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

mpb is a bit odd at times. Within space of few days I have got quotes that's been £30-50 apart. They do claim they check and revise prices everyday but seems like its better to get a few quote from mpb over matter of few days and pick the best one.
 
On the Tuesday of the photography show me and a mate popped out to subway for a quick bite and we were sitting there looking through some shots on the back of my A73, when a couple of guys with lumix t shirts on (obviously from their stand at the show) sat down at the next table and planted down one of the new mirrorless cameras. Didn't leave much room on the table to put their 6 inchers! Anyhow, one of them looked over and said that we should put the toy away and invest in a "real" camera!.... Tossers.

I’d say “Good photographers don’t make comments like that.”
 
Had a bit of an AF workout with this chap yesterday, good to put it through its paces.

47452919592_d7400e8265_b.jpg
 
They probably weren't photographers, but merely salespersons.

That's what I would imagine, also i find it hard to believe anyone would actually say that seriously, they were joking I'd bet. I'd be inclined to openly call them t***s and ask them if they'd like a d*ck comparison right there, see how they handle that one
 
Notice if I export images to fb or Flickr vie Lr cc iPad the images don’t appear as sharp. If I export images to camera roll then from Flickr or fb I import from camera roll it fine
 
Can anyone recommend a good quality screen protector for my 1st generation A7?

My current cheap one is peeling off. I don't tend to get much life out of these cheap ones so I'd like to give a better one a try :D
 
A little pool of light... A7 and 55mm f1.8 at f1.8...

S53WNjG.jpg


As we walked to the shops we were disappointed to see that just about every daffodil flower had been snapped off, mostly only the ones out of reach behind bushes were intact with flowers. On the way back we saw that one nice little bunch near the path that was lovely when we first passed had been stamped on.

What the F is wrong with people? Anything nice just has to be destroyed it seems.
 
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So when will the first proper reviews of the Samyang 85mm f/1.4 come out? Thoughts on it vs the Sony f/1.8? Looks like the Sony is going to be fairly significantly lighter and smaller? I saw a youtube vid saying the Samyang would come in at £599 in the UK. I would have expected them to price it more like £400. Surely it's not going to do well unless it at least equals the AF performance of the Sony, and even then you'd have to really want/need f/1.4 to justify it I guess.
 
Maybe the character of the Samyangs bokeh could attract some people? One thing about the Sony 85mm f1.8 that is maybe questionable is the bokeh. If Samyang have avoided the swirly cats eye thing that alone could get them customers who prefer a more neutral look than the Sony f1.8 gives.
 
Can anyone recommend a good quality screen protector for my 1st generation A7?

My current cheap one is peeling off. I don't tend to get much life out of these cheap ones so I'd like to give a better one a try :D

I use these on my A7III, would assume they have an option for the A7. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07GBYHSZG

I don't like the plastic film type ones these are much more robust.
 
Thanks but they may be for the later models only. I'll see if the same make/supplier does an A7 one.

Ah! There's one for the A7! :D
 
So when will the first proper reviews of the Samyang 85mm f/1.4 come out? Thoughts on it vs the Sony f/1.8? Looks like the Sony is going to be fairly significantly lighter and smaller? I saw a youtube vid saying the Samyang would come in at £599 in the UK. I would have expected them to price it more like £400. Surely it's not going to do well unless it at least equals the AF performance of the Sony, and even then you'd have to really want/need f/1.4 to justify it I guess.

Really? £400 for an AF 1.4 just wouldn’t make sense for them to price it that cheaply. Sigma is £1k and Sony £1.5+.

Makes the Samyang look like a budget option though I’d imagine some prices will be around £400-£450 in time.

I tested it at the show and to me AF wasn’t as good as the Sony FE 85mm 1.8 but some are suggesting that’s it’s really good so maybe it was the copy I tired. IQ seems pretty good.

Sony is definitely smaller, the Samyang is pretty fat.
 
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So when will the first proper reviews of the Samyang 85mm f/1.4 come out? Thoughts on it vs the Sony f/1.8? Looks like the Sony is going to be fairly significantly lighter and smaller? I saw a youtube vid saying the Samyang would come in at £599 in the UK. I would have expected them to price it more like £400. Surely it's not going to do well unless it at least equals the AF performance of the Sony, and even then you'd have to really want/need f/1.4 to justify it I guess.
Same price as the well reviewed samyang 35 1.4, personally I think £600 (UK RRP) is a good price for an af 85 1.4.

Having had a play with it at the photo show, my opinion was if you need 1.4 get it if not get the Sony 85 1.8
 
Most of the photos I take with the Sony A9 I'm not at liberty to post, but finally I have a solution where I can :)

I don't get to choose the images, but I don't have to worry about permissions and such

https://danielcook.com/school/

If the Sony A9 II has a global shutter which removes banding from artificial light sources like projectors and coloured LEDs, it might be a worthy upgrade for me :D
 
WEX have 20% off Peak Design straps and bags, 20% off Vanguard, 20% off 3 Legged thing and 20% of Sandisk although they are already over priced for those via voucher codes on their site.

I picked up a few bits earlier on, it's supposed to be an online offer but my local shop was happy enough to honour it in store for me.
 
i have finally tested out the new 5.0 in a real world scenario and here are my thoughts.

Pros of the new Tracking system

  • Locks on very fast now
  • More accurate
  • Sticks better on the subject
cons
  • The AF sometimes still jumps on a different player due wearing same jersey
  • AF sometimes did not work at all. As if i am in manual mode?(bug) i have to sometimes zoom out with my lens to kick start the AF system again

Samples:

JR900649.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

JR900472.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

JR900340.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

JR900352.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr


below an example of it sticking to this player in the background even though the defender in the foreground blue shirt cam across him during this shot

JR900456.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

spoiler alert but to me it seems all of a sudden i can crop redicolousy more!!

full size pic below cropped and shot from the other side of the pitch

JR900721.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr
 
I use these on my A7III, would assume they have an option for the A7. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07GBYHSZG

I don't like the plastic film type ones these are much more robust.
I read somewhere that the rear screens on the Alpha series came with a thin flexible plastic protective outer film that could be removed if or when needed. Would a (presumably rigid) glass protector adhere satisfactorily on top of such a flexible plastic surface? Does anyone have definite information as to whether the A7 rear screen does in fact come with a protective film?
 
Anyone using a 3rd party battery grip for the mark III series or a9. Have tried a couple of 3rd party ones and the quality is appalling.
 
I read somewhere that the rear screens on the Alpha series came with a thin flexible plastic protective outer film that could be removed if or when needed. Would a (presumably rigid) glass protector adhere satisfactorily on top of such a flexible plastic surface? Does anyone have definite information as to whether the A7 rear screen does in fact come with a protective film?


I linked the ones I use above, been using them for months with no issues.
 
Anyone using a 3rd party battery grip for the mark III series or a9. Have tried a couple of 3rd party ones and the quality is appalling.

Couldn’t be much worse than the Sony one, worst made grip I have ever had awful build quality. Even the very cheapest Chinese grips for my D750 etc where much better build.
 
Couldn’t be much worse than the Sony one, worst made grip I have ever had awful build quality. Even the very cheapest Chinese grips for my D750 etc where much better build.

Exactly why I don't want to spend £300 on the Sony one. Had the official one on the a7r2 and it was pretty much same quality as the £40 meike one I had.

It's a shame, as some of the larger lenses make a grip needed.
 
Can anyone recommend a good quality screen protector for my 1st generation A7?

My current cheap one is peeling off. I don't tend to get much life out of these cheap ones so I'd like to give a better one a try :D

I got mine from a place in Scotland....... Pretty sure it was direct & not via eBay etc

Been on there years.
 
i have finally tested out the new 5.0 in a real world scenario and here are my thoughts.

Pros of the new Tracking system

  • Locks on very fast now
  • More accurate
  • Sticks better on the subject
cons
  • The AF sometimes still jumps on a different player due wearing same jersey
  • AF sometimes did not work at all. As if i am in manual mode?(bug) i have to sometimes zoom out with my lens to kick start the AF system again

Samples:

JR900649.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

JR900472.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

JR900340.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

JR900352.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr


below an example of it sticking to this player in the background even though the defender in the foreground blue shirt cam across him during this shot

JR900456.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

spoiler alert but to me it seems all of a sudden i can crop redicolousy more!!

full size pic below cropped and shot from the other side of the pitch

JR900721.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

Did you lose all custom settings after the update?
 
Exactly why I don't want to spend £300 on the Sony one. Had the official one on the a7r2 and it was pretty much same quality as the £40 meike one I had.

It's a shame, as some of the larger lenses make a grip needed.
Why didn't you go with meike again?
 
i have finally tested out the new 5.0 in a real world scenario and here are my thoughts.

Pros of the new Tracking system

  • Locks on very fast now
  • More accurate
  • Sticks better on the subject
cons
  • The AF sometimes still jumps on a different player due wearing same jersey
  • AF sometimes did not work at all. As if i am in manual mode?(bug) i have to sometimes zoom out with my lens to kick start the AF system again

Samples:

JR900649.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

JR900472.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

JR900340.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

JR900352.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr


below an example of it sticking to this player in the background even though the defender in the foreground blue shirt cam across him during this shot

JR900456.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

spoiler alert but to me it seems all of a sudden i can crop redicolousy more!!

full size pic below cropped and shot from the other side of the pitch

JR900721.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr


I have not had any problems with the AF on mine not engaging, it has worked flawlessly since I updated a few days ago....and I have to say it has improved a lot.
I have not tried it with football but the tracking expand flexible spot is great, I have tried with birds in flight, dogs running and jumping, people, bikes, cars. motorbikes...... and I did not get a shot out of focus at all, it it glues to whatever you lock it on and sticks to it like mad.
 
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