Calling all Sony Alpha users! (Part 5)

I have an ongoing dust issue, my a77 sensor (less than 2 months old) has a relentless thirst for dust to the point where spots appear during a day when I've not even removed a lens. I thought it might be due to the suction of something like the 70-300G, but days shooting with my Sigma 100-300 (which doesn't move) or Samyang 85 cause the same issues.

A rocketblower resolves things quickly, but I am concerned about how often I'm having to open and close the mirror etc. My mirror looks ok, no obvious dents or marks. My a77 will go unused for a few days then be used for 1-2000 shots in a day, it's generally mid-way though one of these days that new spots will appear.

I love the Gary Friedman book, but it's wrong about one thing...dust not being an issue for SLTs!
 
Hmm, my 77 was a pre-order so one of the first lot imported and I've only once had to clean it, I'm not to fussy about how and where I change lenses either, guess I've been lucky.
 
SussexBlue said:
Hmm, my 77 was a pre-order so one of the first lot imported and I've only once had to clean it, I'm not to fussy about how and where I change lenses either, guess I've been lucky.
Click to expand...

I had mine for a year before the upgrade to the A99, and it was only after 20,000+ shots that I started getting the dust bunnies appearing to the stage that like you John I had to clean it?
 
I wonder if it is a static electricity type thing and some mirrors are just more charged to attract dust than others?
 
It may be that the type of shots you take make the dust bunnies a lot more visible.
I rarely shoot at anything over f/11, but at the weekend I was at the Abington airshow, and trying to slow the shutter down to get prop blur in the bright afternoon sun meant I was at f/20 against a clear blue sky - and the resultant shots clearly showed a whole family of bunnies :lol: (which promptly vanished on the shots I took at f/8 to get a much higher shutter for overall sharpness).

Without the specific shots which revealed the bunnies I'd have continued to think my sensor was fine, and had no need for cleaning.
 
mirror2_zps1629ee4b.jpg


You can see the three main areas of damage (and the weird splatters) on the mirror.

mirror1_zps38e7a854.jpg


And the usual f32 shot against something white.

The sensor looks clean, so i think that leaves the mirror causing these blobs right?

If anybody owns both an a57 and an a77, could they check if it's the same mirror? I can only find a77 mirrors online. Thank you.
 
Just bought an A77 with dt 50/1.8, any reccomendations for other lenses? Budget si small but expectations high, looking at 35 and 85mm primes or the 18-135. Anyone got first hand experience of the 18-135 on an A77?
 
I think the 18-135mm is the best standard zoom for the A-mount for under £300. The best version of SAM, sharp all the way upto 135mm, good build quality and sometimes goes for under £199 on Amazon. The only negatives i've found are the distortion at 18mm (which is auto corrected in camera) and sometimes it stutters for a second when focusing (It locks on quickly, but it re-adjusts itself a few times). After a good few days comparing the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8, I picked the 18-135mm over it. Same sharpness but more reach, of course you don't have the constant app. through the zoom but for me that wasn't a problem.

There's a few refurb'd 35mm 1.8s on eBay at the moment for £135 delivered, I believe. If you're interested.
 
Soulman said:
Just bought an A77 with dt 50/1.8, any reccomendations for other lenses? Budget si small but expectations high, looking at 35 and 85mm primes or the 18-135. Anyone got first hand experience of the 18-135 on an A77?
Click to expand...

Both the "easy choice" 35/1.8 and 85/2.8 are pretty much no-brainers IMO. Cheap as chips and plenty sharp. Build quality is rubbish, of course, but at the price you really can't complain.
 
i loved my minolta 2.8 28mm prime :)
lovely feel to it, and very fast focus
 
the 18-135 punches above it's weight for the current ~£220 that it can be found for.
The 35/1.8 & 85/2.8 are great optically for the money but not as well built.

the Minolta/Sony 28/2.8 tbh is mediocre optically.
 
hmm, its 4.30 to 4.80 on dyxum reviews across 3 versions, but its not super expensive, but still 50quid plus when I last look used. Mine seemed very good on my a55
 
Thanks for the help everyone, looks like the 18-135 next then add the primes later. How good is the older Sigma 10-20 on the A77?
 
Hi guys, I posted in the basics section about this problem. Could you just clarify a few things for me.

I am trying to shoot with a wireless flash (Sony HVL-F42) using it with my a77.

When following instructions from both manuals I am taking the shot and both my pop up flash are firing and the wireless flash. Is there anyway that I can turn off the pop up flash? I have gone through the in camera settings and see that I can lower the ratio/power which I have done to 1/16 (is this correct).
Another member has said that the pop up flash fires just before to initiate the wireless flash to go off. I understand this but just wanted to make sure this was correct?

Is there another way to fire the wireless flash without the pop up going off?

Thank you!
 
The popup flash fires in order to trigger the off camera flash, this is correct and should not interfere with the final exposure. If you wish to avoid this then you'd need to use radio triggers or a sync lead.
 
I think the pop up flash may have setting info for the off camera flash, so you can't block it completely, but you could use a card stop it hitting the subject, but still getting to the other flash
 
you can also put a piece of exposed negative or similar in front of the pop up - the off-camera flash will still pick up on the non-visible wavelengths - although tbh in wireless mode the trigger flash has very little power output.
 
Last edited:
they've been doing refurbs for under £1400 the last few weeks ...
Unfortunately they go really fast :(
 
Tried my A77 and it's great, one thing though, every time I move the camera it refocuses. Any ideas why?
 
you might have it on constant auto focus, its the rotaty knob on the front bottom...

set it to af-s and then you get halfpress focus, and keep halfpressed and recompose :)
 
Sorted the af, it was eye start that makes it constantly refocus. Also found setting af/Mf button to af hold is really useful
 
I've just had a go at jigging the focus on my old A200.

I took some photos of yachts on a lake over the weekend and all but one were slightly out of focus, this was the last straw, I've never been really happy with the sharpness of the images but always put it down to crappy lenses or idiot user syndrome.

So, I printed off a focus chart, shoved my 50mm on it and took a picture, back-focused to billy-o.

I've given the screws a quarter-turn and it seems a lot better on the chart, so I'm waiting to get out again to try some real-world stuff. Fingers crossed!
 
Soulman said:
Tried my A77 and it's great, one thing though, every time I move the camera it refocuses. Any ideas why?
Click to expand...

I know it's early days, but how does it compare to the X-E1, and are you keeping the Fuji as well?
 
I'm a bit concerned that the 50mm lens is either front or backfocsing because the images are nowhere near as sharp as the ones from the fuji. Overall the camera s excellent, the vewfinder (supposedly the same as the X-E1) is much better than any other EVF I've used. Focusing seems good and the control layout already feels fairly intuitive after just a little use.

I'm going to check for lens focusing ssues and then maybe do a direct comparison in terms of IQ with the X-E1. I won't be getting rid of the fuji as I like shooting with it and the primes so much and the IQ s stunning for such a comact system.
 
you could try shooting raw and processing them, i think the alpha camera's arent so amazing in terms of jpg engine, while fuji are very good. of course you maybe already :)
 
Already shooting raw, I was out with my youngest and focusing on his eyes, most shots showed critical focus on his shoulder which was 4 or so inches in front of where I focused...
 
Soulman said:
Already shooting raw, I was out with my youngest and focusing on his eyes, most shots showed critical focus on his shoulder which was 4 or so inches in front of where I focused...
Click to expand...

Easily tested and fixed with an a77. Put it into DMF, set peaking to minimum. With the right target to aim at, you don't even need to take a shot. You can see whether the focal plane is off and adjust accordingly.
 
Soulman you may need to play with the micro focus adjust feature, all good fun!
 
My Sony 50/1.4 back focusses by a fair chunk (-6 to correct) and it requires slightly more correction at close distances. I tend to use it in DMF mode if shooting close-up.
 
Got to +20 and still not focusing properly so it went back today. Will order one, along with a 35mm, from the sony outlet
 
Not long ago had to sell our Mk1 70-400 for financial reasons, hopefully one day it will be replaced with the newer version, not that there was anything wrong with the earlier one, in fact I'd take either right now lol.
My wife Gina got this Moggy with her A580 using the 70-400, can't find the original atm to check exif but I'm pretty sure it was maxed out to full length

catw.jpg
 
Dom7 said:
Hi guys, I posted in the basics section about this problem. Could you just clarify a few things for me.

I am trying to shoot with a wireless flash (Sony HVL-F42) using it with my a77.

When following instructions from both manuals I am taking the shot and both my pop up flash are firing and the wireless flash. Is there anyway that I can turn off the pop up flash? I have gone through the in camera settings and see that I can lower the ratio/power which I have done to 1/16 (is this correct).
Another member has said that the pop up flash fires just before to initiate the wireless flash to go off. I understand this but just wanted to make sure this was correct?

Is there another way to fire the wireless flash without the pop up going off?

Thank you!
Click to expand...

I use a piece of tissue paper to reduce the impact of the on board flash- when shooting wireless - Simples :)

Les
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top