-55mm zoom does not mind such lighting: it perfectly copes with stray flare, or, speaking in professional jargon, does not catch rabbits. In addition, it comes with a lens hood, which, unfortunately, quite easily slips from its mounting place on the lens.

The normal zoom is so good and convenient that you have a desire to use it in almost all shooting situations. The focusing precision, quickness and quality result let me compare the pictures taken with a Sony NEX miniature mirrorless camera with those made with serious professional equipment under the same conditions. But there is one application where the combination of an NEX camera and an 18-55mm lens gives a unique result. When you travel for photographs you sometimes need to create a panoramic image.

It requires a tripod, a series of shots, and then a lot of post-shot processing in a graphics program. Unique Sony technology makes it possible to create quality panoramas on the fly. During the smooth movement of the device manages to make 20-25 shots, which are already a second later turned into a high-resolution panorama with the size of 5536 × 2160 pixels. You can zoom in on the panorama, check the accuracy of the gluing and, if necessary, re-shoot it immediately.

Unfortunately, the E lens kit for this interesting new product is not yet complete although there are plans to expand the lineup in the near future. However, with the LA-EA1 adapter you can connect up to 30 lenses originally designed for the Sony A mount. By the manufacturer’s assurance, 14 of them retain auto-focus capabilities. The adapter has a removable pad that makes it easy to attach heavy lenses to the tripod head. The adapter costs 6000 Dollars.

The Sony 70-400mm f/4.5-5.6G SSM telezoom is a high-end lens that’s proven to work well with the Alpha series. The superb image quality at the long end even with the diaphragm fully open has more than once helped me out on the hunt for photographs. The lack of a built-in optical stabilizer was made up for by the image sensor stabilizer in these cameras. When you pair the NEX camera with it, you have to take into account the following features that limit the use of this expensive and high quality glass.

Since frame composition and sharpness control is done with the large display rather than the viewfinder pressed to the eye, the small camera attached to a heavy lens does not maintain a stable position. It takes a very long time to adjust sharpness because of natural oscillations. The camera picks up the focus right away, but because of the shift, it tries to adjust it more accurately, makes a mistake and tries to focus again, and this goes on for a few seconds. I tried shooting birds, people, landscapes handheld and I could not get a single sharp shot. But once I used a tripod, everything fell into place and the focusing problem stopped hurting my mood.

A macro lens helps a lot when traveling. It’s the attention to detail, macro-abstraction that helps to create photo stories about a particular place, phenomenon, and allows you to dilute a succession of landscapes. That’s why I often use lenses with the 1:1 setting. Included in my kit was the beautiful Sony 2.8/50 Macro designed for the Alpha 900 and 850 full frame cameras. This glass and the similarly designed Sony 2.8/100 Macro have a flawless, classic design and produce a great picture even at a fully open aperture.

The lenses have a so-called screwdriver autofocus drive, which unfortunately does not work when they are connected to the NEX camera. It would seem that in macro photography there is no need to use autofocus, but this is only true in the case of SLR equipment, when the eye can very accurately estimate the aiming point. In my case, when focusing on the LCD screen and shooting handheld, it was difficult to judge the sharpness area. To be sure I had to do many takes, each time focusing again and shifting the camera slightly in relation to the subject. A tripod does away with this inconvenience, of course.

The compact, lightweight Sony DT 55-200mm f/4-5.6 lens is designed for Alpha-series DSLRs with a sensor size of 23.4×15.6mm. And of course, you can attach it to your NEX camera with the LA-EA1 adaptor and still get autofocus. The lens is good and works well in backlight and at fully open aperture. Minimum focus distance of 0.95m. The rounded aperture lets you create images with beautifully blurred backgrounds, effectively highlighting the scene.

However, as with the large 70-400mm telephoto lens, the ability to focus quickly and accurately automatically is limited, but no longer because of vibrations. Just when you focus the lens front lens unit has to rotate and move forward, which takes quite a long time – about 3-4 seconds. That’s why I can safely say that the operative work in reportage style might not work. However, the manual focus assist program built into the camera would be a good help. Sometimes it seemed to me that it was with this lens that this mode worked faster and more accurately.

In the course of a month and a half the camera with a set of interchangeable optics traveled with me everywhere: in the wilderness, in the megalopolis and provincial towns. A great little camera, in my opinion it has a great chance to become popular among photographers who are demanding on quality, design and size equipment. The adapter lets owners of Sony Alpha DSLRs include the NEX in their gear set as a backup or lightweight camera for in-between shoots.

But I am sure it is the native E lenses with built-in optical stabilizer that can provide complete and uncompromising comfort in shooting. Working with “alpha”-lenses becomes a kind of slow and thoughtful tripod shooting of low-moving objects.

We thank Sony New York office for providing us with the equipment for the test.

Pictorial tests

Critical Situation. Expedition cross-country vehicle hit a bog window. There was neither time nor possibility to unpack equipment, so even an attempt to take pictures was inappropriate. A small camera hanging on my chest helped me take a quick picture and rush to the rescue of the iron horse. ISO 200, shutter speed 1/60, aperture 14, program mode.

Thirteen year old captain. Masha is returning in her motorboat from an evening bird watching trip. To underline the speed of the boat and to spread the splashing water, I had to set a slow shutter speed and a high aperture on the lens. There is a prominent barrel-shape on the horizon line at the edges of the frame. Focal length of 18 mm, shutter speed 1/25, aperture 14.

Grouse crowing in the background of the setting sun. The wild bird is not scared of the wild in the untouched areas and allowed to set the tripod against the back of the cross-country vehicle. Sony 70-400 4,5-5,6 G SSM lens. Shutter speed 1/8000, aperture, exposure compensation +2\3 Ev to compensate for the sun’s influence on the exposure metering system. Focal length 400 mm.

When shooting a panorama, the camera goes into auto mode, where it selects the necessary shutter speed and aperture by itself. The photographer can set corrections in order to work out the texture of the sky and clouds. Shutter speed 1/80, aperture 4.5, format panorama – JPG image. Focal length of the camera is 18 mm.

Portrait of a girl in the setting sun. SONY DT 55-200 4-5.6 Lens. Opening the aperture all the way up to the backdrop to focus on your face. But the camera’s automatic white balance did not produce the desired color reproduction, which required fine-tuning in the RAW converter Capture One 6.2 ISO 500, shutter speed 1/160, aperture 4, focal length 100 mm.

Ulyana in a pine forest. The sharp contrasts required the HDR auto mode. When I take a picture, I automatically take three pictures which overlap each other afterwards. The result is very delicate and does not give the impression of crude computer intervention. Fully opened aperture of the high-class lens makes it possible to separate the heroine from the background, which is impossible with compact cameras.

Sony 70-400 4.5-5.6 G SSM lens. Shutter speed 1/160, aperture 4.5. Tripod was used. 140mm focal length.

Herringbone, a rowan tree. The sunbeam shining through the first leaves makes a whimsical shadow pattern. A macro lens lets you capture that world of shadows. I focused by moving the camera and I got a sharp picture after a few tries. Shutter speed 1/100, aperture 13.

Landscape after sunset. Tripod was used, 10-second self-timer to compensate for camera shake. Shutter speed 2 sec, aperture 9. Sony 70-400 4.5-5.6 G SSM lens. 140mm focal length.

The first mushroom of April bursting through the last year’s foliage. Interchangeable macro lens lets you control the sharpness of the background, bringing out the main subject. Shooting from a low point, the camera is on the ground. The tilting LCD display makes it easy to focus manually. Shutter speed 1/100, aperture 5.6

Field, Wind and Ona. The Sony DT 55-200 4-5,6 lens at its widest 55 mm focal length position, combined with a very low shooting point, distorts the proportions of the heroine relative to the background, highlighting the main. Shutter speed 1/320, aperture 9 to maintain acceptable detail of clouds and a group of trees that balance the composition.

A drop of dew on the grass. The extremely close focusing point of the Sony DT 55-200 4-5,6 lens. Fully open diaphragm turns the small blobs in the out-of-focus areas of the background and foreground into interesting ball-shaped formations. Aperture 5.6 shutter speed 1/160. Chromatic aberration visible.

The Sony DT 55-200 4-5,6 lens at the extreme long focal length position of 200 mm, distorts the perspective of space, flattening it. Shutter speed 1/320 sec, full aperture 5.6.