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

Was tempted to part with the Zeiss FE 55 1.8 to make way for my preferred focal length (35mm), but I don't think I can do it, just love the photos that come out of this thing...

Wild Allotment by Harry_S, on Flickr

Wild Allotment by Harry_S, on Flickr
 
Best get saving folks... big Sony E-Mount lens announcments along with Zeiss too :)

zeiss_manual_fe_primes_zps6eb3b529.jpg
 
twist said:
More manual focus lenses, yawn. :sleep:
Click to expand...

Sony should be announcing the other 5 lenses too I suspect (see roadmap)
I also feel sony needs to release a TC for the 70-200mm f4 and announce a 70-300mm lens.
 
You dont have to buy them. Im looking forward to them, i hope for a UWA. But i may give in by then and have the Samyang instead or the 16-35, though i think the Samyang will still beat that.
 
robj20 said:
You dont have to buy them. Im looking forward to them, i hope for a UWA. But i may give in by then and have the Samyang instead or the 16-35, though i think the Samyang will still beat that.
Click to expand...

I wont. With so many cheap and expensive legacy/3rd party available the last thing the system needs is more MF lenses.
 
I'm all for more lenses and I'm even for more manual lenses but I think I'm very unlikely to buy any new (and expensive) manual lenses whilst there are so many good legacy lenses about and particularly when there are so many legacy lenses in my cupboard. What could tempt me to spend my money is a range of wide aperture but quite compact AF primes and I hope that Sony or someone else gets their finger out and makes them.
 
I presume it's a matter of opinion and personal preference. I've now stopped using the Zeiss 24-70mm lens that was bought with our a7r in favour of manual OM lenses which in my experience are faster and more accurate to focus (I beat the AF system almost every time on speed and accuracy). Possibly there are tricks to AF that I don't know; but in my experience, the number of out of focus images I've got from a Minolta 7D, Olympus E3 and Sony a7r using AF is far greater than my manually focussed shots.

For preference, any new lenses I buy would be manual focus to save size and weight.
 
Are you sure your 24-70 isnt faulty? Mine is miles faster than MF could ever be, i use dpf as well to make sure its focused on what i want.
 
I've no way of knowing, having nothing to compare it with. I just assume that it's normal since it squares with my experience with other AF cameras. There may be things you can do in the setup options, but I've found that many times the photos are out of focus and I've had to go back and reshoot; and once I became wise to what was going on, when I find that it sticks on an out of focus image, I simply point it at my feet and then back up again and it focuses. I'm not prepared to accept this when manual focussing is so easy and far more accurate (compared to my experiences with the three cameras listed above).

Since my "proper" cameras are all manual focus, I prefer to do it the way I find natural and that works for me. Hence dropping the Zeiss lens in favour of ones that give a reliably sharp image every time (camera shake/subject movement excepted).
 
I've been using MF for a few years now since getting frustrated with fly by wire lenses on my micro four thirds cameras and I'm using manual focus lenses on my A7 but even though I'm a bit of a MF fan I can't focus as fast as AF lenses do and my personal experience is that CSC focus very accurately, arguably much more accurately than DSLR's do. In fact, in my years of occasionally using AF lenses on CSC I can count the number of out of focus shots on my fingers, most annoyingly a sequence of 4 or 5 shots taken in Thailand earlier this year were all slightly out of focus but I think that was a humidity thing.

Of course an AF lens may focus quickly but not on exactly what I wanted it to focus on and that's where I see an advantage for MF when I have the time to call up the magnified view and decide what's in focus and when :D
 
robj20 said:
Treated myself to some new glass. Nothing exciting but will serve me just fine.




Canon FD 70-210mm f4 and a Cosina 100mm f3.5 MC MACRO

I really fancied the Sony 70-200 but i just cant justify it for a lens i will barely use. Probably take the 70-210 out for a spin at weekend.
Click to expand...

How are you finding the 70-210mm on the A7. I am looking for something lighter than my Tokina 100 - 300mm f4 which I am using on my Fuji XT1. I have a x2 teleconverter which I am using on the Tokina and the performance is not that bad, have you any experience with the Canon 70-210mm and teleconverters?

Also, where did you purchase, if Ffordes how have you found there ratings for used lenses, I had my TC from them and it was mint, but described as EX++
 
So far its a good lens its nothing to rave about but it does the job and cheaply. I got it from Ffordes, the ratings always seem spot on I've never been dissapointed.
 
Thanks Rob, I may give one a try.
 
Some interesting news folks....

Sony is planning to launch a new QX E-mount camera. it will be called ILCE-QX1. It’s basically a sensor and mount module that let’s you fit E-mount lenses on your smart phone or tablet!

:)
 
Rizvan said:
Some interesting news folks....

Sony is planning to launch a new QX E-mount camera. it will be called ILCE-QX1. It’s basically a sensor and mount module that let’s you fit E-mount lenses on your smart phone or tablet!

:)
Click to expand...

Quite interesting, Sony is definitely pushing development more than anyone else. Canikon seems to be doing nothing to push technology, just the usual minor tweaks and tired lineup. Guess they're concerned any decent new development would eat into their DSLR and more importantly lens sales.
 
Last edited:
What a complete and utter waste of time that will be, so its a camera that doesnt have a screen or an EVF.
So you take your easy to handle e mount body and leave it at home but still take your e mount lenses out with you and need to strap them to your phone to use them.
 
robj20 said:
What a complete and utter waste of time that will be, so its a camera that doesnt have a screen or an EVF.
So you take your easy to handle e mount body and leave it at home but still take your e mount lenses out with you and need to strap them to your phone to use them.
Click to expand...

How would it not have a screen, it uses your phones screen.
 
That's what I just said isn't it, just like the QX10 doesn't have a screen. My boss had one of them soon got bored of it, if your carrying something like the lens you may as well carry a body as well.
 
Rizvan said:
Some interesting news folks....

Sony is planning to launch a new QX E-mount camera. it will be called... ILCE-QX1.

:)
Click to expand...

Could anyone over 19 years of age walk into a shop and say "I'd like to buy a ILCE-QX1 please."

I'll have forgotten what it's called 0.01 seconds after I leave this thread.
 
robj20 said:
That's what I just said isn't it, just like the QX10 doesn't have a screen. My boss had one of them soon got bored of it, if your carrying something like the lens you may as well carry a body as well.
Click to expand...

Not really, but it doesnt matter. I think its more a womans camera, their bags are full enough as it is I guess.
 
I can just see some idiots walking around with a 70-200 strapped to their phones or tablets. I just dont see the point you either want quality or convenience this just mixes two of those qualities together with neither of the benefits.
 
robj20 said:
I can just see some idiots walking around with a 70-200 strapped to their phones or tablets. I just dont see the point you either want quality or convenience this just mixes two of those qualities together with neither of the benefits.
Click to expand...

Lol, I love it when people (usually tourists) use their iPads to take photos.
 
woof woof said:
Could anyone over 19 years of age walk into a shop and say "I'd like to buy a ILCE-QX1 please."

I'll have forgotten what it's called 0.01 seconds after I leave this thread.
Click to expand...

The A7 is officially the ILCE-7, hardly snappy!
 
Certainly of interest to me, as I don't like autofocus and deliberately use manual focus lenses. Depends on whether they are better than the OM lenses I'm currently using.
 
If you're using the same OM lenses as me I'd expect these (possible) new ones to give less vignetting and fringing and to give better bench test results. But as vignetting isn't too much of an issue with todays software and fringing can be fettled too at least to a degree I doubt I'll be too tempted to spend much on yet more MF lenses. My Zuiko 85mm f2 is the weak link though and is quite disappointing at f2, way behind my Canon FD f1.8 and Minolta f2 and a country mile behind the Sigma 85mm f1.4 I used to use on my 5D. Actually they're all a country mile behind that Sigma.

I better go to bed now before I talk myself into buying these new lenses, if they come out :D
 
Last edited:
No I have the 35 2.8, and 50mm doesn't interest me. Why are they making the exact same focal length and near enough the same speed.
We need an UWA and some longer lenses and macro.
 
Maybe these lenses share similar designs to the existing AF lenses? Maybe that makes the development budget pennies instead of oodles? Maybe it's a case of it's easy so we'll do it? Who knows? :D

Personally I'd like to see...
AF 28, 50 and 85mm f1.4's, or f1.8's to keep the size and weight down plus a macro, something between 100 to 150mm f2.8.
End stops.
Distance and DoF scales.
:D

I wont get that in AF so I'd settle for compact 28, 50 and 85mm f1.8's and a macro and if that's too much to ask for in AF I suppose there's a place in the market for MF. How hard can it be? :D
 
Last edited:
Ease of focus depends more on the camera and its viewing system than the lens. I have no problems focusing a manual focus 50mm f/4.5. It's just that modern camera optimise the viewfinders for brightness at the expense of focusing accuracy, since the autofocus will do it all perfectly for you. Unless you're photographing like me, when it will simply fail a large part of the time.

Pity that the lens has an electronic aperture. I'd prefer a proper manual one.
 
Unlike with a modern AF DSLR you shouldn't have any issues mf-ing with these as the evf has peaking and a magnified viewing.

However unlike my legacy lenses the new lenses will be tied to the mount whilst I can use my old lenses on any CSC via a mount adapter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top