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

ancient_mariner said:
If the Sigma 50 had been smaller and lighter I'd have bought that instead. As it was I very nearly went for a new Sammy 50 f1.4 (Amazon had a deal £349 including dock) but the size/weight issue was the same plus it's not the best lens when it comes to focussing though still usable.

TBH I think that the Sony SEL50 f1.8 renders quite acceptably, but the focussing system is made of faeces.
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That's the thing, it's usually weight v cost v af v aperture etc etc.

After using so many lenses across so many systems I've settled on arts, just a balance that suits me, the only penalty being weight.
 
Just for a laugh. ha ha.

She's laughing at my lockdown haircut which is rich as she did it. Also posted in another part of the site.

It's a crop from a picture taken with a Zuiko 28mm at f2.8.

YfV0kn1.jpg
 
@ancient_mariner e.g. The 85 is a monster and I was really convinced I'd never buy one based on paper spec, however, it's very well balanced as the focus ring is massive and sits in the hand well taking all the weight so it doesn't feel cumbersome. Each time I go into lr and import I think... Wow.
 
woof woof said:
Just for a laugh. ha ha.

She's laughing at my lockdown haircut which is rich as she did it. Also posted in another part of the site.

It's a crop from a picture taken with a Zuiko 28mm at f2.8.

YfV0kn1.jpg
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That's brilliant, love the fact she's laughing at your hairdo done by her.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Yes - optically IMO the SEL50 f1.8 is a better lens than the Nikon 50 f1.8G in pretty much all respects.
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Interesting, as above I like the Nikon. Is the AF really that bad? Is it just slow or inaccurate as well?
 
snerkler said:
Interesting, as above I like the Nikon. Is the AF really that bad? Is it just slow or inaccurate as well?
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I'd say its as bad as the g and canon nifty so inline with the rest of the cheapies. Not sure about the stm... The original £70 nifty is a pos lol.
 
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Weight is the issue, isn't it? I think my Sony kit is as heavy as my D610 outfit ever was: for travel I'd take the 28-105, 12-24, 135 f2.8 AIS and 50 f1.8. Now I'd take the 24-105 (double the weight of the 28-105, but a better lens) Sammy 35 and 18mm f2.8 and the 55 - less coverage but higher image quality.

I really really like the image quality of the Sammy 85, and would love a bag full or ARTs, but this is starting to get silly - I'm just a hobbyist.
 
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snerkler said:
Interesting, as above I like the Nikon. Is the AF really that bad? Is it just slow or inaccurate as well?
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The copy I had was like going back to my old film minolta 7000 - aim it at a nice contrasty bit of detail out of doors & it would saw in and out, missing the first time, maybe getting in focus if I released the button & then pressed again, or maybe not. I don't know how anyone could use one professionally as I understand some do, except by manual focus.
 
twist said:
I'd say its as bad as the g and canon nifty so inline with the rest of the cheapies. Not sure about the stm... The original £70 nifty is a pos lol.
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I never had an issue with the Nikon tbh, never shot anything fast moving and was fast enough for pet portraits ;)
ancient_mariner said:
The copy I had was like going back to my old film minolta 7000 - aim it at a nice contrasty bit of detail out of doors & it would saw in and out, missing the first time, maybe getting in focus if I released the button & then pressed again, or maybe not. I don't know how anyone could use one professionally as I understand some do, except by manual focus.
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That sounds particularly bad, do you think that was a bad copy?
 
ancient_mariner said:
Weight is the issue, isn't it? I think my Sony kit is as heavy as my D610 outfit ever was: for travel I'd take the 28-105, 12-24, 135 f2.8 AIS and 50 f1.8. Now I'd take the 24-105 (double the weight of the 28-105, but a better lens) Sammy 35 and 18mm f2.8 and the 55 - less coverage but higher image quality.

I really really like the image quality of the Sammy 85, and would love a bag full or ARTs, but this is starting to get silly - I've just a hobbyist.
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I guess it is for some, but I think of it as the lesser evil v iq, af, price. What matters most? For me, the outcome very closely followed by the AF for that spec lens. I've luckily narrowed myself down from the "must haves" to the crucial FLs.

Milc imo was never about weight saving, I learnt that quickly since buying pretty much every milc system since nex3 and if we're honest with ourselves it's about manufacturing cost and keeping high quality photography alive v mobiles and AI... Not that were seeing the savings passed on!
 
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ancient_mariner said:
The copy I had was like going back to my old film minolta 7000 - aim it at a nice contrasty bit of detail out of doors & it would saw in and out, missing the first time, maybe getting in focus if I released the button & then pressed again, or maybe not. I don't know how anyone could use one professionally as I understand some do, except by manual focus.
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The only copy I tested must have been exceptional, must be like the Samyang lottery without the decentering and colour cast :D
 
I’m assuming now that now (as of Wednesday) we can drive to parks etc for ‘leisure’ as well as exercise that means we can do photography?
 
snerkler said:
I’m assuming now that now (as of Wednesday) we can drive to parks etc for ‘leisure’ as well as exercise that means we can do photography?
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If you can make any sense at all from what that complete muppet said you are a much smarter man than me.

Doesn’t affect us anyway, N.I is staying in full lockdown.
 
snerkler said:
I’m assuming now that now (as of Wednesday) we can drive to parks etc for ‘leisure’ as well as exercise that means we can do photography?
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That’s also my assumption. I think we’ll get further info in the next couple of days. Whether it will be clear or not we will see.
 
f/2.8 said:
If you can make any sense at all from what that complete muppet said you are a much smarter man than me.

Doesn’t affect us anyway, N.I is staying in full lockdown.
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I thought it was quite clear tbh. You can now drive to parks etc for exercise, and you can also use said parks for leisure as well but social distancing must remain in place. On the BBC app it said that this means that you’ll be able to meet relatives in parks as long as you keep at least 2m away. Why this is any different to visiting family sitting in the garden at least 2m away I’m not sure :thinking:

I would assume that it’s driving to a nearby park and not meaning take a 200 mile trip to the Lake District or coast etc, but I’m sure they’ll be plenty trying it on.

At least it’s a step forward though, just need the green light from our governing body to return to work now (y) Still a bit paranoid about that but I guess it’s got to happen at some point.
 
snerkler said:
I thought it was quite clear tbh. You can now drive to parks etc for exercise, and you can also use said parks for leisure as well but social distancing must remain in place. On the BBC app it said that this means that you’ll be able to meet relatives in parks as long as you keep at least 2m away. Why this is any different to visiting family sitting in the garden at least 2m away I’m not sure :thinking:

I would assume that it’s driving to a nearby park and not meaning take a 200 mile trip to the Lake District or coast etc, but I’m sure they’ll be plenty trying it on.

At least it’s a step forward though, just need the green light from our governing body to return to work now (y) Still a bit paranoid about that but I guess it’s got to happen at some point.
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To be honest I’m not changing that much from what we are doing at the moment. I’m going to give it a few weeks until at last June before we start meeting relatives (all relatives near us are over 70) as I feel the risk of a second wave is quite high, especially going by the lack of social distancing I saw during VE celebrations in our village this weekend. I had a good chuckle about a Facebook post earlier. A local independent sports shop said they had been busy building signage stands for when they soon reopen as ‘safety is their main concern’. The funny part was they included a photo of one of their children helping them.....standing on a bucket wearing flip flop/sandals using a tabletop circular saw but most importantly wearing safety goggles :thinking:

At the moment I think Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland have got the right idea of no major changes. If there was one country to look at it would be New Zealand as they seem to be getting it right. I like their idea of social bubbles that let a limited number of households group together a one ‘bubble’ but limit contact to other ‘bubbles’. Our new guidance doesn’t seem to stop you meeting up in public with several households one at a time. It far to wishy washy for my liking as reading the five key points means you could potentially do anything you like.

I guess the reason why you can meet relatives in a open space rather than in their garden is because in a garden you will likely touch surfaces that could be a potential source of transmission after you leave. If you’re in a park you will likely be walking around and knowing not touching stuff.

Regarding work I guess it depends on your line of work. Other than closing certain businesses that are public/customer facing the governments advice has always been work from home unless you absolutely can’t. I don’t think the government expected the volume of furloughing that happened. Key businesses/suppliers in my industry that I never expected to shut just fully closed for 6-7 weeks and furloughed staff. They seem to start reopening last week (that’s before today’s changes).

Let’s be honest we haven’t really had a ‘lockdown’ like Spain and Italy experienced. Ours has been pretty timid in comparison.

Regarding going out for photography I probably be doing it for a while yet. When I do I will only going out for sunrise as you are unlikely to see many around here at 5am. I can be out and back before most have even got up!
 
rob-nikon said:
To be honest I’m not changing that much from what we are doing at the moment. I’m going to give it a few weeks until at last June before we start meeting relatives (all relatives near us are over 70) as I feel the risk of a second wave is quite high, especially going by the lack of social distancing I saw during VE celebrations in our village this weekend. I had a good chuckle about a Facebook post earlier. A local independent sports shop said they had been busy building signage stands for when they soon reopen as ‘safety is their main concern’. The funny part was they included a photo of one of their children helping them.....standing on a bucket wearing flip flop/sandals using a tabletop circular saw but most importantly wearing safety goggles :thinking:
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The irony is great at times isn't it ;)

At the moment I think Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland have got the right idea of no major changes. If there was one country to look at it would be New Zealand as they seem to be getting it right. I like their idea of social bubbles that let a limited number of households group together a one ‘bubble’ but limit contact to other ‘bubbles’. Our new guidance doesn’t seem to stop you meeting up in public with several households one at a time. It far to wishy washy for my liking as reading the five key points means you could potentially do anything you like.

I guess the reason why you can meet relatives in a open space rather than in their garden is because in a garden you will likely touch surfaces that could be a potential source of transmission after you leave. If you’re in a park you will likely be walking around and knowing not touching stuff.
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That's a good point re the garden, didn't think about that which I'm highly embarrassed about as it's one of the first considerations I made when drafting safe guarding at my workplace :exit: I'm not going to change my routine any time soon anyway, my wife and I have been pretty much keeping ourselves to ourselves apart from shopping and walking the dog.

Regarding work I guess it depends on your line of work. Other than closing certain businesses that are public/customer facing the governments advice has always been work from home unless you absolutely can’t. I don’t think the government expected the volume of furloughing that happened. Key businesses/suppliers in my industry that I never expected to shut just fully closed for 6-7 weeks and furloughed staff. They seem to start reopening last week (that’s before today’s changes).
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My work is a really tricky situation, I can't work from home but there's no way to social distance.

Regarding going out for photography I probably be doing it for a while yet. When I do I will only going out for sunrise as you are unlikely to see many around here at 5am. I can be out and back before most have even got up!
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I've not decided if I'll go out or not yet, I think I'll leave it for the first few days at least as I'd imagine on Wednesday it's going to be chaos.
 
snerkler said:
I thought it was quite clear tbh.
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I thought so too but the radio and breakfast tv seem to be having a complete meltdown. I long suspected that Holly and Phil weren't the sharpest tools in the box but Radio 5 and their guests seems as confused as them. Maybe I'm wrong and should be confused too or maybe they'e either just thick or playing to their crowd.
 
Re the arguments about 50mm rendering, the best way to decide is surely to see the same shot taken with different lenses as close together as possible to stop the light changing. I think I have 12 50's but I don't have all the modern ones so I can't do it :D
 
The rumor site links to this Voigtlander 50mm f1.2 review...

https://www.lenstip.com/582.1-Lens_...kton_50_mm_f_1.2_Aspherical_Introduction.html

I have the earlier 40mm f1.2 and I've read that the 50mm's performance is very similar. If that's the case I'd disagree with the reviewers opinion on f1.2 and f1.4 performance as I think that 40mm is perfectly usable at these apertures.

These lenses aren't for everyone but they could be an alternative for anyone looking for a different look to that given by the big f1.4 AF lenses in a more compact package or even to the Sony 55mm f1.8. I've read that the Voigtlander 40/50 f1.2's are best at wide apertures at full body portrait distance and I think I'd agree with that.

I have the Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 and really like it so if the 50mm had come out before the 40mm I'd have bought it as it would probably make more sense for me to have 35 and 50mm lenses rather that 35 and 40mm just to give a bit more scope for using the differences.
 
There's someone looking for a Sony 55mm f1.8 in the wanted section.
 
I'm not going to post for a while as I'm beginning to think you lot have all gone to a party I wasn't invited to and I'm all alone here...
 
You have just invented a New form of self isolating Alan - Post isolation lol

Rob.
 
Not really Sony related but does when/how often do eBay do the free listings ?

thanks
 
The N.I government just released our coming out of lockdown plan, based on that we will be in some sort of lockdown until next year.
 
T_J_G said:
I can't see any weddings going ahead until 2021 if I'm honest. :(
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In England there will be weddings from July but they will be restricted to 10 people, read earlier on that registrars have are ready to go back to work in July but there will be no reception etc.

Some people will still go ahead but they may decide to cut way back on photography or not have any at all.

It will be different here likely we will be allowed small weddings 10 people around Oct/Nov.
 
f/2.8 said:
The N.I government just released our coming out of lockdown plan, based on that we will be in some sort of lockdown until next year.
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I think that’s to be expected. if you read about Spanish Flu in 1918 it was a year or two before everyone felt at ease and back to ‘normal’.

sadly I feel England‘s easing of lockdown will likely mean we are back to a harder lockdown in 3 weeks time You only have to look at Italy, Spain, Germany and South Keres to see what happens when easing lockdown. I still dont get why we are easing lockdown in the way we are when we were two weeks behind other European countries to introduce one. we should be at least two weeks away from easing it especially when you consider our lockdown wasn’t as harsh as other countries. We should be sitting back and learning from other countries to see what works and doesn’t work. The devolved governments of Wales, Scotland and a Northern Ireland seem to have theirs screwed on better than Westminster.

We need baby steps over a period of months rather than a few weeks. I think people need to forget about holidays, weddings or pubs over the summer as none of that will be happening. My next holiday is booked for November for a week in the Lakes with two of our friends. I honestly can’t see that actually happening. The photography show that’s been rearranged for September won’t be happening either. If it does I won’t be going so not an issue for me.
 
I think Rob-nikon is spot on , it seems to me that the government is trying to please people by lifting lock down a little but it's too early to do that and may well take us backwards .

Rob.
 
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