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

Performance wise I wouldn't be surprised in the Fuji is faster in operation but I'd take my A7 every single time and not just for the old lenses as pixel peeping I still haven't seen a Fuji APS-C raw that I've downloaded look as good as an A7 raw via my CS5.

I have to disagree.

Sony has never tempted me until this generation and time hasn’t done any favours to its first couple of bodies, it wasn’t great when it came out and its still isn’t great now.

Your obsession (?) of being able to use old lenses are VERY VERY niche, 99% of people will want auto focus and old Sony body sucks, we all know that.

And from what I’ve seen...I’d take my Fuji X-pro 1 flies over those over the A7 any day of the week too.
 
I don’t think the older Sony cameras are a good indication of how good Sony is right now or because to be honest, I’d take a X-T2 over a A7II.

Thanks Raymond. I currently have an X-Pro2 & X100F so the same sensor as the X-T2 and frankly I really don’t like the files from it, so that wouldn’t work for me - apart from the fact I prefer the X-Pro2 over the X-T range.
 
Thanks Raymond. I currently have an X-Pro2 & X100F so the same sensor as the X-T2 and frankly I really don’t like the files from it, so that wouldn’t work for me - apart from the fact I prefer the X-Pro2 over the X-T range.

I think Sony has made strides in their colour science but I think Canon still edged ahead, I find that I need a little more work to get a natural look with the Sony A73 filed to my liking.
 
I don’t think the older Sony cameras are a good indication of how good Sony is right now or because to be honest, I’d take a X-T2 over a A7II.
Next you know you'll be saying you'd rather take f2.8 prime over f1.4 :P

I’ve been thinking about chopping in my Fuji kit and dipping a toe into Sony water with an older model to see how it feels. I’ll be honest and say I’ve been a bit underwhelmed when I’ve picked them up previously but hey I need to be a bit more prudent about these things at present.

I was thinking about picking up an older A7R or A7ii as the used prices on these are pretty good now.

In truth I don’t need the huge MP of the a7r2 which is what led me to look at the A7ii to start really. I’m also not really wanting to drop a huge amount of cash on the new a7iiir until I know Sony is for me.

I’m wondering if anyone here is still using them and their thoughts.
I'd suggest getting an A7RII which is where things started to really improve. These days they go at a very good price, especially a bargain for what you get.
 
I'd suggest getting an A7RII which is where things started to really improve. These days they go at a very good price, especially a bargain for what you get.

My only real issue with the A7RII is the file size which is nowhere near what I need. Hell, this time last year I was happy with my 16mp Nikon Df files :D
 
My only real issue with the A7RII is the file size which is nowhere near what I need. Hell, this time last year I was happy with my 16mp Nikon Df files :D
Well you could shoot in APS-C mode and get 18mp files :D

Before I got A7RII I felt the same way but once you see the results there is no going back :D
 
Well you could shoot in APS-C mode and get 18mp files :D

Before I got A7RII I felt the same way but once you see the results there is no going back :D

Haha! I didn’t know the A7RII did that! :D I think I’ll have to take a closer look at them (y)
 
Thanks Raymond. I currently have an X-Pro2 & X100F so the same sensor as the X-T2 and frankly I really don’t like the files from it, so that wouldn’t work for me - apart from the fact I prefer the X-Pro2 over the X-T range.

No point keeping something if you don't like it. Have a look at the lenses you'd like on Sony first though, as it's not a cheap system. The second hand market is really small as well, and depending on the lens can be bit of a minefield due to variation.
 
No point keeping something if you don't like it. Have a look at the lenses you'd like on Sony first though, as it's not a cheap system. The second hand market is really small as well, and depending on the lens can be bit of a minefield due to variation.

Lens wise is an easy choice - just replicate what I have with Fuji at present, 28mm, 35mm, 85mm. I believe the Sony range of lenses are pretty good st these FL’s.
 
A shameless plug - I have one for sale :D
Haha... I’ve not yet spent enough time in turmoil wondering what to do let alone having buyers remorse before buying or putting funds in place. Doubt yours will be about by the time I’ve gone through this process :D
 
I know, I know... I need to find a new location. But the lough is only 5 minutes drive from home and is by far the best scene for miles around....

Sony A73 with Samyang 35mm f2.8...

Lough Fea Sunset by CFC Photo, on Flickr
I for one will never tire of great photographsofsuch beautiful scenery
 
Haha... I’ve not yet spent enough time in turmoil wondering what to do let alone having buyers remorse before buying or putting funds in place. Doubt yours will be about by the time I’ve gone through this process :D
You never know ;)
It won't last long if it goes on eBay.
 
Won’t be worth as much either ;):D

Unless you fancy and X-Pro2 & X100f in part ex. :p
I normal wait till I get £1 or £3 selling fee offer :D

Nah I am bit if a Fuji hater. People here will tell you I hate Sony also lol, I just happen to dislike it less ;)
 
Lens wise is an easy choice - just replicate what I have with Fuji at present, 28mm, 35mm, 85mm. I believe the Sony range of lenses are pretty good st these FL’s.

You could get the 35/2.8 and 55/1.8 but the 1.4 primes are on the larger side !

4jm3xHH.jpg
 
I have to disagree.

Sony has never tempted me until this generation and time hasn’t done any favours to its first couple of bodies, it wasn’t great when it came out and its still isn’t great now.

Your obsession (?) of being able to use old lenses are VERY VERY niche, 99% of people will want auto focus and old Sony body sucks, we all know that.

And from what I’ve seen...I’d take my Fuji X-pro 1 flies over those over the A7 any day of the week too.

II did say that the Fuji's will probably be faster, I accept that but better image quality? If you believe that good for you :D

Why you then go on and say I'm obsessed I just don't know as if I am or not has nothing to do with file quality. Small man syndrome there maybe :D

But no, I'm not obsessed, it's not an obsession. I just prefer the handling of non fly by wire lenses with end stops and markings. The character these lenses give is another plus as I like it and I like trying to achieve an old photo look sometimes and also there's the fact that they're cheap making it a cheap hobby for me. I'm not going to count my manual lenses this minute but even though I could afford the same number of modern lenses I'm not going to buy them but I do have the bare minimum I need, the excellent 35mm f2.8 and 55mm f1.8 for when I want modern quality :D
 
II did say that the Fuji's will probably be faster, I accept that but better image quality? If you believe that good for you :D

Why you then go on and say I'm obsessed I just don't know as if I am or not has nothing to do with file quality. Small man syndrome there maybe :D

But no, I'm not obsessed, it's not an obsession. I just prefer the handling of non fly by wire lenses with end stops and markings. The character these lenses give is another plus as I like it and I like trying to achieve an old photo look sometimes and also there's the fact that they're cheap making it a cheap hobby for me. I'm not going to count my manual lenses this minute but even though I could afford the same number of modern lenses I'm not going to buy them but I do have the bare minimum I need, the excellent 35mm f2.8 and 55mm f1.8 for when I want modern quality :D

Actually I pondered over the word obsession as the description, I first put "criteria" or "special needs" but obsession seems best fit. Just go back to your posts, you only post about manual focus lenses, your voigtlander, I mean your own post here referred to using adaptor for old glass….the proof is in the pudding really. From where i am standing, it looks like an obsession. It's not a negative, don't take it that way, but it is a niche. Perhaps "love" would be a better word but at the time obsession came to mind.

Also, from what you have posted, and don't take it negatively, the files you posted, the colours from the A7 are frankly unacceptable to me, in my opinion, I would not deliver those to my clients.

So yes, old Sony cameras would not get a recommendation.
 
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Put your money where your mouth is fanboi and post some examples then.
Toni, you are persistently one of the biggest twits not only in this thread but on this entire site. That's an achievement. Well done :D

For the pretence of politeness in the face of your repeated inane and more seriously unfunny twittery I'll say if owning the different makes of kit I've owned over the years makes me a Sony fan boy it's only in the mind of a deluded serial twit like you.

Have I wasted enough time on you yet? Yup.

I think I've said enough times that I couldn't give a flying who makes the kit and maybe I shouldn't say it again :D
 
We decided to visit the Stratford River Festival this weekend and I decided to limit myself to just 1 lens. After spending a few days with it, I’m slowly starting to appreciate the 55mm f1.8, Coupled with the silent shutter its great for in crowds

Untitled by Chris Heathcote, on Flickr

Untitled by Chris Heathcote, on Flickr
 
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Actually I pondered over the word obsession as the description, I first put "criteria" or "special needs" but obsession seems best fit. Just go back to your posts, you only post about manual focus lenses, your voigtlander, I mean your own post here referred to using adaptor for old glass….the proof is in the pudding really. From where i am standing, it looks like an obsession. It's not a negative, don't take it that way, but it is a niche.

Also, from what you have posted, and don't take it negatively, the files you posted, the colours from the A7 are frankly unacceptable to me, in my opinion, I would not deliver those to my clients.

So yes, old Sony cameras would not get a recommendation.

No Ray, obsession just isn't the best fit but if you want to persist with it I think it says more about you and your need to have a bit of a dig. Fair enough, this is the internet, fill your boots.

And for politeness. Yes I post mostly old lens pictures for a few reasons. I post the odd picture that I think is pretty but most of my posts here are gear related as this is a gear thread so when I buy an old lens I post pictures taken with it, probably more than once as the weather and light is sometimes poor so I'll post on bad days, probably the first time I go out with the lens and I can't wait to use it and probably later on good. Just in case anyone is interested :D and I think that some here have actually been tempted towards legacy lenses. Also I think it makes a bit of a difference in what is often a thread tilted very heavily towards expensive modern AF lenses, lenses which are not just expensive in a relative to other makes sense but are also towards the expensive side of the Sony range.

There's no denying you take nice pictures and I can see how you wouldn't want ones like mine to go to a client but we're in different areas. Some of the good stuff here (on the site) means nothing to me, the endless parade of shallow DoF, birds in flight, modern street photography, aviation, model shots... I can appreciate them but I'm not really interested. All I want to do is take pictures of people and places I love and interesting stuff I see and the A7 is the best fit for that and also for the character and old look stuff. You don't like the less neutral look but when used with a more neutral lens and processed sympathetically for a modern look I don't think there's a lot wrong with the colours. There doesn't seem to be a lot wrong with the Voigtlander 35mm pictures I posted recently, they were taken at an aperture which gives a more modern look and they were processed for an uncoloured look and they look fine to me :D and one look in any of the Fuji threads will give you more weird colours than I'd produce in a lifetime. You don't get it. OK, but come on.... Fuji better than a Sony A7? :D
 
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Nice bit of blur on the blade. Did you go for that or was it an accident? :D
 
No Ray, obsession just isn't the best fit but if you want to persist with it I think it says more about you and your need to have a bit of a dig. Fair enough, this is the internet, fill your boots.

And for politeness. Yes I post mostly old lens pictures for a few reasons. I post the odd picture that I think is pretty but most of my posts here are gear related as this is a gear thread so when I buy an old lens I post pictures taken with it, probably more than once as the weather and light is sometimes poor so I'll post on bad days, probably the first time I go out with the lens and I can't wait to use it and probably later on good. Just in case anyone is interested :D and I think that some here have actually been tempted towards legacy lenses. Also I think it makes a bit of a difference in what is often a thread tilted very heavily towards expensive modern AF lenses, lenses which are not just expensive in a relative to other makes sense but are also towards the expensive side of the Sony range.

There's no denying you take nice pictures and I can see how you wouldn't want ones like mine to go to a client but we're in different areas. Some of the good stuff here (on the site) means nothing to me, the endless parade of shallow DoF, birds in flight, modern street photography, aviation, model shots... I can appreciate them but I'm not really interested. All I want to do is take pictures of people and places I love and interesting stuff I see and the A7 is the best fit for that and also for the character and old look stuff. You don't like the less neutral look but when used with a more neutral lens and processed sympathetically for a modern look I don't think there's a lot wrong with the colours. There doesn't seem to be a lot wrong with the Voigtlander 35mm pictures I posted recently, they were taken at an aperture which gives a more modern look and they were processed for an uncoloured look and they look fine to me :D and one look in any of the Fuji threads will give you more weird colours than I'd produce in a lifetime. You don't get it. OK, but come on.... Fuji better than a Sony A7? :D

A wall of text, don’t get upset about what I said because it’s just an opinion and yes, I’d take a X-T2 over a A72.

I’d take a A73 over a X-H1 however.

I never said “better”, you did, I only say what I choose. Only fan boys goes on about “better” really, please don't act like one. You take the tool you like for the job, period.

And why are you so offended about the word obsessed? I think you are, you don't have to accept it but that's my opinion. You can call me obsessed about bokeh, call me obsessed about Taylor Swift, call me obsessed about photography, I am not offended. Not sure why you are being obsessed about manual lenses.
 
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@wibbly

I had the A72 for just over a fortnight with the 50mm FE ...(we didn’t gel) can’t stop myself thinking I should’ve bought the A73..with the 55mm 1.8
 
@wibbly

I had the A72 for just over a fortnight with the 50mm FE ...(we didn’t gel) can’t stop myself thinking I should’ve bought the A73..with the 55mm 1.8
A72 should have never existed IMO. It's a rubbish upgrade over original A7 unless someone really really cares about IBIS for whatever reason.
A7iii or even the A7RII are proper updates where you'll notice useful difference in both AF and IQ.
 
@wibbly

I had the A72 for just over a fortnight with the 50mm FE ...(we didn’t gel) can’t stop myself thinking I should’ve bought the A73..with the 55mm 1.8

A72 should have never existed IMO. It's a rubbish upgrade over original A7 unless someone really really cares about IBIS for whatever reason.
A7iii or even the A7RII are proper updates where you'll notice useful difference in both AF and IQ.

I’ve read some pretty good reviews on the A7ii. Interested in reasons behind why it’s not a good option.
 
I’ve read some pretty good reviews on the A7ii. Interested in reasons behind why it’s not a good option.
AF isn't much better than A7 and IQ is also same because it's exactly the same sensor.
The only useful thing it adds is the IBIS which IMO isn't that big a deal. Most zoom lenses have OS anyway and if you are shooting fast primes you'll seldom need IBIS (the canon and Nikon shooters manage somehow without IBIS ;) ). It's a nice to have but not a deal maker or breaker.
If sony sold a smaller version of A7III, A7RII or A7RIII without IBIS I'd buy it in a heartbeat for the weight savings.
All in all a useless update IMO.
 
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I’ve read some pretty good reviews on the A7ii. Interested in reasons behind why it’s not a good option.

Dave. Image quality is good but nowadays I’m more of a jpeg shooter. I found the colours out of camera a bit disappointing. I bought it because I wanted a lightweight full frame set up.
I hear that the A73 has better colours. Although I’ve not done any meaningful research on jpeg from it.
I figured that with the new Samyang 24mm, the Samyang 35mm 2.8 and the Sony 55mm it’ll make a lightweight setup.
 
AF isn't much better than A7 and IQ is also same because it's exactly the same sensor.
The only useful thing it adds is the IBIS which IMO isn't that big a deal. Most zoom lenses have OS anyway and if you are shooting fast primes you'll seldom need IBIS (the canon and Nikon shooters manage somehow without IBIS ;) ). It's a nice to have but not a deal maker or breaker.
If sony sold a smaller version of A7III, A7RII or A7RIII without IBIS I'd buy it in a heartbeat for the weight savings.
All in all a useless update IMO.

IBIS would be useful for a shaky old fart like me - any help nowadays is a help. ;-)

Dave. Image quality is good but nowadays I’m more of a jpeg shooter. I found the colours out of camera a bit disappointing. I bought it because I wanted a lightweight full frame set up.
I hear that the A73 has better colours. Although I’ve not done any meaningful research on jpeg from it.
I figured that with the new Samyang 24mm, the Samyang 35mm 2.8 and the Sony 55mm it’ll make a lightweight setup.

Thanks Trevor, for sure the A73 looks a great option, I rarely shoot JPG so the RAW files are of more interest.

For the price I may look at picking an A72 up with a 50mm and see how it looks. Keep saving for an A73 in the meantime!
 
Actually I had the half leather grip on so it might be at 1.4kg but certainly would’ve helped for Center of gravity.

Raymond, just read this (catching up after being away for a few days), and then saw the images you posted of the grip later on the page - I notice that the grip moves the tripod socket back (away from the lens). I suspect the chance in COG from the mass of the case would actually be offset by the case mount moving you back and down from the COG, so you might actually be better off not using the case with the gimbal.
 
Raymond Ive no idea how you shoot weddings on 3 systems. Madness. Your editing process must be almost impossible to match colours ?
@Raymond Lin Sell the lot and stick with Sony, buy all the good glass and a extra body :D Save the remaining cash for a Holiday or something.
 
Raymond Ive no idea how you shoot weddings on 3 systems. Madness. Your editing process must be almost impossible to match colours ?

Actually no, I don’t use the Fuji for weddings, well, only did it once last year as a 3rd body on a tripod. But generally have been just Canon 100%, only the last wedding have been a mix of Sony and Canon.

I am planning to get another A7 so I can do dual Sony bodies, but can’t left go of the Canon for the off camera flash stuff just yet.

But talk about redundancy eh? Lol
 
Raymond, just read this (catching up after being away for a few days), and then saw the images you posted of the grip later on the page - I notice that the grip moves the tripod socket back (away from the lens). I suspect the chance in COG from the mass of the case would actually be offset by the case mount moving you back and down from the COG, so you might actually be better off not using the case with the gimbal.

Good point.

Well, I’ll remember that when I get the next gimbal! I returned that one. I’ll invest in a new laptop or lens with the money instead I think.
 
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