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Zeiss Loxa 25/2.4 vs Zeiss Batis 25/2: View from Dana Lakes to Mt Conness
This two-way comparison pits the manual focus Zeiss Loxia 25mm f/2.4 against the autofocus Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 Distagon. The two lenses have quite different behavior and one is certainly my favorite for landscape and anything static.
Evaluated here are sharpness across the field (particularly at f/2.8 through f/5.6), field curvature, and (oddly enough!) field of view.
Exposure was within 2/3 stop of maximal ETTR exposure, pretty good, but showing that auto-exposure on Sony mirrorless has substantial error: I had dialed in +1/3 stop. In other words, the Sony A7R III gave up a full stop of dynamic range. What is the point of a newer sensor that is touted for another 1/3 stop or so of dynamic range when the camera screws the pooch by underexposing a full stop? It’s about time some camera vendor understood the value of auto-ETTR. It’s shocking that no camera vendor 'gets' this critical core functionality—it is such low-hanging fruit for reduced noise and broader dynamic range.
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Diglloyd Guide to Mirrorless is by yearly subscription. Subscribe now for about 25 cents a day ($90/year).
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Diglloyd Guide to Mirrorless offers comprehensive integrated coverage of most APS-C and full frame mirrorless cameras and lenses.
Special emphasis is placed on Sony full-frame, including Sony lenses and the high performance Zeiss Batis and Zeiss Loxia lenses plus Rokinon/Samyang and others. Fujifilm X, Olympus and Panasonic M4/3, Sigma dp Merrill and dp/sd Quattro are also covered in depth. Years in the making, it offers a wealth of material for choosing and using a mirrorless camera.
- Make better images by learning how to get the best results right away. For example, the best way to set up your Sony camera.
- Save money by choosing the right lens for your needs the first time, particularly with the numerous lenses available for Sony.
- Make better images, a sort of “cheat sheet” saving yourself months or years of ad-hoc learning—best practices and how-to and processing parameters are discussed and shown.
- Jaw-dropping image quality found nowhere else utilizing Retina-grade images up to full camera resolution, plus large crops.
- Real world examples with insights found nowhere else. Make sharper images just by understanding lens behavior you won’t read about elsewhere.
- Aperture series from wide open through stopped down, showing the full range of lens performance and bokeh.
- Optical quality analysis of field curvature, focus shift, sharpness, flare, distortion, and performance in the field.
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