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

Fraser Euan White said:
Watched the F1 Grand Prix from Texas on Sunday - considering the market share Sony are reporting and everyone on here stating how good they are not one of the Pro Togs was using any Sony gear whatsoever, all were mainly Canon and some Nikon bodies but definitely no mirrorless or Sony. Looks like the camera isn't as 'revered' as some on here might like to think for the pro sports photographer?

Why hasn't there been this 'mass move' if the camera is 'so good'?

Is it just not the case of while you can salivate all day long about the spec sheets in the real world the DSLR is still better at this present time for this type of photography?
Click to expand...

I dont consider myself a pro along the lines of F1 but i have covered British Superbikes and worked for MSVR and Pirelli for the last eight years and am still on the fence about changing over fully to mirrorless although i know a few that have started. Having invested over the years in Canon as that really was all that was about its a big kick in the nuts to change over to Sony and loose so much money in all honesty on my gear as in the 500mm f4 MKII,400mm f2.8 MKII and 300mm f2.8 MKII regardless how good the A9 is and also as the only prime released so far is the 400mm f2.8.

Many of the togs trackside are from Getty and they get such a discount and service off Canon that you wont see Sony get a look in still for a long time yet regardless how good the cameras and lenses are.

Most the motorsport togs that i know that dont work for agencies still use older gear to be honest and will continue to do this until it falls apart as they just dont earn or have the money for the latest tech as much as they would love to and infact could probably take better pictures with a point and shoot than 95% of people with the latest and greatest kit be it Sony,Canon or Nikon.

Still as far as any mirrorless goes Sony are way in front of anything anyone else can offer at this time,love the features on my A7III and look forward to adding an A9 once funds allow and im sure i will be a convert in the future.
 
Last edited:
woof woof said:
Golly. Dunno about 10K but I'm sure they wont be £600-800 :D

It's interesting that all the chat here is about the Canon whereas on another site it's all about the Nikon.

One thing that does surprise me a little is that these new bodies arguably / probably lag behind the A7III in a few areas that could matter but are more expensive and people are interested. It's as if Sony are still seen as an upstart electronics company who really should be putting their resources into large screen TV's, that's a comment I read somewhere, also read lots of comments to the effect of "Not interested in Sony" and "Would never consider Sony." Fanboys all?
Click to expand...
what do they know :D
 
woof woof said:
The A7 is no speed demon but more than good enough for static people and scenic shots and it'll just about cope with someone at walking speed. That's been my experience anyway. The face detect works quite well, IMO, but I'm not used to the latest kit so the fact that it works at all seems like Voodoo to me. I don't know anything about the D500 but I know a little about MFT as I've had it since the early days. I'd say that an A7 and any of the AF lenses I have (28-70mm, 35mm f2.8, 55mm f1.8 and 85mm f1.8) is possibly not all that bad comparted to the 20mm f1.7 for speed as that lens isn't the quickest. IQ wise an A7 is ahead of the latest MFT 16 and 20mp sensors if you go looking for the differences.

I find all ISO's up to and including the max to be useable with care and basic processing and I've posted lots of high ISO shots here but good luck finding them :D If you're really interested I could (somehow) send you some raws to play with or I'm sure you could Google your way to some raws to download.

One thing to think about with the early cameras is sensor reflections with some lenses in some situations but I can't say it's ever bothered me. Other than that I think that an A7 and a compact lens or two could be well worth a serious look if you don't need a speed demon.

PS.
Lens wise you could look at the Samyang 35mm f2.8 and the 28-70mm kit lens.
Click to expand...

If you don't need blistering AF then the A7 is a cheap way into Sony - It might not stay cheap though if you want the biggest & the best!

If you were lucky you could pick up an A7, 28-70mm & Samyang 35/2.8 plus a few old manual primes/adapters for well under a grand. If you want lightweight shooting with more than adequate IQ you can't go much wrong.
 
LeeRatters said:
If you don't need blistering AF then the A7 is a cheap way into Sony - It might not stay cheap though if you want the biggest & the best!

If you were lucky you could pick up an A7, 28-70mm & Samyang 35/2.8 plus a few old manual primes/adapters for well under a grand. If you want lightweight shooting with more than adequate IQ you can't go much wrong.
Click to expand...

It might be a foot in for next year, I'll see. As you say, the problem is I'll want to upgrade soon after knowing me :rolleyes:
 
How sharp are people finding the Sony 35mm 2.8?
 
Gadget-Guy said:
I dont consider myself a pro along the lines of F1 but i have covered British Superbikes and worked for MSVR and Pirelli for the last eight years and am still on the fence about changing over fully to mirrorless although i know a few that have started. Having invested over the years in Canon as that really was all that was about its a big kick in the nuts to change over to Sony and loose so much money in all honesty on my gear as in the 500mm f4 MKII,400mm f2.8 MKII and 300mm f2.8 MKII regardless how good the A9 is and also as the only prime released so far is the 400mm f2.8.

Many of the togs trackside are from Getty and they get such a discount and service off Canon that you wont see Sony get a look in still for a long time yet regardless how good the cameras and lenses are.

Most the motorsport togs that i know that dont work for agencies still use older gear to be honest and will continue to do this until it falls apart as they just dont earn or have the money for the latest tech as much as they would love to and infact could probably take better pictures with a point and shoot than 95% of people with the latest and greatest kit be it Sony,Canon or Nikon.

Still as far as any mirrorless goes Sony are way in front of anything anyone else can offer at this time,love the features on my A7III and look forward to adding an A9 once funds allow and im sure i will be a convert in the future.
Click to expand...


I spent a lot of time in the paddock at f1 events in 2008/9 and most of the kit was canon then. I think sports was always a market for them and they gave a lot of support at events, having service teams and spares on site. You see similar things at the Olympics. I noticed at a GP last year that there were more Nikons about, still more canon though. I suspect that it's the support thing still.

I've shot canon and Fuji, it was an easy decision for me when I started and I have a fair amount invested in glass so switching would be painful however I constantly feel the pull towards sony and love the fact that they are giving the market a real kit up the arse.

What I don't understand however is all the snobbery from both sides. Just seems pointless.
 
Sunset at Hatchet Pond, seemed to be suffering from banding really bad. This is straight out the camera and recropped in photoshop (and white balance reset).

I have just updated firmware from 1.01 to 2.00 and changed output from SRGB to Adobe RGB so will try again this sunday to see if it improves.

Sunset at Hatchet Pond by Mark Barnes, on Flickr
 
Just in case anyone is interested LCE have the following Canon FD lenses...

28mm f2.8 - £49.99.
35mm f2.8 - £59.99.
50mm f1.8 breech lock - £39.99.
50mm f3.5 macro - £79.99.
100mm f2.8 - £89.99.

They also have a 85mm f1.2 - £599.

That last one doesn't interest me but the others all look nice especially that 35mm f2.8 but I have one already.

I have a Novoflex adapter for my FD's and they all work nicely and in fact I was using a 24mm Miranda in FD and a 50mm f1.4 this morning. I wont say they're up to modern lens standards but they're nice lenses.
 
woof woof said:
Just in case anyone is interested LCE have the following Canon FD lenses...

28mm f2.8 - £49.99.
35mm f2.8 - £59.99.
50mm f1.8 breech lock - £39.99.
50mm f3.5 macro - £79.99.
100mm f2.8 - £89.99.

They also have a 85mm f1.2 - £599.

That last one doesn't interest me but the others all look nice especially that 35mm f2.8 but I have one already.

I have a Novoflex adapter for my FD's and they all work nicely and in fact I was using a 24mm Miranda in FD and a 50mm f1.4 this morning. I wont say they're up to modern lens standards but they're nice lenses.
Click to expand...
100mm is tempting. Wondering if they have a 200mm one?
 
jonneymendoza said:
100mm is tempting. Wondering if they have a 200mm one?
Click to expand...

Yes it is tempting but I have a Rokkor 135mm f2.8 so I don't really need the FD.

Doesn't look like they have a 200mm prime but Ffordes have two 200mm f4's...

https://ffordes.com/category/Lenses/Canon/FD

I'm not a great long lens user but I do have a couple of portraits that I like that I took with the Rokkor 135mm f2.8.

PS.
For anyone who isn't a great user of 28, 35 or 50mm lenses these lenses can make sense as they're so cheap it doesn't matter if you only use them a couple of times a year and also they've great for hyperfocal / Merklinger method or zone focus type shooting. The 28 and 35mm in particular would be great for street shooting and pretending it's 1961 :D
 
Last edited:
Well I’m a fully paid up member of this thread now.

Had a quick play and liking it a lot in terms of feel. There’s a few niggles which I’m sure I’ll iron out / get used to.
 
razor777 said:
Sunset at Hatchet Pond, seemed to be suffering from banding really bad. This is straight out the camera and recropped in photoshop (and white balance reset).

I have just updated firmware from 1.01 to 2.00 and changed output from SRGB to Adobe RGB so will try again this sunday to see if it improves.

Sunset at Hatchet Pond by Mark Barnes, on Flickr
Click to expand...

Nice shot, I was there not long ago and was lucky enough to catch an awesome sunset.

Banding? Yes I do have noticed that on my a7iii too, lots of it, something I did not have problems with on my previous D750.
I have not updated my firmware yet but I believe that was one of the things they were fixing?
 
Livin The Dream said:
Heck yeah Timothy! :)
Click to expand...

Nice, you'll love it, its different (not bad different) in the hand than the d750 but I think thats muscle memory, couple weeks and it'll feel natural. All the customisation is great imo. Hit 10k milestone last week and still very happy with it... which says quite a lot.
 
twist said:
Nice, you'll love it, its different (not bad different) in the hand than the d750 but I think thats muscle memory, couple weeks and it'll feel natural. All the customisation is great imo. Hit 10k milestone last week and still very happy with it... which says quite a lot.
Click to expand...

And there's me holding out until you sell yours :(
 
So, it's the random, shoot whatever's in front of you new camera field test...

A messy bowl of fruit - not arranged like you should.

44639879805_227885fe74_b.jpg


44639879455_7bce97f166_b.jpg


44639879275_136bc6af90_b.jpg


And a very random, slobbin' it selfie - because you can focus on the lens with this little setup dead easy, so why not!

30613132507_788b052f76_b.jpg


Yup, I think I'm going to get on just fine with this little camera, happy days!
 
Last edited:
Livin The Dream said:
So, it's the random, shoot whatever's in front of you new camera field test...

A messy bowl of fruit not arranged like you should.

44639879805_ef66953b76_b.jpg


44639879455_7bce97f166_b.jpg


44639879275_136bc6af90_b.jpg


And a very random, slowish selfie, because you can focus on the lens with this little setup dead easy, so why not!

30613132507_788b052f76_b.jpg


Yup, I think I'm going to get on just fine with this little camera, happy days!
Click to expand...

Tims next and then the rest of the D750 owners. :sneaky:
 
I'm gonna use my manual lenses for a couple of weeks before deciding on my first AF lens, I've only used APSC so don't wanna rush into a prime until I get a feel for FF focal lengths etc.
 
NewBeetle said:
I'm gonna use my manual lenses for a couple of weeks before deciding on my first AF lens, I've only used APSC so don't wanna rush into a prime until I get a feel for FF focal lengths etc.
Click to expand...

What APSC FL is your fav? Pretty easy to figure out then.
 
twist said:
What APSC FL is your fav? Pretty easy to figure out then.
Click to expand...

I know but I'm skirting around the shock of spending £1700 this week and the above is making me feel better haha. I use my 135mm a lot along with 35mm (for close focus stuff) and various 50s and 55s.

As far as native, I'm considering the Sigma 50 1.4, the Sony 85 1.8, the Sigma 70 macro. I do use 135mm and 200mm primes quite a lot, hoping to get one of the 70-200's to kinda cover this sometime but I will continue to use my manual lenses, plus people tell me I will get more out of them on FF especially with the IBIS for the longer ones.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top