A5100 + Viltrox 28mm/4.5 FE sample snapshots
Reddit's a bitch and won't let me edit my previous post to add a gallery so new post it is, coming from here: Behold! My poor man’s Ricoh GRiii : r/Cameras
All SOOC JPGs, Standard preset +2 Contrast +1 Saturation.
Context: Noon, light hard as nails, just 5 minutes to grab a few shots, you don't want to keep the missus waiting for lunch. Might have goofed off on setting the right WB and I feel everything's a little blue.
Shots 1-5 all taken from the same spot facing different directions relative to the sun position. There is an expected loss of contrast as you face the sun, but way less than expected for a cheap AF lens.
Shots 6-7 Closeups. As expected, barely any subject separation, but the bokeh is nice and not distracting. Missed the focus on #6 but got nice detail on the leaves at the bottom instead. Could have gone closer in both shots but I wanted more context/background, specially in #7
Shots 8-9 opposite directions from the same spot, this time I tried to obscure the sun with one of the streetlights. Contrast loss is reduced, but
Shot 10 Yummy! Light at the ramen place was somewhat filtered, but still pretty hard. I think I got as far as I could in terms of close focusing distance here.
Shot 11 Bonus Sunstars!
Quick conclusions: Cheap, light, nice overall sharpness and pretty good in the center of the frame, no CA to be seen, good contrast unless the sun is on the frame. I like the colors, they remind me of when I started adapting M42 glass on my old sony A330. Dont' shoot facing the sun if you can avoid it.
Goal #1 was pocketability, a true EDC (yeah, I know some of you psychos EDC 5Ds with 2.8 zooms), and that is accomplished. With honors. The damn thing fits in my jeans front pocket.
Goal #2 was getting a good enough PQ that wouldn't obsess me over technical details but also could take exciting pics. We might be on to something here.
Inb4 the haters: I'm not going to make a fuss about fortysomething equivalent focal length or the slow fixed aperture, or no manual controls. For fucks sake, it's the smallest AF lens ever for E mount. Also it's cheap, and takes decent pictures.