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

Tobers said:
I did some pics a couple of weeks back for a t-shirt company using the A7R. They've gone live now so you can take a look here:

http://www.laidbareclothing.com/index.cfm
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Very nice work there :D

I love taking flower shots as I like the colours and shapes. I stick them in a folder and put them on slideshow and I'm happy... but with my 50mm I have to be within inches of the subject or crop...



I was happier with my 150mm on my 5D.

Are any of you using any legacy macro's longer than 50mm?
 
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Hi all,
I've done it.... gone and bought the Sony A7 and Zeiss 24-70mm f4 :banana:
Only picked it up yesterday and didn't get a chance to do much testing last night as the battery took 5 hours to charge via USB :eek:

I will be getting a proper Sony charger this coming week along with a B+W filter..... :rolleyes: never had any problems with B+W filters so sticking with them.

Initial thoughts, the low-light AF isn't as bad as people/reviews have made out :) I did some low light AF testing and it seemed to lock on pretty well for me. I was expecting far worse than my Nikon D7000 so was pleasantly surprised.

The menu and controls will take some getting used to but I is just like learning anything new, I love the way you can custom so many different buttons to suit individual needs.

Word of warning for anybody upgrading the firmware on a Mac, I upgraded the firmware version to 1.02 today and the first attempt failed!! :eek: I thought it had bricked my A7, spend a good 30 mins trying to get it working again which the camera just sat there with a red light on continuously.
Eventually after 5 attempts to re-apply the firmware the Mac software recognised the A7 and it worked ... phew... it was a proper brown pants moment :exit:
Thanks to this thread I knew I just had to keep trying.... http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3647135#forum-post-53395298

The A7 is so small and light, its amazing :D..... the downside to this is that I will now need a slightly smaller bag to carry the gear in......

Anybody recommend a nice subtle bag/rucksack?
I am thinking that I will probably buy the 70-200mm f4 lens in the future and maybe the Zeiss 55mm f2.8 so something that could fit those would be handy.

This is my first full-frame camera so I am just a novice but have always shot manual... going to be a nice learning curve.
Nikon make some lovely camera's and I will miss certain aspects of Nikon but not its size and weight.

On a final note, has anybody registered their Sony A7/R/Lens and paid extra for the extended Sony warranty?
£60 for 3 years
£110 for 5 years?

Is it worth taking out?







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[URL='https://flic.kr/p/nwcT93'][url=https://flic.kr/p/nwcSxU]
https://flic.kr/p/nwcT93
Cheers

Riz :)[/URL][/url]
 
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60 for 3 years, definitely imo. I learnt a long time ago not to update any device using a mac (except apple products).
 
i like the kata backpacks, 123 go ? or 3n1 range

the tamron adaptall 90mm is a beautiful macro lens, only .5 magnification tho
 
twist said:
60 for 3 years, definitely imo. I learnt a long time ago not to update any device using a mac (except apple products).
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For £60 it does sound reasonable if something was to go wrong with it..... having a read of the T&C's, the extended warranty can be bought with 360 days of buying the camera :)
Also would this mean I have a total of 4 years warranty 1 standard + 3 years extended?

I may have to try and avoid future firmware upgrades via Mac :p
 
I haven't read the Sony T&C but usually the three warranty is two extra years plus the standard 1 year.
 
I use a Thinktank Retrospective 5 fits my a7r, 24-70, 35, 3 spare batteries and a water bottle with room to spare for thinks like lens pen, cards.
 
Great, the Extended Warranty options on my Sony "My Products" page have vanished...... :(
Emailed Sony... awaiting reply.

On the plus side managed to get some insurance sorted :)
 
Rizvan said:
Great, the Extended Warranty options on my Sony "My Products" page have vanished...... :(
Emailed Sony... awaiting reply.
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I believe the extended warranty option is only available for 30 days after purchase. Something like that anyway, maybe 2 weeks or something.
 
Crossroads said:
I believe the extended warranty option is only available for 30 days after purchase. Something like that anyway, maybe 2 weeks or something.
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Strange as when I registered my camera on Sunday a pop up box said it had to be bought within 90 days of buying the product.

Anyway it looks like the options are back but I am not sure its letting me buy the warranty....
I can go all the way to the checkout if I bypass the below message? Continue?

Also when I try and buy the warranty for the lens, it only lists the camera models, no lenses in the drop down boxed yet if I continue with the lens serial number but with the A7 model selected it lets me continue to checkout?

Please check the following error(s):

  • The warranty is not compatible with this model.
    • Please make sure you have selected the correct model or call our Contact Center for further explanation
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Yes it looks like you have 90 days to buy it.

elow information is needed to correctly register your warranty contract, which will be send to you via mail after your purchase.
You can buy a warranty up to 90 days after purchase of your product. In case you need to use your warranty, a copy of your original invoice will be requested.
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Urgh.
 
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OK I've had my SEL70200G for about a week now. So far only had the chance to use it for one shoot I can't share photos from, but I'm generally impressed, and plan to get out with it again later this week.

If anyone has any questions about it, let me know.

14331144624_6e9e7d0e7d_z.jpg

14308728286_8cef2735bd_z.jpg
 
Crossroads said:
OK I've had my SEL70200G for about a week now. So far only had the chance to use it for one shoot I can't share photos from, but I'm generally impressed, and plan to get out with it again later this week.

If anyone has any questions about it, let me know.

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14308728286_8cef2735bd_z.jpg
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Wow that lens looks lovely, what bag do you carry it in?
I am looking at a Billingham Hadley Small or something of that nature.... :)
Does it focus quick enough and does it feel front heavy when hand holding?
Do you really need to use a tripod with this?
 
Rizvan said:
Wow that lens looks lovely, what bag do you carry it in?
I am looking at a Billingham Hadley Small or something of that nature.... :)
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Nice try, lens thief! ;)
It's one of these, nothing fancy. Does the job of carrying 2 bodies, flash(es) and a few other bits well enough.
Rizvan said:
Does it focus quick enough and does it feel front heavy when hand holding?
Do you really need to use a tripod with this?
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The focus is snappy if you have good light and contrast - probably a hair slower than the 55mm. If it can't find focus though, it will hunt for up to 2s or so, but I've only found that in my poorly lit lounge with tricky subjects, not in real world use. No idea how it would fare with sport, but it is more than sufficient for people and things.

I'm coming from a D800 and f2.8 zooms, so when I say weight isn't a problem at all, bear that in mind. Whole system including lens, camera, etc. weigh less than my old 70-200mm lens alone.

In terms of overall weight and balance it feels like an entry level DSLR with a 70-300mm, and the centre of gravity is just behind the switches on the side. With my left hand holding the zoom ring, everything feels completely natural and balanced.

Absolutely do not need to use a tripod with it at all from my POV. First day I did some test shots, and was getting sharp photos at 1/30 handheld. If I've carrying it around all day I'll likely have a shoulder strap attached to the tripod ring, though. Just as with DSLRs I don't want a big zoom hanging off the lens mount for long periods.
 
Excellent, I am really enjoying the less weight and mass compared to my Nikon D7000 paired with the Nikkor 17-55mm f2.8 (heavy).
I think this 70-200mm f4 might be my next buy.... got to save up for a little while first though :(

On the Sony extended warranty front I have gone ahead and bought it for the A7 camera body however I don't have any options to select the lens model under the extended warranty section??
 
Crossroads said:
I'm still not 100% sold on the white lens concept, but it certainly does look pretty. The hood makes it look a lot bigger than it does otherwise though.

14329054011_b126e0ac4b_z.jpg
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It's a huge lens whether white or black. It needs to be to cover the full frame sensor.
 
Brazo said:
It's a huge lens whether white or black. It needs to be to cover the full frame sensor.
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You may think that but if you compare this to the Nikkor 70-200mm f4, its a lot smaller and lighter :)
Sony have really done well with the A7 design and the lenses.

I have a learning curve ahead of me as I get to grips with the A7 and 35mm Full Frame files :)
 
Rizvan said:
You may think that but if you compare this to the Nikkor 70-200mm f4, its a lot smaller and lighter :)
Sony have really done well with the A7 design and the lenses.

I have a learning curve ahead of me as I get to grips with the A7 and 35mm Full Frame files :)
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Sorry I meant in comparison to the body I know it's smaller and lighter than say an SLR lens but obviously still big.
 
Hehe, that's ok.
It's really a game changer when it comes to size/weight vs FF DSLR's.

I will be interesting what Nikon & Canon will do and how they continue to survive on DSLR technology :)
 
pingu666 said:
the 70-210 f4 beercan takes a 55mm thread, and i think the lens barrell is only 77mm
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If you're comparing it to the 70200G, by the time you've added the adapter it's probably bigger and heavier, and you lose OSS, flexible autofocus, etc.

For the price though, they do seem a bargain and old glass is so fun to use on the A7. Hmm...
 
I think that size is deceptive in pictures of the A7 and lenses. The biggest lens I have is the 28-70mm kit lens and in pictures on line it does look big but in reality and in use it isn't. Years ago I had a Canon 17-85mm (and it was one of the poorest lenses I've ever owned) and even though it was an APS-C lens I think that the Sony FE 28-70mm is probably about the same size and IMVHO a leap forward in quality.

I assume that the same is possibly true of other A7+lens combinations.
 
Yes,

in the online photo's the camera and lenses do look big but in reality when you compared them side by side, the difference really hits home.

I will take some photo's with my Fuji X100 and post shortly.

On the extended warranty front, you can buy warranty for the body but not lenses, just had a call from Sony to confirm. :)
 
Photo's taken on the iPhone 4S (not great) :)

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On the movies, I seem to get interlacing, like lines rippling over the picture. How can I get rid of?
 
Set your movie mode from PAL to NTSC.
As pingu666 mention, then use progressive for records... 1080/24p etc
I've not tried movie mode out yet :o
 
I appreciate the answers, but why on earth would I need to go to NTSC to stop it. I've had over 10 cameras with movie mode, the last 6 or 7 with HD & none needed to be set on NTSC.
 
its the progressive thing, p is a full picture each shot, i is interlaced (mixing frames), the ntsc thing would be frame rate i guess? they run 30/60 and we run 25/50
cept our pcs run 60hz... soo thats annoying
 
Just a little story about AF and MF...

For a while now I've been using mostly MF with old manual lenses on my Panasonic G1 and then Sony A7 and I've been happy with the results. Just before heading off for a trip to Thailand I bought a Panasonic GX7 and 20mm f1.7 as it wasn't a photographic holiday and I didn't want to be the geek with the manual camera taking ages over my shots. Anyway... I'm happy with most of the shots I got with the GX7 but when we went to this place...



I took four pictures and every one is a reject as nothing and I mean nothing is in focus and I don't know why. The only thing I can think of is that it was very hot and humid and maybe there was some condensation on the lens. Whatever the cause the four pictures I took of a place I may not see again are all useless and if I had taken my A7 and manual lenses I'm sure that whatever the problem was I'd have spotted it and got four keepers.

Oh well...
 
doesnt look to bad to me?

claritey + dont look at sigma dp pics and itll be ok
 
pingu666 said:
doesnt look to bad to me?
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It's ok for a small print but if you look closely nothing is sharp at all. It's as if there's grease smeared on the lens. All four shots are the same and as it only happened at this one spot I'm struggling to think of a reason other than something to do with that place. In years of shooting with MFT I honestly can't remember another occasion in which four AF shots in a row were all out.

If I ever go there again I'll have to check as much as I can and shoot quite a few frames but I suspect that if I do every frame will be spot on and I'll never know what went wrong :D The very next shot at a different location is sharp as you like at 100%.
 
I think the camera might have trouble locking onto a good focus on the entire rock structure and perhaps locked into a small section of it? Did it beep for AF aquisition.
Should have taken the A7 :D
 
Rizvan said:
I think the camera might have trouble locking onto a good focus on the entire rock structure and perhaps locked into a small section of it? Did it beep for AF aquisition.
Should have taken the A7 :D
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I did actually take it to Thailand but never took it out with me as I was always with someone else (other 1/2.) I was expecting a day to myself while she did work stuff but it never happened so the A7 never got used. It can't have been failure to lock onto the rock as there also a shot of other half with her as the focal point and it to is OOF.

The lesson is that if you want a keeper... really think abut the shot and really see it and then check it if possible. I do all of those things with my manual kit and with the magnified view I would have almost certainly seen whatever the problem was and I'm sure I'd have got keepers with either my A7 or MFT kit with a manual lens fitted. As I said, I've never had four missed shots in a row before or since. Oh well...

PS. Yes, focus locked on, or so the camera thought.
 
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I had the 7r and loved it but the foveon sensor of the sigma merills has taken over and I just cant go back...do love the versatility of the sony cameras though and all the lovely old lenses
 
Today I bought my A7 and new smaller bag :)
I can highly recommend the Thinktank Mirrorless Mover i30.

I have managed to get the following kit into my i30:-

- Sony A7 with Zeiss 24-70mm f4 including attached hood and camera strap
- 24-70mm Zeiss lens case
- Giottos blower
- Battery charger and battery, SD cards, 2x lens cleaning pens and cleaning cloths

I should also be able to accommodate the Sony FE 70-200mm f4 and another lens if I remove the Giottos blower and Zeiss lens case

You can also put in a iPad :o

What a smashing little bag, well chuffed :D
 
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My A7 is in a Managers Special bag I bought at Aldi for £10.

I've just got a Zuiko 85mm f2 and have been comparing it to my Rokkor 85mm f2...

As with the 50mm f1.7/1.8 and 50mm f1.4 the Rokkor 85 shades the Zuiko at the widest aperture both for sharpness and CA. I can't see any significant differences in the 24, 28 and 135's I have in each mount. Anyway, I'd say that the Rokkor 85 maintains its sharpness advantage at f4 too but really have to be looking at 100% + crops to see the differences. The biggest issue with the Zuiko 85mm at f2 seems to be CA and in one test shot some black lettering in the centre of the frame was captured very well by the Rokkor and appeared almost solid black whilst in the Zuiko shot the black wasn't solid and took on a definite blueness.

As I may have mentioned, I sold all my Zuiko lenses a while ago but all but one bounced back to me as the buyer decided he couldn't live with MF but as they're worth relatively little (but more every time I buy another) I don't mind having the two sets. I think that the Rokkor's shade the Zuiko's IQ wise but the Zuiko's IMVHO look lovely. I just wish that they could match the Rokkor's.
 
Re Zuikos - how many have had sticky irises? I was given some to sell recently for a charity and three of the five weren't really usable as the iris didn't open/close reliably under spring pressure. I had the same problemn with a 90mm Tamron macro bought on ebay (and it was externally mint). It's just age and old oil + dust, but dismantling and cleaning is a major task.

I have just bought a Vivitar branded 19-35mm. The same lens was sold under various brand names. I think on the basis of quick tests it's pretty good for the money, a bit of barrel distortion, reasonably sharp and quick focusing on the LEA4 adaptor. Better than my VM Voigtlander 15mm which was very unhappy on the A7. Shame, it was a wonderful lens when I had a Leica M6.
 
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