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

simonbarker said:
As in a gel stick? I like the idea but there have been some reviewers that managed to damage their sensor with one so it's made me a little reluctant.
Click to expand...

There was an issue with the original gel sticks on sony sensors, and Eyelead brought out a sony friendly version - I have the sony version but haven’t used it yet, I find wet cleaning simple and effective.
 
david357 said:
There was an issue with the original gel sticks on sony sensors, and Eyelead brought out a sony friendly version - I have the sony version but haven’t used it yet, I find wet cleaning simple and effective.
Click to expand...

Wasn’t aware of this and mine is a good 4 years old? It was ok on my 750 (Sony sensor)
 
I plan on some wildlife photography next year, so a long zoom is on the cards for me. I was looking at the sigma 150-600 lenses, then the sony 100-400, and now the sigma 60-600. The new sigma is getting brilliant reviews, but the sony is about a kg lighter it seems, very sharp, and works well with converters if needed.
Any opinions? (The sony price is considerably better grey)
 
It is quicker to clean a dirty sensor than to remove multiple sensor spots from dozens of images!
 
Get the Sony. AF alone is worth the extra.
You don't have good AF with the sigma at the long end

david357 said:
I plan on some wildlife photography next year, so a long zoom is on the cards for me. I was looking at the sigma 150-600 lenses, then the sony 100-400, and now the sigma 60-600. The new sigma is getting brilliant reviews, but the sony is about a kg lighter it seems, very sharp, and works well with converters if needed.
Any opinions? (The sony price is considerably better grey)
Click to expand...
 
Livin The Dream said:
Thanks for this, worth knowing.

Are mirrorless cameras more susceptible to dust than dslr’s? I don’t go looking for it and don’t bother unless I see an issue. Who cleans regularly?
Click to expand...

There is no mirror on a mirrorless camera so the sensor is open to dust every time you change lenses.
 
The normal SLR has a mirror in front of the sensor which reduces the chance of dust getting in when changing lenses.
You can minimise dust by being careful when changing - e.g point camera downwards and if possible use a blower on everything before you start.
Sooner or later specs will still get in, common sticky spots is pollen and skin flakes which make up a lot of house dust.
 
Livin The Dream said:
Thanks for this, worth knowing.

Are mirrorless cameras more susceptible to dust than dslr’s? I don’t go looking for it and don’t bother unless I see an issue. Who cleans regularly?
Click to expand...

Kinda.

Same amount of dust will get in, but no mirror in the way, so more likely to get dust on the sensor where on a DSLR it would just go onto the mirror.
 
rob-nikon said:
Yep have an iPhone. the only cable I don't have is this one.
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:facepalm:
Serves you right. Now go sit in the corner and think about what you have done.

Seriously though it's worth buying a decent USB cable anyway. Most cameras use these. I believe Amazon basics used to do a decent one. Have a look.
 
nandbytes said:
Get the Sony. AF alone is worth the extra.
You don't have good AF with the sigma at the long end
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Thanks, you have this lens don’t you? Are you happy with it? I think Steven sk66 has the new sigma and is pleased?
Looking at specs the sigma weighs 2.7kg, the sony weighs 1.4kg. I know it isn’t as long, but the converter won’t add too much weight.
 
david357 said:
Thanks, you have this lens don’t you? Are you happy with it? I think Steven sk66 has the new sigma and is pleased?
Looking at specs the sigma weighs 2.7kg, the sony weighs 1.4kg. I know it isn’t as long, but the converter won’t add too much weight.
Click to expand...

Yep the sharpest telezoom I have used. If were to adapt I'd go for the a-mount 70-400mm because of the 70mm end. That's still my favourite telezoom.

Sigma from what I have seen wth the 100-400 and 150-600 just don't adapt very well. The AF is barely reliable in AF-S and not at all useable in AF-C past 250mm.
In contrast the Sony 100-400 is darn good. I'll post a seaseque of shots I took of heron in flight tonight. It didn't post them because the shots aren't great photographically but the bird is in sharp focus.
 
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david357 said:
There is no mirror on a mirrorless camera so the sensor is open to dust every time you change lenses.
Click to expand...

4wd said:
The normal SLR has a mirror in front of the sensor which reduces the chance of dust getting in when changing lenses.
You can minimise dust by being careful when changing - e.g point camera downwards and if possible use a blower on everything before you start.
Sooner or later specs will still get in, common sticky spots is pollen and skin flakes which make up a lot of house dust.
Click to expand...

KitsuneAndy said:
Kinda.

Same amount of dust will get in, but no mirror in the way, so more likely to get dust on the sensor where on a DSLR it would just go onto the mirror.
Click to expand...

Completely understand that of course, but dust just gets everywhere, regardless. Maybe I’ll go looking for it a little more than I did.
 
david357 said:
I plan on some wildlife photography next year, so a long zoom is on the cards for me. I was looking at the sigma 150-600 lenses, then the sony 100-400, and now the sigma 60-600. The new sigma is getting brilliant reviews, but the sony is about a kg lighter it seems, very sharp, and works well with converters if needed.
Any opinions? (The sony price is considerably better grey)
Click to expand...
Hi, I would like to give you my take on this question, I owned the Sony 100-400 and it was indeed excellent in all respects but even with the 1.4 converter it just did not give me the reach that I required, I had read many conflicting reports about the Sigma 150-600 on Sony cameras so I decided the only way to tell if it worked or not was to get one and try it myself, to minimise any loss should it not work I bought used, the lens, Mc-11, the dock, and a 1.4 converter were all bought used at a considerable saving, with everything including my A7111 updated to the latest firmware I found it worked very well indeed even with the 1.4 which surprised me, I was happy enough with it to sell the Sony lens and I have not regretted it, I should emphasise that this is with the A7111 on latest firmware I know this will not apply to all the Sony models, the Sony lens is sharper and the AF is quicker but the difference is small, my conclusion is if 400mm is long enough or indeed 560mm at F.8 go for the Sony you will not regret it The Sigma I bought is the sport version and the only downside I can find is that it weighs as much as a small car, no doubt some one will be along soon to tell me how wrong I am but this is my experience.
 
Livin The Dream said:
Are mirrorless cameras more susceptible to dust than dslr’s? I don’t go looking for it and don’t bother unless I see an issue. Who cleans regularly?
Click to expand...

I can't recall having visible dust in my photos with a Nikon over 2-3 years of use but with the Sony it happened almost immediately, to date I've been running the cleaning routine and giving it a blast from a rocket which has worked fine but for some reason the last session had a lot of dust in all the shots.

DSLR was so much less hassle in this regard, not the end of the world of course but annoying I've had to go from not worrying about it to needing a routine.
 
Sold my D750 and just a couple of lenses to shift before i make the leap to the a7iii and sigma 35mm. Just realised that the a7iii doesn't come with a charger and you have to charge in camera... annoying :(

Had a brief boiler scare today, so need to buy it asap before the misses claims the funds :D
 
old bloke said:
Hi, I would like to give you my take on this question, I owned the Sony 100-400 and it was indeed excellent in all respects but even with the 1.4 converter it just did not give me the reach that I required, I had read many conflicting reports about the Sigma 150-600 on Sony cameras so I decided the only way to tell if it worked or not was to get one and try it myself, to minimise any loss should it not work I bought used, the lens, Mc-11, the dock, and a 1.4 converter were all bought used at a considerable saving, with everything including my A7111 updated to the latest firmware I found it worked very well indeed even with the 1.4 which surprised me, I was happy enough with it to sell the Sony lens and I have not regretted it, I should emphasise that this is with the A7111 on latest firmware I know this will not apply to all the Sony models, the Sony lens is sharper and the AF is quicker but the difference is small, my conclusion is if 400mm is long enough or indeed 560mm at F.8 go for the Sony you will not regret it The Sigma I bought is the sport version and the only downside I can find is that it weighs as much as a small car, no doubt some one will be along soon to tell me how wrong I am but this is my experience.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your take on it, I do appreciate all opinions.

My initial steer was to the sigma 150-600 sport. It is for use on my A7R3, so the camera is up to spec for it, it is the weight of the sport that bothers a bit, at 2.7kgs, whereas the sony is 1.4kgs.which is a sizeable difference!
 
simonbarker said:
I can't recall having visible dust in my photos with a Nikon over 2-3 years of use but with the Sony it happened almost immediately, to date I've been running the cleaning routine and giving it a blast from a rocket which has worked fine but for some reason the last session had a lot of dust in all the shots.

DSLR was so much less hassle in this regard, not the end of the world of course but annoying I've had to go from not worrying about it to needing a routine.
Click to expand...

Just checked mine and was ok, though a couple of spots removed with the artic butterfly.

Haven’t used the in camera cleaning yet either. Always think they’re pretty poor, where’s the dust tray for emptying? [emoji3]
 
-markie- said:
Sold my D750 and just a couple of lenses to shift before i make the leap to the a7iii and sigma 35mm. Just realised that the a7iii doesn't come with a charger and you have to charge in camera... annoying :(

Had a brief boiler scare today, so need to buy it asap before the misses claims the funds :D
Click to expand...

yeah rather silly they skimp on the charger of all things!
 
david357 said:
Thanks for your take on it, I do appreciate all opinions.

My initial steer was to the sigma 150-600 sport. It is for use on my A7R3, so the camera is up to spec for it, it is the weight of the sport that bothers a bit, at 2.7kgs, whereas the sony is 1.4kgs.which is a sizeable difference!
Click to expand...

I used to the have the 120-300 Sport and the issue I found was balance. Due to thesis the weight is all on the front (lens support) hand which made it difficult to operate the zoom and support the lens. For this reason I switched to the FE100-400, it feels much better and easier to operate. I see you have the A7Riii, so you can also switch to crop mode for 18mp @ 600mm and thats before you add TC's
 
david357 said:
Thanks for your take on it, I do appreciate all opinions.

My initial steer was to the sigma 150-600 sport. It is for use on my A7R3, so the camera is up to spec for it, it is the weight of the sport that bothers a bit, at 2.7kgs, whereas the sony is 1.4kgs.which is a sizeable difference!
Click to expand...
I also have the AR3 and the AF is not quite as quick as the A73 but there is very little in it, it doesn't work with the 1.4 but as Chris pointed out the crop mode on the R is first class which makes up for that.
 
david357 said:
There was an issue with the original gel sticks on sony sensors, and Eyelead brought out a sony friendly version - I have the sony version but haven’t used it yet, I find wet cleaning simple and effective.
Click to expand...

I have a Sony one. It's a different colour to the 'standard' ones but I can't recall which..... lol I've not used it yet though.....
 
simonbarker said:
Oh it is but it also locks the sensor in place to make it easier to clean.
.
Click to expand...

I always use the camera's in-body sensor clean first, then I wet clean the sensor before switching the camera off, this holds the sensor steady while you clean it.

If you don't do this, it's like trying to wipe a jelly!!
 
I cleaned the sensor today (Sony A7 III)

Bought the camera brand new approximately a month ago and recently I noticed some spots and dust on the sensor. Usually I am very careful when I change lenses, but it could happen.

I was not sure that I could manage to do it by myself, but it appears to be a relatively easy procedure.

Before:
KAL03437-1600x1066.jpg


and After:
KAL03438-1600x1066.jpg


Used this kit:
( https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pixel-Pe...l-Frame-Cameras-12-x-Swabs-Fluid/122192776062 ) and quite happy that was so easy.
 
Because the dust is on the sensor, my settings is normally like Aperture priority, iso 100, f/16 and then point it somewhere white and wave it around as much as possible.

Because that way you know every dot is dust on sensor, not dust on the wall.

If you are shooting the same thing twice dead still...well, you get the idea.
 
david357 said:
I plan on some wildlife photography next year, so a long zoom is on the cards for me. I was looking at the sigma 150-600 lenses, then the sony 100-400, and now the sigma 60-600. The new sigma is getting brilliant reviews, but the sony is about a kg lighter it seems, very sharp, and works well with converters if needed.
Any opinions? (The sony price is considerably better grey)
Click to expand...
Wildlife is my main photographic interest. When I got into the Sony system I had both the 100-400 GM and tc and also the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary with MC-11 adapter. As mentioned the Sigma combo didn't cut the mustard with AF, I was very disappointed as the Sigma was a brilliant lens and I was quite prepared to return the 100-400. Instead it was the Sigma that went.

More recently it seems that firmware updates to the MC-11 have resulted in this AF problem being addressed although I have read that it is still not a complete solution. A poster I know on another forum has produced some excellent results with his Sigma with new firmware but has now moved on to the 100-400 combo and is even more satisfied and producing even better shots with many more keepers.

Using adapted lenses appears never to be as completely satisfying as using native ones but we all can only cut our cloth etc. The 100-400 with tc works beautifully for me on my A7R3 which is just as well as there is no way I could afford the 400mm prime. It's relatively light and compact enough to fit into my shoulder bag for casual use.
 
footman said:
Wildlife is my main photographic interest. When I got into the Sony system I had both the 100-400 GM and tc and also the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary with MC-11 adapter. As mentioned the Sigma combo didn't cut the mustard with AF, I was very disappointed as the Sigma was a brilliant lens and I was quite prepared to return the 100-400. Instead it was the Sigma that went.

More recently it seems that firmware updates to the MC-11 have resulted in this AF problem being addressed although I have read that it is still not a complete solution. A poster I know on another forum has produced some excellent results with his Sigma with new firmware but has now moved on to the 100-400 combo and is even more satisfied and producing even better shots with many more keepers.

Using adapted lenses appears never to be as completely satisfying as using native ones but we all can only cut our cloth etc. The 100-400 with tc works beautifully for me on my A7R3 which is just as well as there is no way I could afford the 400mm prime. It's relatively light and compact enough to fit into my shoulder bag for casual use.
Click to expand...

Thanks Laurence, that is just what I need to hear right now, I had come round to the decision that the Sony was the lens I wanted, and was bracing myself to spend some serious money on one, when one appeared in the classifieds last night.

WE have agreed a deal and I am just about to transfer funds, so should get my new toy in time to play with over the Christmas break. Opinions generally are that the lens works extremely well with the Sony bodies (as it should do, it's native!), and I will look for a 1.4 tc which will almost fill the gap to the Sigma's 600mm. I read somewhere that there is a Clear View Zoom (or similar?) that gives a good digital boost to the files?

Thanks again, Merry Christmas.
 
photosample said:
I cleaned the sensor today (Sony A7 III)

Bought the camera brand new approximately a month ago and recently I noticed some spots and dust on the sensor. Usually I am very careful when I change lenses, but it could happen.

I was not sure that I could manage to do it by myself, but it appears to be a relatively easy procedure.

Before:
KAL03437-1600x1066.jpg


and After:
KAL03438-1600x1066.jpg


Used this kit:
( https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pixel-Pe...l-Frame-Cameras-12-x-Swabs-Fluid/122192776062 ) and quite happy that was so easy.
Click to expand...

Is that sensor damage or an insect on the sensor that shows before and after cleaning Kalin?

On a new camera I would be very worried.
 
david357 said:
Is that sensor damage or an insect on the sensor that shows before and after cleaning Kalin?

On a new camera I would be very worried.
Click to expand...
I thought the same but it's a centering mark on a sheet of paper.
Hopefully ...:LOL:
 
4wd said:
I thought the same but it's a centering mark on a sheet of paper.
Hopefully ...:LOL:
Click to expand...
Ah, you could be right.

I always have the lens set at f22, out of focus, and the camera constantly moving, taking a shot of a white wall, so that the only sharp objects on the image will be those on the sensor.
 
david357 said:
Thanks Laurence, that is just what I need to hear right now, I had come round to the decision that the Sony was the lens I wanted, and was bracing myself to spend some serious money on one, when one appeared in the classifieds last night.

WE have agreed a deal and I am just about to transfer funds, so should get my new toy in time to play with over the Christmas break. Opinions generally are that the lens works extremely well with the Sony bodies (as it should do, it's native!), and I will look for a 1.4 tc which will almost fill the gap to the Sigma's 600mm. I read somewhere that there is a Clear View Zoom (or similar?) that gives a good digital boost to the files?

Thanks again, Merry Christmas.
Click to expand...
Excellent move David, you will enjoy it. In my opinion the 1.4 converter does not affect the quality of images. Using f8 with the tc is a bit of a bind but the Sony sensor copes with the high ISO admirably, I regularly take wildlife shots at 12800 ISO. Merry Christmas to you too.
 
david357 said:
Ah, you could be right.

I always have the lens set at f22, out of focus, and the camera constantly moving, taking a shot of a white wall, so that the only sharp objects on the image will be those on the sensor.
Click to expand...

That's how I do it, with a shutter speed low enough to give something like a 2 second or more exposure just to make sure that no features or marks on the target are visible in the picture.
 
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david357 said:
Is that sensor damage or an insect on the sensor that shows before and after cleaning Kalin?

On a new camera I would be very worried.
Click to expand...

Just centering mark with pen.
Next time will try as the others suggested longer exposure.
Hope next time will not be soon though :)
 
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