{"id":1030,"date":"2014-07-30T08:17:59","date_gmt":"2014-07-30T08:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/?p=1030"},"modified":"2014-09-29T11:24:22","modified_gmt":"2014-09-29T11:24:22","slug":"nikkor-topcor-zeiss-sony-nex7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/nikkor-topcor-zeiss-sony-nex7\/","title":{"rendered":"Night Photography with Nikkor, Topcor &#038; Zeiss Lenses &#038; Sony Nex-7"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Having just banged on about how little I care about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/photographs-with-awfully-bad-lenses\/\">comparing lenses<\/a>, it might seem odd to post a lens comparison.\u2026 of sorts.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1035\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/nikkor-topcor-zeiss-sony-nex7\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1035\" class=\"wp-image-1035 size-full\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP\/\/\/wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/zeiss.jpg\" alt=\"Lights streams from cars at night\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/zeiss.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/zeiss-500x333.jpg 500w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 500px\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1035\" class=\"wp-image-1035 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/zeiss.jpg\" alt=\"Lights streams from cars at night\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/zeiss.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/zeiss-500x333.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 500px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1035\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo taken with a Zeiss <span class=\"hiddenSpellError\">Sonnar<\/span> T* E 24mm F1.8 ZA24mm and a Sony <span class=\"hiddenSpellError\">Nex-7<\/span> camera<\/p><\/div>\n<p>But this isn&#8217;t a lens comparison, in the usual sense of the concept. I&#8217;ve little idea which of these lenses is &#8216;better&#8217; or &#8216;worse&#8217;, in relation to each other, or anything else for that matter. This post is more a report of some creative observations that I made, having taken them out for some long-exposure <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/photo-gallery\/dark-and-light\/\">night photography<\/a> recently, with a <span class=\"hiddenSpellError\">mirrorless<\/span> digital camera and some adapters.<br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<h3>The lenses<\/h3>\n<p>The lenses involved are the following. Firstly, a <strong>Nikon <span class=\"hiddenSpellError\"><span class=\"hiddenSpellError\">Nikkor<\/span><\/span> 28mm f\/2.8 AI-s<\/strong>. The only reason that I have this lens, is that I bought a Nikon <span class=\"hiddenSpellError\"><span class=\"hiddenSpellError\">FM2n<\/span><\/span> SLR camera a while ago which, unfortunately, turns out to have dodgy shutters and costs far too much for me to get fixed. But the lens itself is in pretty good condition.<\/p>\n<p>Secondly, a <strong>RE Auto-Topcor 58mm \u01921.4<\/strong>, which came with a <span class=\"hiddenSpellError\"><span class=\"hiddenSpellError\">Topcon<\/span><\/span> RE Super SLR, which I bought for little reason other than I liked the look of it.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, both these lenses were up against a modern Sony\/Zeiss <strong><span class=\"hiddenSpellError\">Sonnar<\/span> T* E 24mm F1.8 ZA24mm<\/strong> lens, which is built to fit the camera that I was using for this \u2013 a Sony <span class=\"hiddenSpellError\">Nex-7<\/span>. Obviously, the <span class=\"hiddenSpellError\">Nex-7<\/span> having a <span class=\"hiddenSpellError\">APS-C<\/span> sensor meant that the <span class=\"st\">focal length<\/span> of all of these lenses is longer than their label. But let&#8217;s not worry about that.<\/p>\n<h3>I see starbursts<\/h3>\n<p>Firstly, from what I could tell, the Zeiss was far sharper than the two older lenses. Also, upon zooming to 100%, both the legacy lenses seemed to me to have a slight &#8216;pixelation&#8217; effect in some places \u2013 which disappeared when resized (downwards) in Photoshop. I&#8217;m guessing that there are all sorts of optical resolution reasons for this, which I&#8217;m not going to go into. And I haven&#8217;t done any test prints to see how this manifests.<\/p>\n<p>I should also say that, the photos with the two legacy lenses were taken on a different day to the modern Zeiss and so exposure settings were probably different. And yes, the images have been cropped and otherwise digitally tweaked slightly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-image-1035 size-full\">The most interesting difference, for me, was the way in which the starburst light effects from the streetlights presented in the photographs. I believe that the number of bursts, is due to the number of aperture blades in a lens, and that the burst intensity is due to the f-stop used.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1036\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/nikon.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1036\" class=\"wp-image-1036 size-full\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP\/\/\/wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/nikon.jpg\" alt=\"Lights streams from cars at night\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/nikon.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/nikon-500x333.jpg 500w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 500px\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1036\" class=\"wp-image-1036 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/nikon.jpg\" alt=\"Lights streams from cars at night\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/nikon.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/nikon-500x333.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 500px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1036\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo taken with a Nikon <span class=\"hiddenSpellError\">Nikkor<\/span> 28mm f\/2.8 AI-s, mounted on a Sony <span class=\"hiddenSpellError\">Nex-7<\/span> digital camera<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The Nikkor has similar startbursts to the modern Zeiss. Perhaps slightly more symmetrical.\u00a0 But what I really liked was the slight &#8216;other-worldliness&#8217; of the Topcor lens. Smooth and, it seems to me,\u00a0 an almost 1970s feel to it.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1037\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/DSC7861.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1037\" class=\"wp-image-1037 size-full\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP\/\/\/wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/DSC7861.jpg\" alt=\"Lights streams from cars at night\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/DSC7861.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/DSC7861-500x333.jpg 500w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 500px\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1037\" class=\"wp-image-1037 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/DSC7861.jpg\" alt=\"Lights streams from cars at night\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/DSC7861.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/DSC7861-500x333.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 500px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1037\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo taken with RE Auto-Topcor 58mm \u01921.4, mounted on a Sony <span class=\"hiddenSpellError\">Nex-7<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p>So there we go. No conclusion or grand statements. Just some photos with different lenses. And another few hours avoiding what I really should be doing. Fantastic.<\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Night photography and starbursts with two old lenses and one new lens<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tech","category-main"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1030"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1811,"href":"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1030\/revisions\/1811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crunchyspaces.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}