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

[woof woof]

Havng the eyepiece on the left is only helpful if you're right-eye dominant.

Unfortunately, true.

It makes a lot of sense to me as well, keeps the nose away from the screen.

Yup there is that. I like them for two other reasons. Not having a vf hump makes the cameras easier to get in and out of bags as there's probably less to snag on and I think the vf in the corner cameras obscure the face less, if that matters, I think it does.

I suppose it comes down to sales figures and the hassle of offering different body styles. If there is any extra hassle.

 

[nandbytes]

Havng the eyepiece on the left is only helpful if you're right-eye dominant.

I have come across a couple of left-eye dominant folks who liked the rangefinder style placement of the VF.
Not sure if they were a minority but apparently it can work well them too.

 

[snerkler]

It makes a lot of sense to me as well, keeps the nose away from the screen.

As above, only if you're right eye dominant.

I have come across a couple of left-eye dominant folks who liked the rangefinder style placement of the VF.
Not sure if they were a minority but apparently it can work well them too.

I'm left eye dominant and it makes no difference to me, my nose squashes against the screen regardless of whether the VF is central or mounted to the left.

 

[ancient_mariner]

As above, only if you're right eye dominant.

I'm left eye dominant and it makes no difference to me, my nose quashes against the screen regardless of whether the VF is central or mounted to the left.

My situation too.

 

[woof woof]

I just started looking at this because I was using the GX9 and it's getting a bit old now as is my GX80 and GM5. I just thought I might treat myself to a new one but found Panasonic don't make anything like that any more, or if they do I didn't see it. Same happened when I looked at Fuji. I couldn't see anything new with a vf in the corner in stock apart from the X100 series.

I could always buy a Sony evf in the corner camera but I have the 100-400mm for MFT and although I only use it once in a blue moon something of that range for a Sony camera would be bigger, and expensive.

 

[woof woof]

Do you think he's right?

Maybe thinking the Chinese will take over the market next year is a bit premature but they are arguably moving along nicely.

 

[snerkler]

Do you think he's right?

Maybe thinking the Chinese will take over the market next year is a bit premature but they are arguably moving along nicely.

I didn't watch the full video but no I don't agree with him. People are loyal to brands, you've only got to look at a certain thread on this forum to realise this. I also think that if they change the fundamental design of the camera too much it will put people off.

 

[Faldrax]

Do you think he's right?

Maybe thinking the Chinese will take over the market next year is a bit premature but they are arguably moving along nicely.

I can see them becoming increasingly popular as 3rd party lens options - but launching a new camera brand to compete with Sony / Canon / Nikon is a huge undertaking - existing owners need a compelling reason to switch brands, and new owners need a compelling reason to chose them over the existing market leaders.
Remember the struggle Sony had with A-Mount, and that was with taking over an existing brand.
The only way I could see it happening is if they came in with a line of FF Global shutter cameras, and used the lack of mechanical shutter to reduce the flange distance - and provided the options of high quality adaptors for existing mounts - in effect creating a 'universal' camera, AND priced the whole thing significantly below the Sony / Canon / Nikon equivalents.

 

[wookie6262]

I would expect it to be a requirement to have the raw file available if you won.

Not everyone shoots in RAW

 

[snerkler]

Not everyone shoots in RAW

Probably meant original file

 

[woof woof]

I didn't watch the full video but no I don't agree with him. People are loyal to brands, you've only got to look at a certain thread on this forum to realise this. I also think that if they change the fundamental design of the camera too much it will put people off.

I can see them becoming increasingly popular as 3rd party lens options - but launching a new camera brand to compete with Sony / Canon / Nikon is a huge undertaking - existing owners need a compelling reason to switch brands, and new owners need a compelling reason to chose them over the existing market leaders.
Remember the struggle Sony had with A-Mount, and that was with taking over an existing brand.
The only way I could see it happening is if they came in with a line of FF Global shutter cameras, and used the lack of mechanical shutter to reduce the flange distance - and provided the options of high quality adaptors for existing mounts - in effect creating a 'universal' camera, AND priced the whole thing significantly below the Sony / Canon / Nikon equivalents.

I have three Chinese manual lenses (or at least I will have when the replacement Pergear arrives) and have been casually following developments. I can see them grabbing a larger share of the budget end of things and even being ahead in some niches but things may be trickier the further up the more mainstream (but still small) market they try to go.

Compared to the best of my film era lenses my manual Chinese lenses are behind in some areas, about level in some and actually ahead in other areas. On balance and overall I'd say they are better than the best film era lenses I have. For image quality if not for build quality. That might not say too much. None can match the overall mix of build quality and optical performance of the Sony mount Voigtlanders I have but the Chinese lenses are a fraction of the cost and really only lag behind in some specific areas such as resistance to flare whilst actually being more level or even slightly ahead in some other areas.

I think it'll be interesting to see what the Chinese makers come up with in coming years. I can imagine people in this thread buying Chinese at some point.

PS.
On brand loyalty. I can sort of see how it happens but I really and honestly do not care if my kit is made in Thailand by one Japanese company or in Vietnam by another Japanese company and I really wouldn't care if it was made in China by a Chinese company. We should all care about worker exploitation and conditions and environmental impact but other than that camera kit brands mean absolutely nothing to me as none of it is made in the UK so doesn't really help pay for the NHS and everything else. I always feel a little incredulity when I read the more fanboy stuff.

 

[snerkler]

I have three Chinese manual lenses (or at least I will have when the replacement Pergear arrives) and have been casually following developments. I can see them grabbing a larger share of the budget end of things and even being ahead in some niches but things may be trickier the further up the more mainstream (but still small) market they try to go.

Compared to the best of my film era lenses my manual Chinese lenses are behind in some areas, about level in some and actually ahead in other areas. On balance and overall I'd say they are better than the best film era lenses I have. For image quality if not for build quality. That might not say too much. None can match the overall mix of build quality and optical performance of the Sony mount Voigtlanders I have but the Chinese lenses are a fraction of the cost and really only lag behind in some specific areas such as resistance to flare whilst actually being more level or even slightly ahead in some other areas.

I think it'll be interesting to see what the Chinese makers come up with in coming years. I can imagine people in this thread buying Chinese at some point.

PS.
On brand loyalty. I can sort of see how it happens but I really and honestly do not care if my kit is made in Thailand by one Japanese company or in Vietnam by another Japanese company and I really wouldn't care if it was made in China by a Chinese company. We should all care about worker exploitation and conditions and environmental impact but other than that camera kit brands mean absolutely nothing to me as none of it is made in the UK so doesn't really help pay for the NHS and everything else. I always feel a little incredulity when I read the more fanboy stuff.

I don't care about brands either, I just get whatever is best for me at the time

 

[woof woof]

I don't care about brands either, I just get whatever is best for me at the time

Yup.

I went for a Nikon SLR because that was one of the options the guy in the shop offered and it had a much clearer vf than the other camera he showed me. When going digital the salesman pushed a Fuji bridge camera on me and buying it was a mistake. At that time everyone thought that Canon had the edge over Nikon so I switched from the Fuji to Canon and the 300D and I stayed with them through the 10D, 20D and 5D. When mirrorless came along there was the choice of Oly and Panasonic and I chose Panasonic and when the Sony A7 came out it was the only FF mirrorless option. So I bought one

I'd probably stick with Sony now not through any sense of loyalty but just because I have Sony mount lenses.

 

[snerkler]

Yup.

I went for a Nikon SLR because that was one of the options the guy in the shop offered and it had a much clearer vf than the other camera he showed me. When going digital the salesman pushed a Fuji bridge camera on me and buying it was a mistake. At that time everyone thought that Canon had the edge over Nikon so I switched from the Fuji to Canon and the 300D and I stayed with them through the 10D, 20D and 5D. When mirrorless came along there was the choice of Oly and Panasonic and I chose Panasonic and when the Sony A7 came out it was the only FF mirrorless option. So I bought one

I'd probably stick with Sony now not through any sense of loyalty but just because I have Sony mount lenses.

A big regret of mine is not taking up photography properly until the digital age. I started out with the Sony A77 as I liked the ergonomics and EVF, I bought the excellent 16-50mm f2.8 to go with it. I then upgraded to the A77-II.

After some time I had the desire to move to FF, predominantly for the shallow DOF and also noise handling. I was tempted by the A99 but A-mount didn’t seem to be going anywhere so changed to Nikon with the D750. I also invested in Olympus for travel for the weight saving

I stuck with Nikon for a while, even moving to Nikon mirrorless, however it soon became apparent that Nikon were somewhat behind. I wanted to invest into one system rather than having two, and after a lot of deliberating decided that a move back to Sony would be the best option. I can’t see me moving away from Sony now, although I do sometimes wish I’d got something lighter for travel.

 

[wookie6262]

First outing with my new to me 600mm GM. The lens is excellent all round and just like a stretched out 400mm. Focus speed is just as quick as the 400 and the bokeh probably even easier to achieve. I went in search of frame filling birds and a Short Eared Owl and ended up with something I could just as easily shot in the garden. Lots of practice tracking distant birds though and that will stand me in good stead if any get closer. Well worth the trip for some fresh air and my first sight of a Little Egret

 

[nandbytes]

First outing with my new to me 600mm GM. The lens is excellent all round and just like a stretched out 400mm. Focus speed is just as quick as the 400 and the bokeh probably even easier to achieve. I went in search of frame filling birds and a Short Eared Owl and ended up with something I could just as easily shot in the garden. Lots of practice tracking distant birds though and that will stand me in good stead if any get closer. Well worth the trip for some fresh air and my first sight of a Little Egret

Are you keeping both lenses or is your 400mm going up for sale?

 

[LongLensPhotography]

Havng the eyepiece on the left is only helpful if you're right-eye dominant.

I think this would be one of the last things I am concerned with when choosing a body. And yes, I am very right-dominant in everything.

It is much more important what is insider that EVF.

Or rather It is high time we got 5+ inch LCDs, maybe even 6-7in - a bit like Blackmagic new 6K camera. I think there is enough space, or more could be made available quite easily by stretching here or there. Then we can lose the EVF completely for all I care.

 

[LeeRatters]

Do you think he's right?

Maybe thinking the Chinese will take over the market next year is a bit premature but they are arguably moving along nicely.

If they could make a Fuji X100V equivalent..... But actually full frame and 35mm

I didn't watch the full video but no I don't agree with him. People are loyal to brands, you've only got to look at a certain thread on this forum to realise this. I also think that if they change the fundamental design of the camera too much it will put people off.

I think it's majority brand loyalty. But that also stems from buying into the brand & the costs involved to change. I guess some people feel 'trapped' or 'stuck' maybe.....?

My digital journey started out with Sony compacts, Fuji S9500 bridge, Canon 450D, Canon 5D2, Sony A7 & now A7Riii too.

 

[snerkler]

If they could make a Fuji X100V equivalent..... But actually full frame and 35mm



I think it's majority brand loyalty. But that also stems from buying into the brand & the costs involved to change. I guess some people feel 'trapped' or 'stuck' maybe.....?

My digital journey started out with Sony compacts, Fuji S9500 bridge, Canon 450D, Canon 5D2, Sony A7 & now A7Riii too.

I’m not too bothered that the Fuji X100’s aren’t FF, but f2 on APS-C just doesn’t cut it. It’s a bit slow on FF for me too in all honesty, at 35mm you’re not going to get much subject isolation.

 

[wookie6262]

Are you keeping both lenses or is your 400mm going up for sale?

Keeping both. The 600mm will be used mostly for fun but it will be handy for the odd Cricket assignment and for Murrayfield where you are 20 yards back from the try line. IT will only get sold if I change brands, unlikely now, or if they bring one out with an in build converter. Even then I suspect it would be a struggle to justify that. I'm going to spend the next couple of years completing the GM lens line up before I move to being a full time photographer after retiring.

I've been pretty lucky getting the 400 and 600 for a combined £16K and they included cases and Wimberley feet etc and were pretty much indistinguishable from new. I think the 600 was always going to be an itch I had to scratch. The big two are the hardest to find for decent money and I'm glad they are out the way.

 

[woof woof]

A big regret of mine is not taking up photography properly until the digital age. I started out with the Sony A77 as I liked the ergonomics and EVF, I bought the excellent 16-50mm f2.8 to go with it. I then upgraded to the A77-II.

After some time I had the desire to move to FF, predominantly for the shallow DOF and also noise handling. I was tempted by the A99 but A-mount didn’t seem to be going anywhere so changed to Nikon with the D750. I also invested in Olympus for travel for the weight saving

I stuck with Nikon for a while, even moving to Nikon mirrorless, however it soon became apparent that Nikon were somewhat behind. I wanted to invest into one system rather than having two, and after a lot of deliberating decided that a move back to Sony would be the best option. I can’t see me moving away from Sony now, although I do sometimes wish I’d got something lighter for travel.

I got my first camera when I was a boy, a Kodak Instamatic. I always took pictures but stuck with compact cameras until I was probably in my mid to late 20's, I can't really remember exactly when it was. I was on good money at the time and I used to buy a man toy once a month, hifi, watch, something like that and one day I thought I'd buy a camera so I went to the shop, asked what was better than a compact and came out with a 35mm Nikon slr. I kept that camera and lens a long time and only gave it away when I moved away from film.

One of my main reasons for going for FF has been to use lenses at their intended focal length and FoV. That might seem a bit daft

 

[woof woof]

If they could make a Fuji X100V equivalent..... But actually full frame and 35mm



I think it's majority brand loyalty. But that also stems from buying into the brand & the costs involved to change. I guess some people feel 'trapped' or 'stuck' maybe.....?

My digital journey started out with Sony compacts, Fuji S9500 bridge, Canon 450D, Canon 5D2, Sony A7 & now A7Riii too.

I assume that TTA camera is a mock up but if they do made a vf in the corner type camera they could be on to something as they seem to be a bit of a rarity right now.

I suppose I'm sort of trapped with Sony now because I have so many lenses it'd be a hassle to change systems but honestly I don't really see the point in changing brands. Not for me anyway. What I use the kit for isn't particularly taxing and just about any FF camera and 35mm lens would do so I don't see any advantage at all in switching to anything else as if it is actually better I probably wouldn't notice.

 

[woof woof]

I’m not too bothered that the Fuji X100’s aren’t FF, but f2 on APS-C just doesn’t cut it. It’s a bit slow on FF for me too in all honesty, at 35mm you’re not going to get much subject isolation.

I have a Fuji X100f and I keep thinking of selling it (or trying to) as I'm not using it but so far I haven't got around to it.

I've seen people post about APS-C image quality being ahead of MFT but with my X100f and Panasonic MFT cameras I just don't see that but I do see image quality advantages for my creaking old A7 over both my MFT and APS-C cameras.

 

[JohnMcL7]

I have a Fuji X100f and I keep thinking of selling it (or trying to) as I'm not using it but so far I haven't got around to it.

I've seen people post about APS-C image quality being ahead of MFT but with my X100f and Panasonic MFT cameras I just don't see that but I do see image quality advantages for my creaking old A7 over both my MFT and APS-C cameras.

I don't know if it's still the case but X100's were in high demand and selling well so I'd have a look at prices as it may be a good time to sell.

I didn't push dynamic range at the time but I did find there was more than a stop difference in high iso between the Panasonic 4/3 and m4/3 sensors up to the APS-C sensors in the E-mount cameras and then roughly another stop up to FF.

 

[snerkler]

I got my first camera when I was a boy, a Kodak Instamatic. I always took pictures but stuck with compact cameras until I was probably in my mid to late 20's, I can't really remember exactly when it was. I was on good money at the time and I used to buy a man toy once a month, hifi, watch, something like that and one day I thought I'd buy a camera so I went to the shop, asked what was better than a compact and came out with a 35mm Nikon slr. I kept that camera and lens a long time and only gave it away when I moved away from film.

One of my main reasons for going for FF has been to use lenses at their intended focal length and FoV. That might seem a bit daft

I’ve had cameras (35mm film) since I was little, but I was just a happy snapper. I wish I’d taken it up properly with a decent SLR and done my own developing.

I have a Fuji X100f and I keep thinking of selling it (or trying to) as I'm not using it but so far I haven't got around to it.

I've seen people post about APS-C image quality being ahead of MFT but with my X100f and Panasonic MFT cameras I just don't see that but I do see image quality advantages for my creaking old A7 over both my MFT and APS-C cameras.

I found very little to no difference between m4/3 and APS-C either except ISO over 3200 and a small difference in DOF.

 

[woof woof]

This looks nice and so do the pictures taken with it... It's in Sony mount too...

Yasuhara Anthy 35mm f1.8 Lens Review

Six years ago in May 2014, we published a review of the Nanoha 5X super macro lens made by the tiny Japanese manufacturer Yasuhara. Today we are publishing our second

lensvid.com

I'm put off by reports of purple vignetting so I don't think I'll take the chance but if my new Pergear is as way off as the last one I could still be on the look out for a manual Sony mount 35mm, or I could just use the Voigtlander 35mm f2.5 color skopar I bought and have hardly used. It does seem very good even on my Sony A7.

 

[woof woof]

I’ve had cameras (35mm film) since I was little, but I was just a happy snapper. I wish I’d taken it up properly with a decent SLR and done my own developing.

I found very little to no difference between m4/3 and APS-C either except ISO over 3200 and a small difference in DOF.

According to the review site I looked at the Panasonic G100 has the same DR as the X100f and the GX9 and GX80 are only about half a stop behind, so, no great shakes maybe but I don't know how good the X100f DR is against other APS-C cameras. I do see clear water between all my MFT and APS-C cameras and my A7 though.

DR isn't everything but it does seem to matter to me in low sun in the sky here where the A7 seems to cope visibly better than the other cameras I have.

 

[snerkler]

I'm put off by reports of purple vignetting

Purple vignetting, that sounds weird I'm amazed how much I didn't notice in the past, I've been going through some old photos taken with the Nikon 50mm f1.8 AF-S and the purple fringing is horrendous, how did I never see it before

 

[woof woof]

Purple vignetting, that sounds weird I'm amazed how much I didn't notice in the past, I've been going through some old photos taken with the Nikon 50mm f1.8 AF-S and the purple fringing is horrendous, how did I never see it before

Tinted vignetting is a thing with some lenses.

With that 35mm I've seen some pictures which look bad and although this may be limited to Canon cameras I don't think I'm interested in doing more research or in trying to correct it if it does show up on my Sony.

Purple fringing is another thing. I have lenses that can do it but it's usually in specific situations such as back lit scenes or areas of strong light and contrast. My Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 is supposed to be bad for it and I have seen some terrible example pictures but I don't think it's ever been an issue for me in real world pictures.

 

[snerkler]

Tinted vignetting is a thing with some lenses.

With that 35mm I've seen some pictures which look bad and although this may be limited to Canon cameras I don't think I'm interested in doing more research or in trying to correct it if it does show up on my Sony.

Purple fringing is another thing. I have lenses that can do it but it's usually in specific situations such as back lit scenes or areas of strong light and contrast. My Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 is supposed to be bad for it and I have seen some terrible example pictures but I don't think it's ever been an issue for me in real world pictures.

On the first one there's green and purple fringing, on the second bad purple fringing. I've added crops, not that you need them
Edit: Doesn't look as bad on here, but can still be seen.

 

[woof woof]

Yup. That sort of picture can be expected to show it.

 

[ancient_mariner]

Possibly the worst I've seen is from my Sony/Minolta 50 f1.4, although the Zeiss FE 55 f1.8 wasn't far off. Automatically fixed on import to Lightroom though.

 

[snerkler]

I bet these won’t be cheap

Nextorage announced the world’s fastest CFexpress Type A card for Sony: 950 MB/s! – sonyalpharumors

www.sonyalpharumors.com

 

[woof woof]

Manny switches from one Sony to another.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAQPhMjbC_k

 

[woof woof]

Another Manny vid.

Trying out a Leica.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE4ypfJX5KM


I think it is a bit surprising that there isn't a really nice Sony 28mm. There's the f2, and I have one, but it does come in for some criticism and some would like a better one.

 

[nandbytes]

I think it is a bit surprising that there isn't a really nice Sony 28mm. There's the f2, and I have one, but it does come in for some criticism and some would like a better one.

28mm are easier to design too than 24mm. Just doesn't seem as popular a focal length as 24mm or 35mm.
For me I'd prefer to have 24mm and crop in a wee bit. But I understand some people might want a 28mm instead of 24mm and 35mm.

 

[woof woof]

28mm are easier to design too than 24mm. Just doesn't seem as popular a focal length as 24mm or 35mm.
For me I'd prefer to have 24mm and crop in a wee bit. But I understand some people might want a 28mm instead of 24mm and 35mm.

I do on balance mostly prefer 35mm but the extra width at the same taking distance 28mm gives and also the additional chance for perspective change can make 28mm attractive. I have the f2 and several film era 28's but my most used is probably the Panasonic 14mm f2,5 on MFT as it just seems a good fit and the combination is tiny. In reality the Sony f2 is good enough for me but I am surprised there isn't a higher end Sony option or even a Voigtlander given the historical popularity of 28mm.

 

[nandbytes]

I do on balance mostly prefer 35mm but the extra width at the same taking distance 28mm gives and also the additional chance for perspective change can make 28mm attractive. I have the f2 and several film era 28's but my most used is probably the Panasonic 14mm f2,5 on MFT as it just seems a good fit and the combination is tiny. In reality the Sony f2 is good enough for me but I am surprised there isn't a higher end Sony option or even a Voigtlander given the historical popularity of 28mm.

Perhaps we need this in e-mount

Cosina Nokton Vintage 28mm f/1.5 VM Has Old-School Style, Modern Optics

Compact, lightweight, and very stylish.

petapixel.com

 

[snerkler]

Manny switches from one Sony to another.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAQPhMjbC_k

I've never understood these videos, or the ones such as this is what I have in my camera bag, I really don't give a monkey's what someone else is using, particularly someone I don't even know. But then I'm not of the generation that follow celebs, or youtubers etc

 

[NewBeetle]

If anyone is selling an original A9 or has one sitting around that they may consider letting go please give me a shout (and post in the appropriate 'for sale' section in line with the rules).