Calling all Sony Alpha users! (Part 4)

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heidfirst

heidfirst

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might as well use this to tell what else Paul said - nothing really new:

Sony claim to have 25% of UK DSLR market.

Late this year Sony will have a DSLR with video done in a fashion unlike any that we have seen previously.

UK sells more A900s than anywhere else in Europe (not sure if this is pro-rata or absolute nos.).

There are 2 200mm lenses under development (1 a G, 1 a Zeiss) & 1 may just possibly be a macro.
(of course development doesn't necessarily mean production as we know from some of the concept lenses that have previously been shown)

The 500/4.5 is still coming - originally was planned for release last year until the world economy went to pot.


On hearing that I used an A700+Vg+70-400 he asked me if there were any accessories that I would like to see for future cameras - e.g. intervalometer, wifi grip etc.
On the spur of the moment I could only suggest that they sell or licence out official lens coat type products for the 70-200/2.8, 70-400, 300/2.8 etc. because overall I'm pretty happy with what I have.
To that I'll be adding that they reinstate/replace with an equivalent the Minolta 1200 Ringflash & probably a car charger (even though I now have a 3rd party one) or cable that lets you use the existing charger off a 12V car socket.
I also asked about GPS & he said that Cybershot & Handycam now have it built in ... :whistle:
I did stress RAW support for it.

If anybody has bright (& sensible) ideas post here & I'll try to see that it gets back to him.
 
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stan the man said:
hopefully,the A700 replacement will give better high ISO and AF performance...
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The A700 is identical to the Nikon D300 with v4 firmware for high ISO.

Actually having (briefly) owned the A700 its very very similar to a D300.

I actually prefer the Sony A200 to the A700 for landscape work (less grainy blue sky colours, and proper base ISO100). I'm very keen on the A200 actually.

But relatively, the A700 is decent enough at high ISO, per pixel its less noisy the A900, although with both printed to the same size, the A900 shows much more detail, even at high ISOs
 
puddleduck said:
The A700 is identical to the Nikon D300 with v4 firmware for high ISO.

Actually having (briefly) owned the A700 its very very similar to a D300.

I actually prefer the Sony A200 to the A700 for landscape work (less grainy blue sky colours, and proper base ISO100). I'm very keen on the A200 actually.

But relatively, the A700 is decent enough at high ISO, per pixel its less noisy the A900, although with both printed to the same size, the A900 shows much more detail, even at high ISOs
Click to expand...

It always concerns me when people say this about the A700 when I used to have an A200 but upgraded to the A700. I am almost 100% a landscape photographer.

When I got the upgrade to the A700 for pretty much next to nothing once I sold the A200 I thought it'd be rude not to.

You've just reminded me though need to update to V4!
 
Just a quick question everybody

What is the best camera bag for my A200, Kit lens, 50mm and my beercan 70 -210mm

At the moment I have the Lowepro Slingshot 100AW, I want to get the 200AW, should the 200AW fit all these lens in?

The problem at the moment is the beercan lens not being able to fit in the 100AW slingshot bag that I have.

Does anybody have any experience with the Slingshot 200AW and their Sony Kit?
 
TurnipFarmer said:
Just a quick question everybody

What is the best camera bag for my A200, Kit lens, 50mm and my beercan 70 -210mm

At the moment I have the Lowepro Slingshot 100AW, I want to get the 200AW, should the 200AW fit all these lens in?

The problem at the moment is the beercan lens not being able to fit in the 100AW slingshot bag that I have.

Does anybody have any experience with the Slingshot 200AW and their Sony Kit?
Click to expand...

I've got the 200 and the Beercan fits in fine if you remove a divider and lie in down.

I use to carry a Sony A200, Minolta 135mm f2.8, Minolta 70-210mm F4, Minolta 35-70mm F4 and Sony 18-70mm all in it fine.
 
TurnipFarmer said:
Just a quick question everybody

What is the best camera bag for my A200, Kit lens, 50mm and my beercan 70 -210mm

At the moment I have the Lowepro Slingshot 100AW, I want to get the 200AW, should the 200AW fit all these lens in?

The problem at the moment is the beercan lens not being able to fit in the 100AW slingshot bag that I have.

Does anybody have any experience with the Slingshot 200AW and their Sony Kit?
Click to expand...

Play.com were doing a nice Sony branded shoulder bag for around £15, you could easily fit all that in.

I find Slingshots can get a bit uncomfortable once the weight goes up, as its all on just the one shoulder.
 
heidfirst said:
UK sells more A900s than anywhere else in Europe (not sure if this is pro-rata or absolute nos.).
Click to expand...

When it was knocking around for £1499 - £1599 it was stunning value.

I wonder if the high UK sales were due to Eurozone folks importing it, and taking advantage of their strong Euro?
 
puddleduck said:
Play.com were doing a nice Sony branded shoulder bag for around £15, you could easily fit all that in.

I find Slingshots can get a bit uncomfortable once the weight goes up, as its all on just the one shoulder.
Click to expand...

which bag is that andy?

i bought the LCS-AMSC30 a few months back for £30 from argos,and while it's a great bag,i find i always want to carry more than it will.this is the bag..

http://www.sony.co.uk/product/dsa-cases---straps/lcs-amsc30

only used it once since i got it,so i'll probably sell it to get one that will carry that bit more should i need to..
 
Andy. May I know does the A850/A900 viewfinder a lot bigger than the D700??
 
puddleduck said:
When it was knocking around for £1499 - £1599 it was stunning value.
Click to expand...

Makes me sort of wish I'd bought one at Focus 2009, CW and Jacobs both had it at £1499. Seems at least £200 more than that now. Still, the A700 I got instead is fab so will to stick with that.
 
stan the man said:
which bag is that andy?

i bought the LCS-AMSC30 a few months back for £30 from argos,and while it's a great bag,i find i always want to carry more than it will.this is the bag..

http://www.sony.co.uk/product/dsa-cases---straps/lcs-amsc30

only used it once since i got it,so i'll probably sell it to get one that will carry that bit more should i need to..
Click to expand...

According to my Play order history it was this:


09/12/2009
Sony LCSSC20 Soft Carry Case For Digital SLR Cameras (Electronics)
£14.99
Posted: 15/12/2009

This thing is pretty large, nice bag (especially for £15!)
 
kevin612 said:
Andy. May I know does the A850/A900 viewfinder a lot bigger than the D700??
Click to expand...

Its bigger and brighter.

The A900 (never seen an A850) has got the best viewfinder of any digital body. Its still not as big as classic 35mm cameras, but its super for digital.

I use a Nikon DK-17m viewfinder magnifier which adds 1.2x to the D700 VF and that gets it quite close to the A900 in size (but not brightness or clarity)
 
:plus1:
stan the man said:
which bag is that andy?

i bought the LCS-AMSC30 a few months back for £30 from argos,and while it's a great bag,i find i always want to carry more than it will.this is the bag..

http://www.sony.co.uk/product/dsa-cases---straps/lcs-amsc30

only used it once since i got it,so i'll probably sell it to get one that will carry that bit more should i need to..
Click to expand...

:plus1: Got one myself, it looked big, but a camera sits in the top layer with not much support, so it can slide about, and it's difficult to accomodate a larger camera than say a A200. The side openings aren't that big either, so you 'll be really trying to pull it out the bag. Plus side is that is has a really good tri-pod holder for a shoulder bag ( I was actually able to hold a light stand that was in its own carrying case!). I'm using this as my accessories bag for cables, hoods, batteries, modifiers etc when I go on shoots
 
Yup, as it's the same body (differents sensor + live view in the A350)
 
Anyone got any views on the minolta 35-105?
Quite fancy it as a kit lens replacement, how much beter than the kit lens (18-70) is it?

Thanks
 
snapsnap said:
Dont no if any1 is interested but the battery grips for a350 are now 49.97 in currys and pc world is this a bargain??
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Can confirm this, got one in my local PC world for £49.99

Apparently last in Northern Ireland.
 
Pedro Photosport said:
Anyone got any views on the minolta 35-105?
Quite fancy it as a kit lens replacement, how much beter than the kit lens (18-70) is it?
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Which 35-105? The older metal lens is more highly rated but the min focus is 1.5m. Unless you have a FF camera neither lens is really wide enough to be a kit replacement.

The Tamron 17-50mm (~£340) and Sigma 17-70mm (~£380) are often mentioned at kit lens replacement but the new Sony DT 18-55mm kit lens is a vast improvement on the 18-70 and is just £130.
 
snapsnap said:
Dont no if any1 is interested but the battery grips for a350 are now 49.97 in currys and pc world is this a bargain??
Click to expand...

I got the last one in Currys in Nottingham today, also looked in PC World and 3 other Currys stores yesterday in Derby...
 
Hi :wave: could anyone tell me how to find the number of shutter actions my camera has done. Thanks. (y)
 
fritter said:
Hi :wave: could anyone tell me how to find the number of shutter actions my camera has done. Thanks. (y)
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Short answer: No :p

Long answer: That information is not kept by the camera. The file name counter wraps back to 0 after 9999.

It's a common question but nothing really to worry about. The A700/A850/A900 shutters are rated at 100,000 operations (not sure about the other models). You'd have to take 20 photos a day, every day, for 14 years to hit that mark.
 
Tokina 11-16/2.8 will be available in MAF/Alpha mount in Japan in February :)
Hopefully the first of a few Tokinas to get Alpha versions - I fancy a 12-24/4.
 
The Tokina 12-24 and the Tokina 100mm f/2.8 macro are super lenses!

I'm not interested in the 11-16 but if they do a 12-24 it'd be an awesome lens to put on my little A200 :)
 
If tokina's 12-24mm is for FF that would be amazing....Must be the best Crazy Wide lens.

Btw andy, I know you have D700 and A900...as you shoot landscape mostly so chosen A900 to be yours main camera. Why didnt you consider 5D mark II as it has 21 megapixels as well and has more lenses options.?!
 
kevin612 said:
If tokina's 12-24mm is for FF that would be amazing....Must be the best Crazy Wide lens.

Btw andy, I know you have D700 and A900...as you shoot landscape mostly so chosen A900 to be yours main camera. Why didnt you consider 5D mark II as it has 21 megapixels as well and has more lenses options.?!
Click to expand...

Hi

I did buy a 5D MKII but I wasn't keen on it - felt horrible compared to the D700, and I don't really rate Canon zoom lenses (their 16-35 and 24-70 are easily bettered by Sony and Nikon's offerings)

I was actually planning to use my Nikon lenses on the 5D MKII but lost interest in the whole thing!
 
puddleduck said:
Hi

I did buy a 5D MKII but I wasn't keen on it - felt horrible compared to the D700, and I don't really rate Canon zoom lenses (their 16-35 and 24-70 are easily bettered by Sony and Nikon's offerings)

I was actually planning to use my Nikon lenses on the 5D MKII but lost interest in the whole thing!
Click to expand...

I guess you do like the nikon glasses more than others right?
I looked at other thread about the 70-300mm SSM and you said that it is not that worth to spend 500 pounds for it..
Would it be better to get the Sigma 70-200mm F2.8?
And how would you compare the 70-300mm SSM to nikon 70-300mm VR

Sorry to ask you so many questions....
As a friend of mine might get D700 or A900 and lenses with it..
So wanting to help him out a bit...also 24-85mm F2.8-4 nikon seems good too as I have used it before..but any alternative that you could recommend except the 24-70mm (too expensive) also for the Sony as well...the Tamron/KM 28-75mm F2.8 would be the best option right if not the CZ 24-70mm

Kevin
 
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