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

I don't look at DPR much these days but looked today and spotted this A7cR review...

www.dpreview.com

Sony a7CR review: high resolution in a small package

The Sony a7CR is a high-resolution addition to the company's compact full-frame a7C series. So what did we make of it and where does it leave the a7 IV that it sits just above?
www.dpreview.com www.dpreview.com

One thing that does limit me a bit with my A7 is that the face detect often doesn't latch on. I gather that newer cameras do better at this.

PS.
Scrap the PS. I read it wrong :D
 
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I'm curious for those that have used a normal A7 body and a C body, is the smaller C body a noticeable improvement in size/weight? I can see it would be significant over some of the larger bodies but the A7 bodies are already a fairly neat size.

I was out mountain biking the other night and took the Sony RX1r with me which despite its age, is still fantastic in low light producing great images illuminated only by the bike lights. The RX1r is just small enough to squeeze into the small backpack but I've been rethinking this setup for a while as it's slow to get the camera out of the backpack, out of its own bag and then ready to go and put away again. I've been toying with trying a bum bag instead for the camera but ideally I'd like to get something a little bigger in there so I'm wondering if a C series camera would fit better (since it wouldn't have the VF hump) over the likes of the A9 or similar sized body. It's frustrating as the range of bum bags for this purpose that look good aren't stocked locally so I can't try one in store to see how the fit is.
 
I have an A7 and some RF style MFT cameras.

I think the RF style cameras fit in a bag better as they lack the evf hump. Other than that some like the vf in the corner layout as one thing is that it arguably obscures your face less, if that matters. I do think it matters for visibility and engagement with people in front of the camera.
 
JohnMcL7 said:
. It's frustrating as the range of bum bags for this purpose that look good aren't stocked locally so I can't try one in store to see how the fit is.
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Isn’t that a contradictory statement? Bum bag and look good aren’t words that should be used in the same sentence :LOL: :p
 
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woof woof said:
I don't look at DPR much these days but looked today and spotted this A7cR review...

www.dpreview.com

Sony a7CR review: high resolution in a small package

The Sony a7CR is a high-resolution addition to the company's compact full-frame a7C series. So what did we make of it and where does it leave the a7 IV that it sits just above?
www.dpreview.com www.dpreview.com

One thing that does limit me a bit with my A7 is that the face detect often doesn't latch on. I gather that newer cameras do better at this.

PS.
Scrap the PS. I read it wrong :D
Click to expand...

Eye AF on the lens's focus hold button is a "game changer" imo :)
 
LeeRatters said:
Eye AF on the lens's focus hold button is a "game changer" imo :)
Click to expand...

Face recognition on my A7 seems to be quite a bit behind the eye recognition on my Panasonic cameras. The A7 seems to fail to lock if the face is small in the screen or if the lighting isn't the best. In both these situations my Panasonic cameras are much more capable and lock on and hold their lock much better. This is something I'll be looking to improve on if and when my A7 needs replacing.
 
LeeRatters said:
Eye AF on the lens's focus hold button is a "game changer" imo :)
Click to expand...
woof woof said:
Face recognition on my A7 seems to be quite a bit behind the eye recognition on my Panasonic cameras. The A7 seems to fail to lock if the face is small in the screen or if the lighting isn't the best. In both these situations my Panasonic cameras are much more capable and lock on and hold their lock much better. This is something I'll be looking to improve on if and when my A7 needs replacing.
Click to expand...
With the later cameras you don't need a dedicated button for eyeAF. The real time tracking will basically find and track the eyes by default and "it just works".

A7iii/A7riii also has a "semi implementation" of this with the latest firmware
 
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I blame smartphones for the need to carry a bag these days.

Years ago the phones I had were a quarter the size my new one is. Back then a phone easily went into a trouser pocket but these days my phone wont fit comfortably or securely in any jacket pocket so it has to go in a man bag, together with keys and plastic bags for shopping and change. Oh, and a camera. I carry a camera more now than I ever did and that's because I have to take a bag for all the other stuff and shrapnel I have to carry so a camera might as well go in the bag too.
 
woof woof said:
I blame smartphones for the need to carry a bag these days.

Years ago the phones I had were a quarter the size my new one is. Back then a phone easily went into a trouser pocket but these days my phone wont fit comfortably or securely in any jacket pocket so it has to go in a man bag, together with keys and plastic bags for shopping and change. Oh, and a camera. I carry a camera more now than I ever did and that's because I have to take a bag for all the other stuff and shrapnel I have to carry so a camera might as well go in the bag too.
Click to expand...
How big’s your phone? :eek: My iPhone easily fits into a jacket pocket, inside jacket pocket also fits into most jeans/trouser pockets, although I don’t find it comfortable in jeans. In jackets I forget it’s there.
 
snerkler said:
Isn’t that a contradictory statement? Bum bag and look good aren’t words that should be used in the same sentence :LOL: :p
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You should know me by now that I'm not bothered about how something looks cosmetically so 'look good' in this context is 'looks like it fits the purpose I want it for'
ancient_mariner said:
How about a fanny pack? :oops: :$
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I had an American friend who had a British husband and when going through US border control he was asked to remove his fanny pack and as he didn't know that was an American term, thought the guard was mocking him.
 
snerkler said:
How big’s your phone? :eek: My iPhone easily fits into a jacket pocket, inside jacket pocket also fits into most jeans/trouser pockets, although I don’t find it comfortable in jeans. In jackets I forget it’s there.
Click to expand...

It's just a cheapish Samsung, the picture exif tells me it's a A326B

It'll fit in the inside pocket of two of my winter coats but it sticks out the top and the pocket can't be fastened and when taking it off in coffee shops etc I have to be careful that it doesn't spill out.
 
nandbytes said:
With the later cameras you don't need a dedicated button for eyeAF. The real time tracking will basically find and track the eyes by default and "it just works".

A7iii/A7riii also has a "semi implementation" of this with the latest firmware
Click to expand...

snerkler said:
As above, you don’t need a dedicated eye af button anymore.
Click to expand...

Does that not cause issues though if you don't want to focus on a person in the frame?

I have bbf set up for AF-C and Eye AF (A7Riii) on the lens which is perfect for each thumb. I just use AF as standard and if I want a quick portrait I just hit the lens button with my left thumb and it finds the eye wherever it is in the frame. Also means normal AF on the A7 works the same.
 
LeeRatters said:
Does that not cause issues though if you don't want to focus on a person in the frame?

I have bbf set up for AF-C and Eye AF (A7Riii) on the lens which is perfect for each thumb. I just use AF as standard and if I want a quick portrait I just hit the lens button with my left thumb and it finds the eye wherever it is in the frame. Also means normal AF on the A7 works the same.
Click to expand...
No it'll just track whatever you ask it to track. If it's happens to have eyes it'll track that instead.
 
LeeRatters said:
Does that not cause issues though if you don't want to focus on a person in the frame?

I have bbf set up for AF-C and Eye AF (A7Riii) on the lens which is perfect for each thumb. I just use AF as standard and if I want a quick portrait I just hit the lens button with my left thumb and it finds the eye wherever it is in the frame. Also means normal AF on the A7 works the same.
Click to expand...
It depends whether you’re using wide AF, zone AF or single point etc. I tend to use single point 99% of the time so unless you place the point over the face it won’t pick up on them (I think). You can of course toggle it on/off. You’ve also got reg custom shoot set.
 
snerkler said:
It depends whether you’re using wide AF, zone AF or single point etc. I tend to use single point 99% of the time so unless you place the point over the face it won’t pick up on them (I think). You can of course toggle it on/off. You’ve also got reg custom shoot set.
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Don't necessarily need to point the face, even the torso will do most of the times
 
nandbytes said:
Don't necessarily need to point the face, even the torso will do most of the times
Click to expand...
Yeah, but Lee was asking what do you do if you DON’T want it to pick up on the person, IIRC it won’t track the eyes if you don’t set the AF point over the person.

Obviously with wide you’d have to turn eye AF off if you didn’t want it to track the person.
 
snerkler said:
It depends whether you’re using wide AF, zone AF or single point etc. I tend to use single point 99% of the time so unless you place the point over the face it won’t pick up on them (I think). You can of course toggle it on/off. You’ve also got reg custom shoot set.
Click to expand...

I use single point and eye or face detection will kick in automatically if they are on in the menu regardless of where the focus spot is pointed.
 
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ancient_mariner said:
I use single point and eye or face detection will kick in automatically if they are on in the menu.
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Indeed to try it again then. From memory it will show that it’s seen the eyes by displaying a grey box around them but won’t actually track unless you move the AF point near :thinking:
 
snerkler said:
Yeah, but Lee was asking what do you do if you DON’T want it to pick up on the person, IIRC it won’t track the eyes if you don’t set the AF point over the person.

Obviously with wide you’d have to turn eye AF off if you didn’t want it to track the person.
Click to expand...

Thanks @nandbytes too.

Yes, when I first got the Riii I vaguely remember the person had to be in the box & it recommended a 'wider' box. I also tend to use small/medium flexible single point (?) for my general shooting/focusing of cars, houses, gates, buildings, trees etc etc so with eye AF on the lens the person can be anywhere in the frame & it'll override the AF-C and eye focus. So if I hand the camera to the missus to take a photo of me, instead of reminding her how to move the point, then she can't actually see the focus box, or me putting the point where I think I'm going to stand etc she can just frame & hit the lens button instantly.

That's what works for me anyway. I like having shutter, standard focus & eye AF all operating separately.
 
LeeRatters said:
Thanks @nandbytes too.

Yes, when I first got the Riii I vaguely remember the person had to be in the box & it recommended a 'wider' box. I also tend to use small/medium flexible single point (?) for my general shooting/focusing of cars, houses, gates, buildings, trees etc etc so with eye AF on the lens the person can be anywhere in the frame & it'll override the AF-C and eye focus. So if I hand the camera to the missus to take a photo of me, instead of reminding her how to move the point, then she can't actually see the focus box, or me putting the point where I think I'm going to stand etc she can just frame & hit the lens button instantly.

That's what works for me anyway. I like having shutter, standard focus & eye AF all operating separately.
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I’m 99% sure you can do this on the newer cameras too if that’s your preferred way.
 
So many options to set up the dials and buttons now biggest problem, if not picked up the camera for a while, is remembering how I’ve set it up.
For focus have one button to cycle through pet/human etc and another button which switches them off and just uses the focus point. Then there is the dial to select M1 etc
 
JohnMcL7 said:
I'm curious for those that have used a normal A7 body and a C body, is the smaller C body a noticeable improvement in size/weight? I can see it would be significant over some of the larger bodies but the A7 bodies are already a fairly neat size.

I was out mountain biking the other night and took the Sony RX1r with me which despite its age, is still fantastic in low light producing great images illuminated only by the bike lights. The RX1r is just small enough to squeeze into the small backpack but I've been rethinking this setup for a while as it's slow to get the camera out of the backpack, out of its own bag and then ready to go and put away again. I've been toying with trying a bum bag instead for the camera but ideally I'd like to get something a little bigger in there so I'm wondering if a C series camera would fit better (since it wouldn't have the VF hump) over the likes of the A9 or similar sized body. It's frustrating as the range of bum bags for this purpose that look good aren't stocked locally so I can't try one in store to see how the fit is.
Click to expand...
I use a Mindshift Panorama 180 backpack when I'm out on the bike.
It means that I don't have the faff of taking the backpack off, getting the camera out then back on again - Gamechanger!!

sl.bing.net

mindshift panorama 180

Here's an answer I got using the new Bing, the world's first AI-powered answer engine. Click to see the full answer and try it yourself.
sl.bing.net sl.bing.net
 
mstphoto said:
I use a Mindshift Panorama 180 backpack when I'm out on the bike.
It means that I don't have the faff of taking the backpack off, getting the camera out then back on again - Gamechanger!!

sl.bing.net

mindshift panorama 180

Here's an answer I got using the new Bing, the world's first AI-powered answer engine. Click to see the full answer and try it yourself.
sl.bing.net sl.bing.net
Click to expand...
Pretty neat idea. How much gear can you fit inside it?
 
Just a bit of fun...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNA6pm3kvhc


I'd have to think long and hard about my favourite lenses (not necessarily the best) but they might include...

Voigtlander 35mm f2.5 color Scopar. I had one of these on my Bessa and recently bought another.
Sigma 50mm f1.4. From my Canon DSLR Days.
Sigma 85mm f1.4. Dittto.
Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 in Sony mount. This is a Marmite lens but possibly my most used lens ever.
Sony 35mm f2.8. Because it's tiny and pretty much perfect.

I suppose the best lens I've ever owned in the Voigtlander 50mm f2.
 
My favourite lens is my 200-600mm followed by my 70-200 f2.8 then my 24-105mm.
 
woof woof said:
Just a bit of fun...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNA6pm3kvhc


I'd have to think long and hard about my favourite lenses (not necessarily the best) but they might include...

Voigtlander 35mm f2.5 color Scopar. I had one of these on my Bessa and recently bought another.
Sigma 50mm f1.4. From my Canon DSLR Days.
Sigma 85mm f1.4. Dittto.
Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 in Sony mount. This is a Marmite lens but possibly my most used lens ever.
Sony 35mm f2.8. Because it's tiny and pretty much perfect.

I suppose the best lens I've ever owned in the Voigtlander 50mm f2.
Click to expand...
I'm getting grumpy in my old age but it bugs me with titles like this that makes it sound as though it's gospel :exit:
 
I've just been playing about with the camera and took a photo of Betty in low light high ISO and using the new denoise in LR changes the hue and also adds contrast/dehaze whereas Topaz denoise doesn't, it just removes noise. I'll have to keep an eye on this as I've been impressed wtih LR denoise until now and it's been my method of choice but I may still need to use Topaz on occasion.
 
I've been impressed with denoise in PS2023 but it is slow on my laptop.

I've only used it for the very worst affected pictures.
 
snerkler said:
I've just been playing about with the camera and took a photo of Betty in low light high ISO and using the new denoise in LR changes the hue and also adds contrast/dehaze whereas Topaz denoise doesn't, it just removes noise. I'll have to keep an eye on this as I've been impressed wtih LR denoise until now and it's been my method of choice but I may still need to use Topaz on occasion.
Click to expand...
Toby. Give DXO PureRaw a trial.
 
woof woof said:
I've been impressed with denoise in PS2023 but it is slow on my laptop.

I've only used it for the very worst affected pictures.
Click to expand...
In LR it’s 2-3 times quicker than topaz denoise, but I’ve just tried topaz photo AI and that’s the quickest of the lot.
trevorbray said:
Toby. Give DXO PureRaw a trial.
Click to expand...
I don’t want to buy yet another bit of software ;) Besides, Topaz appears to give good results. To be fair LR denoise has until today.
 
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