Sunday, June 8, 2014

Testing my Sony PZ16-50 E mount lens

I'm tired, it's been a busy action packed weekend.   Thursday was our Anniversary Dinner and I got myself in hot water again but we did eventually have a not so satifactory meal and I've been accused of not listening again, or perhaps it's because I have no more functioning memory cells due to my advanced age.

I've been scanning Craiglist and I bought a preowned, new to me Sony PZ16-50mm lens for my


Sony NEX-5n .    I like wide angle and the original 18-55mm was not quite wide enough.   16mm is more like 24mm on an APS-c crop sensor camera


I rode my bike to Steveston and after breakfast with the guys, I ended up at the Britannia Shipyards National Historic site.   All photos today are using this lens at different focal lengths


This is the Fraser River and the river levels seemed very low today


Here's the same scene at 24mm


I thought that this fish net made a nice pattern


and this scene is at full zoom, which was 50mm ( 75mm equivalent ).   Those pilings are what's left of the previous pier


The majority of the fishermen were Japanese so this is one of their bunkhouses which is furnished with period furniture so you can see how they lived decades ago


I like to come to Finn Slough so you may remember seeing some of these scenes before


This is a surge channel and there is very little water this time of year


and this is looking the other direction.   Yes, people live here


I have no particular place to go.  I am just killing time before I head south to Surrey/White Rock to pick up my Corvette which has been sick for the past two weeks.  I am getting it ready for a long trip this summer and everything that needs to be done is being done, until work came to a halt because of a failure of the HB so it had to be taken to a proper repair place to have it fixed


I like this lens.   It is half the length of the older 18-55mm as it retracts to about half size.   When you turn your camera on, the lens extends to full length ready for use, so the start up time is a bit delayed by another second or so.   There is a ring which you turn to control the zoom but is is electronic and controls an internal motor so the action is very smooth and seems more precise than the previous mechanical ring.  It would be much smoother when recording video


As the lens retracts when you turn your camera off, it is much smaller in your pocket.   This is Hwy 99 and these cars are going southbound into the Massey Tunnel which goes under the Fraser River.  It was a nice day slowly meandering my way home


12 comments:

  1. The range of lenses available today are astounding and I continue to be overwhelmed by not only the choices but the speed at which new ones become available. As I read your review of the new glass I was reminded of how each photographer makes choices for different reasons. For all the strong features of the 16-50 for me the weakness is the aperture -- f3.5 to 5.6 won't allow me to get the depth of field I'm after, or rather the lack of it.

    I chose the Canon G15 that rides with me for two reasons; 1)it shoots RAW files, 2)the aperture range is 1.8 to 2.8. Those relatively large apertures allows me to get the shallow depth of field I chase -- a far cry from the time when I thought everything should be sharp in a picture. Perhaps the images better match my aging vision!

    Always enjoy your pictures and I need to thank you again for the recommendation of the carbon fiber tripod and the radio triggers. Use both frequently and they always travel with me.

    Steve Williams
    Scooter in the Sticks

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    1. Steve:

      This Sony Nex 5n is my backup camera. I use it as a P&S but I also have a Sony RX100M2 which has a 1" sensor and it also has a F1.8 lens, similar to your G15. All of my cameras can shoot RAW. I like cameras with larger sensors. I brought this to State College last year but hardly used it. My main camera on my trip was an older Canon T2i.

      Recently I bought a Nikon D800 but the file sizes are very large so I have been using either my NEX or Canon, but the images have a much broader tonal range, sort of like MF and I have those Yongnuo flash triggers for them all. I bought extra shutter cables so each transmitter pair can be used with my EOS or Nikon (with the 10 pin connector). My Nex triggers with an IR fob

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  2. Pictures are looking good Bob. Nice to see the weather cooperating.

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    1. Trobairitz:

      I am liking this lens. It is small and a bit wider angle than the one I had, which I gave away. To tell you the truth, it's a bit too warm, esp in rush hour when you miss a light you just bake in the sun. My riding season will end end in about a month. My Beemer will not be insured this year, and my Vstrom insurance runs out mid August. It usually gets warmer during late July and August but I will be commuting in air conditioned coolness, with beach attire to match

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  3. I love taking gorgeous photos. Not that I take that many. Well... I take a lot of photos (we have just over a 1,000 from Italy {blush}. What I don't take many of is gorgeous photos.

    Schlepping my two lenses and swapping them out is a chore. Adding a third lens? I agree though, the wide angle is nice.

    Maybe...

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    1. David:

      Not all photos can be masterpieces. In the old days of film you would be very lucky to got 4 keepers, per roll. Remember, the more you take, the higher chance you will get a gorgeous one. I like to select ONE image per trip so out of a 1,000. there must be a handful.

      I don't like to swap lenses. I remember back in 2012 (Hell's Canyon, Oregon), and 2011 (Glacier NP, Montana) I brought my telephoto 55-250mm zoom and it was just too much trouble to dig it out. Better to have two cameras, each with a different focal length. Last year I got smarter and bought a Super Zoom 18-250mm, but I also brought my 10-20 sigma and only used it once. This Sony NEX is just a P&S to me as I like the larger sensor, and 24mm wide angle works better for what I like to shoot. Taking equipment on a trip is a compromise as to weight and bulk.

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    2. So I'm reading about camera gear that's too much trouble to use and I'm thinking" what a waste " while I'm looking at a $400 Harmon Kardon omni-directional speaker that I bought at the Apple store to listen to CBC digital audio. It was great for about a month until I realized that my Internet bill was going to be about quadruple as a result. So here it sits in all it's Hi-Fi glory, unloved much of the time. I guess we all have our quirks:)

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  4. I like the photos of the slough/channel with the nets, pilings and old wood. Don't keep up with all of the camera gear that seems to be coming out all of the time.

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    1. Richard:

      I am refining my equipment. 28mm bothers me, it's not wide enough. 24mm is the last focal length before there is too much distortion and I only need one lens for my Sony Nex as I can use most of my Nikon lenses, with adapters. It is my backup camera which I carry with me when I go on a trip in case my main camera fails

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  5. I bought a Vivitar VF 128 ViviCam with auto flash, anti shake, 14.1 mega pixels and 4x digital zoom. Right now I figure all you shutter-bugs are going wooooooooo; but I figure it should be a good place to start. I like the idea of having my pictures stored on SD cards instead of bulky volumes.

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    1. David:

      Photography is my hobby so I gravitate to higher models with more buttons, and dual control wheels so I can change settings more easily without delving into the menus. We all have to start somewhere so perhaps you may like to capture more memories that you can look back on later . . .

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  6. That area remi.de if the California Delta, a dreamy place where water and land meet The only thing I miss in my phone camera is a telephoto lense. the ease of use and lack of bulk of my electronic swiss army knife continue to astonish me.

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