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

Interesting, a 35 upgrade is on my list.

Would imagine the new Signa will be well worth a look when it’s available. Will definitely be cheaper than the G.M. If it’s as good as the old version but smaller/lighter it will be a hell of a lens.

Obviously the G.M will be a couple of percent better in terms of a.f performance and the usual better when shooting backlit. The rendering o. The G.M will be nicer as well they always are but probably not as noticeable on a 35.
 
Here's a trippy little photo for a friday morning.

Into the Void


Into the Void (colour version)
by Merlin 5, on Flickr
I like the green, as a shot it works better than the B&W imo. In B&W it just looks like any generic image of this type, but with the green it's something different. Have you added some kind of motion blur to the people on the left?
So after moving away from Hasselblad and Leica - trying to enjoy the Sony for personal photography.. (though not a lot going on in Aldershot) but posted them to Facebook anyway

First commenter says the colours are a bit generic..

Maybe I need to up my processing game

Aldershot by Daniel Cook, on Flickr

Aldershot by Daniel Cook, on Flickr

Aldershot by Daniel Cook, on Flickr

Aldershot by Daniel Cook, on Flickr
I'm not too keen on the colours of the first, but really like the colours of the second. In fact I really like the processing of the second full stop, it does almost have a film like quality imo.
 
I like the green, as a shot it works better than the B&W imo. In B&W it just looks like any generic image of this type, but with the green it's something different. Have you added some kind of motion blur to the people on the left?

Thanks. Yep, in photoshop I duplicated the photo, added radial blur to the whole image on a low number of 4, created a layer mask and then used a soft brush to brush back in the areas I wanted the blur. I think the blur brings out more of a sort of 3D quality or isolation to the in focus person.
 
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Cheers wookie, much appreciated. That's an interesting suggestion, I'll have a play around with a new crop. Amazing though what a bit of photoshop radial blur and selectively brushing it in can do. :D

I think an orange version might look nice :D
 
It seems like an age since we were free. Went to my furthest allowed point to see if there would be a sunset. Nothing doing but there was some interesting cloud and some golden hour. Shot with the A7R IV which was great but the user yet again shot unwittingly in crop mode for the best of the light. Annoying as I actually changed lenses at one point to get a wider view and all I needed to do was press a button. This was the best I got as the squall moved through changing position and the smoke was only only for a short while on the ship.

Longniddry golden hour by Simon Wootton, on Flickr
 
Would imagine the new Signa will be well worth a look when it’s available. Will definitely be cheaper than the G.M. If it’s as good as the old version but smaller/lighter it will be a hell of a lens.

Obviously the G.M will be a couple of percent better in terms of a.f performance and the usual better when shooting backlit. The rendering o. The G.M will be nicer as well they always are but probably not as noticeable on a 35.

This is my thoughts, a lot depends on price and size etc. Happy to continue with the old version for now.
 
Just learning the ropes with the a7iii and Samyang 35mm f2.8. I'm fairly happy but I have to say that out of all the cameras I have owned this is the trickiest to get started by far.

A few cons so far:
1) I really don't like the shutter button, is there is not really a half-press on it? It's really hard to just get the focus activated and not take a shot inadvertently. I think I will have to use the AF-on button at the back (which I was hoping to keep for eye focus).
2) I have set the highlight zebra to 100 but even that seems to be too cautious, I think I'll try the 100+ setting. I have also tried the "save highlight" metering and this really plays it too safe. Imported in lightroom I could push by 3.66 stops before getting the highlights burnt...
3) Finding white balance pretty horrible on some photo
4) Some of the on-screen displays on the EVF are too big. The level is huge and overpowering. It could have been a much more subtle line. AF point are pretty bonkers too when not using a single point, it really distracts from what is behind.

A few pro:
1) I have attributed the AEL to "focus hold/manual focus", and I really like the way the magnification to help manual focus is center on the actual AF point selected, I don't think my previous camera did this.
2) At first I was worried about the shape of the camera but I'm getting used to it pretty quickly
3) Coupled with 35mm 2.8 the camera fit in my thinktank mover 10 bags pretty perfectly
4) I don't have a super-fast SD card but honestly for what I do my high-speed burst seems fast enough (my card is a Sandisk extreme pro 95mb/s)


A few questions:
1) is there any cons regarding using the silent shutter?
2) where have you put your af-on, eye-focus, focus hold/manual focus
 
Just learning the ropes with the a7iii and Samyang 35mm f2.8. I'm fairly happy but I have to say that out of all the cameras I have owned this is the trickiest to get started by far.

A few cons so far:
1) I really don't like the shutter button, is there is not really a half-press on it? It's really hard to just get the focus activated and not take a shot inadvertently. I think I will have to use the AF-on button at the back (which I was hoping to keep for eye focus).
2) I have set the highlight zebra to 100 but even that seems to be too cautious, I think I'll try the 100+ setting. I have also tried the "save highlight" metering and this really plays it too safe. Imported in lightroom I could push by 3.66 stops before getting the highlights burnt...
3) Finding white balance pretty horrible on some photo
4) Some of the on-screen displays on the EVF are too big. The level is huge and overpowering. It could have been a much more subtle line. AF point are pretty bonkers too when not using a single point, it really distracts from what is behind.

A few pro:
1) I have attributed the AEL to "focus hold/manual focus", and I really like the way the magnification to help manual focus is center on the actual AF point selected, I don't think my previous camera did this.
2) At first I was worried about the shape of the camera but I'm getting used to it pretty quickly
3) Coupled with 35mm 2.8 the camera fit in my thinktank mover 10 bags pretty perfectly
4) I don't have a super-fast SD card but honestly for what I do my high-speed burst seems fast enough (my card is a Sandisk extreme pro 95mb/s)


A few questions:
1) is there any cons regarding using the silent shutter?
2) where have you put your af-on, eye-focus, focus hold/manual focus
I can’t say I’ve ever had an issue with the shutter button, feels like any other I’ve used tbh. I have started using BBF these days though and have my AF-ON set to focus.

I don’t use Zebras so can’t help with this

Sony WB isn’t the best, but the A7RIV and A9-II are better in this regards to previous gen IMO. Likewise for the grip and ergonomics.

On screen symbols etc are far from the best, I’ve started to use the screen without them on although this isn’t ideal if you quickly want to see what settings you’re using.

With regards to the silent shutter you can get rolling shutter effect and there’s a risk of banding. For most static subjects it should be fine.

You get used to the negatives though as the rest of the camera is so good.
 
I too find the shutter button rather vague and uncontrolled, often resulting in premature shots. The good thing is that it's not film being shot. :)
 
Just learning the ropes with the a7iii and Samyang 35mm f2.8. I'm fairly happy but I have to say that out of all the cameras I have owned this is the trickiest to get started by far.

A few cons so far:
1) I really don't like the shutter button, is there is not really a half-press on it? It's really hard to just get the focus activated and not take a shot inadvertently. I think I will have to use the AF-on button at the back (which I was hoping to keep for eye focus).
2) I have set the highlight zebra to 100 but even that seems to be too cautious, I think I'll try the 100+ setting. I have also tried the "save highlight" metering and this really plays it too safe. Imported in lightroom I could push by 3.66 stops before getting the highlights burnt...
3) Finding white balance pretty horrible on some photo
4) Some of the on-screen displays on the EVF are too big. The level is huge and overpowering. It could have been a much more subtle line. AF point are pretty bonkers too when not using a single point, it really distracts from what is behind.

A few pro:
1) I have attributed the AEL to "focus hold/manual focus", and I really like the way the magnification to help manual focus is center on the actual AF point selected, I don't think my previous camera did this.
2) At first I was worried about the shape of the camera but I'm getting used to it pretty quickly
3) Coupled with 35mm 2.8 the camera fit in my thinktank mover 10 bags pretty perfectly
4) I don't have a super-fast SD card but honestly for what I do my high-speed burst seems fast enough (my card is a Sandisk extreme pro 95mb/s)


A few questions:
1) is there any cons regarding using the silent shutter?
2) where have you put your af-on, eye-focus, focus hold/manual focus
I had a Smallrig L Bracket attached to it.
Certainly improves the feel of the camera
 
I had a Smallrig L Bracket attached to it.
Certainly improves the feel of the camera

Yesterday it felt like a brick (square and dense), today it felt pretty good, so I'm not too worry about the feel of it. Finding the focus system a bit challenging yet but this will come.
 
I had a Smallrig L Bracket attached to it.
Certainly improves the feel of the camera
I initially had a smallrig L bracket. It good but felt a bit boxy. I’ve replaced it with the RRS which feels more like an extension of the camera. The battery door is taken off the camera and fitted onto the L bracket. That makes changing the battery easier.
 
There are some cheap PU half cases available through ebay that also help handling without the extra weight or bulk of a L bracket - good if you're not a tripod user.
 
Golly. That was a surprise! We had a good sprinkling of snow this morning but it's going fast now. Anyone else had snow? Any pictures?
 
The rumor site mentions the TTArtisan 21mm f1.5, I didn't know that existed. Here it is on Amazon...


I'll have to read up on that, just out of interest, I'd never think of buying one.

Philip Reeve.


It doesn't get a great review there but at the price it could be decent choice. Actually, just spotted that one must be M mount as there's an adapter so the Sony mount one may be a bit better if they've bothered to optimise it for Sony.
 
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As it's :tumbleweed:

Record shots for Mrs WW to zap off electronically. The first is A7 and Nikon 50mm f1.8 pancake then Voigtlander 50mm f1.4 plus No.4 close up filter.

UPytbSq.jpg


We've had this cactus a few years and this is the first time it's flowered. Shame we don't have another to cross pollinate.

2Gm5rwU.jpg


Lilies in the snow.

UlIZ7XT.jpg
 
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The rumor site mentions the TTArtisan 21mm f1.5, I didn't know that existed. Here it is on Amazon...


I'll have to read up on that, just out of interest, I'd never think of buying one.

Philip Reeve.


It doesn't get a great review there but at the price it could be decent choice. Actually, just spotted that one must be M mount as there's an adapter so the Sony mount one may be a bit better if they've bothered to optimise it for Sony.

If they've corrected for the thicker sensor stack then that would be a good lens for Astro.
 
As it's :tumbleweed:

Record shots for Mrs WW to zap off electronically. The first is A7 and Nikon 50mm f1.8 pancake then Voigtlander 50mm f1.4 plus No.4 close up filter.

UPytbSq.jpg


We've had this cactus a few years and this is the first time it's flowered. Shame we don't have another to cross pollinate.

2Gm5rwU.jpg


Lilies in the snow.

UlIZ7XT.jpg

I decided to go out for another cloudy sunrise..... :rolleyes: :ROFLMAO:
 
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Good to see them continuing to develop the line, but I'm happy with what I've got.

I can't really justify buying anything these days. I have the 35mm f1.4, 40mm f1.2 and 50mm f2 and that really should be enough. It would be a case of me swapping the 50 for the 35 if I really wanted it. I can't see the 35mm f2 replacing the 35mm f1.4 as the f1.4 is just so compact and gorgeous that I can't even think about swapping it.
 
The light did look lovely here this morning.

It was in Wales too where a mate of mine was out and about. I did find a reasonably close (7 miles away) lone tree though surrounded by farmers fields in a very slight valley so it's another to return to at some point. Plus a good 3/4 miles covered.
 
Think they should have made that 600mm, unless it's under a grand no one will buy it over the Sony.

An interesting design choice, it might be under £1K, it's also lighter and it seems to be extending zoom design so will be smaller to transport too.

Certainly won't be selling my 200-600mm for it though
 
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