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

I used my A7 and 40mm f1.2 today :D I'm trying to decide if I need a 50mm Voigtlander.
 
Barrysprout said:
Shutter count 1838.
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Ouch ermmm I will need to check mine...... :eek:
Is it because the Sony's just don't make you want to take photos...... technically the Sony bodies are way ahead but for the fun and feel factor it might divide opinions.
 
Riz_Guru said:
Ouch ermmm I will need to check mine...... :eek:
Is it because the Sony's just don't make you want to take photos...... technically the Sony bodies are way ahead but for the fun and feel factor it might divide opinions.
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I think that's partly it. The Sony is by far the best camera I've owned but at the end of the day it does more than I need and doesn't make me want to lift it and shoot (not sure any camera would at the moment) Today I'm pondering purchasing the 35mm f1. 8 or selling everything
 
Barrysprout said:
I think that's partly it. The Sony is by far the best camera I've owned but at the end of the day it does more than I need and doesn't make me want to lift it and shoot (not sure any camera would at the moment) Today I'm pondering purchasing the 35mm f1. 8 or selling everything
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I know the feeling well.....
My Nikon D7000 and 17-55mm f2.8 felt good...... so did my Fuji X100, the Sony A9 is an incredible camera but I am just not feeling it at the moment.
 
Riz_Guru said:
I know the feeling well.....
My Nikon D7000 and 17-55mm f2.8 felt good...... so did my Fuji X100, the Sony A9 is an incredible camera but I am just not feeling it at the moment.
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My thoughts of picking up another fuji are partly fueled by the fact I bought another X100F before a recent trip to Spain and had great fun using it.

Might keep an eye out for a bargain X-pro 2 now that the 3 is announced.
 
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woof woof said:
As you know I have the 40mm but I usual reach for the 35mm f1.4 as it's so much smaller and lighter. The 40mm does perform optically better though and it gives a look which is more transparent and of course it's sharp into the corners by f5 or so which the 35mm never is.

What attracts me to the 50mm f1.2 is that it's a 50mm f1.2 and that is perhaps a significant difference to a 40mm f1.2. The 50mm f2 appeals because it'll probably be excellent and owning excellent things is nice :D
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The 50/1.2 does look a good performing and rendering lens but it's obviously at a fair cost!

Strange thing is, in the years I had my 5D2 I always shot 50mm!!
 
Barrysprout said:
My thoughts of picking up another fuji are partly fueled by the fact I bought another X100F before a recent trip to Spain and had great fun using it.

Might keep an eye out for a bargain X-pro 2 now that the 3 is announced.
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I had a rather special original Fuji X100 when it first came out...... regret selling it.
8351007814_2478d61a44_c.jpg


14357509613_666e50773f_c.jpg
 
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Riz_Guru said:
You need a new body dude.... come'on mmmm A7 III ;)
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When mine dies I'll get a new one but I'll probably miss the more compact body of the originals. Other than that the extra bells and whistles and focus voodooetry would be mostly wasted on me as the AF and face detect of the A7 seems to be good enough for what I want.

Anyway.

From todays walk to the shops. A7 and Voigtlander 40mm f1.2 wide open.

XaTcH3z.jpg


8JFg5i4.jpg
 
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LeeRatters said:
The 50/1.2 does look a good performing and rendering lens but it's obviously at a fair cost!

Strange thing is, in the years I had my 5D2 I always shot 50mm!!
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I'm still thinking, but it's much less than a GM. ok it isn't, but oh well :D

I liked my Sigma 50mm f1.4 on my 5D but these days I seem to prefer 35mm.
 
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woof woof said:
I'm still thinking, but it's much less than a GM. ok it isn't, but oh well :D

I liked my Sigma 50mm f1.4 on my 5D but these days I seem to prefer 35mm.
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£944!! Still dearer than the 40 at £810 << I definitely didn't pay that much?!?

Nice to see the old 40/1.4 M Classic still at £486! Wonder what used prices are....? lol

EDIT - £758 MINUS 10% cashback for the 40/1.2 equals £682 :) I had to check!! :D
 
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They're possibly rare and holding their value quite well.

Yes the 50mm f1.4 and f2 are relatively expensive but they'll probably last longer than the system.

I can't remember how much I paid for my 40 and 35mm, it's best not to dwell :D
 
Riz_Guru said:
It wasn’t perfect but it has a certain look to it.
Wouldn’t call it garbage though, the original X100 is what turned things around for Fuji.
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Yeah it has a look of being soft. :ROFLMAO:

It’s also completely unusable wide open.

Fuji form over function as always.
 
woof woof said:
Oh dear I'm sorry to hear that. Have you tried mole grips?

Lovely pictures though :D
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Thanks (y)

I'm considering soldering it to the mount :ROFLMAO:
 
Recently bought my first decent camera, a A7ii.

Are there any tips/shortcuts within the settings, for easier/better photography?
 
Reading around the forum there seem's to be a lot of people on here unhappy or being quite negative about the Sony system at the moment. I find this a bit surprising considering in other places a lot of people are still raving about the system and ditching other systems to jump on board.

Even the other day I myself said that I would probably jump back to Nikon once their mirrorless system matured, just because I have always been a Nikon fan boy. Although realistically I probably wouldn't unless they where able to offer something that was an improvement either in image quality or the ease of getting images I want rather than just catching up at some point.

I was just thinking there though why is the negativity around Sony much more prevalent on here than elsewhere. I am guessing it comes down to the type of photographers that hang out in places like this. There are much less professional photographers on this forum than there used to be, so a lot of the membership is made up of enthusiasts. I think with enthusiasts a lot of them consider ergonomics and how much they enjoy using the equipment as important in some cases more important than the images they are able to produce.

Where as for most professionals the images are more important than anything else, closely followed by the easiest way to get them and are maybe a little more willing to not care as much about ergonomics etc. although that is important too when you are using equipment a lot but probably comes bottom of the list compared to other things.

The ergonomics on the Sony cameras have never really bothered me that much, I found the little half leather cases helped them feel pretty good to me. When the Z7 first became available I bought one straight away intending to use it as my personal camera and to make some use of the Nikon glass I still had at the time, and the ergonomics are better but after using the Sony's I found the camera a bit limiting so returned it after only a couple of days. I appreciate they have now been improved with new firmware so maybe the difference in performance now isn't as big as before.

I guess because there hasn't been anything new and exciting from Sony in a little while the buzz had died down a little bit on here. A lot of people have also been a little disappointed in the incremental changes in the recent camera bodies.

I am still very happy with my gear though. Yeah it would be great of they could add the red focus point option to the A7III and adding seconds to the clock would save a little bit of hassle but other than that I can't really say I am missing anything that would be available elsewhere. I also don't think they get enough credit for some of the lenses which are incredible. The 24 & 135 G.M lenses are the best I have ever used. I also really like the 55 f/1.8 for it's small size and razor sharpness and the 85G.M is a much better lens than the Nikon 85 f/1.4G I had before. The 90mm Macro is the best macro lens I have used as well. Even with third party glass I am really digging the little Tamron 17-28 at the moment.

Having just got an A9 and a A7RIV between me and my wife that now takes us up to 6 Sony bodies. The A9 has really impressed me so much so that I might consider ditching one of our A7III's for another one. I haven't had a chance to do anything with the A7RIV other than set it up as yet but straight away I can see that the deeper grip makes it a fair bit more comfortable to use and I have no doubt that image quality is going to be outstanding.

There is always going to be people that choose a particular brand due to being a fanboy or being afraid of a major change, I know because I used to be one of them, I held of switching from Nikon right up until the launch of the Z bodies and truthfully I would have went all in on the Z's if they had of had 2 card slots even though there would have been other disadvantages. People on forums like this defend their purchases much more though than you would see elsewhere to the point of exaggerating and sometimes outright lying about what their kit is capable of to justify their purchase decision. :LOL:

We all seem to get so caught up in it all. All of the cameras currently available from all of the manufacturers are very capable.
 
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f/2.8 said:
Reading around the forum there seem's to be a lot of people on here unhappy or being quite negative about the Sony system at the moment. I find this a bit surprising considering in other places a lot of people are still raving about the system and ditching other systems to jump on board.

Even the other day I myself said that I would probably jump back to Nikon once their mirrorless system matured, just because I have always been a Nikon fan boy. Although realistically I probably wouldn't unless they where able to offer something that was an improvement either in image quality or the ease of getting images I want rather than just catching up at some point.

I was just thinking there though why is the negativity around Sony much more prevalent on here than elsewhere. I am guessing it comes down to the type of photographers that hang out in places like this. There are much less professional photographers on this forum than there used to be, so a lot of the membership is made up of enthusiasts. I think with enthusiasts a lot of them consider ergonomics and how much they enjoy using the equipment as important in some cases more important than the images they are able to produce.

Where as for most professionals the images are more important than anything else, closely followed by the easiest way to get them and are maybe a little more willing to not care as much about ergonomics etc. although that is important too when you are using equipment a lot but probably comes bottom of the list compared to other things.

The ergonomics on the Sony cameras have never really bothered me that much, I found the little half leather cases helped them feel pretty good to me. When the Z7 first became available I bought one straight away intending to use it as my personal camera and to make some use of the Nikon glass I still had at the time, and the ergonomics are better but after using the Sony's I found the camera a bit limiting so returned it after only a couple of days. I appreciate they have now been improved with new firmware so maybe the difference in performance now isn't as big as before.

I guess because there hasn't been anything new and exciting from Sony in a little while the buzz had died down a little bit on here. A lot of people have also been a little disappointed in the incremental changes in the recent camera bodies.

I am still very happy with my gear though. Yeah it would be great of they could add the red focus point option to the A7III and adding seconds to the clock would save a little bit of hassle but other than that I can't really say I am missing anything that would be available elsewhere. I also don't think they get enough credit for some of the lenses which are incredible. The 24 & 135 G.M lenses are the best I have ever used. I also really like the 55 f/1.8 for it's small size and razor sharpness and the 85G.M is a much better lens than the Nikon 85 f/1.4G I had before. The 90mm Macro is the best macro lens I have used as well. Even with third party glass I am really digging the little Tamron 17-28 at the moment.

Having just got an A9 and a A7RIV between me and my wife that now takes us up to 6 Sony bodies. The A9 has really impressed me so much so that I might consider ditching one of our A7III's for another one. I haven't had a chance to do anything with the A7RIV other than set it up as yet but straight away I can see that the deeper grip makes it a fair bit more comfortable to use and I have no doubt that image quality is going to be outstanding.

There is always going to be people that choose a particular brand due to being a fanboy or being afraid of a major change, I know because I used to be one of them, I held of switching from Nikon right up until the launch of the Z bodies and truthfully I would have went all in on the Z's if they had of had 2 card slots even though there would have been other disadvantages. People on forums like this defend their purchases much more though than you would see elsewhere to the point of exaggerating and sometimes outright lying about what their kit is capable of to justify their purchase decision. :LOL:

We all seem to get so caught up in it all. All of the cameras currently available from all of the manufacturers are very capable.
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Interesting, tbh apart from the usual banter I haven't seen much negative about the Sony system, only praise. Yes every system has got pros and cons, but on the whole Sony are still class leading in the FF mirrorless world imo.

However, you do see strange and unfounded criticism across all the systems tbh and I think some of it is a case of people trying to justify their own decision. I've stopped listening to it all tbh, I know what I like and what works for me and that's all that matters. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the banter as much as the next person, but not bashing for bashing's sake (y)
 
f/2.8 said:
Reading around the forum there seem's to be a lot of people on here unhappy or being quite negative about the Sony system at the moment. I find this a bit surprising considering in other places a lot of people are still raving about the system and ditching other systems to jump on board.

Even the other day I myself said that I would probably jump back to Nikon once their mirrorless system matured, just because I have always been a Nikon fan boy. Although realistically I probably wouldn't unless they where able to offer something that was an improvement either in image quality or the ease of getting images I want rather than just catching up at some point.

I was just thinking there though why is the negativity around Sony much more prevalent on here than elsewhere. I am guessing it comes down to the type of photographers that hang out in places like this. There are much less professional photographers on this forum than there used to be, so a lot of the membership is made up of enthusiasts. I think with enthusiasts a lot of them consider ergonomics and how much they enjoy using the equipment as important in some cases more important than the images they are able to produce.

Where as for most professionals the images are more important than anything else, closely followed by the easiest way to get them and are maybe a little more willing to not care as much about ergonomics etc. although that is important too when you are using equipment a lot but probably comes bottom of the list compared to other things.

The ergonomics on the Sony cameras have never really bothered me that much, I found the little half leather cases helped them feel pretty good to me. When the Z7 first became available I bought one straight away intending to use it as my personal camera and to make some use of the Nikon glass I still had at the time, and the ergonomics are better but after using the Sony's I found the camera a bit limiting so returned it after only a couple of days. I appreciate they have now been improved with new firmware so maybe the difference in performance now isn't as big as before.

I guess because there hasn't been anything new and exciting from Sony in a little while the buzz had died down a little bit on here. A lot of people have also been a little disappointed in the incremental changes in the recent camera bodies.

I am still very happy with my gear though. Yeah it would be great of they could add the red focus point option to the A7III and adding seconds to the clock would save a little bit of hassle but other than that I can't really say I am missing anything that would be available elsewhere. I also don't think they get enough credit for some of the lenses which are incredible. The 24 & 135 G.M lenses are the best I have ever used. I also really like the 55 f/1.8 for it's small size and razor sharpness and the 85G.M is a much better lens than the Nikon 85 f/1.4G I had before. The 90mm Macro is the best macro lens I have used as well. Even with third party glass I am really digging the little Tamron 17-28 at the moment.

Having just got an A9 and a A7RIV between me and my wife that now takes us up to 6 Sony bodies. The A9 has really impressed me so much so that I might consider ditching one of our A7III's for another one. I haven't had a chance to do anything with the A7RIV other than set it up as yet but straight away I can see that the deeper grip makes it a fair bit more comfortable to use and I have no doubt that image quality is going to be outstanding.

There is always going to be people that choose a particular brand due to being a fanboy or being afraid of a major change, I know because I used to be one of them, I held of switching from Nikon right up until the launch of the Z bodies and truthfully I would have went all in on the Z's if they had of had 2 card slots even though there would have been other disadvantages. People on forums like this defend their purchases much more though than you would see elsewhere to the point of exaggerating and sometimes outright lying about what their kit is capable of to justify their purchase decision. :LOL:

We all seem to get so caught up in it all. All of the cameras currently available from all of the manufacturers are very capable.
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As I said before folks such as yourself i.e. professionals only jump when the system is mature and dependable (rightly so). while you guys keep the system going you would have never bought the initial A7/r (or the Z6/Z7 or EOS R).
Folks like me i.e. as you call enthusiasts and also early adopters are interested in trying cool new tech and are ones that will initially buy into the system to get it to the point where it is at now. Canon/Nikon basically have got too held up with folks such as yourself and don't cater for folks such as myself. Sony seems to following that same path and will end up alienating us or at least me if they go down the route they are taking.
 
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nandbytes said:
As I said before folks such as yourself i.e. professionals only jump when the system is mature and dependable (rightly so). while you guys keep the system going you would have never bought the initial A7.
Folks like me i.e. as you call enthusiasts and also early adopters are interested in trying cool new tech and are ones that will initially buy into the system to get it to the point where it is at now. Canon/Nikon basically have got too held up with folks such as yourself and don't cater for folks such as myself. Sony seems to following that same path and will end up alienating us or at least me if they go down the route they are taking.
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I agree and there is nothing wrong at all with being an enthusiast, nor is there anything wrong with those that get excited about the latest gizmos and you are right I wouldn't have bought the original A7, at the time I had not long jumped into working as a photographer part time / full time, seems like an age ago now. I do remember going to a workshop and one of the guys there had an A7R which I really liked but lenses at the time seemed to be a real issue. The guy that was using it, was mainly using adapted manual lenses, which just wouldn't have worked for what I needed at all. I was interested enough to consider buying one for personal use but they weren't cheap and the hassle of running 2 systems put me off.

Perhaps it's an age thing or whatever but if I was to give up photography as a job tomorrow morning, I would probably ditch everything for an APSC camera and probably just a couple of lenses. Before I did photography for work though and I was an enthusiast myself I had a lot of gear that most pro's would have been envious off. Not sure if it is the step change in terms of the images being everything and knowing that you don't need really high equipment to get a desired result compared to getting really excited about gear.
 
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I ditched all my Nikon kit and moved to Sony and I’m glad I did.
I have no issue with the Sony ergonomics, I find it no less comfy than my old d750.( though I have small girly hands)
Af is a million times better, lenses are small and lighter for what I’ve got.

I had looked at the Z but as I would be selling all my glass to go native I was put off by the limited selection and what seemed like overly priced glass.

Nikon seems to be the kit that depreciates the most which is also a reason I was put off. the a7iii was released at a lower price,about 8 months before the z6 but is still priced higher.
The z6 has lost £700 in value on a year so when the time came to upgrade it will be worth even less.
It seems that all there lenses have done similar.
So anyone that’s bought into the Z system and bought all the kit at release is well out off pocket now.

I really noticed this when selling all my dslr kit too the canon equivalents though many older held value a lot better.

For a non professional this has to be taken into consideration.


The only reason Nikon seemed to be doing so well the past few years was due to Sony supplying all there sensors ..had they not or if they decided to stop I’m sure Nikon would be pretty screwed.
 
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I think there's possibly at the extreme end still the thought in some peoples minds that Sony are a pack of ruthless bar stewards who don't care about consumers and also anyway, who do they think they are? They should stick to making phones, DVD players, games consoles and TV's and leave camera gear to the established brands.

My first good camera was a Nikon SLR and I had that for a long time. When I decided to get a DSLR everyone said that Canon was way out in front so that's what I got but to be honest I never felt a lot of love for the Canon cameras and always thought back to the Nikon but maybe that was just a part of looking back to film and nostalgia. Moving to Sony FF was easy as there was no other choice but if there'd been an equivalent Nikon I'd probably have bought it just because I owned a Nikon for so long.

These days I tell myself that I just don't care who makes the gear and that's very largely true. I'd like to buy British but as none of this stuff is I don't see why I should care if I buy a Sony made in Thailand or a Canon made in China.

I've been trying not to invest too much in the Sony system just in case I fancy something else but over the years the FE kit has grown a bit and I now have 5 Sony lenses and two Voigtlanders so it looks like I'm staying for a while :D

Just on the whinging and comparisons to other brands in this thread. I actually think we're possibly more accommodating and calmer in this thread than a some of the other ones. I've had some quite nasty reaction in other threads when I've honestly not meant to be anything troll like or disruptive but I don't remember seeing anything that extreme in this thread, or maybe I've missed it :D When the criticism and Fuji/Nikon is better stuff goes on for page after page I do get bored and more than a bit irritated though, but life goes on :D

I sometimes get a bit phased at people swapping perfectly good gear for more perfectly good gear but c'est la vie. When I think I'm being held back by the gear I take a look at what other people are doing with similar kit and usually realise the kit isn't the issue, it's me :D
 
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f/2.8 said:
Reading around the forum there seem's to be a lot of people on here unhappy or being quite negative about the Sony system at the moment. I find this a bit surprising considering in other places a lot of people are still raving about the system and ditching other systems to jump on board.
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It's the nature of forums and this one in particular - see the 'bored stiff' thread for examples. Sony is also last-year's darling, and many have been waiting for Canikon to get on board with mirrorless because brand loyalty is still at work. Finally Sony have definitely got some things wrong with the cameras (menus, ergonomics, high prices) and they provide fuel.

People always like something to grumble about, and a technology-centric hobby like photography makes people focus on the equipment more than is sometimes helpful.
 
pmac said:
I ditched all my Nikon kit and moved to Sony and I’m glad I did.
I have no issue with the Sony ergonomics, I find it no less comfy than my old d750.( though I have small girly hands)
Af is a million times better, lenses are small and lighter for what I’ve got.

I had looked at the Z but as I would be selling all my glass to go native I was put off by the limited selection and what seemed like overly priced glass.

Nikon seems to be the kit that depreciates the most which is also a reason I was put off. the a7iii was released at a lower price,about 8 months before the z6 but is still priced higher.
The z6 has lost £700 in value on a year so when the time came to upgrade it will be worth even less.
It seems that all there lenses have done similar.
So anyone that’s bought into the Z system and bought all the kit at release is well out off pocket now.

I really noticed this when selling all my dslr kit too the canon equivalents though many older held value a lot better.

For a non professional this has to be taken into consideration.


The only reason Nikon seemed to be doing so well the past few years was due to Sony supplying all there sensors ..had they not or if they decided to stop I’m sure Nikon would be pretty screwed.
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used market is one of the most important considerations for me. I buy and sell used a LOOOT!
I would have been bankrupt if it wasn't for the healthy used market on sony and canon.
 
ancient_mariner said:
It's the nature of forums and this one in particular - see the 'bored stiff' thread for examples. Sony is also last-year's darling, and many have been waiting for Canikon to get on board with mirrorless because brand loyalty is still at work. Finally Sony have definitely got some things wrong with the cameras (menus, ergonomics, high prices) and they provide fuel.

People always like something to grumble about, and a technology-centric hobby like photography makes people focus on the equipment more than is sometimes helpful.
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Are they high though? I thought much of it is quite well priced when you look at the competition.
 
woof woof said:
Are they high though? I thought much of it is quite well priced when you look at the competition.
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Me too, when you compare like for like Sony seem cheaper than the rest although I haven't looked at it in any detail.
 
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