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

kimaldis said:
That one you won't regret, you have my word.
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Thanks, didn't think 55mm was a focal length I'd really use, but as a day to day lens think it will serve me well (have set my 28-70 at 55mm to get an idea), obviously hoping the step up in quality is as amazing as I read :)
 
Moreorless said:
DxO is the easiest one to get a direct comparison, both on the a900...

http://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Compa...l-IF-Sony-on-Sony-Alpha-900___224_371_957_371

The Zeiss generally a little sharper in most situations, quite a lot sharper at the boarders when shooting wider open at 24/28mm and in the centre when shooting at 70/75mm.

I'v not owned either but I'v always heard just the reverse, the Tamron 28-75mm worked very well on ASPC if you want the more tele range where as the Zeiss comes into its own more on FF.

The main issue to me with the Zeiss seems to be value, £1500 new when you can get the newer Tamron 24-70mm for half that.
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I have to be honest I am dxomark man! But those numbers don't correspond to the above comparison or peoples experiences with the two, I read a lot at dpreview and dyxum and the zeiss doesn't get the best press.

That said I just checked photozone and compared the zeiss to the sony 28-75 (identical to the Tamron) and again the zeiss wins on figures! I'll rest your case!
 
Brazo said:
I have to be honest I am dxomark man! But those numbers don't correspond to the above comparison or peoples experiences with the two, I read a lot at dpreview and dyxum and the zeiss doesn't get the best press.

That said I just checked photozone and compared the zeiss to the sony 28-75 (identical to the Tamron) and again the zeiss wins on figures! I'll rest your case!
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My guess is that it comes down to value and size/weight(a potential mark in favour of it on the A7 I spose), the Tamron being the cheaper/smaller lens likely has a lot less expectation behind it.

Is it just me or are Zeiss actually not that great a matchup for Sony's mirrorless systems? I'm no expert but looking at most of their lenses it seems to me that they tend to produce designs larger/heavier than their rivals.
 
woof woof said:
It's not so much that we shoot in different ways... it's that I have no idea how you can focus more accurately at f1.4 with a DSLR no matter what it's fitted with than you can with a magnified EVF :D

I've used RF's and SLR's fitted with pretty much anything that can be fitted including manual focus aid screens and I still find focusing at f1.4, no scrap that... f0.95 :D sooooo much easier and so much more accurate with a CSC.

If we ever meet I'll challenge you to an accuracy shootout... my 20/20 vision and magnified EVF against your OVF and any screen you want to fit.
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My last note on this subject :D I don't shoot in magnified view, it's a PITA an unnatural to me, particularly for moving subjects :) I took my 6D out to a farm yesterday and came back with a 90% focus accuracy rate, something I've never been able to do with an EVF camera shot in the same manner (with mf glass). And because I could set a minimum shutter speed, I was able to shoot a variety of stuff without having to keep changing the shutter speed manually. Job done :) YMMV!

Good look with your Sonys guys, they are unique cameras at this point, just not for me and my traditional style of shooting :)
 
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What chargers are you all using, going away on holiday soon so will be handy to leave one charging while im out.
 
Just joined so not sure if you can post links but the DSTE NP-FW50 on Amazon has served me well so far.
 
Thanks, i want to avoid the cheapo ones they seem to get mixed feedback.
That Hahnel looks ideal.
 
Received my Sony fe 55mm f/1.8 today (fantastic service & price from CameraWorld). Only taken a few test snaps, but images do have that magical quality. Also the lens is a lot smaller than I thought, smaller than the kit lens (lens hood is a bit large). Build quality is superb too.
 
ShrubMonkey said:
Received my Sony fe 55mm f/1.8 today (fantastic service & price from CameraWorld). Only taken a few test snaps, but images do have that magical quality. Also the lens is a lot smaller than I thought, smaller than the kit lens (lens hood is a bit large). Build quality is superb too.
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Strange how they can do the lens cheaper than the grey importers? The next cheapest from Camerpricebuster is £797.00. That's a huge difference.
 
That is a very good price, nearly as cheap as can be had from Panamoz. I'm holding out for the 70-200 though before getting any more primes.
 
sony could choose to sell to local shops at a cheaper price so they can be competative, its been done with tv's
 
Munchkinn said:
Strange how they can do the lens cheaper than the grey importers? The next cheapest from Camerpricebuster is £797.00. That's a huge difference.
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Yep, was about to pull the trigger on Panamoz (£610 or £579.50 via BT), but then noticed CameraWorld. Fantastic service, ordered Sunday night, arrived Tuesday.
 
ShrubMonkey said:
Received my Sony fe 55mm f/1.8 today (fantastic service & price from CameraWorld). Only taken a few test snaps, but images do have that magical quality. Also the lens is a lot smaller than I thought, smaller than the kit lens (lens hood is a bit large). Build quality is superb too.
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It looks a bit big in some reviews but this just may be how it's shot and glad to hear that in the flesh/metal etc this isn't the case. Any chance of a snap of it on your camera?

Although happy enough with my manual lenses I may invest in a set of AF primes at some point. Assuming they come along I may be interested in a 24/28mm, 50-ish and 85mm. f1.4/1.8's would be nice.
 
Munchkinn said:
Strange how they can do the lens cheaper than the grey importers? The next cheapest from Camerpricebuster is £797.00. That's a huge difference.
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I was in their shop in Wells Street with my A7 in my work bag a few days ago and had to suppress the urge to try one out. :)
 
manualfocus-g said:
My last note on this subject :D I don't shoot in magnified view, it's a PITA an unnatural to me, particularly for moving subjects :) I took my 6D out to a farm yesterday and came back with a 90% focus accuracy rate, something I've never been able to do with an EVF camera shot in the same manner (with mf glass). And because I could set a minimum shutter speed, I was able to shoot a variety of stuff without having to keep changing the shutter speed manually. Job done :) YMMV!

Good look with your Sonys guys, they are unique cameras at this point, just not for me and my traditional style of shooting :)
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Your comment about minimum shutter speed phases me and makes me think you don't fully realise the options you have with the A7. I normally use aperture mode but in low light I just select either manual or shutter priority and dial in whatever shutter speed I want. 125/160 or something like that. It takes no more than a second to switch from A to S or M or back again. Simples.

Should we meet I'll gladly challenge you to a manual shootout and to even things up a bit I'll only use peaking and... I think... I'll win :D Maybe I just get on well with new technology, for me even just with peaking my A7 is better for MF than any DSLR or SLR I've ever used and with the magnified view it's like shooting macro at a distance :D
 
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When using Olympus OM lenses with an adapter can the aperture iris operate automatically?
 
I sold all my manual Zuiko lenses intending to stick to Minolta as my Minolta set is more compete. I sold one in the classifieds here and the rest to someone who called round while I was taking some test shots. He was impressed with what the lenses could do and bought the whole set. A few short weeks later and all the lenses are now back with me. Oh well... It just goes to show that if you buy a good camera and a good kit lens and expect to take nice pictures but don't get pictures you want and then see some pictures taken with some nice manual primes and buy them... you still might not get the nice pictures you're hoping to get.
 
I bought the A7 to use with my manual lenses, mainly Leica M but a couple of Zuikos as well, but am finding that I have bought into Sony lenses a bit. I took delivery of LE-EA4 adaptor yesterday and a Sigma 105 macro.

Part of the reason that I am going for new gear is that the old automatic lenses are getting less reliable. Two of my Zuikos had sticky diaphragms which wouldn't adjust reliably and I recently bought a Tamrom 90mm macro on ebay which was immediately returned for the same reason. So far it's only the automatic stop down lenses that have been affected, those that use a spring to stop the lens down (or open it, depending on the design). Wholly manual lenses like Leica M are generally OK as the diaphragm operation is directly operated from the aperture ring and doesn't rely on spring pressure and low friction.

I have repaired the odd lens in the past, and binned some I failed to repair, but can't be bothered to try any more. I just want gear to work.
 
I never worry about the aperture lever... and I usually don't bother focusing wide open and stopping down to shoot, I just focus and shoot at the aperture I want.

Also, after using my Panny G1 and having to press the button for depth of field preview I actually prefer the Sony way of doing things.
 
I would be pretty hacked off if I had just purchased an A7 R. It's only about 6 months from launch. I think Sony need to look after existing users and concentrate on developing further lenses rather than developing this latest model (A7S), no doubt it will be produce hi quality images but a camera is only as good as it's system. Come on Sony, time to produce some more lenses !
 
I think that all three, 7, r and s are rather different beasts.

TBH if the s had been one of the first to be brought out I'd probably have bought it rather than my 7 as I was very happy with the image quality of my 12mp 5D but it wasn't and I got the 7 and I can now crop like mad. Such is life :D
 
Agree with Alan. The A7 and A7r look like photography cameras with a bit of video capability. The A7s looks quite the inverse.
 
Agree with Alan too, the A7s is aimed at video users rather than stills, nothing to be hacked off at Sony here as an owner of an A7.

But would like to see confirmed roadmap of lenses from Sony
 
Yes, glass is now the priority. The 70-200 looks to be good according to early reviews but would also like to see a nice wide prime.
 
Yup.

It would have been nice if they'd done as Fuji (I think...) did and start off on day one with a set of three primes, 28, 50 and 85 or something like that. To be honest I don't mind them staying at f1.8 or even f2.8 for the wider options.

Having said all that, their first priority should be a firmware update to allow EVF / screen toggling and back screen really truly and honestly off :D via a custom button :D
 
woof woof said:
Yup.

It would have been nice if they'd done as Fuji (I think...) did and start off on day one with a set of three primes, 28, 50 and 85 or something like that. To be honest I don't mind them staying at f1.8 or even f2.8 for the wider options.

Having said all that, their first priority should be a firmware update to allow EVF / screen toggling and back screen really truly and honestly off :D via a custom button :D
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Exactly! Sony just seem to be interested in selling cameras and not looking after or servicing their existing users. Fuji is very quick to update their firmware following feedback from customers. Although, the quality of their cameras and lenses are good.as a brand I can't take Sony very seriously until they put the basics in place and develop the lenses.
 
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What lenses do people want? It looks like 24-200mm is covered in top quality Zeiss glass.
 
Laudrup said:
What lenses do people want? It looks like 24-200mm is covered in top quality Zeiss glass.
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If going for AF lenses I'd wish for 24 or 28mm, 50mm and 85mm. I'd say f1.4's but f1.8 is understandable if they want to keep the bulk and weight down. A macro would be nice too, something like 100/150mm f2.8. Zoom wise I suppose 16-35, 24/28-70 and 70-200 f2.8's and a similar set with f3.5-5.6 apertures.

That'd be a pretty good start for any system but in reality what system is going to start with about 10 lenses? I read somewhere that no one has the capacity to design more than two or three a year and if that's true any system is going to take a while... especially when the manufacture is busy bringing out a new body every 5 minutes.
 
Blank_Canvas said:
I would be pretty hacked off if I had just purchased an A7 R. It's only about 6 months from launch. I think Sony need to look after existing users and concentrate on developing further lenses rather than developing this latest model (A7S), no doubt it will be produce hi quality images but a camera is only as good as it's system. Come on Sony, time to produce some more lenses !
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Why its a totally different camera. I for one like that Sony make more affordable cameras by splitting the features over a few models, if they did one A7 with all the features it would be a lot more expensive. You get to choose whats most important for you, and for me its ultimate quality and cropping.
 
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