Beginner Testing and buying a camera

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I’ve just read this thread and to be honest, can’t work out why you’ve gone for full frame in your position. You seem to not really have much of a clue about photography or even sensor sizes really, let alone how focal lengths work with different sensor sizes etc.

Personally I think you’ve been wrongly advised (not on here, you’ve been given great advice in the massive majority) at some stage and fooled into thinking full frame (not called full sensor btw) will give you better results (it would, but not really for the conditions you’re shooting in and your purpose). You highlighted you’ll be shooting in good light (not always the best for landscape but also a time where you’re likely to not see much of a difference in IQ) and seem to have a lust for great glass. Going the Sony route, the best glass is going to cost thousands in the long run. One of the very best landscape photographers I know uses APS-C and runs a gallery, producing stunning results. It really isn’t all about the camera.

IMO and A6300 or 6500 would have been more than good enough and give you a smaller, cheaper overall package. This would allow you to print big and as above, notice barely and difference is in the files with the conditions you shoot in.

If I was in your position I’d spend more time learning about light, composition and that a tripod is pretty important to landscape photography than the best camera body and lenses.

Just my 2p.
 
@cowboymug I have speed read the thread and can I ask because I did not see mentioned.

You say you are intending to take landscapes always with a person in the foreground (as a watermark?) . Therefore are you saying that you want that person to to be as sharply in focus as the background landscape? In other words everything from say 20ft to >500yards in sharp focus???

PS you are aware aren't you (sorry if I am as the saying goes 'teaching you how to suck eggs") that the 16mm focal length on the small sensor in the GoPro will have a huge DoF (depth of field) compared to the same 16mm on the larger sensor of the A7 at whatever aperture you select. The A7 will not automagically produce a better, sharper picture compared to your GoPro!

PPS there has been over the years a litany of posts on various fora where folk ask " how come my point & shoot pictures are sharper from front to way in the back...... compared toy nice new (professional) camera that cost me oh so much.....".

I sincerely hope you enjoy the learning curve of your new to you camera gear but please bear in mind it can be quite steep ;)

Edit~ sorry again if I missed it but what are going to use the images for:-
Web only?
Web and print?
print only?

And if the intention is web only, I am curious to know what your online class said as to why you would need a full frame sensor camera???
 
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Almost 2 years on and I am still happy with the choice you guys helped me with :)

I have a sony A7ii camera and a Sony FE 16-35mm f/4 lens.

I want to buy another lens with a bigger focal length (only for landscape daytime photography).

No lenses on dxomark have been tested on my camera – the only filters I used were my camera brand and that I want a zoom lens, and went by their score (even though it was mounted on a different body when assessed).

I have come up with 2 choices – both which I can get second hand for under €200

  • Sony FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
  • Tamron SP AF 28-75mm F/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical [IF] Sony
If my approach to searching for lenses could be better, anybody thinks one is better than the other has an alternative the recommend, any advice is appreciated :)
 
It’s a bit more but the Tamron 28-200 gets quite good reviews as long as you’re willing to compromise a little and understand it won’t be as sharp as say a 70-200 f2.8 (then again the 28-200 costs much less too).
 
Almost 2 years on and I am still happy with the choice you guys helped me with :)

I have a sony A7ii camera and a Sony FE 16-35mm f/4 lens.

I want to buy another lens with a bigger focal length (only for landscape daytime photography).

No lenses on dxomark have been tested on my camera – the only filters I used were my camera brand and that I want a zoom lens, and went by their score (even though it was mounted on a different body when assessed).

I have come up with 2 choices – both which I can get second hand for under €200

  • Sony FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
  • Tamron SP AF 28-75mm F/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical [IF] Sony
If my approach to searching for lenses could be better, anybody thinks one is better than the other has an alternative the recommend, any advice is appreciated :)

The tamron lens is for Sony Minolta A mount, and won't fit your camera without an adaptor. The other is the kit lens, which is ok but not stunning, though excellent value. The Tamron RXD 28-70 that is designed for that camera is a good lens, but much more expensive. The 28-200 recommend above is also ok and very versatile, while not being much more expensive.

Tripods - I have a couple but rarely use them because for me they get in the way and spoil the creative process.
 
Thanks guys, the Tamron 28-200 and Tamron RXD 28-70 are not listed on dxomark so I must be missing lots of options by using it as my database?
Where else should I look?

The tamron lens is for Sony Minolta A mount, and won't fit your camera without an adaptor.

Thank you for this valuable information - how can I tell which lenses I need an adaptor for?
 
Thanks guys, the Tamron 28-200 and Tamron RXD 28-70 are not listed on dxomark so I must be missing lots of options by using it as my database?
Where else should I look?



Thank you for this valuable information - how can I tell which lenses I need an adaptor for?

Sony / Sigma / Tamron and a few more do lenses for A mount and E mount

You need the E mount

A mount with an adapter such as the - Sony LA-EA4 Mount Adapter which allows you to use A mount lenses on your E mount camera

here: https://www.wexphotovideo.com/sony-la-ea4-mount-adapter-1544467/?sv_campaign_id=259955&sv_tax1=affiliate&sv_tax3=Staircase+51+Ltd+(Genie+Shopping)&sv_tax4=0&sv_affiliate_id=259955&awc=2298_1620119617_61c85e992688a86f8eff18631697f0f0&utm_source=aw

Les :)
 
Thanks guys, the Tamron 28-200 and Tamron RXD 28-70 are not listed on dxomark so I must be missing lots of options by using it as my database?
Where else should I look?



Thank you for this valuable information - how can I tell which lenses I need an adaptor for?

THE resource for Sony/Minolta lenses is https://www.dyxum.com/lenses/index.asp

As Les said, anything listed as A mount is for older cameras, FE mount is for full frame Sony and E mount for crop sensor Sony.

I have and regularly use an LA-EA4 adapter: the focussing is not up to the standard you would expect from an A7 although it's just as good as a typical older DSLR. Expect to pay around £100-£120 for a used copy or £200 new from Amazon.

The other thing with older lenses is that generally image quality is less good than the most recent lenses. Less sharp, more chromatic aberration, soft corners, coma, lower contrast etc etc. Many older lenses were extremely good, but they have held their value well and are still expensive.
 
Having finished an online photography course, I may need to upgrade from my combination of iPhone X / GoPro Hero7 Black for landscape photography.

Ideally I want to test a range of cameras in a landscape setting, get all of the images on a file and compare the quality to figure out the optimal level of quality against funds invested.
I may attend a photography club and ask people with the same shot on the same day to send me the file - do you guys have a better method to figure out the optimal level of camera to buy?

Also, is Amazon the cheapest place you guys recommend to buy a camera or am I missing a trick?

FWIW, I'm looking at getting a full sensor mirrorless camera - Sony A7R would be bottom of the range here.

this is gonna be a big change and you are going to need to play a lot with the camera and do a lot of training and learn all the functions and how they are applied to real world pictures. all modern cameras are good, depending on your budget ofcource and your skills in using them
 
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