Sony SLT light loss

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Allan
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Hi folks hoping someone can help clear up the light pass through on SLT cameras

I have a Sony A58 and have been kinda looking at the A77 and A99 ff bodies but people keep referring to reduced light hitting the sensor with SLT. My concern is if I get less light on the sensor it would mean in low light conditions I would need higher ISO which of course means more noise is that correct anyone know

In addition the total range of EV on the Sony is it as high as a Canon 5D Mk3 in this case need to compare full frame with full frame

Cheers
 
border_all said:
Thanks if it's only a third stop it's not so bad some seem to be saying 2 stops which if true is really limiting in low light conditions
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Your A58 is a SLT - how does it perform? Do you think it loses 2 - stops? Of course not.

It's an over-blown non-issue. People who go on about SLT light loss tend to forget there is variation in transmission of different lenses - and F numbers don't tell you how much light your sensor gets - only the aperture setting of the lens.

In more practical terms what are you looking for that your A58 doesn't do? The A77 only offers a minor resolution upgrade and the A58 already has a good APS-C sensor - so is it better handling or other features you're after. The A99 is expensive - but offers FF - do you need FF?
 
Hi Dryce

A bit of past info is I had Canon kit and decided to go lighter cheaper hence A58 when I got it it seemed very different than my 5D mk3 as you would expect

The thing that throws me with SLT is the viewfinder and direct effect that is displayed on changing settings and when a week ago I did some shots on the sands I set ISO at 400 so I could get a faster shutter speed. When I looked in lightroom the sky which was drab was blown it just seemed that it needed more to get going.

I have knocked the a77 out now after reading loads of reviews for ISO issues if I do move it's probably the A99 or Canon 6D with 5D mk3 an outsider due to weight.

It would if I move easy going back with Canon however I do like the EVF but lens choice feels a bit like treacle I.e sticky looking at which offers what. I also had the Canon 7D loved the speed but could not say I enjoyed the noise.
 
Dryce said:
Your A58 is a SLT - how does it perform? Do you think it loses 2 - stops? Of course not.

It's an over-blown non-issue. People who go on about SLT light loss tend to forget there is variation in transmission of different lenses - and F numbers don't tell you how much light your sensor gets - only the aperture setting of the lens.

In more practical terms what are you looking for that your A58 doesn't do? The A77 only offers a minor resolution upgrade and the A58 already has a good APS-C sensor - so is it better handling or other features you're after. The A99 is expensive - but offers FF - do you need FF?
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Forgot to mention above the A77 mk2 and A99 both have more AF tracing on the sensor than the A58
 
you could go e mount and a7 ?

also you can turn live view effect on or off, i think
 
there not to bad tbh, the key bits are height, and grip size vs your hand, depth matters little. its probably same size as a classic film slr
 
The thing that is almost never mentioned when referring to the 'light loss' of SLT is that this is already factored into the camera - if a hand held light meeter give you a setting to (for example) 1/125 @ f/5.6 using ISO 200 - then this combination should give the same exposure on your A58, my A900, or the 5D III.

If the sky was blown then that's either poor metering, or lack of dynamic range - and for the latter you are best going with a high end Sony or Nikon, from the DxoMark sensor tests.
 
The SLT's do lose about 1/3 of a stop of light which really isn't a dealbreaker for most situations......however.

The sensor certainly on the A77 I had just wasn't as good as Nikon equivalent even though I think Sony actually make the sensor. So maybe it's a software thing. I don't know.

Back in the day when I was a Sony shooter I struggled with noise and didn't like to use anything about ISO1600. I think on the A99 it's better given it's a full frame it should be. But it's still not as good as the Nikon equivalent.

I'd say if you are happy enough with shooting up to ISO1600 then the A77 is a fantastic camera. Anything else and you really should get either the A99 or wait to see what the A77mk2 can do.

Personally I didn't like the price of the A99 and given I'd need to replace most of my lenses for full frame ones anyway, I made the jump over to Nikon.
 
Hi

Thanks all who helped i have ordered the A77 Mk2 with the 16-50mm DT f2.8 lens i feel as if the A99 while a great camera is A) Pricey B) Heavy more so for lens with same focal length

As you mentioned (gadgeteer) the Sony and Nikon use the same sensors though a few modifications have been done on the Mk2 generally they seem in reviews to say its got 1 or 2 extra stops of usable ISO which should be ample as it will not really be used as much as i would like.

The A58 i have now once my new camera arrives will almost certainly be sold assuming i kept my box!

I think for what i need the Mk 2 will offer what i need for years to come and if i can resist i will not do what i did with Canon i.e. buy buy buy :D

Thanks again :ty:

Allan
 
twist said:
Id say you're looking at 1/3 to a 1/2 stop, no way up to 2 stops.

http://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Comp...pha-58-versus-Sony-SLT-Alpha-77___953_864_734
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Hi

Guess whatever it is i will find out soon i had the Canon 7D and for sure at 100% you saw a lot of noise but in LR you could clean up a fair bit, of course i could have gone Canon or Nikon and i know i will loose more when if i sell it however being honest that is not an issue this time as i just wanted something that could do speed / wide / lots of AF points. The A99 is more than double and a 5Dmk3 is i think about 70% more plus its heavier.

Some won't like that it looks less "Pro" but its a metal body and looks less on walk about not a bad thing. I also virtually always shoot raw so have more control over what happens later. Only have LR 4 at the moment may upgrade for LR5 or CC.

Another thing i have found i like is the EVF for on eye adjustment though i do dislike the fact it takes a while to come back on after a shoot especially when doing multi shoot panorama panels needs a good memory which rules me out.

One thing for sure i could not do an in depth analysis of ISO just as long as i can print my shots i am a happy bunny

If you see any good links for a hands on review would be good if you would post i have been watching Gary Fong on YouTube with his tutorials though not really a review of ISO as its mainly JPEG

Cheers

Allan
 
see if you can turn on front electronic shutter, and a faster memory card
i dont have much of a issue with it coming back quickly after a shot, maybe long exposure noise reduction u could turn that off too?
 
pingu666 said:
see if you can turn on front electronic shutter, and a faster memory card
i dont have much of a issue with it coming back quickly after a shot, maybe long exposure noise reduction u could turn that off too?
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Hi

Got me whats the front electronic shutter?

Noise reduction is off have not done any long exposures

Good idea about faster card the one i have is a class 10 i think thats 30mb but need to look it up

Are you shooting an Alpha?
 
It's worth getting hold the the Gary Friedman book (http://www.friedmanarchives.com/) once he has one out for the Mk II - it will explain all the various options and how / where to use them far better than the Sony manual.

You will need LR 5.5 to process A77 II Raw files directly, you can process them in LR 4 but will need to do something like convert them to DNG (Adobe do a free tool for this I think) first.
 
Thank you, I have just registered interest the the Mk2 book, I have found a free adobe dng converter I will wait see what comes with the camera it seems to have some software though when I got the A58 it would not install on a mac

Thanks again great info

Allan
 
border_all said:
Hi

Got me whats the front electronic shutter?

Noise reduction is off have not done any long exposures

Good idea about faster card the one i have is a class 10 i think thats 30mb but need to look it up

Are you shooting an Alpha?
Click to expand...

electronic shutter (first curtain) is when the shutter doesnt come down and then open for exposure, then close again, the sensor just jumps from liveview to taking the picture, and then the shutter comes down to finish the exposure

and yeah i got a a77 and a55 :), and a old dynax 5 film slr :D
 
Cheers glad i will not be alone with Sony :D

Well there you go never heard of the front shutter now i had something to go by thanks again https://us.en.kb.sony.com/app/answe.../what-is-an-electronic-front-curtain-shutter?

I guess with my A58 as i only had the kit lens which i guess was not large it may have been on by default as its packed for sale now will never know. The f28 lens ordered may need the setting off i guess if i did high speed sports shooting my guess for now is it will be rare i go 12 fps so it may not be much of an issue but at least i will know now if i see ghosting why that is

My camera was shipped yesterday expecting delivery early next week so will be able to play with it then

Cheers

Allan
 
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