Ben Rubinstein
pro member
Still can't work out what to do about a wide angle lens for my A7r.
I have approx £1000 put aside from selling my canon gear.
I need a wide angle solution period, I do not have anything wider than 50mm which I could use for pro work. Specifically architecture, people and urban landscape/street. Although I treasure the softer older look of my 50mm and 85mm or indeed my single coat 35mm, for paying work I need a modern look lens although I still treasure character.
Until now I have used and loved my Canon 16-35LII for these tasks. It's biggest failing was the corners which never sharpened up. That and the fact that it's huge on an A7r.
So here are the choices.
Nikon 14-24mm. The obvious choice that creams all opposition in the corners and just in general. Price is more than good for what it is. The filter ring turns the way I'm used to from my Pentax lenses. Cons are the size, the size, the size (did I mention that the size is a problem?) and the fact I really need polarisation for commercial architectural shooting. That and being prone to flare when shooting in the middle east is a real problem.
Zeiss 18mm f3.5 This would seem to be a great solution, small, same filter thread as my polariser. I've seen samples on a D800e and the corners are good enough for my uses. However I haven't yet seen samples on the A7r whose corners are notoriously choosy with lenses. Cons are the fact that it's a lot of money for a single focal length but more so, I can't test one out here. It's a two week special order item with no returns. I've spoken to more than one person who had one with decentering, something even zeiss seems to not be immune from, it's too much of a gamble if I can't test one first. This does seem to be my best option if I don't wait for the sony offering.
Nikon 20mm f2.8 AFD. The photozone tests this as sharper at both centre and corners than the above Zeiss at f8. Half the price too and easy to get and test. Cons are that it's not really wide enough for a super ultra wide angle, neither here nor there if that makes any sense? I've only just seen this lens, never seen the results though or what it's drawing looks like.
Zeiss 25mm f2. I love the look from this lens, I really do. It would be a dream lens to use and a focal length I love (I'm a big fan of 24mm). For a serious character lens like this I might be happy to ignore the fact that's it's not so wide. Cons are having to stitch for wide scenes and architecture. That and the corners are reportedly not very good at infinity even when stopped down. It's also just out of my price range. The f2.8 version of this lens does not have that good corners, similar to my canon in fact.
Sony FE 16-35mm f4. Still as yet unannounced but heavily rumoured. Would seem by far to make the most sense. Cons are that the price is likely to be rather scary, copy variation is a serious issue with the sony lenses and if the FE Zeiss 24-70 is anything to go by, hoping for good corners might be rather optimistic.
Here are lenses I'm not considering. Samyang choices. They're not built well and the 14mm has significant smearing on the corners, bit too wide also. Canon, well I owned and already sold the 16-35mm, again corners plus size. Ditto the Nikon 17-35 (corners of both of them, the f4 is worse). The Sony E mount 16-35mm seems good but is way over the budget, especially by the time I've bought the adaptor. The 20mm FD lens, although good, is really not up to that sensor and I know this may sound finicky but I'm used to turning the focus ring the other way. I've tried the OM 21mm f3.5, 20 year old designs just don't have sharp corners on this sensor I'm afraid.
Is there anything I've been missing? Would love to hear your thoughts.
I have approx £1000 put aside from selling my canon gear.
I need a wide angle solution period, I do not have anything wider than 50mm which I could use for pro work. Specifically architecture, people and urban landscape/street. Although I treasure the softer older look of my 50mm and 85mm or indeed my single coat 35mm, for paying work I need a modern look lens although I still treasure character.
Until now I have used and loved my Canon 16-35LII for these tasks. It's biggest failing was the corners which never sharpened up. That and the fact that it's huge on an A7r.
So here are the choices.
Nikon 14-24mm. The obvious choice that creams all opposition in the corners and just in general. Price is more than good for what it is. The filter ring turns the way I'm used to from my Pentax lenses. Cons are the size, the size, the size (did I mention that the size is a problem?) and the fact I really need polarisation for commercial architectural shooting. That and being prone to flare when shooting in the middle east is a real problem.
Zeiss 18mm f3.5 This would seem to be a great solution, small, same filter thread as my polariser. I've seen samples on a D800e and the corners are good enough for my uses. However I haven't yet seen samples on the A7r whose corners are notoriously choosy with lenses. Cons are the fact that it's a lot of money for a single focal length but more so, I can't test one out here. It's a two week special order item with no returns. I've spoken to more than one person who had one with decentering, something even zeiss seems to not be immune from, it's too much of a gamble if I can't test one first. This does seem to be my best option if I don't wait for the sony offering.
Nikon 20mm f2.8 AFD. The photozone tests this as sharper at both centre and corners than the above Zeiss at f8. Half the price too and easy to get and test. Cons are that it's not really wide enough for a super ultra wide angle, neither here nor there if that makes any sense? I've only just seen this lens, never seen the results though or what it's drawing looks like.
Zeiss 25mm f2. I love the look from this lens, I really do. It would be a dream lens to use and a focal length I love (I'm a big fan of 24mm). For a serious character lens like this I might be happy to ignore the fact that's it's not so wide. Cons are having to stitch for wide scenes and architecture. That and the corners are reportedly not very good at infinity even when stopped down. It's also just out of my price range. The f2.8 version of this lens does not have that good corners, similar to my canon in fact.
Sony FE 16-35mm f4. Still as yet unannounced but heavily rumoured. Would seem by far to make the most sense. Cons are that the price is likely to be rather scary, copy variation is a serious issue with the sony lenses and if the FE Zeiss 24-70 is anything to go by, hoping for good corners might be rather optimistic.
Here are lenses I'm not considering. Samyang choices. They're not built well and the 14mm has significant smearing on the corners, bit too wide also. Canon, well I owned and already sold the 16-35mm, again corners plus size. Ditto the Nikon 17-35 (corners of both of them, the f4 is worse). The Sony E mount 16-35mm seems good but is way over the budget, especially by the time I've bought the adaptor. The 20mm FD lens, although good, is really not up to that sensor and I know this may sound finicky but I'm used to turning the focus ring the other way. I've tried the OM 21mm f3.5, 20 year old designs just don't have sharp corners on this sensor I'm afraid.
Is there anything I've been missing? Would love to hear your thoughts.
