Pic of the day: Pacific Park at Sta. Monica Pier (Theta S)

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I took this shot with the Ricoh Theta S (reviewed here) at Pacific Park in Santa Monica.

One week in Italy (Part 1: Rome)

We just got back from a weeklong vacation Italy, my first visit to this beautiful country. In this three-part post, I will discuss the places we visited, beginning with Rome, then Florence, and finally Venice. I will also discuss the cameras and lenses I used, and how well they each performed.

Allora...

Streets of Rome
Olympus Stylus 1

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.

Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels

Last year, I had a chance to visit the cathedral of Los Angeles, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels, which has amazing post-modern architecture.  Here are some photos I took (click on any photo for a higher-res version).

Preview of New LAX Terminal

Los Angeles International Airport is in the process of renovating its international terminal, partly to accommodate larger aircraft such as the Airbus A380.  If you'd like to get a preview of what the new terminal will look like, check out the fly-through video (warning: 230+ MB) which uses the same autoCAD files that are used for the construction.

I had a chance to join a tour of the construction site.  If you watched the fly-through video you might recognize some of the structures.

BTW for these shots I used the Nikon D90 and Tokina 11-16.

About the last shot - it was taken about 10 feet above the platform where we were standing.  There were no ladders or other surfaces to climb on.  Instead, I took it with the aid of a gadget that I will be reviewing next week.  ;)

Have a great weekend!

How to Bend SpaceTime (Tokina 10-17 Fisheye Review and Usage Guide)

The lighthouse bends as the distant building looms overhead, like a scene from Inception

In this post, we discuss fisheyes in general and we review the Tokina 10-17 fisheye lens. First, I'll show comparisons between rectilinear ultrawide images and fisheye images. Second, we'll talk about fisheyes.  Third, I'll provide some samples of how fisheyes can be used (aside from 'funny' shots).  Finally, I'll discuss the Tokina 10-17.

Tokina 11-16: Ultrawide for Low Light Portraits

In this post, we review the Tokina 11-16 f/2.8, a crop-sensor lens with a fast constant aperture and a reputation for sharpness.  Is it worth the extra cost?  Hit the jump for our review and samples.

EDIT: Added comments re chromatic aberration, ghosting and flare.

Ultrawide Portraits with the Sigma 10-20

This is a hands-on review of the Sigma 10-20 f/4-5.6, an affordable ultrawide lens for crop sensor cameras.

This lens has been around for a couple of years and has already been reviewed in detail in several websites.  If you would like to know how about its sharpness, distortion, chromatic aberration and so forth, check these reviews:

• DPReview including their lens comparison tool.
• Photozone (Canon version here and Nikon version here)
• Thom Hogan

Instead, this review will focus on what it's like to use this lens in the field, particularly for people photos.  In Part 1 of this post, we'll have a look at some of the ways an ultrawide can be used for shots of people.  In Part 2, we'll discuss some characteristics of ultrawides to make better use of them.  In Part 3, we'll talk about the Sigma 10-20.