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

snerkler said:
From what I've seen the R5 II and R1 AF is now the best in the business, tracking better than the A1 II and A9 III. Of course we'll be splitting hairs here, but Sony no longer appear to hold the trump card, at least in terms of bodies.

I did look yesterday at what the Canon RF system had to match my Sony glass and there's no way I'd consider changing. Canon do trump my wide angle with the 14-35mm vs my 16-35mm but with everything else Sony wins imo.

20-70mm, nothing like it in the Canon range.
35mm f1.4 Sony slightly lighter but the Canon has the VCM motor which is better for video rather than stills
50mm f1.2 the Sony is considerably smaller and lighter
85mm Canon doesn't allow 3rd party
70-200mm f2.8 the GM II is better than both Canon versions
100-400mm the Canon is F8 at the long end, and the 100-500mm is heavier


Has Sony ever had the market lead? I know they did in the mirrorless market initially but even then I think overall when including DSLR Canon still had the lion's share?
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It makes not a jot of difference.

Pro's ( and amateurs) were able to produce stunning images 5, 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago & on & on.

The thing is we've never had it so good.

I own a Sony A7 original (thanks @woof woof) but my main system is an Olympus EM1X and associated lenses.

Apparently no bokeh & crap for low light situations.

But I managed to take this last Tuesday night. On an "inferior" sensor.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2rHubnf]Orion & Running Man Nebula 1 by Terence Rees, on Flickr[/URL]


For anyone interested it's an image made up of 60 30 second subs on the EM1X with OM Systems 100-400 mk2 lens @300mm. F7.1. ISO 1250. Neewer dew heater on the lens hood.

On an iOptron SkyTracker Pro and Benro aluminium tripod under Bortle 6 skies.

50 BIAS frames
50 Dark frames
50 Flat frames.

Stacked in DeepSky Stacker and processed in Photoshop 2025.


I've no doubt a Sony A74 with the 200-600mm lens would absolutely spank my setup but the extra weight would mean you'd have to shoot way less seconds exposure or you'd have to zoom out to 200mm or so to stop the stars trailing.
 
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GreenNinja67 said:
It makes not a jot of difference.

Pro's ( and amateurs) were able to produce stunning images 5, 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago & on & on.

The thing is we've never had it so good.
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I think the new tech makes good results easier to get for more people, and when one shot shooting handheld too.

When the A7 came out I thought I'd be happy if it matched my Canon 5D but it crushed it. One example is the ISO performance, the 5D went to 1,600 expandable to 3,200 but even the original A7 can go much much higher and still give useable results. That means I can shoot handheld single shots in pretty much all but night time darkness. And then there are the advantages that came with mirrorless, near enough full sensor focus coverage, WYSIWYG, eye detect and all the rest.

These things might not all lead to visibly better results but for a lot of people they improve the chances of getting better results with much less effort.
 
woof woof said:
I think the new tech makes good results easier to get for more people, and when one shot shooting handheld too
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The new tech also makes shots readily possible that 10 years ago would have been challenging and 20 years ago highly unlikely. Eye tracking AF, on-screen focus points selection across the whole sensor, effective silent shooting, clean high ISO work. Most of us don't need more than about 25MPx for even big prints, but there's much more to these than higher resolution.

It's also important to understand that standards and expectations change, and what was once fantastic can appear unimpressive. The timing and framing might still be the same but we might now feel the kit let the photographer down. Photos, like the people that take them, are not timeless.
 
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GreenNinja67 said:
It makes not a jot of difference.
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I disagree, modern tech allows us to get tack sharp shots more easily, and in some cases get some that weren't acheiveable and/or probably weren't attempted in the first place. Also, expectations are now higher than ever so where once upon a time 6 or 7 sharp shots out of 10 or a moving subject was acceptable, now we're expecting 99/100 shots to be tack sharp, not just sharp but tack sharp.

Now of course, this latter point will be down to the individual, but if you're a professional then knowing your gear is going to get you 99/100 tack sharp images eases the burden somewhat (y)

Nice image btw.
 
I think with regard to market share, there is a strong element of Canon has been #1 for so long, that anyone new who asks a bunch of friends what to get will get Canon as the majority answer - so will buy Canon, and when asked tell their friend to likewise buy Canon - so perpetuating the strong market share.
Sony was able to grab the #2 spot by virtue of having the mirrorless market to themselves for a while, and now benefits from strong 3rd party support - but that means they need to make more profit on bodies, while Canon can make profit on lens sales, and make their cameras a bit cheaper.
 
Faldrax said:
I think with regard to market share, there is a strong element of Canon has been #1 for so long, that anyone new who asks a bunch of friends what to get will get Canon as the majority answer - so will buy Canon, and when asked tell their friend to likewise buy Canon - so perpetuating the strong market share.
Sony was able to grab the #2 spot by virtue of having the mirrorless market to themselves for a while, and now benefits from strong 3rd party support - but that means they need to make more profit on bodies, while Canon can make profit on lens sales, and make their cameras a bit cheaper.
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I talk quite a bit about photography during my working week and it usually goes something like “what do you shoot with, Canon?”, or “I’m thinking about buying a camera, what should I get, Canon as they’re the best aren’t they?”

Occasionally it’s “what should I get, Canon or Nikon?”, it’s never been Sony. When I say that I shoot Sony the reply is usually something like “really, I thought Canon and Nikon were the best?”

Now granted it’s a small sample size but I’d almost wager my house that this is the opinion of the vast majority of non-enthusiast/pro photographers, at least in the Western World.
 
I think age could have something to do with it. A while back I'd have said that photographers were an aging group and mostly male and being aged might have grown up in the days when the choice was mostly Canon or Nikon. I remember years ago on another forum late middle aged men saying Sony should stick to making play stations, none of them thought that Canon should stick to making photocopiers and leave the future to Sony as the future was clearly electronic.

Maybe the younger generations will be more likely to consider Sony as they'll probably already own Sony products, there might well be nothing in their homes or those of their mates made by Canon or Nikon. The young vloggers seem to be willing to buy Sony. Maybe who's thought to be a serious option will balance out more over time if photography as we know it and the kit as we know it continues as it is.
 
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Chinese lenses.

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I've had four of the ones they talk about but have sold them all. I still have my Voigtlanders and about a dozen or so film era lenses.
 
It's scary how good AI is these days, I don't think anyone would question these as photos :eek:

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We are stories, stories written by the same light that forget us. These IMAGES aren’t photographs. I created them with a software called Midjourney. Midjourney is a tool that helps me turn my...
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I've taken this picture quite a few times but I've never been happy with the light. In this one it's a bit flat. I like the composition and I keep having another go at the processing but the answer is to keep trying and finally be there at a time that there's light I'm happier with.

A7 and Sony 35mm f1.8.

1-DSC00685.jpg
 
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On a separate note, I'm considering getting the Sony 70-200 F4 II Macro lens. It would sort of complete my F4 trilogy of 16-35 & 20-70, and at present 70mm is the longest FF lens I have for my A7RV. I see Cotswold have this for less than £1k new.

Has anyone ever had or used this lens and is able to advise if it's a nice lens. I am particularly interested as well in it's half life size macro capabilities ?
 
I'm surprised there's enough room for us all up there.

Andrew, 28mm?

Toby, 24mm?
 
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woof woof said:
Ah. I'm slipping... I never considered a zoom lens at 27mm.
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I'm impressed you can tell the focal length just by looking at a shot :oops: :$ :clap:
 
Sootchucker said:
On a separate note, I'm considering getting the Sony 70-200 F4 II Macro lens. It would sort of complete my F4 trilogy of 16-35 & 20-70, and at present 70mm is the longest FF lens I have for my A7RV. I see Cotswold have this for less than £1k new.

Has anyone ever had or used this lens and is able to advise if it's a nice lens. I am particularly interested as well in it's half life size macro capabilities ?
Click to expand...

used to own the lens. Its a really nice lens and works well with the the 1.4x TC too. At macro ranges its kinda ok-ish with 2x TC but no where close to a macro lens for sharpness (but macro primes are also some of the sharpest lenses you can buy... so its a tall order for a zoom to match with TCs).
The macro capability is quite good too and deserves its "macro" rating unlike other zooms lenses that can do 1:2 macro but with a lot of field curvature.
Sony have managed to keep that flat and across the entire zoom range.

Its an incredible lens overall, just sold it for size reasons really.
My setup started with 20-70mm + 70-200G2+1.4x. then moved to 20-70mm+tamron 50-300mm. Now I just bought the sigma 20-200mm last week.

These days for me size is more important than technical perfection. It makes the difference between carrying a lens and it staying at home.
If I really need the sharpness or extra light.... I just use my prime lenses.
 
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LeeRatters said:
One should NEVER consider zoom lenses Alan..... They are for the peasants as we well know ;) :ROFLMAO:
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I try but the only zooms that I use at the moment are MFT, 45-150mm and 100-400mm, but hardly ever. I tried hard with the Sony 28-60mm and that lens does have a lot going for it but in the end I prefer a prime.
 
The rumour guy seems to be getting increasingly excited about the A7V.

Sony A7V comes with new chip architecture: Less consumption, faster speed! | sonyalpharumors

I have been told the Sony A7V will have TWO hardware features that will be a first and implemented on future Alpha cameras: The already mentioned dual USB-C port (with the killing of the micro-USB port) This will be Sony’s first camera to combine the AI focusing chip with the main CPU! Benefits...
www.sonyalpharumors.com www.sonyalpharumors.com

Time will tell.
 
woof woof said:
The rumour guy seems to be getting increasingly excited about the A7V.

Sony A7V comes with new chip architecture: Less consumption, faster speed! | sonyalpharumors

I have been told the Sony A7V will have TWO hardware features that will be a first and implemented on future Alpha cameras: The already mentioned dual USB-C port (with the killing of the micro-USB port) This will be Sony’s first camera to combine the AI focusing chip with the main CPU! Benefits...
www.sonyalpharumors.com www.sonyalpharumors.com

Time will tell.
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It sounds quite a decent upgrade over the A7 IV, howeer the question is the price compared to the competitors as discussed this weekend.
 
snerkler said:
It sounds quite a decent upgrade over the A7 IV, howeer the question is the price compared to the competitors as discussed this weekend.
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If I was Mr Sony I'd make an A7cIII with one extra custom button, a do it all tilt and swivel screen and if I couldn't do a mechanical shutter that goes to 1/8,000 I'd at least provide an option to automatically switch from mechanical to electronic to enable shutter speeds above 1/4,000. In fact they should give an auto function as a part of a firmware upgrade for existing owners.

That's all I want and Sony should make it. Just for me :D
 
woof woof said:
If I was Mr Sony I'd make an A7cIII with one extra custom button, a do it all tilt and swivel screen and if I couldn't do a mechanical shutter that goes to 1/8,000 I'd at least provide an option to automatically switch from mechanical to electronic to enable shutter speeds above 1/4,000. In fact they should give an auto function as a part of a firmware upgrade for existing owners.

That's all I want and Sony should make it. Just for me :D
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yea but you won't buy it for another 10 years even if they made is today :P
 
Full specs leaked.

Fully leaked Sony A7V specs!!! | sonyalpharumors

Sony A7V at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, Fotokoch, Foto Erhardt, Calumet, WexUK, Clifton, Park UK, Henrys, Camera Pro, Sony Australia. This is the google translated press text: The Sony Alpha 7 V full-frame mirrorless camera combines professional-grade speed and performance in a compact body...
www.sonyalpharumors.com www.sonyalpharumors.com

Who's tempted?
 

Fully leaked Sony A7V specs!!! | sonyalpharumors

Sony A7V at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, Fotokoch, Foto Erhardt, Calumet, WexUK, Clifton, Park UK, Henrys, Camera Pro, Sony Australia. This is the google translated press text: The Sony Alpha 7 V full-frame mirrorless camera combines professional-grade speed and performance in a compact body...
www.sonyalpharumors.com www.sonyalpharumors.com

super 35 crop in 4k 120 and 10bit only at 30fps and in video.
DOA on the video side compared to the competition
 
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pmac said:

Fully leaked Sony A7V specs!!! | sonyalpharumors

Sony A7V at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, Fotokoch, Foto Erhardt, Calumet, WexUK, Clifton, Park UK, Henrys, Camera Pro, Sony Australia. This is the google translated press text: The Sony Alpha 7 V full-frame mirrorless camera combines professional-grade speed and performance in a compact body...
www.sonyalpharumors.com www.sonyalpharumors.com

super 35 crop in 4k 120 and 10bit only at 30fps and in video.
DOA on the video side compared to the competition
Click to expand...

Good.

I couldn't care less about video specs as it's never been something I use and would rather not pay for them.
 
woof woof said:
Full specs leaked.

Fully leaked Sony A7V specs!!! | sonyalpharumors

Sony A7V at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, Fotokoch, Foto Erhardt, Calumet, WexUK, Clifton, Park UK, Henrys, Camera Pro, Sony Australia. This is the google translated press text: The Sony Alpha 7 V full-frame mirrorless camera combines professional-grade speed and performance in a compact body...
www.sonyalpharumors.com www.sonyalpharumors.com

Who's tempted?
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tempted for sure.... just wondering if the base ISO will take a hit like on Z6iii
will wait for reviews and sensor tests
 
nandbytes said:
tempted for sure.... just wondering if the base ISO will take a hit like on Z6iii
will wait for reviews and sensor tests
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They have done a Rachel Reeves, she leaked income and vat threshold increases then delivered other stealth tax increases so people would complain less as planned.

Sony leaked using the same sensor and people near revolted but have now given a pretty decent upgrade, but without a full stacked sensor which would have made this a must buy for a lot of people.
 
will wait on reviews after 6 months or so, obviously they first batch of reviews will be blowing smoke up Sonys ass to keep affiliated with them regardless.
they have some terrible choices on top of the video specs though.
low res EV again, some saying same older EV from the a7r3 (going on specs) and the same low quality/res rear screen, as a tech/tv company you would;d expect more in this area.
no mention if its the lower and weaker rated shutter either

things to find out are
fps on full raw images and if pre capture will be 10bit only
AF calculations, all good having fancy new af but if its bottle necked at 20 again how much difference will it make.

interested to see if they bring it in at the same as the r6mk3 in the uk or stick to the rumoured 3k
 
pmac said:
will wait on reviews after 6 months or so, obviously they first batch of reviews will be blowing smoke up Sonys ass to keep affiliated with them regardless.
they have some terrible choices on top of the video specs though.
low res EV again, some saying same older EV from the a7r3 (going on specs) and the same low quality/res rear screen, as a tech/tv company you would;d expect more in this area.
no mention if its the lower and weaker rated shutter either

things to find out are
fps on full raw images and if pre capture will be 10bit only
AF calculations, all good having fancy new af but if its bottle necked at 20 again how much difference will it make.

interested to see if they bring it in at the same as the r6mk3 in the uk or stick to the rumoured 3k
Click to expand...
R6III launched at a price of £2799 so we would surprised if Sony didn't launch at 3k.
 
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