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

Feeling pretty happy with my decision to opt for the Canon 135mm f2 rather than stretch to x4 the cost for the Sony. It’s my favourite focal length and impressively I’ve not really noticed any downsides on the a7III via the MC-11. I had one OOF shot at this wedding out of many hundreds.

190704 by Chris Harrison, on Flickr

190704 by Chris Harrison, on Flickr

One of my favourite lenses.
 
Think I Found my first disappointment with the A7iii [emoji19] might be the focus mode I used(single flex).
But the camera really struggles to focus on lowish contrast scenes. I was trying to focus on an island in dull weather but it just wouldn’t lock. Didn’t have this issue with my d750 last year for the exact same scene.
 
Just getting a look through images shot with the 20mm at a variety of weddings over the last couple of months. I think its a very under rated wedding lens! Lovely perspective
 
Just looked at the Sigma lenses on the rumor site. They said that 45mm looked lovely but sorry, I just don't see it. It looks rather ordinary to me, nothing wrong with that, just not outstandingly good looking in any way to me.
 
If the 1.2 is the same size as my 1.4 I'll switch

I am debating doing the same. The new f/1.2 is appealing but apparently there is a new 35mm G.M coming too, I might hang of for a bit and see what is happening with that first. The Siggy f/1.4 is very good anyway so not in any real rush to change.

I would imagine the f/1.2 will be bigger it has an 82mm filter thread versus the 67mm thread on the f/1.4.
 
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Just looked at the Sigma lenses on the rumor site. They said that 45mm looked lovely but sorry, I just don't see it. It looks rather ordinary to me, nothing wrong with that, just not outstandingly good looking in any way to me.

ive heard its the sharpest of all the art lenses. must rock on the R bodies.
 
pictures of new sigma lenses posted on SAR - https://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sr5...-14-24mm-35mm-f-1-2-and-45mm-f-2-8-fe-lenses/

They look interesting, aperture ring, focus hold button (hopefully customisable), click/de-click switch. this is very GM-like lol

Is the 45mm aimed at videographers? The focus and aperture rings looks like they're designed to use with a follow focus rig rather than turn by hand due to the deep ridges. The focus ring also looks pretty narrow and the option to de-click the aperture is very video-centred too.
 
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Is the 45mm aimed at videographers? The focus and aperture rings looks like they're designed to use with a follow focus rig rather than turn by hand due to the deep ridges. The focus ring also looks pretty narrow and the option to de-click the aperture is very video-centred too.

more and more people (apparently) are hybrid shooters, so maybe they are trying to appease the masses.
 
Is the 45mm aimed at videographers? The focus and aperture rings looks like they're designed to use with a follow focus rig rather than turn by hand due to the deep ridges. The focus ring also looks pretty narrow and the option to de-click the aperture is very video-centred too.

Could well be.
 
seem to remember lots of people loving the output of the sigma 85 art, then ditching it because it was too heavy for weddings. i wonder if this 35mm will be a similar heart breaker.
 
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seem to remember lots of people loving the output of the sigma 85 art, then ditching it because it was too heavy for weddings. i wonder if this 35mm will by a similar heart breaker.

That would be my issue, kept me away from the 85.
 
Exactly! I really hope launch is soon, id love it for the insane run of weddings I have in August

You must have arms like Arnie at this stage, Tony, with all the heavy glass you use.

I've ditched my Siggy 35 and have been shooting with a 28mm F2 as my wide for a few months. It's not as good a lens but my back and arms are thanking me. I'll be buying this 35mm 1.8 if the main reviews are as good as the early ones.
 
You must have arms like Arnie at this stage, Tony, with all the heavy glass you use.

I've ditched my Siggy 35 and have been shooting with a 28mm F2 as my wide for a few months. It's not as good a lens but my back and arms are thanking me. I'll be buying this 35mm 1.8 if the main reviews are as good as the early ones.

Hey man, hope you are well! This 35 1.2 is definitely on the cards! Got rid of the Sigma 85 as it was a real back breaker! The 20mm was faulty and I'm in the process of replacing it with the Tamron 17-28!

Have a big gimbal for commercial video but ended up getting another crane plus for weddings as its too much for my arms to run about with lol. Ideally trying where I can to keep the weight down but this 35 1.2 will be tough to resist.

You guys keeping well? Looking forward to shooting video with yous man !
 
Hey man, hope you are well! This 35 1.2 is definitely on the cards! Got rid of the Sigma 85 as it was a real back breaker! The 20mm was faulty and I'm in the process of replacing it with the Tamron 17-28!

Have a big gimbal for commercial video but ended up getting another crane plus for weddings as its too much for my arms to run about with lol. Ideally trying where I can to keep the weight down but this 35 1.2 will be tough to resist.

You guys keeping well? Looking forward to shooting video with yous man !

All good with us! Dodging the crap weather when and where we can! Looking forward to working with you too:)
 
Have you seen the exchange rate?! 1:1 with the USD is now actually probably a pretty reasonable calculation for international companies doing business here. Certainly not much room for profiteering compared to 5 years ago.

The UK RRP seems surprisingly aggressive vs USD, considering VAT the baseline price is actually quite a bit cheaper here.

I think it's because you're converting it from USD, the UK will presumably getting it from the same place as the rest of Europe and the Euro price is €700 which converts to £639, exactly what Wex has it listed for.

Not sure if the US price is inflated due to aggressive pricing from Sony, currency rates or tariffs though.
 
Does anyone have any clever ideas for keeping an a7III (or a6300) safe around water? I’ve started kayaking (on calm rivers/canals) and although I have dry bag which is fine for when the camera is stored, I’m trying to think of a way to at least reduce the risk when getting the camera out for photos.

It seems to be all or nothing, which I guess is understandable, but a very, very expensive underwater housing seems overkill for a 0.1% risk that one day something might happen in the few minutes per trip that I actually have the camera out of the bag. Everything is fully insured via my job but I don’t want to rely on that. Buying an older NEX body and maybe using my 28-70mm seems like the cheaper option in terms of reducing the financial loss should something happen.
 
Does anyone have any clever ideas for keeping an a7III (or a6300) safe around water? I’ve started kayaking (on calm rivers/canals) and although I have dry bag which is fine for when the camera is stored, I’m trying to think of a way to at least reduce the risk when getting the camera out for photos.

It seems to be all or nothing, which I guess is understandable, but a very, very expensive underwater housing seems overkill for a 0.1% risk that one day something might happen in the few minutes per trip that I actually have the camera out of the bag. Everything is fully insured via my job but I don’t want to rely on that. Buying an older NEX body and maybe using my 28-70mm seems like the cheaper option in terms of reducing the financial loss should something happen.

Your approach seems to be reasonable and it shouldn't be different from holding your camera in your hand whilst walking around the city. The risk is dropping it on hard surface vs water. I would be worry about the spray/rain than dropping it into the water.

Also, did you need to apply for a licence for kayaking around British water? I wanted to do this, but does it mean you can kayak in any water (except in private land)?
 
did you need to apply for a licence for kayaking around British water? I wanted to do this, but does it mean you can kayak in any water (except in private land)?

The Canal & River Trust licence covers a pretty big list of inland waterways, for me the River Avon and Kennet & Avon Canal are on my doorstep and both covered by that licence, so it's all I need. I actually got a British Canoe licence instead though as it was only a few quid more and includes that anyway.

The lakes local to me are all owned by Angling Clubs so I've got no chance with them.
 
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Feeling pretty happy with my decision to opt for the Canon 135mm f2 rather than stretch to x4 the cost for the Sony. It’s my favourite focal length and impressively I’ve not really noticed any downsides on the a7III via the MC-11. I had one OOF shot at this wedding out of many hundreds.

190704 by Chris Harrison, on Flickr

190704 by Chris Harrison, on Flickr

I think I need to explore this route
 
I think I need to explore this route

It does feel like a bit of a step into the unknown as although there are plenty of tests out there for various Canon lenses there are lots of variables (a7 body, MC-11., Metabones, firmware etc) and people have varying demands and requirements. The good thing with Canon L glass is that it’s plentiful, so buying used at a good price means you can sell it on if needs be with little to no penalty, hopefully less than renting for a few days.

The 135mm f2 is doing everything I need of it, it very occasionally requires a prod in the right direction to find a lock, but once it’s in the general vicinity it’s been pretty much faultless. I’ve also used the 50mm 1.2 on an a7RII a fair bit and that was superb (much better than when I used it on a 6D!)

I’m looking at adding a 17-40mm and 200mm 2.8 next. Both would be quite niche use for me but compared to anything remotely equivalent are very, very affordable.
 
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