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

MittyKitty said:
I also heard about the tamron versions. Are they any good ? I don’t know anything about third party lenses yet for Sony. I am reading this Thread but so much info :-)
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I've never used a Tamron E mount lens, though I do have an A mount 90mm macro (great optics for the age). My comment was more that after using a GM prime it's hard to go back to other lenses, although the Sigma Art series are very close optically. A couple of years ago I bought a GM 50 f1,2 and it's my landscape and general use lens of choice.

You asked about the 24-105, and this is what I use for travel/walkabout where there may not be time etc to stitch a piano. Generally performance is great for what it is, adequately detailed even wide open, images can get a bit 'hard' if you push clarity up. It's not astonishingly good, but it is a very useful lens.
 
gman said:
Re. Sigma, is there also something about HSM being for the older DSLR's and DN being designed specifically for mirrorless, but HSM will still work? I can't quite remember the specifics (something to do with the flange?)
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As mentioned HSM is the motor (hyper sonic motor), and it was used for DSLR lenses. When Sigma first adopted to mirrorless they essentially used the same lens and just added an 'adapter' (really just an extension of the lens at the mount end) to make up for the difference in flange difference. The DN lenses are specifically designed for mirrorless and therefore do not need this 'adpater' and so are smaller and lighter.
 
ancient_mariner said:
I've never used a Tamron E mount lens, though I do have an A mount 90mm macro (great optics for the age). My comment was more that after using a GM prime it's hard to go back to other lenses, although the Sigma Art series are very close optically. A couple of years ago I bought a GM 50 f1,2 and it's my landscape and general use lens of choice.

You asked about the 24-105, and this is what I use for travel/walkabout where there may not be time etc to stitch a piano. Generally performance is great for what it is, adequately detailed even wide open, images can get a bit 'hard' if you push clarity up. It's not astonishingly good, but it is a very useful lens.
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I still think the GM's are the best you can get. I see the odd review stating that the odd Sigma Art is better, but they only look at one aspect, when you look at build, sharpness, bokeh, AF speed etc GM still come out on top, however this shows just how good the Sigma Art are if they're comparable.

Those piano's are extremely difficult to stitch ;) :p
 
ancient_mariner said:
I've never used a Tamron E mount lens, though I do have an A mount 90mm macro (great optics for the age). My comment was more that after using a GM prime it's hard to go back to other lenses, although the Sigma Art series are very close optically. A couple of years ago I bought a GM 50 f1,2 and it's my landscape and general use lens of choice.

You asked about the 24-105, and this is what I use for travel/walkabout where there may not be time etc to stitch a piano. Generally performance is great for what it is, adequately detailed even wide open, images can get a bit 'hard' if you push clarity up. It's not astonishingly good, but it is a very useful lens.
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I've had the 70-180mm f/2.8 for quite a while now. No complaints whatsoever and as a bonus it does focus pretty close too - not macro close obviously but certainly enough for flowers, toadstools etc
 
Has anyone tried the Sony 70-200/4 mkii on an A7C?

I quite fancy the lens, especially with its 1:2 close focusing but am worried about the size mismatch.
 
Brazo said:
Has anyone tried the Sony 70-200/4 mkii on an A7C?

I quite fancy the lens, especially with its 1:2 close focusing but am worried about the size mismatch.
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If it helps at all I have a Panasonic GX80 which is smaller than an A7c and I use my 100-400mm on it. There's a size mismatch but with my left hand under the lens at the balance point handling is no issue. I'm sure the same will be true of the A7c and a large lens as you are never going to use a camera and larger lens with your hands just on the camera.
 
Faldrax said:
HSM is Sigma's name for their in-lens motors (Like Sony SSM and Tamron USD) - the older E-Mount Sigma's were DSLR lenses with the E-Mount adaptor 'built in', so I'd imagine they kept the DSLR naming convention.
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snerkler said:
As mentioned HSM is the motor (hyper sonic motor), and it was used for DSLR lenses. When Sigma first adopted to mirrorless they essentially used the same lens and just added an 'adapter' (really just an extension of the lens at the mount end) to make up for the difference in flange difference. The DN lenses are specifically designed for mirrorless and therefore do not need this 'adpater' and so are smaller and lighter.
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How do you distinguish between an HSM lens (or more accurately a non-DN lens) that will work on a mirrorless without an adapter and one which will?
 
gman said:
How do you distinguish between an HSM lens (or more accurately a non-DN lens) that will work on a mirrorless without an adapter and one which will?
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Check the mount, if it’s an e-mount it doesn’t need an adapter.
 
Brazo said:
Has anyone tried the Sony 70-200/4 mkii on an A7C?

I quite fancy the lens, especially with its 1:2 close focusing but am worried about the size mismatch.
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I haven't tried it on A7c but it's not a small lens
I sold it on partly because of its size.
Terrific lens though....
 
gman said:
How do you distinguish between an HSM lens (or more accurately a non-DN lens) that will work on a mirrorless without an adapter and one which will?
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Exactly what Toby said, E mount lenses will work (just make sure it's not an APS-C lens).
 
gman said:
How do you distinguish between an HSM lens (or more accurately a non-DN lens) that will work on a mirrorless without an adapter and one which will?
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Here you can filter e-mount and also full frame or APS-C

Lenses | Sigma UK

Sigma UK category page for photographic lenses
sigmauk.com sigmauk.com
 
Brazo said:
Has anyone tried the Sony 70-200/4 mkii on an A7C?

I quite fancy the lens, especially with its 1:2 close focusing but am worried about the size mismatch.
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I have it and love it. I don't find it large at all after being used to the 100-400 (which I also use on the A7CII).
I've never understood the whole "balance" thing anyway... I don't spin the setup on my fingers like a basketball!

1000021704.jpg1000021706.jpg

It lives in my EDC bag along with the 1.4x TC (which it pairs nicely with) and the 20-70.
 
jimmyjamjojo said:
I have it and love it. I don't find it large at all after being used to the 100-400 (which I also use on the A7CII).
I've never understood the whole "balance" thing anyway... I don't spin the setup on my fingers like a basketball!

View attachment 492015View attachment 492017

It lives in my EDC bag along with the 1.4x TC (which it pairs nicely with) and the 20-70.
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I never got the balance thing either, if a 70-200 is wrong on a small body a 600mm is wrong on a full size body.
 
robj20 said:
I never got the balance thing either, if a 70-200 is wrong on a small body a 600mm is wrong on a full size body.
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Some lenses can feel front heavy but imo this is down to the lens and not size vs the body.
 
A week or two ago someone was asking about presets/recipes for Sony and I couldn’t find the page I was talking about, luckily it’s still open in one of the tabs on my phone.

This it is, I can’t comment on whether they’re any good or not.

I’ve been playing about with the FL Sony preset and quite like it, after I’ve adjusted it. I like my blues slightly more teal so I’ve dialled this down, I’ve also made the greens a bit warmer and less portra like. Lastly I’ve dialled highlights right down as the preset makes things way to bright imo.
 
snerkler said:
Some lenses can feel front heavy but imo this is down to the lens and not size vs the body.
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Indeed. Obviously people hold the lens at the centre of gravity for the combination. In my case, it's weight and bulk which I need to be careful of. That's down to a combination of shoulder problems, arthritic fingers, and old age! I have found in a previous life with Sony that the finger gap between body grip and lens circumference can be tight.
 
jimmyjamjojo said:
I have it and love it. I don't find it large at all after being used to the 100-400 (which I also use on the A7CII).
I've never understood the whole "balance" thing anyway... I don't spin the setup on my fingers like a basketball!

View attachment 492015
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That actually looks quite compact considering the focal length.

I keep thinking that if I got a long zoom for my Sony I could sell all my MTF kit. I've had MFT for years and it'll be a shame to see it go but the fact is that the A7cII does most things better and all I have MFT for now are the long zooms and the inbuilt flash.

GX80.
14mm f2.5, 20mm f1.7, 45-150 and 100-400mm.

All that could go if I got a Sony zoom. I'm very mostly a prime user but my first lens for my Canon DSLR was a Sigma 28-300mm and although that is quite a poor lens by just about any standard today it made a great day out and holiday lens.
 
snerkler said:
Here you can filter e-mount and also full frame or APS-C

Lenses | Sigma UK

Sigma UK category page for photographic lenses
sigmauk.com sigmauk.com
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I was thinking more along the lines of used, but presumably it will make it clear that it's e-mount?
 
woof woof said:
That actually looks quite compact considering the focal length.

I keep thinking that if I got a long zoom for my Sony I could sell all my MTF kit. I've had MFT for years and it'll be a shame to see it go but the fact is that the A7cII does most things better and all I have MFT for now are the long zooms and the inbuilt flash.

GX80.
14mm f2.5, 20mm f1.7, 45-150 and 100-400mm.

All that could go if I got a Sony zoom. I'm very mostly a prime user but my first lens for my Canon DSLR was a Sigma 28-300mm and although that is quite a poor lens by just about any standard today it made a great day out and holiday lens.
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The Sigma 100-400mm for Sony 155g heavier than the Panny 100-400mm and of course does not give you the same effective reach. Of course with Full Frame you can crop more and retain a better image but cropping a 400mm to an 800mm fov is quite extreme. Might be OK with the A7cR (assuming the lens can resolve enough detail but you're pushing it with a 33mp sensor, that being said it will still give you an 8mp image which is enough fro general viewing.
 
gman said:
I was thinking more along the lines of used, but presumably it will make it clear that it's e-mount?
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Yes, as long as something is e-mount it doesn't need an adapter to work with Sony. Unfortunately AFAIK there's no specification on the HSM lens to determine whether it's full frame or APS-C so you need to check, that link I posted is a good place to check (y)
 
snerkler said:
The Sigma 100-400mm for Sony 155g heavier than the Panny 100-400mm and of course does not give you the same effective reach. Of course with Full Frame you can crop more and retain a better image but cropping a 400mm to an 800mm fov is quite extreme. Might be OK with the A7cR (assuming the lens can resolve enough detail but you're pushing it with a 33mp sensor, that being said it will still give you an 8mp image which is enough fro general viewing.
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These are the things going through my mind.

I find the Panasonic 100-400mm good at short distances but at longer distance it is IMO just awful but I don't know if this is atmospherics. I've tried comparing it to my 45-150mm cropped to give the same FoV and that's something I'm going to have to do again to be sure how I feel. Mostly though a long lens for me is more for flower and small thing shots and perspective at closer distances rather than birds in flight and the like at longer distances.

Cropping and ending up with a file something in the region of 1500-2000 pixels along the longest edge is ok to fill a screen or an A4, I have framed pictures taken with my Medion compact that are about that filling an A4 and they're perfectly ok for me. I'm warming to the idea :D and it might not even cost me anything or I might even make a profit selling my MFT kit.
 
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woof woof said:
These are the things going through my mind.

I find the Panasonic 100-400mm good at short distances but at longer distance it is IMO just awful but I don't know if this is atmospherics. I've tried comparing it to my 45-150mm cropped to give the same FoV and that's something I'm going to have to do again to be sure how I feel. Mostly though a long lens for me is more for flower and small thing shots and perspective at closer distances rather than birds in flight and the like at longer distances.

Cropping and ending up with a file something in the region of 1500-2000 pixels along the longest edge is ok to fill a screen or an A4, I have framed pictures taken with my Medion compact that are about that filling an A4 and they're perfectly ok for me. I'm warming to the idea :D and it might not even cost me anything or I might even make a profit selling my MFT kit.
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I had the Mk1 Panny Leica 100-400mm and I always found image quality very good, even at distance, but of course I guess it depends how much distance we're talking. I shot MotoGP at the loop and at 400mm (800mm eq) it still needed cropping and I found IQ acceptable (looks better on my computer) I dare say I'd be able to process this better these days.


P8248655-Edit by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr
 
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snerkler said:
I had the Mk1 Panny Leica 100-400mm and I always found image quality very good, even at distance, but of course I guess it depends how much distance we're talking. I shot MotoGP at the loop and at 400mm (800mm eq) it still needed cropping and I found IQ acceptable. I dare say I'd be able to process this better these days.
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I'm thinking miles away, like the moon or the Eston Hills which are... well, miles away. I do appreciate that mentioning Eston Hills wont mean much to you :D I've always wanted to take a nice shot of the moon but I've never managed it. The last time I tried was with the Panny 100-400mm and fiddling with the sliders did improve things so that's another thing I'll have to try again.
 
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woof woof said:
I'm thinking miles away, like the moon or the Eston hills which are... well, miles away. I've always wanted to take a nice shot of the moon but I've never managed it. The last time I tried was with the Panny 100-400mm and fiddling with the sliders did improve things so that's another thing I'll have to try again.
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It just so happens I have a couple of pics of the moon I took with that lens as well ;)


P2180762-Edit-2 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

P2180758 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr
 
snerkler said:
It just so happens I have a couple of pics of the moon I took with that lens as well ;)
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Those look nice but it's difficult to tell on screen if they're better than mine will be if I spend enough time on them and process them for best effect. I'll get my backup drive out and have a look and will also try shooting again when conditions are ok but even if I can be happier with the Panasonic lens I still might be better off getting a Sony zoom as that will allow me to sell my MTF kit which isn't really getting used these days since I got the A7cII and 40mm f2.5 apart from the odd long zoom shot or for when I want to use flash.

I have quite a lot to do at the moment so after things settle down I'll probably ask what people think is the best zoom in the xx-400mm or so range.

Thanks.
 
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:oops: :$

Surprise: Nisi presented a new 26mm f/0.7 Full Frame lens! | sonyalpharumors

NiSi has shown a prototype of a new 26mm f/0.7 full-frame Z-mount lens. This manual-focus lens matches the record-holding Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f/0.7 as one of the fastest full-frame lenses in the world. The lens will likely also be available for Sony E-mount and Leica L-mount cameras. The lens...
www.sonyalpharumors.com www.sonyalpharumors.com

I had a Voigtlander 25mm f0.95 for MFT. I think the limit for E mount is something around 0.7?

Ah, Googling tells me f0.63 so f0.7 is a bit lazy really... :D Remember when the Canikon crowd said Sony FF couldn't do f1.2? :D

Googling also tells me that the max available for Sony is f1.2 but I did have a Syoptic 50mm f1.1 in Sony mount and there is the Laowa Argus 28mm T1. If that is T1 that's impressive. Unusually for Chinese lenses I think that Syoptic was actually believable as f1.1 with that lens seemed to require different exposure settings than my f1.2 lenses but other things do come into play when you're using different lenses so I can't be sure.
 
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jimmyjamjojo said:
I have it and love it. I don't find it large at all after being used to the 100-400 (which I also use on the A7CII).
I've never understood the whole "balance" thing anyway... I don't spin the setup on my fingers like a basketball!

View attachment 492015View attachment 492017

It lives in my EDC bag along with the 1.4x TC (which it pairs nicely with) and the 20-70.
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Nice! 20-200f4! Thanks for the pics
 
Brazo said:
Nice! 20-200f4! Thanks for the pics
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it is very nice, had the combo inc. 1.4x and 2x TCs too. I found myself using 70-200g2 with 1.4x so moved on to 20-70+tamron 50-300mm
then sigma 20-200mm which replaced my 20-70+50-300mm.

I do miss the 300mm end sometimes. I will probably eventually look into a 70-350mm or the new 100-400mm f5.6-8 though the latter seem to have mixed reviews.

i use the zoom for versatility and less for wide aperture and i use my primes for wider apertures. if you need/want f4 then 20-70+70-200mm is unbeatable!
 
nandbytes said:
it is very nice, had the combo inc. 1.4x and 2x TCs too. I found myself using 70-200g2 with 1.4x so moved on to 20-70+tamron 50-300mm
then sigma 20-200mm which replaced my 20-70+50-300mm.

I do miss the 300mm end sometimes. I will probably eventually look into a 70-350mm or the new 100-400mm f5.6-8 though the latter seem to have mixed reviews.

i use the zoom for versatility and less for wide aperture and i use my primes for wider apertures. if you need/want f4 then 20-70+70-200mm is unbeatable!
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Golly they're expensive.

I was thinking they'd be cheap like the film era one I had which was rubbish, but the Sony would be better. Some hope :D
 
From another thread about AF I remembered that on my A77 II I could set a focus limit in camera, so I could say set the focus limit between 5m and 50m rather than only being able to limit it from 3m to infinity, and that option itself is only on a select few lenses.

It was a great feature and helped prevent the camera from picking up on catch fencing when you can’t get right up to it at certain circuits (bloody MSV :mad:). Does anyone know why Sony have never added this to e-mount cameras?
 
snerkler said:
From another thread about AF I remembered that on my A77 II I could set a focus limit in camera, so I could say set the focus limit between 5m and 50m rather than only being able to limit it from 3m to infinity, and that option itself is only on a select few lenses.

It was a great feature and helped prevent the camera from picking up on catch fencing when you can’t get right up to it at certain circuits (bloody MSV :mad:). Does anyone know why Sony have never added this to e-mount cameras?
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it was introduced in the A99 I think. A77ii and A99ii had it.
not sure why sony never implemented it in e-mount. make be something to do with how PDAF works with on-sensor (mirrorless) versus separate sensor (DSLR)?

I am more inclined to believe it was an oversight that they never bothered rectifying.
 
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