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

woof woof said:
There are other examples of f2.x and higher prices, like Leica. Some of their moderate aperture lenses cost a bomb.

I don't tend to like bigger kit so these lenses do interest me but as I already have the 35mm f2.8 I can't see myself buying one. If that 35mm f2.8 didn't exist I'd have one of these new compact lenses or a Sigma alternative in a flash. The 35mm f2.8 is by far my most used AF lens.
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Me too, I have a samyang 35mm f2.8 (AF) which I bought for £140 on this forum if I remember well. And it is my "normal lens".
 
woof woof said:
I have a number of film era 35mm f2.8's and the Sony 35mm f2.8 is far better than any of them. Ditto those nifty 50's of the past with few if any of them being thought of as anything other than poor in comparison with modern lenses.

I can see I'm in a minority on this one but I do also think some of you are living in the past and have unreal expectations. I don't think a f2.x has to be a budget lens and the competition that exists, the similar Sigma range, isn't significantly cheaper plus not all those 35mm f2.8's were exactly bargains even back then once you adjust for inflation.

As above. If I didn't have the 35mm f2.8 I'd have one of these new compact f2.x's either from Sony or Sigma as they transform the system from something I'd think was sometimes too intrusive and too bulky to bother with into something that I'll be happy to use more often.
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I don't understand why primes, in particular the 'nifty 50' have to be so big these days. If it's due to getting the absolute best IQ I'd certainly sacrifice a bit of edge sharpness for a lens that is lighter and more compact. The problem with the f2.8 lenses for me is the relative lack of subject isolation. Granted not every shot needs shallow DOF, however one of the benefit of primes for me is to have this option.
 
LeeRatters said:
I bought one of those on here too. I think I took 3 'test' shots with it. My boy borrowed it and I haven't had it in my hands since :ROFLMAO:
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I don't really know if it's any good or better than other but for my hobbyist use it does the job in a compact form.
3 photos taken with the samyang f2.8 this weekend on hoy, near the old man of hoy at the top of moor fea.

20210925-hoy-DSC04743 by Thomas, sur Flickr

20210925-hoy-DSC04805-HDR by Thomas, sur Flickr

20210925-hoy-DSC04817-HDR by Thomas, sur Flickr
 
Went to take photos at Battersea Power Station today and had my first and hopefully last accident. I tripped on a step and ended up on the concrete on my back. I wasn't hurt and a woman came to see if I was ok. I said thanks, I'm fine, I'm more worried about my camera! Fortunately I had it on my wrist strap or it could have been much worse. Of course it had to happen with the most expensive of my 3 lenses attached, the Sony 70-350mm. But the lens is fine, just the hood got grazed. More upsetting is a bottom corner of the camera got grazed and took the black paint off back to the metal. Fortunately the Manfrotto plate was attached which also took some damage but no doubt protected more of the camera base. The LCD screen then said 'camera error, turn off and on again'. I did that but it didn't do anything or get rid of the message. So I removed the battery and reinserted it and all was fine after, everything is still working perfectly!


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20210928-205431.jpg

20210928-205624.jpg
 
Merlin5 said:
Went to take photos at Battersea Power Station today and had my first and hopefully last accident. I tripped on a step and ended up on the concrete on my back. I wasn't hurt and a woman came to see if I was ok. I said thanks, I'm fine, I'm more worried about my camera! Fortunately I had it on my wrist strap or it could have been much worse. Of course it had to happen with the most expensive of my 3 lenses attached, the Sony 70-350mm. But the lens is fine, just the hood got grazed. More upsetting is a bottom corner of the camera got grazed and took the black paint off back to the metal. Fortunately the Manfrotto plate was attached which also took some damage but no doubt protected more of the camera base. The LCD screen then said 'camera error, turn off and on again'. I did that but it didn't do anything or get rid of the message. So I removed the battery and reinserted it and all was fine after, everything is still working perfectly!


20210928-205356.jpg


20210928-205431.jpg

20210928-205624.jpg
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oh dear! I'm glad you are ok and good that your camera gear survived too. Wouldn't worry too much about the body they are like cars they depreciate in value over time and will gather a few scratches here and there.
Lens hood while not great isn't the worst either, your lens itself is the main value holder so glad that survived without any scratches.
 
nandbytes said:
oh dear! I'm glad you are ok and good that your camera gear survived too. Wouldn't worry too much about the body they are like cars they depreciate in value over time and will gather a few scratches here and there.
Lens hood while not great isn't the worst either, your lens itself is the main value holder so glad that survived without any scratches.
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Thanks nandbytes. It certainly made me realise these bodies are built pretty strong. I just hate having dings. First I noticed two dings on my car a few days ago and now this. It makes everything feel scruffy, lol. Do you think there's a type of black paint I could use to make it look a little better?
 
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Good to hear you are ok Lee and your gear is still working ok even with a few scars :(
 
Merlin5 said:
Thanks nandbytes. It certainly made me realise these bodies are built pretty strong. I just hate having dings. First I noticed two dings on my car a few days ago and now this. It makes everything feel scruffy, lol. Do you think there's a type of black paint I could use to make it look a little better?
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yes they are pretty sturdy.
As for the paint, not that I know off Lee. I think they use some kind of flocked material or plastic not sure painting will do it much good.
 
Merlin5 said:
Went to take photos at Battersea Power Station today and had my first and hopefully last accident. I tripped on a step and ended up on the concrete on my back. I wasn't hurt and a woman came to see if I was ok. I said thanks, I'm fine, I'm more worried about my camera! Fortunately I had it on my wrist strap or it could have been much worse. Of course it had to happen with the most expensive of my 3 lenses attached, the Sony 70-350mm. But the lens is fine, just the hood got grazed. More upsetting is a bottom corner of the camera got grazed and took the black paint off back to the metal. Fortunately the Manfrotto plate was attached which also took some damage but no doubt protected more of the camera base. The LCD screen then said 'camera error, turn off and on again'. I did that but it didn't do anything or get rid of the message. So I removed the battery and reinserted it and all was fine after, everything is still working perfectly!


20210928-205356.jpg


20210928-205431.jpg

20210928-205624.jpg
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Glad you’re ok. As others have said don’t worry about the scratches, as annoying as they are initially you learn to accept them. Plus, having battle scarred gear is more pro innit ;)
 
snerkler said:
Glad you’re ok. As others have said don’t worry about the scratches, as annoying as they are initially you learn to accept them. Plus, having battle scarred gear is more pro innit ;)
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Thanks Toby. I guess a lot, perhaps even most togs have a gear accident at some point. Haha, you're right, it is more pro. :D
 
LeeRatters said:
I know someone who dropped an A1 and 85GM last week..... luckily no real damage!
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You know what Lee, I was just thinking about how devastating it would be to own an A1 and drop it! Thank goodness his survived. (y)
 
Ive never updated the firmware in my A7Riii so thought id do it this evening. Unfortunately, that plan was ruined. I tried and tried and couldn't get it to work, so I dug a little deeper on the Sony Support site, and it appears that Macs using Apple Silicon aren't supported...great...cheers :banghead:

You probably know this already...

Looks like ill have to steal my Daughters Windows laptop tomorrow and do it from that. First World problems I know, but its annoying. First issue I've had with the M1 MacBook Pro to be fair though.
 
Nikon_Nick said:
Ive never updated the firmware in my A7Riii so thought id do it this evening. Unfortunately, that plan was ruined. I tried and tried and couldn't get it to work, so I dug a little deeper on the Sony Support site, and it appears that Macs using Apple Silicon aren't supported...great...cheers :banghead:

You probably know this already...

Looks like ill have to steal my Daughters Windows laptop tomorrow and do it from that. First World problems I know, but its annoying. First issue I've had with the M1 MacBook Pro to be fair though.
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I don't think it's just a silicon issue as I seem to recall someone having an issue with an Intel OSX machine as the firmware updater only supported specific OSX versions. I think putting a file on the card and updating in camera just makes so much more sense as that way the process is entirely independent of OS, there's no risk of the cable being disconnected and it avoids any issues with user's PCs.
snerkler said:
I don't understand why primes, in particular the 'nifty 50' have to be so big these days. If it's due to getting the absolute best IQ I'd certainly sacrifice a bit of edge sharpness for a lens that is lighter and more compact. The problem with the f2.8 lenses for me is the relative lack of subject isolation. Granted not every shot needs shallow DOF, however one of the benefit of primes for me is to have this option.
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Funnily enough I was thinking the same recently as I dug out my old D750 to use the 50mm F1.4G which is a neat little lens. Although I was a bit shocked how much of a dinosaur the D750 felt compared the A9.
 
JohnMcL7 said:
Funnily enough I was thinking the same recently as I dug out my old D750 to use the 50mm F1.4G which is a neat little lens. Although I was a bit shocked how much of a dinosaur the D750 felt compared the A9.
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The canon's was tiny too, it's an example of an area where mirrorless aren't the smaller lighter alternative to DSLR. 50mm f1.4's, 778g vs 290g.

Screenshot 2021-09-29 at 07.49.01 2.png
 
This is comparing apples with oranges, the modern fast lenses we have available are sharper, have much less optical distortion and CA correction (and flare resistance) compared to lenses of the past. Yes smaller lenses can be made, but these have the same compromises of the older lenses, though these days lens coatings makes them much more flare resistant.
 
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snerkler said:
The canon's was tiny too, it's an example of an area where mirrorless aren't the smaller lighter alternative to DSLR. 50mm f1.4's, 778g vs 290g.

View attachment 331579
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Canon EF 50/1.4 isn't exactly a great lens. Didn't really like it's rendering much either. The Sony/Minolta 50mm f1.4 rendered very nicely but wasn't all that sharp either.
Nikon F 50mm/1.4 seemed to be sharpest of the bunch but still not great. Didn't really have it long enough to form an opinion as I had to return it due to fungus.

Zeiss 50 and also the sigma art 50/1.4 in comparison are really sharp lenses corner to corner from wide open
 
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Mr Perceptive said:
This is comparing apples with oranges, the modern fast lenses we have available are sharper, have much less optical distortion and CA correction (and flare resistance) compared to lenses of the past. Yes smaller lenses can be made, but these have the same compromises of the older lenses, though these days lens coatings makes them much more flare resistant.
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nandbytes said:
Canon EF 50/1.4 isn't exactly a great lens. Didn't really like it's rendering much either. The Sony/Minolta 50mm f1.4 rendered very nicely but wasn't all that sharp either.
Nikon F 50mm/1.4 seemed to be sharpest of the bunch but still not great. Didn't really have it long enough to form an opinion as I had to return it due to fungus.

Zeiss 50 and also the sigma art 50/1.4 in comparison are really sharp lenses corner to corner from wide open
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Yep totally get this, is the price we pay to get optical 'perfectness'. However, as I said previously I'd rather sacrifice a bit of IQ for something lighter and more portable. With modern materials and techniques I would have thought we could make something with decent optics that's not as heavy and bulky as current lenses.

Is the Sony 50mm f1.4 ZA really that bad? The f1.2 GM gets rave reviews yet wide open it's not as sharp as the ZA according to this. Admittedly stopped down to F1,4 the GM is sharper, but not by much in the centre.
www.the-digital-picture.com

Sony FE 50mm F1.4 ZA Lens Image Quality

View the image quality delivered by the Sony FE 50mm F1.4 ZA Lens using ISO 12233 Resolution Chart lab test results. Compare the image quality of this lens with other lenses.
www.the-digital-picture.com www.the-digital-picture.com
 
snerkler said:
Yep totally get this, is the price we pay to get optical 'perfectness'. However, as I said previously I'd rather sacrifice a bit of IQ for something lighter and more portable. With modern materials and techniques I would have thought we could make something with decent optics that's not as heavy and bulky as current lenses.

Is the Sony 50mm f1.4 ZA really that bad? The f1.2 GM gets rave reviews yet wide open it's not as sharp as the ZA according to this. Admittedly stopped down to F1,4 the GM is sharper, but not by much in the centre.
www.the-digital-picture.com

Sony FE 50mm F1.4 ZA Lens Image Quality

View the image quality delivered by the Sony FE 50mm F1.4 ZA Lens using ISO 12233 Resolution Chart lab test results. Compare the image quality of this lens with other lenses.
www.the-digital-picture.com www.the-digital-picture.com
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Well they managed to make a f1.2 lens the same size as f1.4 lens ;)
if you were expecting a smaller f1.4 lens (like say sigma 85mm/1.4 DN) then I think you will be in for a disappointment since everyone on the internet now want f1.2 primes for some reason.
But we at least have smaller f1.4 options for 35mm and 85mm (both of which I own).

during its time Zeiss was one of the sharpest if not these sharpest 50mm. The copy I had was pretty good too.
My feelings about this lens is along the lines of this review
dustinabbott.net

Sony Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 Planar T* Review - DustinAbbott.net

Sony Zeiss Planar 50mm f/1.4 T* Review | Photographer Dustin Abbott shares a thorough, real-world review of the premium Sony Planar 50 lens - a truly special optic!
dustinabbott.net dustinabbott.net

50mm is just not my thing so I sold it and now with high res bodies I'll just crop in from 35mm f1.4 if I really need that 50mm.
 
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JohnMcL7 said:
I don't think it's just a silicon issue as I seem to recall someone having an issue with an Intel OSX machine as the firmware updater only supported specific OSX versions. I think putting a file on the card and updating in camera just makes so much more sense as that way the process is entirely independent of OS, there's no risk of the cable being disconnected and it avoids any issues with user's PCs.

Funnily enough I was thinking the same recently as I dug out my old D750 to use the 50mm F1.4G which is a neat little lens. Although I was a bit shocked how much of a dinosaur the D750 felt compared the A9.
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I came from the D750 to the A9 and certainly notice the size/weight difference but I have to admit that the D750 AF tracking was outstanding even compared to the A9. Shame it didn't have eye-AF though. My D750 had a bad habit of slightly overexposing sometimes but the dynamic range was good. It also had that annoying 1/4000 error thing but a quick press of the shutter removed it.
 
It looks a bit chunky and festooned with switches and buttons but somehow good :D

Super news: Tamron 35-150mm f/2.0-2. preorders will open within 48hours. Shipments starts on October 28! | sonyalpharumors

Within 48h we should be able to place our preorder on the following new Tamron lenses: 35-150mm at BHphoto. 28-75mm II at BHphoto. Nokis***a also reports that both new lenses will start shipping out on October 28. All images we have so far of the new 35-150mm FE lens:
www.sonyalpharumors.com www.sonyalpharumors.com

Anyone interested?

When I got my first DSLR, a Canon 300D, my first lens was a Sigma 28-300mm. It wasn't the best lens ever made but it did make a nice day out and holiday lens and I think that Tamron would too.
 
woof woof said:
It looks a bit chunky and festooned with switches and buttons but somehow good :D

Super news: Tamron 35-150mm f/2.0-2. preorders will open within 48hours. Shipments starts on October 28! | sonyalpharumors

Within 48h we should be able to place our preorder on the following new Tamron lenses: 35-150mm at BHphoto. 28-75mm II at BHphoto. Nokis***a also reports that both new lenses will start shipping out on October 28. All images we have so far of the new 35-150mm FE lens:
www.sonyalpharumors.com www.sonyalpharumors.com

Anyone interested?

When I got my first DSLR, a Canon 300D, my first lens was a Sigma 28-300mm. It wasn't the best lens ever made but it did make a nice day out and holiday lens and I think that Tamron would too.
Click to expand...

My first visual impression was a dislike of all the switches!
 
woof woof said:
It looks a bit chunky and festooned with switches and buttons but somehow good :D

Super news: Tamron 35-150mm f/2.0-2. preorders will open within 48hours. Shipments starts on October 28! | sonyalpharumors

Within 48h we should be able to place our preorder on the following new Tamron lenses: 35-150mm at BHphoto. 28-75mm II at BHphoto. Nokis***a also reports that both new lenses will start shipping out on October 28. All images we have so far of the new 35-150mm FE lens:
www.sonyalpharumors.com www.sonyalpharumors.com

Anyone interested?

When I got my first DSLR, a Canon 300D, my first lens was a Sigma 28-300mm. It wasn't the best lens ever made but it did make a nice day out and holiday lens and I think that Tamron would too.
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Not a lens that I'd be interested in, made worse by the fact it stops down very quickly.
 
snerkler said:
Not a lens that I'd be interested in, made worse by the fact it stops down very quickly.
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its does stop down quickly but its not like its a slow lens.
given its size, I'd have a preferred a 35-150mm f2.8 if they could have kept the size down to match 70-180mm
 
snerkler said:
Not a lens that I'd be interested in, made worse by the fact it stops down very quickly.
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I once looked at a Sigma 17-70mm years ago and that surprised me by stopping down as soon as you even thought about moving the zoom ring. This is disappointing but at least you do have the maximum aperture available at the widest end. That's better than nothing :D
 
A question for you...

fstoppers.com

What Is the Best Camera and Lens Combination for Portraits? | Fstoppers

If you’re pondering the perfect combination of camera body and lens for shooting portraits, check out this series of suggestions for budgets ranging from $1,000 all the way through to $10,000. What would you go for? Chris Niccolls from DPReview TV has put together his list of ideas of what would...
fstoppers.com fstoppers.com

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2exky5AnqnQ


As a 35mm is normally pretty much my go to lens that'd be pretty high on my list as I normally like people pictures with some context. 85mm+ may be popular with some for the perspective and possibly the elimination or at least reduction of background? I'm not usually a great fan of minimal dof people pictures preferring the whole head to be in the dof, once in a while they're ok but mostly I'll want to stop down.

Other than that a while back I compared all my film era 50mm lenses by pointing them at a bemused Mrs WW and decided that the Takumar 50mm f1.4 was the best for out of the camera look and colours followed by the Olympus Zuiko 50mm f1.4. I'd forgotten what a nice lens that is, it's not sharp across the frame from wide open IMO but it gives a nice look.

So, Sony 35mm f1.8 or f2.8 or Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 for me followed by a 50mm or my Sony 85mm f1.8. I have a picture of Mrs WW framed taken with the Sony 85mm f1.8 and one taken with the Sony 35mm f2.8 printed out waiting to be framed. Actually one of my favourite people pictures was taken with a Minolta Rokkor 135mm f2.8, no context though.

I don't think the camera matters to me but I'd like it to be FF.

What are you're favourite people pictures taken with?
 
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Been out to take a dedicated landscape photo today, first time in ages.

[

A9_06286 by TDG-77, on Flickr
 
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woof woof said:
A question for you...

fstoppers.com

What Is the Best Camera and Lens Combination for Portraits? | Fstoppers

If you’re pondering the perfect combination of camera body and lens for shooting portraits, check out this series of suggestions for budgets ranging from $1,000 all the way through to $10,000. What would you go for? Chris Niccolls from DPReview TV has put together his list of ideas of what would...
fstoppers.com fstoppers.com

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2exky5AnqnQ


As a 35mm is normally pretty much my go to lens that'd be pretty high on my list as I normally like people pictures with some context. 85mm+ may be popular with some for the perspective and possibly the elimination or at least reduction of background? I'm not usually a great fan of minimal dof people pictures preferring the whole head to be in the dof, once in a while they're ok but mostly I'll want to stop down.

Other than that a while back I compared all my film era 50mm lenses by pointing them at a bemused Mrs WW and decided that the Takumar 50mm f1.4 was the best for out of the camera look and colours followed by the Olympus Zuiko 50mm f1.4. I'd forgotten what a nice lens that is, it's not sharp across the frame from wide open IMO but it gives a nice look.

So, Sony 35mm f1.8 or f2.8 or Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 for me followed by a 50mm or my Sony 85mm f1.8. I have a picture of Mrs WW framed taken with the Sony 85mm f1.8 and one taken with the Sony 35mm f2.8 printed out waiting to be framed. Actually one of my favourite people pictures was taken with a Minolta Rokkor 135mm f2.8, no context though.

I don't think the camera matters to me but I'd like it to be FF.

What are you're favourite people pictures taken with?
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Im with you on this, 35 is definitely my go to lens. If in ever in a position of not being sure what to take I'll just stick the 35 on.
It's why after lots of looking around and some jokes in here in actually considering the 35mm GM rather than the Voigtlander.
 
woof woof said:
A question for you...

fstoppers.com

What Is the Best Camera and Lens Combination for Portraits? | Fstoppers

If you’re pondering the perfect combination of camera body and lens for shooting portraits, check out this series of suggestions for budgets ranging from $1,000 all the way through to $10,000. What would you go for? Chris Niccolls from DPReview TV has put together his list of ideas of what would...
fstoppers.com fstoppers.com

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2exky5AnqnQ


As a 35mm is normally pretty much my go to lens that'd be pretty high on my list as I normally like people pictures with some context. 85mm+ may be popular with some for the perspective and possibly the elimination or at least reduction of background? I'm not usually a great fan of minimal dof people pictures preferring the whole head to be in the dof, once in a while they're ok but mostly I'll want to stop down.

Other than that a while back I compared all my film era 50mm lenses by pointing them at a bemused Mrs WW and decided that the Takumar 50mm f1.4 was the best for out of the camera look and colours followed by the Olympus Zuiko 50mm f1.4. I'd forgotten what a nice lens that is, it's not sharp across the frame from wide open IMO but it gives a nice look.

So, Sony 35mm f1.8 or f2.8 or Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 for me followed by a 50mm or my Sony 85mm f1.8. I have a picture of Mrs WW framed taken with the Sony 85mm f1.8 and one taken with the Sony 35mm f2.8 printed out waiting to be framed. Actually one of my favourite people pictures was taken with a Minolta Rokkor 135mm f2.8, no context though.

I don't think the camera matters to me but I'd like it to be FF.

What are you're favourite people pictures taken with?
Click to expand...

I prefer 85mm or even 100mm for people shots unless its indoors where I prefer to use 35mm or even 24mm sometimes.
I'd say my split is 70% 85mm prime and 20% 35mm and 10% others.
85mm is really my most used prime, I made the mistake of selling it once, never again!

If I am travelling I definitely use 35mm more than 85mm especially for the context it provides. 35mm has a lot more uses than just being a people lens for me.
Its also my walkaround lens a lot of the time and astro/landscape lens.
 
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I don't use 85mm much but a few times I have forced myself to take one out with me and I have ended up liking the results.
 
Ah, nice. I have the 35mm f1.4 which most people think is a bit rubbish but I like it. I have the 40mm f1.2 (it's on my camera at the mo) which might be similar to the 35mm f1.2? My only real criticism is ca at wide apertures. They are lovely lenses to use.
 
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