The Amazing Sony A1/A7/A9/APS-C & Anything else welcome Mega Thread!

wookie6262 said:
Samyang 35-150mm very tempting at that price. The thought of a single lens at events really appeals
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I had the tamron briefly. Brilliant lens but heavy for my liking. But if weight isn't an issue it can work incredibly well for events etc.
But tamron version probably focusses better than the samyang version.
 
nandbytes said:
I had the tamron briefly. Brilliant lens but heavy for my liking. But if weight isn't an issue it can work incredibly well for events etc.
But tamron version probably focusses better than the samyang version.
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I've tried the Tamron or at least the Nikon version and was really impressed. If I get the lens it would pretty much be used for events so fast focussing isn't as important. I'll do a wee bit of a read of the review sites
 
snerkler said:
The zoom ring is also a power zoom so you can use either or, but neither are your traditional zoom or fly by wire zoom. It's a credit to Sony that it's had you fooled though ;)
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Apologies
I thought you meant the power zoom switch.
All-In-All, its a fantastic lens that ticks all the boxes for me - really small and light and capable of nice sharp images.
IQ I'd say was in par with the 16-35GM I trialled last year ;)
 
trevorbray said:
Can’t find it. Found a Tamron with this range.
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www.samyanglens.com

Samyang Optics

A New Perspective Samyang Optics. Provides detailed information and support for Samyang Optics lenses. You can also view magazine content and sample photos.
www.samyanglens.com www.samyanglens.com

wookie6262 said:
I've tried the Tamron or at least the Nikon version and was really impressed. If I get the lens it would pretty much be used for events so fast focussing isn't as important. I'll do a wee bit of a read of the review sites
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optically they seem to be about equal.

basically comes down to pay more for tamron if you need more reliable AF.
 
I've been following these discussions from the sidelines.

I never really looked at the picture threads until about a year ago and those threads and this thread as it is make me realise that there are many genres and much equipment and many uses for it that don't really appear on my radar. I can appreciate a picture which I'm unlikely to take because they're not really my interest or thing and I can appreciate the skill involved and also the technicalities of shots and the technicalities of the kit without being tempted to buy.

I seem to be mostly happy with kit that many and maybe most others would find hopelessly limiting and most of my pictures are either posed or waited for and even AF isn't strictly required for these. All in all I don't think I've ever felt so out of it on this forum :D

Carry on :D
 
Does anyone use the peak design capture clip and can comment on the security with a FF Sony and average weight lens please? I have one but I’ve always been a bit wary about using it with a ‘proper’ camera but I’m thinking about trying it again.
 
snerkler said:
Does anyone use the peak design capture clip and can comment on the security with a FF Sony and average weight lens please? I have one but I’ve always been a bit wary about using it with a ‘proper’ camera but I’m thinking about trying it again.
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It's fine, I put it with a Smallrig L-plate + a Sigma 24-70 DGDN on it in Japan.

As a safety net...I always had it on the PD leash and loop it around a cip on my backpack or my neck.
 
Raymond Lin said:
It's fine, I put it with a Smallrig L-plate + a Sigma 24-70 DGDN on it in Japan.

As a safety net...I always had it on the PD leash and loop it around a cip on my backpack or my neck.
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Thanks.
 
snerkler said:
Does anyone use the peak design capture clip and can comment on the security with a FF Sony and average weight lens please? I have one but I’ve always been a bit wary about using it with a ‘proper’ camera but I’m thinking about trying it again.
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I've got one I use when actually walking about constantly shooting. No worries for me.
 
nandbytes said:
A 24-50mm f2.8 G coming?

First leaked image of the new Sony 24-50mm f/2.8 G lens! – sonyalpharumors

www.sonyalpharumors.com www.sonyalpharumors.com

Not long enough, not wide enough, not fast enough, not small enough, not cheap enough :LOL:
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If you are a prime shooter who doesn't shoot fast apertures, I guess it's pretty suitable as an all in one lens. Covers the 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm prime focal lengths which is certainly my most favourable lengths. I'd imagine the price will be the main decider for people.... Well, people who are happy with f/2.8 ;) :ROFLMAO:
 
LeeRatters said:
If you are a prime shooter who doesn't shoot fast apertures, I guess it's pretty suitable as an all in one lens. Covers the 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm prime focal lengths which is certainly my most favourable lengths. I'd imagine the price will be the main decider for people.... Well, people who are happy with f/2.8 ;) :ROFLMAO:
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A 20-50 f2.8 or a 24-50mm f2 etc would make more sense I think.
I've been happy with f2.8 primes, they are amazingly small and gives incredible sharpness. But I normally owned one or two at the same time, not 4 of them. Not sure many would own 4 of them at the same time and that too at f2.8.

But I guess if you shoot majority of yours shots in this focal range it make sense for you. Especially if it's coma is well corrected and you can use it for the night sky
 
I’ve just received my Peak Design travel tripod that I’ve picked up in the Black Friday deal, first impressions are very impressive. Practical, lightweight but very well built. Much quicker to put up and put away compared to my 3 legged thing. Only gripe is that ideally I’d like it to be bit taller, but it’s not the end of the world as I do most of my tripod work using the rear screen.
 
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nandbytes said:
A 20-50 f2.8 or a 24-50mm f2 etc would make more sense I think.
I've been happy with f2.8 primes, they are amazingly small and gives incredible sharpness. But I normally owned one or two at the same time, not 4 of them. Not sure many would own 4 of them at the same time and that too at f2.8.

But I guess if you shoot majority of yours shots in this focal range it make sense for you. Especially if it's coma is well corrected and you can use it for the night sky
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You’ve already got the 24-70mm f2.8 so to shave a bit off the long end seems a bit strange. Sure it’ll be lighter and cheaper but still.

As you say 20-50mm f2.8 would have been much better.
 
snerkler said:
I’ve just received my Peak Design travel tripod that I’ve picked up in the Black Friday deal, first impressions are very impressive. Practical, lightweight but very well built. Much quicker to put up and put away compared to my 3 legged thing. Only gripe is that I ideally I’d like it to be bit taller, but it’s not the end of the world as I do most of my tripod work using the rear screen.
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I personally went with heipi tripod
heipivision.com

HEIPI 3-in-1 Travel Tripod - W28

HEIPI professional 3-in-1 travel tripod successfully strikes the balance between stability and portability. It is a perfect accessory for any outdoor photographer.
heipivision.com heipivision.com

I really like PD products but personally didn't get along with their tripod
 
Just had a look at the picture of that 24-50mm f2.8. To me it would only make sense if it was smaller and lighter or cheaper than a 24-70mm.
 
nandbytes said:
I personally went with heipi tripod
heipivision.com

HEIPI 3-in-1 Travel Tripod - W28

HEIPI professional 3-in-1 travel tripod successfully strikes the balance between stability and portability. It is a perfect accessory for any outdoor photographer.
heipivision.com heipivision.com

I really like PD products but personally didn't get along with their tripod
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Looks good. What didn’t you like about the PD?
 
snerkler said:
Looks good. What didn’t you like about the PD?
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The ball head - the way it works and not being able remove it and use my own. Then having buy a separate accessory for adding standard ballheads.
5 leg sections which makes the last section really thin along with being triangular which further reduces its volume (though heipi still has the same 5 leg sections issue)
Flip locks (dislike the ones on heipi too)
Centre column felt a bit flimsy and not very sable
Overall feels less stable that most other travel tripods I have owned which includes manfrotto befree (sold), gitzo legende (sold), feisol CT3442 (sold), feisol CT3342 (my favourite and still have it) and of course the heipi above which is a recent addition.
 
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nandbytes said:
The ball head - the way it works and not being able remove it and use my own. Then having buy a separate accessory for adding standard ballheads.
5 leg sections which makes the last section really thin along with being triangular which further reduces its volume (though heipi still has the same 5 leg sections issue)
Flip locks (dislike the ones on heipi too)
Centre column felt a bit flimsy and not very sable
Overall feels less stable that most other travel tripods I have owned which includes manfrotto befree (sold), gitzo legende (sold), feisol CT3442 (sold), feisol CT3342 (my favourite and still have it) and of course the heipi above which is a recent addition.
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I prefer the flip locks, it’s one of the things that bugs me about the 3 legged thing having twist locks, I can’t tell you how many times I thought I’d tightened them properly only to find it start to sag because one (or more) of the twist locks wasn’t tight enough.

The ball head on the PD is not as fluid as I thought, but it seems OK to me. I’ll have to see what it’s like in actual use. I might miss the separate pan lock. The legs are thin but they feel sturdy enough to me.

The best tripod I’ve had in terms of quality was the Manfrotto Carbon 190 with X Pro ball head but I wanted something as light as possible but with reasonable sturdiness.
 
nandbytes said:
A 20-50 f2.8 or a 24-50mm f2 etc would make more sense I think.
I've been happy with f2.8 primes, they are amazingly small and gives incredible sharpness. But I normally owned one or two at the same time, not 4 of them. Not sure many would own 4 of them at the same time and that too at f2.8.

But I guess if you shoot majority of yours shots in this focal range it make sense for you. Especially if it's coma is well corrected and you can use it for the night sky
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Oh, it makes no sense for me ;) No interest, nowhere near fast enough :) I'm more than happy at 35/1.4 for the majority of my shooting. No interest in anything at the moment tbh!

But if someone had/wanted a 24/2.8G at £629 (Sony prices) and a 50/2.5G at £629 and maybe fancied something in between like the old Zeiss 35/2.8 then you are up over £1500 for 3 slow primes. It's got to come in at cheaper than that surely...... The 24-70GM is priced at £1579 on Sony!
 
Has anybody seen Johnny post anywhere? The guy with the multi coloured socks who used to take portrait pictures? He hasn't been in here for quite some time.
 
LeeRatters said:
But if someone had/wanted a 24/2.8G at £629 (Sony prices) and a 50/2.5G at £629 and maybe fancied something in between like the old Zeiss 35/2.8 then you are up over £1500 for 3 slow primes. It's got to come in at cheaper than that surely...... The 24-70GM is priced at £1579 on Sony!
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I have one of those and I think it's a good lens after correction.
 
woof woof said:
I've been following these discussions from the sidelines.

I never really looked at the picture threads until about a year ago and those threads and this thread as it is make me realise that there are many genres and much equipment and many uses for it that don't really appear on my radar. I can appreciate a picture which I'm unlikely to take because they're not really my interest or thing and I can appreciate the skill involved and also the technicalities of shots and the technicalities of the kit without being tempted to buy.

I seem to be mostly happy with kit that many and maybe most others would find hopelessly limiting and most of my pictures are either posed or waited for and even AF isn't strictly required for these. All in all I don't think I've ever felt so out of it on this forum :D

Carry on :D
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No definitely not hopeless limited and if you look at the high iso and dynamic range for current sensors, you'll find the A7mk1 is still up there and I noticed DXOmark rates it a 90 and the A9 a 92. I still use an RX1r which is slightly older tech but I think a similar sensor and while it's a decade old now it's still a fantastic little camera that gives me superb high iso and dynamic range for its size. I was at a wedding last year and as there was no photographer after the meal, my friend had asked people to take photos and send them after. As usual the lighting was extremely difficult to get photos with as it was very dark with bright flashing multi-coloured lights. I'd taken the RX1r as it's perfect for such situations but it was going up against the best in mobile phones which were a decade newer, the end result was the RX1r had a number of photos printed in the official wedding album and there were none from any mobile phone cameras as my friend said all the ones they were sent were unusable.

Of course if I'm wanting a fast tracked shot of my dog or similar then the RX1r is no match for the A9 or similar but for the type of shot you've mentioned, I think the A7 is still a great camera.
 
JohnMcL7 said:
No definitely not hopeless limited and if you look at the high iso and dynamic range for current sensors, you'll find the A7mk1 is still up there and I noticed DXOmark rates it a 90 and the A9 a 92. I still use an RX1r which is slightly older tech but I think a similar sensor and while it's a decade old now it's still a fantastic little camera that gives me superb high iso and dynamic range for its size. I was at a wedding last year and as there was no photographer after the meal, my friend had asked people to take photos and send them after. As usual the lighting was extremely difficult to get photos with as it was very dark with bright flashing multi-coloured lights. I'd taken the RX1r as it's perfect for such situations but it was going up against the best in mobile phones which were a decade newer, the end result was the RX1r had a number of photos printed in the official wedding album and there were none from any mobile phone cameras as my friend said all the ones they were sent were unusable.

Of course if I'm wanting a fast tracked shot of my dog or similar then the RX1r is no match for the A9 or similar but for the type of shot you've mentioned, I think the A7 is still a great camera.
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I think most would find my lenses hopelessly limiting :D and maybe the A7 too in some situations such as focus tracking and shots per second etc.

Although the A7's image quality is the best I've ever had from a camera I am conscious that when I had the 5D I thought I'd never want a better camera so I may be as shocked when I go from my A7 to whatever comes after it as I was when I went from that 5D to my A7 :D
 
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woof woof said:
I think most would find my lenses hopelessly limiting :D and maybe the A7 too in some situations such as focus tracking and shots per second etc.

Although the A7's image quality is the best I've ever had from a camera I am conscious that when I had the 5D I thought I'd never want a better camera so I may be as shocked when I go from mt A7 to whatever comes after it as I was when I went from that 5D to my A7 :D
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I don't think image quality has moved on much since the A7, noise handling is obviously better now and so is the colour science (subjective) but other than that it's more about other areas of camera performance.
 
woof woof said:
I think most would find my lenses hopelessly limiting :D and maybe the A7 too in some situations such as focus tracking and shots per second etc.

Although the A7's image quality is the best I've ever had from a camera I am conscious that when I had the 5D I thought I'd never want a better camera so I may be as shocked when I go from mt A7 to whatever comes after it as I was when I went from that 5D to my A7 :D
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I do often prefer to use the A7 for my tracked night sky images.
 
I have been shooting with Nikon since they produced their first DSLR. But for the last few years I have been using the 300/2.8 (with/without TCs) as my main telephoto set-up. The new Sony version has seriously made me consider switching over. It's remarkable that they can reduce the weight of their new lens by so much. I travel a fair bit and often cabin allowance is limited, not to mention the potential long hikes at destinations. So a combination of a smaller/lighter body with a super lightweight telephoto is very appealing indeed. Currently, my Z9 + 300 is over 4kg. The Sony A1 with the new lens will be about half that.
 
dragonfly said:
I have been shooting with Nikon since they produced their first DSLR. But for the last few years I have been using the 300/2.8 (with/without TCs) as my main telephoto set-up. The new Sony version has seriously made me consider switching over. It's remarkable that they can reduce the weight of their new lens by so much. I travel a fair bit and often cabin allowance is limited, not to mention the potential long hikes at destinations. So a combination of a smaller/lighter body with a super lightweight telephoto is very appealing indeed. Currently, my Z9 + 300 is over 4kg. The Sony A1 with the new lens will be about half that.
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hey, I remember asking you what lens you were using just recently because I was intrigued if you felt 300mm was long enough....
I have a very similar problem to you and was considering the Nikon Z 400mm f4.5 for this reason.
Now that Sony has been released, I am in two minds.... because Sony bodies are smaller and I already a great bunch lens on Sony that smaller or unavailable on Nikon.
Also the Sony 300mm f2.8 going by initial reviews and MFT chart seems like one of the sharpest tele primes too. That might actually work quite nicely with 2x TC.

at the moment my large telephoto gets left at home and I either make do with a lot of cropping or APS-C telephoto lenses in crop mode or both!
 
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One from today, A7 and Pergear 35mm f1.4.

Monsters from the deep.

1-DSC03747.jpg

Did I say one? I don't often try and photograph birds but I was stood on a bridge and had prefocussed and was just waiting for some decent light before I pressed the button and these two curious critters came to see what I was up to.

1-DSC03741-C.jpg

1-DSC03744-C.jpg

I also nearly fell over a squirrel. He came begging but I didn't have anything. He wasn't put off and ran after me, overtook me and then stopped and begged in front of me. I'll have to take some nuts next time.
 
nandbytes said:
hey, I remember asking you what lens you were using just recently because I was intrigued if you felt 300mm was long enough....
I have a very similar problem to you and was considering the Nikon Z 400mm f4.5 for this reason.
Now that Sony has been released, I am in two minds.... because Sony bodies are smaller and I already a great bunch lens on Sony that smaller or unavailable on Nikon.
Also the Sony 300mm f2.8 going by initial reviews and MFT chart seems like one of the sharpest tele primes too. That might actually work quite nicely with 2x TC.

at the moment my large telephoto gets left at home and I either make do with a lot of cropping or APS-C telephoto lenses in crop mode or both!
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Alex phan on on Fb. has been posting some images of the 300f 2.8 with the 2x converter
 
Philip Reeve has a 2023 year in review piece...

phillipreeve.net

2023 - Year in Review - phillipreeve.net

Let's have a look together what happened in the world of photography and lenses as well as on the blog itself in 2023
phillipreeve.net phillipreeve.net

I like the lens reviews on this site as the pictures are usually very good and they seem to take a more balanced and real world view, maybe.

I think I've probably bought three lenses based on reviews on here, TTA 50mm f2, Pergear 35mm f1.4 and Syoptic 50mm f1.1.
 
I have spent a lot of hours on the Phillip Reeve site, lots of good reviews and photography articles. bought my Zeiss Loxia 21mm and Sigma 35mm F2 after reading their reviews of those lenses

I need to make more use of the Loxia. MF and all metal body and nice and sharp and an enjoyable lens to use
 
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