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

Just the hair
Thanks Trev, appreciate the input. It's good to get another view as you sometimes can't see the woods for the trees when you've spent time editing and image.
 
I've just got an email from Adobe saying my subscription is changing from £9.98 a month to £14.99. that is quite a hike but I think the rate remains the same if I pay the amount in full yearly.

I use PS and have done for years but deal with Adobe grudgingly since having issues over cs3 and feeling gouged over cs5. I'll probably stick with them as I'm used to PS202x but is there a good alternative? I used the raw processor and do very little in the jpeg editor.
 
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I've just got an email from Adobe saying my subscription is changing from £9.98 a month to £14.99. that is quite a hike but I think the rate remains the same if I pay the amount in full yearly.

I use PS and have done for years but deal with Adobe grudgingly since having issues over cs3 and feeling gouged over cs5. I'll probably stick with them as I'm used to PS202x but is there a good alternative? I used the raw processor and do very little in the jpeg editor.
I’m guessing I’ll get a similar email soon then :( It is getting rather expensive, especially considering it’s just a hobby :oops: :$
 
I’m guessing I’ll get a similar email soon then :( It is getting rather expensive, especially considering it’s just a hobby :oops: :$
I think if you have saved credit you don't get the email until you are on your last month of credit - so I'm expecting it sometime next year.
While it's annoying to have the price hike, it has stayed the same for many years (plus we've had Amazon discounts). Compared to the cost of cameras it's cheap!
 
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!
The Sigma 100-400 is worth a look.
I tend to use it more than my 200-600.
Image Quality is excellent.
Have a look at my Flickr photostream to see some examples ;)
 
On a photography day out, most of us spend more than the Adobe Subscription on fuel, let alone food/drink/etc - its a small price to pay for a comprehensive suite of software
Very true (although my 'fuel' costs are now pence rather than pounds ;)) but it doesn't stop it from being expensive (y) I have to say though, since it's gone to CC the lightroom updates have been superb, and pretty frequent so whilst expensive it's pretty good value, .... relatively speaking.
I think if you have saved credit you don't get the email until you are on your last month of credit - so I'm expecting it sometime next year.
While it's annoying to have the price hike, it has stayed the same for many years (plus we've had Amazon discounts). Compared to the cost of cameras it's cheap!
Oh, maybe it'll be next year for me then (y)
 
I'd go back and look at the standalone prices of PS before it became subscription
I never used PS prior to CC and still barely use it now, I only use it for more complex cloning. I'd love to learn how to use it properly and get a bit 'arty' with it but I never seem to have the time.

Maybe I should have put "fuel and depreciation" costs in my post!!

I don't even want to think about the latter :eek: :lol:
 
Probably a Sony A1 II and a couple/few of GM lenses a year
Yeah it's a scary thought :runaway: Although I did get 20% off so that's gone some way to reduce the depreciation :)
 
Yeah it's a scary thought :runaway: Although I did get 20% off so that's gone some way to reduce the depreciation :)

When a I had a TVR Griffith 500 back in the late 90's we reckoned that for every £50 spent in fuel, was a further £10 spent in tyre wear!!! My Impreza Turbo was similar and that wore out all 4 tyres out the same rate :ROFLMAO: - worst fuel consumption I managed in that was 4.8mpg on a Cadwell Park Trackday..............................
 
When a I had a TVR Griffith 500 back in the late 90's we reckoned that for every £50 spent in fuel, was a further £10 spent in tyre wear!!! My Impreza Turbo was similar and that wore out all 4 tyres out the same rate :ROFLMAO: - worst fuel consumption I managed in that was 4.8mpg on a Cadwell Park Trackday..............................
I've got tyres covered under the maintenance pack, surprisingly for wear as well as damage. I've no idea how long the tyres last but with 610bhp and 811 lb-ft of torque I can't see them lasting forever ;)
 
I've got tyres covered under the maintenance pack, surprisingly for wear as well as damage. I've no idea how long the tyres last but with 610bhp and 811 lb-ft of torque I can't see them lasting forever ;)

No wonder the roads are badly potholed, you must be peeling back the surface with your right foot :ROFLMAO:
 
I've got tyres covered under the maintenance pack, surprisingly for wear as well as damage. I've no idea how long the tyres last but with 610bhp and 811 lb-ft of torque I can't see them lasting forever ;)
The software used by the lease companies does calculate expected tyre wear (based on mileage), and they will take tread depth measurements on all tyres every time the car is in for any work. If you look at the fine print in the contract you may find there is a clause to charge you if the wear is considered excessive (I wasn't involved with the contract side, but have worked on the software, both for a regional company with in-house software, and at a company supplying software to the big lease companies).
 
I’m guessing I’ll get a similar email soon then :( It is getting rather expensive, especially considering it’s just a hobby :oops: :$

I remember the staggering cost of CS5 and against that the subscription seems like a decent deal especially as updates come though all the time and are mostly painless... but there have been a could of cock ups which have annoyed me a lot.

I'll probably stick with them as I've been using this current version and before it CS3 and then CS5 for a very long time now and I know that learning something else will just be annoying, probably more annoying than the price increases. If anyone suggests anything else I'll look at it.
 
No wonder the roads are badly potholed, you must be peeling back the surface with your right foot :ROFLMAO:
:lol: To be fair I only tootle around most of the time (y)
The software used by the lease companies does calculate expected tyre wear (based on mileage), and they will take tread depth measurements on all tyres every time the car is in for any work. If you look at the fine print in the contract you may find there is a clause to charge you if the wear is considered excessive (I wasn't involved with the contract side, but have worked on the software, both for a regional company with in-house software, and at a company supplying software to the big lease companies).
It wouldn't surprise me. That being said I was told by the dealer that only punctures were covered so I was quite surprised when I read it that it covered normal wear.
 
Prime day should be coming up soon. Last year I just moved to lightroom cloud version only. It now seems to do everything that the normal LR does and I’ve never been able to get to grips with PS.
Don’t have the patience or attention to sit down and learn it properly but think I need to start as I want to start blending images and doing more night/ Astro stuff.
 
Prime day should be coming up soon. Last year I just moved to lightroom cloud version only. It now seems to do everything that the normal LR does and I’ve never been able to get to grips with PS.
Don’t have the patience or attention to sit down and learn it properly but think I need to start as I want to start blending images and doing more night/ Astro stuff.

I'm the opposite. I tried LR and thought it was a cataloguing software with a processor tucked away in a corner somewhere. That might not be what it is, it's just how it looked to me. I do most things in the raw processor except resizing and some heavier cloning.

Does the LR raw processor look like the PS one? If it does I could maybe manage with it.

PS.
My subscription is up on 17th July so people can probably look forward to similar emails a month before theirs runs out.
 
I'm the opposite. I tried LR and thought it was a cataloguing software with a processor tucked away in a corner somewhere. That might not be what it is, it's just how it looked to me. I do most things in the raw processor except resizing and some heavier cloning.

Does the LR raw processor look like the PS one? If it does I could maybe manage with it.

PS.
My subscription is up on 17th July so people can probably look forward to similar emails a month before theirs runs out.

LR is in the same subscription Photography package, so even if you did change, you won't be saving money

:LOL: To be fair I only tootle around most of the time (y)

You've paid for all that bhp and aren't using it, bit like shooting small JPG on your Sony :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
LR is in the same subscription Photography package, so even if you did change, you won't be saving money

Ah. No point then.

Years ago I used something called Rawshooter Essentials but I think they were bought by someone and left to die, Googling tells me you can download a 2005 or 2006 version.
 
Prime day should be coming up soon. Last year I just moved to lightroom cloud version only. It now seems to do everything that the normal LR does and I’ve never been able to get to grips with PS.
Don’t have the patience or attention to sit down and learn it properly but think I need to start as I want to start blending images and doing more night/ Astro stuff.
I really want to learn photoshop, I'm just going to have to pull my finger out and try to find time to do it. That being said I don't know where to start, there's masses of youtube videos but they all seem to be about something specific rather than a walkthrough. PiXimperfect is really good and knowlegable but I'd really like to watch a video where someone does a landscape from start to finish, a portrait from start to finish and a composite from start to finish.

I can't even do simple selections for composite, it always looks like a 2 year old's cut it out :lol: I recently watched a video how to do complex selections on such things like hair and fur but even though I followed it step by step mine wouldn't select like theirs. Clearly I did something wrong but I couldn't figure out what for the life of me.

In an ideal world I'd sit down and do a 1-1 lesson with someone.
You've paid for all that bhp and aren't using it, bit like shooting small JPG on your Sony :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
I actually 'only' wanted the iX 50 msport but was offered a deal on the M60 that saved me £600/month :eek:

Plus I never said I didn't use it, just not very often :p
 
A new UWA prime announced

 
I really want to learn photoshop, I'm just going to have to pull my finger out and try to find time to do it. That being said I don't know where to start, there's masses of youtube videos but they all seem to be about something specific rather than a walkthrough. PiXimperfect is really good and knowlegable but I'd really like to watch a video where someone does a landscape from start to finish, a portrait from start to finish and a composite from start to finish.

I can't even do simple selections for composite, it always looks like a 2 year old's cut it out :LOL: I recently watched a video how to do complex selections on such things like hair and fur but even though I followed it step by step mine wouldn't select like theirs. Clearly I did something wrong but I couldn't figure out what for the life of me.

In an ideal world I'd sit down and do a 1-1 lesson with someone.

I actually 'only' wanted the iX 50 msport but was offered a deal on the M60 that saved me £600/month :eek:

Plus I never said I didn't use it, just not very often :p
Perhaps I've mentioned this before but try Dave Kelly's "The Joy Of Editing" tutorials on YouTube, especially TK Friday walkthrough videos.
He uses the TK9 panel.
He starts off in LR then really polishes the images up in PS.
 
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A new UWA prime announced

Did intrigue me but doesn't look much smaller than samyang 14-24mm. Of course it's wider...
But I'm still drawn more towards the samyang
Main benefit of the laowa though is the 72mm filter thread which matches my 20-70mm
 
Perhaps I've mentioned this before but try Dave Kelly's "The Joy Of Editing" tutorials on YouTube, especially TK Friday walkthrough videos.
He uses the TK9 panel.
He starts off in LR then really polishes the images up in PS.
I've started watching PiXimperfect, he's got a series teaching PS step by step (y)
 
I've started watching PiXimperfect, he's got a series teaching PS step by step (y)

IMO working through step by step doesn't sink in, unless you are actually doing it. I tend to want to do something in PS (that I can't do in LR or PS does better)., then I just google it, find a guide/video and work through it with the image that I want to edit - I find that this way I actually learn, so I now have the ability to do a number of functions within photoshop (that I quite often use), but still do the bulk of my editing in LR
 
IMO working through step by step doesn't sink in, unless you are actually doing it. I tend to want to do something in PS (that I can't do in LR or PS does better)., then I just google it, find a guide/video and work through it with the image that I want to edit - I find that this way I actually learn, so I now have the ability to do a number of functions within photoshop (that I quite often use), but still do the bulk of my editing in LR
I've tried that way but I only find it useful for that specific thing. I like to learn from the ground up therefore I can then hopefully apply this knowledge to anything and figure out ways of doing it rather than following a 'recipe' (y)
 
IMO working through step by step doesn't sink in, unless you are actually doing it. I tend to want to do something in PS (that I can't do in LR or PS does better)., then I just google it, find a guide/video and work through it with the image that I want to edit - I find that this way I actually learn, so I now have the ability to do a number of functions within photoshop (that I quite often use), but still do the bulk of my editing in LR
In Dave Kelly's walkthroughs, he supplies the original image and a PDF of the steps taken so you can work on the image yourself.
Once you have learned this you can adapt them to your own images.
I've learned so much using his tutorials
 
I've started watching PiXimperfect, he's got a series teaching PS step by step (y)
most of my photoshop is self taught through experimentation or googling.
I can do a lot of things in PS and pretty well too but the issue is I don't know what I don't know :ROFLMAO:
I kept meaning to find some kind of a structured material, I'm sure there's plenty of features and capabilities I will not have come across or used.
 
most of my photoshop is self taught through experimentation or googling.
I can do a lot of things in PS and pretty well too but the issue is I don't know what I don't know :ROFLMAO:
I kept meaning to find some kind of a structured material, I'm sure there's plenty of features and capabilities I will not have come across or used.
I'm only on the third lesson and already leant a lot, it's starting to make sense and the shortcuts are invaluable. I'm not sure I'll use photoshop much though as the improvements in lightroom, especially the masking means that a lot of the tools photographers had to go into PS for are now available in LR.

One of the best 'new' features of LR is the ability to intersect masks with another mask or tool, brilliant bit of kit that.
 
As it's a bit quiet. I haven't been out with a camera for a while so I had a play at home taking pictures of some of my cheap mechanical watches. Just to give some background, I don't buy counterfeit watches but I have bought some homage watches. These are watches which lets say have taken inspiration from more expensive watches but this is apparently perfectly legal as they don't pretend to be made by the company whose watch they take inspiration from. I see nothing wrong with this as there are Rolex watches which look pretty much identical to me to Omega watches and vice versa and so on. Most of these though are as far as I know original designs.

A7III and Sony 40mm f2.5 + No.4 close up filter. Watches just placed on the windowsill and photographed hand held at almost MFD with no cropping. In some there's distortion towards the edges, I think this is caused by the cheap close up filter and being almost at MFD.

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This next one is the only non automatic here. It's just hand wound. Some of these use Seiko NH35 or NH family movements and some use Chinese movements of various types. Some Chinese movements are quite decent.

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I can't resist looking at this one when the hands are about to line up and give an almost constant white combination.

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This next one looks lovely when the light catches it just right. BTW, this one and the one above were very cheap even for cheap watches.

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Mrs WW likes this next one I think mostly because of the strap.

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This last one is one of the cheapest and I really like it. Going by the name I think it might be inspired by a more expensive watch rather than being an original design but I can't say for sure. I've looked at the similarly named famous brands website and I can't see one like this but there might have been one in the past or the similar name might just be a coincidence :D

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As I have a thin left wrist I often can't get a comfortable fit and when I can't I fit a mesh bracelet which can be adjusted to fit just about anyone. Sorry about the dust and reflections in some of these pictures. It's just for fun :D
 
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Couldn’t resist a little friend for my A7Cii when I saw one at a good price.

Currently trying out with my smallest lens, a nice combo, but also considering the Viltrox 28/4.5 or the TTArtisan 25/2. Main use is a compact carry camera that’s not so expensive I worry about carrying it around or it getting beat up so I can take it for opportunistic shots on work travel etc. I often have a few hours to kill in london these days so thought I might try and capture some of it. Something to think a bit more intentionally about composition etc with and try improve my skill there.

It also gives me a nice resolution bump with my macro lens (which is APS-C).
 

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