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

Charger like most new nexs is inconvenient, tip.... Get a bc-vw1. I'll get to the good stuff later, minor annoyances out the way first as most people only go on about the good.
 
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Musicman said:
Now I have one of those, and the OM 24mm f/2.8 he was using and which I've enjoyed a lot on my 5D.

Whereabouts are you in Surrey? We might arrange a little testing... :)
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Good idea - I'm in Guildford. PM me for a natter.
 
ARGH!

The Sony software is frustrating me.

Do I really have to give Adobe yet more money to get the best from this camera.

Question to all...

I really dont want to shoot jpeg or bounce in and out of the Sony software and process tiff in CS5. Is there anyrthing you guys can recommend to process raws on a pc or is the only game in town Lightroom?
 
I've not heard of anything yet. I imagine DxO, Capture One or RawTherapee may catch up in the fullness of time
 
manualfocus-g said:
Haha totally agree about the charging solution! Takes forever to get the damn thing charged :D
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Won't charge my solitary 3rd party battery at all!

manualfocus-g said:
The Zeiss Planar 85/1.4 is a bit of a beast on the tiny a7 :D


IMG_6404.jpg by <<BackToTheFuture>>, on Flickr


IMG_6405.jpg by <<BackToTheFuture>>, on Flickr
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I see your Zeiss 85mm, and raise you my Nikkor 85mm...

View attachment 1532

Makes your look factory intended!
 
woof woof said:
ARGH!

The Sony software is frustrating me.

Do I really have to give Adobe yet more money to get the best from this camera.

Question to all...

I really dont want to shoot jpeg or bounce in and out of the Sony software and process tiff in CS5. Is there anyrthing you guys can recommend to process raws on a pc or is the only game in town Lightroom?
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Latest DNG converter is here: http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/cameraraw8-3.html
 
woof woof said:
Thanks, using that now :D I checked yesterday and there was no new version of DNG and I didn't know this test version was available. I hope they update DNG the minute they stop this.
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Apparently you can still use it after it expires, but you will get a nag screen once a day.

Remember you can use the MetaRaw plugin too once when the official 8.3 DNG converter release is out. This means you don't need to use the DNG converter yourself at all, the plugin converts any RAW flies opened for you automatically and loads into camera RAW with whatever version of PS you have installed. I'm going to purchase it next year I think to use 6D and a7 files with (although I will deffo be forced to upgrade to LR 5 anyway :( ).
 
Just reporting back on raw converted to DNG and processed in CS5...

I'm impressed! For the first time I'm seeing the quality I hoped to see and I'm seeing a massive improvement on both jpegs produced from raws processed in the Sony software and jpegs produced from raws saved as tiff from the Sony software and then processed in CS5.

At the moment the only lens I've used other than the kit lens is a 50mm f1.8 Zuiko and the results are very good. I've just fired off a few test shots and I'm really impressed. The highest ISO I used was 10,000 and it's at a quality I've never seen before at 3200 even after just seconds processing, actually all I did was use the same defaults I'd use for my 5D or G1.

I'm Very Very Impressed!
 
manualfocus-g said:
Apparently you can still use it after it expires, but you will get a nag screen once a day.

Remember you can use the MetaRaw plugin too once when the official 8.3 DNG converter release is out. This means you don't need to use the DNG converter yourself at all, the plugin converts any RAW flies opened for you automatically and loads into camera RAW with whatever version of PS you have installed. I'm going to purchase it next year I think to use 6D and a7 files with (although I will deffo be forced to upgrade to LR 5 anyway :( ).
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Eh? What? :D

I've never heard of it but I'll make a note of that and look into it.

Can't thank you enough really. I was starting to wonder what I was doing wrong or that I was being too critical as everyone is enthusing and all I was getting was disappointing jpegs... and now... I think this is by far the best IQ I've had from any camera I've ever owned :D
 
woof woof said:
Eh? What? :D

I've never heard of it but I'll make a note of that and look into it.

Can't thank you enough really. I was starting to wonder what I was doing wrong or that I was being too critical as everyone is enthusing and all I was getting was disappointing jpegs... and now... I think this is by far the best IQ I've had from any camera I've ever owned :D
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Great stuff :) Yep, check out MetaRAW when you get a chance (you can do a 14 day trial but I think it defaults to DNG 8.2 at the mo, so may be better off waiting for the offical release of DNG 8.3).

This camera produces some lovely images and feels great in the hand doesn't it? And the EVF is quite simply the first one I've found to be OVF like ;)
 
Yup. There are a few things I'd change...

1. Fully articulated screen.
2. A button for switching between EVF and screen or the ability to assign that function to a c button.
3. A "My Menu" you could load with option you want.
4. Move c2 as I struggle to find and press it.
5. In Body IS.

I've just shot a 1/30 sec ISO 25,600 shot and it's perfectly usable with no heroic processing, just basic stuff.

Testing over... camera now cleared for use :D
 
woof woof said:
Yup. There are a few things I'd change...
3. A "My Menu" you could load with option you want.
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Im pretty sure you already have that option with the Fn button.
 
Well my back eased so I got to LCE to pick up my 35mm. Wow, I still think the Minolta 24-105 is surprisingly great and a fine general lens with the adapter but the 35 is something else. Was doing a pit of pixel peeping and realised I had zoomed in to 200% and not noticed. Weather was very overcast but Saturday looking good to really put it through it's paces. The lens hood is great. So small I was thinking it had been left out the package till I realised it was on the lens. So small and light that you do think, "how much?", but then again the performance seems to justify it and that last few percent of performance in anything always costs.

BTW, to concur with others the high ISO performance of the camera in general is simply stunning. Took many pictures of my daughters dance show over the weekend at 6400. I can't post as they all have lots of other girls on the photos but from the back of a total darkness town hall and dealing with stage lights I am very impressed.
 
Glad to hear the 35mm is a good lens. I'm finding myself refreshing the UPS tracking page once an hour its sad i know.
 
....I've been there.....

The first person to develop a teleporter I'll buy them a coffee..... and maybe a muffin as well.
 
I see your 85mm and raise you to 400mm 2.8 :naughty:

DSC0028-e1385074142407.jpg
 
Quick question guys if i were to adapt some Canon EF lenses to these cameras what adapter would allow the IS to function, most im seeing dont have any contacts?
 
robj20 said:
Im pretty sure you already have that option with the Fn button.
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Not quite. You get a list of things to choose from but there are many things in the set up menus that you can't select as options for the fn button. For example, screen/evf.
 
robj20 said:
Quick question guys if i were to adapt some Canon EF lenses to these cameras what adapter would allow the IS to function, most im seeing dont have any contacts?
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You can get a Metabones adapter that provides aperture and IS capability to an attached EF lens. Pricey though. Otherwise you can get a dumb adapter and your lens will be fixed to its widest aperture.
 
Not worth it then, was just thinking of using my Canon kit lens while i wait for the 24-70, even though it would be on the wide end.
 
Just received my cheapo Chinese MD to Nex adapter and it's perfectly fine. It's finished in a nice matt black and it looks lovely and all of my Rokkor lenses fit and there's no play at all between the body and adapter or lens and adapter. Compared to the Novoflex... I can see no reason to pay £100. I know that buying these things off ebay is maybe pot luck and I don't really regret buying the Novoflex but I have to say that IMVHO spending £100 on an adapter isn't necessary if you can get a £9 one of the quality of the one that dropped through my door today.

Anyway...

I do have one problem...

My Rokkor 24mm f2.8 gives severe vignetting to the point of a clearly defined almost circle and I'm gutted. I was really looking forward to using this lens on a FF camera but it looks like it'll have to stay on my G1. Damn!

My Rokkor 28mm f2.8, 35mm f1.8, 50mm f1.4, 80mm f2, 135mm f3.5 and Sigma 50mm f2.8 macro all work fine, thank God.

Has anyone else used a legacy 24mm f2.8 (Zuiko, FD etc...) that works without the vignetting?
 
Good news for both of us then, that MD to E adapter I found in an old bag is also spot on, tight fit on lens and mount so thats good.

I also have the 28mm (untested) so good to hear that works, Im finding myself looking at Voigtlander lenses now.
 
I stepped outside with my 50mm macro... f2.8, ISO 800 to get a fast shutter speed.

Whole image.


100% crop.


These wont look as good here as on my screen as they're via Photobucket but I'm impressed because they're at f2.8 and ISO 800 and after minimal processing they're good. I used focus peaking and I'm impressed at how accurate it is as can be seen in the 100% crop as DoF at f2.8 when that close to the subject is thin.

It's a dull and windy day here and I can't get out to shoot anything worthwhile but everything I've seen since being able to process raws tells me that this is a really good camera :D
 
twist said:
Good news for both of us then, that MD to E adapter I found in an old bag is also spot on, tight fit on lens and mount so thats good.

I also have the 28mm (untested) so good to hear that works, Im finding myself looking at Voigtlander lenses now.
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I was actually going to order a Novoflex MD adapter just so I had two that matched but this Chinese one is so good I really don't see the need now and on reflextion I think it's better to have two that look different so I don't pick the wrong one up :D
 
Sounds like youre really pleased with the camera, havent had a chance to use mine, not even charge it fully, the results I got after a handful of test shots in difficult light impressed me, especially the AWB. Will test properly over the weekend and post thoughts.
 
twist said:
Sounds like youre really pleased with the camera, havent had a chance to use mine, not even charge it fully, the results I got after a handful of test shots in difficult light impressed me, especially the AWB. Will test properly over the weekend and post thoughts.
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I am and I'll have to decide if it's worthwhile keeping my 5D and remaining lenses now although I think I will keep my G1.

I think that the A7 AWB is probably better than any camera I've had but still not as good as doing a custom WB or just sorting it out in raw. Are you shooting raw?

I just want a nice day now and some free time to get out.
 
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I took 4-5 shots in JPEG and upon close inspection (1:1) at ISO1600+ could see some smudging so switched to my usual method of RAW and it went away. Both JPG and RAW colours were good, noise handling in RAW even at 6400 was good, the Canon 6d was very slightly better but that could be because I never exposed properly with the Rokkor so I need some time to get acquainted with the camera and setup custom functions etc.

I was concerned the AWB wouldnt be accurate but from very limited experience even under energy savers its very good, only other camera thats been this good is the Fuji X trans.

Free time would be nice!!
 
woof woof said:
My Rokkor 24mm f2.8 gives severe vignetting to the point of a clearly defined almost circle and I'm gutted.

Has anyone else used a legacy 24mm f2.8 (Zuiko, FD etc...) that works without the vignetting?
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That's puzzling, it being the same as the Leica R lens that's obviously fine as tobers has proved, and in any case it's a 35mm film lens, perhaps it's the adapter seeing as they were really intended for APSC NEX cameras.

My Zuiko 24mm is perfectly fine:


@2.8


@4


@16

Some vignetting noticeable in the f4 shot. Some minor barrel distortion too but this I have corrected.
 
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