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

furq said:
Hello. I've got an old NEX6 and a bunch of lenses gathering dust. (I bought it s/h and got limited use out of it, as my main camera was a Canon 5D Mk III, now Fuji XT-2)

I'm curious to try an A6300 or maybe an A6500... but concerned my lenses are a little old and low-end.

Does anyone use the 16mm f/2.8 and 20mm f/2.8 with these models? Do they hold up okay? Guessing the 50mm f/1.8 fares a little better?

Looks like the 16-50mm is still the default kits lens with the A6300? So ok, but no great shakes?

I guess the A6500 really deserves lenses like the 10-18mm f4 and 16-70mm f4. Fair comment?

Any guidance appreciated.
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Why not go for the Sigma 19mm 2.8 / 30mm 1.4 (or 2.8 if you prefer) and Sony 50mm 1.8 OSS?
 
furq said:
Hello. I've got an old NEX6 and a bunch of lenses gathering dust. (I bought it s/h and got limited use out of it, as my main camera was a Canon 5D Mk III, now Fuji XT-2)

I'm curious to try an A6300 or maybe an A6500... but concerned my lenses are a little old and low-end.

Does anyone use the 16mm f/2.8 and 20mm f/2.8 with these models? Do they hold up okay? Guessing the 50mm f/1.8 fares a little better?

Looks like the 16-50mm is still the default kits lens with the A6300? So ok, but no great shakes?

I guess the A6500 really deserves lenses like the 10-18mm f4 and 16-70mm f4. Fair comment?

Any guidance appreciated.
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I have the 16-50 and 50 f/1.8 on my A6000.

The 16-50 is an Ok kit lens, it's biggest selling point is it size when powered down, making the camera & lens combination small enough to put in a coat pocket - but it's enough to mean I would see it as a lens to keep even if you also get a higher quality 'walkabout' zoom (you'll not get enough from selling it to offset it's utility).

The 50 f/1.8 is a very nice little lens - would certainly recommend it.
 
SsSsSsSsSnake said:
Just for the record Jonny can you post one here so I don’t make a mistake again and to be fair I never looked at the guy just the lady :D;)
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222px-Butt-head_BevisandButtHead.png
 
twist said:
Why not go for the Sigma 19mm 2.8 / 30mm 1.4 (or 2.8 if you prefer) and Sony 50mm 1.8 OSS?
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Thanks, I have the 50mm. Don't really want to buy additional lenses. More of a case of trying a new camera to make use of what I have.

Guess I'm just curious if a £200 lens (16 or 20mm f/2.8) will do justice to a £1300 camera.

I mean, I think I know the answer (no). Was hoping to be convinced otherwise. ;-)
 
Faldrax said:
I have the 16-50 and 50 f/1.8 on my A6000.

The 16-50 is an Ok kit lens, it's biggest selling point is it size when powered down, making the camera & lens combination small enough to put in a coat pocket - but it's enough to mean I would see it as a lens to keep even if you also get a higher quality 'walkabout' zoom (you'll not get enough from selling it to offset it's utility).

The 50 f/1.8 is a very nice little lens - would certainly recommend it.
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Thanks for input. I've done a bit of research this afteroon, after being out of the E-mount game for a few years. Does seem like the good lenses are pretty big (and expensive).

I guess there's a reason the 16-50 isn't a kit lens on the high-end A6500...
 
furq said:
Thanks, I have the 50mm. Don't really want to buy additional lenses. More of a case of trying a new camera to make use of what I have.

Guess I'm just curious if a £200 lens (16 or 20mm f/2.8) will do justice to a £1300 camera.

I mean, I think I know the answer (no). Was hoping to be convinced otherwise. ;-)
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You could probably sell the 16 and 20 and be able to buy the better 19mm and 30mm 2.8. I dont think you would be able to tell the difference between the A6500 and A6300 sensors with or without the 16-50. I am curious why you wouldn't rather buy a lightly used A7rii and 28-70mm kit lens for about £1300.
 
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furq said:
Thanks for input. I've done a bit of research this afteroon, after being out of the E-mount game for a few years. Does seem like the good lenses are pretty big (and expensive).

I guess there's a reason the 16-50 isn't a kit lens on the high-end A6500...
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The A6500 is a bit of an oddity - it's a great APS-C camera without that's missing the great APS-C lenses to use on it - so you need to get FF lenses, and if you do, you might as well get a FF body (since you'll have spend way more than the cost of a body on lenses!)
 
Faldrax said:
The A6500 is a bit of an oddity - it's a great APS-C camera without that's missing the great APS-C lenses to use on it - so you need to get FF lenses, and if you do, you might as well get a FF body (since you'll have spend way more than the cost of a body on lenses!)
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Bingo.
 
twist said:
@furq what focal lengths do you use mostly? Do you like zoom or primes?
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On Fuji (cropped sensor, of course), I mainly use 10-24mm for city/landscapes, with 23mm/32mm primes for general use and 40-150mm for specialist projects.

I've been thinking about jacking in the Fuji for an A7ii or iii, as I think it will be miles better for city/night work - full frame and better RAW.

But I have this collection of ageing Sony lenses, so I started pondering if I should try an A6300 or A6500 before diving in - hence my question. You guys are right though (thanks) - I'd soon want better lenses, so I'll ditch that idea.

There are two things holding me back from A7x: price of lenses (surprise!) and the size of lenses. I bring my XT-2 and 10-24mm to work every day, and barely notice it in my bag. Hmmm.

(Do we know if there will be a version of the A7iii with the 24-70mm, btw?)
 
furq said:
On Fuji (cropped sensor, of course), I mainly use 10-24mm for city/landscapes, with 23mm/32mm primes for general use and 40-150mm for specialist projects.

I've been thinking about jacking in the Fuji for an A7ii or iii, as I think it will be miles better for city/night work - full frame and better RAW.

But I have this collection of ageing Sony lenses, so I started pondering if I should try an A6300 or A6500 before diving in - hence my question. You guys are right though (thanks) - I'd soon want better lenses, so I'll ditch that idea.

There are two things holding me back from A7x: price of lenses (surprise!) and the size of lenses. I bring my XT-2 and 10-24mm to work every day, and barely notice it in my bag. Hmmm.

(Do we know if there will be a version of the A7iii with the 24-70mm, btw?)
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Both of these are F4, well in terms of DOF the Fuji is F6...... This is the A7iii with VERY highly regarded 16-35 F4. I think you'll be surprised if you do some price comparisons, Fuji is quite expensive for APSC. The Sony 16-35 can be had for about £650 used.... and the A7iii is a much better performer... well it should be its latest AF and FF sensor but comes at a price... about the same as a XH1 used to be when it was new.

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twist said:
This is the A7iii with VERY highly regarded 16-35 F4. I think you'll be surprised if you do some price comparisons
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Yeah, I was just looking at that lens.

Thanks for your input. I may be back in this thread as a A7iii owner soon... ;-)
 
So....which is the BEST Sony camera for sports?

Answer - Sony A9, super fast sports pro camera. I had one. I missed the 42mp files so I sold the A9 and purchased the A7R3 (which I love, by the way!)

Today I received an email from Bennetts (motorcycle insurance brokers) - Dear Sir, Congratulations, you have been chosen to win the following for the British Superbike weekend in Cadwell Park,

- 2 x weekend general admission tickets that’ll get you access on 17th-19th August.

- An exhilarating safety car lap for you and your guest on Sunday 19th August.

- 2 x race day VIP hospitality passes including a grid walk


Ah well, I'm sure the A7R3 will still take pictures!

Has anyone used the Sigma 150-600 lens with the MC-11 adapter on the Sony - I plan on hiring one for the weekend if it is a good combination.

Thanks.
 
Recent purchase a few weeks ago - another Contax Zeiss lens, this time a Distagon 35mm f/2.8 MMJ. 35 is one of my favourite focal lengths and Clocktower in Brighton had one at a reasonable price.

Certainly it's better than some reports I'd read. It suffers perhaps in comparison with the C/Y Distagon 28mm f/2.8 MM, which is genuinely great, but my copy at least is a solid performer and gives little away to its wider sibling.

I now have a useful kit of fairly compact C/Y primes that cover most places between 28mm and 135mm, all with the same 52mm filter size. That will do me fine when I don't need anything faster, wider or longer, which is most of the time.

I think I've been making reasonably good use of the Distagon 35... here are a few examples


Shakedog by Rob Telford, on Flickr


Lexicon by Rob Telford, on Flickr


Parallel Lines by Rob Telford, on Flickr


Frobisher Crescent by Rob Telford, on Flickr


Great Arthur House by Rob Telford, on Flickr
 
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david357 said:
So....which is the BEST Sony camera for sports?

Answer - Sony A9, super fast sports pro camera. I had one. I missed the 42mp files so I sold the A9 and purchased the A7R3 (which I love, by the way!)

Today I received an email from Bennetts (motorcycle insurance brokers) - Dear Sir, Congratulations, you have been chosen to win the following for the British Superbike weekend in Cadwell Park,

- 2 x weekend general admission tickets that’ll get you access on 17th-19th August.

- An exhilarating safety car lap for you and your guest on Sunday 19th August.

- 2 x race day VIP hospitality passes including a grid walk


Ah well, I'm sure the A7R3 will still take pictures!

Has anyone used the Sigma 150-600 lens with the MC-11 adapter on the Sony - I plan on hiring one for the weekend if it is a good combination.

Thanks.
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You don't need A9 for this. Even the A7RII would do fairly well since the action is reasonably predictable. If you are going to rent anyway you are better off renting Sony 100-400mm. Most reports suggest sigma is terrible at AF especially past 400mm with mc-11.
 
nandbytes said:
You don't need A9 for this. Even the A7RII would do fairly well since the action is reasonably predictable. If you are going to rent anyway you are better off renting Sony 100-400mm. Most reports suggest sigma is terrible at AF especially past 400mm with mc-11.
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I ‘m not bothered about not having the A9, just sod’s law that I get a chance at action photography after selling it.
I will look at the sony lens option, is that with the la-ea3 adapter?
 
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david357 said:
So....which is the BEST Sony camera for sports?

Answer - Sony A9, super fast sports pro camera. I had one. I missed the 42mp files so I sold the A9 and purchased the A7R3 (which I love, by the way!)

Today I received an email from Bennetts (motorcycle insurance brokers) - Dear Sir, Congratulations, you have been chosen to win the following for the British Superbike weekend in Cadwell Park,

- 2 x weekend general admission tickets that’ll get you access on 17th-19th August.

- An exhilarating safety car lap for you and your guest on Sunday 19th August.

- 2 x race day VIP hospitality passes including a grid walk


Ah well, I'm sure the A7R3 will still take pictures!

Has anyone used the Sigma 150-600 lens with the MC-11 adapter on the Sony - I plan on hiring one for the weekend if it is a good combination.

Thanks.
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Hi David, I would be tempted to leave any long lens at home and just enjoy your prize rather than worry about 'on track' action.

I don't know if you have been to Cadwell before on a BSB weekend but it will be absolutely heaving! Cadwell has only one decent place to photograph from and that is the Mountain Section. You won't have any special access to the track to take photographs so your best pictures will be where you have got access - around the paddock and a standard lens will be fine for this.

200mm will cover the Mountain Section.

Enjoy your prize.
 
Fraser Euan White said:
Hi David, I would be tempted to leave any long lens at home and just enjoy your prize rather than worry about 'on track' action.

I don't know if you have been to Cadwell before on a BSB weekend but it will be absolutely heaving! Cadwell has only one decent place to photograph from and that is the Mountain Section. You won't have any special access to the track to take photographs so your best pictures will be where you have got access - around the paddock and a standard lens will be fine for this.

200mm will cover the Mountain Section.

Enjoy your prize.
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Thank you for the information, I haven’t been to Cadwell Park so will rethink lenses.
 
david357 said:
I ‘m not bothered about not having the A9, just sod’s law that I get a chance at action photography after selling it.
I will look at the sony lens option, is that with the la-ea3 adapter?
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No as mentioned above it's a native lens.

There is also a smaller 70-300mm if you decide go for a smaller size one in the end. You'll do just fine with 300-400mm reach especially with the cropping power of A7RIII
 
Just for fun while waiting for Mrs WW, A7 and Voigtlander 35mm 100% crops at f1.4, 2 and 8 and then with a 50mm macro. Focus is on the little thingy indicated...

1-35-1-4-DSC01291.jpg



35-2-DSC01292.jpg

35-8-DSC01284.jpg

50-DSC01260.jpg
 
Riz_Guru said:
@woof woof have you ordered the Sony A7 III yet? :D ;)
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I've thought about it but honestly there's no point and I'd just be buying stuff for the sake of buying a new toy, not that there's anything wrong with buying new toys but most of the time I use manual lenses and even when I use af I don't need fast focus plus to be honest I'm losing interest in the kit and could probably get by perfectly well with a kit lens, a fast prime and my macro for either my Sony A7 or my MFT cameras. Even a fast prime is ok for flower shots and the like once cropped. I do want to keep the A7 though for old film era lenses and for when I want the best picture quality I can get from a small form camera and lens.

If my A7 dies I'll probably get whatever is current at the time but for now it's perfectly fine :D

I've actually been thinking about buying a car, maybe an Aston Martin or a Jag or maybe a Range Rover as I've never had a 4x4. Any of those would eat into the new toy budget.
 
PS.
I've been thinking about this lot but I doubt I'll sell anything yet.

Minolta fit...

Min.jpg

Olympus fit...

Oly.jpg

Canon FD and Nikon fit...

Can.jpg

There's duplication and even triplication there which you guys wont understand :D but they do all have their own look at wider apertures.
 
david357 said:
So....which is the BEST Sony camera for sports?

Answer - Sony A9, super fast sports pro camera. I had one. I missed the 42mp files so I sold the A9 and purchased the A7R3 (which I love, by the way!)

Today I received an email from Bennetts (motorcycle insurance brokers) - Dear Sir, Congratulations, you have been chosen to win the following for the British Superbike weekend in Cadwell Park,

- 2 x weekend general admission tickets that’ll get you access on 17th-19th August.

- An exhilarating safety car lap for you and your guest on Sunday 19th August.

- 2 x race day VIP hospitality passes including a grid walk


Ah well, I'm sure the A7R3 will still take pictures!

Has anyone used the Sigma 150-600 lens with the MC-11 adapter on the Sony - I plan on hiring one for the weekend if it is a good combination.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

You will be ok getting track shots on the Friday and Saturday but it will be heaving on the Sunday. Lot of places you be fine with 200mm, bottom of the mountain, the first part of Hall bends. But they are quite a few spots where longer are very handy, the run between Hall bends and the hairpin, Charlies in and out,
shooting the chicane after Mansfield from Coppice bank and the exit of Coppice itself.
Either way as been already said wouldn't bother taking pictures Sunday unless your hospitality passes will get you inside by the mountain section (probably wont but you can hope).
 
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