Ok I'm back to liking this camera.

I could really sense that running the Sony with adapted lenses was hamstringing its capabilities. Every now and then the camera would just autofocus like a bag of crap. I saw no such complaints from people who used the camera with the proper lenses, so I broke down and bought a good Sony lens in my favorite focal length.

I got a 50mm f1.4 Sony/Zeiss Planar lens for a pretty good deal used. I gotta say, this lens on this camera seems every bit as capable as the Canon 5D MarkIV with the 50mm f1.2.

Gone are the issues I had with the camera struggling to find focus on low contrast areas. It just locks on now. What really impresses me about the Sony compared to the Canon is how assuredly it gets focus. The Canon will sometimes nervously dance around a little right before it locks on focus. The Sony just moves the lens elements where they need to be, and locks on, no drama.

However, I have to admit that the technology in the Sony lens is a full TEN YEARS newer than the Canon, so I would expect the camera and lens to be a little more precise together. Also, the percentage of times that the Sony nails the focus perfectly sharp seems to be better than the Canon. Again, the Sony lens is just a better optical design than the Canon, but check out this photo, taken at f1.4, along with a 100% crop of it...



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Even with someone who was not stationary, there were some strings of Christmas lights hanging across the room, and you can clearly see them reflected in his glasses. That is the kind of focusing I want.