Laowa 9mm f/5.6 FF RL Review
Widest Rectilinear Full Frame Lens
Laowa 9mm f/5.6 FF RL (Link)
Announced- June 2020
Pro
Unique Perspective
Small Size and light weight
Nice metal body
Con
Soft Corner, Vignetting
Not Dust/Water Resistance
Not chipped for electronic communication with body
I bought this lens because I was really interested to see what is it like to shoot with a 9mm lens. This is such a unique lens that I broke my habit of buying only auto focus lens.
What’s included:
Inside the box, the lens comes in a plastic draw string bag with a plastic body cap, and a metal lens cap. There are sometimes promotion that will include a 100mm filter holder for free, which is a great value as it is necessary if you want to mount any filter. However, I did not wait for the promotion so cannot comment on the filter holder.
Body
The lens is pretty small in size, only 66 x 62.4mm and 350g, and comes in 4 different mounts (Leica M/L, Nikon Z, Sony E). It is a fully manual lens and is not chipped for communication with the camera body.
The front element are almost like a glass ball. This is a very unique 9mm full frame lens and is the widest rectilinear full frame lens on the market, offering 135 deg diagonal angle of view. For reference, 12mm on a 12-24 gives 122 deg, and 16mm on a typical 16-35 gives 107 deg. There is no reason to get this lens for APS-C body, Laowa also makes a 9mm F/2.8 for APS-C and MFT mounts.
The lens body is metal with a fixed metal lens hood. There is no way to screw in a normal filter at the front. There is an aperture ring at the front and a focusing ring at the rear with good resistant when turning them. The aperture ring is clicky at each full stop without any option to de-click for video shooter.
There is no dust and weather sealing on this lens. There is also no white marker on the side of the barrel like other Sony E-mount lens to line up with the body. A bit more attention to detail than just switching the mount would be great.
There is a focus scale on the side. There is not much need to focus on this lens, since the depth of field is so deep with such a wide angle that I usually just set it to 1.2m.
The non-Leica M mount versions also have this focusing tab to help move the focus ring, which I don’t find really helpful or even needed on this lens.
Image Quality
This lens aperture starts from f/5.6 to f/22. Below is a comparison on different aperture with the A7RIV. The camera in program modes consistently under exposed, I had to bump up the exposure by 0.66 stops. Since there is no metadata, the shot at 1/125 is f/5.6, 1/100 is f/8, 1/50 is f/11. There is not much additional light being gathered from f/5.6 compared to f/8, just gathering around 1/3 stops more. For sharpness, the center is ok and the corner is soft. I don’t see any significant improvement stepping down. Please look at the sample photos (you can click on the pic to see a larger view) and draw your own conclusion.
Noticable vignetting across the range, about 2 to 3 stops around the corner.
Barrel Distortion. Not a great sample, but it was hard to fill the frame with such a wide lens.
Shooting Experience
The lens is really fun to shoot with, and it always amazes me how wide the view is. There are a lot of “impossible” shots that can be made with the lens, and even normal objects are fun to shoot again with this lens and get a fresh perspective. Manual focus is not a problem with such a wide angle lens, I just focus at 1.2m most of the time and it is fine.
However, tilting the camera slightly up or down would dramatically affect the image. There are times where the image looks really normal, but also times where the image is really weird. Another things to watch out for is what object is at the edge/corner of the frame. Similar to other wide angle lens, definitely need to make sure nothing is cut off/included by accident, or stretched too much.
Camera level, things look normal.
Camera tilted down, building are distorted.
Camera tilted up, buildings are distorted.
Since the view is so wide, the sun tends to get into the shot. Luckily, the lens produces a sharp 10 points sun star easily. Just have to watch out for flare in the image.
Conclusion
This Laowa 9mm f/5.6 FF RL lens is really unique lens. The lens is not that great technically with the soft corner, vignetting, and distortion. In addition, it is not very practical and is challenging to use. On the other hand, it provides an perspective that no other lens can offer. In landscape, the 9mm FOV stretches the sky and land, pushing the object out to create a dramatic shot. In city and interior, it is able to fill the frame with objects that would not normally fit. The lens pairs well with the A7C with its light weight and small size. I also do not feel like I am missing a lot of detail shooting on a 24mp sensor vs a 61mp with this lens. My complains are the lack of chip to send metadata to the body, and no dust/water resistance.
Overall, this is definitely not the lens to get for first, second, or even third lens in the collection. However, I still recommend to give this lens a try as it is a fun challenge.
Sample Gallery (post processed, mostly from A7C)
Sony FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 Review
SEL2860 - Kit lens for the new A7C
Sony FE 28-60m F4-5.6 (SEL2860)
Announced- Sept 2020
Pro
Compact size and light weight
Good performance
Dust and Moisture resistance
Con
Limited focal length
Collapsible design, have to extend before use
Cannot mount lens hood
What’s included:
I got this lens from the A7C (reviewed here) kit, not sure what it will come with in a retail box. There was nothing included other than the lens cap and the end cap.
Body
The lens body is 45mm long x 66mm in diameter, weight at 167g. It takes a 40.5mm filter at the front, and is not compatible with Sony’s 1.4x and 2.0x teleconverter.
This small lens only have basic control. There is a focus ring at the front, then a zoom ring at the back. There are focal lengths printed on the zoom ring. Interestingly, it has 40mm marked between 35 and 50mm.
This lens is a collapsible design, so will have to zoom out from park position to 28mm before it can be used. The body will give you a warning message when the lens is still collapsed. The length of the lens is 45mm collapsed, and about 70mm when extended to 28mm focal length.
The lens is nicely built with plastic body and metal lens mount with thin rubber gasket. Interestingly, the rear element goes quite far out to the mount when collapsed.
The front element is quite tiny, and can only use a 40.5mm filter. There is no way to mount a lens hood.
Image Quality
This is a variable aperture lens, with aperture starting at f/4 at 28mm and quickly narrows to f/4.5 as soon as you turn it. It drops to f/5 right after 35mm, then finally to f/5.6 after 40mm.
Below is a comparison on different focal lengths shot with the A7RIV. First with 28mm comparison, the center is sharp wide open at f/4, then not seeing much difference as I stepped down the aperture. The corner is soft at f/4, and gets better but still soft at f/8. The wide end seems to have weak corner.
35mm comparison, starting at largest aperture @ f/4.5. The center is sharp already, and not much change stepping down the aperture. The corner is a little soft at f/4.5, and improves a little at f/8.
50mm comparison, starting at f/5.6. Just like before, good center and soft corner wide open. The corner gets better at f/11.
60mm comparison, starting at f/5.6. Center is good and soft corner wide open. Corner gets better at f/11.
VS 24-70GM
It is quite difficult to tell how good this lens is unless compared against another lens. I have used the 2470GM as baseline for comparison on 28mm and 50mm shooting at f/4 and f/5.6. At the wide end, the center is pretty similar and the GM has better corner. On the telephoto side, GM has better center and corner.
Please look at the sample photos (you can click on the pic to see a larger view) and draw your own conclusion. I find it hard to find significant fault on the SEL2860. The performance is pretty consistent, and only weaker on the corner. Given that this is only a kit lens and its compact size, I am impressed with the performance.
Focus Breathing and Parafocal Test
I have tested these in manual focus with the A7C. I am not a video shooter, but I don’t find any significant focus breathing at 28mm and 60mm. It also seems to be parafocal as well, but it is hard to tell with f/5.6. Please see below sample video:
Conclusion
The FE 28-60mm f/4-5.6, SEL2860, is an interesting lens. I really enjoy its light weight and compact size. It is quite nice that Sony has included dust and moisture resistance on this collapsible lens, which otherwise would worry me with it sucking in dusts. The lens has much better performance expected. The center is nice across the range, and only has slightly weaker corner.
This lens has a practical focal range from 28mm to 60mm, but I would prefer to have 24mm to 50mm like the Nikon Z-mount kit lens. 24mm on the wide end would make it more suitable for vlogging and landscape/indoor shot. 60mm vs 50mm is a not significant difference on the tele side anyway.
Overall, this lens is a great option for people looking for a compact zoom lens to travel with. It is worth picking this kit lens up with the body. I hope to see Sony make a compact line of lens like this one.
Sample Gallery (mostly shot with the A7C)
Sony ZV-1 VLOG Camera Review
ZV-1
Sony ZV-1 Camera (ZV-1)
Announced- May 2020, $800 USD
Pro
Articulating Screen/Hot Shoes
Great Autofocus
User Friendly VLog Features
Con
No EVF
Micro USB, not type C
Limited Control Dial
Could use a wider lens for VLog
I bought the ZV-1 at launch because I wanted to get more into shooting more videos. I have enjoyed the RX-100 series before with the small size and great image quality. The new flip screen, new hot shoes mount, and paired with the old RX-100 V lens makes it an interesting option. I will go how the ZV-1 in both still and video sides.
What’s included
There are just 2 accessories inlcuded, micro USB cable, and the dead cat wind shield.
Body
The plastic body is 105.5mm wide x 43.5mm thick x 60mm tall, weight at 294g. It is a plastic construction, and there is a grip on the right side of the body. The build quality is quite nice and light, feel sturdy without much flex.
The biggest change compared to the previous Sony camera is the new 7.5 cm articulating screen, which is a first for Sony RX and Alpha series. The screen can flip forward at 176 deg, and rotate upward and downward at about 270 deg. The screen is 921600 dots, so about 640 x 480 resolution.
There is also a hot shoes on the top left, which replaced the pop-up EVF that was previously in the RX100 cameras. This can be used for audio accessories, and flash. This is a welcoming change for video shooter to allow easy selfies.
The mash in the middle houses the three-capsule mic, which replaced the pop-up flash on the RX100. The mode dial has been replaced with a big red record and mode buttons. The C1 on the right is the background defocus button. These changes are clearly for video shooters.
Right side of the body has all the I/O ports covered by flippy flaps. These flaps are quite hard to open due to their small size, and a dangling mess after opened. I would much prefer doors like the A7R4. There is the mic jack on the top, MicroUSB, then Micro HDMI at the bottom. It is annoying to still have Micro USB here, with other consumer electronic devices are already USB C.
There is limited amount of control points on the body with only 5 buttons and control wheel at the back. Unlike the RX100, there is no control ring on the lens, so only 1 rotating control on the ZV-1. It requires diving into the menu to make exposure changes. Luckily, there is the FN button to bring up the quick function bar.
At the bottom, you will find the battery cover. It is very close to the tripod socket, and impossible to open if you have anything installed there. Under the cover, there is the NP-BX1, and the single UHS-I SD card slot.
Sensor
ZV-1 uses a 1.0” type 20.1 Megapixels Exmor RS CMOS sensor with BIONZ X processor with Phase Detect Autofocus. It captures a 5472 x 3678 still image. As for video, it records maximum of 100M 4k30p at 8 bit (4:2:0) or HFR at 50M 1080p 1000fps.
Lens
It has a similar lens as the RX100 V/VA. Focal length is 9.4-25.7mm with a f/1.8 to f/2.8 aperture, therefore equivalent to a 24-70mm f/4 to f/8 full frame lens. The maximum aperture is at follow:
24mm = f/1.8
28mm = f/2.5
35mm = f/2.8
Minimum focal distance is at 5 cm for the wide end, and 30 cm at the telephoto end. The lens also include a 3 stop ND filter that is useful to control the shutter angle for video, or could be used for long exposure for stills.
Image Quality
First lets look at wide end at 24mm. The centre is quite sharp already wide open, gets better at f/2.8, then soften up at f/8. Corner is quite soft across the range, and best at f/4.
Next at 35mm, the center is sharp wide open, and get a little better at f/4. Corner is a bit soft, and best at f/5.6.
At 50mm, the center is a little soft at f/2.8 with some purple fringing going on. It gets much better at f/4. Corner is better than at the wide end, but still soft at f/2.8, and is good at f/4.
Finally 70mm. The center is sharp with a bit of purple fringing, and the issue is gone at f/4. Corner is already sharp wide open.
Still Shooting Experience
It is quite nice to carry such a light and compact body compared to a full frame camera. The grip is useful, and provides more confidence when handling the camera. The flip out screen is nice to compose at various angle. However, glare is an issue under the sun. The reduced numbers of control dials/button slows down the process as I often has to go to function bar to change settings. The Eye AF and continuous tracking works great. It is not as sticky as the A7 series, but provide good result and easy to use. Background defocus function works great in still as well, and is useful in program mode to blur out the background without having to switch to aperture mode.
There are a few annoyances with the ZV-1. The zoom toggle is hard to trigger to get the exact framing you want. It either goes too much or too little. The biggest problem is the blurry pictures. The ZV-1 light weight body with no EVF, which makes it a unstable shooting platform. Holding the camera at arm’s length is shaky, and have to be careful when pressing the shutter button.
Video Shooting Experience
The ZV-1 shoots 4k 30p 8 bit video. It has different picture profile, such as HLG, SLOG2 and SLOG3. All the advertise video functions work well. I have tested them all on my YouTube Cantonese channel. Out of all the new features, I find the product showcase mode most interesting. It automatically focus on closest subject in the center of the frame even if Eye-AF is on.
Active steady shot stabilization uses the gyroscopic data, which crop in the image a bit. The alternative way to use the metadata is to use Sony’s Catalyst Browse software in post. From my experience (My Comparison Video Here), the result is better than pure software solution like in Resolve. However, it is not a substitute for a proper Gimbal, especially you can pair the ZV-1 with the tiny Zhiyun M2 gimbal. The new mic setup with the DeadCat windshield is an improvement compared to typical built in mic in cameras. However, it really is not the same level as a separate shotgun or LAV mic. I have used Rode Wireless Go for the small size and easy to use wireless lav mic system.
I am not a pro videographer, so I really enjoy ZV-1 trusty auto focus and the selfie screen. The selfie screen makes framing the video much easier than the previous tilting screen. The lens at 24mm is a bit too tight at times, and it would be better with a 20-50mm lens. A wider lens would be much more useful for vlogging. The battery life is acceptable, and luckily it can be charged with Power Bank via micro USB. A weird issue is that the exposure/white balance seems to shift randomly. I was under the same setting/lighting condition, one video would be normal then the next would be too warm. This happened a couple of times to me, so best to set the white balance manually orcheck the footage after shooting.
Conclusion
The ZV-1 is a great little video camera that can gives excellent result. It is great for casual video shooting with the selfie screen, trusty autofocus, and different features for vlogging. There are some compromises that makes it feels like a part bin camera. First is the ancient micro USB, then the 24-70mm lens used in RX-100 V. Even though the lens perform great, I think vlogger would prefer ZV-1 with a wider lens. Another crazy idea would be to put the A7 Z battery in the grip.
However, it is still a great compact camera for casual vlogging user at the price point. I am happy to see flip screen finally show up on Sony camera, and it is now on the A7S3 and A7C as well. The video features are useful, and I hope to see more use on the gyroscopic data in the future.
For still shooters, the RX-100 series remains the better choice with the EVF and additional controls. There are design choices on ZV-1 that sacrificed the usability for still shooting. I will be interesting to see how Sony updates the next RX-100.
Sample Gallery
Sony FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS Review
SEL90M28
Sony FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS (SEL90M28G)
Announced- Mar 2015
Pro
Autofocus with 1:1 macro ability
Comfortable Size and Weight
Push/Pull focus ring
Con
Soft at the corner
Whiny/noisy autofocus in AF-C
What’s included
There is the lens, hood, caps, manuals, and a soft carrying case in the box.
Body
The lens body is 131mm long x 79mm in diameter, weight at 602g. It takes a 62mm filter at the front, and is not compatible with Sony’s 1.4x and 2.0x teleconverter.
There is a bunch of controls on the side. At the front is the zoom ring, then focus hold, focus ring, then a bunch of controls. Then there is a panel of switches closer to the body. Top is the focus mode switch, focus range limiter, and steady shot switch at the bottom. There is a lock button on the side that can be used to prevent zoom creep.
The lens is nicely built overall, but there is no rubber gasket like the GM series lens.
Image Quality
This lens is a true macro, can do 1:1 with minimum focus distance at 28cm. Above is a photo of SD card (32mm x 24mm) shot on a A7R3 which has a (36mm x 24mm) sensor. This lens is really sharp. All the dusts, sparkles in the plastic, and the printed letters textures can be clearly be seen.
Below is 1:1 comparison on different apertures, and these are shot on the Sony A7R4. First, let’s look at the center:
The lens is sharp at the center, even at f/2.8. It gets better as the aperture is stepped down, with no noticeable difference between f/5.6 and f/8. Next, onto the corners:
The corner is a soft at f/2.8, and improves as the aperture is stepped down. At f/5.6 is very good, but f/8 has more textures on the building walls.
Conclusion
The 90mm macro is an excellent lens, and should be considered if you are interested to shoot macro photography. Its focal length provides a good working distance for shooting macro and products. In fact, it is what I use to shoot most of the product shots on the website. The build quality is great, and the size/weight is reasonable to bring around. The push/pull focusing ring is an interesting design that is practical as well.
It offers great image quality, and is really sharp in the center. I am a bit surprised at the soft corner at f/2.8, as this is often mentioned as one of the sharpest lens on Sony E mount. However, macro often requires stepping down the lens to get enough depth of field anyway, so this is not an issue.The focus speed is acceptable, and using the focal limiter helps on it as well. One thing to watch out for is the focus motor makes loud whiny noise when in AF-C.
There are other macro options on the market, but they are all manual focus lens. The 90mm Macro having autofocus makes it a more versatile lens for day to day shooting as well. However, I would not recommend buying this unless you really need a macro lens. I will review the Sony 85mm F1.8, and do a comparison between the two to explain why.
Sample Gallery
Sony FE 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 G OSS Review
With Comparison to 100400GM
Sony FE 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 G OSS (SEL70300G)
Announced- Mar 2016
Pro
Comfortable Size and Weight
Con
Soft at the corner
Not compatible with teleconverter
What’s included:
There is the lens, hood, caps, manuals, and a soft carrying case in the box.
Body
The lens body is 144mm long x 84mm in diameter, weight at 854g. It takes a 72mm filter at the front, and is not compatible with Sony’s 1.4x and 2.0x teleconverter.
There is a bunch of controls on the side. At the front is the zoom ring, then focus hold, focus ring, then a bunch of controls. Then there is a panel of switches closer to the body. Top is the focus mode switch, focus range limiter, and steady shot switch at the bottom. There is a lock button on the side that can be used to prevent zoom creep.
The lens is nicely built overall, but there is no rubber gasket like the GM series lens.
There is a lock button on the side that can be used to prevent zoom creep.
Image Quality
This is a variable aperture lens. The aperture starts at f/4.5 at 70mm, f/5 at 85, then f/5.6 starting 160. Below is a comparison on different focal lengths. First with 70mm comparison, starting at largest aperture @ f/4.5. The center is a bit soft wide open, and gets better as the aperture is stepped down. The corner is soft with noticable chromatic aberration until f/8.
100mm comparison, starting at largest aperture @ f/5. The center is good wide open and gets better as the aperture is stepped down. The corner is still soft until f/8.
135mm comparison, starting at f/5, The center is good already wide open. However, the corner is quite soft.
200mm comparison, starting at f/5.6, the two lens are really similar at center and corner. No significant improvement at f/8 at 2:1.
300mm comparison, starting at f/5.6. The center and corner are good at 5.6. I feel this is the strongest focal length of this lens.
Conclusion
The 70300G is a good telephoto lens for the Sony FE camera, but with some compromises on image quality. It is also the cheapest telephoto option for Sony full frame, and is a good size and weight to travel with. The IQ is good at the center, but the corner is pretty soft across most focal ranges. Some other options to consider is the 70200G, 70200GM, 100400GM, and the 200600G. For APSC user, I think the newly E 70350G is probably a better choice, as it seems to have good reviews and is even lighter. However, I still believe it is a good choice if you are not a pixel peeper. Below are sample images I shot on my A7R3 and A7R4 across the years using this lens.
Sample Gallery
