Sony Sonnar T* FE 35mm f/2.8 ZA Lens Review

The Sony Sonnar T* FE 35mm f/2.8 ZA is a high-end lens designed for Sony’s E-mount compatible cameras like the A7 II, the A5000 and the A6000. It’s a lens which aims to satisfy the needs of professional photographers and serious enthusiasts. But for many readers of the Plug-in blog the question is: ‘Is it worth upgrading the kit lens that comes with my camera?’. Today I’m going to attempt to answer that question in a totally unbiased manner.

I only shoot in RAW, and I am having this same issue. I shoot Nikon with a Tokina lens. This morning, Tuesday October 14, 2014, I had this setting. I closed the program and restarted it, and now I only have Apple, Canon, DJI, GoPro, Nikon, Sigma, Sony, Tamron lens profiles. There was not an update, nor did I actually change any settings. What is going on here?
I talked to customer support, whom suggested that I was stoned out of my mind because these profiles do not exist in lightroom. I did as the rep asked, followed the link and downloaded the "new" profile. Now I can't get it installed. Meanwhile, my photos are waiting for me to edit them. Can someone please help out here?!

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Review: Should you upgrade to the high quality Sony Sonnar T* FE 35mm f/2.8 ZA camera lens

The Sony Sonnar T* FE 35mm f/2.8 ZA is a high-end lens designed for Sony’s E-mount compatible cameras like the A7 II, the A5000 and the A6000. It’s a lens which aims to satisfy the needs of professional photographers and serious enthusiasts. But for many readers of the Plug-in blog the question is: "Is it worth upgrading the kit lens that comes with my camera?" Today I’m going to attempt to answer that question in a totally unbiased manner.

Yes my particular issue is not like yours. However, there have been many other laptop users experiencing similar problem to yours after 3.10 kernel. Mostly it seems to be bumblebee users that experience your problem with the blank screen. We do know that nvidia have yet to make their official drivers work with kernel 3.10 and up. The drivers in the Arch repository have been patched to work with 3.10. From what I have seen, this also only seem to be affecting laptops with newer nvidia gpu's. I fear there is not much to do with this problem until nvidia give official 3.10 kernel support.
My suggestion would be to stick with 3.9.9 kernel and the drivers that work with it, and don't upgrade those packages until nvidia has addressed these issues. If you have a look at the nvidia forums you will see quite a number of topics mentioning black screen when starting x on 3.10 kernel, and also a thread for the system dying. Reading some of the threads there may help you keep up to date on whether or not the issue seem to be solved.
https://devtalk.nvidia.com/default/board/98/

Review: Sony Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA - Release Your Inner Artist

Last week I took a look at the Sony Sonnar 35mm f/2.8 and found it to be a lens of exceptional quality. This week I’ve been fortunate enough to get the opportunity to test another lens from the Sony ZA line-up; the Sony Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA. This is another high-end lens manufactured to the exacting standards of German optics company Carl Zeiss, designed for use with Sony’s full-frame A7 range of cameras.

Sony AF 35mm F1.4 G Lens Profile Available

Hi there,
for all you Sony Alpha 850/900 users with the Sony/Minolta 35mm F1.4 lens, I've made a profile for that lens last night.
It can be found here:
http://www.florian-knorn.com/2010/10/sony-35mm-f1-4-g-adobe-lens-profile.html
Best wishes,
Florian

According to the Adobe Lens Profile Downloader:

Need repair of 17-35mm F 2.8 does not show up in repair support.

Lens has focus problem, does not go above 3m

Hi Bgarlow!
Thanks for the post.
The EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM lens is no longer in service life. It can no longer be repaired by our Factory Service Centers and replacement parts are no longer available.
Did this answer your question? Please click the Accept as Solution button so that others may find the answer as well.

LR5.4: Why does automatic lens correction profile no longer work for SONY NEX-5N?

Starting in LR5.4, if I attempt to apply automatic lens profile corrections, LR applies a profile for a Hasselblad LF 18-55 camera lens instead.
Formerly, in LR 5.3, the 'make' in the lens profile pane automatially matched the EXIF 'make' of the NEX-5N; namely, "Sony", and the correct lens profile was applied automatically.
In LR5.4, I must now manually select make = "Sony E" to appy a "setup=custom" profile before LR applies the correct lens profile. The minute I set 'make=Sony E', LR applies a profile that matches the lens in use: either the "Sony E 18-55mm F3.5-F5.6 OSS", the "Sony E 16mm F2.8 OSS" lens or the "Sony E 55-210mm F4.5-6.3 OSS" lens that I use.
Another issue: I am not certain of this, but I swear the LR5.4 lens profile correction now *increases* pin-cushion image distortion, whereas it worked beautifully in LR5.3. (I should take a photograph of a grid to see if my impression is correct.) Are the lens profile corrections applied to a camera with EXIF make="Sony E" different from those applied to an EXIF make="Sony" (i.e., the NEX-5N)? If so, this is a shame, for it means LR no longer fully supports the NEX-5N.
Does anyone know how to resolve this problem?
(I believe LR5.4 may have picked up on recent product line changes announced by SONY, wherein NEX will be marketed as Sony Alpha E cameras, and I imagine they will be changing the EXIF 'make' of new cameras to reflect this. However, that won't be changing the EXIF make of my NEX-5N.)

Why is that so and how can I get the proper lens profile automatically if the lens does have its own Adobe profile loaded?
Frustrated ...
Pick the correct lens manually then choose 'Save New Lens Profile Defaults' from Setup drop down menu. Lr should remember the lens and use it as the default in future. See screenshot below

Sony RX100 and Lightroom 4.3

Hi, I recently bought a sony rx100 and have downloaded lightroom 4.3 trial version so that I can work with the raw images. When I try to read the files off the sd card, lightroom doesn't see them. I've had to use the sony raw converter so that lightroom can recognise them. Is this the way to go? Am I doing something wrong?
I'd appreciate any assistance.

nixpixstix wrote:
I've uninstalled LR 4.3 and installed trial version of LR 4.2 and the same problem.
Why did you do that?
I cannot vouchsafe how the Sony RX100 has worked with LR4.2, since I own mine only since 4.3
Works like a charm, like for c Frans w.
Why did you mention .ORF as raw file type in your post #2? The Sony RX100 has .ARW as raw file type. Did the Sony converter display .ARW as .ORF?
For pragmatic reasons I would suggest that you install 4.3 (BTW there is no trial version: the download is always the full package. It will just stop running after 30 days unless a valid serial no. will be entered.), enter your serial number and use it with your camera.
nixpixstix wrote:
The Sony RX100 is not in the drop down list - Sony appears, but only with 4 available lenses, none of which are on the RX100.
Any suggestions?
Pulling my hair out.
Thank you.
You are perhaps talking of the lens profiles. Here my experience differs from c Frans w:
Default does not auto-recognize, I have to enter the Make as "Sony", but then I get a recognition for "Sony E16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS".
Lens profiles are something different from supporting a camera and its raw file type (= LR being able to read .ARW).
Adobe may add further lens profiles, or some other people might create, actually using this camera.
I do not always need to apply a lens profile, since I consider the barrel distortion without one not too bad as long as it is not an architectural shot.
Cornelia

Sony A5100 Bundle Question

Hello,
I need help from a best buy rep here. I purchased on Apr 30 the Sony A5100 Camera in white online. I notice days after that the black color option is being offered in a bundle with different lens at discounted price. I went to the Sony website {removed per forum guidelines} and they are offering the bundle for white and black. Same goes for the store Bhphoto. So how can i get this bundle with the white color camera? Do i need to visit a store to have it bundle with the other lens? Please Help

Hello dodgers79,
I am long past due for a new camera. I shudder to think how few megapixels my old one is capable of in contrast to today's vastly superior offerings! It's always a great idea to be on the lookout for great deals and I'm glad that you want to avail yourself of the bundle offer for the Sony A5100 camera. You ask great questions.
The bundle offer you mention includes only the black black A5100 camera with additional black Sony - 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 Telephoto Lens. Unfortunately, the white-body camera is not included in this offer. I regret that I do not have better news for you.
I'm very grateful that you wrote to us with your query.
Sincerely,
John|Social Media Specialist | Best Buy® Corporate
Private Message

Sony CP-AD2 USB AC Adaptor quick charger

Hi guys, Lollipop Stock rom seems to take longer to charge battery from 0-100 when compared to that of kitkat. (more than 3 hrs) . I dont know whether this is related to electric supply from boards in my home or not.
I am trying to buy Sony CP-AD2 USB AC Adaptor quick charger but need reviews before buying this. Is anyone using this ?? or used in the past ? Is this compaitable with Xperia Z3 and faster ??
Also suggest me if there are any quick chargers available in the market other than sony one (Z3 supports qualcomm quick charge 2.0) ???

Hi,
Hope this will help to answer some of your questions.
Qualcomm 2.0 charging compatible devices
Quick Charge 2.0 vs. conventional chargers: see the difference
Regards.
I can accept failure.... I can't accept not trying - Michael Jordan

Why is the upload screen not appearing?

Hello All.
I have made another topic post about this topic, however the solution for that is not working. I am using a Macbook Pro running OS X Mavericks. iPhoto recognizes this camera, however on iMovie, an upload screen on iMovie, which is supposed to show up, is not showing up to upload videos. What steps or series of steps should I do in order to make this work?
Thanks,
RubikCubeSolver

RubikCubeSolver wrote:
Sony "Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T*" camera.
That refers to the lens not the specific camera.model
But it sounds like you're using a "still" camera that also records video
Does iPhoto recognize the camera?
Have you tried connecting with the AC power adapter connected?
Matt

How to crop without changing aspect ratio/Crop mode

Is there a way to crop in Lightroom without changing the aspect ratio? That is my first question.
My second question, is it better to use APS-C crop mode on my full frame Sony A7R if I know at the focal length I'm gonna crop, or just take it full frame and crop in the software? Are there disadvantages to this when it comes to uses flash's etch?
Third, Currently I do not have a portrait lens as the Sony A7R is new and does not have many lenses out yet. Until the 90mm lens comes out I was thinking I could use the Zeiss 55mm 1.8 in Crop mode for a portrait lens. That would make it around 88mm would it compress the background nicely the way an 85mm lens normally does for portraits?

This is what I usually do, now I know for sure my aspect ratio has been locked. As far as shooting in crop mode though, what I meant about that is this; For portraits, if you take a 55mm and shoot a portrait with it, the background doesn't look that compressed, which I like. Even if it's at a good F stop. It'll be out of focus, but not "compressed" And seems to show more flaws in the person. This is why with my Canon I always used my 85mm or my 100mm. I know some who will only use a 200mm due to this type of compression that happens at longer focal lengths.
If I was to shoot in crop mode, making it 88mm, would it give me that affect? The compressed look I get from a 85mm? Or would it simply just crop it like I do in post and not really make a difference.
Sony has yet to come out with a portrait lens and I need one bad, I've been offered little jobs here and there and can't take them because I don't want to disappoint them. I'm waiting for their 90mm, because that is close the 100mm and 85mm I shot with on the 5D for portraits.
Not to same the subject here but, 'Benjamin Root Photography,' has been a great help to me on this forum. I also torn between getting the 16-35mm F/4, or the new 24mm F1.4 prime, for wide landscape shots, because landscape and hiking is where I do most of my photography.
I don't plan on actually shooting a landscape at 1.4, but if it's 1.4 that means if I stop it down to F 8 on a landscape it'll be tact sharp. But it is not a Zeiss and is only going to cost 500. On the other hand, there is the 16-35mm, still I'd shoot around F 8 or even higher for landscape, the problem is, if it's F/4 won't that mean it'll have to stop down much further than the 24mm to get a sharper picture?
I don't guess I can go telephoto, like anything over 100mm because I have the A7R. People say over 100 mm it has shutter vibration, so at 200 or 300 I wouldn't buy until the A7R ii comes out. I'm not willing to get the regular A7 ii because I really like the advantage of having all those megapixels for cropping purposes, and it just plain looks better. Which is why I took my Sony A7 back for the A7R. Everyone was saying the photo's were more impressive than the 5D Mark iii's with the Zeiss 55 1.8 vs 5D with 50 1.4L. That wasn't really the case with the A7, but when I got the A7R I seen a HUGE difference in dynamic range.
I've heard the A7 is better at focusing than the A7R, but since I switched to the A7R I have noticed literally no difference. But I don't shoot fast moving subjects.
With both cameras I notice the face detection and EYE AF is hard to get to work properly. If I let it auto focus fully It'll focus on the wrong thing a lot of times even though the green boxes say the right thing.
So, I have been putting it on a single point, keeping it at the center, focusing on the eye, and then recomposing. That's mostly how I did with the 5D anyway. I never allowed it to choose focus points for me either.

Lens profile not appearing in Lightroom

Hi folks,
I have installed Lightroom 5.4 from CC on Windows 8 and just ensured it is updated.
I am attempting to use a lens profile correction for a Sony E 35mm 2.8 lens (which should have been added in the Lightroom 5.3 update).
When I attempt to select the lens profile, the only lens I have showing under Sony is a DT 18-200mm.
Do I need to activate anything in order to get the Sony 35mm to show?
Cheers

The lens profile is likely built in and always applied so there’s nothing to select; however, if you want to upload a raw file I can check in Photoshop, which actually tells you that it’s using a built-in profile, rather than leaving you wonder. Use http://www.dropbox.com and post a public download link, here, in a reply.

Any high definition video noise reduction programs/plugins out there?

i have a Sony HDR HC1, and im just using iMovie to import the HD video then send it to FCE3.5.....and i dont plan to buy a new camera until i make my second low-budget feature (editing my first right now).....and i have some low-light shots that shows bluish-colored noise (the camera has a CMOS chip) and i need to know how to get rid of the noise (and for a less noisy picture overall, even though very little in normal light conditions).

Er, 'Cineframe' (pseudo 24p) and 'CineGamma' (film-like brightness range) are available on the bigger FX1 and Z1, but not on the smaller HC1, sorry. But the HC1 has a similar (or maybe identical) 'Cinema Effect', which does simulate 24fps film.
However, you can't choose this (under 'D. EFFECT' in the 'PICT. APPLI.' menu) if you've already chosen a film-like manual shutter speed ..e.g; 1/25.
You can't keep the 'film-like' manual 25 shutter speed, either, if you choose, in the 'PROGRAM AE' menu, 'PORTRAIT' (..which generally tries to give the widest available aperture, to give shallow depth-of-field like a 35mm film camera lens).
So for a "film-like" appearance with the HC1 I'd choose:
Manual shutter speed - 25
Sharpness - up a bit from normal
Steadyshot - ON
Manual exposure - ON (..that's the little round button next to the 'Exposure/Vol' switch on the left-hand side, below the Backlight button..)
This HD Sony camcorder is probably way beyond the price range you're interested in, but the V1U does offer most of what you want..!
The Panasonic HVX200 is extremely versatile ..but the cost of memory cards is probably prohibitive ..unless you shoot only 8 minutes at a time!
(..Here's a useful comparison between the earlier Sonys, JVC and the Panasonic, but it doesn't mention the new V1U..)
(..The Canon XL2 offers 24p and interchangeable lenses, but no HDV..)
Essentially, the JVC HD100/110 shoots only HDV (or DV) 720p (24, 25, 30fps), Progressive (full frame) format, and doesn't shoot "video-like" 1080i (interlaced) at all. So it's specifically intended for tape-to-film transfer, which may be what you want.
Here's a .pdf of the instruction book.
Notice that the JVC is a manual focus camera ..there is no autofocus at all. It comes with a 16x zoom, but no figures given for its low-light limit, such as 4 lux or 6 lux.
The original HDV 1-chip JVC GR-HD1 is to be avoided, as its low-light performance - and performance overall - is pretty poor.
The new Sony V1, having a fixed, built-in, non-interchangeable lens does have autofocus - though that can be switched off. It shoots HDV 24p and 30p, but also 'normal' non-progressive video. Here's Adam Wilt's assessment of it. It has a 20x zoom, and shoots down to about 4 lux.
Sony's earlier - and cheaper - Z1 has a 12x (autofocus) zoom, 60i and 50i video shooting, and 'synthesized' 30p, 25p and 24p modes, which Sony calls 30F, 25F and 24F ..as these are progressive frames constructed from various interleaved fields and frames. So 24F isn't exactly the same as 24p. Minimum light: 3 lux.
[..The 'super-HAD' CCDs in the FX1/Z1 don't appear to give any vertical smear of bright highlights ..though that's often quoted as a particular selling point of CMOS chips, compared with CCDs..]
I use the UK-only 50i version (the FX1) of the Z1, and can say that it's excellent in incredibly low light. These HDV Sonys (..except the 7 lux HC1..) all feature optional "CineGamma", which alters the recorded brightness range to look more like film than video, and "CineFrame" which is this artificial progressive mode - called 'Cinema Effect' on the HC1.
Here's some more info about Sony's 'CineFrame' pseudo 24p.
In summary:
The JVC is the nearest HDV you'll get to true 24p, but it's less easy to handle (no autofocus, 16x zoom) than a Sony, and doesn't offer interlaced video recording like a normal camcorder ..so it'd probably be inappropriate for shooting for TV.
The V1 is a multi-talented video/24p camera, with a big 20x zoom, low-light, but doesn't take interchangeable lenses.
The Panasonic HVX200 seems to offer the best of many worlds, but has only a 13x built-in zoom, and although it shoots extremely hi-quality material onto memory cards, they're expensive and have only a small capacity.
Yer pays yer money and yer takes yer choice..

Unpacked FS7K – NOT HAPPY!

Hello, Now, I’m not a hater but please let me blow some steam here – I know the FS7 is a brilliant piece of gear. I’ve always bought SONY from the early 90’s starting with BVP7 Beta SP - xdcam..etc. I’ll admit I come from a video background not photography…so didn’t know what 28mm meant when buying the lens kit with the FS7. My HXR-NX70P is 26.3mm and is ultra-wide…but 28mm on FS7 is very narrow Sony…is it me, am I missing something…why would you sell a ENG style lens with such a narrow zoom…and yet promote as ENG potential…who in the video world could work with 28mm as the widest angle of that lens. I’m not an angry person but I am totally lost for words with this lens…and such a slow zoom. I genuinely can’t believe how ****** this lens is. And I cannot return it and Its hard not to feel angry…..Someone please calm me down! Now I will have to buy a new lens, probably throw the other away (well...store it somewhere/sell) ADVICE PLEASE.what do you suggest for lens that gives me an average wide angle…I love Sony HXR-NX70P Ultra-wide angle 26.3mm g lens (hence I thought 28 must be ok) obviously 26.3 mm is wide because it’s a 1/3 chip???I have a very low budget – so would appreciate your suggestions J

William - calm down Most camera manufacturers talk lens focal length in terms of 35mm equivalents. Your HXR-NX70P is 26.3mm equivalent - so that is reasonably wide. The FS7 kit lens is actually physically 28mm at it's widest - which means on it's S35 sensor the lens is ~42mm equivalent - so not very wide. That's the reason I have held off buying the kit lens - it's not a super useful range. But speaking to Sony reps, I tend to agree that for the price, the size and the weight - there isn't really any lens that is close. I don't do much ENG style work - so I'm happy to carry a Tokina 11-16mm in the kit bag when I need wide. For a 'do everything' lens - I use a Sony 18-200 - though, it's not much chop in fast moving situations and obviously, there's no power zoom.

Worth buying the Xperia Z3 Compact ? And a question about headphones.

Worth buying the Xperia Z3 Compact, compared to Xperia Z3?
And a doubt. I have had other Xperias, and headphones from other brands did not work well with him, this ''Z3 line'' is yet? It only works with Sony headphones?
Thank You!

Well, the headphone jack is designed to be compatible with Noise Cancelling headphones from Sony, that uses 5 pins in the pole, however, a regular 3 segments headphones should work without issues... the problem is if you try to use incompatible Headsets (the ones with microphones) since the use an additional segment and it my be located in a different way than what Sony uses.
My advice is, if you are not the most hardcore audiophile, that you get a medium range Bluetooth Headphones. Those will be compatible with your phone...
I have had Altec Lansing BackBeat 906, 903... Plantronics BackBeat 903+, and currently use the BackBeat Go2.
Out of those the Go2 are the best sounding headphones for me (I do not care for tons of bass, so the amount of bass with those is very good)... but the battery is bad, around 3.5 hours. The fit is good, people complain when trying to use as advertised, but I actually found a better way to place them, making a loop around and front of my ears...... Price ~70$
All previous ones had a battery of 7 hours, but the rubber material of the piece around your ear hardens with time and breaks (after a couple of years of use)... the Go2 seems to be better built.
Finally I would recommend to you the Jaybirds Bluebuds X if you are willing to pay 140~160 $.... with excellent battery life, and sound quality.
If you want to go cheaper... Sony's SBH line has plenty of option with good reviews... SBH20 being the cheapest
And if you want to go crazy expensive, Parrot Zik are over 400$ but apparently they are the best all around. I tried them once.

Sony Sonnar T* FE 35mm f/2.8 ZA Lens Review

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