Archive for the ‘sony’ tag
What’s In the Bag? Sony Artisan Brian Smith
I’ve known professional photographer Brian Smith for a couple of years now, and the work he does has consistently blown my mind. More importantly, he’s also perhaps one of the nicest professionals I’ve ever met: in fact, he’s looking out for all of us. His book: Art and Soul, belongs on every portrait photographer’s coffee table. Brian managed to talk to various celebrities after shooting their portraits, and got testimonials from all of them on why the arts are so important.
He’s even let me play with his gear before. While we all know that a photographer’s creative vision first, I couldn’t help but ask Brian to talk with us about what’s in his camera bag. After some quick emails back and forth, I was able to get the well-respected Sony Artisan to not only tell us what’s in the bag, but also give us a bit of a backstory on some of the pieces.
Before we start though, be sure to follow his updates and if you’re at WPPI, be sure to pop on by his Secret of Great Portrait Photography class. They’ll be giving away lots of freebies there too.
Review: Sony 50mm f1.8 (NEX)
As part of the package that Sony sent to us, the Sony 50mm f1.8 for their NEX system was included. As the current speed demon of their lineup, you’ll be able to get some wonderfully smooth bokeh with this lens. We stacked it up against the Canon 85mm f1.8 and 5D Mk II and asked for your opinions as well. Many of you were impressed by this little Sony.
But is it really all perfect?
Review: Rokinon 8mm f2.8 Fisheye (Sony NEX)
After getting our hands on the Rokinon 8mm f2.8 for review, we were fairly impressed with how well it performed. After weeks of use, the little lens actually almost stayed glued to the NEX 5n not only because of its size but also because of how simple it was to use.
But like all lenses, it had its quirks.
Review: Sony NEX 5n
After reviewing the Sony NEX C3, I have been dying to get my hands on the 5N (5n). Though initial reviews have shown the earlier versions to have clicking problems when recording video, my version did not seem to have that fault. I have already done a hands on review of the Rokinon 8mm f2.8 fisheye lens using the 5N, and I’ve also compared it to the Canon 5D Mk II in a real life situation.
So as Sony’s middle child (with the C3 being the low end and 7 being the high end) can the 5N really prove to excel above some of the competition?
Sony Announces 500mm f4 Telephoto Beast, Confirms New Full-Frame Camera
Sony's new G-grade super-telephoto lens, the SAL500F40G
On the CP+ show in Yokohama, Japan last night, Sony announced a new high-performance super-telephoto lens for their SLR and SLT cameras, the SAL500F40G. With its 500mm focal length and an initial aperture of f4, this is the longest-ever lens carrying the “G” branding which only Sony’s professional grade telephoto lenses receive. Besides being extraordinarily bright for a lens of its focal length, the new SAL500F40G focuses via a new ultrasonic SSM drive and is both dust- and moisture-proof. It is aimed primarily at outdoor user, as in wildlife photography, sports documentation etc.
Sony also confirmed that they are working on a new full-frame A-mount camera to replace the aged α900, but have given no further details. Read more after the jump.
Which One is Which? Sony NEX 5n vs Nikon D5100
DXOMark rates camera sensors, and they’re considered the standard in the industry though many will argue their findings at times. When Sony sent me the NEX 5n, I looked around the internet to try to find information about it. Everyone had compared it to Canon’s 5D Mk II due to the video capabilities. However, I didn’t see much when it came to Nikon comparisons.
Let’s get one thing straight: Nikon’s D5100 and D7000 have essentially the same video modes and therefore also would almost never be usable for most pros. Though Chase Jarvis uses the D7000 to create some great video, I have to agree more with Andrew Reed’s findings in that the auto-exposure adjustment override absolutely kills me. I really highlighted this in my D5100 review. Indeed, the T3i is a much better camcorder as we concluded.
But this test is about the still image quality between the Sony NEX 5n vs the D5100. Sure one is a DSLR and one is a mirrorless camera, but they’re both APS-C sized sensors. So can you tell which photo came from which camera? Take a look at our informal test to see.
