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Author Topic: Landscape lens for Sony NEX 7  (Read 6328 times)

rcloud

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Landscape lens for Sony NEX 7
« on: April 06, 2012, 02:03:21 pm »

Hi folks.  I'm a student who will be summering in New Mexico(Taos).   Naturally I would want to take great pictures of the surrounding countryside because I find it quite beautiful.  I don't have a lens wider than the sony 35 1.8.  What is the most appropriate focal distance for a landscape lens for an APS-C sensor.  I am quite new to landscape photography.  I do have a budget being a student however I do want something better than the 16m pancake. 

I am not afraid of manual focus lenses on the used market. 

Thanks in advance.
Robert

Brian Hirschfeld

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Re: Landscape lens for Sony NEX 7
« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2012, 04:12:46 pm »

For compactness you could look at M lenses, Leica's will be high, but voigtlander makes some great lenses, which new are fairly inexpensive, and used probably even more so. Other then that you could look at Canon / Nikon / Olympus manual focus lenses with adapters. It's really a matter of what focal length you like. If you like, if you like something standard then you could get a 35mm or a 28mm and you'll be slightly wider then standard and then anything smaller then that will be wider, since with all of these lenses, which are built for full frame (either film or digital) then you will be using their sweet spots, and can certainly get the best out of them.
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rcloud

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Re: Landscape lens for Sony NEX 7
« Reply #2 on: April 06, 2012, 04:57:05 pm »

Sir, can you be a little more verbose about focal lengths and their uses in landscape photography?

I would very much benefit from a little education.

Fips

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Re: Landscape lens for Sony NEX 7
« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2012, 05:25:31 pm »

Quote
What is the most appropriate focal distance for a landscape lens for an APS-C sensor.

The most appropriate is the one which gives you the results you were aiming for. There's no such thing as an ideal focal length for any subject per se.

I suggest you educate yourself about how different focal lengths affect the perception of an image. With this knowledge you might be able to find out whether you're a wide, normal oder telephoto guy and then buy what you want instead of just buying something somebody else likes.
Furthermore keep in mind that the more extreme then focal length, i.e. ultra wide oder extremely long, the more limited you are in subjects. Also extreme perspectives get boring quickly.
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rcloud

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Re: Landscape lens for Sony NEX 7
« Reply #4 on: April 06, 2012, 05:29:11 pm »

Vielen dank Fips.  Yes you are absolutely right.  I must shoot more.  my widest lens is a 35 and I can reach up until 200 so I should have quite enough range for quite nice pictures

BarbaraArmstrong

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Re: Landscape lens for Sony NEX 7
« Reply #5 on: April 06, 2012, 06:29:36 pm »

Different photographers willl give different treatments to the landscapes they encounter.  The 35mm lens you have is not a wide angle lens on an APS-C camera; rather, it will give you results similar to a 50mm lens on a full frame camera.  This is considered a "normal" lens.  Many landscape photographers enjoy wide angle lenses for the wider landscape they will render.  However, as you go to a wider lens, anything in the distance will look even more distant and smaller, often minimizing the impact of what looked so impressive to the eye.  But they will give you that more panoramic look.  One way to get the panoramic look while avoiding the distancing of the wide angle lens is to use a moderate telephoto (in your case, something longer than the 35 you mentioned) and use Photoshop or other software to stitch a series of shots.  If you do this, I highly recommend turning the camera to a vertical orientation, and remember to do lots of overlap.  The natural temptation when shooting a landscape moving from left to right (or vice versa) is to hold the camera in horizontal mode, but this severely limits the vertical coverage in the final stitched image.  If you already have a range of 35 to 200 available on the APS-C, I would think it very helpful to just add something shorter if you can to get those wider shots when you want them. 
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Brian Hirschfeld

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Re: Landscape lens for Sony NEX 7
« Reply #6 on: April 06, 2012, 07:26:06 pm »

Also extreme perspectives get boring quickly.

This is very true, I rarely use the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 @ its widest end, and don't usually take it out, it is more of a speciality lens, I personally find ultra wides rather boring since they are over done, and find distortion to be a non-starter for me, even if its "good" distortion that people enjoy as part of the ultra wide effect. Personally the widest I am usually comfortable with is the 24mm which I have for my Leica M. But everyone is different.
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Deep

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Re: Landscape lens for Sony NEX 7
« Reply #7 on: April 06, 2012, 08:31:57 pm »

The downside of the NEX system is the limited choice of lenses, particularly nice, sharp wide-angle options that one would usually use for landscapes.  Assuming you already have the standard kit zoom, which can be okay, you must be looking at something wider.

I understand, not from experience but from perusing the internet, that the NEX7 does not do well at the edges with some older range-finder lenses, so you may find an investment in one of these disappointing.  I'd recommend doing a search on something like Flickr to see if the results would be good enough for you.

A better option may be to get the Alpha lens adaptor and try to find one of the wider lenses made for the APS-C sensored Minolta/Sony cameras.  Do a search under Tamron, Sigma etc as well as Sony and Minolta and you may be surprised what's available.  However, none will be ultra cheap and you have to factor in the price of an adaptor too.

Good luck!

Don
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Don

ripgriffith

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Re: Landscape lens for Sony NEX 7
« Reply #8 on: April 07, 2012, 03:59:57 pm »

You are going down the wrong road, my friend.  The question should be, "How can I make the best use of the lenses I have."  The Sony 35 f1.8 is a remarkably sharp lens, and coupled with the Nex7's built in (and excellent) panoramic mode covers the wide end quite well.  You mentioned also having a 200mm, which will bring the mountains in close and compressed.  Rather than buying new lenses, spend the money on the most solid tripod and head you can find; the big Gitzo carbon fibers, etc...

I envy you!  I grew up in that part of the world, but moved before I discovered photography.  Best advice?  Look for the highest viewpoints!  You do realize, do you not, that by posting this, you are now required to share many, many many of your pictures with us :)

Enjoy!!!
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ripgriffith

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Re: Landscape lens for Sony NEX 7
« Reply #9 on: April 07, 2012, 04:01:57 pm »

Also, read Michael's excellent rolling reviews of the Nex 7... very enlightening.
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JohnBrew

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Re: Landscape lens for Sony NEX 7
« Reply #10 on: April 08, 2012, 08:25:50 am »

I have an NEX-7 with Leica and Nikon adapters. I have no intention of buying any Sony glass. The problem with rangefinder lenses on the NEX-7 is ray angle. Lloyd Chambers has a chart on his pay site which details the problem and Michael also ran into it when he was doing his testing. So essentially there are problems using rangefinder lenses of less than 35mm. I'm using an old Nikon 24 Ais lens which gives me 36mm equivalent view and I find this satisfactory.

PhotoEcosse

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Re: Landscape lens for Sony NEX 7
« Reply #11 on: April 11, 2012, 04:50:18 am »

Not so long ago, there was a "fad" for landscapes taken with ultra-wide angle lenses to grotesquely distort the perspective of the foreground. In those days I often used a Sigma 10-20mm lens on an APS-C sensored body.

Nowadays, with FX bodies, my most commonly used landscape lens is a 24-70mm, the next most-used is a 70-200mm and, finally - in third place - is a 16-35mm. In fact I have just bought a 20mm prime to use when I do want to go ultra-wide.

So, all I am saying is that, whereas you might want to acquire a range of lenses for your camera, don't make the mistake of slavishly equating landscape with wide-angle.
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