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

woof woof said:
Pictures from a dull dull day and spotting on a bit. A7 with the Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 classic.

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This lens takes a bashing with some thinking it's complete rubbish but I like it :D It's beautifully made and handles perfectly, it looks gorgeous on the camera and there's enough resolution anywhere you'd want to place a main subject. The only issues to watch are flare but that can be striking, the very extreme corners are never sharp but you've never going to see that in a picture and the bokeh can be wild but at least it gives a different look :D

And a PS.
Like a lot of lenses it's not at its best at minimum focus distance so what I normally do is pull back a couple of inches and that seems to produce better result but I read that using a close up filter and setting focus at infinity improves things a lot so I might try that.

At a bit back from MFD without a filter, 100% crop.

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That's the E mount isn't it you have?

I should use the M 40/1.4 Classic again really.....!
 
Yes, the e mount. I really wanted the original but when I got one I couldn't get on with focus tap use so I sold it on. The e mount one is imo optically better in every way unless you value the extra special look the m mount one gives.

I've been using the e mount 40mm f1.2 whenever I can for a week or so but I'll take the 35mm f1.4 out again one day soon.
 
woof woof said:
One thing with wide to normal lenses is that sometimes I get comments like "Not too close!" and I have to explain it's a wide lens and isn't going to make a face fill the frame so if I think that's going to be an issue or think it's just nice to have a bit of space I think an 85mm is a nice thing to have and the f1.8 although not perfect does the job for me.

I have the 35mm f2.8 and the f1.8 but the Sigma 45mm f2.8 appeals to me because of the closer to 50mm length and the look which is an alternative to the sharp across the frame even at wide apertures modern lenses. I'd probably have got one by now but the issue with continuous focus is putting me off. I think from time to time I'll try and remember to look and see if they're done a firmware fix. If they do I might get one. I have the 55mm f1.8 but it's a different beast to this Sigma.
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It's funy how one forgets things too.

I presently have a Sony/Minolta 50 f1.4 mounted on the LA-EA4, and that pretty much fulfills my description: smooth bokeh, sharp enough to the edge when stopped down a bit, effectively an f1.8 lens when the internal mirror is taken into account. And I already own it. The Sigma would be smaller without the adapter and definitely much better in the area of CA (the really, really weak point of the Sony 50) but I don't have to spend more money to keep that lens.

:)

Before dawn - Essaouira by Toni Ertl, on Flickr
 
Never known how to get Flickr link on iPad to this forum as it always open up in Flickr app so can’t get the direct url
 
Has anyone purchased anything from e-infinity? Just want to check if they are safe to buy from.
 
saul01 said:
Has anyone purchased anything from e-infinity? Just want to check if they are safe to buy from.
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Ordered a number of things from them and all been fine. Recently I ordered the samyang 18mm on the Thursday and was delivered on Tuesday.
 
saul01 said:
Has anyone purchased anything from e-infinity? Just want to check if they are safe to buy from.
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They are safe to buy from in terms of getting your equipment. Although that wasn't always the case, long before they had a website to order from they used to be pretty big on eBay and they had a very bad reputation as they worked on a drop ship process. So basically someone would order from them and then they would go away and try and source the stock. This led to people waiting for an extremely long time for goods to be dispatched, I once placed an order with them and had to place a paypal claim for a refund as they refused to refund even though the order had still not been dispatched after 4 weeks. They haven't operated like this for years now though and their new eBay shops don't do this any more.

However their terms and conditions of sale are quite poor for example if you receive a faulty item according to their terms and conditions they can replace with a reconditioned rather than new unit.

Their terms and conditions also state that if a product needs to be repaired it has to be returned to China, however I know a few people who have been able to get them to agree to covering the cost of the repair in the U.K although they had to pay for the repair and e-infin then sent them a payment.

I also know a couple of people who placed orders with them and received equipment which was obviously not new, one received a lens which was filthy and one received a camera body that had a card inside with several hundred images on it. To be fair these could I suppose have been items that where returned to them as new unopened items and they haven't checked and put back into stock.

Personally I prefer to use Panamoz, if you contact them them will match or come close to e-infin prices. They also provide a 3 year warranty rather than 1 year like e-infin, delivery times are usually quicker and if you run into any problems later on down the line, all repairs are carried out in the u.k and they have a pretty good rep for ensuring that everything gets sorted out.

I have used them a few times though when Panaomoz didn't have stock etc. I wouldn't use them for anything of significant value.
 
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That e-infinity do look very tempting.

I've spent many thousands with Panamoz zero issues but their offices have gone up a lot recently. They don't seem any cheaper than buying off WEX or Amazon.

Sony 90mm macro
WEX, £879.00
Panamoz, £828.00
E-infinity, £649.00
Digital Rev, £779.00

So a fair broad spectrum of prices.
Would Panamoz really match the £649.00 prices?
 
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Well trouble is from this it doesn’t appear on the tp app correctly
 
robj20 said:
That e-infinity do look very tempting.

I've spent many thousands with Panamoz zero issues but their offices have gone up a lot recently. They don't seem any cheaper than buying off WEX or Amazon.

Sony 90mm macro
WEX, £879.00
Panamoz, £828.00
E-infinity, £649.00
Digital Rev, £779.00

So a fair broad spectrum of prices.
Would Panamoz really match the £649.00 prices?
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You can only ask and see I bought an A9 and a spare battery from them the other day and they matched the e-infin price for me. Hopefully be delivered in a few days.

I have also this year got them to match the price with e-infin on 3 x A7III bodies and the 135GM. Each time I just asked the question and they agreed to do it. To be fair though I have spent a crazy amount of money with them over the last 4-5 years and being a regular customer does make a difference as when I ordered my last A7III form them they wouldn't give the same price to a mate of mine who was ordering at the same time, from memory though they did come close, within about £40-£50 of the e-infin price which for her was worth it for the extra 2 years warranty and better customer services.

The price they will give will depend on their cost price as you would expect with any business, but if you are a good customer they can be flexible. The only time they wouldn't match for me was when I was looking the 90mm Macro funnily enough and while they did offer a discount it was still a fair bit more expensive than e-infin, I ended up buying a used one from here in the end but that was about a year ago, would be still worthwhile asking the question.
 
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nandbytes said:
Only one way to find out ;)
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It's on my wish list for sure that and an A7iii. As the little guy grows and starts moving it's proving a struggle for my A7R to nail the shots. Great for stationary shots though.
 
robj20 said:
It's on my wish list for sure that and an A7iii. As the little guy grows and starts moving it's proving a struggle for my A7R to nail the shots. Great for stationary shots though.
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Probably should have mentioned that with Panamoz when they give a discount, you have to pay the full amount on the website and send an email to Tina with the confirmed order number and they then send you a paypal refund for the amount. Each time they have done it for me I have received the refund within a couple of minutes of sending the email, but you do have to wait for paypal sending the money back to you.
 
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I’ve a question, what kind of price are A9’s going for second hand? When is the A9ii out? I’m currently thinking of an A6400 for remote wildlife stuff but potentially considering going the full way and picking up a used A9. It will likely be early next year rather than straight away. The A9 would be my main wildlife camera with my A7r3 becoming the remote wide angle wildlife stuff and landscapes camera. Another option would be the A7iii. It would be cheaper but maybe not the blazing speed and AF of the A9.

Is there much difference between the A9 and A7r3 for high iso? If it was a stop better iso then that would be quite useful. This weekend I’ve recently been photographing squirrels and early morning I resorted to using the 70-200 f4 instead of the 100-400 because of the extra stop of light. I’ve had the 70-200 up for sale as it’s unlikely to be used that much considering I have the 100-400 too. If I could offset the stop of aperture then the 70-200 wouldn’t be needed in the early mornings.
 
rob-nikon said:
I’ve a question, what kind of price are A9’s going for second hand? When is the A9ii out? I’m currently thinking of an A6400 for remote wildlife stuff but potentially considering going the full way and picking up a used A9. It will likely be early next year rather than straight away. The A9 would be my main wildlife camera with my A7r3 becoming the remote wide angle wildlife stuff and landscapes camera. Another option would be the A7iii. It would be cheaper but maybe not the blazing speed and AF of the A9.

Is there much difference between the A9 and A7r3 for high iso? If it was a stop better iso then that would be quite useful. This weekend I’ve recently been photographing squirrels and early morning I resorted to using the 70-200 f4 instead of the 100-400 because of the extra stop of light. I’ve had the 70-200 up for sale as it’s unlikely to be used that much considering I have the 100-400 too. If I could offset the stop of aperture then the 70-200 wouldn’t be needed in the early mornings.
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The A9 is better at higher ISO but exposure recovery/dynamic range is not as good on the A9 so maybe something to consider as well. The AF on the A9 is much better though and I much preferred the A9 for wildlife/sports which is why I'll be picking up an A9ii which although I'm disappointed with the "upgrade" it does at least correct a few things that I don't like on the A9 ie body and weather sealing.

Used A9's are at a good price now thanks to the A9ii but likely to drop again around Christmas. If you were to buy grey then a new A9 can be purchased for under £2.3k whereas used ones are similar prices I think.
 
robj20 said:
It's on my wish list for sure that and an A7iii. As the little guy grows and starts moving it's proving a struggle for my A7R to nail the shots. Great for stationary shots though.
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Our little one was the main reason I upgraded from A7RII to A7RIII. Got a nice boost in hit rate.
Upgrade to M3 bodies is worth it for little ones :)
 
Jase said:
The A9 is better at higher ISO but exposure recovery/dynamic range is not as good on the A9 so maybe something to consider as well. The AF on the A9 is much better though and I much preferred the A9 for wildlife/sports which is why I'll be picking up an A9ii which although I'm disappointed with the "upgrade" it does at least correct a few things that I don't like on the A9 ie body and weather sealing.

Used A9's are at a good price now thanks to the A9ii but likely to drop again around Christmas. If you were to buy grey then a new A9 can be purchased for under £2.3k whereas used ones are similar prices I think.
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Thanks for the reply. I won’t be making a decision until after the new year so plenty of time to see how things go price wise.
 
A couple of Red Squirrels taken a few days ago. These were the only images I took during this trip. Always love shooting in the rain, as long as I can keep the camera dry. If anyone is looking for a rain cover I can recommend the Think Tank emergency rain covers. The medium rain cover fitted the 70-200 f4 and also the 100-400 ok. Tempted to pick up the small as that would be better for smaller lenses like the 24-105.

A7R3 & 70-200 f4
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A7R3 & 70-200 f4
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rob-nikon said:
A couple of Red Squirrels taken a few days ago. These were the only images I took during this trip. Always love shooting in the rain, as long as I can keep the camera dry. If anyone is looking for a rain cover I can recommend the Think Tank emergency rain covers. The medium rain cover fitted the 70-200 f4 and also the 100-400 ok. Tempted to pick up the small as that would be better for smaller lenses like the 24-105.

A7R3 & 70-200 f4
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A7R3 & 70-200 f4
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Where did you go on your trip? I saw quite a few of those when I was at the lake district last week.

And I got to try the weather sealing on the A7RIV on a hike up Snowdon, it got drenched but worked :)
 
Jase said:
Where did you go on your trip? I saw quite a few of those when I was at the lake district last week.

And I got to try the weather sealing on the A7RIV on a hike up Snowdon, it got drenched but worked :)
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A B&B that I've been going to for a few years. The numbers are down but hopefully its just a seasonal thing.
 
T_J_G said:
Yup but worth waiting til eBay do 10% off electronics and ordering through their eBay shop.
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Can't seem to find their shop on ebay, one comes up but as .au?
 
f/2.8 said:
They are safe to buy from in terms of getting your equipment. Personally I prefer to use Panamoz, if you contact them them will match or come close to e-infin prices. They also provide a 3 year warranty rather than 1 year like e-infin, delivery times are usually quicker and if you run into any problems later on down the line, all repairs are carried out in the u.k and they have a pretty good rep for ensuring that everything gets sorted out.

I have used them a few times though when Panaomoz didn't have stock etc. I wouldn't use them for anything of significant value.
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It's only a 85mm f1.8 I'm after. Have also emailed Panamoz to see if they will price match.

Thank you for your help
 
rookies said:
A couple more of the dogs while I been deciding what to do. Sony still a brilliant camera lol

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View: https://flic.kr/p/2hvmxsr


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View: https://flic.kr/p/2hvmxrQ
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Stick with the Sony mate, it's a better camera. I love the Z7, really happy with it, but I know that you'll be comparing the eye-AF etc etc and the Nikon's aren't a match. They do everything I need, but if you're used to the A73 or A9 and rely on/use the eye-AF a lot, and want fast frame rate with real time view then the Z's will be a disappointment. In terms of performance think about it like going back to the D750 with a 1fps less, do you want to go back to that? I'm in no way saying that's a bad thing obviously, the D750 is still a great camera, all I'm saying is are you prepared to take a backwards step for the benefits that you think Nikon will give you?
 
snerkler said:
Stick with the Sony mate, it's a better camera. I love the Z7, really happy with it, but I know that you'll be comparing the eye-AF etc etc and the Nikon's aren't a match. They do everything I need, but if you're used to the A73 or A9 and rely on/use the eye-AF a lot, and want fast frame rate with real time view then the Z's will be a disappointment. In terms of performance think about it like going back to the D750 with a 1fps less, do you want to go back to that? I'm in no way saying that's a bad thing obviously, the D750 is still a great camera, all I'm saying is are you prepared to take a backwards step for the benefits that you think Nikon will give you?
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I loved my D750 especially with the 58mm.

If the Z7 had 2 card slots, I might've gone that route with the promise of the 58mm F0.95 Noct. Lucky save, considering the price of it
 
KitsuneAndy said:
I loved my D750 especially with the 58mm.

If the Z7 had 2 card slots, I might've gone that route with the promise of the 58mm F0.95 Noct. Lucky save, considering the price of it
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You can buy a nice case for the Noct too, for $900 :eek:
 
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