In this article I used the Fotodiox EF to E-Mount Lens Adapter, the Sony Nex-5n and my Canon 135mm f/2 L Lens!! I’ve been using the Sony Nex-5n like crazy the past few days testing out the wide angle conversion lens, but I got board of that and decided to play with some Professional Grade Glass! So, I got my Fotodiox lens adapter and the Canon EF 135mm f/2 L Lens, out of my camera bag. The Canon 135mm just looks magical when you take pictures with it, and you will see in a second what I’m talking about. The Sony A-Mount 135mm is very similar from what I’ve seen, but I have not had a chance to use it myself yet. In due time 😉
A super fast lens like this is pretty hard to use on the Nex camera with a passive lens adapter though, because there is no electronics going to the lens which leaves the aperture stuck wide open at f/2.0. This results in an extremely shallow depth of field like a 1/4 inch or so when very close to your subject.
Here’s what the Canon 135mm looks like on the Nex-7 with the Fotodiox lens adapter.
Manual focusing is pretty difficult with a lens like this, so I had Focus Peaking turned on which helps considerable, but the slightest movement and your out of focus. A tri-pod is really the way to go, and your subject should be still. Try telling that to Layla or Chubs though!! I actually prefer the challenge of hand-holding sometimes as the shutter speeds were more than fast enough with an f/2 aperture in the daylight.
The extreme shallow depth results in some killer effects and images look almost 3D with a bokeh that resembles a fantasy world of color. I can’t really think of how else to describe the bokeh this lens pumps out!!
This Pro Grade Optics also shows you what the Sony Sensors and/or Nex cameras are really capable of in the real world. The standard E-Mount glass, as good as it is for the money, simple cannot compare optically.
Sample Pics Using the Nex-5n:
Chubs on the deck in direct Sunlight mid-day. Take note of how incredible shallow the depth of filed is in these photos. It makes for quite the challenge when the subject moves!!
Be sure to click the photos for the true 100% crops!!
My buddy Mark on the deck, Portrait style facing the North light with the woods as a backdrop, but you would never know it.
Layla back-lit with the glass storm door with Chubs nose prints. I converted this to BW in lightroom as I thought a subtle silhouette effect looked worked well.
Insanely shallow depth of field.
Killer separation that makes for a very dramatic scene of Michele in the foreground on the left, the flag crisp, and the woods barely recognizable.
Layla on the deck back lit with direct sun light. I manages to nail the focus on her closer eye.
I just missed the focus on this next shot of Layla. Check out how shallow the DOF is on the 100% Crop version as the thin hairs are sharp just in front of her oof eye.
This is a shot of an upcoming tri-pod from a future review I’m still working on. Shot in the kitchen with the long window draps as a backdrop Notice how the drapes just melt into a butter brown bokeh!!
Here’s another shot from the same angle but much further from the subject. You can see the detail in the drapes a bit better and get an idea of what they look like with less blur.
Here’s one more snapshot of Layla from a bit of a distance. Looking through the railing spindles you can see that killer bokeh again.
That is about it for now, using the Fotodiox EfFto E-Mount Lens Adapter, the Sony Nex-5n and my Canon 135mm f/2 L Lens!! Please share this article with your friends if you think they will like it!!
Thanks,
Jay
