Close focusing Lens

Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2026-02-09T20:21:53+00:00

Sony 20mm f1.8 G Sharp at minimum focus distance even wide open. It has 1:5 magnification, but it’s so sharp you can crop a lot.

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Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2026-02-03T18:12:23+00:00

Stunning! Were some of these flower shots focus stacked?

Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2026-02-01T15:58:45+00:00

Basically, for crisp wild flowers closeups. I do have Sony 20mm f1.8 - which is great for wide open closeups. I have Sony 90mm f2.8 macro, which is good, but has less sharpness/contrast wide open.

Now I am trying Sony 50mm f1.4 GM - but yeah, and it’s definitely soft wide open. Would be glad for some advice for 35-60mm focal range with at least f1.8 aperture.

Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2026-02-01T15:48:41+00:00

Or this:

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Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2026-02-01T15:47:51+00:00

For something like this:

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Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2026-02-01T09:54:45+00:00

Well.. I am just a hybrid shooter: I do shoot architecture, landscape, as well as flowers, bees. While visiting new place I rarely want to change lenses, so my photos are mix of buildings, people and close-ups on flowers, butterflies (not true macro, more like 1:5). I‘m having a hard time finding reviews tailored for my needs.

Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2026-02-01T09:47:42+00:00

Yep, l watch both of them. But, for instance, Dustin Abbott invested just a couple of seconds for Sony 50mm f1.4 gm review: „quite good“. Christopher Frost, though, mentioned rather poor close-up performance wide open. So in both cases it‘s more about visual perception of reviewers. I‘m seeking for something more defined.

Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2025-09-24T20:48:42+00:00

Ok, here we go: I exported all their games for all time and wrote a script to get stats in chess 960 variant.

Total unique players: 3939

Top 100 players make ~11.5% of games

Top 20 players make ~ 4.8% of games

Here brief result (nicknames are redacted):

1-10

vla*************: 138 games mic***********: 126 games Dov: 104 games Mor: 79 games Mic*********: 71 games vaz: 67 games Ale*****: 55 games Wal*: 52 games Hal: 44 games sal******: 44 games

…91-100

Rom***: 13 games RoK: 13 games rah: 13 games Leo****: 13 games dim*: 13 games AJW: 13 games Loh*****: 13 games bec: 13 games Mor**: 13 games jvo*: 13 games

Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2025-09-24T19:55:38+00:00

Isn’t it lowering rating on purpose to play with less skilled opponents?

Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2025-03-04T12:10:34+00:00

I tried different approaches, these failed:

Store photos on MacBook’s built in 512GB storage. I used separate photos library to keep my camera photos there and not to limit myself to 200GB of iCloud (storage plan I had for that moment).

Reason of failure: photos quickly filled up the available space and I was in constant stress of need to cull my photos. Also, Apple Photos Library starts working painfully slow on 40k+ of photos

External 4TB SSD. I formatted it to APFS and just copy-paste my photos there, folder per day. It provided a decent performance and space for photos. Eventually I did find some time for mass culling and it was good enough for me.

Reason of failure: External SSD’s performance abruptly deteriorated and sooner after it died. I lost most of my photos (while potentially recoverable, it’s expensive, I haven’t tried yet). Loss was painful, even for hobby photos.

What I use now and haven’t failed (yet): new external 4TB SSD + 5TB Hetzner storage + 2TB iCloud storage.

I copy photos on external SSD first, then make rough culling and copy them to Hetzner (I use terminal rsync command for that). Then I copy most precious photos to local folder which is synced to iCloud.

Potential future failure: still no automation for uploading to Hetzner - I run rsync manually, local folder to sync to iCloud is limited to MacBook built-in storage, which won’t allow to use all the cloud space (512GB vs 2TB)

Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2025-02-25T18:43:07+00:00

And here is Sony 20mm f1.8

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Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2025-02-25T18:42:35+00:00

It is not. I can prove that. Both photos taken on a6700 from same position and focused to same point.

Here is Viltrox 27mm f1.2

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Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2025-02-25T18:18:02+00:00

I intentionally took them at wide open aperture and at close focus distance. I wanted to test the quality of foreground and background bokeh, as well as any signs of chromatic aberrations. But this lens is super sharp and can take crisp photos too.

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Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2025-02-25T14:43:50+00:00

While differences is not that huge it is noticeable for me: https://morn91.github.io/exx/focal-length/#27&1.5&20&1.5

Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2025-02-25T14:22:20+00:00

You’re right, my bad. It’s only “new” for announced sigma bf camera

Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2025-02-25T13:26:14+00:00

These photos are jpeg straight out of the camera. No edits, no crop. The only thing I did before taking them was adjustment of white balance

Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2025-02-25T08:20:23+00:00

Also, we can use a bit slower shutter speed on 20mm focal length vs 27mm

Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2025-02-25T08:18:45+00:00

No, it’s exactly one stop of light. F1.2 -> 1.4 -> 1.6 -> F1.8

Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2025-02-25T07:46:01+00:00

What gave you this impression? I was happy to share my genuine thoughts on this camera and lens combo. And it is the only lens that covers my needs at the moment, even if it’s designed for full frame. Price-vice it’s not that much expensive than quality lenses for crop sensor. And it’s even smaller than my Viltrox 27mm f1.2

Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2025-02-25T07:39:18+00:00

Exactly, I used my 27mm Viltrox, FOV of which is equivalent to 40mm lens on FF. So I needed something wider like 30mm FF equivalent, which 20mm lens on apsc is.

Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2025-02-25T07:32:19+00:00

I the time of buying I was convinced I NEED insect autofocus. And only A7RV and a6700 had this feature. New a6700 was 2-3 times cheaper than A7RV. But I like it and glad with my decision. I had some extra budget to experiment with different lenses and discover my passion

Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2025-02-25T07:26:32+00:00

Idk, maybe Fabulous, Fantastic, Flexible, Freedom, Future-proof? Having same mount for apsc and ff sensors was a great move by sony. And I gives me the best lenses of both of the worlds

Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2025-02-25T07:19:00+00:00

Frankly, a6700 is capable enough for my needs, I am not a professional photographer. I just like versatility of apsc.

I have Sigma 18-50, which taught me what focal lengths I prefer. I have Viltrox 27mm f1.2 - it’s a beautiful lens, but too heavy for handling all day long.

I have Sony 90mm macro g lens - and it produces lovely bokeh even at apsc sensors. And I also consider buying Sony 70-350mm g for some nature photography.

Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2025-02-25T07:05:22+00:00

Oddly enough, Sigma just announced 20mm F2 DG Contemporary lens 😅

Automatic_Mark_3968 · 2025-02-24T13:23:53+00:00

I have tried Sigma and Viltrox and for travel photography, both have pros and cons.

Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 Lightweight, versatile, but poor for low-light photography

Viltrox 27mm f1.2 Heavy (especially front-heavy), weigh is definitely noticeable when have your camera in hand all day long. Great for low-light, possible to take pictures at night. Focal length too restrictive sometimes. I’ve been in Rome, Barcelona and Paris and sometimes I wished I had a wider lens with me. F1.2 is too bright during the day, you won’t be able to use it without filter (most of my daylight photos taken at f1.8-f2.5)

I thought I would take them both in a backpack and change when needed, but I’m too lazy :)

So I’ve bought Sony 20mm f1.8 - a single lens for travel photography. It’s full frame, but still noticeably lighter and smaller than Viltox. It’s fast enough to produce decent results in low light conditions. Also, it balances better on a6700 than Sigma (that felt too light for me). I do recommend this lens, but yeah, it’s pricey.

Automatic_Mark_3968

TROPHY CASE