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

I managed a few minutes at the seaside today, the light was flat and dead and there weren't too many people about but I was glad to be there :D There were a few Chinese young people but they quickly disappeared and I had to wait for someone to walk into this...

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Beach huts.

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It was nice to have the 40mm f2.5 on the A7III and the 24mm f2.8 on my A7. Top two are A7III and 40mm and this next one is a pan I did with the A7 and 24mm. Shame about the conditions.

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danbroad said:
I’m sure either is a sound choice with missed opportunities.. lack of crop detail or lack of AF. A7iii will be considered closely, though.

I wonder in my own RX10iv shooting.. 80% of “acquisition-to-image” is finding it and zooming into it - ie. manual zooms and slower AF probably overall far quicker than faster AF on a motorised zoom.

I owned an A7 original a long time ago, and was able to manually focus a Zuiko 300mm on swallows… I’m not so surefooted now. Although I prefer the A7 shooting experience, I’ll look at the competition too.
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A6400 + 70-350mm
 
A6700 with 70-200 f4 + 1.4 tc
 
danbroad said:
I’d consider an A6400 but I prefer three dials, I set SS and aperture for the subject but adjust ISO on the fly -
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Is there a reason you don’t use auto ISO?
 
With all this £300 off a lens if you buy an a7cii deal stuff, I’m just really hoping it’s a case of shifting stock so they can launch a new model that’ll not make me regret spending so much on type a cards!
 
danbroad said:
I’ve shot Manual mode for years.. I figure for small birds, I know the shutter speed to freeze the critter and I want the aperture as sharp or open as poss.. the A7 allowed me to gain the shot realtime by adjusting the film speed. It just feels so natural, I’m of the opinion that modern digitals need three dials for F/Ss/ISO. I guess it’s about trusting auto ISO.

A6400/A7iii/A7rii is the ‘cost neutral’ point trading in an RXiv so looking to get the best I can. My SLR wildlife has always been everything on centre point (AF/meter etc) with a defined shutter speed/aperture, and “ISO priority” as my preferred method.

I do appreciate the TP wisdom though, looking at 6400’s, A7iii’s and even the SLR alternatives. I will say, from my original A7 ownership, that of my ‘3 dial’ ethos only the Sony delivered that.
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I appreciate having the 3 dials, I am also a big fan. But I'd take the better AF in A6400 with the APS-C crop and that 70-350mm lens over the third dial on A7iii or A7RII any day.
70-350mm is simply an amazing lens!
 
hughlle said:
With all this £300 off a lens if you buy an a7cii deal stuff, I’m just really hoping it’s a case of shifting stock so they can launch a new model that’ll not make me regret spending so much on type a cards!
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You can buy type A cards for around the same price as a decent V90 S.D card sometimes cheaper.

The A7CII has had offers on it from launch. It was £200 of certain lenses then. It's also had cash back offers and was very cheap during the photography show.
 
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danbroad said:
I’ve shot Manual mode for years.. I figure for small birds, I know the shutter speed to freeze the critter and I want the aperture as sharp or open as poss.. the A7 allowed me to gain the shot realtime by adjusting the film speed. It just feels so natural, I’m of the opinion that modern digitals need three dials for F/Ss/ISO. I guess it’s about trusting auto ISO.

A6400/A7iii/A7rii is the ‘cost neutral’ point trading in an RXiv so looking to get the best I can. My SLR wildlife has always been everything on centre point (AF/meter etc) with a defined shutter speed/aperture, and “ISO priority” as my preferred method.

I do appreciate the TP wisdom though, looking at 6400’s, A7iii’s and even the SLR alternatives. I will say, from my original A7 ownership, that of my ‘3 dial’ ethos only the Sony delivered that.
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That's how I have my a1 set up for wildlife.
I set the shutter speed and aperture then control exposure with ISO set to the rear dial :clap:
 
danbroad said:
I’ve shot Manual mode for years.. I figure for small birds, I know the shutter speed to freeze the critter and I want the aperture as sharp or open as poss.. the A7 allowed me to gain the shot realtime by adjusting the film speed. It just feels so natural, I’m of the opinion that modern digitals need three dials for F/Ss/ISO. I guess it’s about trusting auto ISO.
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I understand what you’re saying but I don’t see the point of having to manually adjust the ISO. I too set the shutter speed and aperture manually, but then the ISO has to be whatever it needs to be so why not let that take care of itself so you can concentrate on capturing the action. I’m sure it’s pretty awkward tracking a bird whilst trying to constantly adjust the ISO as it moves in and out of shadows.

Of course we all do what we feel comfortable or are used to doing but I like to make it as easy as possible ;)
 
snerkler said:
I understand what you’re saying but I don’t see the point of having to manually adjust the ISO. I too set the shutter speed and aperture manually, but then the ISO has to be whatever it needs to be so why not let that take care of itself so you can concentrate on capturing the action. I’m sure it’s pretty awkward tracking a bird whilst trying to constantly adjust the ISO as it moves in and out of shadows.

Of course we all do what we feel comfortable or are used to doing but I like to make it as easy as possible ;)
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Yup.

Setting the ISO manually is just another thing to take attention away from composition and deciding when to press the shutter button. Using auto ISO and dialling in ISO compensation when necessary is IMO a different thing and another way to go about it.
 
danbroad said:
Interesting to hear everyone’s ways of shooting... ‘Fixing two variables and adjusting the third’ isn’t really much different from Aperture priority/Shutter priority modes, or indeed even adjusting exposure compensation in manual mode - in as much as the shooter retains control over one leading variable.
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Auto ISO is IMO one of the real "game changers" and being able to have auto ISO and exposure compensation in aperture or shutter priority and manual mode is IMO a real step forward. I suppose there is an argument to say that adjusting ISO and dialing in exposure compensation is the same thing but I'd argue that it isn't. When you know the aperture or are forced to use an aperture and you know the shutter speed you want the camera could in many instances get you there or there abouts with auto ISO leaving exposure compensation for the specific instances when metering doesn't give you the precise ISO you want.
 
danbroad said:
Interesting to hear everyone’s ways of shooting... ‘Fixing two variables and adjusting the third’ isn’t really much different from Aperture priority/Shutter priority modes, or indeed even adjusting exposure compensation in manual mode - in as much as the shooter retains control over one leading variable.

When I owned my original A7, I had fingertip control of all three, with lovely feedback in the EVF. Deepening the DOF, slowing the shutter for a stationary thing, upping the exposure by ISO… all right there without having to come away from the viewfinder. No histograms or exposure meters required!

However, I do get the Auto ISO thinking - especially as sensor tech is so good. Back to that line about trusting Auto ISO and the camera in general
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That isn't what they are doing though.

They are using auto ISO and manually adjusting shutter speed and aperture.
 
danbroad said:
Interesting to hear everyone’s ways of shooting... ‘Fixing two variables and adjusting the third’ isn’t really much different from Aperture priority/Shutter priority modes, or indeed even adjusting exposure compensation in manual mode - in as much as the shooter retains control over one leading variable.

When I owned my original A7, I had fingertip control of all three, with lovely feedback in the EVF. Deepening the DOF, slowing the shutter for a stationary thing, upping the exposure by ISO… all right there without having to come away from the viewfinder. No histograms or exposure meters required!

However, I do get the Auto ISO thinking - especially as sensor tech is so good. Back to that line about trusting Auto ISO and the camera in general
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Auto ISO works very well 98% of the time, but even if it doesn’t it’s not usually out by more than 2/3 of a stop which is easy to fix in post, much easier than a missed shot because you were too busy changing settings ;)

I get there’s no right way for everyone but auto ISO isn’t to be feared ;)
 
snerkler said:
Auto ISO works very well 98% of the time, but even if it doesn’t it’s not usually out by more than 2/3 of a stop which is easy to fix in post, much easier than a missed shot because you were too busy changing settings ;)

I get there’s no right way for everyone but auto ISO isn’t to be feared ;)
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I mostly just stick to the "second base ISO" and forget about it. The rest can be done in post.
There is no difference between bumping the ISO in camera or increasing the brightness in post, sensors are ISO invariant past second base ISO on a dual gain sensor
 
nandbytes said:
I mostly just stick to the "second base ISO" and forget about it. The rest can be done in post.
There is no difference between bumping the ISO in camera or increasing the brightness in post, sensors are ISO invariant past second base ISO on a dual gain sensor
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There’s certainly an argument for that, although not when shooting f1.2 in bright conditions ;)

The reason I don’t stick to an ISO is the least I have to do in post the better ;)
 
snerkler said:
There’s certainly an argument for that, although not when shooting f1.2 in bright conditions ;)
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Yeah of course not, if you plenty of light to shoot at ISO100 then you'd just do that.
Was just referring to conditions where ISO needs to be higher than the second base.

snerkler said:
The reason I don’t stick to an ISO is the least I have to do in post the better ;)
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On the whole it's less work tbh. Since all the shots start uniformly, I can just fix the exposure on one shot and sync the exposure across a series of shots. LR will match the exposure perfectly.
With auto ISO I found I had to tweak every shot because camera is not always consistent as software in post.
 
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I tend to shoot in Av with auto ISO for general, everyday shooting. Will just flick the Ex Comp if I need to.

I only tend to go to manual for exact settings ie night skies. Or if I want a consistent exposure for a set of shots or a panorama etc
 
nandbytes said:
Yeah of course not, if you plenty of light to shoot at ISO100 then you'd just do that.
Was just referring to conditions where ISO needs to be higher than the second base.



On the whole it's less work tbh. Since all the shots start uniformly, I can just fix the exposure on one shot and sync the exposure across a series of shots. LR will match the exposure perfectly.
With auto ISO I found I had to tweak every shot because camera is not always consistent as software in post.
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That’s only true if the light doesn’t change between shots, or you’re not following a subject that’s moving from dark to light etc.

Unless I’m in a studio it’s rare light is consistent so it wouldn’t work for me. YMMV (y)
 
snerkler said:
That’s only true if the light doesn’t change between shots, or you’re not following a subject that’s moving from dark to light etc.

Unless I’m in a studio it’s rare light is consistent so it wouldn’t work for me. YMMV (y)
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I shoot a wide variety of things....

LR's exposure matching should work for you too if you haven't used it in the past. Really speeds up your processing. Its will try to match exposure between shots and not just a simple copy paste of the brightness levels. you should give it a go, plenty of example and tutorials on youtube.

In my case having mostly the same starting point helps a lot in many cases as I don't need to review each photograph for a 1/2-1/3rd stop mistakes from the camera's auto-ISO and tweak it all individually.

That is not say I don't use higher ISO at all, I do use higher ISO settings too but those are exceptions for me.
 
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nandbytes said:
I shoot a wide variety of things....

LR's exposure matching should work for you too if you haven't used it in the past. Really speeds up your processing. Its will try to match exposure between shots and not just a simple copy paste of the brightness levels. you should give it a go, plenty of example and tutorials on youtube.

In my case having mostly the same starting point helps a lot in many cases as I don't need to review each photograph for a 1/2-1/3rd stop mistakes from the camera's auto-ISO and tweak it all individually.

That is not say I don't use higher ISO at all, I do use higher ISO settings too but those are exceptions for me.
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Ahh sorry I misunderstood, I thought you meant you copied the exposure settings. I’ve not heard of the exposure matching in LR, I’ll have to look into it (y)
 
Dealing with GAS and trying to decide between a A7IV and A7RV (A1 is likely to remain out of budget). In order to afford the A7R I'd have to sell my much loved A9. Would like a newer Sony body with the updated menus (to match my A6700) and the closable shutter when changing lenses. Will be used for both landscapes and wildlife, previously did more of the latter but leaning ever more towards the former currently.

A7IV Pros: can keep the A9 which has higher FPS, blackout free shooting and better tracking (?), I prefer having 2 bodies.
A7RV Pros: higher resolution, matches the A6700 on APS-C lenses, better rear screen, better subject detection.
 
Gold said:
Dealing with GAS and trying to decide between a A7IV and A7RV (A1 is likely to remain out of budget). In order to afford the A7R I'd have to sell my much loved A9. Would like a newer Sony body with the updated menus (to match my A6700) and the closable shutter when changing lenses. Will be used for both landscapes and wildlife, previously did more of the latter but leaning ever more towards the former currently.

A7IV Pros: can keep the A9 which has higher FPS, blackout free shooting and better tracking (?), I prefer having 2 bodies.
A7RV Pros: higher resolution, matches the A6700 on APS-C lenses, better rear screen, better subject detection.
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Had A1, switched to A7iv and then to A7RV.
I really enjoyed the A7iv, it's a wonderful jack of all trades body. The AF was great, the new sensor is really good, decent resolution to with decent cropping room.

The A7RV i have really liked more because of the 8stops IBIS and the fully articulating screen. I can handhold down to 2s shutter which is amazing, means I can leave the tripod at home many of the times.

All in all both good bodies can't go wrong with either. There is supposedly an A7V on the horizon. Might be worth waiting even if it is to just get the price of A7IV down.

If you like A6700 also consider A7CR if you need/ want highres. Then may be you can keep the A9 too.
 
Vaguely on the subject of resolution and cropping from my 24mp sensor files.

When I send pictures to Mrs WW (who is still abroad) I used to crop them to 1,500 pixels on the longest side but I later found that 1,000 making a file anywhere between 200kb and 700kb depending upon content was ok and allowed some zooming in when viewed on a phone screen. 1,000 is also ok my pc screen when filling the screen. I recently printed some pictures which were crops each to fill an A4 sheet. I've just checked and one is a 25% crop and it stands up to viewing with a magnifying glass, eye lashes are sharp etc.

Pretty good stuff :D
 
Gold said:
Dealing with GAS and trying to decide between a A7IV and A7RV (A1 is likely to remain out of budget). In order to afford the A7R I'd have to sell my much loved A9. Would like a newer Sony body with the updated menus (to match my A6700) and the closable shutter when changing lenses. Will be used for both landscapes and wildlife, previously did more of the latter but leaning ever more towards the former currently.

A7IV Pros: can keep the A9 which has higher FPS, blackout free shooting and better tracking (?), I prefer having 2 bodies.
A7RV Pros: higher resolution, matches the A6700 on APS-C lenses, better rear screen, better subject detection.
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Recently I’ve been appreciating the benefit of having a second body and so would keep the A9. However if you’re happy using the a6700 as a second body, or don’t need a second body then the A7RV is a better camera than the A7IV,… if you’re happy with the larger file sizes.
 
You will see from my signature that I have 3 bodies, those that you have and that what you want. Having had the a7iii which I loved, the a7iv is a great camera. Between all three I have the frames per second covered, the increase in megapixels and something that is just fun to use and that has a lot of the a7rv newer tricks. Sometimes I find myself wanting the a7rv but then I would have to upgrade everything else just to be able to handle the file sizes. The a9 I use with 70-200mm and the 200-600mm with t/c. The a6700 now has the gorgeous 23mm and 56mm Contemporary lens combo and the a7iv has the 24-70mm & 85mm combo. I’m happy with my setups, I just need to get out more ….
 
One of the things that really bugs me on my Nikon Z7ii is the red/green focus box. I can’t see it most of the time when I’m in the woods.

Do any of you guys know if you are able to change the focus box colour to white on any of the A7 series cameras?
 
wibbly said:
One of the things that really bugs me on my Nikon Z7ii is the red/green focus box. I can’t see it most of the time when I’m in the woods.

Do any of you guys know if you are able to change the focus box colour to white on any of the A7 series cameras?
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the default is white (on all generation of Sony cameras AFAIK) and on more recent versions it can be changed to Red. Focus confirmation is always green AFAIK.
 
Thanks for all the really helpful responses, appreciate them all. I can’t shake that I’ll regret selling the A9. But also that the 70-350, which is possibly my favourite lens of all time, on the A7RV will be like a super A6700 with better viewfinder and joystick. Decisions, decisions (if only money weren’t an issue!).
 
Gold said:
Dealing with GAS and trying to decide between a A7IV and A7RV (A1 is likely to remain out of budget). In order to afford the A7R I'd have to sell my much loved A9. Would like a newer Sony body with the updated menus (to match my A6700) and the closable shutter when changing lenses. Will be used for both landscapes and wildlife, previously did more of the latter but leaning ever more towards the former currently.

A7IV Pros: can keep the A9 which has higher FPS, blackout free shooting and better tracking (?), I prefer having 2 bodies.
A7RV Pros: higher resolution, matches the A6700 on APS-C lenses, better rear screen, better subject detection.
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For me I couldn't go back to having a body that is not black out free which is why I held on to my A9's for so long although I do now have an A9III.

I have never got along with any of the R bodies although I have used all of them and still own an A7RIVa. The file sizes are annoying but then I am dealing with a lot of images. The R bodies always seem to have the least amount of value as they tend to tumble in price more than any of the other bodies when a new model is released.

We also have a few A7IV's, my wife uses those. I don't like the flippy L.C.D and while they do have better subject recognition for me personally I feel I get more consistent a.f with the A9.

The A7IV's biggest advantage over the A9 is better colours, the A7RV would be better again being a newer body. The A7RV also has the new lcd which is a big improvement.

The A9 is difficult to part with because they are worth so little now. You can't buy an updated equivalent without going to the huge cost of the A9III.

If it came down to only having a choice between the A7IV or the A7RV, with everything considered the A7RV would probably be my choice. Be prepared though for file sizes to be a pain and for it to feel weird to use if you have been using the A9 for a while and got used to black out free.

I would expect A1 prices to come down a lot once the new version launches next month as well, so if your not in a rush you may want to hold off for a while yet. They have already dropped about £200 since last month with the grey importers. At least the A1 would still give you the option of black out free.
 
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f/2.8 said:
For me I couldn't go back to having a body that is not black out free which is why I held on to my A9's for so long although I do now have an A9III.

I have never got along with any of the R bodies although I have used all of them and still own an A7RIVa. The file sizes are annoying but then I am dealing with a lot of images. The R bodies always seem to have the least amount of value as they tend to tumble in price more than any of the other bodies when a new model is released.

We also have a few A7IV's, my wife uses those. I don't like the flippy L.C.D and while they do have better subject recognition for me personally I feel I get more consistent a.f with the A9.

The A7IV's biggest advantage over the A9 is better colours, the A7RV would be better again being a newer body. The A7RV also has the new lcd which is a big improvement.

The A9 is difficult to part with because they are worth so little now. You can't buy an updated equivalent without going to the huge cost of the A9III.

If it came down to only having a choice between the A7IV or the A7RV, with everything considered the A7RV would probably be my choice. Be prepared though for file sizes to be a pain and for it to feel weird to use if you have been using the A9 for a while and got used to black out free.

I would expect A1 prices to come down a lot once the new version launches next month as well, so if your not in a rush you may want to hold off for a while yet. They have already dropped about £200 since last month with the grey importers. At least the A1 would still give you the option of black out free.
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With the A7RV I've not struggled with the blackout as much as I thought I would, however what I have struggled with, or should I say found most frusrating is the low frame rate.

The A1 price is almost a bargain now at £3749 grey, and there's every chance it will go lower still in a week or so if the A1 II is announced as expected.
 
snerkler said:
The A1 price is almost a bargain now at £3749 grey, and there's every chance it will go lower still in a week or so if the A1 II is announced as expected.
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Stop it. Just. Stop it.

:D

I managed to talk myself out of buying a car yesterday so I'm feeling a bit... fragile. Maybe I'll buy a watch.
 
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