Photos with the EA50

[Jody Arnott]

Another thread! Sorry guys.. it seems I'm full of questions :)

I've been doing a bit of real estate work recently. Primarily I'm a videographer, and I don't really do photos. However I'm shooting a property tomorrow, and the client has asked me to snap a few photos while I'm at it.

I'll be using my EA50, as I don't currently have a DSLR.. so I'm just wondering if anyone has any tips in terms of how best to get some decent photos using the stock lens?

Thanks in advance

[Chris Harding]

Hi Jody

Just switch to photo mode and push the button! You have to make allowance for the fact that the photo aspect will be 1.77 not 1.5 that Realty guys are used to so allow for some extra side space and crop the photo back to an aspect of 1.5 .... I would shoot at 18mm only on the stock lens but really you need to go a lot wider! All my realty shoots are at 11mm!!

Chris

[Jody Arnott]

Originally Posted by Chris Harding

Hi Jody

Just switch to photo mode and push the button! You have to make allowance for the fact that the photo aspect will be 1.77 not 1.5 that Realty guys are used to so allow for some extra side space and crop the photo back to an aspect of 1.5 .... I would shoot at 18mm only on the stock lens but really you need to go a lot wider! All my realty shoots are at 11mm!!

Chris

Thanks Chris. Yep, an 11-16mm lens is definitely on my list but I'll have to make do with what I have for now.

So the camera does a good job taking photos set to full auto?

[Tim Lewis]

You could also try some stitched photos to give you and extra wide angle. As it happens in post, if it doesn't work out for you, you still have the two or three wide shots with which you started. There are tricks involved in the shots and the stitch, but if you want to PM me.

[Chris Harding]

Hey Jody

The cam does a good job with photos and you get a 16mp image too! I still prefer to shoot stills on a still camera though ..off to do a house in a few minutes actually but I only take my Nikons with me but use the 11-16 zoom only for houses.

Your only issue on the EA-50 might be lack of clean lighting inside the house?? I use bounce flash for interiors (behind me off the ceilings) to get nice clean stills. Outside shots will be fine however

Chris

[Jody Arnott]

Thanks all, appreciate the tips.

[Jody Arnott]

Got some great photos today, thanks guys!

I tried doing a bit of HDR photography by using the AE shift feature. 1 shot at 0EV, 1 at -2EV and 1 at +2EV then stitched together in Photoshop made for some nice photos.

Unfortunately if anything in the frame was moving, it would just blur.. I wish the camera had automatic exposure bracketing, works wonders for real estate photography.

[Craig Marshall]

Chris, your 11-16mm zoom, is that the Tokina lens? Does it fit directly to NEX E-mount or through an adapter? Last time I looked, I could not find an E-Mount version.

11-16 on APS-C would be roughly 16-24 Full Frame correct, so importantly, what is the Angle of View at 24mm on APS-C? (Sorry, I'm a bit of an 'optical dinosaur' so my 'reference point' will always be 'full frame'.)

Background information: I'm currently on the lookout for an affordable 21mm Zeiss 'Contax' F2.8 prime (92 degree angle of view) to match my current Zeiss C/Y mount lens collection but they still fetch around $2.5K, even though they are 15 to 20 years old. Zeiss made an 18mm F4 (100 degree AofV) but although considerably cheaper, these are no optical match for the 'legendary' 21mm. However, as I'm soon to purchase a 4K video camera, any further investment in lenses must adapt to the new camera too. Maybe Sony will release a 4K E-mount at NAB?

Note: I use a Metabones 'Speed Booster' to adapt my C/Y to NEX so my angle of view on APS-C remains virtually the same as it would on a Full Frame camera.

PS: NEX-VG20 APS-C shoots RAW 5K stills too, great for time-lapse, unfortunately not so with the EA-50 even though they both share the same sensor.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Craig

Nope the Tokina is a Nikon mount so it goes thru my adapter and that also allows me to use the lens for Real Estate shoots on my still cameras. Spec sheet says the angle of view is 104 to 82 if that helps??

Chris

[Craig Marshall]

Thanks Chris, Yes 104 to 82 degrees, that is good information, especially if the lens is free from any fisheye or significant barrel distortion.

So your Nikon to E-Mount adapter is a passive one? I have no need for any Auto functions so if the lens is designed for an APS-C sensor, then a user could purchase one with any popular mount really (eg: Nikon or Canon) then use a passive adaptor to suit the E-Mount? Correct?

[Chris Harding]

Hi Craig

I have two Novoflex NIK NEX adapters (one for each camera) cos that makes sense for me as I run Nikon still cameras too. You would obviously need two adapters if you are mixing Nikon mount and Canon mount . All mine are Nikon as I have no Canon gear. The nice thing with the Sigma/Tamron/Tokina lenses is that they always make a Canon and a Nikon version and are pretty sharp too. My Tamron 17-50 F2.8 out performs the Nikon lens by miles.

The Tokina is remarkably good for the price and at 11mm the 104 degree angle is awesome. All my Nikons are full manual but I do let the camera expose initially for me so I only need to worry about focus and on the EA-50 the focus peaking is really good.

I'm not too sure whether Metabones make a smart adapter for Nikon mounts that allows full auto functions but really, the lenses are so easy to focus it's not worth the $600+ to pay for a Metabones adapter!!

Chris

[Craig Marshall]

Thanks. I know we're getting 'off topic' here but although the Tokina 11-16 is very good value for money, I would only consider a Canon EF mount version as it may fit the new BMCC 4K Production camera which is available in EF mount only. (Super 35 sensor roughly equates to APS-C)

One further question: do they all focus in the 'wrong' direction, or only the Nikon mount versions of the Tokina? (irrelevant to most people I know but important to me as I use a Follow Focus and my Zeiss lenses all focus in the standard 'cine' direction)

[Jody Arnott]

Chris, do you get the auto iris function with the Novoflex NIK NEX adapter?

[Chris Harding]

Hi Jody

Sort of!! The camera doesn't change the iris as there is no communication BUT it detects that a manual lens is on the camera and if left in auto it will change shutter and ISO/gain to expose automatically and pretty much perfectly!! It works much the same as aperture priority on a stills camera ..I use it for Realty with zone focus and can run around using the camera as a point and shoot. Focus Peaking also works but obviously you don't have OIS or touch focus available!!

Chris

[Jody Arnott]

Thanks Chris.

Personally I like to leave my shutter speed set to 1/50 and my gain as low as possible, and manage exposure using aperture and my ND filter. So I might look into the Metabones adapter, apparently they allow full communication between the camera and the lens. It's a little more expensive but will hopefully be worth the price!

I'm definitely looking forward to buying the 11-16mm lens. The stock lens, while adequate, just isn't quite wide enough for realty shoots.