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

woof woof said:
Rain, fog and whiteouts are the norm here at the mo. At the moment the sky is almost featureless and although we can see the hill we can't see all of it and what we can see is distinctly misty.
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We went for a walk this morning, but the landscapes simply didn't appeal - mostly in shadow from the clouds. I did take a few images of bits & pieces, and also had a go at an Orton effect composite using 2 images - 1 in focus, 1 OOF - 'sandwiched' together as layers. Not completely convinced, but a useful expt. none the less.

Orton expt-.jpg
 
The rumour guy is ever more convinced that the A7sII is coming together with a 12-24mm and something else.

I'm not interested in the A7s and I'm really trying not to be interested in the 12-24mm as I had a Sigma and I really liked it. So I'm trying not to be interested in that. Whatever the something else is could be interesting :D
 
woof woof said:
The rumour guy is ever more convinced that the A7sII is coming together with a 12-24mm and something else.

I'm not interested in the A7s and I'm really trying not to be interested in the 12-24mm as I had a Sigma and I really liked it. So I'm trying not to be interested in that. Whatever the something else is could be interesting :D
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The something else is supposed to be coming after in the last few days of June.

All they have said so far is that is a new design of full frame camera. So won't be using any of the existing body shapes.

Edit see he is now saying it won't be launched until a few weeks after.
 
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We've had a rough time at home looking after someone who needs a lot of help these days. I walked into the kitchen and as I was stood in the dark looking out into more darkness and thinking how to see a way forward the security light came on. There was no one in sight so maybe the light was just for me :D

A7 and Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 at f2.

ActIRdq.jpg


A movie quote... "See what you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, that sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky? Or, look at the question this way: Is it possible that there are no coincidences?"
 
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10% off on eBay up to a value of £60

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Selected sellers Currys and Camera Centre are both on there.
 
f/2.8 said:
The something else is supposed to be coming after in the last few days of June.

All they have said so far is that is a new design of full frame camera. So won't be using any of the existing body shapes.

Edit see he is now saying it won't be launched until a few weeks after.
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I suppose a new RX1 would be a safe-ish bet. Or maybe we'll get a surprise? A7IV? Something new? Who knows? Time will tell.
 
woof woof said:
I suppose a new RX1 would be a safe-ish bet. Or maybe we'll get a surprise? A7IV? Something new? Who knows? Time will tell.
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They are saying it is a completely new range of camera, I suspect it will be something like an RX1 or a video centric camera.

While the S series has always been associated with video it never has been by Sony, S should be for low light performance (sensitivity) not video.

My money is them bringing out the replacement for the A7SII and all the video guys doing their nut as it isn't video centric enough and them dropping a more video aimed camera as the new one. Would make sense as well as a body aimed at video will need to be bigger to allow for cooling.
 
Found an interesting use for a very old photograph the other day.

My Dad was a huge Man United fan, he passed away a couple of years ago. Man UTD because they won't be allowed any supporters into Old Trafford because of the lockdown are printing a large mosiac made up of photographs of fans to display in the ground.

Sent them in a old photo of my Dad and got just got an email back from them there saying it will be used, it will also be put in the museum at the ground once the lockdown ends, my aul fella would have been over the moon. :ROFLMAO:
 
f/2.8 said:
Found an interesting use for a very old photograph the other day.

My Dad was a huge Man United fan, he passed away a couple of years ago. Man UTD because they won't be allowed any supporters into Old Trafford because of the lockdown are printing a large mosiac made up of photographs of fans to display in the ground.

Sent them in a old photo of my Dad and got just got an email back from them there saying it will be used, it will also be put in the museum at the ground once the lockdown ends, my aul fella would have been over the moon. :ROFLMAO:
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Love that.
 
f/2.8 said:
Found an interesting use for a very old photograph the other day.

My Dad was a huge Man United fan, he passed away a couple of years ago. Man UTD because they won't be allowed any supporters into Old Trafford because of the lockdown are printing a large mosiac made up of photographs of fans to display in the ground.

Sent them in a old photo of my Dad and got just got an email back from them there saying it will be used, it will also be put in the museum at the ground once the lockdown ends, my aul fella would have been over the moon. :ROFLMAO:
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that's really very nice. if you do believe in afterlife and such he'll still be happy wherever he is :)
 
f/2.8 said:
The something else is supposed to be coming after in the last few days of June.

All they have said so far is that is a new design of full frame camera. So won't be using any of the existing body shapes.

Edit see he is now saying it won't be launched until a few weeks after.
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Would be nice if they did a mirrorless with a design similar to the A77 but I can't see it ;)
 
woof woof said:
The rumour guy is ever more convinced that the A7sII is coming together with a 12-24mm and something else.

I'm not interested in the A7s and I'm really trying not to be interested in the 12-24mm as I had a Sigma and I really liked it. So I'm trying not to be interested in that. Whatever the something else is could be interesting :D
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a99 body with beefed up a9 internals and loads of room for weather sealing / cooling, ready for the Olympics etc next year :) Sony have also been very active getting gear into the hands of motorsport photographers etc.

I mean, it won't happen, but I always loved the feel of the a77/a99 bodies. I'm still occasionally tempted to pick one up now as there is some great glass (Zeiss 135mm 1.8 is my all time favourite) but prices have never crashed in the way I expected, probably because it was always a niche system.
 
footman said:
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At last my dream combination to support my macro gear, Novoflex Castel L focusing rack paired with the Novoflex MagicBall MB50 ballhead. Superb engineering, so smooth to operate and everything stays exactly where I put it.
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very nice! how did it cost you all together?
I am somewhat sick of piecing things together. Wouldn't mind owning one of these.
 
nandbytes said:
very nice! how did it cost you all together?
I am somewhat sick of piecing things together. Wouldn't mind owning one of these.
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The rail was £175 and the ball head was £215 from Speedgraphic. TBH I wouldn't have splashed out if I hadn't sold a lens for £1400. I use the Benro 3GdWh geared head for indoor stuff but it was rather bulky and heavy to cart around outside and as you comment, I just have to easily detach the rail from the head to move the gear indoors.
It's the most stable and versatile head I've owned and the engineering is superb. I've always felt that while the American stuff is well engineered it's very overpriced.
The rail is a dream to use, absolutely no lateral movement observed when bracketing images and very smooth.
 
footman said:
50009317721_81af518ea4_c.jpg


At last my dream combination to support my macro gear, Novoflex Castel L focusing rack paired with the Novoflex MagicBall MB50 ballhead. Superb engineering, so smooth to operate and everything stays exactly where I put it.
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Im not into tripod stuff but that thing oozes quality. Im sure youll get some awesome results with it.
 
A7R4 200/600
This came about as it was mentioned in another forum
I did some tests today as I had not really seen this as much of a problem the a7r4 and 200/600 has given me some nice shots but I tend to go through them quickly and delete most just keeping what I think are the nice ones so often many never got a close look .

Far more had missed focus than I had realized I won't be using this combo again I shot wide open and at 1/4000 and above shutter speed .
I then put the A9mkII on the lens yes I did miss a few but focus was far more precise and a much greater hit rate and was as good as I could wish for.

Next I put the FE 600 on the a7r4 it's not up to the a9mkII in accuracy or speed in grabbing the subject but not to bad over all I need to test this a bit more as it's no good having MPs if there not as sharp as they could be, the a9mkII and FE 600 just blows me away I might just by another a9 MKII and put a 1.4 on the lens as this make very little difference .
I used Zone + tracking and tracking expand Large on both cameras for my testing most shots in clear blue sky so nothing to take the focus of the birds .

Just my thoughts on this.

Rob.
 
footman said:
50009317721_81af518ea4_c.jpg


At last my dream combination to support my macro gear, Novoflex Castel L focusing rack paired with the Novoflex MagicBall MB50 ballhead. Superb engineering, so smooth to operate and everything stays exactly where I put it.
Click to expand...

That's a cool looking ballhead, never seen one like that before.
 
magicolor1 said:
Those are fantastic! One of my favourite places, but I've never seen it in such perfect light.
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Thanks, I do love Tarn Hows but hate how busy it can get. Was ok yesterday thankfully. I was only car at the 'lookout' and there was only 6 cars in the main car park. (I didn't go until mid/late afternoon)
 
GyRob said:
A7R4 200/600
This came about as it was mentioned in another forum
I did some tests today as I had not really seen this as much of a problem the a7r4 and 200/600 has given me some nice shots but I tend to go through them quickly and delete most just keeping what I think are the nice ones so often many never got a close look .

Far more had missed focus than I had realized I won't be using this combo again I shot wide open and at 1/4000 and above shutter speed .
I then put the A9mkII on the lens yes I did miss a few but focus was far more precise and a much greater hit rate and was as good as I could wish for.

Next I put the FE 600 on the a7r4 it's not up to the a9mkII in accuracy or speed in grabbing the subject but not to bad over all I need to test this a bit more as it's no good having MPs if there not as sharp as they could be, the a9mkII and FE 600 just blows me away I might just by another a9 MKII and put a 1.4 on the lens as this make very little difference .
I used Zone + tracking and tracking expand Large on both cameras for my testing most shots in clear blue sky so nothing to take the focus of the birds .

Just my thoughts on this.

Rob.
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What were you shooting that gave you so many misses?

I’ve found the A7R4 struggles with subjects coming towards you, it doesn’t appear to keep up and so ‘back focuses’. Mind you my test subject is Betty and she has a predominantly black face without much contrast.
 
snerkler said:
What were you shooting that gave you so many misses?

I’ve found the A7R4 struggles with subjects coming towards you, it doesn’t appear to keep up and so ‘back focuses’. Mind you my test subject is Betty and she has a predominantly black face without much contrast.
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Sorry i should have said birds in flight Pidions /dove/gulls .
Rob.
 
GyRob said:
A7R4 200/600
This came about as it was mentioned in another forum
I did some tests today as I had not really seen this as much of a problem the a7r4 and 200/600 has given me some nice shots but I tend to go through them quickly and delete most just keeping what I think are the nice ones so often many never got a close look .

Far more had missed focus than I had realized I won't be using this combo again I shot wide open and at 1/4000 and above shutter speed .
I then put the A9mkII on the lens yes I did miss a few but focus was far more precise and a much greater hit rate and was as good as I could wish for.

Next I put the FE 600 on the a7r4 it's not up to the a9mkII in accuracy or speed in grabbing the subject but not to bad over all I need to test this a bit more as it's no good having MPs if there not as sharp as they could be, the a9mkII and FE 600 just blows me away I might just by another a9 MKII and put a 1.4 on the lens as this make very little difference .
I used Zone + tracking and tracking expand Large on both cameras for my testing most shots in clear blue sky so nothing to take the focus of the birds .

Just my thoughts on this.

Rob.
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A7R4 isn't as good as A9ii isn't really a surprise....
I think the "weak" link in the A7RIV is the processor. They are using the same old one in A7RIII but now it has to handle 50% more data plus do its real-time AF algorithms which could also be processor intensive.
It'll be A7RV before it catches up and gets a new processor.
 
Raymond Lin said:
That's a cool looking ballhead, never seen one like that before.
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I only buy gear if it looks cool:giggle:
Actually I think it looks brilliant but it's the concept I find fascinating. Whereas in every other ball head I've seen it's the ball itself that moves in this case the ball is static and the clamp assembly/handle does the moving. The ball head is essentially upside down.

The ball is made from Delrin, which has a super smooth surface and excellent vibration absorption according to Novoflex. According to Wiki
Delrin, polyoxymethylene, also known as acetal, polyacetal, and polyformaldehyde, is an engineering thermoplastic used in precision parts requiring high stiffness, low friction, and excellent dimensional stability.
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Getting the whole shooting match stable has presented a few issues but I think I've solved them, I would not have had these issues had I been simply mounting a camera on the head but my outdoor macro setup is a bit more complex!
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nandbytes said:
A7R4 isn't as good as A9ii isn't really a surprise....
I think the "weak" link in the A7RIV is the processor. They are using the same old one in A7RIII but now it has to handle 50% more data plus do its real-time AF algorithms which could also be processor intensive.
It'll be A7RV before it catches up and gets a new processor.
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I've got to say I've been a bit disappointed in the hit rate taking photos of Betty running towards me, and then don't get me started on the 'lock up' of the camera whilst it's writing images to the card ;)
 
snerkler said:
I've got to say I've been a bit disappointed in the hit rate taking photos of Betty running towards me, and then don't get me started on the 'lock up' of the camera whilst it's writing images to the card ;)
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I did wonder sometimes if A7RIII was slightly better. Overall A7RIV is better I think.
I haven't had any serious issues tracking with it even for subjects approaching me. Then again even my old A7RII could manage it without much issues for most subjects. So I don't really understand people's issues lol.
Of course I don't track a cheetah speed dog running at me and if I find a wild animal running at me at speeds my camera can't track I think getting shots in focus is least of my worries :D
Large birds are again not a problem but small birds has always been a problem regardless of the camera. Though in some cases I can see A9 being a lot better.
 
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nandbytes said:
I did wonder sometimes if A7RIII was slightly better. Overall A7RIV is better I think.
I haven't had any serious issues tracking with it even for subjects approaching me. Then again even my old A7RII could manage it without much issues for most subjects. So I don't really understand people's issues lol.
Of course I don't track a cheetah speed dog running at me and if I find a wild animal running at me at speeds my camera can't track I think getting shots in focus is least of my worries :D
Large birds are again not a problem but small birds has always been a problem regardless of the camera. Though in some cases I can see A9 being a lot better.
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There is a major problem with the A9.

Once you have got used to the amazing a.f performance, its very difficult to use something else as everything else seems a bit underwhelming.

I bet most people that have an A7RIV are for the most part very happy with them, but those that have previously used an A9 maybe not so much.
 
nandbytes said:
I did wonder sometimes if A7RIII was slightly better. Overall A7RIV is better I think.
I haven't had any serious issues tracking with it even for subjects approaching me. Then again even my old A7RII could manage it without much issues for most subjects. So I don't really understand people's issues lol.
Of course I don't track a cheetah speed dog running at me and if I find a wild animal running at me at speeds my camera can't track I think getting shots in focus is least of my worries :D
Large birds are again not a problem but small birds has always been a problem regardless of the camera. Though in some cases I can see A9 being a lot better.
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For most things it fine it's just with the 200/600 and birds in flight that the hit rate isn't so good, true about the a9 it really is a stunning camera .
Rob.
 
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