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

2.0 firmware on a7 ii is awesome as it is on a7rii
 
manualfocus-g said:
That is exactly how I felt with the a7 when I had it. I just didn't like shooting with it at all - the specs were all there, it was light, but basics just didn't work for me and output never lived up to the hype. To me it felt like Sony had crammed loads of tech into a small body but didn't make any effort to make it all fit together properly, like a camera should. Maybe this has changed with the a7II series.
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Yup. I can sort of see how you could take these views apart from the image quality criticisms as I think it's very good (kicks the a**e of any Fuji file I've downloaded) and certainly the best from any camera I've ever owned. It's the repeated comments on forums about disconnection and computers that I don't understand. To me the A7 is no more a computer and no more disconnecting than my G1 (actually I think the G1 is possibly the best handling camera I've ever owned, stick an A7 chip and EVF in it and it'd be a dream) or GX7 or any of my Canon DSLR's. I do honestly wonder if the people making these comments would be making them if the badge on the front wasn't Sony but one of the more established and accepted camera companies, Canon or Nikon.

It could be because I spend my working life with technology and gadgets but honestly, apart from the EVF which I now prefer to an OVF because of the advantages offered I don't see how an A7 is any more a computer than a 5D is. With the 5D I changed aperture, shutter and ISO with a combination of buttons and dials, I set the metering and other stuff with buttons and dials and I pressed a button to focus and shoot and it's just the same with the A7. I don't get the difference that makes one a camera and the other a disconnected computer.

Anyway... enough of my bafflement and on with the A7 series stuff...
 
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a dslr feels more mechanical and mirror sound more satisfying and giving that feel too.

I feel that difference with a77 vs trying a random dslr.

the a77 is the better tool for most things with the evf and features and body layout and front curtain shutter.
 
I would say they are marketed at different areas though tbh... the gap between mirror less and dslr is shrinking rapidly imho no camera is perfect it is just some suit others better than others
 
chrism_scotland said:
It's all opinion and everyone's viewpoint is different, I can see why folk would think anything with an EVF is more "computery" than a traditional OVF I guess.
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Yup but for me CSC's are actually more involving. When I shoot with one I'm much more involved in the process than when I shoot with a DSLR or even an SLR because I have more information, zebras, peaking, blinkies, the magnified view and in view histogram... these things make me more connected with the process. With an OVF I'm looking through a slightly murky window and in a worst case scenario almost in effect hoping for the best.
 
Darn, just missed out on a special offer, could have bagged a new A7R II with 2 years UK warranty for £1999 from LCE. Tut [emoji20]
Anybody know when the next batch of Batis lenses land in the UK?
 
I think they've underestimated demand... but isn't there one for sale in the classified section here????

To be honest I'm surprised it didn't sell on day one.
 
FYI they wouldn't sell me the extra warranty for the 1999 a7rII he wanted 50 quid extra... Not that I'm bothered saved myself 600 woooot, all gone now I believe
 
littleted said:
FYI they wouldn't sell me the extra warranty for the 1999 a7rII he wanted 50 quid extra... Not that I'm bothered saved myself 600 woooot, all gone now I believe
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I'm gutted I missed out, they are back up to £2599 but they are throwing in the Sony battery grip and 2 years warranty.

ukdigital have the body only for £2399 with 5 years warranty.
 
Enjoying using the A7ii but I've decided to pass up on investing in Canon EF lenses and am selling on the Metabones adaptor, the only focal ranges I was seriously considering covering with Canon were ultra-wide and perhaps a telephoto (as the 70-200 FE is quite pricey) but given that the size of the Canon 16-35 f4 I'm going to pass on that, I do have to say though that I think the capability to use EF glass on these things is fantastic if you already have some Canon kit.

I've ordered a Loxia 35 f2 as I never liked the 35/2.8 and as much as I'm sure I'd love the 35 f1.4 I can't see myself lugging it around so a nice MF Zeiss will do nicely!

A little torn about the wide end, I really, really, really like the look of the Loxia 21 f2.8 especially as at wide angle I tend to be on a tripod so manual focus isn't a drama, it also looks like it has super IQ from the examples online, that said a used 16-35/4 is only around £600-650 so its around £300 less than Loxia 21 (I have one one pre-order with a 10% discount!)

My aims with investing in the A7ii is really for me to enjoy my photography more and focus more on the actual shooting instead of kit, that's one of the reasons I've been looking at the manual focus Loxia's, I always feel a little more involved in the image process when you have to actually focus the lens - it also helps that the Loxia's are very compact which will help me carry them!
 
chrism_scotland said:
My aims with investing in the A7ii is really for me to enjoy my photography more and focus more on the actual shooting instead of kit, that's one of the reasons I've been looking at the manual focus Loxia's, I always feel a little more involved in the image process when you have to actually focus the lens - it also helps that the Loxia's are very compact which will help me carry them!
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Have you considered the Voigtlanders? To me they look beautiful and pretty much exactly what a lens should look like.

I've only ever owned two, the 25mm f0.95 for MFT and a 35mm I had on my Bessa. I do regret selling both but especially the 35mm.
 
was told by a friend if your not worried about autofocus get a leica m lens and u wont ever be disappointed
 
yep unfortunately that is a big downside for some people :-(
 
owenb said:
yep unfortunately that is a big downside for lots of people :-(
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ftfy

Ive owned the 90mm f2 cron, was alright, good optics, nice build. And not all of them cost a fortune, the problem I have with them is that they arent AF and there are very good AF lenses out there for far less.
 
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woof woof said:
Have you considered the Voigtlanders? To me they look beautiful and pretty much exactly what a lens should look like.

I've only ever owned two, the 25mm f0.95 for MFT and a 35mm I had on my Bessa. I do regret selling both but especially the 35mm.
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I might take a look at the "new" emount Voigtlanders which are being released soon, 15mm looks nice!
 
twist said:
ftfy

Ive owned the 90mm f2 cron, was alright, good optics, nice build. And not all of them cost a fortune, the problem I have with them is that they arent AF and there are very good AF lenses out there for far less.
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yep totally agree for me the af is important hence I haven't a lot of people do rave about them.... they aren't for me
 
are there any wide fe mount lenses with af though?
 
owenb said:
is the mitakon 0.95 as awesome as people say?
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Its very good, difficult to focus though.... peaking doesnt work, I used to focus by eye and then magnify. Slightly moving subject wide open, no chance.
 
the peaking doesn't work is a big downside I would imagine that's a bummer
 
owenb said:
the peaking doesn't work is a big downside I would imagine that's a bummer
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Im not a huge fan of peaking because its hit and miss unless youre at about f2-f2.8, takes just as long for me to magnify and get it where I want it.
 
I suppose at 0.95 it would be hard to peak anyways
 
owenb said:
I suppose at 0.95 it would be hard to peak anyways
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Renders nicely when you do get it in focus though, the price tag is debatable though, based purely on it being a limited use lens. (No AF, stupid fast aperture, heavy)
 
I guess compared to the zeiss 55 with af although aimed at a different market it would be hard to justify in my case
 
owenb said:
I suppose at 0.95 it would be hard to peak anyways
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I find that the wider the aperture the easier it is to use peaking as at wide apertures almost nothing peaks but at smaller apertures everything does.

I've often wondered why peaking wont work with some lenses as it works with all of my manual lenses, Minolta Rokkor, Sigma and Tokina Rokkor fit, Olympus Zuiko and Canon FD.
 
owenb said:
yeah interested to find out why myself actually
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It does work, just poorly, theres so little shimmer, in a sense the faster lenses are easier, but it gets to a point (f0.95) where theres a pixel or two only shimmering. At that wafer thin dof its easier to see the sharp edges in the EVF (of say eye lashes). Ive never really had an issue focusing lenses manually through an EVF or OVF though. And the magnification helps if you have the time.

e.g. f1.4 is a piece of cake in comparison with peaking. Probs why some users dont have issues.
 
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@owenb Id probably be more inclined to try a Voigtlander 35mm 1.2 next time round and use a Zeiss 55 AF option.
 
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