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

fstorm said:
The Olympus E-M1/M5ii was a serious contender as a successor to my Nikon D700 kit. Enough for me to borrow the kit from them for the weekend for a "test drive", was very close to buying one and the associated PRO lenses, which were giving me excellent results, certainly much, much better than any of the current Sony Zeiss zooms, G range excepted.
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I recently bought a Panasonic G7 and 12-35mm f2.8 and they both do seem very good but I don't think that they can match the image quality of my A7 if I want to obsess, but it's good quality in a small package. There's no doubt that there are some very good MFT lenses and if they could be scaled up to FF whilst keeping the quality they'd be some of the best lenses... ever?
 
woof woof said:
I recently bought a Panasonic G7 and 12-35mm f2.8 and they both do seem very good but I don't think that they can match the image quality of my A7 if I want to obsess, but it's good quality in a small package. There's no doubt that there are some very good MFT lenses and if they could be scaled up to FF whilst keeping the quality they'd be some of the best lenses... ever?
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If the Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 or 40-150mm f2.8 was scaled up to FF size, it'll probably look like the G master and weigh just as much !

Would be great if Olympus made Sony FE lenses. I'd even buy APS-C type Olympus pro lenses and use them in cropped mode, there is enough MP, esp for an A7rii. For critical work or landscape, I'll use FF lenses.

The setup would look like:
A7 ii (r or standard)
18-50mm f2.8 (APC-/NEX) Olympus
Sony/Zeis/Loxia/Batis FF 24mm f2.8
Sony/Zeis/Loxia FF 85mm f2.0

Doubt it'll happen though, Oly will keep carving the m43 furrow and they've never made lenses for any one else.
 
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Have you read the rumour about Oly developing a FF system? ok, it may/possibly wont happen, but it could :D

I like having some quality kit but in many instances I don't think that I need the very highest quality. My old film era manual lenses are frankly poor by modern standards but for whole images viewed on screen or in even quite large prints viewed normally they're good... and it's only at the wider apertures and when pixel peeping towards the edges that failings against modern lenses become more obvious. My A7 files do look gorgeous even when looked at closely but that's a different thing to lens quality and not something that I think MFT can match but when looking at a whole image it's easy for me to confuse A7 and MFT shots :D
 
woof woof said:
Have you read the rumour about Oly developing a FF system? ok, it may/possibly wont happen, but it could :D

I like having some quality kit but in many instances I don't think that I need the very highest quality. My old film era manual lenses are frankly poor by modern standards but for whole images viewed on screen or in even quite large prints viewed normally they're good... and it's only at the wider apertures and when pixel peeping towards the edges that failings against modern lenses become more obvious. My A7 files do look gorgeous even when looked at closely but that's a different thing to lens quality and not something that I think MFT can match but when looking at a whole image it's easy for me to confuse A7 and MFT shots :D
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I read a rumour. Can only be a matter of time before other brands get involved. Clearly there is a market for full frame mirrorless :)
 
woof woof said:
There are six (I think) different filters, one for sharpening and noise, one for HDR, one for film lookalike modes, one for b&w conversion etc... The one I'm most interested in is the b&w converter as it's something that I struggle to get a good look with.

If you haven't come across Nik filters before I think it's worth clicking on the link and having a quick read or even downloading the set to see if they'll be any use to you as these Nik filters do seem to have their fans.
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Won't turn my nose up for some free software. I only shoot raw though - do the filters work in raw or just for JPEG ?
Thanks
 
AFAIK it's jpeg but don't know if the Nik stuff works with tiff's, I'll try later but not at my pc at the mo.

This Nik set does give a nice option of processing using free software, one package for basic raw conversion and the Nik stuff for finishing and also for special effects which could be more difficult in the standard packages such as Adobe CS5 which I use.
 
woof woof said:
Have you read the rumour about Oly developing a FF system? ok, it may/possibly wont happen, but it could :D

I like having some quality kit but in many instances I don't think that I need the very highest quality. My old film era manual lenses are frankly poor by modern standards but for whole images viewed on screen or in even quite large prints viewed normally they're good... and it's only at the wider apertures and when pixel peeping towards the edges that failings against modern lenses become more obvious. My A7 files do look gorgeous even when looked at closely but that's a different thing to lens quality and not something that I think MFT can match but when looking at a whole image it's easy for me to confuse A7 and MFT shots :D
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A concur, I'm getting very agreeable results from a 1950s 50mm lens on my A7. The SZ 55mm is much sharper and better contrast, not 100% convinced I like the photos from it more though, which is worrying ! Whatever, it's feeding my GAS and general geekiness.
 
fstorm said:
A concur, I'm getting very agreeable results from a 1950s 50mm lens on my A7. The SZ 55mm is much sharper and better contrast, not 100% convinced I like the photos from it more though, which is worrying ! Whatever, it's feeding my GAS and general geekiness.
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Good stuff.

Good though the old manual lenses are I've not used them much recently so I've been thinking of selling some but I don't suppose they'd fetch all that much even if anyone was interested.

Just been playing with Nik b&w converter and I was surprised that a 68.6mp TIFF was suddenly 259mb once Nik had finished with it. I'd have thought that converting to b&w would have resulted in a smaller file. Oh well :D I suppose I don't need to understand.

A7 and 35mm f2.8.



Good detail at 100%...



A7 and old Minolta 50mm f1.4...



100%...

 
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woof woof said:
Just been playing with Nik b&w converter and I was surprised that a 68.6mp TIFF was suddenly 259mb once Nik had finished with it. I'd have thought that converting to b&w would have resulted in a smaller file. Oh well :D I suppose I don't need to understand.
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Probably it's saving the file with three channels, so it's still essentially a colour file, albeit with R, G and B being exactly the same. Try opening in Photoshop or similar and see if you can knock it down to one channel.

Possibly also because there's no internal LZW compression of the TIFF or the changes you made mead it can't compress as much.
 
TBH I don't usually save TIFF's, only raw and JPEG so it's just really a point of interest but I'll take a look later and see if I can see what's doing it. If I use the Nik filters I think the way I'll do it is to open the raw as a TIFF for processing but save as a JPEG unless it's a very special file that I want a TIFF of but that'll be few and far between as I'm sure I only have single gigit TIFF's at the mo.

I quite like the Nik filters though :D
 
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addicknchips said:
Never tried it before tbh. Any good?
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I've used Nik primarily for Silver Efex for quite some time now: certainly my favourite tool for mono conversions and film emulation.

Going free does rather worryingly suggest Google are putting any future development on the back burner.
 
woof woof said:
Good stuff.

Good though the old manual lenses are I've not used them much recently so I've been thinking of selling some but I don't suppose they'd fetch all that much even if anyone was interested.

Just been playing with Nik b&w converter and I was surprised that a 68.6mp TIFF was suddenly 259mb once Nik had finished with it. I'd have thought that converting to b&w would have resulted in a smaller file. Oh well :D I suppose I don't need to understand.

A7 and 35mm f2.8.



Good detail at 100%...



A7 and old Minolta 50mm f1.4...



100%...

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Interesting bokeh on this one.
 
With size and quality in mind is it foolish moving from a NEX 6 +K/L to a EM5Mk2 9-18 + 14-150? Or an A7 / A7R with the 10-18 Oss and 18-105OSS?
I need to keep the kit as small as possible, well away from DSLR weight but want the quality.
I wish to shoot between 15-125mm, mainly within a rural landscape, printing up to A3+
There are many great shot on here from both systems but its justifying the cost of M43 against FF.

Thanks
 
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Musicman said:
Still enjoying FD lenses on my A7... Last week I finally laid my hands on an FDn 24mm f/2.0 as an upgrade to the 24/2.8 I've had for several years.

Took it out for a spin, very happy with it :)
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Good stuff with the FD's there :D I have a few of those but nothing exotic, just 28mm f2.8, 50mm f1.4 and 85mm f1.8. All in very good condition.
 
dcash29 said:
With size and quality in mind...
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Why do you want to move away from the Nex 6? I have MFT but I doubt you see a significant improvement in image quality over the Nex, if any, (maybe the Nex is better?) but having said that there are some very nice MFT lenses.

If you do decide to go for an A7 you could always go for a used 1st generation A7, that'll help keep the costs down.
 
addicknchips said:
Interesting bokeh on this one.
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The shape of the aperture or just the general bokeh? Lots of old lenses are pretty sharp in the centre but as you head out towards the edges and/or the point of focus especially at the wider apertures the look can be a bit different to what you'd see with a more modern lens.
 
I'd be a bit worried that MFT would be a sideways or even backward step unless you think that the MFT lens line up will be a saving grace?

Maybe you'd need to go for an A7 to see a real step forward? If landscape is your main aim you could perhaps keep the costs down by reducing the number of expensive AF lenses and going for MF if speed isn't a concern?
 
Which part of the A6000 do you see as a downgrade from the Nex6? I moved from an Nex5 to an A6K last year and the files from it are excellent. Not sure what the Nex6 would do better?
 
woof woof said:
I'd be a bit worried that MFT would be a sideways or even backward step unless you think that the MFT lens line up will be a saving grace?
Maybe you'd need to go for an A7 to see a real step forward? If landscape is your main aim you could perhaps keep the costs down by reducing the number of expensive AF lenses and going for MF if speed isn't a concern?
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Had a look at the Sony A7R today, very nice. However with the lenses I'd use (aps-c) it would probably be a waste of money spending on a FF body. No dont want primes or manual.

stevelmx5 said:
Which part of the A6000 do you see as a downgrade from the Nex6? I moved from an Nex5 to an A6K last year and the files from it are excellent. Not sure what the Nex6 would do better?
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The Evf is of lower quality, there isn't an electronic level and all the units Ive looked at have produced softer images than my Nex6
 
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I tried an Nex6 while I had my 5 and whilst on paper the A6K EVF resolution is lower I don't think it's apparent in reality. I also find a lot less smearing of the A6K EVF when moving. The electronic level is a bit annoying but not really a deal breaker and I'm not sure why you've seen softer images? Each to their own I guess but apart from lacking a 2.8 walkabout range zoom lens I'd still prefer to stick to the APS-C Sony kit over M4/3. There's nothing in the size between them either.

I've uploaded a selection of shots I've taken on the A6K with the 16-50 kit, Sigma 60/2.8, Sony 50/1.8 and Samyang 12/2 to give you some examples;

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/m4zi1ez76i8znr8/AAA7HVHvmJPqXq2PLe0TtOlba?dl=0
 
HI Steve

I had a look at the a6000 today, the EVF is pretty dull plus it struggled to focus in darker conditions. Whereas the Em5mk2 is bright and instantly locked focus. With regards to the E. Level feature, I find it invaluable while out walking.

I'll take a look at your shots> I'm sure I'll find them very good
 
No problem at all. As I say, cameras are each to our own so just giving you some examples with a variety of lenses. It's pretty hard to take a bad photo with any digital kit so go with the system that suits your own needs.
 
I agree, I got caught up in the pixel peeping thingy years ago. Back then I used to produce A3 & A2 prints from my 5mp camera ;)
At present it seems to be converter mad (no disrespect) matching various makes and models:runaway:
For me its the little things I look for and with most camera shops being a waste of time, its harder to choose
 
dcash29 said:
Had a look at the Sony A7R today, very nice. However with the lenses I'd use (aps-c) it would probably be a waste of money spending on a FF body. No dont want primes or manual.
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I prefer constant aperture zooms and that is one thing that lets the A6000 line down but even pretty humble variable aperture zooms should give you pretty decent results if you're stopping down a bit for landscape. All in all I still see a move from Nex 6 to MFT as questionable and as a move to the A7 seems steep cost wise maybe you could hang on a bit until the new A6300 becomes a bargain?
 
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For the (current) price I think it will be a while before the A6300 is a bargain. Whilst 4K video might be useful to some I personally don't see the improved AF as enough to warrant £1k for the body. The AF on the A6K is perfectly fine in all but the lowest light so at £300ish that's more of a bargain.
 
stevelmx5 said:
For the (current) price I think it will be a while before the A6300 is a bargain. Whilst 4K video might be useful to some I personally don't see the improved AF as enough to warrant £1k for the body. The AF on the A6K is perfectly fine in all but the lowest light so at £300ish that's more of a bargain.
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Yup, but we can hope... and wait :D
 
I'm still playing with Nik b&w and trying to decide what works and what should really be left as colour...









100% crop of that last one :D it loses a bit by going through Photobucket but looks good in original form.

 
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has it been proven that pdaf is possible in the original a7 through a firmware update????
 
I'm not sure, I can barely understand any of this electronic gubbins as it is but somebody else seems to think so:
"Both A7I & A7II have :117 Phase Detection points and 25 Contrast Detection ones..:"
 
steveclem said:
I'm not sure, I can barely understand any of this electronic gubbins as it is but somebody else seems to think so:
"Both A7I & A7II have :117 Phase Detection points and 25 Contrast Detection ones..:"
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neither do I tbh but worth aa shout for original owners to find out if it is possible
 
I'm just thinking if it was possible surprised someone hasn't hacked at already tbh
 
twist said:
Why would they cripple a7ii sales ;) imo the a7 won't get any major fw support.
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Fuji still support older cameras with continual firmware updates. Camera's aren't like mobile phones - the majority of people keep them for a longer period of time. It would be nice is Sony recognised that.
 
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