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

HI all in Sony land, would appreciate your thoughts on the below as to whether it's a good idea or not.

I've been looking for the holy grail of a small take anywhere (largeish sensor) camera with good image and video qualities. The one that seems to jump out all the time is the new Fuji X100 VI (if you can get your hands on one). Whilst I'm sure it's a brilliant camera, it's not exactly cheap for an APS-C camera at £1,600. It then got me thinking, whilst I tend to use my A7R V a lot these days, I still have the brilliant A6700, so looking at specs between it and the X100 VI, sensor resolution aside, it looks like the A6700 is a fair competitor (and it will cost me nothing to buy the body as I already have it). Plus as I shoot a lot of video, it seems to me that the little Sony beats the Fuji on the movie front as well.

But what lens. Well the X100 has a 23mm F2 lens, so was thinking about getting the Sony FE 24mm F2.8 (giving me a very similar field of view albeit a little slower). It would also have the added benefit of being able to be used on the A7 RV as a 24mm lens. I did briefly consider the APS-C Sony E 20mm F2.8 lens for an even smaller and lighter package, but the reviews on that are less than stellar.

Looking at the size and weight of the two systems, whilst the Sony system is a little larger it's not by much (see below) and is only a small amount heavier. So my question would be, is this a good match or is there another lens I should be considering ?





X100 V1 Weight = 521g

Sony combo weight = 655g

For reference, he is the comparison with the little Sony 20mm F2.8 attached.

 
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Sootchucker said:
HI all in Sony land, would appreciate your thoughts on the below as to whether it's a good idea or not.

I've been looking for the holy grail of a small take anywhere (largeish sensor) camera with good image and video qualities. The one that seems to jump out all the time is the new Fuji X100 VI (if you can get your hands on one). Whilst I'm sure it's a brilliant camera, it's not exactly cheap for an APS-C camera at £1,600. It then got me thinking, whilst I tend to use my A7R V a lot these days, I still have the brilliant A6700, so looking at specs between it and the X100 VI, sensor resolution aside, it looks like the A6700 is a fair competitor (and it will cost me nothing to buy the body as I already have it). Plus as I shoot a lot of video, it seems to me that the little Sony beats the Fuji on the movie front as well.

But what lens. Well the X100 has a 23mm F2 lens, so was thinking about getting the Sony FE 24mm F2.8 (giving me a very similar field of view albeit a little slower). It would also have the added benefit of being able to be used on the A7 RV as a 24mm lens. I did briefly consider the APS-C Sony E 20mm F2.8 lens for an even smaller and lighter package, but the reviews on that are less than stellar.

Looking at the size and weight of the two systems, whilst the Sony system is a little larger it's not by much (see below) and is only a small amount heavier. So my question would be, is this a good match or is there another lens I should be considering ?





X100 V1 Weight = 521g

Sony combo weight = 655g
Click to expand...
As a camera I would suggest the A6700 is better, better grip, better AF etc, and of course in your situation much cheaper. There's also the Samyang 24mm which is even lighter and smaller than the Sony making the total weight 586g so nothing in it really compared to the Fuji so it's just a case of whether the size is important and/or whether you're bothered about the 'cool' factor ;)

Screenshot 2025-03-10 at 08.39.52.jpg
 
Sootchucker said:
HI all in Sony land, would appreciate your thoughts on the below as to whether it's a good idea or not.

I've been looking for the holy grail of a small take anywhere (largeish sensor) camera with good image and video qualities. The one that seems to jump out all the time is the new Fuji X100 VI (if you can get your hands on one). Whilst I'm sure it's a brilliant camera, it's not exactly cheap for an APS-C camera at £1,600. It then got me thinking, whilst I tend to use my A7R V a lot these days, I still have the brilliant A6700, so looking at specs between it and the X100 VI, sensor resolution aside, it looks like the A6700 is a fair competitor (and it will cost me nothing to buy the body as I already have it). Plus as I shoot a lot of video, it seems to me that the little Sony beats the Fuji on the movie front as well.

But what lens. Well the X100 has a 23mm F2 lens, so was thinking about getting the Sony FE 24mm F2.8 (giving me a very similar field of view albeit a little slower). It would also have the added benefit of being able to be used on the A7 RV as a 24mm lens. I did briefly consider the APS-C Sony E 20mm F2.8 lens for an even smaller and lighter package, but the reviews on that are less than stellar.

Looking at the size and weight of the two systems, whilst the Sony system is a little larger it's not by much (see below) and is only a small amount heavier. So my question would be, is this a good match or is there another lens I should be considering ?





X100 V1 Weight = 521g

Sony combo weight = 655g

For reference, he is the comparison with the little Sony 20mm F2.8 attached.

Click to expand...
Apparently the new viltrox 25mm f1.7 air is amazing sharp and cheap. Also light at 170g.

View: https://youtu.be/xyd0VyOm6ho?si=u7OywRobHqFqmAxm

My son is almost getting to age he can handle a camera. Thinking of getting a cheap A6xxx or fuji body with these viltrox "air" primes for him. Should be able to fill all in within £500 and also makes for a credible back up option.
 
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Hi all.

After i updated my Sony A1 mk1 camera from 1.31 -> 1.35 -> 2.0.1 -> 3.00 the wifi/bluetooth does not work.

I get this error mentioned on this web page https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/articles/00342252

"The Wi-Fi/Bluetooth unit has malfunctioned."

I never actually tried the wifi/bluetooth functionality of this camera as the previous app on mobile wasnt great.

one of the highlughted features of 2.0 or 3.0 believe is the new intergration of the new app called Creator app by sony.

This what got me intriugued in testing it out and upon trying to connect to my phone, i get the above error.
 
jonneymendoza said:
Hi all.

After i updated my Sony A1 mk1 camera from 1.31 -> 1.35 -> 2.0.1 -> 3.00 the wifi/bluetooth does not work.

I get this error mentioned on this web page https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/articles/00342252

"The Wi-Fi/Bluetooth unit has malfunctioned."

I never actually tried the wifi/bluetooth functionality of this camera as the previous app on mobile wasnt great.

one of the highlughted features of 2.0 or 3.0 believe is the new intergration of the new app called Creator app by sony.

This what got me intriugued in testing it out and upon trying to connect to my phone, i get the above error.
Click to expand...
I had similar, wi-fi wouldn't work but I didn't get the error message. Like you I'd not tried it before until using the creator app. It turned out it was the motherboard, and as my camera had a 3 year warranty it was still covered and fixed. If yours is still in warranty no problem, but if not I would complain/argue with Sony that this is a known issue wiht their camera and should be done at their expense. Not sure how you'd get on with that, but worth a punt and I believe as it's not an isolated event they should fix it.
 
snerkler said:
I had similar, wi-fi wouldn't work but I didn't get the error message. Like you I'd not tried it before until using the creator app. It turned out it was the motherboard, and as my camera had a 3 year warranty it was still covered and fixed. If yours is still in warranty no problem, but if not I would complain/argue with Sony that this is a known issue wiht their camera and should be done at their expense. Not sure how you'd get on with that, but worth a punt and I believe as it's not an isolated event they should fix it.
Click to expand...
Its out of warranty..

I've had this camera since 2021
 
I will call Sony repair place in London or Sony Pro support and see what they say.

I won't bother if the cost is over 300 quid to fix a feature I barely use
 
Sootchucker said:
HI all in Sony land, would appreciate your thoughts on the below as to whether it's a good idea or not.

I've been looking for the holy grail of a small take anywhere (largeish sensor) camera with good image and video qualities. The one that seems to jump out all the time is the new Fuji X100 VI (if you can get your hands on one). Whilst I'm sure it's a brilliant camera, it's not exactly cheap for an APS-C camera at £1,600. It then got me thinking, whilst I tend to use my A7R V a lot these days, I still have the brilliant A6700, so looking at specs between it and the X100 VI, sensor resolution aside, it looks like the A6700 is a fair competitor (and it will cost me nothing to buy the body as I already have it). Plus as I shoot a lot of video, it seems to me that the little Sony beats the Fuji on the movie front as well.

But what lens. Well the X100 has a 23mm F2 lens, so was thinking about getting the Sony FE 24mm F2.8 (giving me a very similar field of view albeit a little slower). It would also have the added benefit of being able to be used on the A7 RV as a 24mm lens. I did briefly consider the APS-C Sony E 20mm F2.8 lens for an even smaller and lighter package, but the reviews on that are less than stellar.

Looking at the size and weight of the two systems, whilst the Sony system is a little larger it's not by much (see below) and is only a small amount heavier. So my question would be, is this a good match or is there another lens I should be considering ?





X100 V1 Weight = 521g

Sony combo weight = 655g

For reference, he is the comparison with the little Sony 20mm F2.8 attached.

Click to expand...


I have both the A6700 + 20mm F2.8 and X100VI . They're both very capable but very different cameras. The A6700 will have far better autofocus/action/fast moving subjects (the X100VI while improved vs previous models is still slow at tracking).

However I find myself using the X100 in a completely different way - playing with composition, colours and exposures differently. Get very different colours particularly with the film sims. The built in ND filter is also great.

Just get both.... ;)
 
jonneymendoza said:
I will call Sony repair place in London or Sony Pro support and see what they say.

I won't bother if the cost is over 300 quid to fix a feature I barely use
Click to expand...
I agree with Nandbytes in that Sony should fix it. However, what Sony are saying is that the firmware hasn't broken it, the function was broken already and it's just that they've put something in the new firmware to make you aware. The bill for fixing mine was nearly £900.
 
snerkler said:
I agree with Nandbytes in that Sony should fix it. However, what Sony are saying is that the firmware hasn't broken it, the function was broken already and it's just that they've put something in the new firmware to make you aware. The bill for fixing mine was nearly £900.
Click to expand...
wow £900.....

Yea screw that if that is how much they will charge for it!!!

Thats amost 1/5 of the price of a A1 mk2...

jesus christ and it is just the wireless connectivity that is the issue.

edit: my sony a1 is grey market bougth from panamoz so i doibt sony pro support wil honour and help me out
 
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jonneymendoza said:
wow £900.....

Yea screw that if that is how much they will charge for it!!!

Thats amost 1/5 of the price of a A1 mk2...

jesus christ and it is just the wireless connectivity that is the issue.

edit: my sony a1 is grey market bougth from panamoz so i doibt sony pro support wil honour and help me out
Click to expand...
You never know if you don't ask, it's still a genuine product.

Mine's from Panamoz, however Panamoz picked up the bill as it was still under warranty.
 
jonneymendoza said:
wow £900.....

Yea screw that if that is how much they will charge for it!!!

Thats amost 1/5 of the price of a A1 mk2...

jesus christ and it is just the wireless connectivity that is the issue.

edit: my sony a1 is grey market bougth from panamoz so i doibt sony pro support wil honour and help me out
Click to expand...
I've just checked the bill, it was £804 and that included a £9 switch, so it likely that it'll be just under £800 for the mother board.

Of course there's always a chance that it's not that, if you send it to Sony you're under no obligation to have the work done if the estimate is too pricey.
 
snerkler said:
I've just checked the bill, it was £804 and that included a £9 switch, so it likely that it'll be just under £800 for the mother board.

Of course there's always a chance that it's not that, if you send it to Sony you're under no obligation to have the work done if the estimate is too pricey.
Click to expand...
Not like the good old days.

IMG_1856.jpeg
 
snerkler said:
I've just checked the bill, it was £804 and that included a £9 switch, so it likely that it'll be just under £800 for the mother board.

Of course there's always a chance that it's not that, if you send it to Sony you're under no obligation to have the work done if the estimate is too pricey.
Click to expand...
I messaged the Sony pro service as I'm a member and they said they can't service it as it's grey market.

They said I can send it to fixation who are official Sony repair place (been there before)

I guess I can try and try and messaged Panamoz to see if they can also pay for repair.

There's no way in hell I'm paying near 1k to fix this.

Utter joke that is to fix just the wireless bit of the camera..
 
snerkler said:
Strange that they fixed mine then :thinking:
Click to expand...
Well what they said is that I can send it in for repair but at a cost as its out of warranty and purchased in the grey market.

What's frustrating is that I'm also out of warranty from panamozz else I would go via there route.

This sucks. Could affect resale value when I sell it in the future...

Its a feature I don't actually use tbh but just frustrating.

Do you use the wireless feature with the new app? Does it work well?
 
jonneymendoza said:
Well what they said is that I can send it in for repair but at a cost as its out of warranty and purchased in the grey market.

What's frustrating is that I'm also out of warranty from panamozz else I would go via there route.

This sucks. Could affect resale value when I sell it in the future...

Its a feature I don't actually use tbh but just frustrating.

Do you use the wireless feature with the new app? Does it work well?
Click to expand...
Yeah that sucks. It does work well, both with the creator’s app and FTP transfer. The only gripe with the creator’s app is that you have to sign in each time and if you’re in an area with no signal you obviously can’t do it.
 
f/2.8 said:
Not like the good old days.

View attachment 447786
Click to expand...
Had one of my old A900's fixed (twice) under the old fixed price system after the mirror separated from the mechanism.

the Mirror just fell out of the frame that it sits in when I took a shot, how it did this without shattering I don't know - sent it back under fixed price, they glued it back in place, a few months later it fell out again, outside of the short warranty they gave, but they agreed to fix it as it was clearly their repair that had failed, second time they had to scour Europe for a new mirror assembly mechanism as there were none in the UK, but eventually sourced one and fitted it - must have cost Sony way more than the price I paid.
 
Lots of talk about the A6700/70-350 combo so here's a few photos from the weekend with that setup in Central Park, NYC. It's just the perfect set up for that environment:



 
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nandbytes said:
Apparently the new viltrox 25mm f1.7 air is amazing sharp and cheap. Also light at 170g.

View: https://youtu.be/xyd0VyOm6ho?si=u7OywRobHqFqmAxm

My son is almost getting to age he can handle a camera. Thinking of getting a cheap A6xxx or fuji body with these viltrox "air" primes for him. Should be able to fill all in within £500 and also makes for a credible back up option.
Click to expand...

may take a punt with one of these to go with the new A6400 holiday camera.
 
snerkler said:
Had no idea what that was and had to google it :LOL:
Click to expand...
I bought it for car shows mainly.

I don’t really enjoy taking photos at them as I am not able to get the control for photography I prefer and I found it frustrating. So I found that I was just taking a lot of videos on my phone. This is a better option compared to a phone for that and I have just started a TikTok for my car as well. :ROFLMAO:

I might get a drone for the same reasons as well.

Might also be able to use for Instagram stories etc while at weddings as well.
 
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Love my Osmo Pocket 3. It's always with me in my laptop bag and always goes on holiday with me. Cracking image quality from it's 1" Sensor

It's brilliant at night as well due to it only having 12mp rather than the usual 24mp or 40mp of the typical action cameras (with even smaller sensors).
 
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Sootchucker said:
Love my Osmo Pocket 3. It's always with me in my laptop bag and always goes on holiday with me. Cracking image quality from it's 1" Sensor

It's brilliant at night as well due to it only having 12mp rather than the usual 24mp or 40mp of the typical action cameras (with even smaller sensors).
Click to expand...
Have only had a small amount of time to try it out but it does seem rather good even in low light. Will be a bit of a learning curve but have watched a ton of videos etc. and think I have it set up as I like it. Have a car show at the weekend so will give it it a proper work out then.
 
I also had the OP 2 some years ago - I can tell you the OP 3 is a very different beast altogether from the earlier models.
 
T_J_G said:
I had the 1 and 2 and they’re decent bits of kit. May get the 3 later in the year but found I didn’t use the 2 much
Click to expand...
The 3 is a big step up from the 2 and makes the 2 feel a bit like a prototype in comparison. The integrated joystick is much better but the new screen is a massive improvement since the one on the Pocket 2 was so small it was difficult to see what you were filming and the interface was tricky on such a small screen. It's a clever design on the three to flick the screen round to power the camera on and then rotate it back round to switch off again.
 
JohnMcL7 said:
The 3 is a big step up from the 2 and makes the 2 feel a bit like a prototype in comparison. The integrated joystick is much better but the new screen is a massive improvement since the one on the Pocket 2 was so small it was difficult to see what you were filming and the interface was tricky on such a small screen. It's a clever design on the three to flick the screen round to power the camera on and then rotate it back round to switch off again.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I'm definitely tempted but limited use case at the moment.
 
T_J_G said:
Thanks, I'm definitely tempted but limited use case at the moment.
Click to expand...
That's understandable and I do struggle a bit at times to get the use out of it I should given my phone and other cameras can do video although I think that's my mindset I need to change.
 
T_J_G said:
I had the 1 and 2 and they’re decent bits of kit. May get the 3 later in the year but found I didn’t use the 2 much
Click to expand...
I haven’t used the other ones but I am very impressed with the video quality from such a small sensor.

Yeah I could easily use one of my other cameras for videos and just buy a gimble but the small size and portability of this make it much more likely I will make use of it. I think it will work well for what I will use it for.
 
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snerkler said:
To be fair it’s become more of a community in it’s own right and I personally like that and I think it would be a shame if it stopped. I like to hear about others’ lives outside of photography, hearing what woof woof and Mrs woof woof are up to for example. I also like reading about other photography related stuff that’s not Sony, and whilst I know there’s other threads available for other photography talk I don’t know the people on there and who I can ‘trust’ to give useful info etc.

I do understand not everyone may feel the same but surely it’s no hardship to just scroll past the posts you’re not interested in? I guess if there’s a lot of people that don’t like it then we could have a vote? :thinking:
Click to expand...

Well. As you asked.

Mrs WW returned from her travels but she'd been unavoidably delayed for almost 4 months and missed our wedding anniversary, her birthday and Christmas in the UK. She insisted that I kept the tree up until she came back so that we could have a Christmas together while she opened her mountain of anniversary, birthday and Xmas prezzies and cards so that's what we did.

Here she is opening a card, A7 (which is still working) and Sony 35mm f1.8 at f1.8.

DSC07914.jpg

We've had the usual days out... Whitby single shot and then a pan, A7III and 40mm f2.5.

No hood fitted and there's some flare here but I don't mind it.

DSC01021.jpg

Pan...

Whitby-6-2-2025-3.jpg

Yorkshire scene, A7III and 40mm again. The roads were narrow and Mrs WW was afraid of oncoming traffic but we didn't have any problems. The Evoque sat nav had a great time, I think it might need an update.

DSC01043.JPG

We have a couple of holidays booked and these will be my first for 6 years due to caring duties and later the family and legal issues which came after my mam died. I'm thinking what to do about slimming down my kit. I sold a lot of manual lenses months ago and I may sell the rest, maybe hang on to just literally and strictly one or two. I think I've learned enough about mainstream film era lenses so keeping just one or two for their look should be enough. I sold all my cheap Chinese lenses except the TTA 50mm f2 and I've kept that because it's tiny, worth nothing and mounts straight onto the camera and it definitely has a look. I might also try and slim down my Voigtlander lenses.

Hobby wise Mrs WW is learning piano on an electronic keyboard which came with free online tutorials. I can hear her playing in the other room as I type :) I'm doing just the same but can't seem to stop buying watches. Watch out for some pictures :LOL: After all the stressful family stuff ended I got back into keep fit and the strength, stamina and muscle definition came back very quickly. Which is nice.

Good to see Johnny posting again. I hope he becomes a regular again.
 
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woof woof said:
Well. As you asked.

Mrs WW returned from her travels but she'd been unavoidably delayed for almost 4 months and missed our wedding anniversary, her birthday and Christmas in the UK. She insisted that I kept the tree up until she came back so that we could have a Christmas together while she opened her mountain of anniversary, birthday and Xmas prezzies and cards so that's what we did.

Here she is opening a card, A7 (which is still working) and Sony 35mm f1.8 at f1.8.

View attachment 448099

We've had the usual days out... Whitby single shot and then a pan, A7III and 40mm f2.5.

No hood fitted and there's some flare here but I don't mind it.

View attachment 448106

Pan...

View attachment 448100

Yorkshire scene, A7III and 40mm again. The roads were narrow and Mrs WW was afraid of oncoming traffic but we didn't have any problems. The Evoque sat nav had a great time, I think it might need an update.

View attachment 448101

We have a couple of holidays booked and these will be my first for 6 years due to caring duties and later the family and legal issues which came after my mam died. I'm thinking what to do about slimming down my kit. I sold a lot of manual lenses months ago and I may sell the rest, maybe hang on to just literally and strictly one or two. I think I've learned enough about mainstream film era lenses so keeping just one or two for their look should be enough. I sold all my cheap Chinese lenses except the TTA 50mm f2 and I've kept that because it's tiny, worth nothing and mounts straight onto the camera and it definitely has a look. I might also try and slim down my Voigtlander lenses.

Hobby wise Mrs WW is learning piano on an electronic keyboard which came with free online tutorials. I can hear her playing in the other room as I type :) I'm doing just the same but can't seem to stop buying watches. Watch out for some pictures :LOL: After all the stressful family stuff ended I got back into keep fit and the strength, stamina and muscle definition came back very quickly. Which is nice.

Good to see Johnny posting again. I hope he becomes a regular again.
Click to expand...

Finally! :) Welcome back Alan. Great images. Love that harbour scene.
 
woof woof said:
Well. As you asked.

Mrs WW returned from her travels but she'd been unavoidably delayed for almost 4 months and missed our wedding anniversary, her birthday and Christmas in the UK. She insisted that I kept the tree up until she came back so that we could have a Christmas together while she opened her mountain of anniversary, birthday and Xmas prezzies and cards so that's what we did.

Here she is opening a card, A7 (which is still working) and Sony 35mm f1.8 at f1.8.

View attachment 448099

We've had the usual days out... Whitby single shot and then a pan, A7III and 40mm f2.5.

No hood fitted and there's some flare here but I don't mind it.

View attachment 448106

Pan...

View attachment 448100

Yorkshire scene, A7III and 40mm again. The roads were narrow and Mrs WW was afraid of oncoming traffic but we didn't have any problems. The Evoque sat nav had a great time, I think it might need an update.

View attachment 448101

We have a couple of holidays booked and these will be my first for 6 years due to caring duties and later the family and legal issues which came after my mam died. I'm thinking what to do about slimming down my kit. I sold a lot of manual lenses months ago and I may sell the rest, maybe hang on to just literally and strictly one or two. I think I've learned enough about mainstream film era lenses so keeping just one or two for their look should be enough. I sold all my cheap Chinese lenses except the TTA 50mm f2 and I've kept that because it's tiny, worth nothing and mounts straight onto the camera and it definitely has a look. I might also try and slim down my Voigtlander lenses.

Hobby wise Mrs WW is learning piano on an electronic keyboard which came with free online tutorials. I can hear her playing in the other room as I type :) I'm doing just the same but can't seem to stop buying watches. Watch out for some pictures :LOL: After all the stressful family stuff ended I got back into keep fit and the strength, stamina and muscle definition came back very quickly. Which is nice.

Good to see Johnny posting again. I hope he becomes a regular again.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I was replying earlier and then tea was ready!!

I bet you are both pretty damn happy to be reunited again and it sounds like you've spent some of your recent away from here time doing some very important things :) I hope all the family stuff is now sorted & you can try to get back on with living your life, especially now Mrs WW is back on the scene.

Slim the kit, keep the essentials, and get out & use it. I've bought nothing new - I'm still on the X100f (the Vi does occasionally tempt me!) and no changes to the Sony kit. I've just got scans back from the latest roll of Portra 400 too. I pulled the Escort out the garage a couple of weeks ago, took over an hour to get here started & missed the Sunday breakfast meet. I got her running in the end though, so hopefully next time she'll be okay - that's either over to Melksham Saturday if the weather forecast is okay or another breakfast meet on Sunday.

Keep the exercise up too, that's good for everyone at any age!
 
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