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

the_accidental said:
I do love that kinda focal length... but I feel both might be a slippery slope ending up in a Leica Q43 and a GRIIx as well... cos once you have two lenses with that FOV...why stop there.,,,

You aren't wrong though, they are very different and lend themselves to a different style of shooting. Which would edge me toward the 40/1.2 as if I want compact AF prime I have the samyang 35/2.8.
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I used to have the Samyang 35/2.8 ...... until my boy started a bit of photography near the end of school about 4/5 years ago. Since then it's lived at his house :) I have the Voigtlander 40/1.2 if you wanted to see it and try it.
 
E- infity have been the biggest disappointment I’ve had for a while.
Ordered a 20 1.8 a week ago(4th) for my trip on the 25th.
Just emailed them today to ask what was happening as it says 1-2 days to process.
Said they have still to do it and delivery will now be up to 12 working days. So could be 27th/1st July before it even arrives‍♂️
Who would have thought 3 weeks was over expecting
 
pmac said:
E- infity have been the biggest disappointment I’ve had for a while.
Ordered a 20 1.8 a week ago(4th) for my trip on the 25th.
Just emailed them today to ask what was happening as it says 1-2 days to process.
Said they have still to do it and delivery will now be up to 12 working days. So could be 27th/1st July before it even arrives‍♂️
Who would have thought 3 weeks was over expecting
Click to expand...
From what I can tell, Panamoz seems to be the only one that manages to deliver quickly within like a week sometimes.

The rest of them take forever and unapologetically so.
 
nandbytes said:
From what I can tell, Panamoz seems to be the only one that manages to deliver quickly within like a week sometimes.

The rest of them take forever and unapologetically so.
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Cotswold Cameras are generally pretty speedy and have a three year warranty as well. Always worth a look.
 
trevjm said:
Cotswold Cameras are generally pretty speedy and have a three year warranty as well. Always worth a look.
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Had alreday emailed them but they also couldn’t guarantee standard delivery and even if I payed an extra £25 for express they said it was more likely but not guaranteed.

Now it’s either risk Cotswold,buy used for more‍♂️ for wait until I’m in China a check the price there. Most these are HK prices and they are abit less than mainland.
 
All the screws on the mount of one of my A9iii worked loose at an event on Monday. I've had the odd one work loose in most of teh brands I have owned but never the full set. The images were all fine but there was a noticeable wobble on the lens and I will have to keep an eye on them now I have tightened them up. Perhaps they forgot a wee bit of locktite
 
nandbytes said:
From what I can tell, Panamoz seems to be the only one that manages to deliver quickly within like a week sometimes.

The rest of them take forever and unapologetically so.
Click to expand...
The last two items I have ordered from Cotswold(A9iii and HVL46RMA) have both arrived a week to the day from ordering. The prices are good there and I like that they use RMSD for final transit. The loyalty points come in handy too. E-Fin to me are the worst with the longest delivery times, packaging not great and shortest warranty. I've still bought quite a bit from them over the years though without any issues
 
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I'm looking for advice re choice of lenses for my new Sonly A7iv.

I mostly do nature photography, flowers , plants, fungi etc and also some wildlife, I'm on the coast so do love taking images of the birds wading plus other small wildlife as the opportunity arises. I'm absolutely hopeless at birds in flight, due to rather slow reactions and aging arm strength when holding a long, heavy lens. I'm looking to spend about £1500 to start, I recognise there is probably not a one size fits all lens! Happy to look at third party lenses if they can be recommended. As I'm forking out for a good camera, I don't want to compromise too much on the quality of the lenses I put on it. I already have the Sony G 20 - 70 f4. I was looking at the Sony 70 - 200 f4 as a companion lens, but from my Olympus days recognise that 400 mm does give you more opportunity to capture wildlife that is not infront of your nose so to speak!

Any recommendations/advice would be welcomed!
 
Olly B said:
I'm looking for advice re choice of lenses for my new Sonly A7iv.

I mostly do nature photography, flowers , plants, fungi etc and also some wildlife, I'm on the coast so do love taking images of the birds wading plus other small wildlife as the opportunity arises. I'm absolutely hopeless at birds in flight, due to rather slow reactions and aging arm strength when holding a long, heavy lens. I'm looking to spend about £1500 to start, I recognise there is probably not a one size fits all lens! Happy to look at third party lenses if they can be recommended. As I'm forking out for a good camera, I don't want to compromise too much on the quality of the lenses I put on it. I already have the Sony G 20 - 70 f4. I was looking at the Sony 70 - 200 f4 as a companion lens, but from my Olympus days recognise that 400 mm does give you more opportunity to capture wildlife that is not infront of your nose so to speak!

Any recommendations/advice would be welcomed!
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200mm on FF is not going to be ideal for wildlife, particularly birds, I have the 100-400mm with 1.4x TC and even then I wish I'd got more reach.

However, if you want a do-it-all lens for the things you've mentioned the 70-200mm f4 Mk II could be a good option as that has a macro function, although not true macro as that's 1:1.
 
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pmac said:
E- infity have been the biggest disappointment I’ve had for a while.
Ordered a 20 1.8 a week ago(4th) for my trip on the 25th.
Just emailed them today to ask what was happening as it says 1-2 days to process.
Said they have still to do it and delivery will now be up to 12 working days. So could be 27th/1st July before it even arrives‍♂️
Who would have thought 3 weeks was over expecting
Click to expand...

My friend ordered just over a week ago and got his order in 6 days. I’m guessing what you ordered they didn’t have on hand
 
pmac said:
E- infity have been the biggest disappointment I’ve had for a while.
Ordered a 20 1.8 a week ago(4th) for my trip on the 25th.
Just emailed them today to ask what was happening as it says 1-2 days to process.
Said they have still to do it and delivery will now be up to 12 working days. So could be 27th/1st July before it even arrives‍♂️
Who would have thought 3 weeks was over expecting
Click to expand...
I wouldn’t use e-infinity as repairs are done in HK last time I looked. I’ve had good service from Cotswolds and Panamoz both delivering within a week.
 
T_J_G said:
My friend ordered just over a week ago and got his order in 6 days. I’m guessing what you ordered they didn’t have on hand
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I’m guessing it’s just unlucky they did say it was slow on them processing it to start with.
I would have expected it to not take 3 weeks though.
snerkler said:
I wouldn’t use e-infinity as repairs are done in HK last time I looked. I’ve had good service from Cotswolds and Panamoz both delivering within a week.
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After some looking i did come across some posts about people having to return cameras to HK and not getting it back for ages
 
yet another samyang 14-24mm review
sonyalpha.blog

Sony Alpha Blog : Samyang 14-24mm F2.8 (Schneider – Kreuznach)

The Samyang 14-24mm F2.8 lens is a compact and lightweight ultra-wide zoom, known for excellent sharpness, good autofocus, and pleasing bokeh. Priced at 1200 euros, it outperforms competitors in si…
sonyalpha.blog sonyalpha.blog

super tempted to try one now....
 
My Gosh. I would not want to take a single picture like these. As always, good luck to those who see the need to.

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REVIEW: Laowa 8-15mm f/2.8 FF Zoom Fisheye - phillipreeve.net

ContentsIntroductionSample ImagesSpecificationsDisclosureHandlingOptical FeaturesSharpness (Infinity)Sharpness (Close-up)Lens DistortionVignettingFocus Shift & AberrationsFlare ResistanceComaSunstarsFocus BreathingBokehConclusionAlternativesMore Sample ImagesFurther ReadingSupport UsWhat’s in my...
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Estate agents across Europe will love that lens. :LOL:
 
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snerkler said:
200mm on FF is not going to be ideal for wildlife, particularly birds, I have the 100-400mm with 1.4x TC and even then I wish I'd got more reach.

However, if you want a do-it-all lens for the things you've mentioned the 70-200mm f4 Mk II could be a good option as that has a macro function, although not true macro as that's 1:1.
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Many thanks for your advice
 
I see on Youtube that there's a new Fuji X-E5 coming. I can see the appeal but I personally wouldn't want to return to APS-C and I do still have two RF style MFT cameras to use when I want something smaller than my Sony A7 cameras. I may be in a minority but I personally didn't think that the last Fuji I had gave any increase in IQ over MFT and was behind my MFT set ups in a number of ways but this new camera may do better.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AFIywp8yuo


Is anyone interested?

I do wonder if Sony will ever make a camera with a similar old style manual control setup.

I'm still thinking of getting an A7cII but there are a lot of things to spend my pennies on and so far a new camera hasn't risen to the top of the list. I did get some more watches though :D The idea being to wear a different one every day for a while as man jewellery and that's what I'm doing. I think my collection is pretty much complete now. Maybe :D
 
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woof woof said:
I see on Youtube that there's a new Fuji X-E5 coming. I can see the appeal but I personally wouldn't want to return to APS-C and I do still have two RF style MFT cameras to use when I want something smaller than my Sony A7 cameras. I may be in a minority but I personally didn't think that the last Fuji I had gave any increase in IQ over MFT and was behind my MFT set ups in a number of ways but this new camera may do better.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AFIywp8yuo


Is anyone interested?

I do wonder if Sony will ever make a camera with a similar old style manual control setup.

I'm still thinking of getting an A7cII but there are a lot of things to spend my pennies on and so far a new camera hasn't risen to the top of the list. I did get some more watches though :D The idea being to wear a different one every day for a while as man jewellery and that's what I'm doing. I think my collection is pretty much complete now. Maybe :D
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I’d see a benefit in APS-C if the system was physically much smaller but of course it isn’t. Also, I doubt very much I’d buy another Fuji unless they went back to Bayer sensors.
 
snerkler said:
I’d see a benefit in APS-C if the system was physically much smaller but of course it isn’t. Also, I doubt very much I’d buy another Fuji unless they went back to Bayer sensors.
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The small size is exactly why I hang on to MFT. With a 14mm f2.5 or 20mm f1.7 the camera is small and it is comparatively small with the 45-150mm or 100-400mm too. Changing to an A7cII and using my Sony 35mm f2.8 or 40mm f2.5 or Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 would still give me a small camera and lens set up but longer lenses would be larger and more expensive than MFT and maybe APS-C too.

I maybe wrongly see APS-C as being in the middle, depending on the lens you choose not quite offering the size and weight reductions possible with MFT whilst IMO arguably not offering any significant improvement in IQ although this new camera may do better and not matching the IQ or DoF options (if that's your thing) of FF. If MFT didn't exist then maybe I'd be more open to APS-C as a small camera set up for when my A7 is too big.
 
woof woof said:
The small size is exactly why I hang on to MFT. With a 14mm f2.5 or 20mm f1.7 the camera is small and it is comparatively small with the 45-150mm or 100-400mm too. Changing to an A7cII and using my Sony 35mm f2.8 or 40mm f2.5 or Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 would still give me a small camera and lens set up but longer lenses would be larger and more expensive than MFT and maybe APS-C too.

I maybe wrongly see APS-C as being in the middle, depending on the lens you choose not quite offering the size and weight reductions possible with MFT whilst IMO arguably not offering any significant improvement in IQ although this new camera may do better and not matching the IQ or DoF options (if that's your thing) of FF. If MFT didn't exist then maybe I'd be more open to APS-C as a small camera set up for when my A7 is too big.
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I agree, APS-C is a bit of a no mans land now, not much smaller or lighter than FF but no huge difference in IQ over m4/3.
 
I think with the A7C range & the small G primes there's no appeal for anything APSC for me for interchangeable lens systems.

Except maybe a Fuji X-Pro 4 with a small 23mm lens - but that's a different thing anyway and it would be dearer than an X100vi :)
 
LeeRatters said:
I think with the A7C range & the small G primes there's no appeal for anything APSC for me for interchangeable lens systems.

Except maybe a Fuji X-Pro 4 with a small 23mm lens - but that's a different thing anyway and it would be dearer than an X100vi :)
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I could live with a small FF camera and lens but to be small the lens would probably need to be in the 24 to 50mm range with an aperture in the f2 to f2.8 range as pushing the lens parameters further could lead to iq issues the makers wouldn't want to run into and even f2 might be a struggle. Many people wouldn't be happy with that. A lens with a wider aperture would likely have issues unless it was very expensive but could interest me and I have a lens like that, the Voigtlander 35mm f1.4, but generally reviewers and forums would go into melt down, the lens would be dismissed as garbage and the makers reputation would suffer.
 
woof woof said:
I could live with a small FF camera and lens but to be small the lens would probably need to be in the 24 to 50mm range with an aperture in the f2 to f2.8 range as pushing the lens parameters further could lead to iq issues the makers wouldn't want to run into and even f2 might be a struggle. Many people wouldn't be happy with that. A lens with a wider aperture would likely have issues unless it was very expensive but could interest me and I have a lens like that, the Voigtlander 35mm f1.4, but generally reviewers and forums would go into melt down, the lens would be dismissed as garbage and the makers reputation would suffer.
Click to expand...

I think if it was possibly a single body & lens combination - including the very small bit - the A7Cii & 40G could well be my choice.
 
nandbytes said:
From what I can tell, Panamoz seems to be the only one that manages to deliver quickly within like a week sometimes.

The rest of them take forever and unapologetically so.
Click to expand...
When I was looking for my Sony A7CR I noticed prices were cheaper in Australian shops, than even the Chinese prices.
 
Redspider said:
When I was looking for my Sony A7CR I noticed prices were cheaper in Australian shops, than even the Chinese prices.
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Does that include tax and shipping?
 
With or without the ear showing? With ear is how it came out of the camera and I usually try an leave shots as they were, but I'm thinking in this scenario I prefer the ear cloned out, what do others think?

Screenshot 2025-06-16 at 13.19.57.jpg
 
snerkler said:
With or without the ear showing? With ear is how it came out of the camera and I usually try an leave shots as they were, but I'm thinking in this scenario I prefer the ear cloned out, what do others think?

View attachment 455853
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Hmm.... can't decide... if you hadn't told me the ear was cloned out I'd have preferred without :ROFLMAO:
 
A review.

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Review: Viltrox AF 85mm 1.4 FE Pro - phillipreeve.net

ContentsIntroductionSample ImagesSpecificationsDisclosureHandling/Build qualityAF performanceVignettinglight falloffoptical vignettingSharpnessFocus Shiftinfinity (42mp Sony A7rII)portrait distance (2.0 m, 42mp Sony A7rII)close (0.8 m, 1:7.5, 42mp Sony A7rII)Flare...
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I think he likes it.
 
woof woof said:
A review.

phillipreeve.net

Review: Viltrox AF 85mm 1.4 FE Pro - phillipreeve.net

ContentsIntroductionSample ImagesSpecificationsDisclosureHandling/Build qualityAF performanceVignettinglight falloffoptical vignettingSharpnessFocus Shiftinfinity (42mp Sony A7rII)portrait distance (2.0 m, 42mp Sony A7rII)close (0.8 m, 1:7.5, 42mp Sony A7rII)Flare...
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I think he likes it.
Click to expand...
Watched about 5 YouTube videos so far on this lens as they were all released at the same time.
Seems for the price it hits far above the price.
I got the 50/2 air and it’s extremely sharp.
Not used it a lot but have read in low light it’s hunty.
That would be my only concern with this though it uses far better AF motors.
I may have to pick one up.. I might see how much cheaper they are in China while there.
 
pmac said:
Watched about 5 YouTube videos so far on this lens as they were all released at the same time.
Seems for the price it hits far above the price.
I got the 50/2 air and it’s extremely sharp.
Not used it a lot but have read in low light it’s hunty.
That would be my only concern with this though it uses far better AF motors.
I may have to pick one up.. I might see how much cheaper they are in China while there.
Click to expand...

I didn't know that 50mm f2 existed and it is tempting but any reports of hunting remind me of the Sony 50mm f2.8 macro I had which struggled to me a hit rate of 1 in 3 on my A7. The A7 is old tech now but I still have one and I want to be able to use any lens on it so unfortunately after a micro second of excitement and interest I think I'll have to forget about this lens. I see it has a long MMF distance too. Oh well.

The Chinese do seem to me marching on in camera gear though. I used to have several but now I just have the humble MF TTArtisan 50mm f2.
 
trevorbray said:
I’ve been looking these over and over. I prefer the original. It looks more ‘alive’
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Thanks. Just the hair, or are we talking overall i.e. the one showing the ear?
 
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