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

It's foggy here and it looks like great weather to take some pictures. I can't get out today though. Good shooting to who can :D
 
woof woof said:
It's foggy here and it looks like great weather to take some pictures. I can't get out today though. Good shooting to who can :D
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Drove to Bath for 0% cloud cover. Sunrise at the bridge & then some early drone video of the sun hitting the rooftops, Abbey, etc......

Guess what? They were about 99% wrong.....
 
nandbytes said:
I can't on the latest cashback page

Sony UK | Claim your Winter Cashback

Claim your Winter Cashback
www.sony.co.uk www.sony.co.uk


Link to eligible retailers at the bottom of the page. It doesn't seem to be on it
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Hmm they’ve taken it off again. I screenshotted it last week (I think it was) following the link from the current cashback promo so it’s obviously been amended (y)
 
snerkler said:
Hmm they’ve taken it off again. I screenshotted it last week (I think it was) following the link from the current cashback promo so it’s obviously been amended (y)
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Did you check it was the latest one?
They still have some older ones floating around
I know you posted a screenshot but I didn't double-check it at the time as I wasn't really interested in buying anything.
 
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nandbytes said:
Did you check it was the latest one?
They still have some older ones floating around
I know you posted a screenshot but I didn't double-check it at the time as I wasn't really interested in buying anything.
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I followed it directly from the latest offer promo T’s and c’s (y)
 
woof woof said:
It's foggy here and it looks like great weather to take some pictures. I can't get out today though. Good shooting to who can :D
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Off to Blackpool later with the 20mm G along for the ride. Weather looks great, have a play on the promenade with the children.
 
gilbouk said:
Would you go for the Samyang 45mm over the Sony 55mm or would you just go for the G Master
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That 10mm makes a notable difference. If that were not a factor, the Sammy has nicer bokeh and subject separation, the Sony better edge to edge sharpness and finer resolution. Sammy lighter and smaller, Sony metal and bulkier. For professional use I'd pick the Sony.
 
How do people feel about another top of camera dial?

ThePhoBlographer: “The Sony a7r V is Missing a Big Upgrade” – sonyalpharumors

www.sonyalpharumors.com www.sonyalpharumors.com

I don't care.

Some clearly do...

"Take a look at the Sony a7r V from behind and you’ll see all the unused real estate space on the top left of the camera. Why? Why does the top dial need to be reserved only for the Sony a1 and Sony a9 series of cameras? It could be incredibly useful to put a big dial on the Sony a7r V here that’s synonymous to what Nikon does with their higher end cameras.

When I voiced this constructive criticism to Sony reps, Artisans, and other journalists, they agreed. The camera is excellent for what it is: something that is starting to feel less like a Playstation with its own identity tracing back to the Minolta days. But this one dial could truly help.

One Sony rep agreed with me, but wanted to know what that dial could have. Here are some of my ideas.

1) The AI Control Dial
2) Drive Mode
3) A fully Programmable Option"
 
nandbytes said:
If they did change it after the cashback started that's really cheeky and tbh not dealing in good faith
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Of course there’s always the chance I’ve made a mistake but I don’t think I did ;)
woof woof said:
How do people feel about another top of camera dial?

ThePhoBlographer: “The Sony a7r V is Missing a Big Upgrade” – sonyalpharumors

www.sonyalpharumors.com www.sonyalpharumors.com

I don't care.

Some clearly do...

"Take a look at the Sony a7r V from behind and you’ll see all the unused real estate space on the top left of the camera. Why? Why does the top dial need to be reserved only for the Sony a1 and Sony a9 series of cameras? It could be incredibly useful to put a big dial on the Sony a7r V here that’s synonymous to what Nikon does with their higher end cameras.

When I voiced this constructive criticism to Sony reps, Artisans, and other journalists, they agreed. The camera is excellent for what it is: something that is starting to feel less like a Playstation with its own identity tracing back to the Minolta days. But this one dial could truly help.

One Sony rep agreed with me, but wanted to know what that dial could have. Here are some of my ideas.

1) The AI Control Dial
2) Drive Mode
3) A fully Programmable Option"
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I’ve mentioned this a few times, the extra dial on my A9ii’s made a world of difference for me and made the camera much more usable. On the A7RIV I had to sacrifice other buttons to get the drive dial functions meaning I was having to use menus to get functions I wanted. It’s rare I use the menu now barring card formatting.
 
snerkler said:
Of course there’s always the chance I’ve made a mistake but I don’t think I did ;)

I’ve mentioned this a few times, the extra dial on my A9ii’s made a world of difference for me and made the camera much more usable. On the A7RIV I had to sacrifice other buttons to get the drive dial functions meaning I was having to use menus to get functions I wanted. It’s rare I use the menu now barring card formatting.
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I find the drive dial far too much of a faff on my a9, would much rather have a couple of buttons there for the same thing instead.
 
Mike.P said:
I find the drive dial far too much of a faff on my a9, would much rather have a couple of buttons there for the same thing instead.
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Interesting, would never have considered people would prefer buttons to dials. I like being able to have the correct settings when turning the camera on, one of the reasons I like Fuji controls.
 
snerkler said:
Interesting, would never have considered people would prefer buttons to dials. I like being able to have the correct settings when turning the camera on, one of the reasons I like Fuji controls.
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I know I prefer buttons - you don't have to look at what you are doing with a button, where as with a dial you have to take your eye away from the eye piece.

Do people prefer joypad button to touch screen for moving the focus spot around. I preferred the touch screen on my Canon R6 for moving the spot around. I'm battling muscle memory and switching back to the button on my Sony A7IV as it seems the touch and drag isn't as good.
 
gilbouk said:
I know I prefer buttons - you don't have to look at what you are doing with a button, where as with a dial you have to take your eye away from the eye piece.

Do people prefer joypad button to touch screen for moving the focus spot around. I preferred the touch screen on my Canon R6 for moving the spot around. I'm battling muscle memory and switching back to the button on my Sony A7IV as it seems the touch and drag isn't as good.
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Hate using touchscreens on cameras, end up adjusting everything with my nose when I look through the VF :headbang:
 
robj20 said:
Same the obsession with touch screens is annoying, even more so in cars. Buttons are better.
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Definitely, you can use buttons and dials without taking your eyes off the road, not so with screens. I hate all the ‘touch buttons’ instead of proper buttons. They’re ruined cars like the Macan, always liked the interior of those as they looked a bit like a plane cockpit but they’ve just gone to flat ‘touch buttons’ :(
 
snerkler said:
Definitely, you can use buttons and dials without taking your eyes off the road, not so with screens. I hate all the ‘touch buttons’ instead of proper buttons. They’re ruined cars like the Macan, always liked the interior of those as they looked a bit like a plane cockpit but they’ve just gone to flat ‘touch buttons’ :(
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I always liked the SAAB interiors as they were a little like this and everything was angled for the driver. Same for the previous gen Audi. All the new stuff seems to be going down the flat slab style.
 
I've just watched a couple of Tamron 20-40mm reviews, one from Pav and one from Gerald Undone. Pav seemed positive (no surprise there) but Gerald gave a more critical review and said that it wasn't the dream lens he'd hoped for but gave it a 7 or 8 out of 10 in most categories. Of the things Gerald highlighted the distortion and a couple of other things seemed less of an issue for me and I think the softness would be most noticeable to me but on the whole maybe it's ok.

After the recent reviews, is anyone still pretty keen to get one or will people wait for more sample pictures?
 
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woof woof said:
I've just watched a couple of Tamron 20-40mm reviews, one from Pav and one from Gerald Undone. Pav seemed positive (no surprise there) but Gerald gave a more critical review and said that it wasn't the dream lens he'd hoped for but gave it a 7 or 8 out of 10 in most categories. Of the things Gerald highlighted the distortion and a couple of other things seemed less of an issue for me and I think the softness would be most noticeable to me but on the whole maybe it's ok.

After the recent reviews, is anyone still pretty keen to get one or will people wait for more sample pictures?
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Idk about the softness... He's comparing it to the best in class prime lens i.e. the 20G. No surprise that it doesn't perform as well.
I'd compare it against other zooms like thier own tamron 17-28, sigma 16-28 and Sony 16-35GM.
 
nandbytes said:
Idk about the softness... He's comparing it to the best in class prime lens i.e. the 20G. No surprise that it doesn't perform as well.
I'd compare it against other zooms like thier own tamron 17-28, sigma 16-28 and Sony 16-35GM.
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IDK about the softness either. I think that after some initial excitement for some there's maybe now a question mark over the lens but for many people who can resist pixel peeping some softness might not matter all that much given the focal range and aperture and bulk and weight which are probably its plus points but is it good enough to justify the price?

Thinking back to those earlier sample pictures and also the ones in these vids the softness does seem rather obvious and that could put people off and it's not cheap either. If it was cheaper that could excuse some softness for some.
 
I didn't think the 50-400 was very sharp too, seems the 28-75 G2 and 70-180 are a cut above the other Tamron's, which is a shame.

I'm very happy with the latest Sigma 20mm DG DN and the Tamron 28-75 G2

The behemoth Sigma 40mm f1.4 is calling me, had it before on canon, stunning but so heavy.

A Sigma 20, 40, 85 trio plus the Tamron 28-75 for versatility would be a great set up.
 
nandbytes said:
did you try it?
seems to get favourable reviews in general. More concerned about its AF personally.
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Fast AF is one thing but more importantly reliable and accurate AF
 
nandbytes said:
did you try it?
seems to get favourable reviews in general. More concerned about its AF personally.
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Yep, wasn't impressed with the AF, couldn't nail many shots to be honest, tried it on rowers training on the Thames so not that hard a subject.
 
Does anybody have a spare dumb pentacon pb to sony e mount adaptor? Would like to mess about with my Carl Zeiss Jena 28mm f/2.8
 
I've watched another episode of the Great British Photographer and one of the contestants asked "how do I stop my photos from being so dark" and had to be advised that opening up the aperture of the lens lets more light in. I kid you not :eek::headbang:
 
snerkler said:
I've watched another episode of the Great British Photographer and one of the contestants asked "how do I stop my photos from being so dark" and had to be advised that opening up the aperture of the lens lets more light in. I kid you not :eek::headbang:
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I've just looked for that and I can't see it on the iplayer, did you record it?
 
Continuing my changes on lens collection.

After I’ve sold my 85 1.8 and 16-35 f4 I’ll be left with:

Sony 24-105 f4
Sony 100 STF
Batis 135
Sony 200-600

Given my main interest is portraiture, and I’m finding that I don’t get as much use out of the STF as I thought I would, I thought about selling the STF and Batis and getting the 70-200 f4 and either the 85GM or Sigma equivalent.

However, I’ve had another thought after realising a small gain on some shares - sell the STF and Batis and replace both with the 70-200 gm ii.

Would this be wise, or would the prime/zoom combo be better?
 
Pandster1981 said:
Continuing my changes on lens collection.

After I’ve sold my 85 1.8 and 16-35 f4 I’ll be left with:

Sony 24-105 f4
Sony 100 STF
Batis 135
Sony 200-600

Given my main interest is portraiture, and I’m finding that I don’t get as much use out of the STF as I thought I would, I thought about selling the STF and Batis and getting the 70-200 f4 and either the 85GM or Sigma equivalent.

However, I’ve had another thought after realising a small gain on some shares - sell the STF and Batis and replace both with the 70-200 gm ii.

Would this be wise, or would the prime/zoom combo be better?
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For portraiture defo the prime IMO
 
Pandster1981 said:
Continuing my changes on lens collection.

After I’ve sold my 85 1.8 and 16-35 f4 I’ll be left with:

Sony 24-105 f4
Sony 100 STF
Batis 135
Sony 200-600

Given my main interest is portraiture, and I’m finding that I don’t get as much use out of the STF as I thought I would, I thought about selling the STF and Batis and getting the 70-200 f4 and either the 85GM or Sigma equivalent.

However, I’ve had another thought after realising a small gain on some shares - sell the STF and Batis and replace both with the 70-200 gm ii.

Would this be wise, or would the prime/zoom combo be better?
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The 85mm DG DN Sigma (newest version) for sure, not the GM it isn't great.

I've got a 70-200 f4 for sale in the classifieds, could possibly be interested in the Batis 135, if interested please reply on the for sale thread.
 
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