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

Brazo said:
I feel thats a little unfair Sony continue to innovate in this area and have no fewer than 4 Full frame options in this market segment. If anyone its Canikon that have missed the boat. As of today canikon have 'zero' 'useful' prescence in the mirrorless market. Bit like Sony in the DSLR market!

Back on topic I agree with woof woof above. High iso of todays ff sensors is perfectly acceptable for even the most demanding of situations. Whilst the A7s is 'better' at high iso than other cameras it doesnt mean other cameras are poor.
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Exactly, high ISO is acceptable and so is the A7s MP count, but if a shooter wants the best low light they have to sacrifice pixels, if they want more pixels theres going to be a ISO sacrifice. The other thing is its not just stupid ISOs where the A7s shows less noise its also lower ISO. I need/want cleaner ISO at all stops (and the A7s other features) more than pixels, others vice versa, were spoilt for choice with 12, 24 and 36.
 
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Brazo said:
Back on topic I agree with woof woof above. High iso of todays ff sensors is perfectly acceptable for even the most demanding of situations. Whilst the A7s is 'better' at high iso than other cameras it doesnt mean other cameras are poor.
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I think also that some people don't try hard enough. I don't mean heroic measures and mega professional Photoshop skills :D I just mean relatively sensible and normal things to get the best result you can.

Maybe times we see people claiming that what appear to be capable cameras are useless above ISO 800 and you can see night and day differences between this and that camera on screen at web sizes (?!?!) and I think... what are you doing????

I only take simple measures. ETTR may not be necessary with some cameras today but I persist, I also try not to boost the shadows too much but even so some images can take a huge amount of abuse before being ruined, other than that I have barely adequate Photoshop skills but I don't think that my ISO 800+ shots are all that bad, maybe I just have low standards :D
 
twist said:
No, Im saying they should have realistic expectations and compromise.
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Im not sure on the price and I'm just guessing but I dont think "realistic expectations and compromise" would be at the front of someone's mind when considering a 2.5k - 3k or more? purchase of an A9 (or whatever Sonys flagship will be). It may be acceptable for you to think that of the current line up.
 
rodd1000 said:
Im not sure on the price and I'm just guessing but I dont think "realistic expectations and compromise" would be at the front of someone's mind when considering a 2.5k - 3k or more? purchase of an A9 (or whatever Sonys flagship will be). It may be acceptable for you to think that of the current line up.
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Well then they live in a dreamworld because nothing is perfect no matter how much they pay for it.
 
A few higher ISO shots that are better than I could have got in my 35mm days :D

My GF, ISO 4,000.



ISO 4,000? pah! That's for sissies! "Take my picture with these xmas trees" she said, that'll be ISO 8,000 then...



And one from my Panasonic GX7, under the pier at Saltburn the beams caught my eye, ISO 25,600...



How did I get on this rant? Forgive me... Carry on... :D
 
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rodd1000 said:
Ok so what happens to the pro videographer that shoots stills, Are you saying they should buy two cameras? that might fine for some but I think given the choice they'd rather buy one. Anyway I'm just speculating, I look forward to new tech. I hope the next a?/.. does squish the a7s because you'll all be wanting to upgrade to it lol :D
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In some ways I'd prefer to just have one camera, but I actually make use of 6 different cameras, each of which have different strengths and weaknesses and pick the best tool for the job. There are of course people who can't afford the risk of a camera failing, and will have a couple on hand. And even apart from that, for some jobs photographers will carry two cameras with different lenses attached to save time and be prepared.
 
woof woof said:
A few higher ISO shots that are better than I could have got in my 35mm days :D

My GF, ISO 4,000.



ISO 4,000? pah! That's for sissies! "Take my picture with these xmas trees" she said, that'll be ISO 8,000 then...



And one from my Panasonic GX7, under the pier at Saltburn the beams caught my eye, ISO 25,600...



How did I get on this rant? Forgive me... Carry on... :D
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The noise in those images makes my eyes bleed. :D
 
twist said:
The noise in those images makes my eyes bleed. :D
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Maybe if I printed them 6ft wide and viewed them with a magnifying glass but I accepted long ago that I don't need 6ft exhibition quality prints.

I take something between 0 and 200 pictures a week... I print maybe on average one picture per week and I haven't done a real world A3 print for over a year. Mostly these days my pictures are viewed on screen and shared electronically at 2000 pixels wide. Now and again someone asks for a print but mostly they just print the shared pictures and no one complains, quite the contrary.

My point... I think that maybe sometimes we expect too much and have unrealistic expectations. A passing nod at reality tells me that just about any camera is good enough for me and the main things now for me are packaging, use and features rather than worrying about maximum achievable image quality.

PS. I was comparing my GX7 shots to my 5D shots recently and I think that at ISO 3200 which is as high as the 5D would go it's actually a very close call and at least the GX7 goes to a perfectly usable 25,600 and I'd never have pushed my 5D shots that far.
 
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We were probably expecting it already, but now it's official: 2014 is the first year Sony took the No. 1 spot in BCN's MILC rankings in Japan [Google Translate]. This is how significant the A7 effect has been:
  1. Sony - 34.3%
  2. Olympus - 22.3%
  3. Panasonic - 11.9%
What is most impressive aside from coming against MFT's two-year headstart is that Olympus and Panasonic's combined total of 34.2% no more than Sony's market share alone.

:D
 
Bildschirmfoto-2015-02-19-um-16.41.22.png
 
I wonder what share of that percentage is people switching from dslr.
 
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Rizvan said:
We were probably expecting it already, but now it's official: 2014 is the first year Sony took the No. 1 spot in BCN's MILC rankings in Japan [Google Translate]. This is how significant the A7 effect has been:
  1. Sony - 34.3%
  2. Olympus - 22.3%
  3. Panasonic - 11.9%
What is most impressive aside from coming against MFT's two-year headstart is that Olympus and Panasonic's combined total of 34.2% no more than Sony's market share alone.

:D
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As a Panny user I'm sorry to see that they seem to be lagging Oly so much. There seems to be much more of a buzz on the net Oly wise with Panny hardly getting a mention except with the video crowd.
 
I do feel Nikon and Canon are going to really struggle if they do not act accordingly to the mirrorless trend/future. :eek: :D

Also don't Sony actually own Olympus now? :)
 
Rizvan said:
I do feel Nikon and Canon are going to really struggle if they do not act accordingly to the mirrorless trend/future. :eek: :D
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I'm not so sure. They seem to have a very loyal following and their kit is in the local shops to be bought (Currys etc.) As has been said on this forum more than once, Canon could polish a doggy do-do and people would buy it. If / when the big two decide to get serious about mirrorless I think that Sony, Fuji and Oly will have serious competition if not in ultimate ability then very probably in sales.
 
Rizvan said:
We were probably expecting it already, but now it's official: 2014 is the first year Sony took the No. 1 spot in BCN's MILC rankings in Japan [Google Translate]. This is how significant the A7 effect has been:
  1. Sony - 34.3%
  2. Olympus - 22.3%
  3. Panasonic - 11.9%
What is most impressive aside from coming against MFT's two-year headstart is that Olympus and Panasonic's combined total of 34.2% no more than Sony's market share alone.

:D
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rodd1000 said:
Which tells us that people want a more compact ff solution. I wonder what share of that percentage is people switching from dslr.
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Are these figures including the A6000, A5000, A5100 etc............... Is there a breakdown of what the Sony sales are? Otherwise these figures could mean 99.9% A6000 sales and 0.1% A7 sales, unlikely I know, but would be interested if there is a breakdown. As the old saying goes, figures can be manipulated to what ever you want.
 
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I'm sure I've read more than once that A7 series sales have waaaaaay exceeded Sony's most hopeful estimates. Searching on the Sony rumour site may give more info.

That doesn't help with the numbers though...
 
woof woof said:
I'm sure I've read more than once that A7 series sales have waaaaaay exceeded Sony's most hopeful estimates. Searching on the Sony rumour site may give more info.

That doesn't help with the numbers though...
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Ive seen the same thing. Hence them slowing down A mount.
 
rodd1000 said:
Ok so what happens to the pro videographer that shoots stills, Are you saying they should buy two cameras? that might fine for some but I think given the choice they'd rather buy one. Anyway I'm just speculating, I look forward to new tech. I hope the next a?/.. does squish the a7s because you'll all be wanting to upgrade to it lol :D
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I suspect that the 'pro' videographer has more than two cameras and a hell of a lot of other specialised gear. It's the amateur that wants the one camera solution. I'm just dipping my toe into video with the A7 and on a local video training course. It's a whole new scene and quite fascinating seeing what is needed in the video word when you move beyond family memory clips and dreadful youtube posts.
 
Cap'n Bill said:
I suspect that the 'pro' videographer has more than two cameras and a hell of a lot of other specialised gear. It's the amateur that wants the one camera solution. I'm just dipping my toe into video with the A7 and on a local video training course. It's a whole new scene and quite fascinating seeing what is needed in the video word when you move beyond family memory clips and dreadful youtube posts.
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That will depend on how much of each you do. If it's 50/50 stills vs video then an all-in-one would be better. Even buying a second for backup will still only give you two cameras to finance as well as give you the freedom to interchange lenses. As opposed to different cameras for each purpose then have to buy back ups of those too plus the expense of different lenses on top that.
 
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Do you feel he's getting a little like KR, everything is the greatest as in the case of the EM1.?
 
:D

Maybe he's just enthusiastic and high on life?

So far I don't think he's been quite as OTT as Mr Rockwell but maybe he's morphing... time will tell :D
 
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/rccdroidpro-provides-real-liveview-for-a7s-a7ii-and-a77ii/

The new RCCdroid version has been announced an it adds liveview for the A7S, A7II and A77II. You can download it here:
RCCDroidPro in Google Play Store
RCCDroid in Google Play Store
Other features are:
  • Preview of taken pictures on an Android Display (Semi-Lifeview)
  • Change of Cameraparameter
  • Wireless shutter release over Bluetooth
  • Shutter release via sound monitor
  • Focus Trap
  • New: Phototrap (Cameratrap) via Motion detection
  • Long Term exposures without touching the camera
  • HDR without touching the camera
  • Timelapse
  • New: HDR Timelapse
  • Extended HDR up to 13 shots +-4EV
  • Bulb intervalometer (Startrail and HDR Options)
  • Start of Video
  • Write GPS-Data to JPG pictures (EXIF)
  • Selfporträts with correct focus
Official website here: rccdroidpro-en.glensk.com
 
manualfocus-g said:
Maybe it's me, but I think that might just be the first time he's ever been negative about anything (Fuji) :D I disagree with him as well, but he seems too nice to argue with lol :D
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He didn't like the Panny LX100.

Fuji are IMVHO just so close to offering an almost irresistible package for enthusiasts. I know many would say that they're already irresistible :D but for me it's a case of very very nearly.
 
woof woof said:
He didn't like the Panny LX100.

Fuji are IMVHO just so close to offering an almost irresistible package for enthusiasts. I know many would say that they're already irresistible :D but for me it's a case of very very nearly.
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So what do they lack that the A7 offered you?
I considered the Fuji X-T1 but the price of the A7 was too appealing vs the X-T1 :)
 
Rizvan said:
So what do they lack that the A7 offered you?
I considered the Fuji X-T1 but the price of the A7 was too appealing vs the X-T1 :)
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Well... I went for the A7 for two main reasons... firstly as my luxury best possible system :D and secondly to use old manual lenses on and I personally don't feel that the X-T1 (from what I've seen on line) is a match for the ultimate image quality the A7 can offer. Not that I'm capable of getting ultimate image quality :( but you may still see my point, if looking for an absolutely top notch body I think that a good FF camera just about tips it if only in the mind of the user. The old lenses thing is simple, on the A7 you get to use them at their intended FoV.

To be honest a couple of other things put me off the Fuji's, the possibility that I might have to switch processing packages to feel that I was getting the best out of them, the persistent whispers of focus issues which may or may not be real world issues and the odd question mark over the quality of the kit but I do accept that this may also be internet panic rather than a real world genuine worry. One last concern is the size of the overall package as the body and lens combination IMVHO is significantly larger than MFT and indeed a X-T1+prime is possibly going to be a bigger package than an A7+prime. The Fuji lenses seem to be very good but as with Sony lens goodness can come with added bulk. I've only been able to compare Fuji to MFT once in a shopping centre in Thailand but I think that holding the kit clarifies things in the mind and to me the Fuji is a bit on the largish size for a more discrete every day camera.

I think that for me personally FF is a little close to the edge of what I regard as ideal for hand held shooting (I'm often fighting for DoF) and I think that MFT/APS-C is a better fit for me but at the moment I still want to run the two systems and whilst the A7 seems to fulfil my "luxury and quality kit" role MFT or maybe a Sony A6000 seems a better fit for more discrete everyday stuff than the Fuji.

If I tire of old lenses and decide that I want to have just one camera and a few primes then APS-C could be a good fit as it should offer a tad more potential image quality over MFT without upping the bulk too much but I think I'd lean more towards Sony for the smaller overall package and no worries over processing packages.

I can see why people like the Fuji's and particularly the X-T1 with its manual controls does look lovely but for me it's a close miss.
 
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The old a7 and xt1 are about the same size. A7ii is a little chunkier but it's six and two threes. A7ii build quality equals the Xt1 but I wouldn't say that about the first A7. When it comes to iq theres no contest. A7 mops the floor with x trans. if fuji could produce files even as good as a6000 I would have kept mine. But they're not, imo they are a good way behind.
 
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