TWiP #189 - Have Your Cake and Eat It Too
Amplify’d from www.thisweekinphoto.com
This week on TWiP: Are Carl Zeiss lenses really better?, Sony opens the E-mount kimono, and Juan Pons and Rick Sammon of the Digital Photography Experience join the fray.
Hosts: Frederick Van Johnson with Alex Lindsay, Juan Pons, and Rick Sammon
NEWS & DISCUSSION
Are Nikon and Canon lenses better than Zeiss ones?
DxO, a company known for putting lenses and cameras through a series of tests and publishing the results, has released some benchmark numbers that, judging by data only, shows the Carl Zeiss line of lenses trailing behind their Nikon and Canon counterparts – that cost half as much. Many people absolutely drool when they see or hear about a Zeiss lens because they are tauted as “the best” in the world, so what do these numbers mean? Are we too hung up on brand/status as photographers? Juan says more expensive does not necessarily mean better – he has some “low-end” lenses that produce images that are better than the ones from more expensive lenses, even ones within the same brand. Alex has tested both the Canon 50mm f/1.2 and the f/1.4 and likes the images coming from the 1.4 which is one quarter of the price of the 1.2. He has also had fine results overall with Sigma lenses considering they were half the price of Canon ones in the same focal length, although the Canon lenses are definitely sharper. Rick points out that sharpness, weather sealing, and the lens coating (which affects the color of the image) are more important than a lens brand name. Juan does not use third-party lenses but prefers the consistency of: sharpness, durability, and quality control from on-brand lenses.
Sony releases specifications for E-mount lenses
Sony is giving away the spec for its E-mount lens interchange mechanism in hopes that third-party lens makers will support its NEX cameras (the NEX-5, the NEX-3, and the NEX-VG10), those small compact with the monstrous interchangeable lenses on front. Time will tell if lens manufacturers will embrace this announcement, considering there is such a small group of consumers using these three cameras. Alex doesn’t see this as necessarily a desperation move by Sony to keep up with competitors, but rather sees it as a wise decision by opening the market and giving others a chance to develop novel advances. Juan is more concerned about market fragmentation with so many different mounts out there and therefore doesn’t see many lens manufacturers jumping on E-mount. Alex says perhaps in the future we may see only one mount other than Nikon and Canon, which will continue to dominant the market.
Man awarded $40,000 for having to delete photos he took of police
An Atlanta man has been awarded $40,000 after police confiscated and deleted cell phone photos he took of police activity from a public location. Alex believes he deserves every penny and Frederick says it should’ve been $40k for each photo! Alex says the guy has a lot of guts and deserves the money that he was awarded because people have the right to take these photos. He points out that a lot of the time, police officers and lawmakers themselves
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