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

The 50mm f1.8 might not be great at focusing on the A7.

I lost all confidence in lenses using the cheaper Sony focus systems when I tried the 50mm macro which was a lovely lens with just about unusable AF. If there's any mention of hunting in reviews and reports I lose interest now. Wait and see what others say but I'd take the 55mm every time for an A7 as at least the 55mm focuses reliably and relatively quickly on an A7.
 
Alchimaera71 said:
Manual focus etc is fine - I always have time to play and if I miss a shot well I'm only a hobbyist so it's no biggie. I would rather be able to afford to buy good glass if they image well with an an adapter & this does limit my choice with the all singing Sony FE range... Of course I may think that the budget range lenses are fine for my needs :rolleyes:

Worth pushing the budget from the basic 50mm 1.8 to the OSS version or further to the 55mm Zeiss? (I'd have to really push my budget here tho...)
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OSS version is an APS-C lens. FE55 is massively better but also massively more expensive.
 
nandbytes said:
OSS version is an APS-C lens. FE55 is massively better but also massively more expensive.
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Aah ok thanks, I didn't realise that. Well I may try an adapter with my 1.8D first then - I'm fine with manual anyway.

So is a cheap adapter ok then? I was looking at the Metabones but I'm always happy to save a few quid - any recommendations? :ty:
 
Alchimaera71 said:
Oh and I haven't got a macro for the Sony yet!!! Well the Lensbaby says the Velvet does macro but we'll see...
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I have an old manual film era Sigma 50mm f2.8 in Minolta fit. It does 1:1 and the only real drawback is that although there's lots of focus movement for close up for distance there's very little.
 
Alchimaera71 said:
Aah ok thanks, I didn't realise that. Well I may try an adapter with my 1.8D first then - I'm fine with manual anyway.
So is a cheap adapter ok then? I was looking at the Metabones but I'm always happy to save a few quid - any recommendations? :ty:
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50/1.8D is one with the aperture ring right? so the cheap adapters should be fine. Might be worth spending an extra £5 or so on a cheap adapter with a ring so you can change the aperture on some G lenses but I believe the glass you have does have an aperture ring on it.

For budget options look at 3rd party glass. Samyang 45mm f1.8 is really great for the price. So is sigma ART 50mm f1.4 if you can put up with the size.
There are great zooms from tamron for cheaper than Sony prices.
Also samyang is currently running offers on most of their lenses. (if you want AF with samyang lenses make sure to look for only "FE" "AF" versions of samyang since they make both MF and AF varieties)
 
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B
nandbytes said:
50/1.8D is one with the aperture ring right? so the cheap adapters should be fine. Might be worth spending an extra £5 or so on a cheap adapter with a ring so you can change the aperture on some G lenses but I believe the glass you have does have an aperture ring on it.

For budget options look at 3rd party glass. Samyang 45mm f1.8 is really great for the price. So is sigma ART 50mm f1.4 if you can put up with the size.
There are great zooms from tamron for cheaper than Sony prices.
Also samyang is currently running offers on most of their lenses. (if you want AF with samyang lenses make sure to look for only "FE" "AF" versions of samyang since they make both MF and AF varieties)
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Brilliant, thanks! Yes the 1.8D has an aperture ring - I knew I was getting an A7 eventually so I chose it over the G - also I have an old D90 and it works well on that with AF. Off I shop :naughty:
 
Quick update on grey pricing. As well as increases applied at e-infinity yesterday/today, Tina at Panamoz has told me this today:

"We’ll need to increase the price within the next 1-2 days. The sourcing cost is very high right now due to factory closure."
 
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I'd like to be here, just for an hour.

bqTunVR.jpg


A7 and Voigtlander 35mm f1.4.
 
PhotoTalk said:
Quick update on grey pricing. As well as increases just applied at e-infinity, Tina at Panamoz has just told me this:

"We’ll need to increase the price within the next 1-2 days. The sourcing cost is very high right now due to factory closure."
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They love a tall tale the factories in China re-opened ages ago.

I don't trust any of them.

Just recently a friend of mine bought a Samyang 75mm off e-infin as did several of her friends, every one of them (12 people) got an email cancelling there order and every email said sorry your lens was the last one and when we checked it before shipping it was faulty. :ROFLMAO:

They think they made a mistake with the pricing everywhere else in China when you convert the currency that lens worked out at about £310, they had it for £209. It looks obvious they made a mistake with pricing so they cancelled all the orders.
 
f/2.8 said:
They love a tall tale the factories in China re-opened ages ago.

I don't trust any of them.

Just recently a friend of mine bought a Samyang 75mm off e-infin as did several of her friends, every one of them (12 people) got an email cancelling there order and every email said sorry your lens was the last one and when we checked it before shipping it was faulty. :ROFLMAO:

They think they made a mistake with the pricing everywhere else in China when you convert the currency that lens worked out at about £310, they had it for £209. It looks obvious they made a mistake with pricing so they cancelled all the orders.
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:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
I am sure it be back in stock next week at 1.5x the price :p
 
PhotoTalk said:
Quick update on grey pricing. As well as increases applied at e-infinity yesterday/today, Tina at Panamoz has told me this today:

"We’ll need to increase the price within the next 1-2 days. The sourcing cost is very high right now due to factory closure."
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I always wondered if Tina was the same person. Tina is always the one to reply to mails and no one else.
Its like James Bond, same name but many people take on the role lol. :ROFLMAO:
 
nandbytes said:
I always wondered if Tina was the same person. Tina is always the one to reply to mails and no one else.
Its like James Bond, same name but many people take on the role lol. :ROFLMAO:
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There was a thread on here years ago about Panamoz when they had their own supplier section on here.

Somebody went to their London address to drop of a return in person and met Tina who as it turned out was a 6'5" male and was a scary looking London gangster type. I have spoken to Tina a couple of times by phone and can confirm Tina is a male.

Panamoz as best as I can tell only have 3 employees."Tina" who is based in the U.K a girl called Kate who is based in China and another whose name I can't remember who is also based in China. Kate appears to be the actual owner.
 
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f/2.8 said:
There was a thread on here years ago about Panamoz when they had their own supplier section on here.

Somebody went to their London address to drop of a return in person and met Tina who as it turned out was a 6'5" male and was a scary looking London gangster type. I have spoken to Tina a couple of times by phone and can confirm Tina is a male.

Panamoz as best as I can tell only have 3 employees."Tina" who is based in the U.K a girl called Kate who is based in China and another whose name I can't remember who is also based in China. Kate appears to be the actual owner.
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Tina seems to be awfully polite to be a gangster. Shouldn't judge a book by its cover :ROFLMAO:
 
nandbytes said:
Tina seems to be awfully polite to be a gangster. Shouldn't judge a book by its cover :ROFLMAO:
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To be fair to them they have been around a long time and I have nothing but good things to say about them.

The set up of the whole business is very dodgy though. They are just a drop shipping company. They don't hold any stock at all, when you buy from them, they go and buy for you that's why it takes a few days for it to be dispatched. E-infin do the same thing. That is how they can run with such few employees. We won't get into the dodgy tax stuff like them sending a 3k camera declared as toy parts worth £26. :ROFLMAO:

Drop shipping companies are all a bit dodgy, I know cause I just set one up myself. :ROFLMAO:
 
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woof woof said:
The 50mm f1.8 might not be great at focusing on the A7.

I lost all confidence in lenses using the cheaper Sony focus systems when I tried the 50mm macro which was a lovely lens with just about unusable AF. If there's any mention of hunting in reviews and reports I lose interest now. Wait and see what others say but I'd take the 55mm every time for an A7 as at least the 55mm focuses reliably and relatively quickly on an A7.
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the a7 & 55mm were my gateway into mirrorless. bought for a short trip to Amsterdam and was hooked on mirrorless from then on.
 
f/2.8 said:
To be fair to them they have been around a long time and I have nothing but good things to say about them.

The set up of the whole business is very dodgy though. They are just a drop shipping company. They don't hold any stock at all, when you buy from them, they go and buy for you that's why it takes a few days for it to be dispatched. E-infin do the same thing. That is how they can run with such few employees. We won't get into the dodgy tax stuff like them sending a 3k camera declared as toy parts worth £26. :ROFLMAO:

Drop shipping companies are all a bit dodgy, I know cause I just set one up myself. :ROFLMAO:
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always liked panamoz. 9-times out of 10 if i order monday morning the goods arrive on Wednesday.
 
Alchimaera71 said:
Manual focus etc is fine - I always have time to play and if I miss a shot well I'm only a hobbyist so it's no biggie. I would rather be able to afford to buy good glass if they image well with an an adapter & this does limit my choice with the all singing Sony FE range... Of course I may think that the budget range lenses are fine for my needs :rolleyes:

Worth pushing the budget from the basic 50mm 1.8 to the OSS version or further to the 55mm Zeiss? (I'd have to really push my budget here tho...)
Click to expand...

The 55mm Zeiss is a lovely performing lens. But that is obviously reflected in the price difference. I've no experience with the 50/1.8 sorry.

I've used /have manual lenses from the Yashica ML and Canon FD range of primes. No complaints with either but I've had mine a few years now so not sure on the current pricing. My ML50/1.9 is a great little lens and about the same size and weight as having two adapters on the A7!
 
IT. HAS. ARRIVED.

Now - I bought used, on purpose, always do. I bought from MPB who I have bought lenses from before and not had a problem with but I'm not sure if I have an issue or not...

I looked carefully at the photos of the A7 on the website and I always buy a used camera with original box and caps etc so even though this camera was described as 'Good' rather than 'Excellent' - it looked fine to me. No scuffs to the body etc. There was a few scuffs on the screen - as I have on my old camera so that wasn't as issue for me.

However - there seems to be a further problem with the screen that was not mentioned - it has some missing bits down the side that appear as black marks:

DSC_0006.JPG

They don't appear on the files so it's not the sensor - but it's worrying me. Is this par for the course for an old A7? Is this a sign of impending doom? I'm not sure what to do and where I stand with MPB given that this was only described as 'Good' ....

Help me fellow Sony A7 owners! :ty:
 
Mine doesn't do that.

Maybe have a think and give them a call. Surely they'll take it back for a refund or even a partial refund if you're happy to keep it, if you haggle by saying you'd have paid less for one with what looks like a screen fault.
 
Do they appear in all the display modes? you can change the display by pressing the up button on the back wheel.

You can return it no problem, this is a faulty screen with dead pixels probably which they should have mentioned in the description. If they hadn't then there should be no issues returning it.
 
Did some googling and it appears they are probably dead pixels, which apparently does happen over time - hmmm... Not sure what to do as this is obviously a problems that is going to get worse and I don't know how fast...
 
nandbytes said:
Do they appear in all the display modes? you can change the display by pressing the up button on the back wheel.

You can return it no problem, this is a faulty screen with dead pixels probably which they should have mentioned in the description. If they hadn't then there should be no issues returning it.
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Yes they don't budge... Thanks I will contact MPB.
 
Thought I would check the shutter count seeing as I hadn't and now I'm in a quandry - It's only 7166! - I knew it looked in good knick...

Is the screen likely to get worse does anyone know? It doesn't bother me that much and I'd rather keep it than swap for one with scuffs & a higher shutter count seeing as it does otherwise seem in good order. Aaargh :thinking::dummy:
 
Is it definitely the screen and not something to do with / under the screen protector?
 
woof woof said:
Is it definitely the screen and not something to do with / under the screen protector?
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Yes, fraid so. I've emailed MPB and asked them to suggest a way forward... If it won't get any worse I'd rather keep it because it's otherwise in really good knick and has a low shutter count. Now do I take it out with me this aft?! - I guess not - :sulk:
 
Have to think this will hit resale value. If you're keeping it until it dies, no problem, but if you try to sell it on you'll probably have to price it accordingly. I think if I intended to keep it I'd think about asking for a partial refund.
 
woof woof said:
Have to think this will hit resale value. If you're keeping it until it dies, no problem, but if you try to sell it on you'll probably have to price it accordingly. I think if I intended to keep it I'd think about asking for a partial refund.
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Yes of course I hadn't thought about that. I always buy one with original packaging and so on but with a faulty screen it is rather a non-starter...
 
Someone would have it with that fault... if the price is right.

You'll have to have a think. It may get worse, it may not. I have a digital clock and a calculator with something like that and they're both decades old but still working. If you're a perfectionist this could bug you every time you look at it or you may not care. Only you know :D

If the price was right I'd have it with that fault.
 
woof woof said:
Someone would have it with that fault... if the price is right.

You'll have to have a think. It may get worse, it may not. I have a digital clock and a calculator with something like that and they're both decades old but still working. If you're a perfectionist this could bug you every time you look at it or you may not care. Only you know :D

If the price was right I'd have it with that fault.
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I'd happily buy for £200-250 to convert it to IR.
 
nandbytes said:
I'd happily buy for £200-250 to convert it to IR.
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I'd have guessed that mine was worth £400 or so as a private sale. I can't see anyone paying much more for an A7. I may be wrong, someone may pay more. I think £250 might be a real bargain, maybe a bit on the low side if the rest of it is good?

I can imagine a shop refusing a partial refund, taking it back and selling it on to someone else for the same price.
 
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woof woof said:
I'd have guessed that mine was worth £400 or so as a private sale. I can't see anyone paying much more for an A7. I may be wrong, someone may pay more. I think £250 might be a real bargain, maybe a bit on the low side if the rest of it is good?

I can imagine a shop refusing a partial refund, taking it back and selling it on to someone else for the same price.
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I have seen near new ones go for £350. Not long ago with cashback offer you could get the kit of £450 and you can easily move the kit lens for £100.
So £100 less for one in "Good" condition (mind you not "excellent" which is the next level on mpb) with a screen fault is a fair offer IMO.
 
nandbytes said:
I have seen near new ones go for £350. Not long ago with cashback offer you could get the kit of £450 and you can easily move the kit lens for £100.
So £100 less for one in "Good" condition (mind you not "excellent" which is the next level on mpb) with a screen fault is a fair offer IMO.
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Oh dear... Mine looks just about worthless then :D
 
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