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

So I finally got some free time to go out with the camera when were were off in Mid Wales over Easter (while my daughter volunteered on a farm to help with lambing, as she wants to train as a Vet, and to get on the course you need to have relevant work experience).
Looking for places to visit in the vicinity, I found Gigrin farm (https://gigrin.co.uk/), which does daily Red Kite feeding.

I have to say, if you are interested in seeing Red Kites, it's absolutely amazing - huge numbers of them, and they are there for well over an hour, so lots of opportunities for shots.
They have a few general hides (£10 admission), but I opted for the cheapest of the photographic hides, the Gateway Hide (£28) - which can have up to 3 in it, but I was the only one the time I was there (there would be plenty of space even with 3 people with tripods). If the weather was good, I'd suggest the Tower or Big Tower might be even better, as the half-roof would mean you could track birds further as they flew from the field over the hide.

Basically, at 3pm a tractor pulled into the field, stopped at the edge, and one of the people from the farm grabbed his shovel and threw a few shovel loads of diced beef out over the field (he repeated this several times over about an hour, changing positions as he went).

Then the fun began, as the Kites descended.


RedKites-1 by Jonathan, on Flickr


RedKites-3 by Jonathan, on Flickr

This is a rare leucistic Red Kite

RedKites-5 by Jonathan, on Flickr

Flying off with his prize of some beef

RedKites-7 by Jonathan, on Flickr


RedKites-6 by Jonathan, on Flickr
 
Faldrax said:
So I finally got some free time to go out with the camera when were were off in Mid Wales over Easter (while my daughter volunteered on a farm to help with lambing, as she wants to train as a Vet, and to get on the course you need to have relevant work experience).
Looking for places to visit in the vicinity, I found Gigrin farm (https://gigrin.co.uk/), which does daily Red Kite feeding.

I have to say, if you are interested in seeing Red Kites, it's absolutely amazing - huge numbers of them, and they are there for well over an hour, so lots of opportunities for shots.
They have a few general hides (£10 admission), but I opted for the cheapest of the photographic hides, the Gateway Hide (£28) - which can have up to 3 in it, but I was the only one the time I was there (there would be plenty of space even with 3 people with tripods). If the weather was good, I'd suggest the Tower or Big Tower might be even better, as the half-roof would mean you could track birds further as they flew from the field over the hide.

Basically, at 3pm a tractor pulled into the field, stopped at the edge, and one of the people from the farm grabbed his shovel and threw a few shovel loads of diced beef out over the field (he repeated this several times over about an hour, changing positions as he went).

Then the fun began, as the Kites descended.


RedKites-1 by Jonathan, on Flickr


RedKites-3 by Jonathan, on Flickr

This is a rare leucistic Red Kite

RedKites-5 by Jonathan, on Flickr

Flying off with his prize of some beef

RedKites-7 by Jonathan, on Flickr


RedKites-6 by Jonathan, on Flickr
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I think that is an excellent advert for eye AF or your skill is uncanny. Either way great shots!
 
MrMackyB said:
I think that is an excellent advert for eye AF or your skill is uncanny. Either way great shots!
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Thanks, I'd like to claim uncanny skill, but I think I have to hand it to the Bird eye a/f and tracking AF with the A7iv and 200-600 which did a great job :).
It was a learning curve figuring out what settings to use for AF, and also figuring that I needed to be closer to 200 than 600, as zoomed it they were just too fast for me to keep them in frame!
The little white speckles in the last two shots are rain, btw.
 
robj20 said:
The Zeiss 24-70 f4, I didn't realise there was more anymore.
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Yeah there’s the GM’s ;)

The reason I asked was because you were surprised by the size of the 20-70mm which made me think you had one of the GM’s as it’s bigger and heavier than the Zeiss, but not by much.
 
Looking at the A1 update I noticed it mention that you can combine IBIS with lens OS on specific lenses (doesn’t mention what the combined IS is), however when I look at the support page it only talks about shooting movies. Does anyone know if it’s for stills as well?

Image Stabilization with Body–Lens Coordinated Control - Function compatibility information

Image Stabilization with Body–Lens Coordinated Control - Function compatibility information
support.d-imaging.sony.co.jp support.d-imaging.sony.co.jp
 
Sony is getting sloppy, not one single FW update for the RX100VA since it was released, why am I not surprised ;)
 
MrMackyB said:
Sony is getting sloppy, not one single FW update for the RX100VA since it was released, why am I not surprised ;)
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I know you’re joking but I find it odd that people expect updates. Sure bug fixes but anything else is a bonus and not to be expected imo. I mean it’s not as though you buy a car and expect them to fit a bigger engine after a year of ownership. Ok bad example but you get my point ;)
 
snerkler said:
I know you’re joking but I find it odd that people expect updates. Sure bug fixes but anything else is a bonus and not to be expected imo. I mean it’s not as though you buy a car and expect them to fit a bigger engine after a year of ownership. Ok bad example but you get my point ;)
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When your have multiple thousands worth camera body I don't think it's unreasonable to expect some amount of goodwill from the manufacturer by providing software updates instead of forcing people to buy new bodies for a newer firmware.
For example someone shooting video might really appreciate having breathing correction on their A1, but so far they'd have had to buy another body or wait for A1ii for sake of one feature that's purely software.
 
nandbytes said:
When your have multiple thousands worth camera body I don't think it's unreasonable to expect some amount of goodwill from the manufacturer by providing software updates instead of forcing people to buy new bodies for a newer firmware.
For example someone shooting video might really appreciate having breathing correction on their A1, but so far they'd have had to buy another body or wait for A1ii for sake of one feature that's purely software.
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I think you buy as seen so to speak, I don’t expect any other electronic equipment I buy to get upgrades, whether it be a TV, phone, games console etc.

Yes it happens, such as OS updates for computers and phones, and also cameras, and I think this is great, but I don’t think it’s right/fair for a company to get a slating if they don’t. YMMV (y)
 
snerkler said:
I think you buy as seen so to speak, I don’t expect any other electronic equipment I buy to get upgrades, whether it be a TV, phone, games console etc.

Yes it happens, such as OS updates for computers and phones, and also cameras, and I think this is great, but I don’t think it’s right/fair for a company to get a slating if they don’t. YMMV (y)
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Absolutely raging here.

VooPoo haven’t updated the software on my ecig in 2 years and it’s the top end model.

:mad:

Gonna write a strongly worded letter to Nilfisk as well, still waiting on a firmware update for my power washer.

Don’t even start me on Bosch 5 years and still no firmware update for our washing machine and tumble dryer. Absolutely bouncing. :mad:
 
f/2.8 said:
Absolutely raging here.

VooPoo haven’t updated the software on my ecig in 2 years and it’s the top end model.

:mad:

Gonna write a strongly worded letter to Nilfisk as well, still waiting on a firmware update for my power washer.

Don’t even start me on Bosch 5 years and still no firmware update for our washing machine and tumble dryer. Absolutely bouncing. :mad:
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As a vaper I get your rage, but if you had bought it 28 months ago, you would have been impressed with their support
 
snerkler said:
Yeah there’s the GM’s ;)

The reason I asked was because you were surprised by the size of the 20-70mm which made me think you had one of the GM’s as it’s bigger and heavier than the Zeiss, but not by much.
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They're not f4 though are they. I'm surprised in only a few years they've managed to have a lens with that extra 20-23 and perform better at about the same size.
 
robj20 said:
They're not f4 though are they. I'm surprised in only a few years they've managed to have a lens with that extra 20-23 and perform better at about the same size.
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No, but that wasn't specified :p

Yes it's impressive, I think the quality of Sony lenses is top notch these days, but I'd argue that they should be given the price.
 
Redspider said:
I would just like to give a thumbs up to Panamoz. I ordered my Sony A7CR last Sunday 14th Jan. They answered all my queries quickly. I was sent a trackin number by return, and I tracked the parcel with interest. There was three places in Honk Kong, then Belgium Airport, then Paris airport, then Stanstead airport and on to a depot nearby. The delivery date was given as Friday morning, and up until Thursday night at 23.30 it remained the same. Then Friday morning Fed-Ex altered the delivery to Monday. Had I known that from the start I would not have minded. I tried to contact Fed-Ex but it is impossible to contact them, in spite of their claims. Anyhow long story short, I complained to Panamoz who contacted Fed-Ex. But it seems Fed-Ex had no idea where my parcel was. So I resigned myself to the Monday delivery. Then a Fed-Ex van stopped outside on Friday afternoon. The driver knew nothing about the confusion, he said the parcel was just one of many put on the van in the morning. During all this Pamoz kept me fully informed. They refunded me £30.00 because of the confusion. I never asked for it. I told them it arrived on Friday afternoon. Today a nice email from them reiterating their guarantee which is three years, & sorrow for the problems. If the camera goes wrong it will be repaired by Sony at Panamoz expense. They also said they would consider a different carrier. FedEx did a good job until the end when the British side let it down by changing delivery slot at last minute with no communication.
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I’m having the same issue. Been flagged as a Thursday delivery for my A7CR all week. So I changed the delivery of my 24-50 to coincide wit it, in addition to changing my working pattern so I’d be available at home for delivery, and just now it’s been switched to Friday delivery
 
Ghostface said:
I’m having the same issue. Been flagged as a Thursday delivery for my A7CR all week. So I changed the delivery of my 24-50 to coincide wit it, in addition to changing my working pattern so I’d be available at home for delivery, and just now it’s been switched to Friday delivery
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And just like that I get a text to say that FedEx have my item out for delivery today. *sigh*
 
A re-edit of an old photo from Donington
(This image looks particularly soft on here, not sure why as it's the same size as all the others)


A9_06115 Re-Edit by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr
 
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nandbytes said:
When your have multiple thousands worth camera body I don't think it's unreasonable to expect some amount of goodwill from the manufacturer by providing software updates instead of forcing people to buy new bodies for a newer firmware.
For example someone shooting video might really appreciate having breathing correction on their A1, but so far they'd have had to buy another body or wait for A1ii for sake of one feature that's purely software.
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We sell a camera for around £30k and don't update the software for any reason other than critical bugs. We won't even fix minor bugs unless the customer asks.
That's just how it works, manufacturers make products to make them money, not to please us.
 
robj20 said:
We sell a camera for around £30k and don't update the software for any reason other than critical bugs. We won't even fix minor bugs unless the customer asks.
That's just how it works, manufacturers make products to make them money, not to please us.
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I don't know what camera you make and who your customer base is.
But by Sony's own admission, it's quite clear Sony's ILC customer base is expecting firmware updates with some software only features backported where possible.
Manufacturers won't make any money with poor customer service or care. The money is generally made through lenses, most normal folks don't change bodies as often as people on this forum. So alienating them with poor after sales support isn't a great idea for making money.
 
nandbytes said:
I don't know what camera you make and who your customer base is.
But by Sony's own admission, it's quite clear Sony's ILC customer base is expecting firmware updates with some software only features backported where possible.
Manufacturers won't make any money with poor customer service or care. The money is generally made through lenses, most normal folks don't change bodies as often as people on this forum. So alienating them with poor after sales support isn't a great idea for making money.
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I think it's wrong that a company is accused of alienating it's customers for not providing something that wasn't even promised at the time of purchase :thinking:
 
nandbytes said:
Manufacturers won't make any money with poor customer service or care.
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In a shrinking market you'd think companies might think about improving customer satisfaction as long as it doesn't stop people buying new models and firmware updates could be a part of that.
 
snerkler said:
I think it's wrong that a company is accused of alienating it's customers for not providing something that wasn't even promised at the time of purchase :thinking:
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The people that are most excessively over the top in their concerns about firmware for the A1 seem to be the people that don’t own one which is hilarious tbh. Not directly talking about people here but just comments I have seen elsewhere.

The things they are complaining about are also funny. Seen breathing compensation mentioned above that’s a feature videographers tell me they don’t want as all it does is crop.
 
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woof woof said:
In a shrinking market you'd think companies might think about improving customer satisfaction as long as it doesn't stop people buying new models and firmware updates could be a part of that.
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It's nice to get updates, I just think it's wrong to expect them, unless they've been promised (y)
 
To be honest I think the proportion of people who prioritise firmware updates compared to the total ownership population will be quite low. Forums such as this will present a small fraction of the total number of units sold in the bigger picture. I'm not saying that our opinions won't matter to manufacturers, however we will be in the minority compared to their larger (somewhat successful) strategy for moving large sales volume.
 
woof woof said:
In a shrinking market you'd think companies might think about improving customer satisfaction as long as it doesn't stop people buying new models and firmware updates could be a part of that.
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The issue will be a combination of cost and practicality.
In my previous job I was doing a mix of desktop and embedded software - and the two are quite different in the constraints they place upon the developer.
I often see calls to add new features or implement things that are present on newer models, but that may simply not be possible. An embedded device may, for example, have 512kb memory - if the current firmware uses 500k of that, and the new menu system (for example) would require 30k more than the old system, then there just isn't the space for it.
Sony prioritise reduced size in their cameras - so may well not have the physical space on PCB's to design the cameras with large amounts of surplus flash memory to allow for significant future updates.
 
Faldrax said:
The issue will be a combination of cost and practicality.
In my previous job I was doing a mix of desktop and embedded software - and the two are quite different in the constraints they place upon the developer.
I often see calls to add new features or implement things that are present on newer models, but that may simply not be possible. An embedded device may, for example, have 512kb memory - if the current firmware uses 500k of that, and the new menu system (for example) would require 30k more than the old system, then there just isn't the space for it.
Sony prioritise reduced size in their cameras - so may well not have the physical space on PCB's to design the cameras with large amounts of surplus flash memory to allow for significant future updates.
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Hardware limitations aside the issue will be an issue if people buy product B instead of product A because product A is from a company perceived to be almost deploying a form of cripple hammer by not providing feature adding or improving firmware updates to older models. Of course your old kit isn't cripple hammered if new kit comes out with added features which could have been added via a firmware update but some people will still see it that way and be angry about it.

I think the comment above about peoples expectations and wants is valid. Most people don't buy cameras and those that do probably use one with a kit lens in Auto mode and not even know firmware exists. The number of people who expect firmware updates bringing new or improved features will therefore possibly be relatively small. On balance I'm for updates that can be done but from a manufactures pov I suppose they don't want too many people to be put off from buying the new model because their old model has gained some of the new features in a firmware update. Maybe some updates could be chargeable? In the longer term Sony may have to be more proactive if other companies are and sales begin to be hit.
 
woof woof said:
Hardware limitations aside the issue will be an issue if people buy product B instead of product A because product A is from a company perceived to be almost deploying a form of cripple hammer by not providing feature adding or improving firmware updates to older models. Of course your old kit isn't cripple hammered if new kit comes out with added features which could have been added via a firmware update but some people will still see it that way and be angry about it.

I think the comment above about peoples expectations and wants is valid. Most people don't buy cameras and those that do probably use one with a kit lens in Auto mode and not even know firmware exists. The number of people who expect firmware updates bringing new or improved features will therefore possibly be relatively small. On balance I'm for updates that can be done but from a manufactures pov I suppose they don't want too many people to be put off from buying the new model because their old model has gained some of the new features in a firmware update. Maybe some updates could be chargeable? In the longer term Sony may have to be more proactive if other companies are and sales begin to be hit.
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As you say, most won’t know about firmware updates etc and won’t even consider them when making a purchase. Canon have been accused by online users for years for “crippling“ their cameras but were always number one in the DSLR market.

However, there are of course more things to consider other than software/firmware. For example I wish that cameras still had sweep panoramic, and I wish that Sony would copy Olympus with their live composite and live ND, however I still bought Sony knowing that it’s highly unlikey these things will make their way onto Sony bodies, and I chose to ditch olympus despite having these things (except sweep panoramic)
 
snerkler said:
As you say, most won’t know about firmware updates etc and won’t even consider them when making a purchase. Canon have been accused by online users for years for “crippling“ their cameras but were always number one in the DSLR market.

However, there are of course more things to consider other than software/firmware. For example I wish that cameras still had sweep panoramic, and I wish that Sony would copy Olympus with their live composite and live ND, however I still bought Sony knowing that it’s highly unlikey these things will make their way onto Sony bodies, and I chose to ditch olympus despite having these things (except sweep panoramic)
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I wouldn't complain if a new firmware adding a new feature or enhancing an existing one was chargeable, depending on how much of course. Bug fixes though should be free.

Oh. Another thing,

The new Sony batteries I bought are a massive improvement over any third party one I've had. I can't remember what the original battery was like as that was 13 years ago or there abouts now but I'm very happy with the new ones.
 
LeeRatters said:
Blimey, even me & Alan aren't on XP anymore...... :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
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Nupe.

I am a bit of a technophobe these days but that's because of decades in computers and wider technology and I just got sick of the sight of it all.
 
Micro-four-thirds said:
Very nice shot, I like that a lot.
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Thank you James.

I'm often surprised by the detail modern cameras can record even when we can't see it by eye. I know that the human eye and brain is supposed to have more stops of DR than a camera but honestly I was struggling to look in that direction. The Voigtlander has handled the extreme conditions well too.
 
MrMackyB said:
Bloody hell, I didn't think my tongue in cheek comment about FW would kick off such a debate, apologies.

Nice photo Alan!
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Thank you Martin.

I do like the picture and also the technical aspects of how the camera and lens and I suppose the software too have enabled the picture to be made.

I think that some great strides have been made in software over the years. When I think back and indeed reprocess pictures taken years ago the move forward hits me. I think this is one good reason for shooting raw... so that we can revisit and reprocess pictures with ever better software.
 
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