F55: Sony FE 28-135mm zoom early feedback

fed well

fed well

Some great feedback in this thread! Thanks everyone.

We all face many of the same lens dilemmas for run and gun. Even if I had the bucks for something like an Angenieux DP Rouge it still wouldn't provide that much zoom range. The Cabrio has a range that is very good but the thing weighs 6 lbs and again, the price. I don't have many clients or know of many clients who are going to pay extra for a Cabrio when hiring a 2-man crew. Not when very nice images can be made with a set of EF zooms and the ease of use that comes from the range of the Cabrio means nothing to the client. They aren't going to pay extra just so that the operator does not have to swap out glass so often. Not in any instances but a few, at least.

Like everyone else I have learned to live with EF glass but I very much miss having a real iris on the lens as well as infinitely variable servo zoom on a pistol grip. A pistol grip with a hand strap. ( how hard is it to make a grip with a hand strap that mounts on 15mm rails?? There are scores of different types of aftermarket handles and grips but none with a simple hand strap that was the staple of run and gun shooting for decades. Ergocine- do you hear me?? s-t-r-a-p )

Don't overlook the Sony 10-18mm f/4 E mount. It's so small that you can easily carry it around with you, the price is economical, and the fly-by-wire focus isn't all that bothersome since you end up having the lens set to infinity most of the time as a result of it being so wide. A DIT on a film set borrowed my Sony 10-18mm and played with it on his A7s. After taking some still shots and pixel-peeping he was commenting on how sharp it was for it's price. He said he might buy one even though it vignettes on the A7s on the wide end.
 
What is the front thread (filter size) of the 28-135?) I'm wondering if a wide angle adapter on the front of the lens would be useful despite slight light loss? I tend to use a super wide when in a small room where everything is close anyway so super detail is less important, or for a vista shot where super detail is less important.

Any thoughts?
 
The front thread is 95mm and I don't think that it makes
any sense to add some wideangle converter onto this lens.

You can at least try but for me this is just the wrong focal range
for R+G use. I'll use the Canon EF-S 17-55/2,8 IS until somebody
brings out a decent video'ish zoom around 24-120/4 in EF mount
in the same price range for use with my speedbooster...

Or I'll save for the Fujinon Cabrio.
 
I've received my FS7K (with the FE28135) just 2 days ago.
First tought is quite good lens. Focus, zoom and iris on the lens are lovely. So good having again a parfocal lens!!!!
Autofocus (for whom are interested) on FS7 is awful (but I really need to go deeply in the massive menu, maybe I'm doing something wrong), but is pretty good on the FS700.
I need more accurate test but optical stedyshot to me is weak (seem worst than sel 18200).
It's advertised as a docu lens, at the moment I appreciate more the very good optical design for narrative and commercials.
For my my run and gun use the range isn't bad at all (aprox 40-200 FF equivalent), but of course I own 16-35 24-70 and 70-200 f2.8 which are very useful in low light condition or when I need wider or closer range (plus samyang 35mm and 85mm T1.5 for certain situations).
Not recommended for everybody, but for sure in not comparable to 24-105 or other photographic lenses! And obviously not comparable with a Fujinon Cabrio or other cine lens that cost 10x more. To me it's just a good compromise.
I will do more accurate test soon.
Cheers
 
I know this discussion started as 28-135 questions but you all have been talking about Canon EF glass and Fuji Cabrio's now so we would be remis to not mention the Canon 17-120. It is slightly heavier than the Cabrio 19-90 but only marginally. It does ramp a bit from 91mm to 120mm. That said it is a lens that sells at about $8000 less than the Cabrio and is currently being offered in the US to qualified buyers with leasing options at 1.99% for 3 years, or 2.99% for 2 years. Is a very low interest rate and gives you great flexibility. They are also working on optional EF/PL mount system to be able to offer that lens across a wider range of cameras natively. Zeiss has their zooms but they don't really fit the bill as nicely on the focal ranges.
 
paolo.negro said:
I've received my FS7K (with the FE28135) just 2 days ago.
First tought is quite good lens. Focus, zoom and iris on the lens are lovely. So good having again a parfocal lens!!!!
Autofocus (for whom are interested) on FS7 is awful (but I really need to go deeply in the massive menu, maybe I'm doing something wrong), but is pretty good on the FS700.
I need more accurate test but optical stedyshot to me is weak (seem worst than sel 18200).
It's advertised as a docu lens, at the moment I appreciate more the very good optical design for narrative and commercials.
For my my run and gun use the range isn't bad at all (aprox 40-200 FF equivalent), but of course I own 16-35 24-70 and 70-200 f2.8 which are very useful in low light condition or when I need wider or closer range (plus samyang 35mm and 85mm T1.5 for certain situations).
Not recommended for everybody, but for sure in not comparable to 24-105 or other photographic lenses! And obviously not comparable with a Fujinon Cabrio or other cine lens that cost 10x more. To me it's just a good compromise.
I will do more accurate test soon.
Cheers
Click to expand...


Look forward to your impressions. What about focus wasn't working?
 
skimmel said:
Look forward to your impressions. What about focus wasn't working?
Click to expand...

Over all is a very good lens, for my use a "must have".
Communication with the camera could be better: stabilization need to be enabled from the camera every time you switch on, the command on the lens doesn't seem to be effective, maybe I'm doing something wrong or mine is defective, the camera is still buggy (hope next firmware will fix this issues).
Once activated the stabilization isn't bad at all, not so strong as on ENG lens but very smooth (I don't see the "jumps" of photographic lens).
Autofocus is almost useless, especially if you are accustomed to FS700. I really miss it in some slo-mo circumstances. Very bothering also single press autofocus, it pumps a lot before finding the focus (hope in firmware improv. Despite of this, manual focus is very smooth and accurate, almost no "breathing" to my eye.
I really like the optical quality, very good sharpness, contrast and color, lovely resolution on skin, seem to be nice with flare and also with backlight, but all this aspects are strongly related with the camera settings.
Zoom is smooth, silent and enough responsive, in my IMO not fast enough with manual ring.
Cheers
p.
 
HD Gear Guru said:
I know this discussion started as 28-135 questions but you all have been talking about Canon EF glass and Fuji Cabrio's now so we would be remis to not mention the Canon 17-120. It is slightly heavier than the Cabrio 19-90 but only marginally. It does ramp a bit from 91mm to 120mm. That said it is a lens that sells at about $8000 less than the Cabrio and is currently being offered in the US to qualified buyers with leasing options at 1.99% for 3 years, or 2.99% for 2 years. Is a very low interest rate and gives you great flexibility. They are also working on optional EF/PL mount system to be able to offer that lens across a wider range of cameras natively. Zeiss has their zooms but they don't really fit the bill as nicely on the focal ranges.
Click to expand...

John. Have you actually bought the Canon 17-120mm lens? I am very interested in this and need to rent one over a weekend to see how I get on. I hired the Cabrio for a weeks shoot last year in Singapore and found it very front heavy and not great to use on the shoulder with my F5. The range of the Canon one is very useful. I would consider selling my red 17-50 and 50-150mm lenses to help fund the purchase of it if I really liked it. The best price I've seen in the UK is £20,500 (ex vat). But the balance of the F5 with my RED lenses in particular is very nice and I am sure using the Canon would make things very difficult for a while. Cheers John.
 
This is no more than a rant but every now an the it bugs me a lot when I'm trying to evaluate lenses. Within the inexpensive still lens world IS, Parfocal (more or less at least) and smooth iris are the holy grail and they all exist in a number of Nikon lenses if only one of these competing lens adapter companies like metabones , commlite etc would just make a Nikon adapter that carried power to the image stabilization.
Write a letter to Metabones, maybe they'll get the idea.

Lenny
 
Lenny, I agree! I couldn't find an email address for them so I put it on their Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/CommliteItalia

Lenilenapi said:
This is no more than a rant but every now an the it bugs me a lot when I'm trying to evaluate lenses. Within the inexpensive still lens world IS, Parfocal (more or less at least) and smooth iris are the holy grail and they all exist in a number of Nikon lenses if only one of these competing lens adapter companies like metabones , commlite etc would just make a Nikon adapter that carried power to the image stabilization.
Write a letter to Metabones, maybe they'll get the idea.

Lenny
Click to expand...
 
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