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

snerkler said:
Sorry I'm still confused by this, are you saying that real time only tracks the subject and not the eye(s)/face, but with the A7iii it does track the eye(s)/face?

I think I asked this before but my memory's shocking, with Sony can you have eye AF set in all modes (wide, single point, auto etc) therefore if you are in single point you can help press the AF point over the person's face you want to track and it will start tracking the eyes of that person? That would be really useful in crowds rather than leaving up to the camera which face to track.
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Yeah I still don’t either.

twist said:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG37PzFSyKU
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So what does the A7iii do or the equivalent of. Using Lock on AF wide or Lock on Flex Spot.

How would you do similar in the video with the A7iii?
 
haribo85 said:
Hi All,

Bit of help if you may.

I'm hovering over the buy button on an A7iii - upgrading from an A6000, so should hopefully see a significant upgrade.

Best price I can get it for:

£1899 - SONY a7 III Mirrorless Camera with 28-70 mm f/3.5-5.6 Zoom Lens - Currys
Minus 7.5% Perkbox vouchers through work (£142.46)
Minus £300 cashback through Sony.
Bringing it down to £1456.54 (£442.46 saving).

Quidco/Topcashback are currently doing decent offers on Currys, but say they won't payout if a gift voucher is used - which I think the Perkbox vouchers are. I will try though.

I also want the Tamron 28-75 2.8, which is currently £599 at Amazon - can anyone beat this on price? Already a good saving?

I'm stuck between deciding whether to purchase the A7iii as body only and then get the Tamron, or whether to buy with the 28-70 native lens. Seems as they almost cover the same focal length it could be a waste and the native would just sit there? Body only is £1755 - which puts the native lens at £144 - which seems cheap. And perhaps I'd leave that on more often and worry less about it?

I also think I'll pick up the SONY FE 50 mm f/1.8 Standard Prime Lens at £129

Does anyone have an opinion on any of this? Am I doing the right thing? I presume these prices won't be beaten for a while.

Sorry for the long first post.

Thanks,
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I’d buy the kit, sell the kit lens and buy the Tamron, the Tamron is an exceptional price.
 
haribo85 said:
Hi All,

Bit of help if you may.

I'm hovering over the buy button on an A7iii - upgrading from an A6000, so should hopefully see a significant upgrade.

Best price I can get it for:

£1899 - SONY a7 III Mirrorless Camera with 28-70 mm f/3.5-5.6 Zoom Lens - Currys
Minus 7.5% Perkbox vouchers through work (£142.46)
Minus £300 cashback through Sony.
Bringing it down to £1456.54 (£442.46 saving).

Quidco/Topcashback are currently doing decent offers on Currys, but say they won't payout if a gift voucher is used - which I think the Perkbox vouchers are. I will try though.

I also want the Tamron 28-75 2.8, which is currently £599 at Amazon - can anyone beat this on price? Already a good saving?

I'm stuck between deciding whether to purchase the A7iii as body only and then get the Tamron, or whether to buy with the 28-70 native lens. Seems as they almost cover the same focal length it could be a waste and the native would just sit there? Body only is £1755 - which puts the native lens at £144 - which seems cheap. And perhaps I'd leave that on more often and worry less about it?

I also think I'll pick up the SONY FE 50 mm f/1.8 Standard Prime Lens at £129

Does anyone have an opinion on any of this? Am I doing the right thing? I presume these prices won't be beaten for a while.

Sorry for the long first post.

Thanks,
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https://panamoz.com/digital-cameras/sony/sony-alpha-a7-iii-mirrorless-digital-camera-body-only.html Ask for price match with e-infinity so £1299 Body Only

No need having to mess about hoping that Sony cash back pays out and hoping that other TopCash back pays out etc. Plus you will get a 3 year warranty rather than 1 year and not have to deal with a horrible company like Currys.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tamron-28-75mm-F2-8-A036SF-Sony-FE/dp/B07CSXTGJJ £599 for the Tamron

The 50mm isn't great probably best to skip that one.
 
Riz_Guru said:
The question you should be asking yourself is.... "do I need them" :D lol
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Sometime I may need them for portraits and for Macro with a adaptor maybe

Prob is I need a 70-200 lol
 
Seen some images on Flickr with the Sony 24-240 i know i won't want that but it seem to do good images
 
rookies said:
Sometime I may need them for portraits and for Macro with a adaptor maybe

Prob is I need a 70-200 lol
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Is it a case of wan't more than need? I don't need half the stuff I have bought over the year, I clearly know it's more of a wan't sometimes lol ;)

rookies said:
Seen some images on Flickr with the Sony 24-240 i know i won't want that but it seem to do good images
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Hey, my iPhone XR can do good images.... the question is, how far are you willing to for the final 5-10% difference in real-world use? :D
 
Riz_Guru said:
Is it a case of wan't more than need? I don't need half the stuff I have bought over the year, I clearly know it's more of a wan't sometimes lol ;)


Hey, my iPhone XR can do good images.... the question is, how far are you willing to for the final 5-10% difference in real-world use? :D
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Arghh that is selling the whole lot and go back to my iPhone 11 pro max
 
So as a new Sony user can someone tell me the major differences between the A7 ii and iii please in plain English?

I.e. is it a major upgrade?

I'm loving the A7 ii at the moment but would I see a massive difference in IQ if I upgraded down the line?
 
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GreenNinja67 said:
So as a new Sony user can someone tell me the major differences between the A7 ii and iii please in plain English?

I.e. is it a major upgrade?

I'm loving the A7 ii at the moment but would I see a massive difference in IQ if I upgraded down the line?
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Might not see a massive different in IQ but the AF is much better.. What kind of photography you into
 
Mainly landscape and portraits in a small studio.

Nothing needing fast AF to be honest.

The very occasional race meeting with a mate but they're few & far between.
 
rookies said:
Are these good?
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Yeah they both are.

They are both the same power so the V80II is a belting deal, my own issue is they are very big on such a small body and personally I prefer the lower power V350s for on camera.

If you want to use it off camera as well either of those are great, depending if you want the modeling light and round head on the V1.
 
TGphoto said:
I’d buy the kit, sell the kit lens and buy the Tamron, the Tamron is an exceptional price.
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Thanks for that.

f/2.8 said:
https://panamoz.com/digital-cameras/sony/sony-alpha-a7-iii-mirrorless-digital-camera-body-only.html Ask for price match with e-infinity so £1299 Body Only

No need having to mess about hoping that Sony cash back pays out and hoping that other TopCash back pays out etc. Plus you will get a 3 year warranty rather than 1 year and not have to deal with a horrible company like Currys.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tamron-28-75mm-F2-8-A036SF-Sony-FE/dp/B07CSXTGJJ £599 for the Tamron

The 50mm isn't great probably best to skip that one.
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Thanks. How reputable are Panamoz? Obviously the price stacks up, but I've not heard of them before. Grey import I presume?

Does the Sony cash back sometimes fail to pay out then?

What's up with the 50mm? What would you suggest instead in terms of a prime?

Thanks
 
GreenNinja67 said:
So as a new Sony user can someone tell me the major differences between the A7 ii and iii please in plain English?

I.e. is it a major upgrade?

I'm loving the A7 ii at the moment but would I see a massive difference in IQ if I upgraded down the line?
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I bought the III rather than II because I wanted the better AF for tracking grandchildren, longer battery life for travel and better IBIS because I'm not as steady as I'd like and hate using tripods. Those are the obvious upgrades *to me*, but it sounds like they aren't so important for you.
 
ancient_mariner said:
I bought the III rather than II because I wanted the better AF for tracking grandchildren, longer battery life for travel and better IBIS because I'm not as steady as I'd like and hate using tripods. Those are the obvious upgrades *to me*, but it sounds like they aren't so important for you.
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Thanks all for the info.

I'll see how I go.
 
f/2.8 said:
Yeah they both are.

They are both the same power so the V80II is a belting deal, my own issue is they are very big on such a small body and personally I prefer the lower power V350s for on camera.

If you want to use it off camera as well either of those are great, depending if you want the modeling light and round head on the V1.
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@rookies if you wan't something smaller, have a look at the smaller Nissin i60 flashes and the Air1 controller for off-camera work, I have 2-3 of these and they all support HSS too :)
 
Riz_Guru said:
@rookies if you wan't something smaller, have a look at the smaller Nissin i60 flashes and the Air1 controller for off-camera work, I have 2-3 of these and they all support HSS too :)
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The Godox do HSS as well, have a lithium battery rather than AA's and all work with each other including their studio stuff. Much better option.
 
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f/2.8 said:
The Godox do HSS as well, have a lithium battery rather than AA's and all work with each other including their studio stuff. Much better option.
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True but the Nissin's are smaller in size which I prefered :)
For super performance you can hook them up to the Nissin PS8 external PSU.
The Godox V860II's were on Amazon's lightening deal at £115 each!!! :eek:
 
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snerkler said:
Maybe @Diamonddec can tell you about his front focussing saga and how it was dealt with?
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I haven't been on a lot recently, but did see Alans post last night and was gonna respond...

I bought my A73 new about 18 months ago from Wilkinsons (who were excellent, BTW). At the same time I bought the 85mm f1.8 lens. Soon after, I had a studio session and noticed that the tight headshots that I took close in (4ft or so) missed focus. I was using AFC (wide) eye AF but they all focussed on the eyelashes rather than the eyeball. Admittedly the plane of focus was really shallow at that distance, but I was expecting better. Having said that, I was using f7.1 or thereabouts, so I would have expected some latitude.

The next weekend, I took my FIL to a vintage truck and car show. I took a few snaps to kill the time and I took a couple of a logo on the front of a truck on an angle. I focussed right on the centre of the badge. When I got the pictures into Lightroom, I noticed that they were all front focussed! So, I got the tape measure out and also did the old batteries test, and true enough, the results all showed front focussing.

I contacted Wilkinsons and told them what was happening and sent them the pictures that I had taken showing the issue. It was agreed to send the camera in to them for testing. They concluded that there was indeed a front focussing issue and ordered me another camera body. After a wait of a few weeks (the cameras were in very short supply at that stage) a new camera body was delivered. I immediately put the 85mm lens on and did some ruler and battery tests... GUESS WHAT? ... Still front focussing! … Hmmmm … maybe it was the lens!

So, I got back onto Wilkinsons and they suggested that I send both the camera and the lens into them for testing. I did this and they took some standard portraits of the staff around the office. They also had a Sony rep visiting one of their stores for an open day and took the combo to him to have a look at. They all agreed that there wasn't an issue. They sent me the staff pictures and they looked OK, however, they were taken at high ISO's (3200 and one at 6400, IIRC). So, they sent the camera and lens back to me. Wilkinsons said that if I was still unhappy, that the Sony rep was doing an open day at the Belfast Calumet store a week later and I could pop in and see him there and talk it through. I did this and he remembered testing the camera at Wilkinsons. He took a few snaps and concluded once again that the camera and lens were fine! He told me not to go by ruler or battery tests.

Now, I was conscious that none of the testing that they did seemed to be under the same conditions/situations that my pictures were taken. I was still not happy with the outcome, but I didn't feel that I could take it any further and reluctantly agreed to accept the situation.

I did another portrait session with the combo about 3 months later, and the pictures were fine, with the focus exactly on the eyes as planned for about 95% of the shots!!! The combo has continued to be accurate since ... although I haven't done any more ruler or battery testing!

Here's a 1 to 1 crop of a snap from a few weeks ago....

eye by CFC Photo, on Flickr
 
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Hey Guys,

Anyone use a dedicated Macro Flash on the Sony Cameras, if so care to share pics of or links too.

Andy
 
Sorry to be a pain but... which is sharper? Im getting confused reading mixed opinions on review sites! :
Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 Di III RXD Lens
Sony FE 24-105mm f4 G OSS Lens
 
Diamonddec said:
I haven't been on a lot recently, but did see Alans post last night and was gonna respond...

I bought my A73 new about 18 months ago from Wilkinsons (who were excellent, BTW). At the same time I bought the 85mm f1.8 lens. Soon after, I had a studio session and noticed that the tight headshots that I took close in (4ft or so) missed focus. I was using AFC (wide) eye AF but they all focussed on the eyelashes rather than the eyeball. Admittedly the plane of focus was really shallow at that distance, but I was expecting better. Having said that, I was using f7.1 or thereabouts, so I would have expected some latitude.

The next weekend, I took my FIL to a vintage truck and car show. I took a few snaps to kill the time and I took a couple of a logo on the front of a truck on an angle. I focussed right on the centre of the badge. When I got the pictures into Lightroom, I noticed that they were all front focussed! So, I got the tape measure out and also did the old batteries test, and true enough, the results all showed front focussing.

I contacted Wilkinsons and told them what was happening and sent them the pictures that I had taken showing the issue. It was agreed to send the camera in to them for testing. They concluded that there was indeed a front focussing issue and ordered me another camera body. After a wait of a few weeks (the cameras were in very short supply at that stage) a new camera body was delivered. I immediately put the 85mm lens on and did some ruler and battery tests... GUESS WHAT? ... Still front focussing! … Hmmmm … maybe it was the lens!

So, I got back onto Wilkinsons and they suggested that I send both the camera and the lens into them for testing. I did this and they took some standard portraits of the staff around the office. They also had a Sony rep visiting one of their stores for an open day and took the combo to him to have a look at. They all agreed that there wasn't an issue. They sent me the staff pictures and they looked OK, however, they were taken at high ISO's (3200 and one at 6400, IIRC). So, they sent the camera and lens back to me. Wilkinsons said that if I was still unhappy, that the Sony rep was doing an open day at the Belfast Calumet store a week later and I could pop in and see him there and talk it through. I did this and he remembered testing the camera at Wilkinsons. He took a few snaps and concluded once again that the camera and lens were fine! He told me not to go by ruler or battery tests.

Now, I was conscious that none of the testing that they did seemed to be under the same conditions/situations that my pictures were taken. I was still not happy with the outcome, but I didn't feel that I could take it any further and reluctantly agreed to accept the situation.

I did another portrait session with the combo about 3 months later, and the pictures were fine, with the focus exactly on the eyes as planned for about 95% of the shots!!! The combo has continued to be accurate since ... although I haven't done any more ruler or battery testing!

Here's a 1 to 1 crop of a snap from a few weeks ago....

eye by CFC Photo, on Flickr
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Thanks for the lengthy response. When you got the second body did you do the battery test straight away and decide it was front focussing, or did you test with some real world subjects too?

The detail in the eyes of the above shot is impressive (y)
 
Iiyama said:
Sorry to be a pain but... which is sharper? Im getting confused reading mixed opinions on review sites! :
Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 Di III RXD Lens
Sony FE 24-105mm f4 G OSS Lens
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I'd expect them to be about the same. 24-105 pretty much matches the A7III sensor resolution I'd say.
 
ancient_mariner said:
I'd expect them to be about the same. 24-105 pretty much matches the A7III sensor resolution I'd say.
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That's a pleasant surprise. Any more views on this from others who may have either of these lenses before I press buy!
 
I’ve the tamron and very impress with it and it suppose be as sharp as the 24-70 GM
 
rookies said:
I’ve the tamron and very impress with it and it suppose be as sharp as the 24-70 GM
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Yes, it has been mentioned but remember that the Tamron is a more value for money lens, so it doesn't go as wide as 24mm nor is it as well put together. :)
 
Iiyama said:
That's a pleasant surprise. Any more views on this from others who may have either of these lenses before I press buy!
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They are 2 completely different lenses the Tamron has the advantage of being sharper, and the option of using it at f/2.8 in poorly lit situations. The 24-105 is wider, longer and built better.
 
f/2.8 said:
They are 2 completely different lenses the Tamron has the advantage of being sharper, and the option of using it at f/2.8 in poorly lit situations. The 24-105 is wider, longer and built better.
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I appreciate you taking the time to comment. I love my fuji 16-55 as it is so sharp. Taking the leap to Sony I want to make sure I don't "pick" a lens that isn't as sharp as the Fuji. I know the F4 is equivalent to 2.8 on Fuji so thats tempting me with longer reach. However, the price is not :)
 
Probably worth spending time looking at actual images and making an assessment. Flickr can be genuinely useful for that. I also like the Optical Limits reviews for their honesty and unflattering appraisal of kit.

I'd planned to buy the 24-70 f4, but someone was kind enough to send me some raw files, and I quickly saw this was not a good choice. I can let you see some samples of my stuff - pm me if that would be useful.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Probably worth spending time looking at actual images and making an assessment. Flickr can be genuinely useful for that. I also like the Optical Limits reviews for their honesty and unflattering appraisal of kit.

I'd planned to buy the 24-70 f4, but someone was kind enough to send me some raw files, and I quickly saw this was not a good choice. I can let you see some samples of my stuff - pm me if that would be useful.
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Which 24-70mm and what's wrong with it?
 
How good is the A7R-IV's AF performance? How far off the A9 is it, is it as good or better than the A7-III, and how does it compare to the D850? Can the animal eye-AF keep up with a 13 week old puppy playing? Can any camera? ;)
 
snerkler said:
How good is the A7R-IV's AF performance? How far off the A9 is it, is it as good or better than the A7-III, and how does it compare to the D850? Can the animal eye-AF keep up with a 13 week old puppy playing? Can any camera? ;)
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A7RIV isn’t as reliable as the A7III never mind the A9.
 
snerkler said:
How good is the A7R-IV's AF performance? How far off the A9 is it, is it as good or better than the A7-III, and how does it compare to the D850? Can the animal eye-AF keep up with a 13 week old puppy playing? Can any camera? ;)
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As you know I’ve had a7iii and now a9 between them the A9 is better brilliant. Saying that the a7iii is good enough. But I just love the a9 more nail the animal eye perfectly
 
f/2.8 said:
A7RIV isn’t as reliable as the A7III never mind the A9.
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Have you used them all? I've just been on fredmiranda and folk on there are saying that the A7RIV is better than the A7III for AF????
 
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