Calling all Sony Alpha users! (Part 5)

applemint said:
Sony Alpha 50mm F1.8 lens for £59.99 after cashback

I guess most people already have this lens but if you don't have one and wanted it the price is currently reduced to £89.99 which comes to £59.99 after the £30 Sony cashback: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-50mm-1-8-SAM-SAL-50F18/dp/B002CQB4J6/1567/ref=nosim There is a code ( FREEONED ) on that page for free one day delivery as well, or if you have Prime you get a discount equivalent to the cost of delivery making the lens even cheaper. :D
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same price at currys_pcworld

http://www.camerapricebuster.com/Sony_50mm_f1.8_DT_SAM_pc.html
 
Hi,looking for some much needed advice,hope someone can help me through my quandry,at the moment i am using a Sony A550 coupled with Sony 18-250 lens and this has suited me untill recently.
I have been looking at a lens better suited to majority of pics i take (Family/Pet and Landscapes) and had almost decided on the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 XR Di II LD .But to throw another spanner in the works I cannot ignore the Sony A77 coupled with its 16-55 2.8 kit lens which i believe is fantastic.
Decisions ,decisions...A550 with Tamron 17-50
A77 with 16-55
If i go with Tamron i could also save for maybe Tamron 70-200 f2.8 a little quicker...Oh dear my head hurts!
Any advice/experience appreciated.
Thanks
 
Try a a580 I used to have a a450 and are really pleased with 580 results and cheap because everyone going for the slt type as for lens I think for the money the tamron I'm pleased with my copy , and with money u save you could get another lens to boot
 
Hi j use the tamron 17-50 with my a580 and find it very good indeed, have you thought about a sigma 50 1.4 in my opinion excellent from f2 upwards as you've got the range covered with the 18-250 although the tamron maybe better. if it was me I'd invest in glass even though I'm looking at a A99 at the moment
 
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Artoist said:
I have been looking at a lens better suited to majority of pics i take (Family/Pet and Landscapes) and had almost decided on the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 XR Di II LD .But to throw another spanner in the works I cannot ignore the Sony A77 coupled with its 16-55 2.8 kit lens which i believe is fantastic.
Decisions ,decisions...A550 with Tamron 17-50
A77 with 16-55
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if you look around you can buy a new Sony 16-50mm F2.8 DT SSM (usually split from a kit) for ~£400-420.
The Sony is the better lens overall & is likely to be more compatible with future Alpha bodies but whether it is worth the extra cost to you only you can decide.
 
Thanks for your input and taking the time to reply,the more i think about it the more i am driven to keep saving and get the A77 and 16-50 combo.
My 50mm f1.8 has just arrived(bargain) so about to have a play with that.
Happy New Year.
 
The A77 with 16-50 2.8 is excellent. Previously I used a A55 with Tamron 17-50mm
 
Artoist said:
Hi,looking for some much needed advice,hope someone can help me through my quandry,at the moment i am using a Sony A550 coupled with Sony 18-250 lens and this has suited me untill recently.
I have been looking at a lens better suited to majority of pics i take (Family/Pet and Landscapes) and had almost decided on the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 XR Di II LD .But to throw another spanner in the works I cannot ignore the Sony A77 coupled with its 16-55 2.8 kit lens which i believe is fantastic.
Decisions ,decisions...A550 with Tamron 17-50
A77 with 16-55
If i go with Tamron i could also save for maybe Tamron 70-200 f2.8 a little quicker...Oh dear my head hurts!
Any advice/experience appreciated.
Thanks
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hi if you wont a a77
look at london camera exchange sh section
they selling them off ex demo
(realy it just stock clearance )
with 18 130 lens kits

i got one saterday and it was still sead in its box unopened bargain think they have one left from what they sead saterday
 
anybody do macro with an A77 & flashes?
1 main use would be for macro of butterflies, dragonflies etc.
Haven't really been keeping up but I'm aware that there have been complaints about both delay with flash (not good with moving beasties) & flash exposure inconsistency on the A77.
I prefer to use ambient light but sometimes needs must ... (have Metz ring flash, Sony MT24 & F42AM).
Relevant feedback appreciated.
 
Has anyone got an @99 yet?

What's the image quality like in the higher iso range?
 
powell7 said:
Has anyone got an @99 yet?

What's the image quality like in the higher iso range?
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I've got one.

We all have different opinions about what's an acceptable upper limit for ISO (and for me personally it depends on the subject matter) but in practical terms I'd say its between 1 and 1.5 stops better than the a850/900. DxO disagree with this assessment, but the highest I'd push the a850 was about ISO 2000, whereas I find the a99 quite usable at 5000-6400.

To put that into context with Sonys aps-c cams, I personally wouldn't use the 16mp a55/57 over 1600 and the a65/77 over about 1250.
 
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Thankyou for your reply. So in real life would u say the camera could handle weddings with good glass or are Sony still struggling to keep up with the 5D etc for church/ indoor lighting?
 
I don't think you need to look as high as a 5D for good high ISO performance, from what I've seen a Nikon D7000 produces great results at ISO's which I wouldn't think of using on my A77. Although if interested in full frame it's not a camera you'd be interested in.
 
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powell7 said:
Thankyou for your reply. So in real life would u say the camera could handle weddings with good glass or are Sony still struggling to keep up with the 5D etc for church/ indoor lighting?
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My a850 was fine for weddings, so I've absolutely no doubt the a99 will be even better. The extra couple of stops of DR (over a 5D3) will come in handy as well.
 
Just been out with my A57 fitted with a Minolta 35-70f4....very nice lens & pin sharp right through the zoom range with great colour & contrast...examples below
8349102039_dbde0781e2_b.jpg

8349099749_97cffd1c5a_b.jpg

8349097699_ca6c402acb_b.jpg
 
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Well I did it.....ordered myself the Sony CZ 135mm 1.8.So expect a flood of images with it in the portrait section when it arrives.:D
 
Out of interest how much do you think id get for this lot...

A700 body, boxed all the usual accessories, 3 genuine batteries.
Genuine grip
Sony 50 1.8
Sony 85 2.8
Sigma 17-70 2.8 4.5
Sigma 10-20 3.5-4.5
Metz 48 flash

Im thinking of gettin a 6D.
 
My A77 with 16-50mm got a lot of use last night at a work annual dinner. Worked great with my F58AM flash for most photos but the camera did suddenly stop focussing correctly after a hour or so. To begin with the EVF didn't look focussed but when the photo was shot all was OK but within in a few shots all photos were super blurry. A switch off and on cured the issue. Anyone else had this happen? I don't think it's a serious fault, probably just a glitch with the software which was reset with the power cycle.

I had been using wide focus and changed to zone focus which didn't repeat the issue. Unsure if related or not.
 
I need to buy a camera that will actually autofocus, unlike my Samsung. I've tried out an a33, a37 and a57 over the past 2 weeks and found myself enjoying the first two more (probably because of my small hands). This also leads me to believe that an a55 should be fine for me handling wise? I doubt i'll ever see an a55 in a shop to try out.

When I used the A-mount back in the KM days, I never wanted anything wider than 24mm but thanks to using a 16mm prime over the past 2 years I'd be lost without that width. This is where i'm a little confused, I'd like something wide (14mm to 17mm would be fine) but relatively cheap for under £250, it can be a prime or zoom. So far i've looked at the Samyang 14mm, Tamron 17-50mm f2.8, Sigma 17-30mm f2.8-4 and the Minolta 17-35mm f2.8-4. I've had a look on Dyxum but I can't really filter them for 2nd hand prices on eBay. I haven't looked at UWA zooms because I doubt i'd get anything in my budget and I probably won't need to go wider than 14mm but if you've got any suggestions there, that would be great.

Thanks for listening.
 
Hi I had the 17-35 and I like it I then got a 11-16 tokina from a guy on here and I love it , the tamron 17-50 is good , if your used to a 16 then the tokina is the way to go , IMHO
 
I had the original model Sigma 10-20 bought second hand for £250 when I had an a700, which was competent enough. Nowadays I have a Minolta 17-35/3.5, which is lovely, but will be outside your price range.
 
Thanks for the quick replies. Maybe an UWA zoom isn't out of my price range after all. I'll leave the wide angle purchase for a month or so, just to see what appears on here or eBay. I wish there was a small E-mount like 16mm prime for the A-mount, even with it's obvious flaws.
 
The new firmware versions for recent SLT's are available on the Sony UK Support pages. I haven't looked for the NEX updates, but I assume they're also available.

I've just updated my a99 (to v1.01) and my a57 (to v1.04) without any issues.
 
This is an unexpected bonus for a99 owners.

The latest FW brings AF-D support to more than just the Sony lenses listed in the release notes. It also supports the Minolta equivalents and some Tamron lenses (that presumably share IDs with Sony lenses).

A post on DPR mentioned that the Minolta 70-200/2.8, 100/2.8 and the Tamron 70-300 all now work with AF-D.

I dont have any of these 3 lenses but I popped my Tamron 90/2.8 on this morning and was staggered to see that AF-D wasn't greyed out in the focus mode menu. Haven't had a chance to test it properly yet, but it appears to work (ie the on-sensor PDAF points light up).
 
I've discovered that my A77 will not register any standard hotshoe device when using my Pixel hotshoe converter. I did manage to get it working with a IR studio flash trigger once but now the camera does not react to the connection. No idea why not.
 
Can anyone recommend a cheap flash for my a57, will be used for indoor portraits. Theres the metz 24 and 36 and some sunpak models any of the anygood? Budget max £100 but around £60 if possible.
 
Sneeks said:
I've discovered that my A77 will not register any standard hotshoe device when using my Pixel hotshoe converter. I did manage to get it working with a IR studio flash trigger once but now the camera does not react to the connection. No idea why not.
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Cheap adapter. My Pixel Soldier trigger is poorly made (not tight enough) and frequently slips off it's contacts. Try another adapter.
 
Johnd2000 said:
Cheap adapter. My Pixel Soldier trigger is poorly made (not tight enough) and frequently slips off it's contacts. Try another adapter.
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I've tried two Pixel ISO hot shoe adapters and both no longer allow me to use attached accessories. I've ordered the official Sony connector to see if its any more reliable.
 
Sneeks said:
I've tried two Pixel ISO hot shoe adapters and both no longer allow me to use attached accessories. I've ordered the official Sony connector to see if its any more reliable.
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Jesus, don't buy the Sony adapter. It's a massive ripoff. Last time I looked on eBay, there were other manufacturers than Pixel. Try one of these.

I found a Minolta OEM adapter fairly easily. Paid about £15 for it IIRC.
 
It's only £25 for the Sony ADP-AMA, not cheap but not outrageous either. It must be fairly new as it wasn't available when I purchased the Pixel.
 
Sneeks said:
It's only £25 for the Sony ADP-AMA, not cheap but not outrageous either. It must be fairly new as it wasn't available when I purchased the Pixel.
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Oh yes. That's the new one, for mounting the f60 flash on cams with the IISO shoe. The new multi-interface shoe is not exactly an ISO shoe. It has contact pins under the front edge. It may or may not fit a 3rd part accessory with an ISO foot, depending on how far forward the front edge of the foot needs to go. It should work, but I've seen some reports of issues.

At the price, it's probably worth trying. The older Sony iISO to ISO adapter was £125!
 
Johnd2000 said:
Oh yes. That's the new one, for mounting the f60 flash on cams with the IISO shoe. The new multi-interface shoe is not exactly an ISO shoe. It has contact pins under the front edge. It may or may not fit a 3rd part accessory with an ISO foot, depending on how far forward the front edge of the foot needs to go. It should work, but I've seen some reports of issues.

At the price, it's probably worth trying. The older Sony iISO to ISO adapter was £125!
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I would definitely not be buying the old version, that is a rip off. Hopefully it works, I don't really understand why the cheap Pixel isn't working.
 
danolive1 said:
Can anyone recommend a cheap flash for my a57, will be used for indoor portraits. Theres the metz 24 and 36 and some sunpak models any of the anygood? Budget max £100 but around £60 if possible.
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With that sort of budget you may want to see if you can pick up a 2nd hand Jessops 360AFD. They are very good for the price.

I'd also recommend the Metz 50 AF1 which I had for some time. I sold it recently but again used price should be around your budget.
 
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