edwardkaraa's reviews

  • Carl Zeiss 25mm f/2.8 Distagon T* 2.8/25

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Stellar performance at infinity, 0.17 m minimum focusing distance
    Strong field curvature at close focusing range

    If you shoot landscapes or anything beyond 1.5m this is a must have lens. Sharpness is superlative down to the last corner pixel even wide open. Suffers from field curvature at close range which will cause blurry corners.

    reviewed August 20th, 2010 (purchased for $1,000)

  • Carl Zeiss 35mm f/2 Distagon T* 2/35

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Extremely sharp at all focusing distances and apertures.
    CA and vignetting quite elevated but not problematic.

    Corners not perfect at infinity but all the rest is great!

    reviewed August 20th, 2010 (purchased for $1,100)

  • Carl Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 Planar T* 1.4/50

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Excellent sharpness from f/2.8
    A bit hazy wide open but the resolution is there

    This is an excellent lens by all accounts. Wide open there is strong haze which can be used to good effect for portraits but can be problematic for other uses such as shooting landscapes at f/1.4 ;)

    reviewed August 20th, 2010 (purchased for $750)

  • Sony 100mm f/2.8 Macro SAL-100M28

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    Small, light, decent image quality.
    AF very slow, hunts a lot even in good light, IQ not good enough for a macro

    I use this lens very often for product shots. IQ is quite good but no wow factor. A decent lens.

    reviewed August 20th, 2010 (purchased for $900)

  • Sony 135mm f/1.8 Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* SAL-135F18Z

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Excellent IQ, nice bokeh, max aperture.
    Contrast a bit low, weight and size, some flare without hood.

    This lens shines at medium and short range shooting with high sharpness and beautiful bokeh. The ultimate portrait lens.

    reviewed August 20th, 2010 (purchased for $1,600)

  • Sony 85mm f/1.4 Carl Zeiss Planar T* SAL-85F14Z

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Sharpest lens ever, high contrast and 3D rendering.
    AF hunting occasionally, some LoCA but nothing serious.

    This lens is almost perfect in every way. Stellar at infinity, stellar at medium and short range, high contrast and micro-contrast, pronounced 3D rendering. An exemplary Zeiss lens.

    reviewed August 20th, 2010 (purchased for $1,500)

  • Sony 50mm f/1.4 SAL-50F14

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Excellent sharpness, light and small, color, 3D.
    Focusing ring not good for MF.

    This is a very nice small and light weight lens. Image quality is excellent by f/2.8 and it has typical Minolta colors and a lot of 3D too.

    reviewed August 20th, 2010 (purchased for $350)

  • Sony 24mm f/2 SSM Carl Zeiss Distagon T* SAL24F20Z

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Excellent sharpness and contrast, Zeiss colors, size, distortion.
    None.

    Very sharp across the frame at all apertures, except at infinity where the very extreme corners need to close down to f/5.6 to sharpen up. Results are simply amazing. Even at f/2 it is as good as it gets.

    reviewed February 5th, 2011 (purchased for $1,500)

  • Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G SSM SAL-70300G

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    Very nice IQ even wide open
    Too dark for most uses

    This lens produced some really sharp photos even wide open. However if shooting in any condition except bright sunlight, maximum aperture is too small for anything. Color a bit on the warm side.

    reviewed August 20th, 2010 (purchased for $900)

  • Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* SAL-1635ZA

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Excellent center sharpness, build quality, contrast
    strong field curvature

    Excellent IQ for an UWA zoom. Field curvature can cause blurry corners but otherwise perfect.

    reviewed August 20th, 2010 (purchased for $2,000)

  • Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 ZA Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* SAL-2470Z

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Excellent IQ contrast 3D, all the Zeiss goodies
    Huge, heavy, front extends through zooming, field curvature at WA

    Excellent sharpness overall but corners can be sometimes problematic due to field curvature. Curiously there is very little to no curvature beyond 35mm FL. An excellent standard zoom.

    reviewed August 20th, 2010 (purchased for $1,800)

  • Sony 35mm f/1.4 G SAL-35F14G

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Center and corner sharpness, bokeh, 3D, color, size.
    Price, resolution dip in zone B, above average corner CA.

    This lens is much better that what the MTF make you believe. It has obviously not been designed for macro work, so results up close are not very sharp, though quite artistic. At infinity, it is very sharp across the frame by f/5.6 and is very suitable for landscapes. There is a dip in resolution in the mid frame, probably due to field curvature, but it is barely visible at small apertures. At portrait distances, it has a soft contrast rendition with deep saturated colors and a lot of 3D. Very nice lens altogether.

    reviewed February 5th, 2011 (purchased for $1,700)