Month: January 2022

Sony FE 50mm F1.8

Prime for portrait, it does the job and probably that’s it!

My first prime lens. The cheapest I can afford as a student. At first, I thought I can use this lens for all occasions as an all-in-one. But after I tried street and landscape photography, I found this lens is quite tight in terms of viewing-angle, noisy focusing motor and also slow at that.

Receipt for the lens SEL50F18F, around ?175 (17-10-2021)

Noisy! You can hear the motor keeps on locking focus during a playback, definitely is not for videography (unless the sound is not needed or using a wireless audio unit). Also when it hunts to lock a proper focus when pressing the shutter button for photography.

At a platform sandwiched by trains (Copenhagen Central Station, 2021).
ISO 100 f/2.2 1/60 sec.

For me, this lens is probably not suitable for street photography because of its slow focusing. For landscape, the focus is sharper when using Manual Focus (MF) instead of Auto Focus (AF).

A landscape view from Viking Ship Museum towards the shore as it was covered with thick fog (Roskilde, 2022).
ISO 100 f/2.2 1/160 sec.

However, it works pretty well and I mostly use this lens for portraits. The results came out sharp. The good thing about this lens is the size. Petite and it doesn’t take much space. I carry this lens with me most of the time.

The aperture can be opened wide to f/1.8 but my sweet spot for this lens is between f/2.8 and f/5.6. The output has no barrel distortion but Lightroom seems to correct the darkened areas (vignetting) around the edges.

Prognosis: it’s a keeper! ?

Aperture range: f/1.8 to f/22
The angle of view: 47?
Minimum focus distance: 45 cm
Maximum magnification ratio: 1:7.1 (0.14?)
Filter size: 49 mm
Dimensions (? ? L): 68.6 ? 59.5 mm
Weight: 186 g

A commentary video on this lens by Chris Brockhurst (2022).
https://youtu.be/iO6wZUvDzC4
A review by Aron Andersen (2018).

UPDATE

May 2022: I sold the lens as I no longer use it after getting the Sony Sonnar T* FE 55 mm F1.8 ZA.

GoPro Digital Lenses – Part II

I was asked regarding my previous post. The comment was: “to avoid data losses, you should have shot natively in Wide-mode”. So, I decided to re-visit the topic.

Making a video is based on personal preference. For me, I prefer a natural-looking video without the fish-eye distortion.

I do have the DJI Osmo Pocket for videography, but I prefer to use the GoPro Hero 8 GoPro Hero 9 when travelling as it has a quick recording button on top. It starts recording immediately using the last used settings. It is the best feature that I love the most.

Another positive point with GoPro is that the constant aperture that makes everything looks sharp 1The aperture for the GoPro is f/2.8 and the focal length is 2.92 mm. The sensor is a 1/2.3? (6.17?4.55mm) sensor which gives a focal length multiplier of 5.64. Compared to a full-frame camera the GoPro has an aperture of f/15.8 and a focal length of 16.5 mm. Source: https://improvephotography.com/54797/gopro-good-enough-for-an-advanced-photographers/, while Osmo Pocket is on f/2 2https://www.dji.com/dk/osmo-pocket and I do notice that sometimes it focuses on the wrong object.

But then, I think I can live with the data losses when recording on GoPro as it was meant to be quick and easy videography. The GoPro for me is to capture a story for the sake of memento.

For a better one that I want to keep the clarity, details and sharpness then I can switch to Sony ZV-1 or Sony A7R iii.

ModelSensor SizeFocal Length 35mm Lens EquivalentAperture
GoPro Hero 8 Black1/2.3?
Effective pixels: 12M		4:3 – 86.7?3Linear EIS on
16:9 – 87.6?4Linear EIS on		f/2.8
GoPro Hero 9 Black1/2.3?
Effective pixels: 20M		5K 19:9 75?
Wide: 16-34mm
Linear: 19-39mm
Narrow: 27mm
16.5mm at f/15.8		f/2.8
DJI Osmo Pocket1/2.3? CMOS
Effective pixels: 12M		FOV 80?
Format equivalent to 25.7mm		f/2.0
Sony ZV-11? (13.2 ? 8.8 mm)
Effective pixels: 20.1M		9.4 to 25.7mm (Equivalent to 24 to 70mm)f/1.8 – f/2.8
Sony A7R iii24 ? 35.9 mm
Effective pixels: 42.40M

For GoPro Hero 8 full lens information, check https://community.gopro.com/t5/en/HERO8-Black-Digital-Lenses-formerly-known-as-FOV/ta-p/398868

For GoPro Hero 9 full lens information, check https://community.gopro.com/t5/en/HERO9-Black-Digital-Lenses-FOV-Information/ta-p/1023549

https://www.dji.com/dk/osmo-pocket/info#specs