Equipment

This is a list of the gear I use at the moment, all the items listed below are linked to the DPreview, the manufacturer page or the B&H page that details all the information about the equipment. Click on the photos to check it out.

Cameras

Sony α NEX-7

27 Jan, 2012 Edwin van Nuil More info Flickr

My new E.V.I.L. Camera.

The EVF is excellent, stills image and video quality both superb, and the handling is remarkably good for such a small camera. The use of three dials to control each of the main exposure parameters makes so much sense that it seems odd no-one's done it quite like this before. The fact that these dials can also be used to change a wide range of other settings, cycled through by pressing a button on the top plate, borders on genius. In fact the NEX-7 is so good in so many respects that any criticism almost feels like nit-picking. It's not perfect, but then again no camera is, and its imperfections can generally be overcome.

The NEX-7's image quality is difficult to fault. The 24MP sensor is capable of recording huge amounts of detail (just as long as the lens can deliver it), while also offering excellent high ISO performance for low light work, with quite useable results up to ISO 6400. In this regard it does visibly better than the SLT-A77 we reviewed recently that shares the same sensor, but diverts a substantial fraction of the incoming light to its autofocus sensor. It's no stretch to say that, at its best, the NEX-7 offers the finest still image quality of any APS-C camera, bar none.

Fuji FinePix X100

27 Jan, 2012 Edwin van Nuil More info Flickr

The X100 is without doubt one of the most highly-anticipated cameras of recent years, due to its combination of traditional, 'rangefinder-esque' design and the innovative technology of its hybrid optical / electronic viewfinder. The good news about the X100 is that in certain key respects - its basic operation, viewfinder, and image quality - it's excellent, and more than lives up to the pre-release hype. The bad news is that in some other regards - notably shot-to-shot speed and firmware design - it's decidedly flawed.

One aspect of the X100 that's almost impossible to criticize is its image quality. It may not have the most modern sensor available, but it really does get the most out of its 12MP CMOS, providing highly detailed images at low ISOs and remarkably noise-free and colorful output at high ISOs. The dynamic range is already good at default settings, and judicious use of the cameras 'DR' modes can extend highlight range considerably when needed (although at the cost of working at higher ISOs). Overall the image quality is difficult to fault, either in JPEG or raw.

Lenses

Carl Zeiss Planar T* 1.4/50mm ZF.2

27 Jan, 2012 Edwin van Nuil More info Flickr

The beautiful Planar 50mm, which on my NEX-7 with crop is 75mm. It’s a manual focus lens, with manual aperture ring. With its versatile standard focal length, the Planar T* 1,4/50 knows exactly how to express character: natural, illuminated and rich in contrast.

The Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 ZF is an anachronistic lens these days. It is fully manual both regarding focusing as well as aperture control on the lens. It is not even a perfect lens - the vignetting figures are in line with the rest of the gang and the level of distortions and CAs is even a little higher though still moderate in absolute terms. However, there`re at least two aspects that are definitely -not- moderate. The most obvious one is the great build quality and the other one is resolution. At wide-open aperture you shouldn`t expect great wonders - the Zeiss is in-line with the rest here - but from f/2.8 and up the resolution figures are truly brilliant.

Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm F1.8 ZA

27 Jan, 2012 Edwin van Nuil More info Flickr

The Sony SEL24F18Z 24mm f/1.8 E-Mount Carl Zeiss Sonnar is a Carl Zeiss autofocus lens for the Sony NEX cameras.

As a “fast” (bright) lens with an ƒ/1.8 aperture, its design goals were likely for environmental portraiture, reportage and similar, not a landscape lens.

For full-frame cameras, the Sonnar design is generally used beginning only around 50mm focal length (e.g. the Zeiss ZM 50mm ƒ/1.5 C-Sonnar for Leica M). The smaller APS-C sensor in the Sony NEX-7, and the back-focal distance must have made it an appropriate design choice for the APS-C size sensor in the Sony NEX-7.