a size comparison. three systems - full frame, dx, and cx. 43mm diagonal, 28mm diagonal, 16mm diagonal. area of 860mm, 368mm, 116mm. here they all are with lenses which achieve the same angle of view. nikon fx and fuji at f/1.4, nikon cx at f/1.8
interestingly, with 28mm equivalent focal lengths, the two small cameras get smaller, and the big one gets bigger! of course, i have the voigtlander 40mm pancake in between 50 and 28, but that's MF and thus cheating.
front view continues the theme.
if i had to describe these, the j1 with either lens is 'nearly pocketable,' the x-e1 is not pocketable but will fit in just about any bag you have or over your shoulder without fuss (note that it's the only one with a strap
and the d800e is a camera you have to plan to bring and be aware of it's presence.despite it's small size, nice build, good ergonomics, quick-footedness, and acceptable image quality, i really haven't used the j1 as much as i hoped i would. that's because none of the lenses really excite me. i like subject isolation, and i like shooting in available light. the small sensor really works against the former, and the slowish apertures and bad high iso performance work against the latter.
but this little lens really changes the equation a little. combined with the J1s incredible autofocus (compared to the other mirrorless dreck out there - and i've used a lot of them), it makes for a really responsive and fun little camera. optically the lens doesn't seem to have any major flaws - it has a LOT of vignetting wide open, which i don't really consider a flaw with this focal length since it's so easy to fix and adds character to a lot of shots. haven't seen any major aberrations - some purple fringing around highlights. a little distortion, but you aren't using this lens for architecture anyway, right?
it arrived in a box from b&h at work today, and expecting it's arrival, i had slipped the j1 into a pocket on my way to the office. my commute entails a ±2 mile walk in the morning and afternoon, and i had the rare chance to leave before it was completely dark today, so i took some photos. all shot at f/1.8. i doubt i will ever change the aperture on this lens.
1 this is earlyish in the day. note the vignetting!!
2 a cliche, but i liked the light
3 i intentionally did not recover the shadows here
4 our studio is about 10 floors from the top, and i sit just beyond the right corner visible here. this is now nearly dusk
5 nice handling of the color in the highlights
6 despite the 1" sensor, you can achieve some subject isolation - although in this shot, there's motion blur at work too
7 the combo handles these super high contrast areas between neon and metal well
8 sharp foreground, soft background. i actually like the oof rendering of this lens.
9 another cliche
10 a question for the experts. what's with the banded/flickered pattern of the moving cable car!??! it's almost as if it's not a continuous exposure, but rather a series of micro exposures. the j1 does not have a mechanical shutter, so is this perhaps some side effect of an electronic shutter? it's curious.
Edited by schwett, 27 November 2012 - 07:12 .
