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42MP Sony A7R II
Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 Distagon

Examples: Eastern Sierra High Country Closeups (Sony A7R II)

These examples assess imaging performance at very close range, that is, at or near MOD (minimum object distance). Many lenses drop in performance as MOD is approached; not so with the Batis 18/2.8.

About close-range shooting

Going very close and wide angle can be stimulating, creatively speaking. At close range, the depth of field is minimal even at f/13, but context need not be sharp: it is often the juxtaposition of sharpness against unsharpness that makes an image “pop”.

The about $1499 Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 focuses to 25 cm / 9.8 in at 1:9.5, making juxtaposition of very near and very distance elements possible. Unlike the Zeiss Loxia 21mm f/2.8 which is manual focus, the autofocus of the Zeiss Batis 18/2.8 helps greatly when flowers are waving in the wind, or when perched on a slippery rock in the middle of a stream or on a loose steep slope, etcetera: it’s just to awkward to focus manually. All images shown on this page were handheld, the low shutter speeds being a testament to the value of Sony IBIS (SteadyShot image stabilization).

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Diglloyd Guide to Mirrorless is by yearly subscription. Subscribe now for about 25 cents a day ($90/year).
BEST DEAL: get full access to ALL 8 PUBLICATIONS for only about 75 cents a day!

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.

Want a preview? Click on any page below to see an excerpt as well as extensive blog coverage, for example on Sony.

Violet and yellow on green
f2.8 @ 1/100 sec, ISO 200; 2016-08-28 18:20:00
Sony A7R II + Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8

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