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

gman said:
We had one once but the paper kept jamming. Ended up having to get a cassette heater unit to solve it. Never had to do that with Xerox, although it had its own issues. Kyocera have been epic.
Click to expand...

Canon had issues with both feeding the paper and separating it from the fixer rollers and I think as a result were not edge to edge copiers. The fact that they weren't had to be kept secret, we weren't allowed to tell customers or let them see a black copy print showing the blank registration stripe down one side and separation at the top of the sheet. I left the company, a dealer not Canon, about 5 seconds before they sacked me for refusing to rip off and lie to a customer. Happy days.

I have a Canon A3 photo printer now. It's better than the Epson it replaced.
 
Last edited:
@woof woof asked about profile corrections for the Viltrox 26mm EVO, and I've just had a wee look in Lightroom. For a start, no automatic corrections were applied as LR didn't find any embedded profiles. So I looked at manual corrections. Viltrox has a long list of lens profiles in LR; however the 26mm isn't yet included. I tried a couple of the profiles with the nearest focal lengths, and there was a very slight correction, but nothing jumps out as being essential. So does this mean that Viltrox EVO lenses are so well designed as to not need correction? I don't know enough about the subject to make any assumptions. Incidentally, I looked at my 55mm EVO photos with the same outcome - no profiles yet exist and the nearest focal lengths make only a slight difference when applied.
 
You could develop your own corrections, photographing something with straight horizontal and vertical lines square-on, manually correcting with a grid overlay, then saving the corrections with a custom name.
 
Stephen L said:
@woof woof asked about profile corrections for the Viltrox 26mm EVO, and I've just had a wee look in Lightroom. For a start, no automatic corrections were applied as LR didn't find any embedded profiles. So I looked at manual corrections. Viltrox has a long list of lens profiles in LR; however the 26mm isn't yet included. I tried a couple of the profiles with the nearest focal lengths, and there was a very slight correction, but nothing jumps out as being essential. So does this mean that Viltrox EVO lenses are so well designed as to not need correction? I don't know enough about the subject to make any assumptions. Incidentally, I looked at my 55mm EVO photos with the same outcome - no profiles yet exist and the nearest focal lengths make only a slight difference when applied.
Click to expand...

Adobe corrections will arrive sooner or later. I think even high levels of distortion can go unnoticed in some pictures but in others they can be obvious. If you do spot anything you want to correct before Adobe add corrections over on another site they recommend +6 or +8 distortion correction.
 
ancient_mariner said:
You could develop your own corrections, photographing something with straight horizontal and vertical lines square-on, manually correcting with a grid overlay, then saving the corrections with a custom name.
Click to expand...
I could, but I have a life! Don't want to spend it photographing walls, and it doesn't bother me anyway :p
 
Stephen L said:
I could, but I have a life! Don't want to spend it photographing walls, and it doesn't bother me anyway :p
Click to expand...

You probably do know this... but I'll say it just in case...

It's not just walls. It'll show up when man made straight lines are in the frame and even in nature when there are natural straight lines. It really doesn't have to take up more than a few seconds once you've set up a profile and even that doesn't take long. Just enter the corrections and settings you want, save it with a suitable name such as Viltrox 26mm and then whenever you load a file or batch of files select the one / ones you want to apply the changes to, select preset and apply them.

Apart from distortion corrections you can also enter basic starting point sharpening, NR, contrast, vibrance and/or anything you want to add. Really, the whole process of making a profile takes seconds as does applying it to individual pictures or batches.

Good luck if you do decide to do this.
 
Ta-Dah!!!

A7cII, 40mm and No.4 close up filter.

DSC03527.jpg

They're both Seiko NH35's. The yellow is everything new and the grey one is a new movement, dial and hands in a case I already had. The yellow dial is 28.5mm and the dial and hands are Rolex Explorer homages in a 36mm case, the grey one is in a 41mm case, it has a 31mm dial and the dial and hands are Omega Railmaster homages. Both cases are wrong if going for an accurate homage but I didn't want to do that. Everything went smoothly with the builds apart from the grey one as it all spun in the case but a standard plastic spacer fixed that.

I think I must stop this as Mrs WW will eventually notice the house is full of watches.
 
Last edited:
@woof woof Alan, I know you prefer MF as you say it's more accurate than AF, do you use DMF at all to get the speed of AF but being able to tweak it manually? I've never really used it before but I think it could be good for me with landscapes, especially as (like MF) it dispays the focus distance meaning it would be easier for me to find the hyperfocal distance rather than trying to guess how far away 3m, 2m etc is (y)
 
woof woof said:
You probably do know this... but I'll say it just in case...

It's not just walls. It'll show up when man made straight lines are in the frame and even in nature when there are natural straight lines. It really doesn't have to take up more than a few seconds once you've set up a profile and even that doesn't take long. Just enter the corrections and settings you want, save it with a suitable name such as Viltrox 26mm and then whenever you load a file or batch of files select the one / ones you want to apply the changes to, select preset and apply them.

Apart from distortion corrections you can also enter basic starting point sharpening, NR, contrast, vibrance and/or anything you want to add. Really, the whole process of making a profile takes seconds as does applying it to individual pictures or batches.

Good luck if you do decide to do this.
Click to expand...
Yes I agree it would be simple. BUT, with my admittedly limited experience of these lenses, I see no benefit to me of doing this. I am satisfied with the results I am seeing and as I photograph for my enjoyment that's enough.

But thank you for your comments as I'm sure they will help others whose views differ from my own. ;)
 
woof woof said:
Ta-Dah!!!

A7cII, 40mm and No.4 close up filter.

View attachment 491083

They're both Seiko NH35's. The yellow is everything new and the grey one is a new movement, dial and hands in a case I already had. The yellow dial is 28.5mm and the dial and hands are Rolex Explorer homages in a 36mm case, the grey one is in a 41mm case, it has a 31mm dial and the dial and hands are Omega Railmaster homages. Both cases are wrong if going for an accurate homage but I didn't want to do that. Everything went smoothly with the builds apart from the grey one as it all spun in the case but a standard plastic spacer fixed that.

I think I must stop this as Mrs WW will eventually notice the house is full of watches.
Click to expand...
A fascinating project. Where do you source your parts? (I really like the yellow one!)
 
Stephen L said:
A fascinating project. Where do you source your parts? (I really like the yellow one!)
Click to expand...

AliExpress mostly with just some straps from Amazon.

Prices have risen recently. At the mo you can buy a mechanical watch starting at under £20 and you can get one with a Japanese movement for £40 odd and up. Building one is more expensive and a Japanese Seiko NH35 movement costs over £50 on its own. The total for a movement, dial, case and hands will be around £80+. I've been using metal mesh bracelets which are under £10 off Amazon but have recently bought some Nato straps from AliExpress, those two straps in the picture cost £7.58 for the two. There are a lot of micro brands which do basically what I've been doing and charge about £300 or there abouts.

These two bring my built total to eleven and my total watches to something like 37 so I'm going to force myself to stop as I tend to get a bit obsessed. TBH a little hobby like this helps with my stress and depression when I'm at home. I enjoy finding and choosing the parts and putting it all together and this has replaced researching, buying, testing and using old cheap film era lenses but just like I ended up with too many film era lenses I now have too many watches. The original idea was to have a few so I could wear different ones like Mrs WW wears different jewellery and it sort of ballooned from there.

I have enjoyed this but... I... Must... Stop... Now... :D
 
snerkler said:
@woof woof Alan, I know you prefer MF as you say it's more accurate than AF, do you use DMF at all to get the speed of AF but being able to tweak it manually? I've never really used it before but I think it could be good for me with landscapes, especially as (like MF) it dispays the focus distance meaning it would be easier for me to find the hyperfocal distance rather than trying to guess how far away 3m, 2m etc is (y)
Click to expand...

Yes I use DMF but with manual lenses I switch the magnified view auto call up off and call it up manually. With AF lenses I normally leave the auto call up on and AF on something in the distance if I'm going for front to back depth and if there's something close to the camera I'll probably focus part way into the scene. These days I only really MF with AF lenses when doing close ups, flowers and watches and that sort of thing.

When doing hyperfocal I wouldn't use 2 or 3m on the distance scale, I think they're more for zone, I'd go for infinity and sometimes use the Merklinger method. Just in case you don't use that, you set focus at infinity and select an aperture which matches the detail you want to be acceptably sharp. For eg. When using a 40mm lens and wanting something 4mm in diameter to be captured acceptably sharp you'd select f10. (f10/4mm=4mm). I would use the distance scale at 2 or 3m when doing an action picture which for me would be Mrs WW doing something daft.
 
Last edited:
woof woof said:
Yes I use DMF but with manual lenses I switch the magnified view auto call up off and call it up manually. With AF lenses I normally leave the auto call up on and AF on something in the distance if I'm going for front to back depth and if there's something close to the camera I'll probably focus part way into the scene. These days I only really MF with AF lenses when doing close ups, flowers and watches and that sort of thing.

When doing hyperfocal I wouldn't use 2 or 3m on the distance scale, I think they're more for zone, I'd go for infinity and sometimes use the Merklinger method. Just in case you don't use that, you set focus at infinity and select an aperture which matches the detail you want to be acceptably sharp. For eg. When using a 40mm lens and wanting something 4mm in diameter to be captured acceptably sharp you'd select f10. (f10/4mm=4mm). I would use the distance scale at 2 or 3m when doing an action picture which for me would be Mrs WW doing something daft.
Click to expand...
Interesting method, although Im not sure how f10/4 = 4? Isn't it focal length/acceptable diameter = f-stop, so on a 24mm lens with a 3mm diameter it would be 24/3 = f8?

How do you focus on infinity, do you just focus on the farthest object you can see?
 
snerkler said:
Interesting method, although Im not sure how f10/4 = 4? Isn't it focal length/acceptable diameter = f-stop, so on a 24mm lens with a 3mm diameter it would be 24/3 = f8?

How do you focus on infinity, do you just focus on the farthest object you can see?
Click to expand...

Sorry. It's 40mm/f10=4mm.

Just focus onto something far away or where you know infinity is. Most lenses go past infinity these days but with my Voigtlanders I know about where it should be on the infinity symbol, it's just passed the centre of it.
 
Last edited:
LeeRatters said:
I usually tend to just focus on the subject. Be that AF or MF.
Click to expand...
I do that if there's a specific subject eg. person, animal, car, but for landscapes and urban I want maximum DOF.
 
LeeRatters said:
I usually tend to just focus on the subject. Be that AF or MF.
Click to expand...

The problem with this is if there's anything close to the lens it may be obviously out of the depths but this will only happen if there is something close in front of the lens or if the gear is close to the ground, maybe on a tripod.

Just had a look at a DoF table for 35mm at f10 and at infinity it's something under 5ft to infinity so if shooting low down the ground could be out of the depth, which is in line with what I've seen in practice. In that instance I'd tweak focus closer or AF at some point in the scene at which I thought it was ok front to back.

PS.
With mirrorless you can set the focus and then call up the magnified view and go around the scene and see if you're happy. If not you can tweak and try again.
 
Last edited:
woof woof said:
The problem with this is if there's anything close to the lens it may be obviously out of the depths but this will only happen if there is something close in front of the lens or if the gear is close to the ground, maybe on a tripod.

Just had a look at a DoF table for 35mm at f10 and at infinity it's something under 5ft to infinity so if shooting low down the ground could be out of the depth, which is in line with what I've seen in practice. In that instance I'd tweak focus closer or AF at some point in the scene at which I thought it was ok front to back.

PS.
With mirrorless you can set the focus and then call up the magnified view and go around the scene and see if you're happy. If not you can tweak and try again.
Click to expand...

Well, either the distant thing is the subject or the blades of grass a foot in front of the camera are ;)
 
Just for shots like this really, camera on a tripod, low down and with the foreground possibly as interesting as anything else.

DSC03459.jpg

When shooting holding the camera higher up nothing is going to be within a few feet so it's not an issue.

Other than that. I never look at DoF tables when I'm out.
 
I've now donated the D810 and 70-200mm to my son, who has recently taken a strong interest in photography. The 70-200 isn't suitable, so it'll be traded in for something like a 24mm or 35mm. However, the camera bag is too big for the A7V, so he's getting that as well.

On the hunt for a new bag. I like messenger style and this time I want a dedicated water bottle holder. Any suggestions on good places to look for bags?
 
I use a ThinkTank Retrospective 5, but do want something a bit lighter and a sling style.
ThinkTank Urban Access 8 maybe.
 
Stephen L said:
I’m still on the hunt for a perfect bag. :( only been at it for 30 years.
Click to expand...
Likewise. I have the Think Tank Urban Approach 5, and whilst the size and function is perfect for the camera with lens attached plus another small ish lens, and it have 'anti-theft' noisy velcro, it's not the best looking bag in the world, and it does scream camera bag. I like the look of the Think Tank Retrospective but it's adding unneccesary weight compared to what I have.
 
snerkler said:
Likewise. I have the Think Tank Urban Approach 5, and whilst the size and function is perfect for the camera with lens attached plus another small ish lens, and it have 'anti-theft' noisy velcro, it's not the best looking bag in the world, and it does scream camera bag. I like the look of the Think Tank Retrospective but it's adding unneccesary weight compared to what I have.
Click to expand...
I have a Think Tank Mirrorless Mover 25 which fits the bill size-wise, but unfortunately has rather stiff sides so it does not sit well on my body. Hey Ho!

Another of my smaller bags (I also have a nest of backpacks) is the Peak Design Everyday Sling 5l, which again is a reasonably sized bag but is not the easiest to access. Also that is a little stiff-sides too.

Should I go on?
 
snerkler said:
Likewise. I have the Think Tank Urban Approach 5, and whilst the size and function is perfect for the camera with lens attached plus another small ish lens, and it have 'anti-theft' noisy velcro, it's not the best looking bag in the world, and it does scream camera bag. I like the look of the Think Tank Retrospective but it's adding unneccesary weight compared to what I have.
Click to expand...
It's not like they are heavy, I happily carry mine all day, space for a bottle of water, suncream, and the A7C with 20-70 attached. My go to holiday bag.
 
robj20 said:
It's not like they are heavy, I happily carry mine all day, space for a bottle of water, suncream, and the A7C with 20-70 attached. My go to holiday bag.
Click to expand...
Twice the weight of my current bag (y)
 
snerkler said:
Twice the weight of my current bag (y)
Click to expand...
I mean I carry a 750g bottle of water most of the time. I guess you could use a plastic carrier bag they weigh about 5g. ;)

I like the look of these, but they don't seem to be available.

www.thinktankphoto.com

Turnstyle® 5L

Streamlined shape hugs your body comfortably and swings to the front in seconds, giving quick access to your camera. Great for active traveling photographers.
www.thinktankphoto.com www.thinktankphoto.com
 
Last edited:
I was looking at the ThinkTank Retrospective 5 v2 because of that nice external water bottle holder, but where did all these prices come from for a bag?!?
 
gman said:
I was looking at the ThinkTank Retrospective 5 v2 because of that nice external water bottle holder, but where did all these prices come from for a bag?!?
Click to expand...
Retrospective 5 is almost perfect for me, I wear mine as a sling but it moves around too much.
I don't find the side pockets very useful either. Everything else is spot on.
 
saltireblue said:
I have this one, and can vouch for the build quality and general user-friendliness. Had a PD sling beore, but this beats it, in my opinion.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Are there any UK suppliers?
 
I like the retrospective bag design and quality but find they are quite heavy even when empty. Now use a Tenba DNA bag, good quality and much lighter, lots of different sizes available.
I usually buy used bags from dealers or eBay, much cheaper and if not as described just send it back.
 
I have my Billingham bags and they are nice and not cheap but if I'm just taking one camera and lens and little else I use a cheap man bag. I do like basic cheap stuff as long as the quality is ok and I've seen some cheap but nice looking bags on AliE and there's Amazon Basic and other cheap bags on Amazon. Is there really a need to buy expensive branded bags?
 
woof woof said:
I have my Billingham bags and they are nice and not cheap but if I'm just taking one camera and lens and little else I use a cheap man bag. I do like basic cheap stuff as long as the quality is ok and I've seen some cheap but nice looking bags on AliE and there's Amazon Basic and other cheap bags on Amazon. Is there really a need to buy expensive branded bags?
Click to expand...
No necessity, no. But ... we (me) always like nice things :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top