Very Nice. The 20-70 has been very well reviewed, and the CR should have amazing IQ.
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When looking at Tamron, try to stay with the newer releases. Their new AF motors are just as fast as Sony, but the older ones can be slower. I feel like lately Tamron has been pushing more zooms, haven't seen a new prime from them in a while.
- Location
- Boston Burbs
- Name
- David
It was for size, weight, close focus, and price. But it was well within return time, so it went back.
- Location
- Minnesota
- Name
- Chris
Sorry you didn’t dig the Tamron. I thought it was great, but I mostly only used SAF with it, not CAF, so I suppose I couldn’t speak to how quickly it would focus. Of course SAF was plenty snappy I thought. Oh well, as you mentioned, you’ll probably buy it 5 times over.
L0n3Gr3yW0lf
Hall of Famer
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- Somerset, UK
- Name
- Ovi
Don't overlook Samyand lenses, their AF lenses are very cheap and excellent optically for quite a small and light setup. Among them the 24mm f 1.8 is trading blows with The Sony 24mm f 1.4 GM, the 75mm f 1.8 is an absolute gem at a size that's almost M4/3 and the 135mm f 1.8 is matching the Sony 135mm f 1.8 GM for around 600 £ new on sale or even less used.
And the Tameon 20/24/35mm f 2.8 can be slow as hell to focus BUT they can do what almost no other lenses can, 1:2 macro for exceptional close up with impeccable IQ (though they do have a very heavy handed amount of distortion the wider you go).
- Location
- Boston Burbs
- Name
- David
Have to look back at the thread, had and already returned the Tamron 24, The AF bugged me too much and reminded me of the Pan 20mm that I bought and sold 5 times because it was a great lens with bad AF.
I like the idea of the Samyang/Rokinon options. But I've seen a couple of reviews that reference them needing a FW update, which gives me a little pause.
I have the 24, 35, and 135. Have had zero issues. I think you can still get the lens station at B&H for $39, worth the investment.
Recent firmware issues were mostly with regard to the A6700, A7cII and A7cR. Samyang has completed firmware updates on all of them.
Samyang Optics
Lens Firmware Update Announcement – Official Release for Samyang Lens Beta Firmware
Sony Showcase - Samyang 24/1.8
Kind of impressed. This is a nice compact little lens and seems to be pretty sharp. I had need for a wide/fast and this fills the bill nicely. B&H has these on sale for $400. DSC01251 by telecast, on Flickr DSC01260 by telecast, on Flickr DSC01265 by telecast, on Flickr DSC01277 by...
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- Location
- Boston Burbs
- Name
- David
Good to know since my camera is one of the 3.
L0n3Gr3yW0lf
Hall of Famer
- Location
- Somerset, UK
- Name
- Ovi
Understandable.
Samyang has had some growing pains while learning and improving their AF design, some lenses needed more Firmware update then others. If you are interested in more then a couple of lenses from them then the Samyang Lens Station dock is a worthwhile purchase because it also allows you to customise some lenses features like FN button, changing it from AF/MF switch to an Aperture Ring using the Manual Focus Ring, how many rotations it requires, which direction to turn the ring.
The only other brand that offers this level of adaptability is Tamron for their lenses with USB C port.
- Location
- Boston Burbs
- Name
- David
OK, things that went into my decision and what I’ve learned so far since my switch to Sony:
Nikon:
I'll start with the easy one. I shot Nikon for years and tried the Z5 a couple of years back and more so Z7II last year just felt natural. It's something IMHO Nikon did extremely well, a Nikon DSLR shooter picking up a Z feels right at home. If Nikon had a rangefinder I might have stayed with Nikon after getting the Z7II. I think part of the problem for me was the Z7 II didn't feel small even with small lenses like the 28mm and 40mm. And while Nikon has some truly great glass, is not "interesting" glass to me.
Fuji:
I considered the Fuji X-T5. I wanted to like the X-T5, it would pair nicely with the X100V-VI. For Fuji, I do like the f/2-2.8 WR primes, but the zooms have the same issue as the Nikon zooms, not really that interesting to me. Handling was OK but not great in my hand, I knew I would need an add-on grip for it. I do like the two-way tilt screen. Related to handling I remember there were a couple of things that bugged me on the X-E3, X70, and X100V; can't remember exactly what they were. If I had liked the handling more and there were a couple of interesting zooms, I would have dug into the manual to see if I could remember what bugged me and if they would have still been issues.
I also looked at the X-S20, but that felt like I would be switching just to switch. It would have made much more sense (and been WAY CHEAPER) to find another E-M1.2/3 and keep all the great glass I already had.
Sony:
Back in April I was considering more megapixels and looked at a Sony A7RIV. If I knew then what I know now or if the A7CII/A7CR had been released, I would probably have bought one instead of the Nikon Z7II I tried and returned. If I had gotten the A7RIV I’m sure I would have added the 33mp A7CII for something smaller.
Main features that sold me on the A7CR before getting into configuring everything:
Anyway, that’s my story for now. Knowing me it might change next week.
Nikon:
I'll start with the easy one. I shot Nikon for years and tried the Z5 a couple of years back and more so Z7II last year just felt natural. It's something IMHO Nikon did extremely well, a Nikon DSLR shooter picking up a Z feels right at home. If Nikon had a rangefinder I might have stayed with Nikon after getting the Z7II. I think part of the problem for me was the Z7 II didn't feel small even with small lenses like the 28mm and 40mm. And while Nikon has some truly great glass, is not "interesting" glass to me.
Fuji:
I considered the Fuji X-T5. I wanted to like the X-T5, it would pair nicely with the X100V-VI. For Fuji, I do like the f/2-2.8 WR primes, but the zooms have the same issue as the Nikon zooms, not really that interesting to me. Handling was OK but not great in my hand, I knew I would need an add-on grip for it. I do like the two-way tilt screen. Related to handling I remember there were a couple of things that bugged me on the X-E3, X70, and X100V; can't remember exactly what they were. If I had liked the handling more and there were a couple of interesting zooms, I would have dug into the manual to see if I could remember what bugged me and if they would have still been issues.
I also looked at the X-S20, but that felt like I would be switching just to switch. It would have made much more sense (and been WAY CHEAPER) to find another E-M1.2/3 and keep all the great glass I already had.
Sony:
Back in April I was considering more megapixels and looked at a Sony A7RIV. If I knew then what I know now or if the A7CII/A7CR had been released, I would probably have bought one instead of the Nikon Z7II I tried and returned. If I had gotten the A7RIV I’m sure I would have added the 33mp A7CII for something smaller.
Main features that sold me on the A7CR before getting into configuring everything:
- The small body with a substantial grip. With the wrist strap I use; I can hold it securely with just a couple of fingers. Great for small primes.
- The A7CR comes with an addon grip for larger lenses, I tried it with the Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 and was surprised how well it handled. It reminded me of the original E-M10 with the addon grip, just a little something that was enough to transform the camera.
- The small grip does make it difficult to work the front/rear dials for my preferred aperture/exposure comp shooting, but with the A7CR I can adjust the main back dial and top exposure comp dial easily with my thumb. It’s almost easier than the front/rear.
- And lastly interesting glass. I’ve owned several classic standard zooms like a 24-70mme and 24-120mme. But 20-70mm is something interesting. I’ve also owned several70-200mme. But not one could have been called macros like the 70-200 f/4 macro. And while I’m not sure the little Sony and Sigma primes are as good as the Fuji WR series, I do find them interesting.
- IBIS doesn't seem to be as good as Olympus / OM Systems. I'm not too surprised but it does mean I have to stop being quite so lazy when shooting.
- Yes, 61mp is too much most of the time, I'm trying out the lossless RAW medium. I assumed this might be the case most of the time. I can/could deal with the larger files and there will be times I will want the full 61mp.
- I can't make it as small and light as I could with my E-P7, shocking I know. However, some combinations are smaller and lighter than the OM-1 combos.
- The lenses I want are generally more expensive, but I knew that going in. I have no interest in GM lenses, so not crazy expensive, there just aren't as many bargains as m4/3 has.
- There's a whole new set of overly complex features I'll never use that I have to get used to ignoring. This is pretty much the same as the OM-1 and most of the other m4/3 bodies I've used. I think the last camera I used that didn't have the same issue was the X70. I should learn to sometimes keep an older camera when I decide to "upgrade".
- The E-M1.2 had a “Home AF” feature you could assign to a button. Push and focus point goes to a home location; push again and it returns to where it was. They got rid of this on the O-M1, one of my annoyances with the O-M1. The best option I have found so far is assigning the lens button to “tracking on center + AF on”. But I’m still trying things out. Thinking about assigning it to the AF button since I don’t use the back button AF, it would be good for the few lenses I’m considering that don’t have lens buttons.
- The general interface and controls are pretty good. The Sony control interface is a lot like Panasonic or at least like the GX85, the last Panasonic body I had. They both have swipe or flyout screen function buttons; a function or Q-Menu; and information display screens that can be used to change settings. But the Sony is more configurable and so far, less frustrating. Unlike the GX85, I have yet to find a function I want that I can’t assign to a function tile. On the GX85 some could only be assigned to the quick menu while others could only be assigned to flyout touch buttons.
- The information display screen options aren’t as good as the Olympus/OM Systems SCP, they are missing things I use, or at least that I think I will use. But so far, I think I have enough control points. Something that, for me at least, the E-M1 mkII & mkIII / OM-1 / Pen F all had too many of; I never did really find a great use for the 1/2 switch.
Anyway, that’s my story for now. Knowing me it might change next week.
