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

On another note, I wish I hadn't seen JL praise the new 85mm so much in the vid, having just bought the Batis, but at least I am really pleased with that.
35mm next, I have the Sigma art in Nikon version which I love, but I think I will sell it and buy the Canon version. That coupled with the Sigma mc11 adapter is supposed to be excellent, unfortunately no nikon adapter that works properly yet ☹️
 
On another note, I wish I hadn't seen JL praise the new 85mm so much in the vid, having just bought the Batis, but at least I am really pleased with that.
35mm next, I have the Sigma art in Nikon version which I love, but I think I will sell it and buy the Canon version. That coupled with the Sigma mc11 adapter is supposed to be excellent, unfortunately no nikon adapter that works properly yet ☹️

How much do Sigma charge for mount swap?
 
How much do Sigma charge for mount swap?

Probably an arm and a leg! I see Wex are doing the Canon version with the MC11 for £629, so may be the way to go?

Anyone using the combo and wants to share an opinion?

The only issue I have is, as soon as I purchase a canon version and adapter, Sigma will probably launch the E mount version!
 
Probably an arm and a leg! I see Wex are doing the Canon version with the MC11 for £629, so may be the way to go?

Anyone using the combo and wants to share an opinion?

The only issue I have is, as soon as I purchase a canon version and adapter, Sigma will probably launch the E mount version!

£170 for the 35A and £280 for certain other ones! http://www.sigma-imaging-uk.com/mount-conversion-service

I have the 35A with MC11 and it is superb, works the same as a native lens as near as makes no difference.

When I first went Sony I was hoping for a batis 35mm to save weight (which I still might end up with for the special look of the zeiss shots) but having said that the 35A is so sharp and so good for Astro that I doubt I will swap.
 
Probably an arm and a leg! I see Wex are doing the Canon version with the MC11 for £629, so may be the way to go?

Anyone using the combo and wants to share an opinion?

The only issue I have is, as soon as I purchase a canon version and adapter, Sigma will probably launch the E mount version!

I got that deal from wex. Seems by far the best deal if you want to adapter.
Hugely impressed with the combo. You get all the focus options that are present with native lenses (unlike the pricey metabones).

My only issue is the size. I tend to use the battery grip with this lens to balance things out more.
 
The rumour site says "UPDATE: A new source (Thanks) said this is a 135mm f/2.8 lens. Let’s see if he is right on that one."

If it is f2.8 presumably it'll be so to keep the bulk and weight down.

I'm a bit of a convert to 135mm for portraits but my Minolta Rokkor does enough for me and for me f2.8 is too wide as for a head and shoulders to half body shot you're still looking at too little dof (for me) at that aperture.
 
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The rumour site says "UPDATE: A new source (Thanks) said this is a 135mm f/2.8 lens. Let’s see if he is right on that one."

If it is f2.8 presumably it'll be so to keep the bulk and weight down.

I'm a bit of a convert to 135mm for portraits but my Minolta Rokkor does enough for me and for me f2.8 is too wide as for a head and shoulders to half body shot you're still looking at too little dof (for me) at that aperture.

I enjoyed using the canon 135 f2 on the Sony. But it always got me wondering about the Zeiss 135 f1.8

The Fuji 90mm f2 was my most used lens so it's a focal length I enjoy. I'd personally like to see a 1.8 and have the option to stop down if need be.
 
The only aspect a wish the Zeiss Batis lenses had was the custom AF hold button.

You don't really need a focus hold button if you use back button focus, it locks when you take your thumb off the button.
 
I was sort-of hoping that the FE85 would get unfavourable reviews :D As it is, I think a swap from Batis to FE85 may be on the cards......

Talking of Batis....



I did used to love the 135L on 5D2 but I often found it a little long for the static car events/meets hence my switch back to 85mm since being with Sony.
 
I have a Sony A7. Will this lens fit without an adapter? Sony SEL50F18F E 50mm f/1.8 - f/22. Is it auto focus with the A7? Are there any better 20mm to 50mm that are not too expensive for low light hand held? Thanks for any help.
 
I have a Sony A7. Will this lens fit without an adapter? Sony SEL50F18F E 50mm f/1.8 - f/22. Is it auto focus with the A7? Are there any better 20mm to 50mm that are not too expensive for low light hand held? Thanks for any help.

I'm a bit confused by the model number here but if it's this one...

https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/camera-lenses/sel50f18f

it's an FE lens it'll work fine but if it's this one...

https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/camera-lenses/sel50f18

it's an APS-C lens and although it'll fit and work it'll give you a cropped image.
 
I bought something :D

And it's not a £15 manual focus film era lens this time :D

Or a piece of Micro Four Thirds kit :D

It's actually a modern piece of kit :D

A "FF" piece of kit :D

It's sez "Sony" on it :D

A nice lady with a sexy voice rang me to confirm that it'll be with me tomorrow morning :D

It may go on holiday with me :D
 
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I bought something :D

And it's not a £15 manual focus film era lens this time :D

Or a piece of Micro Four Thirds kit :D

It's actually a modern piece of kit :D

A "FF" piece of kit :D

It's sez "Sony" on it :D

A nice lady with a sexy voice rang me to confirm that it'll be with me tomorrow morning :D

It may go on holiday with me :D

85mm? A6000? 50mm macro?
 
But that's not made out of old leather jackets surely ? :naughty:

I still have a plan to find someone who can make a nice bag out of some leather jackets I have. I haven't worn them for a decade or more and I fancy a nice custom made bag :D

PS.
I was feeling guilty about spending on myself without discussing it with my GF but she's buying a new car and I was only informed after she'd decided... so I think I'm ok on this one :D

Actually I'm a bit worried about her and the car. My little MX5 is magnetic to 4x4's, twice 4x4's have driven into it (the last time was very recently) and GF's getting a big fat 4x4. It's only a matter of time...
 
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I still have a plan to find someone who can make a nice bag out of some leather jackets I have. I haven't worn them for a decade or more and I fancy a nice custom made bag :D

PS.
I was feeling guilty about spending on myself without discussing it with my GF but she's buying a new car and I was only informed after she'd decided... so I think I'm ok on this one :D

Actually I'm a bit worried about her and the car. My little MX5 is magnetic to 4x4's, twice 4x4's have driven into it (the last time was very recently) and GF's getting a big fat 4x4. It's only a matter of time...

It's a sign that hairdressing isn't the career for you.
 
Probably an arm and a leg! I see Wex are doing the Canon version with the MC11 for £629, so may be the way to go?

Anyone using the combo and wants to share an opinion?

The only issue I have is, as soon as I purchase a canon version and adapter, Sigma will probably launch the E mount version!

As the other people stated you can't go wrong with that combo.
I am using Sony A7R II + MC-11 + Sigma 35mm ART and the results are amazing.
The only drawback is that it is not very light, especially with the adapter.

----

And as someone suggested, a photo for the thread.

Behind the scenes from one recent shoot of mine
Sony A7R II with Laowa 105mm f/2 STF lens
Feb 2017
London, UK

- Behind the scenes with Laowa 105mm - by Kalin Kalpachev, on Flickr
 
YaY! :D

My 50mm f2.8 macro arrived! :D

Now the bad news, it's sh!t and it's going back.

Optical quality - I can't fault it. It's a really nice 50mm macro and it performs just like you think it should.

Build and handling - It's nice. It's light and compact, more so on the camera and in the hand than in pictures on line when it can look quite bulky. I'd be quite happy carrying my camera with this lens on it all day long.

And now the bad news. The focus is crap.
I expected it to be slow and it is. I thought it might be something like the Canon 50mm f2.5 macro I had years ago and it is. But now the bad stuff. In good light or rather in the light that passes for daylight in the Middlesbrough area when it works it's slowish but acceptable and a little noisy but ok. However, it's inconsistent and now and again everything looks ok and the focus square goes green and it's ever so slightly off when viewed at 100% or maybe it's nowhere near and you can see it's nowhere near in the EVF but it thinks it's nailed it. In a room lit to a normal domestic level by artificial lighting the focus slows down and the miss rate rises as do the number of inconsistent results.

With peaking on I shot several series of close up shots and watched the peaking as it wandered through the scene, sometimes bang on through the point of focus but sometimes off just a bit, actually and sadly it was more often just a bit off rather than bang on. 100% viewing on screen confirmed the poor results. Also sometimes it would hit a more distant subject time after time and then inexplicably fail and just hunt backwards and forwards. Maybe it'd hit four times in a row and then miss. Maybe after pointing it at something else and going back to the original subject it'd fail to lock on immediately. It's just inconsistent. This lens is a box of chocolates and you never know what you're getting.

How can this be when focus is taken off the sensor? I don't know... Swapping back to the 55mm cured the inconsistencies although I obviously couldn't duplicate the close up shots.

I've never sent a new product back before but I think this will have to be the first as it's just unreliable and all over the place. I had intended to use this as a walkabout but it's just too inconsistent. I had intended take this to Thailand but I just can't see it working at an evening meal at an outdoor restaurant let alone in the dark basement of a Thai temple. The 35mm f2.8 coped with both these scenarios without missing a beat.

I'll have another look tomorrow but I think that it'll have to go back. It's such a shame as optically and as a package it's lovely but the focus is sh!t. It's worse than the few reviews I read lead me to believe it would be.

I don't suppose anyone else has tried one?
 
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YaY! :D

My 50mm f2.8 macro arrived! :D

Now the bad news, it's sh!t and it's going back.

Optical quality - I can't fault it. It's a really nice 50mm macro and it performs just like you think it should.

Build and handling - It's nice. It's light and compact, more so on the camera and in the hand than in pictures on line when it can look quite bulky. I'd be quite happy carrying my camera with this lens on it all day long.

And now the bad news. The focus is crap.
I expected it to be slow and it is. I thought it might be something like the Canon 50mm f2.5 macro I had years ago and it is. But now the bad stuff. In good light or rather in the light that passes for daylight in the Middlesbrough area when it works it's slowish but acceptable and a little noisy but ok. However, it's inconsistent and now and again everything looks ok and the focus square goes green and it's ever so slightly off when viewed at 100% or maybe it's nowhere near and you can see it's nowhere near in the EVF but it thinks it's nailed it. In a room lit to a normal domestic level by artificial lighting the focus slows down and the miss rate rises as do the number of inconsistent results.

With peaking on I shot several series of close up shots and watched the peaking as it wondered through the scene, sometimes bang on through the point of focus but sometimes off just a bit, actually and sadly it was more often just a bit off rather than bang on. 100% viewing on screen confirmed the poor results. Also sometimes it would hit a more distant subject time after time and then inexplicably fail and just hunt backwards and forwards. Maybe it'd hit four times in a row and then miss. Maybe after pointing it at something else and going back to the original subject it'd fail to lock on immediately. It's just inconsistent. This lens is a box of chocolates and you never know what you're getting.

How can this be when focus is taken off the sensor? I don't know... Swapping back to the 55mm cured the inconsistencies although I obviously couldn't duplicate the close up shots.

I've never sent a new product back before but I think this will have to be the first as it's just unreliable and all over the place. I had intended to use this as a walkabout but it's just too inconsistent. I had intended take this to Thailand but I just can't see it working at an evening meal at an outdoor restaurant let alone in the dark basement of a Thai temple. The 35mm f2.8 coped with both these scenarios without missing a beat.

I'll have another look tomorrow but I think that it'll have to go back. It's such a shame as optically and as a package it's lovely but the focus is sh!t. It's worse than the few reviews I read lead me to believe it would be.

I don't suppose anyone else has tried one?

That's a shame Allan. Considered extension tubes for the 35 or 55?
 
Yes it's a shame. I really fancied this as a walk about.

I don't know if I have a duffer but the performance I've seen today is worse than I expected after reading the reviews I could find.

I haven't considered tubes but have considered close up filters as that'll avoid lens changes. I have actually got some close up filters so all I'd need is the correct stepping ring for the 55mm, it seems to be the one size I haven't got.

I read somewhere that Sigma are going to be making FE lenses so maybe we could see two lenses I'd probably buy, a compact 35mm f1.8 and a 50mm macro. I don't think I'll be revisiting this Sony macro though. I'm not the best photographer but I do think that my technique isn't all bad. I've been using AF SLR/DSLR cameras for a long time now (since back in the days of 35mm film) and I'm used to giving the camera the best chance of locking focus but I just couldn't get consistent results today with this lens.

Oh well...
 
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