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

I love the 55mm as do the majority. Doesn't float everyones boat though.

The sigma art is a stunning bit of glass but size and weight make it a bit of an effort for personal use though.

Something around 50mm is going to be my next purchase.
 
I love the 55mm as do the majority. Doesn't float everyones boat though.

The sigma art is a stunning bit of glass but size and weight make it a bit of an effort for personal use though.

Something around 50mm is going to be my next purchase.

It can be a bit front heavy because it’s pretty stubby with a lot of weight. For me it wasn’t a huge issue but can understand some won’t like that.
One thing to also bear in mind is that the 55 video AF is way better.
 
For Trevor...

Sony 55mm f1.8 long term review. Note that he mentions a 35mm f1.8 but of course the Sony one wasn't out when he wrote this...

https://phillipreeve.net/blog/sony-fe-1-855-za-sonnar-t-review/#Conclusion

A thread about it...

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1525916/0

I don't use mine much as at the moment I prefer 35mm and if I want to use a 50mm I have a few manual ones which I like to use so it tends to get overlooked.

DXO, if you don't dislike their ways of doing things...

https://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/
 
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For Trevor...

Sony 55mm f1.8 long term review. Note that he mentions a 35mm f1.8 but of course the Sony one wasn't out when he wrote this...

https://phillipreeve.net/blog/sony-fe-1-855-za-sonnar-t-review/#Conclusion

A thread about it...

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1525916/0

I don't use mine much as at the moment I prefer 35mm and if I want to use a 50mm I have a few manual ones which I like to use so it tends to get overlooked.

DXO, if you don't dislike there ways of doing things...

https://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/

Thanks. Generally 35 is my preferred focal length. Considering the 55 as I want to take family snaps at Christmas...actually I’d better consider the 35..
 
Thanks. Generally 35 is my preferred focal length. Considering the 55 as I want to take family snaps at Christmas...actually I’d better consider the 35..

35 is going to get you better stuff at Christmas indoors with possible groups and environmental portraits. What the heck just buy both :D
 
Battery door accessible
Arca Swiss plate built in
Tripod thread

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I must buy one of these, didn’t realise they offer a bit of extra depth too.

Note many of you using electronic shutter, after the bokeh scare, I stopped. Am I missing out on something?
 
just saw their "ranking table", rather surprising to see the FE55 still up top.

I think it's maybe a while since they updated it but it's nice to see the lens scores against the lenses that are there.
 
So I did buy the Samyang 85 f1.4 last week.

Arrived yesterday & I manages a brief lunchtime photo-walk with it but the canal. The AF is everything that the Viltrox wasn't - almost natively quick, precise, reliable. Love the shallow depth of field and sharpness even wide open, but I don't think the bokeh and general rendering is *quite* as smooth as the viltrox. Think I'd have been disappointed with the Sony 85 f1.8 for bokeh work, even though it's obviously got excellent AF.
 
Thanks. Generally 35 is my preferred focal length. Considering the 55 as I want to take family snaps at Christmas...actually I’d better consider the 35..

I have the Sony 35mm f1.8, it's a nice lens and the close focus ability is nice for me but I wouldn't say it wows me as much as the 55mm does for technical excellence.

To save you Googling time :D

https://phillipreeve.net/blog/review-sony-fe-35mm-f1-8/

Fred again...

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1602079/37

He says "The FE 35/1.8 is sharp to extreme edges of the frame from wide open. At f/1.8 or f/2, it does better than any other 35mm lens I've tested to date."

Criticisms seem to be that there's ca and harsh rendering. I don't think the ca is anything too bad and I don't think it's an issue in most if not all real world pictures although some 100% crops could be problematic :D Fred says that the ca is similar to that of the 35mm f1.4 which he says people don't complain about.

The rendering isn't earth shattering, I'd say it's what I'd expect from a modern sharp 35mm f1.8. It is fast to focus even on my A7.
 
Criticisms seem to be that there's ca and harsh rendering. I don't think the ca is anything too bad and I don't think it's an issue in most if not all real world pictures although some 100% crops could be problematic :D Fred says that the ca is similar to that of the 35mm f1.4 which he says people don't complain about.

That's probably a compromise I'd be happy with for that focal length. With a 35 I want more depth of field generally (except indoors) and smooth OOF areas & a bit of CA aren't such a big deal.

For similar reasons I'm very happy with my tiny Samyang 35 f2.8, and usually use it around f8/f11 except when the light's very low.
 
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That's probably a compromise I'd be happy with for that focal length. With a 35 I want more depth of field generally (except indoors) and smooth OOF areas & a bit of CA aren't such a big deal.

The oof could be smoother, they can be a bit harsh with a busy background at the wrong distance but I wouldn't say that's too unusual for a wide aperture 35mm. Fred says something to the effect that it looks like the f1.8 was optimised for sharpness and contrast whilst the f1.4 was optimised for rendering, or something like that, it's in the thread somewhere.

These were two of the first pictures I took with mine.

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Anyway, I'd rather the f1.8 than one of the high performing but BIG 35mm f1.4's and I do have the dinky Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 if I simply must go below f1.8.
 
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I've started looking for an affordable pancake prime ... and not yet found one.

I moved to the A7ii from a Canon EOS M3 and on that I used the little EF-M 22mm/f2.0. For wandering around trying to catch candid shots it was pretty good.

My make-do solution at the moment is now the Sony SEL 16-50 (APS-C format, so effectively as 24-75mm). It's quite small, but I'd prefer a 28/35mm prime.

Any ideas?
 
Well, there's the Sony and Samyang 35mm f2.8's.

I have the Sony and I'm happy with it but some say that the much cheaper Samyang is nearly or even as good.

There's a Sony 28mm f2 which seems to divide opinion. It's not as small as the 35mm f2.8's though.
 
Thanks. Generally 35 is my preferred focal length. Considering the 55 as I want to take family snaps at Christmas...actually I’d better consider the 35..

I am a big fan of the 55 it is excellent although it is very clinical which some don’t like. I like it also because of it’s small size, it’s a bit of a technical marvel a lens that size just should perform the way it does.

I have a 35 f/1.8 and it is decent as mentioned it has bad c.a and o.o.f areas are very busy but it’s maybe not a deal breaker. The Siggy 35mm f1.4 is excellent but much bigger and heavier.

The 50 art needs a wheel barrow to cart it around but is also excellent.
 
I've started looking for an affordable pancake prime ... and not yet found one.

I moved to the A7ii from a Canon EOS M3 and on that I used the little EF-M 22mm/f2.0. For wandering around trying to catch candid shots it was pretty good.

My make-do solution at the moment is now the Sony SEL 16-50 (APS-C format, so effectively as 24-75mm). It's quite small, but I'd prefer a 28/35mm prime.

Any ideas?

Samyang 35mm f2.8 is the smallest lightest AF prime for e-mount
 
Whoever at Sony thought this was a good idea was an idiot! Some many inherent issues. The fact it can’t be put down flat, it needs taking off to change battery and you can’t attach a tripod plate with it is fascial. I know you can charge by USB but that’s still not really an option for some who use more than one battery in a session.

I recently picked up an RRS L bracket. It fits like a glove and is a near perfect extension of the camera and you can still take the battery out as the battery door is more to the L bracket. The side bracket can easily be taken on and off so it doesn’t always need to be a full L bracket,
 
I've started looking for an affordable pancake prime ... and not yet found one.

I moved to the A7ii from a Canon EOS M3 and on that I used the little EF-M 22mm/f2.0. For wandering around trying to catch candid shots it was pretty good.

My make-do solution at the moment is now the Sony SEL 16-50 (APS-C format, so effectively as 24-75mm). It's quite small, but I'd prefer a 28/35mm prime.

Any ideas?

I have a samyang 35 f2.8 for when I want the camera to be as small & unobtrusive as possible. Centre sharpness is good even at f2.8, but the OOF areas at the edges are a bit ugly until it's down to f4 or smaller. Focus is not the fastest, but it's substantially faster and more accurate than the Sony 50 f1.8. Should be available for =<£200 used.

At some stage I'll pick up a Sony 28 f2, for a fastish, wide lens, but that's a lot bulkier.
 
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Possibly bit of a noob question here.... For those who use the MC-11 adapter for their Canon lenses, is it possible to also use the Canon X2 extender?
 
Reading this last page, I do sometimes think it's awkward having too much camera gear at times!

If you are doing it for a living, then obviously you need different bases covered. I do love having just a nice, simple set up.

Nothing wrong with keeping it simple, some of the more consistent better posted images in here have been shot with one camera, one lens. In the end nobody cares what gear you use only you.
 
Possibly bit of a noob question here.... For those who use the MC-11 adapter for their Canon lenses, is it possible to also use the Canon X2 extender?
I have used 1.4x on MC-11 and it worked. 2x may also.
 
I have a samyang 35 f2.8 for when I want the camera to be as small & unobtrusive as possible. Centre sharpness is good even at f2.8, but the OOF areas at the edges are a bit ugly until it's down to f4 or smaller. Focus is not the fastest, but it's substantially faster and more accurate than the Sony 50 f1.8. Should be available for =<£200 used.

At some stage I'll pick up a Sony 28 f2, for a fastish, wide lens, but that's a lot bulkier.
It's still light and quite a small lens compare to a lot of them.
 
personally I just couldn’t do it. Different scenes need different focal lengths. I couldn’t not have a telephoto for landscapes now for example.
Just had a quick squiz at your photostream, wow. Had to stop my self from favouriting them all, impressive stuff (y)
 
personally I just couldn’t do it. Different scenes need different focal lengths. I couldn’t not have a telephoto for landscapes now for example.

Not gonna lie, nor could I, I need at least 2 lenses to feel comfy. I had the X100s and no way could I have it as my only camera - it was merely an add on more portable option at the time. But like I say, many can - and they produce some wonderful stuff. While I've also seen examples of people with all of the gear and just nothing captivating to really show for it. I actually envy those who can keep it as simplistic as possible and get great images. I've never envied anyone with a tonne of gear for the sake of it. It would actually drive me nuts have tonnes of expensive gear in the bag knowing I'd never make full use of it.
 
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I have used 1.4x on MC-11 and it worked. 2x may also.
Thank you for reply, it's strange that on their website it says teleconvertors will not work [emoji848][emoji848]
 
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