Sony Wide Angle Converter VCL ECU1

Conclusion

Surprisingly Sony designed this lens so that it produces very little change in the overall image quality of the 16mm f/2.8 lens. Basically, you pay $100 US for a 12mm f/2.8 lens that is of similar optical quality as the 16mm f/2.8. It is a good value.

The lens is good in the very center from wide open, and improves a little on stopping down. However, the corners require stopping down 2 f/stops to f/5.6 to become acceptable for most work, the extreme corners will be soft until f/8 or f/11, but these won’t show in most images. Notice that the contrast suffers more than the resolutionI use the term resolution to refer to the MTF20I use the term resolution to refer to the MTF20 graph. This is how well the lens can resolve fine detail, but the contrast is low at this point. graph. This is how well the lens can resolve fine detail, but the contrast is low at this point. at the edges, and the wide angle adapter has slightly worse corners than the 16mm, mainly at infinity focus. Corners are much improved at close focus.

The lens has strong lateral CADifferent wavelengths (colors) of light have different magnifications and produce colored halos around high contrast objects near the frame edges. that really shows up in high contrast areas near the edge of the frame. This is correctable in Lightroom. Longitudinal CADifferent wavelengths (colors) have different focus points, causing colored halos in out of focus regions of the image; typical is magenta in front of focus plane and cyan behind. in out of focus areas is not an issue.

FlareInternal reflections on the lens elements causes ghost images and other artifacts to appear in the captured image. Most common is internal lens elements and diaphragm shapes will show when a bright light source like the sun is in or near the frame. resistance is good, but not as good as the 16mm f/2.8 alone. It isn’t uncommon to see some light flareInternal reflections on the lens elements causes ghost images and other artifacts to appear in the captured image. Most common is internal lens elements and diaphragm shapes will show when a bright light source like the sun is in or near the frame. spots from the lens elements with the sun in the frame. It is still significantly better than some zooms in this range. Shooting with a strong backlight and the image remains high contrast, it doesn’t wash out from veiling glareA specific type of flareInternal reflections on the lens elements causes ghost images and other artifacts to appear in the captured image. Most common is internal lens elements and diaphragm shapes will show when a bright light source like the sun is in or near the frame. in contra light where the overall sharpnessI use this to refer to the MTF50I use this to refer to the MTF50 graph. This is how contrasty the lens is, and correlates with perceived sharpness. A lens with high MTF50 will have a short transition period between a white and black edge. graph. This is how contrasty the lens is, and correlates with perceived sharpness. A lens with high MTF50I use this to refer to the MTF50 graph. This is how contrasty the lens is, and correlates with perceived sharpness. A lens with high MTF50 will have a short transition period between a white and black edge. will have a short transition period between a white and black edge. of the image is reduced but resolutionI use the term resolution to refer to the MTF20I use the term resolution to refer to the MTF20 graph. This is how well the lens can resolve fine detail, but the contrast is low at this point. graph. This is how well the lens can resolve fine detail, but the contrast is low at this point. remains. Large glass elements, scratches, fungus, and poor/no optical coatings can lead to veiling glare. A lens hood can reduce this type of flareInternal reflections on the lens elements causes ghost images and other artifacts to appear in the captured image. Most common is internal lens elements and diaphragm shapes will show when a bright light source like the sun is in or near the frame. dramatically..

Distortion is strong, and complex. It is slightly different with the wide angle attached. There is a stronger barrel distortion, where the 16mm alone had more pincushion. The Lightroom 3 profile works for the 16mm alone, but you can tweak it so you should be able to get it close without too much work.

Pros:
– Small Size
– Maintains the Good Performance of 16mm f/2.8
– Improved minimum focus distance (decrease by approx. 2″ to about 7″).

Cons:
– Same Cons as 16mm f/2.8: Lateral CADifferent wavelengths (colors) of light have different magnifications and produce colored halos around high contrast objects near the frame edges., complex distortion, and softness in corners and at f/2.8 (all slightly worse than the 16mm alone)
– Has more flareInternal reflections on the lens elements causes ghost images and other artifacts to appear in the captured image. Most common is internal lens elements and diaphragm shapes will show when a bright light source like the sun is in or near the frame. than the 16mm f/2.8
– Camera still reports it as 16mm as it isn’t aware of the adapter

This lens is an exceptionally great value. It gives you a 12mm f/2.8 lens if for $100 US (assuming you already have the 16mm). Both these are good, not excellent lenses in terms of image resolutionI use the term resolution to refer to the MTF20I use the term resolution to refer to the MTF20 graph. This is how well the lens can resolve fine detail, but the contrast is low at this point. graph. This is how well the lens can resolve fine detail, but the contrast is low at this point.. They will give nice pictures, especially if you stop down to around f/6.3 or so. They are good wide open where high resolutionI use the term resolution to refer to the MTF20I use the term resolution to refer to the MTF20 graph. This is how well the lens can resolve fine detail, but the contrast is low at this point. graph. This is how well the lens can resolve fine detail, but the contrast is low at this point. isn’t needed, like low light portraits, etc.

If you are satisfied with the 16mm f/2.8 lenses performance and just want an extra 4mm (that is 25%), then this lens is a great choice. If you don’t like the 16mm f/2.8 you aren’t going to like it with this adapter (unless you just need wider field of view).

If you like my review and would like to buy the lens, you might check Adorama or Amazon.

The gallery images are © 2011 Eric Tastad, and may only be used for personal evaluation of the lenses. The images were exported straight from camera with my default LR3 settings for the NEX 3, which have some sharpening set since it is a fairly high resolutionI use the term resolution to refer to the MTF20I use the term resolution to refer to the MTF20 graph. This is how well the lens can resolve fine detail, but the contrast is low at this point. graph. This is how well the lens can resolve fine detail, but the contrast is low at this point. sensor and LR tends to under sharpen.

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