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

Here's a question for the tech savvy.

My usb lead seems to be going iffy as sometimes it wont connect to my pc and sometimes cameras wont recharge. I have lots of leads with different ends on but only this one of this type. How do I know what to buy?

There's a number beginning ECC and another beginning NB1D, are either of these a type number? The connector which goes into my A7 and some of my Panasonic cameras is flat and quite thin and quite visibly so compared to other leads I have but it isn't as long as the connector that goes into my phone.

it looks a bit like this but I can't be sure this is the right one.



Signed.
Baffled of east Cleveland.

Any mircro usb to usb should be fine. Even the ones from poundland should be grand.

Micro usb does seem to be harder to get the hold of now as all new devices are USB C.
 
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I just can't think of anything.

I've sold some very nice film era Nikon lenses so perhaps it's the money from those that's on my mind but generally I think I still have too much gear and should be selling not buying.

But buying is nice :D
I keep looking at the 16-35mm f2.8 GM II to replace the 16-35mm F4 but then I only use it at f8 and smaller so am I really going to see that much improvement in IQ :thinking:
Having only recently moved over to Sony from m4/3s I seem to be forever researching Sony gm prime lenses, I’m just struggling to pick one. I keep coming back to the 35mm though but I’m in no rush. Hopefully by the end of the year I’ll have picked one up.
Decide what focal length you would use the most and then it's an easy decision ;)
Many thanks for the reply, I’ve been a bit dubious of late thinking are they worth the extra over a standard prime but the more reviews I read and YouTube vids I watch they are appealing.
Do you have any experience with the 16-35? At the moment my widest focal length is 24 on a g zoom lens so I’m thinking this might bridge the gap and still include 35mm which I seem to be using the zoom at the most for landscapes.
16-35mm is my go to landscape lens, I use it at 16mm more than any other focal length.
 
I keep looking at the 16-35mm f2.8 GM II to replace the 16-35mm F4 but then I only use it at f8 and smaller so am I really going to see that much improvement in IQ :thinking:
12-24 G.M ftw!

Viltrox 16mm spanks the Sony rather hard as well
 
12-24 G.M ftw!

Viltrox 16mm spanks the Sony rather hard as well
Which Sony? The 12-24mm is a bit heavier than I'd like to lug around Derbyshire (y)
 
Not photography related but I have been looking at cars but not an extra one, one of mine would have to go.

I test drove a Focus ST-3 this afternoon, reminded me of my old RS2000 days but everything is all electronic now, still at least it had a handbrake rather than a switch.

Made an offer but we were too far apart, reckon I may get a call after the holidays though
 
I test drove a Focus ST-3 this afternoon, reminded me of my old RS2000 days but everything is all electronic now, still at least it had a handbrake rather than a switch.

Made an offer but we were too far apart, reckon I may get a call after the holidays though

Is this the 4 pot or 5 pot variant?
 
I haven't used a wide zoom since about 2013 when I had the Canon 17-40L sorry :)

My widest is also 24mm and that is plenty for me and how I tend to shoot!

And I don't worry about bridging gaps. I'm 24mm, 35mm, 85mm and 70-180mm :ROFLMAO:
That’s an interesting way of keeping the lens collection down a bit.
I have to admit I have a soft spot for primes but then again I also like the flexibility of zooms.
 
2018 car so 4

Drove very well though, what was supposed to be a 20 minute test drive took just under an hour (didn't realise they let you out on your own these days)

Forgot how much fun it is to drive hard.

I have a mk4 ST absolutely love the thing. It’s had a few mods and is now running stage 2 and hit 400bhp on the dyno. On a front wheel drive car, trust me it is very fast.
 
I have the Sony 20mm f1.8, 24mm f2.8, 28mm f2, 35mm f1.8 and 35mm f2.8 and can happily recommend them all :D

I find 20 or 24 and either 35 or 50mm a nice pairing for a day out but these days a stitch might be able to replace a wide lens, if the subject is suitable.
I can see myself going down a rabbit hole with the gm primes at this rate haha, I’m spoilt for choice with Sony.
I do like the idea of creating panoramas, it’s not something I’ve tried before.
 
2018 car so 4

Drove very well though, what was supposed to be a 20 minute test drive took just under an hour (didn't realise they let you out on your own these days)

Forgot how much fun it is to drive hard.

I have the Volvo T5 cousin. Even at stock it makes enough plenty enough power for me. Sounds great when I put my foot down too.

AL0LY40.jpg
 
I have a mk4 ST absolutely love the thing. It’s had a few mods and is now running stage 2 and hit 400bhp on the dyno. On a front wheel drive car, trust me it is very fast.

I'm actually looking for a MK4 ST but saw this and thought I would take a look. Absolutely mint and only 19000 miles, apparently owned by an old lady driver but looking at the lack of tread on the front tyres I reckon she must have been lewis Hamilton's granny.
 
I can see myself going down a rabbit hole with the gm primes at this rate haha, I’m spoilt for choice with Sony.
I do like the idea of creating panoramas, it’s not something I’ve tried before.
I'm in the same position need , want something like the 35 or 50 but the 24-70 gm2 is always on my mind.
 
I can see myself going down a rabbit hole with the gm primes at this rate haha, I’m spoilt for choice with Sony.
I do like the idea of creating panoramas, it’s not something I’ve tried before.

I've deliberately stayed away from GM lenses to keep the bulk and weight down and despite the additional light gathering and reduced depth of the f1.4 lenses I don't feel I'm missing out for what I do.

I haven't deliberately gone out to do panoramas but have tried a few now and mostly successfully enough for me. I do worry about the edge / corner performance of my cheap lenses but even they seem to do a reasonable job. This one was taken with my Pergear 35mm f1.4 which cost £95 new and the main issue for me is the drab light rather than the lens quality.

1-Whitby-07-03-24.jpg

These are my favorites so far...

This one was taken with the Sony 35mm f2.8, a lot of pictures for this one.

1-Pan-Runswick Bay.jpg

This was taken with a film era manual lens, I think a Takumar 50mm f1.4.

1-Pan-Saltburn.jpg

Sony 35mm f1.8.

1-Staithes-1-N.jpg

I think this was possibly my first attempt, Sony 35mm f2.8 again. A lot of pictures for this one.

1-Pan-3.jpg
 
That’s an interesting way of keeping the lens collection down a bit.
I have to admit I have a soft spot for primes but then again I also like the flexibility of zooms.

It works for me.

The 24GM is mainly for night skies & the occasional landscape where I think I might need it.
The FE85 & the Tamron 70-180mm don't go out together.
The 35GM is pretty much with me all the time.

My typical landscape bag is A7Riii/35GM & A7/70-180mm
 
Don't know how I forgot these two pans which are amongst my favourites.

The first was taken in 2004 with a Canon 300D and Sigma 28-300mm. I recently spotted the possibility of making a panorama but as they were taken at different times (I think different days) I had a lot of work to do with the sky. It works well enough for me.

Pan-1-3.jpg

This one was also a bit of a happy accident as I realised that two pans I'd made might join up.

A7 and Voigtlander 50mm f1.2.

1-Whitby-23-2-24-7.jpg
 
I'm in the same position need , want something like the 35 or 50 but the 24-70 gm2 is always on my mind.
Depends what you intend to shoot I guess. I like to have both primes and zooms in my arsenal ;)
 
Sun was shining and relatively warm this morning so popped along to Donington Classic touring car and Super Karts, got quite a few to go through.

Donington park 30-03-2024-4 by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
Donington park 30-03-2024-17 by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
Donington park 30-03-2024-3 by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
Donington park 30-03-2024-14 by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
Nicely done, did you experiment with slow shutter speeds?

I wouldn’t have minded going to this myself.
 
I've deliberately stayed away from GM lenses to keep the bulk and weight down and despite the additional light gathering and reduced depth of the f1.4 lenses I don't feel I'm missing out for what I do.

I haven't deliberately gone out to do panoramas but have tried a few now and mostly successfully enough for me. I do worry about the edge / corner performance of my cheap lenses but even they seem to do a reasonable job. This one was taken with my Pergear 35mm f1.4 which cost £95 new and the main issue for me is the drab light rather than the lens quality.

View attachment 418740

These are my favorites so far...

This one was taken with the Sony 35mm f2.8, a lot of pictures for this one.

View attachment 418744

This was taken with a film era manual lens, I think a Takumar 50mm f1.4.

View attachment 418745

Sony 35mm f1.8.

View attachment 418747

I think this was possibly my first attempt, Sony 35mm f2.8 again. A lot of pictures for this one.

View attachment 418746
Thanks for sharing, there are some great shots there, this is definitely something I’m going to have a go at over the next few weeks and all being well I’ll report back with some examples.
 
Thanks for sharing, there are some great shots there, this is definitely something I’m going to have a go at over the next few weeks and all being well I’ll report back with some examples.

Good luck with it.

Just in case you haven't heard of this... There's another stitching thing you can do...


I've only done this once with an old film era Minolta Rokkor 85mm f2.

1-Pook-Stitch-1.jpg
 
Good luck with it.

Just in case you haven't heard of this... There's another stitching thing you can do...


I've only done this once with an old film era Minolta Rokkor 85mm f2.

View attachment 418761
I’ve never heard of that before, it looks really interesting, I’m a huge fan of bokeh and shallow depth of field myself so this is definitely something I’m going to look into.
Thanks for the info.
 
I’ve never heard of that before, it looks really interesting, I’m a huge fan of bokeh and shallow depth of field myself so this is definitely something I’m going to look into.
Thanks for the info.
Brenizer technique gives a really good effect, however you are relying on the subject (and rest of the frame) staying still so it's not useful for all scenarios.
 
We used to rock an aul Brenizer at every wedding, but after a while it got a bit boring so we started including more and more images till it got to a bit of a nuts stage when they were equivalent of f/0.2 etc. Haven't bothered with them in a good long while now as it's so overdone.

Also discovered that your man Ryan Brenizer is a bit of a tool and while he made the method popular it has been about since Jesus was a wee lad.
 
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Nicely done, did you experiment with slow shutter speeds?

I wouldn’t have minded going to this myself.
I did go down to 1/60 for a couple but there a bit pants and then i went walkabout to see what they've done here, should have stayed where i was inside Redgate and craner curves. Good tip if you walk it do it anti clockwise see pics of how much earths been dumped in the middle.
Donington park 30-03-2024-27 by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
Donington park 30-03-2024-39 by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
 
I did go down to 1/60 for a couple but there a bit pants and then i went walkabout to see what they've done here, should have stayed where i was inside Redgate and craner curves. Good tip if you walk it do it anti clockwise see pics of how much earths been dumped in the middle.
Donington park 30-03-2024-27 by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
Donington park 30-03-2024-39 by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
The problem with only shooting on the inside of Redgate and Craners is that all your shots end up looking very 'samey' so it's good (imo) to have a walk around. Did you go into the paddock at all, I sometimes prefer having a walk around there more than track shooting.

I can't see pics of teh earth in the middle? It looks as though they've put even more fencing up though, why you need a fence back from the catch fencing is beyond me, especially on the inside of Starkey's into Schwantz, I've never seen a car go off into that fencing :headbang: Honestly, before long there'll be nowhere for spectators to take photos :(:mad:
 
I'm amazed what Adobe De Noise achieves, even with ISO 25,600 MFT files.
Yeah it’s impressive. Only tried it in Lightroom but I assume it’s the same as camera raw?
 
Yeah it’s impressive. Only tried it in Lightroom but I assume it’s the same as camera raw?

Maybe but I don't have Lightroom so I'm not sure. I have 16.2.0.1763 in PS 2023.

I don't use DeNoise often as I don't tend to take too many pictures in low light at high ISO's these days but I took some pictures today with MFT with a zoom at f4, 1/160 (because people move) and hit the max 25,600. The pictures looked awful in camera and I actually deleted one and I wish I hadn't now as after processing they're fine. I was actually shocked as I know DeNoise did a decent job with my A7 files but to see this result from MFT genuinely shocked me.

An example.

1-P1004228-Enhanced-NR.jpg

Viewed on a phone these pictures are nice. I didn't think I was going to get anything. This made me think of my 35mm days when I used to take pictures at music gigs with a Nikon SLR and standard zoom and ISO 1,600 film. I'd be stuck at 1/xx with blurred noisy pictures.

Oh, and he struck poses with a huge smile when other people were being photographed and when it was his turn he did this and looked like he couldn't give a flying :D
 
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Oooh. I could have a 35mm on one side and a 50 on the other and see what comes out. Want One!
 
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