The Matchup You've Been Waiting For: Sony a6000 vs. Samsung NX500

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So the champ is finally meeting a worthy contender.  The champ has a style that is not terribly exciting but it can't be denied that he's an excellent all-around fighter, with no major weaknesses.  In the other corner is the challenger, a talented fighter with an unorthodox style.  He's got a much smaller but growing group of fans who love how he throws caution to the wind.  Everyone is wondering who is going to emerge the winner in this battle.

We're talking of course about the Sony a6000 and the Samsung NX500 (reviewed here).  I have been using the Sony a6000 for about a year, and the Samsung NX500 for about a month.  A lot of people looking for a mid-level mirrorless camera have asked which one is better.  For me, there is no clear winner between them.  It depends on your priorities.  In this post, we'll examine their similarities and differences.

UPDATE: The NX500's firmware 1.10 improved its performance.  Changes are highlighted in yellow.

Note: the Sony a6000 shots here use a custom color profile.

Fast 50mm Shoot Out: MFT vs FF (or why I bought the Sony A7II and a single FE lens)

You might remember from my previous posts about the Canon 35mm f/2, the Canon 50mm f/1.4 and the Panasonic Leica 25mm f/1.4 lenses how much I appreciate and love the 50mm focal length. To the extent that I previously mentioned that if I found a fixed lens FF camera with a fast 50mm (think Sony RX1 with a 50mm lens instead), I would sell all my gear and only use that camera and a single TTL flash. Unfortunately, that camera doesn't exist yet. So I bought something a bit different. Did it work? Hit the jump to find out.

NX500 Puts Samsung on the Map

Some cameras have the power to change the conversation about its manufacturer.  The Olympus E-M5, Fuji X100, Sony RX1 and Sony a6000 are examples of cameras that have each dramatically altered public perception of their manufacturers.  I believe that the Samsung NX500, which was released just last week, will be the camera that puts Samsung on the map.

(Image by Samsung)

First outing with the Sony A7 II and the Zeiss 55 f/1.8

 
I traveled on a one-day trip to Alexandria with a few of my close friends, and it was the perfect chance to get familiar with the new A7 Mark II and the Zeiss FE 55 f/1.8.

You can consider this post as a quick hands-on post on the A7II + Zeiss 55 combo. A first in a series of posts to cover all my impressions on the A7II specifically, and a few lenses along the way.

Sony E 16 2.8 Review Part 2: fisheye and ultrawide converters

This is a continuation of our review of the Sony 16 f/2.8 for the E-mount (Part 1 here).  In this part, we will discuss the two converters for the 16 2.8: a fisheye converter (VCL-ECF1) and an ultrawide converter (VCL-ECU1). 

First, I will describe the two converters.  I will then discuss the rationale and performance of each converter, starting with the fisheye, then the ultrawide.

Before we go on to the review, I want to mention a couple of footnotes:

1. If you've tried cheap wide angle converters before, you may think that these converters are just gimmicks.  But these are entirely different and are very good quality converters.

2. When Sony announced their new lenses on March 4, 2015, they also announced "new" versions of the converters, the VCL-ECF2 fisheye and VCL-ECU2 ultrawide.  As far as I can tell, they are identical to the old converters, with the same specs and same optical formulae.  The only difference between the new converters and the old ones seems to be that the new versions are black (matching the finish of the 20 2.8) while the previous versions are silver (matching the finish of the 16 2.8).  The VCL-ECF2 and ECU2 are advertised as being compatible with the 20 2.8, but so are the ECF1 and ECU1.

Sony E 16mm f/2.8 Review (Part 1)

Shadows. f/2.8, 1/60, ISO 400

 This is a user review of the Sony 16mm f/2.8 (SEL16F28), a wide angle pancake lens for Sony E-mount, as used on the Sony a6000.  I've had several ultrawide lenses for Nikon (Tokina 11-16, Sigma 10-20 3.5, Sigma 10-20 f/4-5.6, Tokina 10-17 fisheye) and the Samyang 2.8 fisheye for m4/3.  Compared to those lenses, the 16 2.8 is unique because it can convert from a wide angle 24mm equivalent, to an ultrawide 18mm equivalent (with the VCL-ECU1 ultrawide converter), to a rectilinear fisheye (VCL-ECF1 fisheye converter).  With the converters, it is like having 3 lenses in 1.  Even better, the 16 2.8 and the converters are affordably priced.  But how well do they perform?  In this post, I will discuss the 16 2.8.  In Part 2 of this post, I will discuss the two converters (Part 2 here).

3/4/15 UPDATE: Sony just announced the VCL-ECU2 ultrawide converter and VCL-ECF2 fisheye converter.  Supposedly, the VCL-ECU1 and ECF1 were compatible only with the 16 2.8, whereas the ECU2 and ECF2 are compatible with both the 16 2.8 and the Sony 20 2.8.  However, it appears that the only difference is that the ECU2 and ECF2 have a black finish that match the appearance of the 20 2.8.