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

Noo corrected error.

A7ii with kit lens
70-200 f4
£2199 in total
 
I'm considering either ditching Sony completely or keeping a body and couple of lenses.
 
The 70-200 is 819 at the moment plus £60 cash back
 
Why on earth would you change from Sony to Fuji? That makes no sense to me. You get the same or there abouts the bulk but not the quality. I've looked at Fuji a few times but for me the attraction starts and ends with the manual dials and even then I think I know that I prefer changing the settings with the ordinary dials.

Still, if you're going in with your eyes open it's your choice. Fuji might be a cheaper system I suppose depending on what set up interests you.
 
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woof woof said:
OK. This is what happens with my A7.

I have mine set so that when looking at the back screen I have the histogram in the image and below the image I have the shutter speed, aperture, exposure and ISO. When set like this the exposure appears not as a bar but just as a number, plus or minus.

I can have the exposure scale on the back screen in Aperture or Shutter priority (as long as "exposure Set Guide" is set to "On" on page two of the little gear section of the menu) and I can call it up by using the back wheel, not the exposure dial but the other dial to the left of the exposure dial. The exposure dial doesn't call up the scale and just changes the plus and minus values below the image.

In manual mode I can't get the exposure dial to appear so I'm just left with the plus and minus values in the bar under the image. Maybe yours is the same?

Hope that helps.
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Thank you very much for the detailed reply. I'll have a look tonight and get my camera set up like that. Many thanks
 
jonneymendoza said:
Why fuji?
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Just got way too much money sat in Sony gear and as mentioned previously, it will probably get very little professional use. Moving to Fuji would free some cash up.
Given the Sony price rises it might be a good time to cash in and move to Fuji too.
However I'm worried I may miss the Sony IQ hence why I may keep both systems at a push and just sell some of my Sony gear instead.

I have looked extensively at the images taken with Fuji XT-1 on the Internet and for general family non-paid use it will be fine, especially with the lovely Fuji film mode.

Will think about it further before deciding for definite.
 
Why not go for a Sony A6xxx and then you can use any lenses you keep?

Personally I'm probably happy with MFT but I like having the luxury of the Sony and to be honest I'm usually too tight to buy top end gear so the Sony is a treat :D
 
woof woof said:
Why not go for a Sony A6xxx and then you can use any lenses you keep?

Personally I'm probably happy with MFT but I like having the luxury of the Sony and to be honest I'm usually too tight to buy top end gear so the Sony is a treat :D
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I could do but what lured me to Sony originally was the sensor etc, as it stands the Fuji XT-2 is looking a tasty option with really good crop designed Fujinon lenses.
 
I think that one issue with the A6xxx series is that although there are some very nice lenses and some perfectly good ones too generally they aren't... sexy... but if you were to mainly use A7 series FF lenses the sexiness comes back? Yes?

A couple of things put me off the Fuji... the mushy file issue / maybe having to use different software and not being able to shoot raw at the higher ISO's. These niggles may be fixed with the very latest cameras, I don't know but I'm still left with the thought that the Fuji is piggy in the middle lacking the lovely file sexiness of my A7 whilst having (arguably) similar bulk whilst not being able to match MFT for compactness.

I think that the Fuji system is attractive but for me if falls into no mans lad between MFT and the A7. I like having my A7 and MFT and I use them to what I see as their strengths, A7 for quality and luxury and old manual lenses and MFT for compactness and areas I don't want to take my A7.

As a one camera system only though, I think that an APS-C system can make a lot of sense and until the A7 came along I did think that I'd be perfectly happy with an APS-C system.

I can see how it could make sense if you want to free up cash but in your position personally I'd go for the A6xxx but I can see how the handling and oldie camera style of the Fuji can appeal.

Good luck choosing.
 
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Rizvan said:
I could do but what lured me to Sony originally was the sensor etc, as it stands the Fuji XT-2 is looking a tasty option with really good crop designed Fujinon lenses.
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Even with the standard 18-55, the XT-2 is £1600 so not exactly bargain territory.

I'm with Woof Woof and would suggest an A6K to go alongside one of your A7's to cover all bases. Also, a crop sensor is perfectly able to shoot weddings/portraits/events too so you'd still have a 2 camera setup if you did get photo work coming in.
 
Agree with other the a7x with a a6xxx is a very good combination. The backbone of my setup is am a7rii and a a6000. I only have the 10-18mm crop lens the rest being full frame (a mix of adapted and native). This works well for me and gives me a huge rmage of options.
 
While the a6000 on paper is a really excellent camera, I found it to be an absolute dog of a camera to use.
I really wanted to like it. It made sense to have one in my bag while I had a lot of Sony glass and an a7rii.

But for me the experience of using it wasn't a pleasant one. The evf is a is very muddy. The Fuji Xt-10 is leagues above it in that regard. It also wins first prize for ugly looks. The design doesn't appeal to me and also the lack of a second dial was a pain and stopped me using it. I wish they would have done more with the a6300 to address this.

I have made a full switch from a7rii and Zeiss glass to Fuji. I know that may seem daft to some- going from 42mp full frame to 16mg crop. I bought an xt1 and shot it alongside my a7rii. Once I got that hang of the Fuji I was finding the difference in real world quality was negligible. Obviously if cropping a lot the Sony would win hands down, but those shots that were framed correctly - well they are good enough for me.

I then found that the benefits of the Fuji system far outweighed those of the Sony. I sold my a7rii for £2,000 net. i bought a load of quality Fuji gear with that money and once I moved on the Sony glass I had money left in my pocket for an xt2.

Even though I had quite expensive Zeiss glass I've found myself priced out of the Sony system. I want a good 24-70, 85, and the best 70-200 that the system offers. I'm not sure of the prices for all those three Sony offerings but ill guess that's around 5k. So looking at what I could get in the Fuji line up for less than that and how good they were it became a no brainier to make the move.

I shot a wedding at the weekend all Fuji and it went brilliantly. I have another this Saturday and one more the following Sunday. I have full confidence that I can do what I need to with the Fuji system.

This is not a Sony bash at all. I really enjoyed shooting with the Sony system but I think I've found one that works better for me at a fraction of the cost.

Happy shooting.
 
I'm inclined to agree with the above regarding the good Sony glass and pricing.
If I was continuing with professional photography then I'd probably stick with the Sony's and cough up for the GM lenses but I'm sticking with IT for now.
That said I've seen plenty of professionals using Fuji, I never print out my work and always down sample from 42mp in post.
I'm hoping/probably to get my money back on the A7RII's bodies which is a very healthy budget towards making a move into something like a XT-2, which will most likely give me the results for casual / hobby / family.
I'm no stranger to Fuji and when it comes to ergonomics, GUI and firmware improvements and I firmly believe they are ahead, Sony's A9 will hopefully address these but at what cost? £3500 body only?
That said I could still decide to keep one A7RII with a prime or two and trial out the XT-1/2.
I've not entirely gelled with the A7RII's when it comes to its GUI but there is no denying it has one of the best FF sensors on the market.

Choices choices......... :)
 
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The beauty is that you can't take a bad photograph with any modern kit. Anyone that blames the kit is covering for their own mistakes. It all comes down to ergonomics and the system as a whole so go for whatever works for you.

My only comment regarding the A6K is that there are two dials, the one on the top plate and the rear dial which are configured independently. Whilst there isn't a front dial I've never (personally) found it an issue as I shot weddings and portraits on a Canon 40D/5D mk1 for a few years and never found it a problem with them either.
 
stevelmx5 said:
The beauty is that you can't take a bad photograph with any modern kit. Anyone that blames the kit is covering for their own mistakes. It all comes down to ergonomics and the system as a whole so go for whatever works for you.

My only comment regarding the A6K is that there are two dials, the one on the top plate and the rear dial which are configured independently. Whilst there isn't a front dial I've never (personally) found it an issue as I shot weddings and portraits on a Canon 40D/5D mk1 for a few years and never found it a problem with them either.
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I came from Nikon so were used to front and rear dials. The a7 cameras are like this - so for me it would have been great if the a6000 had both in the same design.
 
addicknchips said:
I have made a full switch from a7rii and Zeiss glass to Fuji. I know that may seem daft to some- going from 42mp full frame to 16mg crop. I bought an xt1 and shot it alongside my a7rii. Once I got that hang of the Fuji I was finding the difference in real world quality was negligible. Obviously if cropping a lot the Sony would win hands down, but those shots that were framed correctly - well they are good enough for me.
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I think there's a lot of truth in this and that anything from 1" sensors and above or maybe even smaller is fine much of the time for example my old Micro Four Thirds Panasonic G1 takes fantastically good images that stand up well to 100% pixel peeping on screen and my sister recently showed me her holiday snaps taken with some Sony JPEG only compact I'd never heard of and they looked fantastic on screen, even the night time shots but there are caveats and exceptions and the conditions may need to be not too challenging for the system, DR, ISO and the rest, and pixel peeping and massive crops are less good. It's the law of diminishing returns and if you can indeed fill the frame and not push the envelope too much then the more important things are handling and how you feel about the system and the look you're after and if you're happy then that's all that matters.

Having said all that you'll have to prise my A7 and 35 and 55mm lenses from my cold dead hands as the kit can give just lovely pictures :D
 
I have found the Sony system expensive say compared with Canon and the list price of some of the glass is mind blowing.

I am lucky as my glass needs are not that taxing as say f2.8 or wider is not needed for what I enjoy I do print a fair bit just bought an Epson sc-p600 and the pixels are plenty at A3+

I would kind of like the A7r2 for the option of more cropping only thing is the cost is high for a hobby that as much as I would love doing more seems to get much less time than I would like.

I have been looking at used prices of the mk2 on the bay and cost of changing is a big dollop of cash my personal worry is the huge depreciation on any body that is even bigger on non Canon or Nikon systems. I think it was Chris who mentioned people will still look at used and look for purchase at prices reflected last year it's tough paying more for used than people probably paid new.

I notice many like the Fuji system for myself as I have Sony I could see no real benefit and I do really prefer full frame for landscape

As Alan often points out buying manual focus glass for special projects is an option with the Sony indeed used Canon L glass can be bought relatively cheap as in non IS 70-200mm sub £400 and my old favourite the 24-105mm f4 is excellent

So long story short will stick with the Sony system might be tempted for the r2 but not at £2k +
 
border_all said:
I have found the Sony system expensive say compared with Canon and the list price of some of the glass is mind blowing.

I am lucky as my glass needs are not that taxing as say f2.8 or wider is not needed for what I enjoy I do print a fair bit just bought an Epson sc-p600 and the pixels are plenty at A3+

I would kind of like the A7r2 for the option of more cropping only thing is the cost is high for a hobby that as much as I would love doing more seems to get much less time than I would like.

I have been looking at used prices of the mk2 on the bay and cost of changing is a big dollop of cash my personal worry is the huge depreciation on any body that is even bigger on non Canon or Nikon systems. I think it was Chris who mentioned people will still look at used and look for purchase at prices reflected last year it's tough paying more for used than people probably paid new.

I notice many like the Fuji system for myself as I have Sony I could see no real benefit and I do really prefer full frame for landscape

As Alan often points out buying manual focus glass for special projects is an option with the Sony indeed used Canon L glass can be bought relatively cheap as in non IS 70-200mm sub £400 and my old favourite the 24-105mm f4 is excellent

So long story short will stick with the Sony system might be tempted for the r2 but not at £2k +
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I personally would avoid Fuji for landscape work. It just doesnt deal with foliage as well as Bayer.
 
twist said:
I personally would avoid Fuji for landscape work. It just doesnt deal with foliage as well as Bayer.
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Thanks Twist certainly landscape is my main pleasure and I have found af perfect for my dog shots, very tempted for trying motocross with the A7 again not very fussed if I have several that don't nail focus I would just take extra shots and use delete key :D
 
border_all said:
Thanks Twist certainly landscape is my main pleasure and I have found af perfect for my dog shots, very tempted for trying motocross with the A7 again not very fussed if I have several that don't nail focus I would just take extra shots and use delete key :D
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Just stop down the lens and youll have more in focus (y)
 
Results may sometimes be small but photography is as much as about the joy/pleasure then specs.

If you enjoy shooting on camera A even if its lesser specs or more specs or more pricier/bad value for money compared to Camera B then stick with what you feel gives you a smile every time you pick up the camera.

i have not used my Canon for a while and even when i was in Peru, most of my shots where taken on the a7r2.

anyways enough gear talk, lets post more pics shall we?

peru_2016_sony-1292.jpg by Jonathan Richards, on Flickr

peru_2016_sony-1395.jpg by Jonathan Richards, on Flickr

peru_2016_sony-1511-Pano.jpg by Jonathan Richards, on Flickr

peru_2016_canon-1033.jpg by Jonathan Richards, on Flickr

peru_2016_canon-1047.jpg by Jonathan Richards, on Flickr
 
woof woof said:
I think there's a lot of truth in this and that anything from 1" sensors and above or maybe even smaller is fine much of the time for example my old Micro Four Thirds Panasonic G1 takes fantastically good images that stand up well to 100% pixel peeping on screen and my sister recently showed me her holiday snaps taken with some Sony JPEG only compact I'd never heard of and they looked fantastic on screen, even the night time shots but there are caveats and exceptions and the conditions may need to be not too challenging for the system, DR, ISO and the rest, and pixel peeping and massive crops are less good. It's the law of diminishing returns and if you can indeed fill the frame and not push the envelope too much then the more important things are handling and how you feel about the system and the look you're after and if you're happy then that's all that matters.

Having said all that you'll have to prise my A7 and 35 and 55mm lenses from my cold dead hands as the kit can give just lovely pictures :D
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Was sick in my mouth when handing over the 55 Zeiss in the post office.
 
border_all said:
So long story short will stick with the Sony system might be tempted for the r2 but not at £2k +
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I might be tempted to a new camera at some point but everytime I think I am I try and think what's wrong with my A7 and the answer is very little.

For someone like me who likes the 35/50mm-ish FoV in a compact package I think that the A7 is very hard to beat and impossible to beat at the price point if you want t throw old manual focus lenses into the mix as the only other option for now is Leica.

The one thing I find myself most tempted to is new manual lenses as you can do away with the adapter or at least reduce its size and have a more compact package. The downside is that lovely though the Voigtlanders and the rest are they're quite expensive and I do get a kick out of using an old lens that's cheap and looks like it's seen a bit of life, just like me really :D
 
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