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

twist said:
Well you do have pretty much the top end of gear, its kinda hard to be disappointed with that.
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Yes your right, I guess if I can't get the shot now it's time to give up and take up stamp collecting or something :)

Rob.
 
twist said:
Flipping heck thats small if true, wonder what performance will be like against the biggun.
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Image quality should be great pretty much all their newer lenses are. A.F may be a little iffy in low light. I remember a good while back one of the guys from Sigma saying that they were intending to make smaller mirrorless lenses and he also mentioned that some users were happy to sacrifice some performance for size, so it may not be just as good as their current 85.
 
f/2.8 said:
Image quality should be great pretty much all their newer lenses are. A.F may be a little iffy in low light. I remember a good while back one of the guys from Sigma saying that they were intending to make smaller mirrorless lenses and he also mentioned that some users were happy to sacrifice some performance for size, so it may not be just as good as their current 85.
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Still, even sacrificing some IQ would still make it VERY good, as we know Sigma dont release crap anymore. My full fat art IQ is just amazing and the AF is very fast, like unbelievably fast for such a beast. Probably twice as fast as my 35 ART... but it is a big b****r, surprisingly nice to hold though due to giant focus ring.
 
If it's anywhere near the Sony 85mm f1.8 some could be tempted away from that and towards the new Sigma.

Anyway. Mrs WW with her second home DIY hair cut. I think I'm getting better at this :D

fqUJKcr.jpg


Taken with my trusty A7 and a modern AF lens! The Sony 35mm f1.8 :D
 
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twist said:
Still, even sacrificing some IQ would still make it VERY good, as we know Sigma dont release crap anymore. My full fat art IQ is just amazing and the AF is very fast, like unbelievably fast for such a beast. Probably twice as fast as my 35 ART... but it is a big b****r, surprisingly nice to hold though due to giant focus ring.
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It’s only going to be available for Sony and L mount apparently. Are you gonna switch again?

If it’s considerably lighter as well as smaller I might give it a look to replace my 85 f/1.8.

Would still likely keep a hold of the GM though.
 
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woof woof said:
If it's anywhere near the Sony 85mm f1.8 some could be tempted away from that and towards the new Sigma.

Anyway. Mrs WW with her second home DIY hair cut. I think I'm getting better at this :D

fqUJKcr.jpg


Taken with my trusty A7 and a modern AF lens! The Sony 35mm f1.8 :D
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I wanted an F1.4 and originally bought the Samyang but its a wife lens leaving restricted space between the grip and lens and AF was all over the place so it went back and I got the Sony F1.8 instead.
 
f/2.8 said:
It’s only going to be available for Sony and L mount apparently. Are you gonna switch again?

If it’s considerably lighter as well as smaller I might give it a look to replace my 85 f/1.8.

Would still likely keep a hold of the GM though.
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Not at the moment, dunno what I'll do in the future, quite happy with the current setup, maybe a choice between R6 and mkiv at a later stage. I would've thought initially it'll only be available for E and L but I'd be surprised if sigma are that stupid not to jump on RF and Z mounts.
 
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woof woof said:
If it's anywhere near the Sony 85mm f1.8 some could be tempted away from that and towards the new Sigma.

Anyway. Mrs WW with her second home DIY hair cut. I think I'm getting better at this :D

fqUJKcr.jpg


Taken with my trusty A7 and a modern AF lens! The Sony 35mm f1.8 :D
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You did her hair?? impressive :D

Have any of you tried the Viltrox 85 1.8? I just got it for Fuji, which is obviously APSC so a different animal, but when researching it I found a lot of Sony based channels reviewing it. Many of them were hailing it as better built, faster AF [post FW update] and having better bokeh and sharper stopped down than the Sony 85 1.8. Is this hogwash? a Placebo because it's a lot cheaper and therefore seems better value while being just on par? Just curious. Some of these sony reviewers were using it on E mount also
 
Cagey75 said:
You did her hair?? impressive :D

Have any of you tried the Viltrox 85 1.8? I just got it for Fuji, which is obviously APSC so a different animal, but when researching it I found a lot of Sony based channels reviewing it. Many of them were hailing it as better built, faster AF [post FW update] and having better bokeh and sharper stopped down than the Sony 85 1.8. Is this hogwash? a Placebo because it's a lot cheaper and therefore seems better value while being just on par? Just curious. Some of these sony reviewers were using it on E mount also
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Bokeh looks good but from what I've seen AF isn't great, doubt it's anywhere near as good as the Sony, that lens is rapid.
 
twist said:
Bokeh looks good but from what I've seen AF isn't great, doubt it's anywhere near as good as the Sony, that lens is rapid.
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It's pretty fast after the FW update, it's quiet too, and accurate. I know the Sony is excellent, when I was looking into Sony it was the main lens I was eyeing and watched a bunch of reviews. But if this Viltrox is even close ... with a saving of £200, with all else seemingly being equal or in some cases better for the Viltrox, is anyone with a FF Sony interested I wonder?
 
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Cagey75 said:
You did her hair?? impressive :D

Have any of you tried the Viltrox 85 1.8? I just got it for Fuji, which is obviously APSC so a different animal, but when researching it I found a lot of Sony based channels reviewing it. Many of them were hailing it as better built, faster AF [post FW update] and having better bokeh and sharper stopped down than the Sony 85 1.8. Is this hogwash? a Placebo because it's a lot cheaper and therefore seems better value while being just on par? Just curious. Some of these sony reviewers were using it on E mount also
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I had the earlier V heavy & bulky version, but not the lighter MkII version. Loved the image quality, and it's probably my favourite lens so far in that respect, but the AF was very patchy and failed after less than an hour, with the lens throwing error messages. Firmare updates didn't help. I returned it & got the Sammy 85 f1.4 instead, which was what I'd wanted. I don't need another 85 (or another 50) and I'm keeping the sammy.

My 5th most viewed image was a test shot with the lens before it failed.
Viltrox FE AF 85 f1.8 PFU RBMH-7 by Toni Ertl, on Flickr
 
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ancient_mariner said:
I had the earlier V heavy & bulky version, but not the lighter MkII version. Loved the image quality, and it's probably my favourite lens so far in that respect, but the AF was very patchy and failed after less than an hour, with the lens throwing error messages. Firmare updates didn't help. I returned it & got the Sammy 85 f1.4 instead, which was what I'd wanted. I don't need another 85 (or another 50) and I'm keeping the sammy.
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That's unfortunate, nothing worse than getting a dud, been there :/ I know there was issue with older versions, but the recent FW seems to have fixed all of that. I only just received mine, it was already FW updated and I've been impressed with it. It's the same size and weight as the one you would have had for Sony, I find it pretty nice to handle tbh. I don't mind a bit of weight in a lens so long as it feels stable and comfortable in use, and for me this Viltrox does. The MkII is about 150g lighter I think, the only other improvement I know of is they fixed the lens hood [many had stiff or stuck hoods, mine is nice and clicky on and off] I feel I'm one of the lucky ones regarding the mk1 when I read reports on it, maybe I got one from a later batch? [already up to date FW, no fuss on and off with the hood, speedy AF and can't really find an issue to complain]
 
snerkler said:
I wanted an F1.4 and originally bought the Samyang but its a wife lens leaving restricted space between the grip and lens and AF was all over the place so it went back and I got the Sony F1.8 instead.
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I like the Sony 85mm f1.8's compact size and focus speed but the bokeh is sometimes questionable and I keep thinking back to the Sigma 85mm f1.4 I had for my Canon DSLR's. That was a nice lens, less sharp than the Sony f1.8 but IMO better bokeh.
 
A few snaps taken with my A7 and my old film era Sigma 50mm f2.8 macro.

It's a nice day and the flowers look lovely, these will be zapped off to Mrs WW's mam as she likes to see how the flowers are doing. I've been thinking but I can't remember the last time we had a clear blue sky or anything like it.

Fa4aHJ7.jpg


ltEeV04.jpg


0y8OoCv.jpg
 
woof woof said:
A few snaps taken with my A7 and my old film era Sigma 50mm f2.8 macro.

It's a nice day and the flowers look lovely, these will be zapped off to Mrs WW's mam as she likes to see how the flowers are doing. I've been thinking but I can't remember the last time we had a clear blue sky or anything like it.

That looks a lovely combo Alan,
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woof woof said:
I like the Sony 85mm f1.8's compact size and focus speed but the bokeh is sometimes questionable and I keep thinking back to the Sigma 85mm f1.4 I had for my Canon DSLR's. That was a nice lens, less sharp than the Sony f1.8 but IMO better bokeh.
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TBH I’m yet to encounter any of this so called ugly bokeh from the f1.8, or maybe I just don’t notice it/see it as that bad. However, it’s all about the ‘pop’ for me which is why I’d always prefer the f1.4, and why I particularly like the Samyang as they have ‘that look’ that I really like.
 
Cagey75 said:
You did her hair?? impressive :D

Have any of you tried the Viltrox 85 1.8? I just got it for Fuji, which is obviously APSC so a different animal, but when researching it I found a lot of Sony based channels reviewing it. Many of them were hailing it as better built, faster AF [post FW update] and having better bokeh and sharper stopped down than the Sony 85 1.8. Is this hogwash? a Placebo because it's a lot cheaper and therefore seems better value while being just on par? Just curious. Some of these sony reviewers were using it on E mount also
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I have one that I picked up on Amazon for £210 used like new, turned up in original opened box box with all internal contents and lens all wrapped as brand new. Its a good lens, the Sony is probably a little lighter, possibly focus slightly quicker than this but its not double, nearly treble the price better. Certainly not to me mind. I have used it with an A7ii and updated to latest firmware (may 2020 iirc) and its works fine. I took this shot today while out walking the dog, worth noting I was hand holding this with one hand to take the shot as I had his lead in the other.

I would recommend it, especially at the £200-£300 mark. I havent done back to back testing in the same environment with both lens so I won't say one is better than the other based on anything scientific. I will say its a well made lens, very quiet to, though a little heavy but nothing I really worry about. I hope this helps.

untitled-164 by Anthony Kenny, on Flickr
 
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Tkenny said:
I have one that I picked up on Amazon for £210 used like new, turned up in original opened box box with all internal contents and lens all wrapped as brand new. Its a good lens, the Sony is probably a little lighter, possibly focus slightly quicker than this but its not double, nearly treble the price better. Certainly not to me mind. I have used it with an A7ii and updated to latest firmware (may 2020 iirc) and its works fine. I took this shot today while out walking the dog, worth noting I was hand holding this with one hand to take the shot as I had his lead in the other.

I would recommend it, especially at the £200-£300 mark. I havent done back to back testing in the same environment with both lens so I won't say one is better than the other based on anything scientific. I will say its a well made lens, very quiet to, though a little heavy but nothing I really worry about. I hope this helps.

untitled-164 by Anthony Kenny, on Flickr
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Beautiful dog. I had to view it on Flickr though as the image on here is mahoosive and doesn’t fit my screen ;)
 
Tkenny said:
I have one that I picked up on Amazon for £210 used like new, turned up in original opened box box with all internal contents and lens all wrapped as brand new. Its a good lens, the Sony is probably a little lighter, possibly focus slightly quicker than this but its not double, nearly treble the price better. Certainly not to me mind. I have used it with an A7ii and updated to latest firmware (may 2020 iirc) and its works fine. I took this shot today while out walking the dog, worth noting I was hand holding this with one hand to take the shot as I had his lead in the other.

I would recommend it, especially at the £200-£300 mark. I havent done back to back testing in the same environment with both lens so I won't say one is better than the other based on anything scientific. I will say its a well made lens, very quiet to, though a little heavy but nothing I really worry about. I hope this helps.

untitled-164 by Anthony Kenny, on Flickr
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That is indeed a lovely dog :) I got the Viltrox for Fuji for a steal, like yours it was open box but everything was still mint - probably a tester model as it already had the latest FW installed too. I paid £168 inc delivery to Ireland and had it within 3 days, couldn't beat that! the only real comparison for Fuji is the 90mm F2 which is 4x the price new and 3x used still. It's not a FL for APSC I would use too often so I was never coughing up for that 90mm no matter how excellent it is [oft hailed as the best you can get for Fuji] - comparisons to that 90mm by Fuji specific reviewers have been very favorable especially post FW update, they had complaints about the AF beforehand but many have posted updates and now highly recommend it as a decent budget alternative - and I am always about budget :)

Just wondered how Sony users like yourself who have tried the Sony 85 felt it compared, as it is much more a direct competitor on this system
 
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Tkenny said:
Cheers and Oh s*** lol! I thought the BB code from Flickr would have resized it!
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You can choose different bbcodes, from mega large to really small (y)
 
snerkler said:
You can choose different bbcodes, from mega large to really small (y)
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I usually set mine to medium, 800x on the longest side and they seem to post decent enough - I see people complain about the lack of sharpness in comparison to how the image appears on Flickr, when they post larger
 
Cagey75 said:
I usually set mine to medium, 800x on the longest side and they seem to post decent enough - I see people complain about the lack of sharpness in comparison to how the image appears on Flickr, when they post larger
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That’s odd, I post that size so that it’s better for viewing but it massively cripples the sharpness compared to flickr and find posting the smallest of the large BBcodes the best for IQ
 
Cagey75 said:
That is indeed a lovely dog :) I got the Viltrox for Fuji for a steal, like yours it was open box but everything was still mint - probably a tester model as it already had the latest FW installed too. I paid £168 inc delivery to Ireland and had it within 3 days, couldn't beat that! the only real comparison for Fuji is the 90mm F2 which is 4x the price new and 3x used still. It's not a FL for APSC I would use too often so I was never coughing up for that 90mm no matter how excellent it is [oft hailed as the best you can get for Fuji] - comparisons to that 90mm by Fuji specific reviewers have been very favorable especially post FW update, they had complaints about the AF beforehand but many have posted updates and now highly recommend it as a decent budget alternative - and I am always about budget :)

Just wondered how Sony users like yourself who have tried the Sony 85 felt it compared, as it is much more a direct competitor on this system
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The dog thanks all for the comments, he says he is open to receiving treats, but only as a favour to the internet!

I rented the Sony 85mm and had it from Friday to Monday just before covid started so not really the longest test period. It was a good lens and to be honest nothing about it really struck me as being a lot better than this Viltrox, possibly may have been different if able to test back to back but to be honest I don't think the Viltrox or Sony 85mm are holding the A7ii back, probably more the other way to be honest. Amazon have the Version 2 for £320 and with their return policy; I would take a punt on it at that price as again reviews are favourable and its lost weight!

Worth noting and take with a pinch of salt; you can allegedly upgrade the FW on this lens and it will allow to be used at F1.6. I personally think its probably a software glitch. Viltrox F1.6 is the source.
 
snerkler said:
That’s odd, I post that size so that it’s better for viewing but it massively cripples the sharpness compared to flickr and find posting the smallest of the large BBcodes the best for IQ
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I have noticed a slight dip in sharpness when I directly compare to the original upload on Flickr, but nothing major. I find the medium size displays a little better than large, maybe it's just my monitor? it's just a 22" [I think, must measure]
 
Tkenny said:
The dog thanks all for the comments, he says he is open to receiving treats, but only as a favour to the internet!

I rented the Sony 85mm and had it from Friday to Monday just before covid started so not really the longest test period. It was a good lens and to be honest nothing about it really struck me as being a lot better than this Viltrox, possibly may have been different if able to test back to back but to be honest I don't think the Viltrox or Sony 85mm are holding the A7ii back, probably more the other way to be honest. Amazon have the Version 2 for £320 and with their return policy; I would take a punt on it at that price as again reviews are favourable and its lost weight!

Worth noting and take with a pinch of salt; you can allegedly upgrade the FW on this lens and it will allow to be used at F1.6. I personally think its probably a software glitch. Viltrox F1.6 is the source.
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Ha, if only it were possible to send treats across the net

I've seen that yeah, and it is genuine f/1.6 not just a number change on screen. Sadly it only works for the Sony version. I am interested in seeing reviews on the mkII, if it is any sharper or faster then it would be worth the upgrade, if they turn out to be optically identical then I'd see no need. I kinda like the weight as it is, though single hand shooting would be comfier on the mkII
 
GreenNinja67 said:
That looks a lovely combo Alan,
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The lens only cost about £60 but I've had a lot of use out of it on my A7 and also on MFT where it gives a 100mm equivalent field of view which gives a nice perspective for flower shots.
 
Rumour site says the new A5/A6 entry level camera has just been registered so expect it soon.

Only has one card slot and possibly no evf.
 
f/2.8 said:
Rumour site says the new A5/A6 entry level camera has just been registered so expect it soon.

Only has one card slot and possibly no evf.
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No evf is definitely a bummer. Add on evfs are to expensive and annoying... Imo.
 
snerkler said:
TBH I’m yet to encounter any of this so called ugly bokeh from the f1.8, or maybe I just don’t notice it/see it as that bad. However, it’s all about the ‘pop’ for me which is why I’d always prefer the f1.4, and why I particularly like the Samyang as they have ‘that look’ that I really like.
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The only time it's really something I whinge about is with a messy background like foliage where the cats eye effect also detracts, IMO. I notice it if I take pictures on our walk to the shops (you'll have seen many pictures of the overgrown railway line we walk on... lots of foliage, twigs, branches etc.) If I hadn't had that old Sigma 85mm f1.4 for my Canon DSLR's I'd probably not notice it so much. On the plus side though the Sony f1.8 is sharper than that old Sigma f1.4.

I have this picture framed in our bedroom, A7 and Sony 85mm at f1.8.

89inCe4.jpg
 
snerkler said:
TBH I’m yet to encounter any of this so called ugly bokeh from the f1.8, or maybe I just don’t notice it/see it as that bad. However, it’s all about the ‘pop’ for me which is why I’d always prefer the f1.4, and why I particularly like the Samyang as they have ‘that look’ that I really like.
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I don't think the bokeh is especially ugly from that lens, rather it's the micro-contrast. I see a similar rendering from my 24-105, that makes an image crunchy and slightly displeasing to the point where I instinctively back off clarity oten 30 units or more in LR before the image starts to look pleasing.
 
Cagey75 said:
I have noticed a slight dip in sharpness when I directly compare to the original upload on Flickr, but nothing major. I find the medium size displays a little better than large, maybe it's just my monitor? it's just a 22" [I think, must measure]
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I think there's weirdness at play tbh. I'm not sure it's the monitor size as for me it doesn't matter if I"m viewing on the MBP, iPad or phone, sharpness is reduced by a considerable amount, to the point where I'm embarrassed by my images on here and feel the need to explain. I think it's more likely to do with the way images are exported from Lightroom etc, size, monitor sharpening etc.
woof woof said:
The only time it's really something I whinge about is with a messy background like foliage where the cats eye effect also detracts, IMO. I notice it if I take pictures on our walk to the shops (you'll have seen many pictures of the overgrown railway line we walk on... lots of foliage, twigs, branches etc.) If I hadn't had that old Sigma 85mm f1.4 for my Canon DSLR's I'd probably not notice it so much. On the plus side though the Sony f1.8 is sharper than that old Sigma f1.4.

I have this picture framed in our bedroom, A7 and Sony 85mm at f1.8.

89inCe4.jpg
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ancient_mariner said:
Yeah that's not the most pleasing but I've taken plenty of shots with foliage in the background and not had that so it must be a specific combo. TBH, any lens I've had has had less that optimal bokeh with certain situations, even my beloved 70-200mm VRII
I don't think the bokeh is especially ugly from that lens, rather it's the micro-contrast. I see a similar rendering from my 24-105, that makes an image crunchy and slightly displeasing to the point where I instinctively back off clarity oten 30 units or more in LR before the image starts to look pleasing.
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Interesting, I've never had to reduce clarity, as above I guess there's a lot of variables.
 
woof woof said:
The only time it's really something I whinge about is with a messy background like foliage where the cats eye effect also detracts, IMO. I notice it if I take pictures on our walk to the shops (you'll have seen many pictures of the overgrown railway line we walk on... lots of foliage, twigs, branches etc.) If I hadn't had that old Sigma 85mm f1.4 for my Canon DSLR's I'd probably not notice it so much. On the plus side though the Sony f1.8 is sharper than that old Sigma f1.4.

I have this picture framed in our bedroom, A7 and Sony 85mm at f1.8.

89inCe4.jpg
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Been through all my 85mm images and this is the only image I can find that has bokeh that has any sort of resemblance to yours, but I don't mind it at all.


A7R01910-Edit by TDG-77, on Flickr
 
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