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Some images from Java and Lombok (and lens disappointment)

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Docno

Docno

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Last month, my wife and I went to Java (mostly Yogyakarta) and Lombok in Indonesia. I brought my A7CR, 35mmGM, 24mmG, and my 'ancient' 16-35mm Sony-Zeiss Vario-Tessar. My wife brought her extended family (n=19!). Was a good trip, despite the family-related stress, and I even had the good fortune of meeting up with one of the denizens of this forum (hey Deed!). My only disappointment was the 16-35mm, which I haven't used for years. I've recently started moving wider in my shooting--from 50 to 35 to 24--and so I thought it was the time to take this one out of mothballs (technically, my dry cab). My recollection was that it did reasonably well on my A7R, but it didn't seem to hold up on my A7CR, with poor contrast near brightly lit areas and smudged detail (depending on the focal length and subject). Anyway, I still got some okay images out of it, but I will need to re-evaluate its fate.

Some images below - thanks for looking.






Bali's might Mount Agung volcano seen from Lombok




Ancient Hindu temple of Prambanan in Yogya




Prambanan








The ancient Buddhist temple of Borobudur




The view from Borobudur




Borobudur




Beachcombers on Lombok







 

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Last edited:
I've never been and may likely never get there, so these are a treat!

Thanks for sharing!

I don't have an native ultra-wide lens for the a7R3 but I have an M-to-E adapter that will allow me to mount the Voigtländer 21/4 Color-Skopar. I should probably park that on the 7R3 and take it for a spin.
 
Docno said:
Last month, my wife and I went to Java (mostly Yogyakarta) and Lombok in Indonesia. I brought my A7CR, 35mmGM, 24mmG, and my 'ancient' 16-35mm Sony-Zeiss Vario-Tessar. My wife brought her extended family (n=19!). Was a good trip, despite the family-related stress, and I even had the good fortune of meeting up with one of the denizens of this forum (hey Deed!). My only disappointment was the 16-35mm, which I haven't used for years. I've recently started moving wider in my shooting--from 50 to 35 to 24--and so I thought it was the time to take this one out of mothballs (technically, my dry cab). My recollection was that it did reasonably well on my A7R, but it didn't seem to hold up on my A7CR, with poor contrast near brightly lit areas and smudged detail (depending on the focal length and subject). Anyway, I still got some okay images out of it, but I will need to re-evaluate its fate.
Some images below - thanks for looking.


Bali's might Mount Agung volcano seen from Lombok


Ancient Hindu temple of Prambanan in Yogya


Prambanan


The ancient Buddhist temple of Borobudur


The view from Borobudur


Beachcombers on Lombok

Click to expand...
Selamat Pagi dari Selandia Baru! ;-)

Some good shots you have here, the 16mm with the sun-stars has some quite nice contrast and sharpness in those stones ... the sun-stars a bit messy but to be expected from this lens (rounded aperture blades right?

What software did you use? Something that allows for keystone editing??

And the last pic is just fabulous, you can tell her that I said that!! A true show stopper! Speaking of which: I enjoyed our little Brem-Fest (well ...) and maybe, who knows, our paths might cross again??

Left the pics I liked best in my response ;-)

Agree with you regarding the 16-35/4, the Zeiss you mean right?? Found it ok between 16 and 24mm, but not outstanding. Sold it after a brief episode in the Cook Islands a few years ago. Originally tried to replace it with the 20/1.8, a nice lens but she simply didn't work for me. In the end I bought the Voigtländer 15/4.5. At first I felt a bit doobeeous about the F4.5 but it turned out that since it's an ultra-wide in a classical sense, it didn't matter much as I wouldn't seek bokeh-performance much, but maybe sun-stars and north of excellent contrast and maybe a somewhat unique rendering. That lens would suit your A7C-something setup too ;-)



4ed04265b16340dcae1936efcf2bd4b7.jpg

Deed

Deed
 
...I really like them all!

Sorry that this is no support to your "lens disappointment" ;-)
Cheers,
Ralf
 
grsnovi said:
I've never been and may likely never get there, so these are a treat!

Thanks for sharing!

I don't have an native ultra-wide lens for the a7R3 but I have an M-to-E adapter that will allow me to mount the Voigtländer 21/4 Color-Skopar. I should probably park that on the 7R3 and take it for a spin.
Click to expand...
Thanks Gary. TBH, if you ever make it to this side of the planet, Cambodia and Thailand should be further up your list of priorities (my opinion only, of course - and one that my wife would throttle me for!)
 
mujana said:
Nice images! We’ll be there in October.
Click to expand...
If you mean Borobudur, let me just warn you that you need to buy tickets a few days in advance. They sell out fast, but they only sell them in a rolling block of 7 days. You might also want to try to for the last slot, as we did ... at least we got to see a bit of the place after the crowds thinned out. This is what it looked like when we first started up....





f15419856c7440e4a7b6d432291a95c3.jpg
 
deednets said:
Docno said:
Last month, my wife and I went to Java (mostly Yogyakarta) and Lombok in Indonesia. I brought my A7CR, 35mmGM, 24mmG, and my 'ancient' 16-35mm Sony-Zeiss Vario-Tessar. My wife brought her extended family (n=19!). Was a good trip, despite the family-related stress, and I even had the good fortune of meeting up with one of the denizens of this forum (hey Deed!). My only disappointment was the 16-35mm, which I haven't used for years. I've recently started moving wider in my shooting--from 50 to 35 to 24--and so I thought it was the time to take this one out of mothballs (technically, my dry cab). My recollection was that it did reasonably well on my A7R, but it didn't seem to hold up on my A7CR, with poor contrast near brightly lit areas and smudged detail (depending on the focal length and subject). Anyway, I still got some okay images out of it, but I will need to re-evaluate its fate.
Some images below - thanks for looking.


Bali's might Mount Agung volcano seen from Lombok


Ancient Hindu temple of Prambanan in Yogya


Prambanan


The ancient Buddhist temple of Borobudur


The view from Borobudur


Beachcombers on Lombok

Click to expand...
Selamat Pagi dari Selandia Baru! ;-)

Some good shots you have here, the 16mm with the sun-stars has some quite nice contrast and sharpness in those stones ... the sun-stars a bit messy but to be expected from this lens (rounded aperture blades right?

What software did you use? Something that allows for keystone editing??

And the last pic is just fabulous, you can tell her that I said that!! A true show stopper! Speaking of which: I enjoyed our little Brem-Fest (well ...) and maybe, who knows, our paths might cross again??

Left the pics I liked best in my response ;-)

Agree with you regarding the 16-35/4, the Zeiss you mean right?? Found it ok between 16 and 24mm, but not outstanding. Sold it after a brief episode in the Cook Islands a few years ago. Originally tried to replace it with the 20/1.8, a nice lens but she simply didn't work for me. In the end I bought the Voigtländer 15/4.5. At first I felt a bit doobeeous about the F4.5 but it turned out that since it's an ultra-wide in a classical sense, it didn't matter much as I wouldn't seek bokeh-performance much, but maybe sun-stars and north of excellent contrast and maybe a somewhat unique rendering. That lens would suit your A7C-something setup too ;-)

4ed04265b16340dcae1936efcf2bd4b7.jpg

Deed

Deed
Click to expand...
Hey Deed. Yeah, it was the Zeiss-branded 16-35mm. I think it received good reviews when it came out and I recall being happy with it myself, but I think we've all been spoiled by how good cameras and lenses have become since then. And yes, the sunstars are definitely not a strength of the lens ... your image makes the point well (nice one!)

As for the software I use, it's Photolab 6 with the Viewpoint 'plugin' followed by Radiant Photo. Cheers!
 
Docno said:
mujana said:
Nice images! We’ll be there in October.
Click to expand...
If you mean Borobudur, let me just warn you that you need to buy tickets a few days in advance. They sell out fast, but they only sell them in a rolling block of 7 days. You might also want to try to for the last slot, as we did ... at least we got to see a bit of the place after the crowds thinned out. This is what it looked like when we first started up....

f15419856c7440e4a7b6d432291a95c3.jpg
Click to expand...
I mean Yogyakarta. But maybe we'll visit Borobudur (and Prambanan) as well. Not sure yet. When in Yogya, we have the impression that it' s too busy /crowded, we'll not visit. October is a bit off season, so maybe we're lucky.

We were there in 1980...without crowds. Unesco was busy restoring Borobudur and high cranes where all around. Still easy to go up all terraces.
 
Ralf B said:
...I really like them all!

Sorry that this is no support to your "lens disappointment" ;-)
Cheers,
Ralf
Click to expand...
Hehehe, thanks Ralf! I did a fair bit of culling, of course. :-)

This may not be a fair test, but this an example (100% zoom) ... the stairs look like smooth ramps. I'm pretty sure my other lenses would show more detail, all else being equal.





8c6732607bc643fdb85ce253015e8de6.jpg
 
Docno said:
Ralf B said:
...I really like them all!

Sorry that this is no support to your "lens disappointment" ;-)
Cheers,
Ralf
Click to expand...
Hehehe, thanks Ralf! I did a fair bit of culling, of course. :-)
This may not be a fair test, but this an example (100% zoom) ... the stairs look like smooth ramps. I'm pretty sure my other lenses would show more detail, all else being equal.

8c6732607bc643fdb85ce253015e8de6.jpg
Click to expand...
Now THAT looks VERY different from the last time I was there! Disney?
 
Docno said:
Hehehe, thanks Ralf! I did a fair bit of culling, of course. :-)
This may not be a fair test, but this an example (100% zoom) ... the stairs look like smooth ramps. I'm pretty sure my other lenses would show more detail, all else being equal.

8c6732607bc643fdb85ce253015e8de6.jpg
Click to expand...
The whole frame looks a tad smooth in fact.

If I may: The EXIF says 35 mm, 1/400 sec, f/10, ISO 320, -0.7 EV

Now, f10 on the high pixel density sensor of the 61 MP A7CR is in diffraction territory. This would very likely look a tad better if shot at 1/200 sec, f/8, ISO 320, -0.7 EV or even better at 1/125 sec, f/7.1, ISO 100, 0 EV
Cheers,
Ralf
 
Last edited:
mujana said:
Docno said:
Ralf B said:
...I really like them all!

Sorry that this is no support to your "lens disappointment" ;-)
Cheers,
Ralf
Click to expand...
Hehehe, thanks Ralf! I did a fair bit of culling, of course. :-)
This may not be a fair test, but this an example (100% zoom) ... the stairs look like smooth ramps. I'm pretty sure my other lenses would show more detail, all else being equal.

8c6732607bc643fdb85ce253015e8de6.jpg
Click to expand...
Now THAT looks VERY different from the last time I was there! Disney?
Click to expand...
Exactly! I've only been there 3 times or so since about 2005, and it's looked largely the same as this. I too don't like the overly manicured look ... much prefer how Cambodia takes care of its historical sites--simple and more natural. The other thing they do here is 'force' you to exit temple through an almost kilometre-long market, with hawkers selling mostly the same stuff. Very annoying.

Moreover, to see both Borobudur and Prabanan, you pay US$40, which is more than the day price of the whole Angkor complex (i.e., many temples).
 
Ralf B said:
Docno said:
Hehehe, thanks Ralf! I did a fair bit of culling, of course. :-)
This may not be a fair test, but this an example (100% zoom) ... the stairs look like smooth ramps. I'm pretty sure my other lenses would show more detail, all else being equal.

8c6732607bc643fdb85ce253015e8de6.jpg
Click to expand...
The whole frame looks a tad smooth in fact.

If I may: The EXIF says 35 mm, 1/400 sec, f/10, ISO 320, -0.7 EV

Now, f10 on the high pixel density sensor of the 61 MP A7CR is in diffraction territory. This would very likely look a tad better if shot at 1/200 sec, f/8, ISO 320, -0.7 EV or even better at 1/125 sec, f/7.1, ISO 100, 0 EV
Cheers,
Ralf
Click to expand...
Very fair point, Ralf. This was a quick shot taken in the middle of a series of family shots where I was trying to have some detail in the background, so yeah, settings not the best (but I was struck by the smoothness of the stairs). Here is a crop of an f8 shot, with the focus on the temple. Again (to me), there's not as much detail captured as I'm used to seeing with other lenses such as the 24-105mm zoom (nevermind GM lenses). But this is not a rigorous comparison by any stretch.





786f9a5c6e8e4c0dae39eeaba68bb8b9.jpg
 
Docno said:
mujana said:
Docno said:
Ralf B said:
...I really like them all!

Sorry that this is no support to your "lens disappointment" ;-)
Cheers,
Ralf
Click to expand...
Hehehe, thanks Ralf! I did a fair bit of culling, of course. :-)
This may not be a fair test, but this an example (100% zoom) ... the stairs look like smooth ramps. I'm pretty sure my other lenses would show more detail, all else being equal.

8c6732607bc643fdb85ce253015e8de6.jpg
Click to expand...
Now THAT looks VERY different from the last time I was there! Disney?
Click to expand...
Exactly! I've only been there 3 times or so since about 2005, and it's looked largely the same as this. I too don't like the overly manicured look ... much prefer how Cambodia takes care of its historical sites--simple and more natural. The other thing they do here is 'force' you to exit temple through an almost kilometre-long market, with hawkers selling mostly the same stuff. Very annoying.
Moreover, to see both Borobudur and Prabanan, you pay US$40, which is more than the day price of the whole Angkor complex (i.e., many temples).
Click to expand...
Thank you for this information. I’m already sure that we will not visit Borobudur and Prambanan.

Yogya yes.

In my opinion (as far as I can tell), Angkor and surrounding area is the most attractive historical site in Asia. But then, I don’t know how things are these days. When I visited, I could just ask anyone with a motorcycle to bring me there. Walk around everywhere I wanted (Angkor/Bayon/etc.) for as long as I wanted. And no hordes of tourists or market stalls anywhere. That probably has changed also. Evidently and luckily not as much as Borobudur.
 
Last edited:
Looks like the Sony GM glass spoiled you a bit :)
 
Great images captured there, the CR with those tiny primes very inconspicuous too .. I`d love to go sometime

As for the old Zony 16-35 F4 Vario Tossar - it was the best of the Zony zooms , actually as you say managed to almost stand up to 36Mp of the A7R at F8 anyway and on the 24Mp A7 even passable at F4 so long as you didn`t expect perfect edges but pushing that to 60Mp is always going to end in tears before bedtime . don`t even think of trying the 24-70 one, if you need F4 across the frame , the 12Mp A7S was about its limit - F8 for 36Mp especially at the long end .

There`s far far better glass out now which stands up to the ordeal of 60Mp way better , even the ageing tamron 17-28 F2.8 does it at F2.8 better than the Tossar did at F5.6 and stuff like the 16-35 F4 PZ and F2.8 GM2 are supposedly as good as UWA gets .. still amazed at how well the 20-70 stands up at F4 edge to edge end to end at 60Mp

--
** Please ignore the Typos, I'm the world's worst Typist **
 
Last edited:
Docno said:
Last month, my wife and I went to Java (mostly Yogyakarta) and Lombok in Indonesia. I brought my A7CR, 35mmGM, 24mmG, and my 'ancient' 16-35mm Sony-Zeiss Vario-Tessar. My wife brought her extended family (n=19!). Was a good trip, despite the family-related stress, and I even had the good fortune of meeting up with one of the denizens of this forum (hey Deed!). My only disappointment was the 16-35mm, which I haven't used for years. I've recently started moving wider in my shooting--from 50 to 35 to 24--and so I thought it was the time to take this one out of mothballs (technically, my dry cab). My recollection was that it did reasonably well on my A7R, but it didn't seem to hold up on my A7CR, with poor contrast near brightly lit areas and smudged detail (depending on the focal length and subject). Anyway, I still got some okay images out of it, but I will need to re-evaluate its fate.
Some images below - thanks for looking.


Bali's might Mount Agung volcano seen from Lombok


Ancient Hindu temple of Prambanan in Yogya


Prambanan




The ancient Buddhist temple of Borobudur


The view from Borobudur


Borobudur


Beachcombers on Lombok



Click to expand...
 
The lens may be slightly less sharp and contrasty.

But the woman is still beautiful !
 
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