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

Ebay, Ireland based seller called Kocha or something. 10% discount and my nectar points give me the full monty.
 
steveclem said:
Ebay, Ireland based seller called Kocha or something. 10% discount and my nectar points give me the full monty.
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I think that retailer are actually based in china. It's says Ireland, but when you click further their location shows as China. May or may not be important to you.
 
addicknchips said:
I think that retailer are actually based in china. It's says Ireland, but when you click further their location shows as China. May or may not be important to you.
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They're all built in the same place, regardless. Not sure why it would matter if it came from Ireland or Mozambique, tbh.
 
Off topic a bit but I heard someone say Sony don't actually make their cameras or lenses, just the sensors. Is that true does anyone know?
 
ohms12 said:
They're all built in the same place, regardless. Not sure why it would matter if it came from Ireland or Mozambique, tbh.
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Really? Well, if it says Ireland you may expect delivery in a day or two. Coming from china it may arrive in 2 days or it may arrive in 2 weeks. Again coming from Mozambique the delivery may take a little longer than Ireland also.

I regularly buy grey and don't have a problem with it. But where I buy from clearly state where it's coming from. As I said, may or may not be an issue to the buyer,but one should know where something is coming from.
 
Robintaylor said:
Off topic a bit but I heard someone say Sony don't actually make their cameras or lenses, just the sensors. Is that true does anyone know?
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I don't know if Sony make every camera and lens but they certainly make some. There was a widely used link to one of their factories recently...

http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/watc...built-scratch-factory-thailand/#disqus_thread

As you can see they seem to be mostly manually assembling components and modules, these will probably be made here, there and everywhere. The lack of automation surprised me a bit but thinking about it this is what we've seen in other camera and lens manufacturing videos.

PS.
Just on "made."
Many people would imagine that a "thing" is made from scratch but that's rarely if ever the case and there are many many things which are assembled rather than made. Components and modules arrive from multiple different suppliers and are assembled into a finished product. Some of these components and modules will also be mostly or totally hand assembled like the camera in the vid but some will be made on highly automated lines where individual components are loaded onto machines which then do the biz.
 
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addicknchips said:
Really? Well, if it says Ireland you may expect delivery in a day or two. Coming from china it may arrive in 2 days or it may arrive in 2 weeks. Again coming from Mozambique the delivery may take a little longer than Ireland also.

I regularly buy grey and don't have a problem with it. But where I buy from clearly state where it's coming from. As I said, may or may not be an issue to the buyer,but one should know where something is coming from.
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I've looked up that eBay user before - whilst they are based in China, their products are indeed dispatched from Ireland (hence their 3 day delivery estimate). And going by the 99.5% feedback that user has, I'd expect it to be a lot lower if it were genuinely taking weeks to arrive.

Wouldn't worry about it too much, going by that.
 
I wouldn't worry too much about where it's from.

It would be nice to be able to support a local deal but for many of us those days are long gone. The last thing I bought locally was my Panasonic LF1 compact camera from Argos but sadly none of my Sony A7 or Panasonic or Olympus MFT kit has been bought locally as there isn't anyone to buy it from.
 
ohms12 said:
I've looked up that eBay user before - whilst they are based in China, their products are indeed dispatched from Ireland (hence their 3 day delivery estimate). And going by the 99.5% feedback that user has, I'd expect it to be a lot lower if it were genuinely taking weeks to arrive.

Wouldn't worry about it too much, going by that.
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(y)
 
Thoughts on the best glass for Manual focusing, mainly aimed at Alan as I know he has a few old manual lenses.
Are the Canon FD's actually any good, or should I look at some older Zeiss glass etc?
 
Hi,

All I have is Minolta Rokkor 24 and 28mm f2.8, 35mm f1.8, 50mm f1.2 and f1.4, 85mm f2 and 135mm f2.8 and a Sigma 50mm macro in Minolta fit also a Tokina 70-210mm.
Olympus Zuiko 24 and 28mm f2.8, 50mm f1.4 and f1.8, 85mm f2 and 135mm f3.5.
Canon FD 28mm f2.8, 50mm f1.4 and 85mm f1.8.

I went for these as they're relatively cheap and easy to find but honestly I think that the third party options from Sigma and the like in any of these mounts are worth looking at if you find a bargain. For example I've seen the Camera manufacturers branded 24mm lenses going for around the £100 mark but third party lenses going for £20-30.

All of the lenses I have are acceptable for whole images but not up to competing with a good quality modern lens. Where there's a difference the Rokkors are the best when it comes to sharpness and lack of blooming/CA etc. The differences with the lenses I have are with the 24, 50 f1.4 and 85mm lenses and in each case the Rokkors are the best. The Oly lenses are good and the 24 and 28mm f2.8's and 50mm f1.8 are very compact and very attractive for that. I'd say that the FD's I have are between the Rokkors and Zuikos for optical quality.

Any of these would be fine for me and the only real differences are with the 50 f1.4 and 85mm lenses at their widest apertures. Actually my favourite at the moment is the Rokkor 50mm f1.2 which I initially wrote off as rubbish but I've come to like it not because it's a technically good lens as I think it's technically quite poor but I just like the look it gives :D If you've set your heart on FD's I can recommend the only ones I've tried which are the 28mm f2.8, 50mm f1.4 and 85mm f1.8. They are IMO good enough :D

The likes of Zeiss may be better but no doubt more expensive and if I was going to spend more than the mass market Rokkors, Zuikos and FDs cost I think I'd look at the Voigtlanders as I think they look lovely.

And a PS just in case it matters.
I think these old lenses do well on my A7 especially in the centre of the frame and they can actually be so sharp I find it hard to believe they old film era lenses :D However, mount them on something with a smaller sensor like my Panasonic MFT cameras and they don't shine quite so much as they have to work just that little bit harder.
 
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Biggest drawback with the FD's is the lack of a "Stop down" or "Preview" lever as built into some other makes. This may or may not be a problem depending on your work routines.
Me, I often forget to stop down or open up! Hard to notice as my camera adjusts the viewfinder brightness automatically.
As to this make or that make of lens, remember the're 40 or more years old and used. The individual lens's condition is MUCH more important than make and pedigree.
 
Stumpy said:
Biggest drawback with the FD's is the lack of a "Stop down" or "Preview" lever as built into some other makes. This may or may not be a problem depending on your work routines.
Me, I often forget to stop down or open up! Hard to notice as my camera adjusts the viewfinder brightness automatically.
As to this make or that make of lens, remember the're 40 or more years old and used. The individual lens's condition is MUCH more important than make and pedigree.
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I've got two FD's - 28mm and 135mm (both f/2.8 I think, the 135mm might be 3.5), a Helio 44-2 58mm f/2 and a Vivitar Series 1 90mm f/2.5

I seldom use the 135, partly the focal length, but it also doesn't have much character, so it's not particularly sharp, but also doesn't really add anything that makes me want to use it. Nice enough to use though, focuses smoothly and quickly.
The 28mm I just got as I wanted something wide - but not really had a chance to use it in anger yet. Very easy to focus, but wangles generally are.

I had a great day out with the Helios yesterday - love it. From 5.6 it's VERY sharp, and before then it's acceptably sharp and obviously has the characteristic swirly bokeh which makes it so popular. Loses lots of contrast at f/2 but in a strangely pleasant way. Quite a lot of focus cranking from one extreme to the other, but this does mean fine tuning is easier as you're not making micro adjustments.

Also in love with the Vivitar - crazy sharp, crisp to use. The images are as well rendered as a modern lens IMO unless you point it at the sun. Pics coming soon!
 
woof woof said:
Hi,

All I have is Minolta Rokkor 24 and 28mm f2.8, 35mm f1.8, 50mm f1.2 and f1.4, 85mm f2 and 135mm f2.8 and a Sigma 50mm macro in Minolta fit also a Tokina 70-210mm.
Olympus Zuiko 24 and 28mm f2.8, 50mm f1.4 and f1.8, 85mm f2 and 135mm f3.5.
Canon FD 28mm f2.8, 50mm f1.4 and 85mm f1.8.

I went for these as they're relatively cheap and easy to find but honestly I think that the third party options from Sigma and the like in any of these mounts are worth looking at if you find a bargain. For example I've seen the Camera manufacturers branded 24mm lenses going for around the £100 mark but third party lenses going for £20-30.

All of the lenses I have are acceptable for whole images but not up to competing with a good quality modern lens. Where there's a difference the Rokkors are the best when it comes to sharpness and lack of blooming/CA etc. The differences with the lenses I have are with the 24, 50 f1.4 and 85mm lenses and in each case the Rokkors are the best. The Oly lenses are good and the 24 and 28mm f2.8's and 50mm f1.8 are very compact and very attractive for that. I'd say that the FD's I have are between the Rokkors and Zuikos for optical quality.

Any of these would be fine for me and the only real differences are with the 50 f1.4 and 85mm lenses at their widest apertures. Actually my favourite at the moment is the Rokkor 50mm f1.2 which I initially wrote off as rubbish but I've come to like it not because it's a technically good lens as I think it's technically quite poor but I just like the look it gives :D If you've set your heart on FD's I can recommend the only ones I've tried which are the 28mm f2.8, 50mm f1.4 and 85mm f1.8. They are IMO good enough :D

The likes of Zeiss may be better but no doubt more expensive and if I was going to spend more than the mass market Rokkors, Zuikos and FDs cost I think I'd look at the Voigtlanders as I think they look lovely.

And a PS just in case it matters.
I think these old lenses do well on my A7 especially in the centre of the frame and they can actually be so sharp I find it hard to believe they old film era lenses :D However, mount them on something with a smaller sensor like my Panasonic MFT cameras and they don't shine quite so much as they have to work just that little bit harder.
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Thank you for that wealth on information. This is a completely new area to me, and you;ve kind of given me a big jump up, and saved a lot of research time.

I'm not set on Canon FD, I had a Canon previous to my A7II and weirdly have a little loyalty, although it's probably more familiarity.

Minolta Rokkor, I can certainly have a look into, are these a direct fit, or is an adapter still required for the Rokkors?

I'd love a Voigtlander, as it has that uniqueness like the Zeiss glass, although, I do agree, it starts getting into Sony Native Glass Money quickly.

Thank you again for your feedback!
 
Ashburner said:
Minolta Rokkor, I can certainly have a look into, are these a direct fit, or is an adapter still required for the Rokkors?
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You're more than welcome.

The Minolta Rokkors need an adapter just like the FD's do but the good news is that these adapters are all the same sort of price so you can pay sub £10 for an evil bay special up to the region of £100 for a Novoflex. I don't know if any actually cost more than the Novoflex :D

Just one more thing on the Monilta Rokkors just in case they catch your eye. The latter MD's tend to have better coatings than the earlier MC's and actually I'd say that the coatings are much better and worth any extra cost over an MC. Some of the earlier MC's are however simply lovely metal things so having one that's lovely to look at and use may make up for the lack of contrast and extra sensitivity to flare etc.

I used to have a 55mm f1.7 MC and it was lovely but my sister has it now and all my Minolta lenses are now the later MD's.

And yet another PS.
With the better lenses like the Zeiss and the Voigtlanders be they old film era lenses or new ones the cost does go up and you could probably/certainly get a nice set of three or four FD's, Zuiko's or Rokkor's for the price of just one of the more expensive lenses and that three or four lens set could be pretty much all you'll need. For example, 28mm f2.8, 50mm f1.8 and either 85 or 135mm could be yours for something like £80-150 depending on what you go for, more expensive lenses like 24mm, 50mm f1.4 or 135mm f2.8 will bump the price up a bit more.
 
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woof woof said:
You're more than welcome.

The Minolta Rokkors need an adapter just like the FD's do but the good news is that these adapters are all the same sort of price so you can pay sub £10 for an evil bay special up to the region of £100 for a Novoflex. I don't know if any actually cost more than the Novoflex :D

Just one more thing on the Monilta Rokkors just in case they catch your eye. The latter MD's tend to have better coatings than the earlier MC's and actually I'd say that the coatings are much better and worth any extra cost over an MC. Some of the earlier MC's are however simply lovely metal things so having one that's lovely to look at and use may make up for the lack of contrast and extra sensitivity to flare etc.

I used to have a 55mm f1.7 MC and it was lovely but my sister has it now and all my Minolta lenses are now the later MD's.
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Yeah the MD's I've heard are better, so thank you for confirming.
Is it normal for the 24mm MD's to be around the £100/120 mark, this struck me as expensive in relation to a 28mm FD at around £40?
Thank you
 
Ashburner said:
Thank you for that wealth on information. This is a completely new area to me, and you;ve kind of given me a big jump up, and saved a lot of research time.

I'm not set on Canon FD, I had a Canon previous to my A7II and weirdly have a little loyalty, although it's probably more familiarity.

Minolta Rokkor, I can certainly have a look into, are these a direct fit, or is an adapter still required for the Rokkors?

I'd love a Voigtlander, as it has that uniqueness like the Zeiss glass, although, I do agree, it starts getting into Sony Native Glass Money quickly.

Thank you again for your feedback!
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http://www.rokkorfiles.com/Lens History.html

great site for them
I got the 50 F1.4 and the 135mm F2.8 built like tanks i use the neewar Adaptor from amazon works a treat very solid and metal fixings.
 
Ashburner said:
Yeah the MD's I've heard are better, so thank you for confirming.
Is it normal for the 24mm MD's to be around the £100/120 mark, this struck me as expensive in relation to a 28mm FD at around £40?
Thank you
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Yup you can pay that but you might find one for less and third party bargains crop up now and again, anything wider than 24mm tends to get rare and expensive.

The bargains tend to be the 50mm f1.7/1.8, 28mm f2.8 and 135mm f2.8/3.5 as these seem to have been the main mass market lenses of the day. Prices do seem to be rising with the popularity of CSC's and some lenses like the 35mm f2.8 and f1.8, 85mm and faster 50mm's seem to have shot up.

There are also 45 and 50mm f2's that crop up and are sometimes cheap but personally I think the 50mm f1.7/1.8's are cheap enough. I'd also recommend the 35mm f2.8 and f1.8 if you find one at a good price.

Ffordes sometimes get unused FD's in. At mo they're got some 24mm...

http://www.ffordes.com/category/Lenses/Canon/FD

Or you could buy my FD's :D

Ffordes have a Zuiko 55mm f1.2 for £299! A bit steep... My Minolta 50mm f1.2 didn't cost anything like that.
 
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Thank you again for more advice,
At this stage I need a wide angle prime, I'm not bothered whether its Manual Focus or not, but it needs to be cheap. I wanted the 28mm Sony FE. but I can't afford £250ish for this at the moment.

Id love your set, but I wouldn't like to invest in a full set up incase I cannot get into it at all, and I love my Zeiss 55mm so much! Would you split the 28mm and adaptor?
 
Manual focus isn't for everyone. A while ago someone was impressed with the image quality I get from my Zuiko's and bought the lot there and then but he brought them back within a week as he couldn't focus manually.

Soz but I don't want to split as I'm worried about having stuff left that I can't use.
 
MF is a doddle on the A7, I can't see anybody having issues with it, as long as they fully understand the meaning of the term "manual focus".
 
steveclem said:
MF is a doddle on the A7, I can't see anybody having issues with it, as long as they fully understand the meaning of the term "manual focus".
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I think the problem is that some people manage function in the world but seem only partly conscious.
 
Durbs said:
I had a great day out with the Helios yesterday .... Quite a lot of focus cranking from one extreme to the other, but this does mean fine tuning is easier as you're not making micro adjustments.
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Yeah those Helios are great for very fine focus, and mine has half-aperture-stops too ... I think.
I lot of lens for no money at all.
 
twist said:
Why isn't it called the Sony alpha thread?
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It may be one day... but not forever.

I like to change it from time to time, a change is as good as a rest.. have a bit of fun with it... etc etc.
 
ohms12 said:
Why isn't this called the Fuji thread?
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It may be one day... but not forever... and it may be one day because of the amount of time Fuji owners spend in here. Isn't there a Fuji thread somewhere on the net???? It would seem not or maybe Fuji owners come here because I keep changing the thread name?
 
I'll be missing from next Wednesday as we'll be tootling around Thailand but might have some pictures when we get back and of course there's the possibility of a new camera sometime this month so we might stay on page one as there'll be lots of comments to look forward to about it being too expensive, no smaller than a DSLR and why Fuji's are better...

:D
 
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