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

I have a GX80 and I think they're very good value, they have the 16mp sensor. I've just bought a GX9 from the classifieds and although they're more expensive they're not Sony expensive :D and they have the Sony 20mp sensor. I'm not too sure how much of an improvement the 20mp sensor is but even if it's about the same as the 16mp you get the extra mp count too :D

You can of course select various aspect ratios and I used to use 3:2 but for quite a while now I've stuck to 4:3 and actually I prefer 4:3 over 3:2 for portrait orientation.

One reason I have the 2 camera systems is that although being honest I can afford the Sony stuff the bulk and weight of a Sony A7x and a larger lens puts me off but of course with MFT a 9-18mm, 45-150mm or 12-35mm f2.8 are still small lenses and a 17, 25 or 45mm f1.8 is positively tiny :D Some of the equivalent Sony FF lenses are significantly larger and that does put me off as I just don't like big bulky kit.

Whoa that's an excellent deal can't believe I missed it! Might have made more sense than my LX100. Oh well... Just stick with what I have

But the stuff I print is generally 6x4 (canon selphy) so 3:2 makes more sense than 4:3 ratio.

Tbh there’s nothing wrong with any of the Olympus OMD sensors and many of the Pens. 16mp is quite ample the majority of the time and the rest of the performance is only a fraction behind the new 20mp sensor.

Nothing to do with megapixels, it's the ISO performance and dynamic range I care about. I don't like using previous gen sensors or buying bodies with them. Same reason I greatly dislike A7II. Not that the sensor is bad it's just previous gen.

Love my Pen F - small, the new sensor and not £2k

Expect the new sensor doesn't seem any better than older ones...
 
May very well look like this...

http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/

Anyone interested?

I've been looking forward to this coming out but I'm hard to please...

1. The rumour was it'd have IBIS, it hasn't got it.
2. It's not exactly pretty is it? To me it looks like someone glued it together in a garden shed.
3. The EVF's in the middle.
4. No swivel screen.
5. No built in flash.

Not having a built in flash will probably kill it for me. I know many people see built in flash as the spawn of the Devil but personally I hate the fact that my 5D doesn't have one as I find them useful for fill and snap shots etc and I just don't think I can bring myself to drop well over £1k on a camera without one.

Of course I could carry an external flash but that destroys the portability and would mean missing shots while it's fished out and fitted and personally I hate attention grabbing scene destroying speedlight type things.

So, sadly I'll probably pass on this.

Anyone getting one?
And you never passed on it :D

Sony has come a long way
 
But the stuff I print is generally 6x4 (canon selphy) so 3:2 makes more sense than 4:3 ratio

Nothing to do with megapixels, it's the ISO performance and dynamic range I care about. I don't like using previous gen sensors or buying bodies with them. Same reason I greatly dislike A7II. Not that the sensor is bad it's just previous gen.

For someone so critical of previous generation sensors because of their iso and dynamic range, it seems odd that you generally only print 6x4’s? At that size it must be pretty difficult to really see a disadvantage?
 
For someone so critical of previous generation sensors because of their iso and dynamic range, it seems odd that you generally only print 6x4’s? At that size it must be pretty difficult to really see a disadvantage?

I don't think I said I only print 6x4. I mostly print 6x4 (or rather my wife does for family memories and albums). It makes up about 70% of our prints.

other 25% I print up to A3+ (I also recently brought a A3+ printer for that) and for the remaining 5% I still outsource as and when :)

Also i wasn't critical of previous gen sensor, I still own an A7. Its rather good. Its just that when I buy new I rather get whatever the manufacturer has the best to offer at the time. A7II sensor was clearly not the best sony had at the time because D750 had a better one in it which is from Sony themselves.
 
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I don't think I said I only print 6x4. I mostly print 6x4 (or rather my wife does for family memories and albums). It makes up about 70% of our prints.

other 25% I print up to A3+ (I also recently brought a A3+ printer for that) and for the remaining 5% I still outsource as and when :)

Also i wasn't critical of previous gen sensor, I still own an A7. Its rather good. Its just that when I buy new I rather get whatever the manufacturer has the best to offer at the time. A7II sensor was clearly not the best sony had at the time because D750 had a better one in it which is from Sony themselves.

Fair enough. I’ve got several 18x12 prints around the house, along with two 36x24 canvasses from my old GF1 but I agree that, when pushed, newer sensor tech will give better results in less than perfect conditions.
 
Fair enough. I’ve got several 18x12 prints around the house, along with two 36x24 canvasses from my old GF1 but I agree that, when pushed, newer sensor tech will give better results in less than perfect conditions.

yeah and also just to add better ISO performance is good all round even if someone is only printing 6x4. It means one can shoot silly high ISO, downsize and still retain sharpness while eliminating noise.
 
And you never passed on it :D

Sony has come a long way

:D sure has.... I remember when I bought the original A7...... and look where we are now.
Empty pockets with cheesy grins :D lol

I still have that very same MK1 A7 camera I ordered before they hit the shops :D The made in a garden shed look grew on me and I now quite like it but of all the things I listed I miss the flash the most.

I don't really see any reason to buy a new one, a joystick would be nice, snappier performance would be nice too as would the higher image quality but to be honest apart from the lack of a flash the A7 does just about everything I want.
 
I still have that very same MK1 A7 camera I ordered before they hit the shops :D The made in a garden shed look grew on me and I now quite like it but of all the things I listed I miss the flash the most.

I don't really see any reason to buy a new one, a joystick would be nice, snappier performance would be nice too as would the higher image quality but to be honest apart from the lack of a flash the A7 does just about everything I want.
You seem to be immuned to gas. What's the secret?
 
For someone so critical of previous generation sensors because of their iso and dynamic range, it seems odd that you generally only print 6x4’s? At that size it must be pretty difficult to really see a disadvantage?

Yup.

Look at that 16mp chip GX80 ISO 16,000 picture I posted a few pages back, I don't know what an A3 print of it would look like but after downsizing it's fine for screen use and would probably be fine filling an A4.

I have ISO 25,600 pictures taken with my 1" Panny TZ100 and they're fine for whole picture screen viewing too and would also probably be fine to print quite large as whole pictures.
 
It's only 90 seconds long...... :)
OK I've watched it but it doesn't explain why ;) :p The only explanation I can think is that it's the same phase detection issues that DSLR's are plagued with. I did think that they used phase detect to quickly focus and then finished with contrast detect to get accuracy but I'm guessing that's not the case. Maybe in order to get speed you need to sacrifice contrast detect and therefore absolute accuracy?
 
While we were up the hill we looked for our house and in this picture I can see it if I pixel peep at 600%, I can see our bedroom window and the solar panels on the house opposite. That's not bad for a 24mp sensor and a 35mm lens :D I suppose a 42mp sensor would be better though :D

2-DSC00077.jpg
 
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The rumor site has a bit on the new Meike 50mm f1.7 FF Sony mount...

https://www.sonyalpharumors.com/mei...-f-1-7-full-frame-e-mount-lens/#disqus_thread

The link to Amazon UK doesn't give a price but the USA link says $130. I couldn't find any reviews or comments on build or optical quality but no doubt they'll be along and if it's well built and optically ok it might be worth a look :D I see that they do an 85mm f1.8 but sadly it's in Canon mount not Sony.
 
Right guys, I really want the a7III but in all honesty I can't justify that cost at the minute. I've managed to shift what I had left of my Canon gear (6D and a couple of lenses), but don't have enough to afford that and any decent lenses at the minute, so I'm considering an a7II for the minute, starting to build my lens collection then eventually buying either the III or whatever is out then.

How do people think I'll manage with the a7II compared to my 6D? I know that it doesn't have the completely silent shutter which I'm a bit gutted about, but overall the AF looks better than my Canon (and I've played about with an original A7 and found that quite nice to use for the 10 mins I got with it), but is there anything else that really lets it down?
 
Right guys, I really want the a7III but in all honesty I can't justify that cost at the minute. I've managed to shift what I had left of my Canon gear (6D and a couple of lenses), but don't have enough to afford that and any decent lenses at the minute, so I'm considering an a7II for the minute, starting to build my lens collection then eventually buying either the III or whatever is out then.

How do people think I'll manage with the a7II compared to my 6D? I know that it doesn't have the completely silent shutter which I'm a bit gutted about, but overall the AF looks better than my Canon (and I've played about with an original A7 and found that quite nice to use for the 10 mins I got with it), but is there anything else that really lets it down?

A7RII is rather "cheap" these days for used ones. If you can stretch that far might be worth getting that instead. If you particularly care about IBIS then A7II might be your thing otherwise just get the original A7 and save your money. IMO I think A7II is worst update Sony have released so far.
 
A7RII is rather "cheap" these days for used ones. If you can stretch that far might be worth getting that instead. If you particularly care about IBIS then A7II might be your thing otherwise just get the original A7 and save your money. IMO I think A7II is worst update Sony have released so far.
I saw an A7RII come up the other day at a great price but didn't have my gear sold. Obviously if I can stretch to one of them that would be ideal.

IBIS would be handy, but not a deal breaker. I'm not a massive fan of the shutter button placement on the original, but it's probably something I could live with.
 
Right guys, I really want the a7III but in all honesty I can't justify that cost at the minute. I've managed to shift what I had left of my Canon gear (6D and a couple of lenses), but don't have enough to afford that and any decent lenses at the minute, so I'm considering an a7II for the minute, starting to build my lens collection then eventually buying either the III or whatever is out then.

How do people think I'll manage with the a7II compared to my 6D? I know that it doesn't have the completely silent shutter which I'm a bit gutted about, but overall the AF looks better than my Canon (and I've played about with an original A7 and found that quite nice to use for the 10 mins I got with it), but is there anything else that really lets it down?


I am in the opinion that you should always save up for what you really want, if that is what you want in the end. Although you can’t afford it now, just wait a little longer, have that patience and get it later on. You want to go Sony because I suspect you really want the A73, if you had the same feeling for the A72 when that came out, I suspect you would have got that when that came out and not now? I am not going to say “yeah, it’ll be fine” because the reality is that I don’t know what you shoot, if you shoot nothing but stock photos of shoes in a lightbox then it make no difference what you use in all honesty but the truth is A73 is not 1 generation but a few generation better than the A72. So much has improved between them, if you are used to the little incremental upgrades of Canon, you’ll be blown how much advance the A73 is to the 6D (as opposed between the 6D to A72 or 6D to 6D2). The only thing that is slower on the A73 is the boot up from cold, everything else is pretty fast.


My advice is save up, get the A73 when you can afford it, save for the lenses you want.


I do the same, I want the Sony Zeiss 35/1.4 Distagon, I could get the Sigma 35, I could get the 35/2.8 or the Samyang 35/1.4 but deep down I know the lens I want, I am saving up until I can afford it, until then I just go without.


Not to mention your Canon lenses on the Sony via adaptor works much better on the A73 than A72 if that is an intermediate solution you are going for until you can get the native lenses that you want.
 
I just remembered something which bugs me about the Sony cameras, sometimes the EVF puts me off taking photos.

I see a nice nature scene, bring the camera to my eye - and.. ugh.. it's gone to crap and I don't take the photo.

The Leica EVF, in the Q and SL are so much nicer that they encourage me to take photos.

Be nice if the quality of the Sony EVF were better.

I think perhaps Sony overcompensate with sharpness, and the colours aren't as nice.
 
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I have peaking set so my evf looks nothing like reality :D

I do sort of get your point, but for me it's about seeing something I want to take a picture of and getting into the position from which I think I'll get the best perspective, composition etc and what I then see through the evf although it may be removed from reality contains information I want to see. Maybe bizarrely I'm not too bothered about the finite quality of the evf. Roll on nicer ones :D but I probably wont notice or care all that much :D
 
I am in the opinion that you should always save up for what you really want, if that is what you want in the end. Although you can’t afford it now, just wait a little longer, have that patience and get it later on. You want to go Sony because I suspect you really want the A73, if you had the same feeling for the A72 when that came out, I suspect you would have got that when that came out and not now? I am not going to say “yeah, it’ll be fine” because the reality is that I don’t know what you shoot, if you shoot nothing but stock photos of shoes in a lightbox then it make no difference what you use in all honesty but the truth is A73 is not 1 generation but a few generation better than the A72. So much has improved between them, if you are used to the little incremental upgrades of Canon, you’ll be blown how much advance the A73 is to the 6D (as opposed between the 6D to A72 or 6D to 6D2). The only thing that is slower on the A73 is the boot up from cold, everything else is pretty fast.


My advice is save up, get the A73 when you can afford it, save for the lenses you want.


I do the same, I want the Sony Zeiss 35/1.4 Distagon, I could get the Sigma 35, I could get the 35/2.8 or the Samyang 35/1.4 but deep down I know the lens I want, I am saving up until I can afford it, until then I just go without.


Not to mention your Canon lenses on the Sony via adaptor works much better on the A73 than A72 if that is an intermediate solution you are going for until you can get the native lenses that you want.
I can see where you're coming from but in all honesty I've had enough of my Canon and just want to move over ASAP.

Most of the features on the A7III I don't need. I mainly shoot cars which are stood still, so don't need mega FPS or insane focus etc.

I mainly want mirrorless so I can have something more compact for street photography, so it's between Sony or a Fuji. I personally would prefer Sony as I don't really want to move back to a crop sensor, but I'm not 100%
 
I can see where you're coming from but in all honesty I've had enough of my Canon and just want to move over ASAP.

Most of the features on the A7III I don't need. I mainly shoot cars which are stood still, so don't need mega FPS or insane focus etc.

I mainly want mirrorless so I can have something more compact for street photography, so it's between Sony or a Fuji. I personally would prefer Sony as I don't really want to move back to a crop sensor, but I'm not 100%

What lens are you thinking for street photography?
 
You'll be fine then.

But I will always be in the camp that save up for what you want.
I do see what you're saying, I really do.

I need the camera ASAP though, and can continue saving when I've got this. At least if I go with the A7II I'm on the Sony ladder and can sell that (even at a slight loss), but keep the lenses etc that I've acquired.
 
I do see what you're saying, I really do.

I need the camera ASAP though, and can continue saving when I've got this. At least if I go with the A7II I'm on the Sony ladder and can sell that (even at a slight loss), but keep the lenses etc that I've acquired.

if IBIS is not a deal breaker and you don't want to adapt canon AF lenses get the A7. its really cheap these days and you can sell it on for a good price. plus this saves you a lot of money for lenses which you'll actually keep unlike the body which you seem to have no intention of keeping.

p.s. if you still want A7II i might know someone selling their's for ~£750-ish if that's of any help...
 
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for all those that pre-ordered tamron 28-75mm there is a £50 off if bought from wilkinson's camera :D
 
This really does not look like a camera bag at all.

gNf0P6r.jpg
You're right it doesn't, but it does look like an extremely expensive leather bag that I wouldn't dare put down...................ever!
 
if IBIS is not a deal breaker and you don't want to adapt canon AF lenses get the A7. its really cheap these days and you can sell it on for a good price. plus this saves you a lot of money for lenses which you'll actually keep unlike the body which you seem to have no intention of keeping.

p.s. if you still want A7II i might know someone selling their's for ~£750-ish if that's of any help...

I like my A7 and it'd be lovely for cars and stuff but I doubt I'd recommend it for anything like "street" unless going old style and doing it hyperfocal / zone as the autofocus is rather leisurely. I think that anyone looking to potentially use one for snappy street shooting should probably try one and see if they're happy with the AF before buying.
 
You're right it doesn't, but it does look like an extremely expensive leather bag that I wouldn't dare put down...................ever!

This is a worry... When eating out one day my leather jacket was on the back of the chair and when we got up to leave some nice person sitting behind had slashed it. Had to get the panel replaced.
 
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