some advice pls

same old story, I'm shopping for a camera and want a little feedback from users of the 16, 20, 30, 45 and 85mm:) first thought is I would do 16, 45mm for walkabout and 85mm for long portrait.

I mostly shoot portrait (hence the short and long) but like to have a wide. Not bothered about fast aperture for the wider but do v much for the 45 and 85mm. Center sharpness important for the 45 and 85 but not edges, Be nice if the wide was sharp across the frame though. Read all the reviews obviously. 85mm is the main draw for me. It is rather huge

For owners of the nx bodies, maybe you could share some thoughts on the following. I have no issues with the crop factor or dof.

In practical terms i shoot 90% of the time in aperture priority, I like manual iso, need quick access to wb and exp comp, afl and ael (seperate). I focus and recompose rather than set an af point. I use viewfinder for most shots ( G3 and NEX6 viewfinder good enough I found) but variangle screens really useful

Needless to say I want to spend as little as possible, no problem with older bodies as long as the af is accurate. Sometimes I shoot manual focus but not often, nice to have the option though.

Just run me through some of the negatives and positives of the nx11, 20 and 30 (think I am aware of the positives though) bearing in mind as a basis for comparison a much loved panasonic G3 (but grip far too small, not so good in bright or low light) with its small, light lens, and the rather wonderful and comfortable nex6 which, alas omitted a fast portrait lens.

NX20 grip looks too small for my hands but could be ok, the nx30 looks sony comfortable, maybe more so with the forward shutter button. Nx 11 I worry about grip and af but price could sway me.

I appreciate those who suggest just sticking with what I have got and get on with shooting, I am resigned to getting a top notch portrait lens and although i am aware it is a common cliche, I love subject isolation without getting macro close. I waited for an e mount portrait lens for a long time, while the m43 nocticron looks great but v expensive (£1400). The Samsung lens line up looks cool, perhaps just missing a fast prime between the 45 and the 85, (tho I see there is a 60mm macro)

Of course I am looking at the fujis too. It too is missing something  for longer portraits but the 56mm 1.2 is interesting enough to warrant a good look. Also looking at the smaller dslrs, they are not much heavier and have the advantage of nice lens selection at the expense of a bit more bulk but no wysiwyg.

It seems to me a good time to be look for a new body now that the lens systems are nearly complete. Many thanks for any opinions

robbinsbox wrote:

same old story, I'm shopping for a camera and want a little feedback from users of the 16, 20, 30, 45 and 85mm:) first thought is I would do 16, 45mm for walkabout and 85mm for long portrait.

Are you thinking of FF FOVs? Remember these are crop so the 30 is actually almost a perfect "standard" for this sensor and near 50mm FOV. The 30 is my preferred lens for general shooting (though I actually often walk with the 50-200 as I like to get a lot of bird shots).

I mostly shoot portrait (hence the short and long) but like to have a wide. Not bothered about fast aperture for the wider but do v much for the 45 and 85mm. Center sharpness important for the 45 and 85 but not edges, Be nice if the wide was sharp across the frame though. Read all the reviews obviously. 85mm is the main draw for me. It is rather huge

Have you read Viking's reviews? He has reviewed the 85 on both the NX11 and NX20:

http://erphotoreview.com/wordpress/?p=2595

http://erphotoreview.com/wordpress/?p=2777

And his other reviews here: http://erphotoreview.com/wordpress/?cat=109

I can't really comment on the nuances of those bodies as I am a NX300 user, and anything else I would say is probably information that is readily available elsewhere.

For owners of the nx bodies, maybe you could share some thoughts on the following. I have no issues with the crop factor or dof.

In practical terms i shoot 90% of the time in aperture priority, I like manual iso, need quick access to wb and exp comp, afl and ael (seperate). I focus and recompose rather than set an af point. I use viewfinder for most shots ( G3 and NEX6 viewfinder good enough I found) but variangle screens really useful

Needless to say I want to spend as little as possible, no problem with older bodies as long as the af is accurate. Sometimes I shoot manual focus but not often, nice to have the option though.

Just run me through some of the negatives and positives of the nx11, 20 and 30 (think I am aware of the positives though) bearing in mind as a basis for comparison a much loved panasonic G3 (but grip far too small, not so good in bright or low light) with its small, light lens, and the rather wonderful and comfortable nex6 which, alas omitted a fast portrait lens.

NX20 grip looks too small for my hands but could be ok, the nx30 looks sony comfortable, maybe more so with the forward shutter button. Nx 11 I worry about grip and af but price could sway me.

I appreciate those who suggest just sticking with what I have got and get on with shooting, I am resigned to getting a top notch portrait lens and although i am aware it is a common cliche, I love subject isolation without getting macro close. I waited for an e mount portrait lens for a long time, while the m43 nocticron looks great but v expensive (£1400). The Samsung lens line up looks cool, perhaps just missing a fast prime between the 45 and the 85, (tho I see there is a 60mm macro)

Of course I am looking at the fujis too. It too is missing something for longer portraits but the 56mm 1.2 is interesting enough to warrant a good look. Also looking at the smaller dslrs, they are not much heavier and have the advantage of nice lens selection at the expense of a bit more bulk but no wysiwyg.

It seems to me a good time to be look for a new body now that the lens systems are nearly complete. Many thanks for any opinions

robbinsbox wrote:

same old story, I'm shopping for a camera and want a little feedback from users of the 16, 20, 30, 45 and 85mm:) first thought is I would do 16, 45mm for walkabout and 85mm for long portrait.

I use the same lenses (minus 85mm plus the 60mm). The 16 & 45mm's are my favorites. The 16 works very well for me on landscapes/architecture when using infinity focus at f/4 or narrower. I also like it for indoor video. The 45mm gets used for absolutely anything/everything non-macro; (I really feel like I have an excellent copy of the 45mm). I used the 20mm a lot until I got the 16mm.

I mostly shoot portrait (hence the short and long) but like to have a wide. Not bothered about fast aperture for the wider but do v much for the 45 and 85mm. Center sharpness important for the 45 and 85 but not edges,

My 45mm has great center sharpness from wide open on and very good sharpness from f/4 to f/8 across the entire frame.

Be nice if the wide was sharp across the frame though.

As mentioned my 16 is sharp across the frame with the right approach and the right situations. I would not use it for close-in group photos.

I focus and recompose rather than set an af point.

I used to utilize the focus and recompose a lot, but the touch screen on the NX300 has become automatic with setting the necessary focus point properly with the 16mm and other lenses as well. Still use f&r on the NX20, especially when using the viewfinder.

Needless to say I want to spend as little as possible, no problem with older bodies as long as the af is accurate. Sometimes I shoot manual focus but not often, nice to have the option though.

I have found AF to be very accurate on all my NX cameras/lenses. Faster with the 45mm than the 30mm. Manual focus has become much easier with the upgrades of the newer NX cameras.

Good luck.

thx for the links , will check out now. Yes, familiar with the FOV and DOF differences, and heard good things about the 30mm. Funnily enough I am not a big fan of the 50mm FF equivalent length (or around there). I just seem to choose a longer and a wider when going out but having it as a pancake cerrtainly would make a huge difference, I expect I would  just bring it along. Have the 25mm 1.4 m43 lens and am ummed and arred about selling but a good part of that is the size (ok, not huge but if your not in love with the focal length then you think twice).

oh and if you happen to know if the hotshoe is standard, propitiatory or standard with caveats it would be nice to know. I use rf  603 mark II triggers for yongnuo 560III flashes, with a 3.5mm cable for remote trigger.

thx again,

thx for your appraisal of the lens. Sounds like we would have a similar setup. My go to lens has been a 90mm and a 75mm equivalent lens which is a funny length for normal use, but it works well for, esp if light and small.

thx again

robbinsbox wrote:

thx for the links , will check out now. Yes, familiar with the FOV and DOF differences, and heard good things about the 30mm. Funnily enough I am not a big fan of the 50mm FF equivalent length (or around there). I just seem to choose a longer and a wider when going out but having it as a pancake cerrtainly would make a huge difference, I expect I would just bring it along. Have the 25mm 1.4 m43 lens and am ummed and arred about selling but a good part of that is the size (ok, not huge but if your not in love with the focal length then you think twice).

oh and if you happen to know if the hotshoe is standard, propitiatory or standard with caveats it would be nice to know. I use rf 603 mark II triggers for yongnuo 560III flashes, with a 3.5mm cable for remote trigger.

thx again,

The hotshoe is standard-ish, there are the typical caveats you would encounter most anywhere.  That is, they are using their own communication system, so if the flash isn't using that then you will only have a firing signal and manual flash.  So, for instance, I can't convince my Canon Speedlite 430EX to fire rear curtain or use HSS with the camera or anything like that, but drop it into full manual flash and it fires just fine.

Something to keep in mind though is that it seems to not fire when using AF if AF is not yet confirmed when you press the shutter button fully. This is worth noting because it seems that you cannot use touch to shoot mode with the flash on the NX300 due to this.

Older flashes designed for higher voltage triggering also may not work (and these can also damage the camera, this is true of most brands including Canon, I think it's mostly just Nikon these days making cameras with the very high voltage tolerance).  Samsung has some other pins for their A-TTL and perhaps also used with accessories like the GPS and the microphone, so if you want to do off camera flash with A-TTL, there is pretty much only one cable on the market for this, the JJC one, there have been a few threads about it on here.

Basically the hotshoe should work fine with anything that has a suitable trigger voltage and is only expecting a fire signal from the camera.  So, basically, it's nothing like that debacle with the Sony hotshoes.  Samsung also has some decent flashes of their own and have a new one coming soon that I'm looking forward to (SEF580A).

robbinsbox wrote:

thx for the links , will check out now. Yes, familiar with the FOV and DOF differences, and heard good things about the 30mm. Funnily enough I am not a big fan of the 50mm FF equivalent length (or around there). I just seem to choose a longer and a wider when going out but having it as a pancake cerrtainly would make a huge difference, I expect I would just bring it along. Have the 25mm 1.4 m43 lens and am ummed and arred about selling but a good part of that is the size (ok, not huge but if your not in love with the focal length then you think twice).

oh and if you happen to know if the hotshoe is standard, propitiatory or standard with caveats it would be nice to know. I use rf 603 mark II triggers for yongnuo 560III flashes, with a 3.5mm cable for remote trigger.

In other words, I don't think those will give you any trouble, but hopefully someone that has tried exactly that or at least more similar equipment on NX will weigh in here.

thx again,

thx for the detailed answer. if i get to try the samsung out i will take along my flash and triggers and report back for future reference

robbinsbox wrote:

I mostly shoot portrait (hence the short and long) but like to have a wide. Not bothered about fast aperture for the wider but do v much for the 45 and 85mm. Center sharpness important for the 45 and 85 but not edges

From what is described, I would get a second hand full frame like Canon 5DII and a couple of primes for portraits.

Anyway, as about the NX line:

• 85mm is a good candidate for long portraits. Its quality can be compared with that of Canon 135mm that I have had earlier with my ex-5DII. From the other side, it is no less big and heavy, it weights 760g. However, I am very comfortable with it being attached to an NX11.
• I like very much how the 16mm pancake renders close distance objects. And from the same point I do not like out of focus area rendering of the 30mm one. For 30mm, I would prefer the kit lens. Anyway, you told that you do not like this angle.
• 12-24mm is a sharp lens with very high resolution and contrast. It falls to the rand a little, but not significantly. Mechanical build is top. It has fast and silent AF.
• NX45mm has too little contrast wide open, for my taste.
• I like the NX 60mm very much, especially for close objects. May be, it can be even a better choice for head portraits than the 85mm. It is smaller and lighter and is very comfortable to work with. One "disadvantage": the IOS is not so good at close distance, I switch it usually off

Thx so much, v helpful. I have mulled over a FF just for portrait and keeping the m43 for walk about. Just cant get over how big it is though ( i had a go with a D600 last week ) but one does get used to things after a couple of weeks + many times I have spotted a portrait that just works for me, I check out the camera and it is the mark 2. Usually there is no correlation with shots I like and a particular brand. I am no pro and just do street portraits rather than anything formal. I can quite imagine the 60 macro being a lovely length for portraits. I have tried a 135 and found the fl and dof just right for the look a really like. I was hoping the 85mm would render similarly in terms of character. I found the background maybe not quite as nice but still quite gently obliterated.

On the 45mm, lacking contrast to the point where it is stretching a raw file to restore? Usually I have more problems with shadows than highlights.

Thx again

Michael

robbinsbox wrote:

I have tried a 135 and found the fl and dof just right for the look a really like. I was hoping the 85mm would render similarly in terms of character. I found the background maybe not quite as nice but still quite gently obliterated.

I absolutely love the 85mm, and find the character excellent for portraits. It is sharp from f/1.4 for anything more than minimum focus distance (softest point is at minimum focus f/1.4)

On the 45mm, lacking contrast to the point where it is stretching a raw file to restore? Usually I have more problems with shadows than highlights.

It is typical of a 50mm f/1.8 lens for contrast wide open. Nothing bad, a little contrast boost in post fixes it right up.

Here are some shots with the 85mm, I have a lot more, but these are a few I have put on flick and remembered to label:

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=samsung%2085mm&w=28177041@N03

And same with 45mm:

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=samsung%2045mm&w=28177041@N03

Here is an old thread with a wide open shot, I probably boosted contrast on it slightly, don't recall:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/51327786

I thought I had a before and after of that shot, but can't find it now.

Eric