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Question about the 55-210mm

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jalywol

jalywol

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I know this is not the most stellar lens on the planet, but I got one today and tried it out on my A6000. At 55mm, it was acceptable, although not particularly sharp. At 210mm, I think I only got maybe one or two in-focus shots (and this was outdoors in good light), and the worst CA I have seen on any modern lens (and yes, the automatic CA correction was on). It's particularly obvious on high contrast edges, of course, but it's so bad that the automatic CA removal tool in CS6 (on top of the lens profile corrections) does not remove it.

Do I have a defective lens, or are they all this bad?

I've attached a few quick snapshots that show the problem. They are not good photos, but they are the best example of the problem I have.

The first two have severe cyan fringing; the last one has yellow fringing at all the high contrast edges. I have another shot of a tree that has purple fringing on all the branches and trunk, also, but figured these would be enough to show the problem.

So, is this a lemon, or am I expecting too much?

-J

d3809f9b4d7c4b9c935555d5e7cd57b7.jpg



c757ec49011449a7a68f783901d2edb2.jpg



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I'm honestly not seeing a major lens problem. The frames have very high contrast areas which really don't look good but I'm not seeing the severe fringes you are. Not an expert. Don't own the lens.
 


This image has been in my gallery for a while. I recently placed a more current version of this in a photo exhibition. It blew up with great detail. I don't use my 210 often but when I have it has served me well. This was shot at 210 f9 1/500 400 ISO with a Nex 7.
 

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The first two images show unusual CA. The third one isn't so bad. I got my first outdoor shots with this lens horribly wrong too, but I didn't know then that stopping down could improve sharpness.



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That dog looks familiar...



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jalywol said:
my A6000. At 55mm, it was acceptable, although not particularly sharp. At 210mm, I think I only got maybe one or two in-focus shots (and this was outdoors in good light), and the worst CA I have seen on any modern lens
Click to expand...
ME too , I tried my friends sample yesterday and the same ( I wondered why she never uses it) , the CA was that bad that Capture one couldn`t detect it as CA at all and thought it was part of the image - I saw the same on a shop sample I tried on the NEX7 3 years ago. it`s not "soft" at 210 wideopen but the CA is almost surreal
jalywol said:
Do I have a defective lens, or are they all this bad?
Click to expand...
I think they all must be - a bad copy would be soft or decentered , that CA has go to be down to vastly underdeveloped optics

Sony need to replace this lens with one capable of not looking a joke on 24Mp . shame the optics are so bad because the build, IS and AF are very good. everyone else can make superb 55-200s , even cheapos like the Tamron 55-200 (about £40 used in canon or Nikon fit) has no such issues

--
** Please ignore the Typos, I'm the world's worst Typist **
 
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It's OK when stopped down, but the widest at any FL is soft. It doesn't handle high contrast well either.

Now, this is based on the experience of some of us, while others might have better specimens of the lens and may feel otherwise.
 
i have 55-210mm and never had focus issues or even IQ. but only thing it works great in good day light and wont work good in low light
 
jalywol said:
I know this is not the most stellar lens on the planet, but I got one today and tried it out on my A6000. At 55mm, it was acceptable, although not particularly sharp. At 210mm, I think I only got maybe one or two in-focus shots (and this was outdoors in good light), and the worst CA I have seen on any modern lens (and yes, the automatic CA correction was on). It's particularly obvious on high contrast edges, of course, but it's so bad that the automatic CA removal tool in CS6 (on top of the lens profile corrections) does not remove it.
Click to expand...
Better to use software that has a lens profile in this situation, I suppose.
jalywol said:
Do I have a defective lens, or are they all this bad?

I've attached a few quick snapshots that show the problem. They are not good photos, but they are the best example of the problem I have.

The first two have severe cyan fringing; the last one has yellow fringing at all the high contrast edges.
Click to expand...
No, it only has yellow fringing on blown-out places. I see leaves and hairs that have no fringing, but prominent yellow on the blow-out areas. Normally, I would expect Purple Fringe in this situation, but perhaps software has already moved that to yellow, which is actually more pleasant.

I have my worst results with this lens in photos of a white bird -- similar to your results.

See:

https://flic.kr/p/hSBucZ

But then I posted a couple of other photos that look good. So, I think it's a couple of factors -- the lens is not as good at 210/f6.3 and blooming.
jalywol said:
I have another shot of a tree that has purple fringing on all the branches and trunk, also, but figured these would be enough to show the problem.
Click to expand...
At 210mm and f6.3, it blows-out easily, leading to PF. I find that this is much better at f8.

I also find that it's pretty good at other focal lengths.

In a recent thread, someone suggested that even backing off 210mm a bit helps improve the results. I know I've had great results at middle focal lengths, like with many zooms.
jalywol said:
So, is this a lemon, or am I expecting too much?

-J
Click to expand...
 
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Unless the 55-210 is coming from an a6000 bundle, i believe it needs a firmware update (v. 02) to work properly with the a6000 focus system.

check it out on sony support site
 
Considering its low cost, I've been pretty happy with this lens. Here's a couple of 100% crop 210mm shots I took last week on vacation in Montenegro. Both were shot RAW, processed in DOP 10:


Overhead view of Kotor from the mountains


Bridal photoshoot on Our Lady of the Rock island in the Gulf of Kotor (Boka Kotorska) near Perast
 

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Hybris said:
Unless the 55-210 is coming from an a6000 bundle, i believe it needs a firmware update (v. 02) to work properly with the a6000 focus system.

check it out on sony support site
Click to expand...
second that. i did firmware update to make it work for action and it did
 
Hybris said:
Unless the 55-210 is coming from an a6000 bundle, i believe it needs a firmware update (v. 02) to work properly with the a6000 focus system.
Click to expand...
it enables it to use the PDAF tracking system, without the update it works like a normal NEX camera such as the A5000, 3N etc . same goes for the 18-55, original 18-200 some of the older primes etc
 
AdamT said:
Adam-T said:
my A6000. At 55mm, it was acceptable, although not particularly sharp. At 210mm, I think I only got maybe one or two in-focus shots (and this was outdoors in good light), and the worst CA I have seen on any modern lens
Click to expand...
ME too , I tried my friends sample yesterday and the same ( I wondered why she never uses it) , the CA was that bad that Capture one couldn`t detect it as CA at all and thought it was part of the image - I saw the same on a shop sample I tried on the NEX7 3 years ago. it`s not "soft" at 210 wideopen but the CA is almost surreal
Adam-T said:
Do I have a defective lens, or are they all this bad?
Click to expand...
I think they all must be - a bad copy would be soft or decentered , that CA has go to be down to vastly underdeveloped optics

Sony need to replace this lens with one capable of not looking a joke on 24Mp . shame the optics are so bad because the build, IS and AF are very good. everyone else can make superb 55-200s , even cheapos like the Tamron 55-200 (about £40 used in canon or Nikon fit) has no such issues
Click to expand...
 
Tocsa said:
AdamT said:
Tocsa said:
my A6000. At 55mm, it was acceptable, although not particularly sharp. At 210mm, I think I only got maybe one or two in-focus shots (and this was outdoors in good light), and the worst CA I have seen on any modern lens
Click to expand...
ME too , I tried my friends sample yesterday and the same ( I wondered why she never uses it) , the CA was that bad that Capture one couldn`t detect it as CA at all and thought it was part of the image - I saw the same on a shop sample I tried on the NEX7 3 years ago. it`s not "soft" at 210 wideopen but the CA is almost surreal
Tocsa said:
Do I have a defective lens, or are they all this bad?
Click to expand...
I think they all must be - a bad copy would be soft or decentered , that CA has go to be down to vastly underdeveloped optics

Sony need to replace this lens with one capable of not looking a joke on 24Mp . shame the optics are so bad because the build, IS and AF are very good. everyone else can make superb 55-200s , even cheapos like the Tamron 55-200 (about £40 used in canon or Nikon fit) has no such issues
Click to expand...
I agree. Some people here say the issue is inconsistent focus. I say the softness is down to CA, especially at 210 and wide open. Most good shots on here are f7.1 or slower and is the reason ppl say this lens needs good light. If there's not enough light you can't get fast enough shutter speed and low ISO with f7.1/ 8 to get a sharp image. I added a canon 1.6x tele extender and it actually improves the CA at 210 and f6.3. Is that because the effective f stop is reduced or some other reason?
Click to expand...
The two 210mm shots I posted were both at f/6.3, and I see no CA. They both look pretty sharp, too.
 
Digital Nigel said:
Tocsa said:
AdamT said:
Digital Nigel said:
my A6000. At 55mm, it was acceptable, although not particularly sharp. At 210mm, I think I only got maybe one or two in-focus shots (and this was outdoors in good light), and the worst CA I have seen on any modern lens
Click to expand...
ME too , I tried my friends sample yesterday and the same ( I wondered why she never uses it) , the CA was that bad that Capture one couldn`t detect it as CA at all and thought it was part of the image - I saw the same on a shop sample I tried on the NEX7 3 years ago. it`s not "soft" at 210 wideopen but the CA is almost surreal
Digital Nigel said:
Do I have a defective lens, or are they all this bad?
Click to expand...
I think they all must be - a bad copy would be soft or decentered , that CA has go to be down to vastly underdeveloped optics

Sony need to replace this lens with one capable of not looking a joke on 24Mp . shame the optics are so bad because the build, IS and AF are very good. everyone else can make superb 55-200s , even cheapos like the Tamron 55-200 (about £40 used in canon or Nikon fit) has no such issues
Click to expand...
I agree. Some people here say the issue is inconsistent focus. I say the softness is down to CA, especially at 210 and wide open. Most good shots on here are f7.1 or slower and is the reason ppl say this lens needs good light. If there's not enough light you can't get fast enough shutter speed and low ISO with f7.1/ 8 to get a sharp image. I added a canon 1.6x tele extender and it actually improves the CA at 210 and f6.3. Is that because the effective f stop is reduced or some other reason?
Click to expand...
The two 210mm shots I posted were both at f/6.3, and I see no CA. They both look pretty sharp, too.
Click to expand...
Are you sure they're 100% crops? My viewer says 17.5% for the first and 18.2% for the second. When you zoom to 100% they don't look sharp to me.
 
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A good way to get rid of the CA via photoshop is to add a layer, go to filters, blur, guassian @ 15, change the blending mode for the layer to Color, add a layer mask and paint out the areas that have it. It will slightly alter the colors so that is why the mask but it is pretty efficient and effective, to the point now I skip the CA correction in lightroom.

I have the Rok 85 and that has a lot of CA, that is why I searched for a good way to rid a photo of that very annoying color fringing.
 
thoth22 said:
A good way to get rid of the CA via photoshop is to add a layer, go to filters, blur, guassian @ 15, change the blending mode for the layer to Color, add a layer mask and paint out the areas that have it. It will slightly alter the colors so that is why the mask but it is pretty efficient and effective, to the point now I skip the CA correction in lightroom.

I have the Rok 85 and that has a lot of CA, that is why I searched for a good way to rid a photo of that very annoying color fringing.
Click to expand...
Yes, I can do that. Have done it on other lenses, too. My point about all of this was that there is no reason that a new design lens for a contemporary system should behave this way in the first place. I could have used a $10 Minolta 70-210mm f4.5-5.6 with my LAEA4 if I had wanted a lens with this amount of bad CA, and saved myself a couple of hundred bucks.

I decided to send it back. I'm now thinking of going back to a beercan for that focal length, or maybe getting one of the Canon adapters and getting one of their basic zooms, which are supposed to be decent. Slow AF via adapter, for sure, but they will have usable IS, which would be nice, and they would be lighter in weight by about half compared to my current long lens (a 70-300mm Sony G).

-J
 
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