Calling all Sony Alpha users! (Part 3)

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civicboy40 said:
just that i seem to need to use faster s/speed to avoid overexposure...but its just trail n error.
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I have just been using the 700 for mainly landscapes over the last week, and I found that underexposing by one to two stops seemed to help the balance more. It also has the advantage of being able to use a faster ISO rating or higher shutter speed at F11 or F16.

Andy
 
I have noticed some very slight play with my kit lenses on my A350 when locked on, it's less than 1mm movement, just concerned it might be something to worry about.

Anyone shed any light on this?
 
Stan, How does the 18-50 f2.8 feel on your A700?
is it a heavy lens, and do you have any pics with it wide open?
thanks
Paul
 
Well I've just ended up re-buying a Sony A900. Waiting to see that the A850 would bring, but it seems over-prices compared to the A900...

I had a A900 already, and sold it as I couldn't get the CZ lenses I wanted... but I was very happy with the file quality from the Tamron 17-35 and the Tamron 90mm macro, so I re-bought an A900 and picked up a Konica Minolta 17-35 (re-badged Tamron) and have got a 90mm Tamron from Taz here..

I'm keeping this one :)

-Andy
 
puddleduck said:
Well I've just ended up re-buying a Sony A900. Waiting to see that the A850 would bring, but it seems over-prices compared to the A900...

I had a A900 already, and sold it as I couldn't get the CZ lenses I wanted... but I was very happy with the file quality from the Tamron 17-35 and the Tamron 90mm macro, so I re-bought an A900 and picked up a Konica Minolta 17-35 (re-badged Tamron) and have got a 90mm Tamron from Taz here..

I'm keeping this one :)

-Andy
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Welcome back to the Sony camp Andy. (y)
 
Slimbert said:
Welcome back Andy! Are you going to run both systems or move fully over to Sony?
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Not sure...I'm more inclined to make the move fully to Sony this time around.

I will be doing a lot of travel this year and I will need to take one system onlly - right now thats probably going to be the A900, KM 17-35 and one other zoom to be acquired (Tamron 28-75 most likely). That'll be nice and light and will fit in a shoulder bag. If I'm happy with the file quality after that trip, then moving completely may happen.

Time will tell.
 
It will be interesting to see what your decision is as I don't remember seeing anyone else switch to Sony when already so high up a product range (D700, D3, 1D etc).

I've seen the odd person switch Nikon to Canon and vice versa but never to Sony from one of the big two. It seems when someone has so much already invested in a brand they stick with it for life unless there is a huge reason to swap.
 
Hey guys dont mean to change the subject,

I bought my first DSLR about 3 months ago and loving it. I have the A300 + Kit lens, the more i use it the better i get, anyhow i have heard a lot about how the kit lens is a "bad" lens and so in the near future- funds pending- would like to buy a new one to replace it and take up my mount almost full time.

I would like it to zoom and be wide, i have no idea how much to spend, the least is better.

Oh and i mainly shoot landscapes and product photographs.

thanks for the help my sony user friends

Jonny
 
rasmusrok1 said:
Hey guys dont mean to change the subject,

I bought my first DSLR about 3 months ago and loving it. I have the A300 + Kit lens, the more i use it the better i get, anyhow i have heard a lot about how the kit lens is a "bad" lens and so in the near future- funds pending- would like to buy a new one to replace it and take up my mount almost full time.

I would like it to zoom and be wide, i have no idea how much to spend, the least is better.

Oh and i mainly shoot landscapes and product photographs.

thanks for the help my sony user friends

Jonny
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Budget would be helpful as it determines pretty much everything! What sort of focal range do you need and do you need a wide aperture like f2.8? A lot of landscape togs use a Sigma 10-20mm but this is quite expensive and dosen't have a great range for other sorts of photography. Lovely glass though!

I've fallen in and out with the kit lens many times, at the moment I'm using quite a lot and getting decent results, but the next time I've got a spare £350, my kit lens will be going in the bin to make way for some lovely 17-50mm f2.8 Tamron lovelyness!!
 
if i say about £200 or less, i need a more all-rounded lens, not extremely wide, just about 16-18mm at its widest with some zoom maybe to 105mm or more. Thanks guys..

Jonny
 
PAS said:
Stan, How does the 18-50 f2.8 feel on your A700?
is it a heavy lens, and do you have any pics with it wide open?
thanks
Paul
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hi paul...18-50 feels great,not at all heavy,in fact..feels about half the weight of my old 24-70.

heres one i took with it wide open...took some more today,but haven't had a chance to look at them yet...



DSC04122_filtered.jpg
 
sorry, just seen the reply, thanks very much:D
 
rasmusrok1 said:
if i say about £200 or less, i need a more all-rounded lens, not extremely wide, just about 16-18mm at its widest with some zoom maybe to 105mm or more. Thanks guys..

Jonny
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sounds like the Sony 16-105mm might suit you well but you may struggle to get 1 for £200 even s/h.
The Zeiss 16-80 would be even better if you can give up the range at the top but again you won't get 1 for £200.
 
First post, so errr, hello!

OK, my A200 will be arriving in a few days and with it the 18-70mm kit lens. I always liked taking macro shots of bugs with my compact (Panasonic TZ1) so would like to be able to do that again and I'm guessing I'll need a lens other than the kit lens to be able to do that. I have seen packs of 4 lenses on eBay for as little as £11 - they don't look much like lenses, to my very limited knowledge they look more like filters, but the description says they will work with a normal lens to enable close-up macro shots - any truth in any of that?

If I were to get a macro lens is there such a thing as one that will work as a zoom too? Feel free to point and laugh as I am completly new to this and keen to learn what I can. I'm not going to buy the first lens I see but at least if I know what I'm looking for then I can start looking around.

I'm thinking I want to be able to take macro shots as well as landscape, scenery, building shots to start with, and I want to do it as cheap as possible! This will be my first foray into the DSLR photography so just getting used to the equipment and how it works is important so i maybe don't need the best and most expensive kit yet.

Thanks for any help
 
mutamist said:
First post, so errr, hello!

OK, my A200 will be arriving in a few days and with it the 18-70mm kit lens. I always liked taking macro shots of bugs with my compact (Panasonic TZ1) so would like to be able to do that again and I'm guessing I'll need a lens other than the kit lens to be able to do that. I have seen packs of 4 lenses on eBay for as little as £11 - they don't look much like lenses, to my very limited knowledge they look more like filters, but the description says they will work with a normal lens to enable close-up macro shots - any truth in any of that?

If I were to get a macro lens is there such a thing as one that will work as a zoom too? Feel free to point and laugh as I am completly new to this and keen to learn what I can. I'm not going to buy the first lens I see but at least if I know what I'm looking for then I can start looking around.

I'm thinking I want to be able to take macro shots as well as landscape, scenery, building shots to start with, and I want to do it as cheap as possible! This will be my first foray into the DSLR photography so just getting used to the equipment and how it works is important so i maybe don't need the best and most expensive kit yet.

Thanks for any help
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Not the greatest lens ever but decent enough and has 1:2 macro ability: Sigma 70-300mm DL Macro Move quickly though as this is a bargain price (maybe even an error!) for a brand new lens with full warranty!!

Oh, and welcome to the forums!!!(y)
 
mutamist - Those pack of 4 "lenses" are actually filters. It's like sticking a magnifying glass in front of your lens - it will let you get very close to an object and still focus! Without them, the kit lens can focus from about 40cm to infinity. With the strongest "filter" - it can focus from about 2cm to 10cm.

I doubt "Macro" mode on your compact camera even came close to what you'll be able to get with the close-up filters and a bit of practice! So they're a great place to start.

A dedicated macro lens will do two things better:
1) If you get the right one, you'll be able to get the same magnification, but from further away. So no scaring away the insects.
2) Better image quality. The close-up filters and kit lens are OK, but won't win any awards.

Here's a shot I got last night using my A300, 18-70mm kit lens, built-in flash and cheap close-up filter from eBay:
am1.jpg


Not great if you look at the pictures possible with a proper Macro lens and flash - but considering the spider was less than 10mm across and the image is about 50% of full size, I'm happy with my £10 investment in those filters (y)
 
Thanks guys.

Slimbert - that lens says no image stabilisation, as a beginner is that something I'll miss having?

bobiscuit - those filters, what filter thread should I be looking for? I've seen some which say 58mm but I'm not really sure what that means and what my camera has! Thanks.

Steve
 
mutamist said:
Thanks guys.

Slimbert - that lens says no image stabilisation, as a beginner is that something I'll miss having?

bobiscuit - those filters, what filter thread should I be looking for? I've seen some which say 58mm but I'm not really sure what that means and what my camera has! Thanks.

Steve
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All Sony DSLR's have image stabilisation built into the camera body, so you'll never need a lens with it built in!

One of the advantages of using Sony!(y)

Also the 58mm bit you were talking about is the diameter of the filter. The Sony 18-70mm kit lens has a filter thread size of 55mm so you'll need to look for filters that have a diameter of 55mm. Hope that helps!
 
Thanks once again - that lens and the fliters both look like good, cheap options.

Before I dive in, is there much difference between the Sigma 70-300mm DL Macro at £68 and this one Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6 APO Macro Super DG Lens - Sony/Minolta Fit at £179?

thanks
 
mutamist said:
Thanks once again - that lens and the fliters both look like good, cheap options.

Before I dive in, is there much difference between the Sigma 70-300mm DL Macro at £68 and this one Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6 APO Macro Super DG Lens - Sony/Minolta Fit at £179?

thanks
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Go for the APO version if you are willing to spend the extra, it's a much better lens. It has special coatings on more of the elements to improve image quality, but they both have the same 1:2 macro ability and the same focal range. It just depends on if you want to spend the extra money!

If it was my money I'd be spending the extra. Infact I'm currently waiting for a second hand APO version to come up for sale at the right price!!

However, if you bought the DL version and didn't like it, you'd be able to sell it on and hardly lose any money at all!! It's a very good price for a brand new lens, I've never seen any brand new version of the 70-300mm Sigma sell that cheaply before.
 
Hi rhonddaboy

Iam fairly new here, and to the world of DSLR's. I am no expert by far, but I have been reading the reviews of the Sony, Sigma and Tamron 70-300's quite intensely lately. The one that seems to win by a mile, is the Sigma 70-300 APO. The others appear to have issues at the long end, also the Sigma's tended to have gear failiure, but I have read that the newer lenses have overcome that problem. Thats the one I'm trying to talk the other half into letting me buy.

Cheers

Gary
 
Hi Garyd
I am getting very dissapointed with the results from the Tameron And may be looking to some better glass thought the sigma might be an option
Alan
 
rhonddaboy said:
Hi Garyd
I am getting very dissapointed with the results from the Tameron And may be looking to some better glass thought the sigma might be an option
Alan
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Alan

I've been scouring the internet for a couple of weeks now, but have managed to find a few places that have the APO in stock, and as cheap as possible. Here are the ones I found with stock, Clifton Cameras, Camera World and Crazy Cameas was cheapest at £176.99

Gary
 
rhonddaboy said:
Hi Garyd
I am getting very dissapointed with the results from the Tameron And may be looking to some better glass thought the sigma might be an option
Alan
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what's wrong with it?
It'll have some CA but that's relatively easy to process (or just stop down).
 
Hi guys, just wondered.

Anyone with an A700, could they check the viewfinder glass for me? should it be/is it possible to move the glass around with your finger?

cheers:D
 
I can check mine a bit later but I would think it shouldnt move and infact be fixed... Could be faulty... will let you know this afternoon if no one has confirmed by then
 
Hi folks

Has anyone here swapped out the stock A900 screen? And it is easy to do?

I fancy getting the Type "L" with the gridlines.

TIA
 
BalSanghera said:
I can check mine a bit later but I would think it shouldnt move and infact be fixed... Could be faulty... will let you know this afternoon if no one has confirmed by then
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thanks, that would be great... this is a camera thats just come back from sony and is supposed to be "repaired":bang:
its still the same as it was when it went away, apart from my wallets £112 lighter:razz:
 
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