Sony A7x lounge

Make sure you don't have a UV filter and test a parallel wall. IBIS off, 5-10 second shutter release. Focus wide open, once on center, once on corner in case of field curvature.

Let me add a tripod to the above.

vinmunoz wrote in post #17956575
Really bad for F8. So it was sharp when you use the focus magnify? What was your shutterspeed?

Shutterspeed was 1/200sec at ISO100. Could be user error. This lens is tricky to focus for me.

Charlie wrote in post #17956578
Make sure you don't have a UV filter and test a parallel wall. IBIS off, 5-10 second shutter release. Focus wide open, once on center, once on corner in case of field curvature.

Yep agree. No UV filter. Will try the shutter release next time. I was using the 2 sec timer on the camera. Thank you. I will keep testing.

vinmunoz wrote in post #17956563
thank you.

Another before and after. I didn't like the background so photoshop to the rescue.

Lens used was the Minolta 50mm F1.4X-PG

I don't know, I usually love your edits, but I'm not feeling this one. To me the background looks really out of place, it seems surreal (and not in the good way... although now that I'm looking at it as I type this response, I think it could look really cool gone full blown surreal, like space or something )

at 1/200 for a 21mm you don't need a tripod and a cable release or a timer. Plus you have IBIS. Have you set your IBIS to 21?

vinmunoz wrote in post #17956590
at 1/200 for a 21mm you don't need a tripod and a cable release or a timer. Plus you have IBIS. Have you set your IBIS to 21?

Doesn't IBIS automatically detect the focal length given that it's a native lens? I was using a tripod for my test shots today. I did shoot a wall earlier today. At 2.8 it's soft in the corners and improves a bit at f5.6. Upper left corner was sharper than the rest.

i'm not sure. I thought all manual focus lens doesn't have any electronics.

vinmunoz wrote in post #17956598
i'm not sure. I thought all manual focus lens doesn't have any electronics.

The Loxia lenses are unique (and so are the Zeiss lenses in Nikon and EF mount if I remember right), they do have electronic contacts and will allow for the auto-zoom feature when manually focusing. This is a large part of what had me torn between the Loxia 50mm and the Sonnar 55mm, in the end the performance was so similar that it was worth it to just get the one with AF (thanks again by the way! )

digital_AM wrote in post #17956524
Very nice Vinz!

So I don't know if I need more practicing manually focus with my Loxia 21 or if I don't have a sharp copy. I'm underwhelmed by how soft my images are turning out even at f8 or f11. I was expecting much sharper especially using a tripod with IBIS off. I'll post a few samples shortly.

Only changes to this image are minor noise reduction, set camera calibration to camera standard in LR, and some contrast adjustment. No vibrance or saturation added. No sharpening added.

IMAGE LINK: https://alfredomora.sm​ugmug.com …i-Pg8LM2r-XL.jpg&lb=1&s=A on Smugmug

and here is the 100% crop from the upper right side. Looks a little mushy to me but so did the left side of the frame in the trees in the background.

IMAGE LINK: https://alfredomora.sm​ugmug.com …i-mCBhk4J-XL.jpg&lb=1&s=A on Smugmug

This one was processed through my normal workflow with sharpening in PS CC

IMAGE LINK: https://alfredomora.sm​ugmug.com …i-4L4Q2bq-XL.jpg&lb=1&s=A on Smugmug

the review on Phillip Reeves site says diffraction is visible by f/11. They say on there to use 2.8-5.6

nice to know... and you're welcome again. i hope that's still better than the incoming 50mm f1.8 so you won't have buyer's remorse.

xpfloyd wrote in post #17956603
the review on Phillip Reeves site says diffraction is visible by f/11. They say on there to use 2.8-5.6

Thanks Eddie. I think I'm going to return this copy and get one from B&H. Reason is I saw some full res images from a blogger shot at f2.8 and they were clearly sharper than mine.

vinmunoz wrote in post #17956606
nice to know... and you're welcome again. i hope that's still better than the incoming 50mm f1.8 so you won't have buyer's remorse.

Haha, nah, I'm pretty happy with it so far

I would be amazed if the 50/1.8 turns out better, but it wouldn't make the Zeiss any worse. Honestly the main thing I'm struggling with now is if I want to get the X-Pro2 and if I did that and loved it, I don't know that I'd keep any of my Sony gear I don't see myself switching until there's a decent sized price drop though even if I do decide to go that route. And that'll be one of the few times where I'll be renting first to try it out first hand.

MirrorLessons' Mat just has recently reviewed the xpro2 + Fuji 100-400 for BIF and with surprisingly good results with the xpro2's OVF which has ZERO shutteer
lag. Very impressive to me and for lots of reasons. Alas I'm so deep in the Canon world, the Sony world and the Lumix world (over 60 lenses in total for all) that I
refulse to go down another path as good as it looks.
If you get the xpro2 I bet you will love love love it.

is Xpro2 and APS-C?

MedicineMan4040 wrote in post #17956627
MirrorLessons' Mat just has recently reviewed the xpro2 + Fuji 100-400 for BIF and with surprisingly good results with the xpro2's OVF which has ZERO shutteer
lag. Very impressive to me and for lots of reasons. Alas I'm so deep in the Canon world, the Sony world and the Lumix world (over 60 lenses in total for all) that I
refulse to go down another path as good as it looks.
If you get the xpro2 I bet you will love love love it.

Yeah. I've had an interesting quest the past couple of years...

I started with a Canon 6D and got a taste for awesome high-ISO performance. I supplemented it with a Fuji X-E1 and soon found that I rarely used the 6D anymore and it basically felt like a chore when I needed to, but I needed to at times because it's ISO performance was so much better... so I got the a7S as a one camera solution to suit both needs, but very soon after started missing my Fuji, so I got the X-E2 and I have to admit that now the a7S is almost fitting the same path that the 6D did, I just really enjoy using the Fuji more and since I'm not doing this for a living it's really compelling to just commit fully to Fuji even though I'll admit that the a7S has the better images, the Fuji is just more fun to use... and it seems that the X-Pro2 makes the gap in image quality even smaller (it's already pretty small at anything ISO1600 and lower in my opinion).

I really don't know that I could give up getting very usable images above ISO50k though...

vinmunoz wrote in post #17956631
is Xpro2 and APS-C?

Yes, but the more I shoot both formats (X-E2 and a7S) the harder I find it to see the difference between the two (except for in high ISO performance).