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

I'll see what the sky is like, but there's usually too much light pollution in the Cotswolds .
 
ancient_mariner said:
I'll see what the sky is like, but there's usually too much light pollution in the Cotswolds .
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I'm down your neck of the woods next month, staying in Bourton on the Water (y)
 
"Didn't we have a loverly time, the day we went to Bourton."

When are you there? It's not far, but not close either.
 
ancient_mariner said:
"Didn't we have a loverly time, the day we went to Bourton."

When are you there? It's not far, but not close either.
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I take it that's a 'well known' song? ;)

Middle of September, we do like Bourton and the surrounding area (y)
 
Cotswolds already have the RX1R III at £3779, I wonder how long it is before it's around the £3k mark grey?
 
LeeRatters said:
Probably about a week after you decide it isn't for you at all :ROFLMAO:
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:LOL:

I’ve already decided it’s not for me, regardless of price ;) Being tall I use the tilt screen A LOT, I don’t think I could ever go back to not having one.
 
Thanks guys.
snerkler said:
No idea what DPOTY
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DPOTY is the Talk Photography Digital Photographer Of The Year competition, and this was my second choice as an entry (I preferred the other one). Sorry that was a bit misleading.
 
As it's quiet. A couple more A7 and TTA 50mm f2 pictures. For people who don't know this lens, it's a manual focus Chinese lens the size of an old film era 50mm f1.8/f2 and its in Sony mount. I can't remember how much I paid for this but it is the cheapest new modern lens I've had.

I wish more of the beach huts were visible but this is the view.

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I don't think I got a single keeper, the light wasn't to my liking with no real contrast, a bit flat and colours not too nice. I'll keep the pictures and look at them a few times and then make a decision. I do like the shapes here so I'll take this again with hopefully better light.

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It was really just something to do and I wanted to play with this cheap and to be honest not too good lens :D I have taken some pictures I really like with this lens but Tuesday didn't get me any.

Does anyone else find themselves with no real keepers but having still enjoyed the time out and the experience?
 
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woof woof said:
Does anyone else find themselves with no real keepers but having still enjoyed the time out and the experience?
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That’s just 99% of my photography.
 
Gold said:
That’s just 99% of my photography.
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Sometimes I surprise myself and get a keeper but yesterday I looked out and saw that conditions weren't great but I decided to go out anyway. I was waiting for the sunset but it looked like it wasn't going to be anything special beyond just the orange tinted flatness so I set off back to the car and of course on the way home the setting sun looked lovely but by the time I could park... it'd gone.

At least I enjoyed it all and I did have a lovely chat too.
 
Testing out the RX1R II, Betty trying to keep cool on her cool mat


DSC00018 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr
 
woof woof said:
Does anyone else find themselves with no real keepers but having still enjoyed the time out and the experience?
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Well I'd argue none of mine are ever keepers :lol:

I don't think I've ever come back and not had a least one photo I deemed worthy or processing.
 
Mr Perceptive said:
Is that a purchase or a loaner???
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Purchase :runaway: Although I have 30 days in which I can return it.

I think it's a keeper, it's far from perfect and it's obviously slow compared to my A1 but the image quality seems very good and it should do what I want from a compact.
 
I'm still tempted by the RX1rIII but I don't think I can bring myself to pay that much for a camera. I wonder if I can buy the bits and build one myself? But when I did that with a watch it ended up costing 3x what you can buy something similar for :D

Just on the non keepers. Mrs WW is still in Thailand so I'm by myself and sometime just fancy a break and a wonder about with a camera and that's nice in itself as I do enjoy it and I even even enjoy the processing even if I don't get any keepers.

I see you can get a RX1rII for something between £1,600 and £2,200. Actually at those prices it'd be a real alternative to an A7CII.
 
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snerkler said:
Well I'd argue none of mine are ever keepers :LOL:

I don't think I've ever come back and not had a least one photo I deemed worthy or processing.
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I have thousands of pictures I really should just delete. I've watched vids on what do take pictures of when the light is poor but to be honest I'm not really into the sort of pictures I see in those vids, I feel no connection and no interest in them. Assuming I'm alone and not taking a people picture I'd rather look at the scene and enjoy it and being there and then take a picture and enjoy that process even if I know it's not going to be a picture which will make it into a slideshow let alone be printed.

Good luck with the RX1rII. I hope it's a keeper.
 
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woof woof said:
There's always... Convert to B&W.
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Only if you like your turds in monochrome :)

I think there is something built into most of us to try and salvage something from a trip out with the camera, when in reality we probably shouldn't waste our time, and maybe go out again instead. Most of us are guilty of it.
 
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Mr Perceptive said:
Only if you like your turds in monochrome :)

I think there is something buily into most of us to try and salvage something from a trip out with the camera, when in reality we probably shouldn't waste our time, and maybe go out again instead. Most of us are guilty of it.
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It wasn't really a waste of time as to be honest I needed a bit of time out and to myself and taking a camera and a lens I hadn't used for a while was part of the motivation. Sometimes I still do like the flat lifeless pictures if it was a good day as looking at them takes me back to that good day but Tuesday wasn't really a memorable day, I was just wanted to go out with a camera and I had the time. The pictures aren't really memories of a good day, they haven't got that going for them as it was just an ok couple of hours wandering about by myself. Nothing special, like the pictures. Sometimes if I don't think conditions are good I don't bother taking a camera with me but yesterday I wanted to.

I do a lot of complaining about lifeless light. Here's hoping for better conditions.
 
woof woof said:
I have thousands of pictures I really should just delete. I've watched vids on what do take pictures of when the light is poor but to be honest I'm not really into the sort of pictures I see in those vids, I feel no connection and no interest in them. Assuming I'm alone and not taking a people picture I'd rather look at the scene and enjoy it and being there and then take a picture and enjoy that process even if I know it's not going to be a picture which will make it into a slideshow let alone be printed.

Good luck with the RX1rII. I hope it's a keeper.
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It depends on what you're shooting, I certainly don't tend to take landscapes if the light's poor and/or the sky is just grey. That being said, when I'm on holiday walking Betty I'll tend to just shoot anything, but then it probably won't get processed.

Certain things can look OK with boring light, but not much. I similarly hate the light on really sunny days when the sun is high.

There's no issue with the IQ on the RX1R II, it's a question whether the other 'quirks' and ergonomics cause me a headache or not, I need to accept that it's not an A1 in different clothing.
 
snerkler said:
It depends on what you're shooting, I certainly don't tend to take landscapes if the light's poor and/or the sky is just grey. That being said, when I'm on holiday walking Betty I'll tend to just shoot anything, but then it probably won't get processed.

Certain things can look OK with boring light, but not much. I similarly hate the light on really sunny days when the sun is high.

There's no issue with the IQ on the RX1R II, it's a question whether the other 'quirks' and ergonomics cause me a headache or not, I need to accept that it's not an A1 in different clothing.
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Quite often the light is poor and sometimes I don't take a camera but sometimes I'd still rather take pictures than not bother because I like taking pictures. One problem is if the scene is very familiar and I've taken the same poor light picture 100 x before, I think "Why bother"? The chances of taking a keeper taken in poor light do increase if it's something new, like on a more special day out or on holiday or if Mrs WW does something interesting.

Overcast, raining a bit, flat light, but for me still worth taking because it's a memory of the moment. A flat light scenic picture with nobody in it of a familiar place without a moment to remember is less worth taking because I lose interest and attachment but I still do it :D

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I've read that the older RX1's don't have modern focus performance but for I doubt that'd be a problem for me. The MK2 is cheaper and it has a tilting rear screen but the evf is pop up, the III has the in place evf but it's dearer and there's no tilt screen. I'm tempted by the II but I'll have to think, maybe an A7cII would be a better way to go for me but not this month as I've already spent over £3k. Not that it matters financially but due to upbringing I stop myself from going too mad. Actually just had a talk with Mrs WW today about us not having to worry about money and if she wants something, don't ask, don't mess on, get it. She agrees but upbringing is a difficult thing to get out of.
 
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woof woof said:
Does anyone else find themselves with no real keepers but having still enjoyed the time out and the experience?
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If I've gone out with the intention of talking pictures then I'd find it enormously disappointing, but if just out anyway then it matters much less. I've spent the last 2 evenings trying to set up a 'harvest' shot, not really happy with anything, but in the end just making do.
 
snerkler said:
Purchase :runaway: Although I have 30 days in which I can return it.

I think it's a keeper, it's far from perfect and it's obviously slow compared to my A1 but the image quality seems very good and it should do what I want from a compact.
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There was me thinking you'd stay strong... Who can resist the lure of more kit (apart from me, apparently)?
 
ancient_mariner said:
If I've gone out with the intention of talking pictures then I'd find it enormously disappointing, but if just out anyway then it matters much less. I've spent the last 2 evenings trying to set up a 'harvest' shot, not really happy with anything, but in the end just making do.
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On Tuesday I could see that the light was poor before I set off but I haven't been out much with a camera since may so I thought I'd go and do long exposures and that's something I don't normally do so that made it a bit more interesting as did using what is to be honest technically quite a poor lens.

I've managed to stop buying watches, building my own seems to have cured that, so maybe I can get back to buying camera kit now.
 
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I haven't been out intentionally with the Sony for quite a while excluding the Devon holiday, dull sunsets.....

I've probably shared more 120 film shots than Sony shots the past few months! But we're off on that little Welsh road trip holiday next month so I'm planning plenty of Sony landscapes fingers crossed! I'm not sure what other gear to take yet!
 
Mr Perceptive said:
I'd give some consideration to sending the labcoat on holiday, preferably with a one-way ticket
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Labcoat's been out already and as I mentioned I really can't fault the IQ. I'll only know if the rest annoys me with real world shooting ;)

Oh, my wife was really impressed when I showed her :ROFLMAO:
woof woof said:
Quite often the light is poor and sometimes I don't take a camera but sometimes I'd still rather take pictures than not bother because I like taking pictures. One problem is if the scene is very familiar and I've taken the same poor light picture 100 x before, I think "Why bother"? The chances of taking a keeper taken in poor light do increase if it's something new, like on a more special day out or on holiday or if Mrs WW does something interesting.

Overcast, raining a bit, flat light, but for me still worth taking because it's a memory of the moment. A flat light scenic picture with nobody in it of a familiar place without a moment to remember is less worth taking because I lose interest and attachment but I still do it :D

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I've read that the older RX1's don't have modern focus performance but for I doubt that'd be a problem for me. The MK2 is cheaper and it has a tilting rear screen but the evf is pop up, the III has the in place evf but it's dearer and there's no tilt screen. I'm tempted by the II but I'll have to think, maybe an A7cII would be a better way to go for me but not this month as I've already spent over £3k. Not that it matters financially but due to upbringing I stop myself from going too mad. Actually just had a talk with Mrs WW today about us not having to worry about money and if she wants something, don't ask, don't mess on, get it. She agrees but upbringing is a difficult thing to get out of.
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I must admit I'm now in the phase of "I don't bother" if I'm venturing out to an area that I've been to many times before.

With regards to the RX1R as you know I've pretty much considered everything, right from way back, having gone through the Olympus EM10 phase, RX100, Fuji X-T1, Canon G7x, and probably others I've forgotten about. I did consider the A7cR last year but bought the A7RV instead as swapping from one to the other I couldn't tell any significant weight difference and I didn't like the EVF on the A7cR. Having two bodies didn't prove to be as convenient as I hoped so I went back to looking at something compact. Assuming I get the price offered the A7RV will 'only' have lost £270 over the past year, less than £1/day so I can live with that.

Initially I wanted the X100VI as I've just always loved the look of them, and I liked the idea of film simulations. However, having played with the original X100 on Monday it wasn't as cool as I thought, and it was bigger than I was expecting. Don't get me wrong it's a nice looking camera, it just wasn't 'that' nice. Also, I've been looking at some comparison videos and blogs between the Fuji and the RX1 series and for me the Sony images are noticeably better, and that for me is more important than having a 'hip' camera (I'll probably always hanker over an X100 though ;))

David made me look at the Q3 and as lovely as it is it was never seriously on the cards, even second hand they're £4900 which is outside of my budget, by a long way. Also, it's bigger than what I had in mind that I want right now. It has made me want one at some point, maybe me wife will buy me one when I hit my half century in a couple of years ;)

The RX1R III was never on the cards as you know. The price is unjustifiable for me, and the lack of tilt screen means it's a no no. I also prefer the pop up EVF over the fixed one. Performance wise the AF on the RX1R II is plenty snappy enough for static objects, although I did notice it hunted a bit when stopped down to f11 indoors. I don't think the tracking will be very good though, but then I'm not sure you buy a camera like this for that. If I had it on single point AF tracking and focussed on Betty's eye it would immediately jump off to her nose. Of course it doesn't have animal eye AF so I don't expect it to track the eye per se, however It would be nice if it stayed on the spot that I focussed on. That being said, every camera has struggled with Betty, I think because her eyes are dark and blend into the rest of her face. I'm pretty sure AF will be better than the original A7 though.

The other thing that will take some getting used to is the lack of BBF. There is a workaround of sorts but putting the camera in MF and then using the AEL button to focus in AF, however it only works in AF-S and can't be set to AF-C. It could be useful for landscapes although I'll likely focus recompose.

Build quality feels truly excellent, the only let down is the rear control dial. I don't know how to describe it but it doesn't feel as smooth as other cameras.

ancient_mariner said:
If I've gone out with the intention of talking pictures then I'd find it enormously disappointing, but if just out anyway then it matters much less. I've spent the last 2 evenings trying to set up a 'harvest' shot, not really happy with anything, but in the end just making do.
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I saw a good 'harvest shot' whilst out on my bike today but I'm just too lazy to go back out. I'm finding this a lot these days, I just can't be bothered to go out to do landscapes. The heather's out at the moment but I just can't be bothered to head out at 7pm at night to go and take pictures :(
ancient_mariner said:
There was me thinking you'd stay strong... Who can resist the lure of more kit (apart from me, apparently)?
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I was always going to buy something else, I'm proud of myself for not going with the Fuji just because it looks cool ;)
 
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