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

snerkler said:
Well I've still not managed to get my hands on an A7riii yet but today I did manage to try the A7rii with 24-70mm and 70-400mm f4 (didn't have the f2.8) and it wasn't good news. I caught by knuckles a couple of times on the lens when using a grip, and when I was holding it to change the functions etc there was pressure on my knuckles from the lens. Also, my pinky finger didn't have anywhere comfortable to rest. It normally hangs off the bottom anyway (even with the D750 and EM1) but it somehow it feels natural, which it didn't with the Sony. I know my hands are larger than average but I didn't think they were as shovel like as the A7 makes them feel. I know the A7riii's grip is slightly different and might be enough to make a difference, but then reports I've read say that the deeper grip means you wrap your fingers around more and so your knuckles are even more likely to foul against the lens.

Also it felt very front heavy with the 70-200mm f4 let alone the f2.8 so I'd definitely need the grip, but with how much my pinky finger hangs off the bottom I'm not sure that the grip would be comfortable to use as I'd imagine my pinky finger would be cramped up against the actual grip part of the battery grip. I'm a bit gutted tbh, but there's no way I can shell out that much for a camera and system that doesn't feel right. I'll still try and get hands on the A7riii but in all honesty I think I'll be going for the D850 and then waiting to see what Nikon do with their mirrorless. I should get good use out of the D850 as it will be a long time for Nikon to master a mirrorless camera and build up a decent lens lineup. I tried the D500 whilst I was there (didn't have the D850 but it's pretty similar) and it did feel so much better.
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Good job that you bided your time and did due diligence. (y) When all's said and done, with your current kit and investment, I think sticking with Nikon is the sensible way forward for you. :)
 
Diamonddec said:
Good job that you bided your time and did due diligence. (y) When all's said and done, with your current kit and investment, I think sticking with Nikon is the sensible way forward for you. :)
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Yeah, would've been a nightmare if I'd jumped ship without trying first. Investment wise it's swings and roundabouts as I'll have to keep the Olly kit if I buy the D850 but with the Sony I'd have sold the Olly kit which would make the change pretty much the same financially with the lenses etc that I have in mind. I was looking forward to having FF for travel, and really like the look of the Sony 100-400mm, but then I'm not sure I like the rendering of the Sony 70-200mm f2.8 as much as my VRII even though the Sony's sharper. Hardly the end of the world though ;)
 
The technique to hold a Sony Alpha camera is to balance it mostly on your left hand and not take the weight by the body by the right hand. Think of all lenses like a telephoto and treat it that way. Any large aperture glass will dwarf the body, no getting round it.
 
Raymond Lin said:
The technique to hold a Sony Alpha camera is to balance it mostly on your left hand and not take the weight by the body by the right hand. Think of all lenses like a telephoto and treat it that way. Any large aperture glass will dwarf the body, no getting round it.
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Even the 70-200 f2.8 and my old 100-400 dwarf my 5d body
 
snerkler said:
Well I've still not managed to get my hands on an A7riii yet but today I did manage to try the A7rii with 24-70mm and 70-400mm f4 (didn't have the f2.8) and it wasn't good news. I caught by knuckles a couple of times on the lens when using a grip, and when I was holding it to change the functions etc there was pressure on my knuckles from the lens. Also, my pinky finger didn't have anywhere comfortable to rest. It normally hangs off the bottom anyway (even with the D750 and EM1) but it somehow it feels natural, which it didn't with the Sony. I know my hands are larger than average but I didn't think they were as shovel like as the A7 makes them feel. I know the A7riii's grip is slightly different and might be enough to make a difference, but then reports I've read say that the deeper grip means you wrap your fingers around more and so your knuckles are even more likely to foul against the lens.

Also it felt very front heavy with the 70-200mm f4 let alone the f2.8 so I'd definitely need the grip, but with how much my pinky finger hangs off the bottom I'm not sure that the grip would be comfortable to use as I'd imagine my pinky finger would be cramped up against the actual grip part of the battery grip. I'm a bit gutted tbh, but there's no way I can shell out that much for a camera and system that doesn't feel right. I'll still try and get hands on the A7riii but in all honesty I think I'll be going for the D850 and then waiting to see what Nikon do with their mirrorless. I should get good use out of the D850 as it will be a long time for Nikon to master a mirrorless camera and build up a decent lens lineup. I tried the D500 whilst I was there (didn't have the D850 but it's pretty similar) and it did feel so much better.
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I hate the handling of the body on its own (although the A7r3 is better than the 2), I also struggle to find somewhere for my pinky.
With the A7rii I added an L-Grip which made the world of difference but there is a lack of decent L-Grips for A7riii currently so I use the A9 grip extender.
That said when I briefly had the 70-200 f2.8 I used the battery grip which handled brilliantly, I don't think I'd use anything bigger than a 24-70 without a battery grip..
 
chrism_scotland said:
I hate the handling of the body on its own (although the A7r3 is better than the 2), I also struggle to find somewhere for my pinky.
With the A7rii I added an L-Grip which made the world of difference but there is a lack of decent L-Grips for A7riii currently so I use the A9 grip extender.
That said when I briefly had the 70-200 f2.8 I used the battery grip which handled brilliantly, I don't think I'd use anything bigger than a 24-70 without a battery grip..
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You got a Sony again Chris?
 
addicknchips said:
You got a Sony again Chris?
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I have decided not to part with the A7riii... XH1 still never turned up and the more I've thought about it (and looked at some comparisons between XT2 shots of mine and A7rii/A7riii) the more I've decided I can't go back to soley APS-C and 24mp for the stuff I shoot and I'm not entirely convinced the XH1 is a "jump enough" ahead of the XP2/XT2 to justify the price (especially with the price offers we've seen the last few weeks on those bodies).

That said I am seriously looking at my lens lineup now, currently only with a couple of adapted manual lenses, so can basically start again, likely to try a keep it simple with a standard zoom of some kind, a wide prime, a mid-range (35mm prime) and a 65 or 85mm, perhaps with one of the longer Sony Zooms (70-200/100-400) as I'd love to give the A7riii a shot at motorsport.

Possible that all of the primes are manual focus (although the Samyang AF ones look good if big), still got an MC-11 kicking about so a Sigma Art maybe an option too.

I think the pull of the Fuji was that after using the XT2 in Rome it felt a bit "cheaper" / less showy than the Sony to an extent, small body and 3 primes, and I was quite happy slinging it aound my neck, however there really isn't any reason I can't do basically the same with Sony, and in a month or so I wouldn't be surprised to see used grey A7rii bodies for close to £1000 so can always add a "cheaper" more expendable body to my kit if I want to.

Raymond Lin said:
That pinky grip which blocks the battery door is £100!
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It so good though!
 
chrism_scotland said:
I have decided not to part with the A7riii... XH1 still never turned up and the more I've thought about it (and looked at some comparisons between XT2 shots of mine and A7rii/A7riii) the more I've decided I can't go back to soley APS-C and 24mp for the stuff I shoot and I'm not entirely convinced the XH1 is a "jump enough" ahead of the XP2/XT2 to justify the price (especially with the price offers we've seen the last few weeks on those bodies).

That said I am seriously looking at my lens lineup now, currently only with a couple of adapted manual lenses, so can basically start again, likely to try a keep it simple with a standard zoom of some kind, a wide prime, a mid-range (35mm prime) and a 65 or 85mm, perhaps with one of the longer Sony Zooms (70-200/100-400) as I'd love to give the A7riii a shot at motorsport.

Possible that all of the primes are manual focus (although the Samyang AF ones look good if big), still got an MC-11 kicking about so a Sigma Art maybe an option too.

I think the pull of the Fuji was that after using the XT2 in Rome it felt a bit "cheaper" / less showy than the Sony to an extent, small body and 3 primes, and I was quite happy slinging it aound my neck, however there really isn't any reason I can't do basically the same with Sony, and in a month or so I wouldn't be surprised to see used grey A7rii bodies for close to £1000 so can always add a "cheaper" more expendable body to my kit if I want to.



It so good though!
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Yeah but it’s the fact that it blocks the battery door that I’m having a real issue with.

And A7rii for £1000...crazy.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Yeah but it’s the fact that it blocks the battery door that I’m having a real issue with.

And A7rii for £1000...crazy.
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Yeah I get that, I’d much rather just an L-Grip but I’ve yet to see a decent one for the A7riii that provides enough additional grip underneath the camera grip itself.
 
twist said:
... This is CISS....

Basically a tank system... costs about £75, but I think prints then work out something like 15p each.

Canon_Pro_9000_CISS_1.w.jpg
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I think you may have missed my post earlier. Just wondering how you came up with that 15p cost? is that inc. paper (if so what size, type and quality?)

Seems to work out more expensive when I factor in costs of paper. :thinking:
 
twist said:
Oh nos, time to get some lenses ready. Im thinking I can get a Samyang 35 1.4, CZ 55 1.8 and Sony 85 1.8...... or a CZ 35 and Sony 85 1.8 for thereabouts the same money. :thinking:

The FLs are fairly similar but in favour of option 1, I also have the 55 as a smallish walk around prime package.
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Option 2. Unless you really really want that small-ish walkaround prime.
 
twist said:
35 QC does have me worried, with the samyang and sigma out soon I think they will also devalue.
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I think your right about the Sigma, if its £600 its going to undermine the CZ market, also makes the Samyang potentially look dear at £560
 
Raymond Lin said:
The technique to hold a Sony Alpha camera is to balance it mostly on your left hand and not take the weight by the body by the right hand. Think of all lenses like a telephoto and treat it that way. Any large aperture glass will dwarf the body, no getting round it.
Click to expand...

Yup and that's what I've always done with every interchangeable lens camera I've owned and I'm always baffled by anyone who does otherwise.
 
twist said:
35 QC does have me worried, with the samyang and sigma out soon I think they will also devalue.
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just make you can return it :)
the samyang was on offer in US for $540 last week. came very close to buying it but I am worried about samyang QC and returning it would be a pain.
 
woof woof said:
Yup and that's what I've always done with every interchangeable lens camera I've owned and I'm always baffled by anyone who does otherwise.
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This is true whilst you’re shooting but not necessarily when you’re using the controls and functions, reviewing images etc. But what I found with the Sony was that I had to have my lens hand further forward to compensate and it didn’t feel as natural. I’m sure you get used to it though.
 
snerkler said:
Well I've still not managed to get my hands on an A7riii yet but today I did manage to try the A7rii with 24-70mm and 70-400mm f4 (didn't have the f2.8) and it wasn't good news. I caught by knuckles a couple of times on the lens when using a grip, and when I was holding it to change the functions etc there was pressure on my knuckles from the lens. Also, my pinky finger didn't have anywhere comfortable to rest. It normally hangs off the bottom anyway (even with the D750 and EM1) but it somehow it feels natural, which it didn't with the Sony. I know my hands are larger than average but I didn't think they were as shovel like as the A7 makes them feel. I know the A7riii's grip is slightly different and might be enough to make a difference, but then reports I've read say that the deeper grip means you wrap your fingers around more and so your knuckles are even more likely to foul against the lens.

Also it felt very front heavy with the 70-200mm f4 let alone the f2.8 so I'd definitely need the grip, but with how much my pinky finger hangs off the bottom I'm not sure that the grip would be comfortable to use as I'd imagine my pinky finger would be cramped up against the actual grip part of the battery grip. I'm a bit gutted tbh, but there's no way I can shell out that much for a camera and system that doesn't feel right. I'll still try and get hands on the A7riii but in all honesty I think I'll be going for the D850 and then waiting to see what Nikon do with their mirrorless. I should get good use out of the D850 as it will be a long time for Nikon to master a mirrorless camera and build up a decent lens lineup. I tried the D500 whilst I was there (didn't have the D850 but it's pretty similar) and it did feel so much better.
Click to expand...

You and Rookies can learn the D850 together!

I think the 70-200 2.8 balances better than the VRII and definitely much better that the 2.8e. But then again we all hold cameras and lenses differently!
 
chrism_scotland said:
I have decided not to part with the A7riii... XH1 still never turned up and the more I've thought about it (and looked at some comparisons between XT2 shots of mine and A7rii/A7riii) the more I've decided I can't go back to soley APS-C and 24mp for the stuff I shoot and I'm not entirely convinced the XH1 is a "jump enough" ahead of the XP2/XT2 to justify the price (especially with the price offers we've seen the last few weeks on those bodies).

That said I am seriously looking at my lens lineup now, currently only with a couple of adapted manual lenses, so can basically start again, likely to try a keep it simple with a standard zoom of some kind, a wide prime, a mid-range (35mm prime) and a 65 or 85mm, perhaps with one of the longer Sony Zooms (70-200/100-400) as I'd love to give the A7riii a shot at motorsport.

Possible that all of the primes are manual focus (although the Samyang AF ones look good if big), still got an MC-11 kicking about so a Sigma Art maybe an option too.

I think the pull of the Fuji was that after using the XT2 in Rome it felt a bit "cheaper" / less showy than the Sony to an extent, small body and 3 primes, and I was quite happy slinging it aound my neck, however there really isn't any reason I can't do basically the same with Sony, and in a month or so I wouldn't be surprised to see used grey A7rii bodies for close to £1000 so can always add a "cheaper" more expendable body to my kit if I want to.



It so good though!
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Ordered my A7R3 today and picking up the 70-200 this week. As budget is now low I’m thinking of a Samyang 35mm 2.8 and another zoom. Just not sure which one.
 
snerkler said:
This is true whilst you’re shooting but not necessarily when you’re using the controls and functions, reviewing images etc. But what I found with the Sony was that I had to have my lens hand further forward to compensate and it didn’t feel as natural. I’m sure you get used to it though.
Click to expand...

When taking pictures my left hand will be under the lens supporting it and ready to fiddle with the aperture, focus or zoom as needed. When doing something at the back of the camera I tend to hold it resting in my left hand probably still with the lens resting on my fingers and this leaves the right mostly free.

I hold the camera one handed when carrying it and when swapping the battery or lens and that's about it.
 
I ruled out the 50mm plannar due to size and wanting to keep my kit mostly small

Just checked it there and I could have got it for £900
 
addicknchips said:
@snerkler the D850 is arguably one of the best cameras around. If you are getting one you should be pretty excited about it.
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I will be once I’ve made my mind up, and got my head around the price of grip battery and charger :eek: ;)
 
JJ! said:
Ordered my A7R3 today and picking up the 70-200 this week. As budget is now low I’m thinking of a Samyang 35mm 2.8 and another zoom. Just not sure which one.
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Nice, not sure I'll spring for the 70-200, probably prefer the 100-400 if I go native. Fancy a 35mm and the Samyang seems a great option given its price, the larger f1.4 lens looks pretty good as well!

addicknchips said:
@snerkler the D850 is arguably one of the best cameras around. If you are getting one you should be pretty excited about it.
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I don't think there's an arguably about it!

JJ! said:
How much better is the Sony 35mm 2.8 compared to the Samyang?

Enjoyed these images though

http://ryadguelmaoui.com/review-samyang-35mm-f2-8-af-e-mount/
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Not much different according to a lot of feedback out there.
 
nandbytes said:
Its really fun to print and I really enjoy it. We completed making an album yesterday from all our pictures from 2017.

Previously when I worked out costs canon pixma-pro was the most cost effective to output option. But it was still cheaper to outsource the prints :(
The main issue is the ink dries out and becomes useless if you don't print often. This is not an issue with the canon selphy so its good for small 6x4 prints. I am used to printing in bulk instead of making regular prints; may its better if I print regularly...

I think @twist has a pixma-pro... I wonder how he feels about cost effectiveness?
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I think costwise it purely depends on what size you print and on what paper, from looking at the online prices, as soon as you move away from the standard gloss, the prices rise rapidly. Also once you factor in shipping it jumps up again, it isn’t too bad if you are sending off a lot of prints, but if it’s just a couple, the. The additional 3.99 or whatever really makes a difference.

twist said:
... This is CISS....

Basically a tank system... costs about £75, but I think prints then work out something like 15p each.

Canon_Pro_9000_CISS_1.w.jpg
Click to expand...

I was looking at this sort of thing to reduce costs a bit. Fotospeed do a set for the Epson which gets good reviews. Where do you get yours from and which printer do you use.

Also how do you find the difference between oem inks
 
ChrisHeathcote said:
I think costwise it purely depends on what size you print and on what paper, from looking at the online prices, as soon as you move away from the standard gloss, the prices rise rapidly. Also once you factor in shipping it jumps up again, it isn’t too bad if you are sending off a lot of prints, but if it’s just a couple, the. The additional 3.99 or whatever really makes a difference.
Click to expand...

true so currently i mainly do a minimum of 10 per batch and its normally the standard paper like you said.

with the new found information about inks I am considering buying the canon pixma iP8750 which is pretty decent and cheap from reviews I read...
 
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