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

JJ! said:
How do you have the LCD off but still active if you press like the play button? I turned it in to manual and to turn it back on I seemed to have to go back in to the menu via the viewfinder?
Click to expand...
the display button allows you to cycle through the lcd modes to turn it off, but not permanently like you have. then when you press the menu button/play etc it brings it back up,
 
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I asked Mrs WW what she thought of the Canikon systems...

A7 and 55mm f1.8 at f1.8...

DSC01629.jpg

I don't think she understood the question :D

Berries at f1.8...

DSC01620.jpg

I haven't used this lens for a while, it's good :D

I'm getting an old film era 35mm f2.8 tomorrow :D

PS.
A 100% crop from that picture of the Mrs...

DSC01629.jpg

The face detect seems to have hit her eyes. I took two pictures and both are sharp on the eyes on my screen - but they'll lose a bit from being posted here. Is that luck or design?
 
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woof woof said:
I asked Mrs WW what she thought of the Canikon systems...

A7 and 55mm f1.8 at f1.8...

View attachment 133847

I don't think she understood the question :D

Berries at f1.8...

View attachment 133848

I haven't used this lens for a while, it's good :D

I'm getting an old film era 35mm f2.8 tomorrow :D
Click to expand...

FFS Alan. Just buy a sigma 35. Then you have a lovely AF trio for your a7iii.
 
I don't like big lenses. An old lens plus an adapter is usually about the size of the 55mm f1.8 which is just about ok.

I can't see myself buying one of the bigger lenses but a more compact 35mm f1.8 might get me very interested at anything under £1k.

I'm still debating the A7III, the A7 seems to do well with AF lenses and face detect and the only real issue seems to be lower light AF speed which is relatively poor and certainly not up to MFT speed.
 
woof woof said:
I don't like big lenses. An old lens plus an adapter is usually about the size of the 55mm f1.8 which is just about ok.

I can't see myself buying one of the bigger lenses but a more compact 35mm f1.8 might get me very interested at anything under £1k.

I'm still debating the A7III, the A7 seems to do well with AF lenses and face detect and the only real issue seems to be lower light AF speed which is relatively poor and certainly not up to MFT speed.
Click to expand...

28 f2?
 
Tried the Z7 at LCE strand today
Lenses I used mainly - native 35mm F1.8 and F-mount 70-200mm f4 with FTZ adapter. Briefly tried Z 24-70mm f/4 and F 24-70mm f2.8.

Body:
- Ok fine I'll admit it, it's more comfortable than the Sony though I'd still prefer a smaller body :p
- the EVF is very nice, couldn't really tell it was better or worst than the Sony even though the Nikon rep claimed it was because of the optics in the EVF. LCD was definitely better on Z7.
- touchscreen is a joy to use for everything apart from when using the EVF where it just doesn't work which is bit of a short sight IMO for a feature which otherwise would have been perfect. One thing Sony allows you to do is use it as a trackpad for AF point.
- both bodies have joysticks that works while using EVF and LCD but I found Sony's nicer to use not that there is anything wrong with nikons.
- I missed the back control wheel I normally have set to change ISO. You only have two control dials on Nikon.
- IBIS works equally well as it does on my A7RIII. In fact since it's easier to handhold some lenses with Z7 you'll probably end with better results on Z7 with IBIS.
- buffer sucks on Z7 but clears fairly quickly. The rep said when CFexpress cards become a thing it'll clear instantaneously and that Nikon will release a FW update to support them. But the thing is though you'll never want to really shoot at 9fps. So at 5fps and that XQD, most will probably do just fine with the buffer depth. It doesn't need to support 10fps with slower SD cards.
- Z7 is really well built and fully weathersealed even with the FTZ adapter. The rep was happy pouring a bottle of water on it to the prove the point. Sony really needs to get their act together on build quality and weatherseal.
- high ISO performance seemed very nice and slightly better than Sony though we'll have to wait and see on that.
- Sony has pixel shift, Nikon didn't seem to have it and the rep didn't know what it was so I am going to say Z7 doesn't have this feature (until someone proves me wrong).

AF:
- AF-S is better than Sony! Big surprise. But Sony has DMF with focuspeaking.
- AF-C with both Nikon lenses was a bit hit and miss. I am not sure if it's because it was a new camera or if the camera was genuinely unreliable. I had a rough hit rate of about 50% which is kinda low. Comparatively I can get 80-90% (depending on lens) on the A7RIII.
- the PDAF area covers the entire frame which is nice for sure but I'd expect a better hit rate across the frame with it.
- the AF works equally well with adapted lenses as with native lenses.
- Face AF was equally unreliable though when it did nail focus it seemed to have eyes in sharp focus (make what you will of that!).

Lens:
- 35mm f1.8 seems larger than necessary (bit like sigma ARTs). 24-70mm f4 seems to be about the size of Sonys (not keen on such a lens personally).
- Nikon rep claimed the (focus) ring on the lens was fully customisable so you can re-assign it to something else. Didn't try it myself but seemed like a nice feature to have.

For me what Sony needs takeaway from this :
- For love of all that's holy please release a 35mm f1.8 (preferably more like the new Canon RF than the nikon Z)
- Fix the weatherseal and build
- Add in-camera focus stacking
- Release a 300mm f4 PF style lens which makes perfect sense for mirrorless bodies!

For me nikon needs to:
- Fix the AF if it does indeed need fixing
- 8fps at least
- Add Eye-AF
- bigger buffer

Of course these are personal wants. I know professionals would want 2 card slots for example but doesn't bother me much.
Will be Interesting to see who get there first...
 
woof woof said:
I don't like big lenses. An old lens plus an adapter is usually about the size of the 55mm f1.8 which is just about ok.

I can't see myself buying one of the bigger lenses but a more compact 35mm f1.8 might get me very interested at anything under £1k.

I'm still debating the A7III, the A7 seems to do well with AF lenses and face detect and the only real issue seems to be lower light AF speed which is relatively poor and certainly not up to MFT speed.
Click to expand...
The way your going Brexit will be over and done by the time you get that A7iii :p
 
nandbytes said:
Tried the Z7 at LCE strand today
Lenses I used mainly - native 35mm F1.8 and F-mount 70-200mm f4 with FTZ adapter. Briefly tried Z 24-70mm f/4 and F 24-70mm f2.8.

Body:
- Ok fine I'll admit it, it's more comfortable than the Sony though I'd still prefer a smaller body :p
- the EVF is very nice, couldn't really tell it was better or worst than the Sony even though the Nikon rep claimed it was because of the optics in the EVF. LCD was definitely better on Z7.
- touchscreen is a joy to use for everything apart from when using the EVF where it just doesn't work which is bit of a short sight IMO for a feature which otherwise would have been perfect. One thing Sony allows you to do is use it as a trackpad for AF point.
- both bodies have joysticks that works while using EVF and LCD but I found Sony's nicer to use not that there is anything wrong with nikons.
- I missed the back control wheel I normally have set to change ISO. You only have two control dials on Nikon.
- IBIS works equally well as it does on my A7RIII. In fact since it's easier to handhold some lenses with Z7 you'll probably end with better results on Z7 with IBIS.
- buffer sucks on Z7 but clears fairly quickly. The rep said when CFexpress cards become a thing it'll clear instantaneously and that Nikon will release a FW update to support them. But the thing is though you'll never want to really shoot at 9fps. So at 5fps and that XQD, most will probably do just fine with the buffer depth. It doesn't need to support 10fps with slower SD cards.
- Z7 is really well built and fully weathersealed even with the FTZ adapter. The rep was happy pouring a bottle of water on it to the prove the point. Sony really needs to get their act together on build quality and weatherseal.
- high ISO performance seemed very nice and slightly better than Sony though we'll have to wait and see on that.
- Sony has pixel shift, Nikon didn't seem to have it and the rep didn't know what it was so I am going to say Z7 doesn't have this feature (until someone proves me wrong).

AF:
- AF-S is better than Sony! Big surprise. But Sony has DMF with focuspeaking.
- AF-C with both Nikon lenses was a bit hit and miss. I am not sure if it's because it was a new camera or if the camera was genuinely unreliable. I had a rough hit rate of about 50% which is kinda low. Comparatively I can get 80-90% (depending on lens) on the A7RIII.
- the PDAF area covers the entire frame which is nice for sure but I'd expect a better hit rate across the frame with it.
- the AF works equally well with adapted lenses as with native lenses.
- Face AF was equally unreliable though when it did nail focus it seemed to have eyes in sharp focus (make what you will of that!).

Lens:
- 35mm f1.8 seems larger than necessary (bit like sigma ARTs). 24-70mm f4 seems to be about the size of Sonys (not keen on such a lens personally).
- Nikon rep claimed the (focus) ring on the lens was fully customisable so you can re-assign it to something else. Didn't try it myself but seemed like a nice feature to have.

For me what Sony needs takeaway from this :
- For love of all that's holy please release a 35mm f1.8 (preferably more like the new Canon RF than the nikon Z)
- Fix the weatherseal and build
- Add in-camera focus stacking
- Release a 300mm f4 PF style lens which makes perfect sense for mirrorless bodies!

For me nikon needs to:
- Fix the AF if it does indeed need fixing
- 8fps at least
- Add Eye-AF
- bigger buffer

Of course these are personal wants. I know professionals would want 2 card slots for example but doesn't bother me much.
Will be Interesting to see who get there first...
Click to expand...

FPS is a real let down for me and the Canon is even worse! Maybe the next Z models will be the ones to look out for.
 
JJ! said:
FPS is a real let down for me and the Canon is even worse! Maybe the next Z models will be the ones to look out for.
Click to expand...

I think canikon will have a fairly tough time, more so Nikon due to funds, they have to fund and develop DSLR and milc systems for a good few years in terms of cameras and lenses to keep their large user base happy, so im not sure they will cannibalise to much and will have a fair amount of product variation in the line ups, Sony quite easily dumped A mount.
 
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nandbytes said:
Tried the Z7 at LCE strand today
Lenses I used mainly - native 35mm F1.8 and F-mount 70-200mm f4 with FTZ adapter. Briefly tried Z 24-70mm f/4 and F 24-70mm f2.8.

Body:
- Ok fine I'll admit it, it's more comfortable than the Sony though I'd still prefer a smaller body :p
- the EVF is very nice, couldn't really tell it was better or worst than the Sony even though the Nikon rep claimed it was because of the optics in the EVF. LCD was definitely better on Z7.
- touchscreen is a joy to use for everything apart from when using the EVF where it just doesn't work which is bit of a short sight IMO for a feature which otherwise would have been perfect. One thing Sony allows you to do is use it as a trackpad for AF point.
- both bodies have joysticks that works while using EVF and LCD but I found Sony's nicer to use not that there is anything wrong with nikons.
- I missed the back control wheel I normally have set to change ISO. You only have two control dials on Nikon.
- IBIS works equally well as it does on my A7RIII. In fact since it's easier to handhold some lenses with Z7 you'll probably end with better results on Z7 with IBIS.
- buffer sucks on Z7 but clears fairly quickly. The rep said when CFexpress cards become a thing it'll clear instantaneously and that Nikon will release a FW update to support them. But the thing is though you'll never want to really shoot at 9fps. So at 5fps and that XQD, most will probably do just fine with the buffer depth. It doesn't need to support 10fps with slower SD cards.
- Z7 is really well built and fully weathersealed even with the FTZ adapter. The rep was happy pouring a bottle of water on it to the prove the point. Sony really needs to get their act together on build quality and weatherseal.
- high ISO performance seemed very nice and slightly better than Sony though we'll have to wait and see on that.
- Sony has pixel shift, Nikon didn't seem to have it and the rep didn't know what it was so I am going to say Z7 doesn't have this feature (until someone proves me wrong).

AF:
- AF-S is better than Sony! Big surprise. But Sony has DMF with focuspeaking.
- AF-C with both Nikon lenses was a bit hit and miss. I am not sure if it's because it was a new camera or if the camera was genuinely unreliable. I had a rough hit rate of about 50% which is kinda low. Comparatively I can get 80-90% (depending on lens) on the A7RIII.
- the PDAF area covers the entire frame which is nice for sure but I'd expect a better hit rate across the frame with it.
- the AF works equally well with adapted lenses as with native lenses.
- Face AF was equally unreliable though when it did nail focus it seemed to have eyes in sharp focus (make what you will of that!).

Lens:
- 35mm f1.8 seems larger than necessary (bit like sigma ARTs). 24-70mm f4 seems to be about the size of Sonys (not keen on such a lens personally).
- Nikon rep claimed the (focus) ring on the lens was fully customisable so you can re-assign it to something else. Didn't try it myself but seemed like a nice feature to have.

For me what Sony needs takeaway from this :
- For love of all that's holy please release a 35mm f1.8 (preferably more like the new Canon RF than the nikon Z)
- Fix the weatherseal and build
- Add in-camera focus stacking
- Release a 300mm f4 PF style lens which makes perfect sense for mirrorless bodies!

For me nikon needs to:
- Fix the AF if it does indeed need fixing
- 8fps at least
- Add Eye-AF
- bigger buffer

Of course these are personal wants. I know professionals would want 2 card slots for example but doesn't bother me much.
Will be Interesting to see who get there first...
Click to expand...
when exactly did you try it? i mean what time? Was you the bloke waiting anxiously behind me like a little boy wanting to play with some new toys that i was currently playing with? hehe
 
SsSsSsSsSnake said:
The way your going Brexit will be over and done by the time you get that A7iii :p
Click to expand...

I don't know if I need an A7III. The image quality may be a bit better but I doubt anyone who sees my pictures will ever notice, the AF will be better but if my A7 is good enough will I notice? One thing which may be a big plus is if the A7III can approach the responsiveness and speed of my MFT cameras which as I've said before AF wise are pretty much instantaneous in good light and a lot faster than my A7 in poor light.

Overall responsiveness and especially in lower light are the main weaknesses of my A7 and a significant improvement would be nice for when I want to use AF lenses.
 
twist said:
I think canikon will have a fairly tough time, more so Nikon due to funds, they have to fund and develop DSLR and milc systems for a good few years in terms of cameras and lenses to keep their large user base happy, so im not sure they will cannibalise to much and will have a fair amount of product variation in the line ups, Sony quite easily dumped A mount.
Click to expand...

I think it's Sony who may end up having a tough. On the net there does seem to be a bit of animosity towards them whilst Nikon and Canon seem to get a lot more kudos for being camera equipment companies rather than electronic upstarts who should stick to making TV's. That attitude may not extend to the non forum dwelling masses but the Nikon and Canon brands carry a lot of weight and what are the sales staff in the camera shops going to push? My guess is that a fair few will point those who don't know the advantages and disadvantages of each system towards Canon/Nikon and I wouldn't be too surprised if Thom Hogan's predictions come true and Sony loses the larger part of it's FF market quickly regardless of how much better their products may be.
 
woof woof said:
I don't know if I need an A7III. The image quality may be a bit better but I doubt anyone who sees my pictures will ever notice, the AF will be better but if my A7 is good enough will I notice? One thing which may be a big plus is if the A7III can approach the responsiveness and speed of my MFT cameras which as I've said before AF wise are pretty much instantaneous in good light and a lot faster than my A7 in poor light.

Overall responsiveness and especially in lower light are the main weaknesses of my A7 and a significant improvement would be nice for when I want to use AF lenses.
Click to expand...

Finding the A73 very responsive in low light. Much faster than any D750
 
Money no object, what wide angle would you take on a city break (handheld night shooting will feature a fair bit)?

Sony or Canon mount is fine, but it has to be available on LensesforHire (which to be fair is pretty much every option I'm aware of).

As a fully paid up member of the 'MC-11d Sigma Art Fan Club' I'm struggling to look beyond the 14mm 1.8.

The 35 and 85 Art are already along for the ride, so weight concerns are largely irrelevant at this point!
 
JJ! said:
Finding the A73 very responsive in low light. Much faster than any D750
Click to expand...

I sometimes take family/friend pictures indoors in low light and for that my A7 is pretty useless with AF lenses for all but posed shots, snap shots are pretty much impossible and I'm really better off with MF so I use MF or my Panasonic MFT AF kit instead.
 
Mmmm yeah so that eye a.f isn’t too shabby. :D

What’s the handiest custom button to set it too?
 
ukaskew said:
Money no object, what wide angle would you take on a city break (handheld night shooting will feature a fair bit)?

Sony or Canon mount is fine, but it has to be available on LensesforHire (which to be fair is pretty much every option I'm aware of).

As a fully paid up member of the 'MC-11d Sigma Art Fan Club' I'm struggling to look beyond the 14mm 1.8.

The 35 and 85 Art are already along for the ride, so weight concerns are largely irrelevant at this point!
Click to expand...

Probably a Batis 25mm
But if you like super wides it may not be for you
 
woof woof said:
I don't like big lenses. An old lens plus an adapter is usually about the size of the 55mm f1.8 which is just about ok.

I can't see myself buying one of the bigger lenses but a more compact 35mm f1.8 might get me very interested ...
Click to expand...

With you 100% on this lens-size thing, though weight remains less of an issue for me...the loxia 85 is surprisingly heavy but is a delight.
Some might argue the best lens in my bag is the 90mm macro, yet is ubdoubtedly least used due to size.
 
The Fuji XT-3 has arrived folks which is probably more interesting than both the Nikon & Canon mirrorless bodies and has dual SD slots lol.

26mp BSI
20 fps [emoji33]
 
jonneymendoza said:
when exactly did you try it? i mean what time? Was you the bloke waiting anxiously behind me like a little boy wanting to play with some new toys that i was currently playing with? hehe
Click to expand...
Think I was the last one up try it out.
Don't think we crossed paths, I'd have recognised you.
 
ukaskew said:
Money no object, what wide angle would you take on a city break (handheld night shooting will feature a fair bit)?

Sony or Canon mount is fine, but it has to be available on LensesforHire (which to be fair is pretty much every option I'm aware of).

As a fully paid up member of the 'MC-11d Sigma Art Fan Club' I'm struggling to look beyond the 14mm 1.8.

The 35 and 85 Art are already along for the ride, so weight concerns are largely irrelevant at this point!
Click to expand...

Do you need AF?

There's a llaowa 15mm f2 which is more reasonably sized.
Tikina firin 20mm f2 is quite nice also

Though not sure these will be available on lenses for hire.

Barring these two I'd simply get the 16-35GM.
 
Riz_Guru said:
The Fuji XT-3 has arrived folks which is probably more interesting than both the Nikon & Canon mirrorless bodies and has dual SD slots lol.

26mp BSI
20 fps [emoji33]
Click to expand...

Yep looks very good. Certainly one of the best crop mirrorless out there. If you like Fuji style of imaging.
 
JJ! said:
How did you find the Zeeeeeee?
Click to expand...
Hi all i just had a hands on with the z7!! with @dancook who was around the area from my work

here are my intial thoughts:

pros:
Better grip and ergonomics then the A9/A7r3
Able to automatically transfer via bluetooth the shots u take but in full res jpg to your phone while you shoot.
AF indoors was fast and smooth on the 35 f1.8 lens
Touch screen on menu is great


Cons:
Rolling shutter and banding in silent shooting mode(@dancook tested this)
35 1.8 lens nearly as big as a 35 1.4

Overal it looks like a camera that can take a beating but if i was a d850 owner i would skip and wait for gen 2 that should fix some of the obvious shortcomings already mentioned here(like 1 card slot, buffer capacity)

Its a good start from Nikon though But as always you should decide if this camera is for you based on your needs and wants.
 
Cagey75 said:
It is X-trans, but a new sensor, isn't ISO kind of faked on all cameras anyway?
Click to expand...

I've not noticed across other brands as I have with Fuji, they are out by quite a bit. Nearly a stop. Shame no ibis. Video mode looks excellent on paper.
 
Nikon rep told me the sensor readout for electronic shutter was not given out. And when I asked if a better camera was coming, perhaps a z9 he seemed offended.
 
jonneymendoza said:
Hi all i just had a hands on with the z7!! with @dancook who was around the area from my work

here are my intial thoughts:

pros:
Better grip and ergonomics then the A9/A7r3
Able to automatically transfer via bluetooth the shots u take but in full res jpg to your phone while you shoot.
AF indoors was fast and smooth on the 35 f1.8 lens
Touch screen on menu is great


Cons:
Rolling shutter and banding in silent shooting mode(@dancook tested this)
35 1.8 lens nearly as big as a 35 1.4

Overal it looks like a camera that can take a beating but if i was a d850 owner i would skip and wait for gen 2 that should fix some of the obvious shortcomings already mentioned here(like 1 card slot, buffer capacity)

Its a good start from Nikon though But as always you should decide if this camera is for you based on your needs and wants.
Click to expand...

Seems an ok start for them - but the FPS situation puts me straight off! Maybe the Z6s in 2020 might be a better one!
 
twist said:
I've not noticed across other brands as I have with Fuji, they are out by quite a bit. Nearly a stop. Shame no ibis. Video mode looks excellent on paper.
Click to expand...

I really hoped for IBIS on it too, but they're doing a bit of a Canon on that front, they don't want to hurt sales of their now Flagship XH1
 
Cagey75 said:
I really hoped for IBIS on it too, but they're doing a bit of a Canon on that front, they don't want to hurt sales of their now Flagship XH1
Click to expand...

Im not sure Id ever buy fuji at full price again, they are releasing cameras very frequently and cashback etc, existing users must be feeling pretty screwed. It used to be what Sony did and it really annoyed.
 
So why can’t the Nikon and Canon do decent FPS with AF and live view?

Behind on the tech or not willing to take all the customers away from the D5/D500 etc?
 
JJ! said:
So why can’t the Nikon and Canon do decent FPS with AF and live view?

Behind on the tech or not willing to take all the customers away from the D5/D500 etc?
Click to expand...

Because they want people to buy their current DSLRs and want to release a Z9/R in a higher spec milc eventually (at higher price of course!). Sony did something radical with the a7iii because they had to with incoming Canikon arrivals.
 
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