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

On my 2560x1440 screen Toby has post 3 sizes which don't look the same size to me.

Are you viewing on a phone?

Thank you Terry. Wow, yeah, I wonder why my phone does that. It's the same using two different phone browsers. On my laptop I can now see they're three different sizes. :facepalm: I guess I have to choose bigger images then if I want to display them sharper.


Well you have an A6600 right, take it out any try it at ISO6400 :)

The three sigma f1.4 primes, 16-55/2.8 and 70-350mm certainly make APS-C attractive.

p.s. APS-C doesn't give you more focal range just gives you a narrower field of view. Focal length like the aperture is independent of the sensor size and are physical attributes of the lens. What APS-C really gives you is more pixels i.e. resolution (which is useful) than actually extended focal range.

Thanks nandbytes, I'm really appreciating your help. :) I don't have the camera yet to try.
I sort of understand what you're saying, but if aps-c doesn't give me more actual focal range, a 70-350mm which changes to 105 to 525mm on aps-c is presumably going to allow me to see and capture subjects much closer in the same way as true extended focal range, right?

Also if you use Topaz DeNoise on your images you could probably go to higher than 6400 ISO.

As a test I went to 25600 ISO and it really worked.

View attachment 294372


View attachment 294373

Wow! That looks amazing. Doesn't look like you lose much detail. Can that not be done in lightroom with noise reduction? How much does it cost? By the way, I really like your night time Samyang images above. Please tell me you took those on an aps-c, and what aperture to get those star shapes out of the lighting? But it's probably your a7Rii,
 
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Thank you Terry. Wow, yeah, I wonder why my phone does that. It's the same using two different phone browsers. On my laptop I can now see they're three different sizes. :facepalm: I guess I have to choose bigger images then if I want to display them sharper.




Thanks nandbytes, I'm really appreciating your help. :) I don't have the camera yet to try.
I sort of understand what you're saying, but if aps-c doesn't give me more actual focal range, a 70-350mm which changes to 105 to 525mm on aps-c is presumably going to allow me to see and capture subjects much closer in the same way as true extended focal range, right?



Wow! That looks amazing. Doesn't look like you lose much detail. Can that not be done in lightroom with noise reduction? How much does it cost? By the way, I really like your night time Samyang images above. Please tell me you took those on an aps-c, and what aperture to get those star shapes out of the lighting? But it's probably your a7Rii,


Hi Lee,

I think I paid about £40 for the Topaz DeNoise AI but it's worth every penny.

Sorry, I did use my A7Rii for the Bewdley night shots.

To get the stars I just stopped the lens down to f8, f11 & f13 on a couple.

Each lens either produces good stars, rubbish stars or in between, it's all down to the number and shape of aperture blades.

I wasn't expecting this lens to be that good as there are 7 rounded blades but it does a fair job.
 
Hi Lee,

I think I paid about £40 for the Topaz DeNoise AI but it's worth every penny.

Sorry, I did use my A7Rii for the Bewdley night shots.

To get the stars I just stopped the lens down to f8, f11 & f13 on a couple.

Each lens either produces good stars, rubbish stars or in between, it's all down to the number and shape of aperture blades.

I wasn't expecting this lens to be that good as there are 7 rounded blades but it does a fair job.

Yeah those stars look really nice. Well, if it's possible for me to get as clean and contrasty (I think that's the right term?) night time images on an a6600 with an f1.4 or f2.8 lens as you're getting on your a7Rii I'd be very pleased indeed.
 
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Middle one looks far sharper when viewed on phone
The 1600's look positively soft on my BenQ PD2700Q photo monitor.

I also prefer the middle ones.
Wow that’s interesting, the 1600 look far sharper than the two smaller ones On both my Mac and iPad Pro, and are the same as they look on flickr. So not only does the bbcode size make a difference, the viewing screen does too :banghead::banghead::banghead:
If I'm understanding how you're doing this, you're choosing between medium and large sizes of the Flickr bb codes? I've also noticed my photos being softer on here. But how are you getting your 3 photos all to look the same size?
If I post a photo at 800 and at 1600, the 1600 looks too big on here.
On iPad and computer they’re different sizes (y)
 
Thanks nandbytes, I'm really appreciating your help. :) I don't have the camera yet to try.
I sort of understand what you're saying, but if aps-c doesn't give me more actual focal range, a 70-350mm which changes to 105 to 525mm on aps-c is presumably going to allow me to see and capture subjects much closer in the same way as true extended focal range, right?

Erm... Not quite.
So let's take the 70-350mm for example. You put that on A6600 you will get a field of view of 105-525mm at 24mp (so yes you subjects so seem closer)

Let's take the same lens and put it on A7III. Assuming you will use the camera in APS-C mode (as lens image circle won't be large enough to cover whole FF sensor). Your result will still be 105-525mm field of view but at 10mp

Put it on A7RIII and you still have 105-525mm field of view at 18mp

And with A7RIV you will have 105-525mm field of view at 26mp (So more than any current Sony APS-C body)

so what you gain by buying APS-C bodies over FF is essentially digital reach i.e. more pixels than actually optical reach.

Wow! That looks amazing. Doesn't look like you lose much detail. Can that not be done in lightroom with noise reduction? How much does it cost? By the way, I really like your night time Samyang images above. Please tell me you took those on an aps-c, and what aperture to get those star shapes out of the lighting? But it's probably your a7Rii,

Lightroom is no where as good as topaz denoise for NR. I use both in my workflow. LR for majority of the processing and topaz denoise when I really require noise reduction.
It can be had for a good price while on offer which is about 4-5 times in a year. There is also a code you can find looking on rumour sites or googling that'll get you a further 10-15% off over their standard discount.

Edit:
Looks like it's on offer right now. Use "loyal15" code for further 15% off to get it for $51 (~£40)
 
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Guys, I'm pondering buying the Sigma 16mm f1.4, but I've been considering stretching my budget and almost pressed the trigger for the Sony 16-55mm f2.8 which would suit me better for the convenience of the range of focal lengths. Then I watched a video comparing the Sigma trio with the 16-55 and it was pretty much a draw.

However, many of the commenters who watched that video made a point that the 16-55 2.8 lens on the a6600 will be no good for low light performance compared to the f1.4 lenses and therefore the ISO would need considerable increasing which will make it noisy.

It makes sense because aps-c has a smaller sensor than full frame with less light coming in and I think they said that f2.8 is equivalent to f4.2 on full frame (or something like that). Any thoughts on that? Anything smaller than f1.4 is going to be a problem once the daylight starts to go? I'd save £550 though by just buying the 16mm f1.4.
I have the Sigma 16mm F1.4, I bought it primarily because of the close minimum focus distance ( 25cm / 9.8in.) and the beautiful way it separates the subject from the background even at relatively close distances.
50188073268_5965f2f76a_b.jpg

50319390108_e9feebaef2_b.jpg

50382228428_19e892a5bf_b.jpg

All taken on Sony A6500 and at F1.4.
 
Yeah those stars look really nice. Well, if it's possible for me to get as clean and contrasty (I think that's the right term?) night time images on an a6600 with an f1.4 or f2.8 lens as you're getting on your a7Rii I'd be very pleased indeed.

They were all taken at !SO 100 and 200.

If you look at the RAW it looks crap.

It's all in the processing.
 
Erm... Not quite.
So let's take the 70-350mm for example. You put that on A6600 you will get a field of view of 105-525mm at 24mp (so yes you subjects so seem closer)

Let's take the same lens and put it on A7III. Assuming you will use the camera in APS-C mode (as lens image circle won't be large enough to cover whole FF sensor). Your result will still be 105-525mm field of view but at 10mp

Put it on A7RIII and you still have 105-525mm field of view at 18mp

And with A7RIV you will have 105-525mm field of view at 26mp (So more than any current Sony APS-C body)

so what you gain by buying APS-C bodies over FF is essentially digital reach i.e. more pixels than actually optical reach.



Lightroom is no where as good as topaz denoise for NR. I use both in my workflow. LR for majority of the processing and topaz denoise when I really require noise reduction.
It can be had for a good price while on offer which is about 4-5 times in a year. There is also a code you can find looking on rumour sites or googling that'll get you a further 10-15% off over their standard discount.

Edit:
Looks like it's on offer right now. Use "loyal15" code for further 15% off to get it for $51 (~£40)

Thanks. That A7R1V would suit me down to the ground. Pity it's out of the question for me at nearly £2500 for the body alone! But anyway, I see what you're saying. I believe you're saying that effectlvely I can crop in more on the aps-c at 525mm field of view and maintain detail because there's more pixels to work with.


I have the Sigma 16mm F1.4, I bought it primarily because of the close minimum focus distance ( 25cm / 9.8in.) and the beautiful way it separates the subject from the background even at relatively close distances.
50188073268_5965f2f76a_b.jpg

50319390108_e9feebaef2_b.jpg

50382228428_19e892a5bf_b.jpg

All taken on Sony A6500 and at F1.4.

They look great. How have you found the night time performance of that combo?

They were all taken at !SO 100 and 200.

If you look at the RAW it looks crap.

It's all in the processing.

Ah that's interesting. Yeah when I look at people's photos, and I've looked at a ton as there's some amazing photographers on here, I never really know how much of what I see is close to what came straight out of the camera and how much is processing.
 
Thanks. That A7R1V would suit me down to the ground. Pity it's out of the question for me at nearly £2500 for the body alone! But anyway, I see what you're saying. I believe you're saying that effectlvely I can crop in more on the aps-c at 525mm field of view and maintain detail because there's more pixels to work with.

Yep that's it (y)
 
Just read something about the A7C that might interest a few. The red record button looks like it's programmable.
 
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Remind me - because I’m too lazy to look - what is the body weight?
 
@Merlin5 , I haven't used that lens at night yet, it's a good idea though and I'll have a go.

Please do! I'd really like to see how they look. :) Of course, it's bloomin' raining all the time so probably not much chance just yet.
 
I keep meaning to try Topaz DeNoise on an image shot at max ISO on my A7Rii but keep forgetting to do it.

Might try over the weekend in the studio.

Well worth spending the time doing this.
I have managed to salvage a few really nice keepers from old shots.
 
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NICE



I wouldnt bother with it. The A7M4 will have the same features plus a fold screen, a better EVF and much more.
 
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Just read something about the A7C that might interest a few. The red record button looks like it's programmable.

Yes, I read that. I also read that you can go to 1/8,000 sec in "silent mode" so that would allow the use of wide apertures in good light however I haven't been able to find if switching between the mechanical shutter and electronic can be set to auto as if it can shooting at wide aperture and fast shutter speeds would be more or less seamless, as it is with my Panasonic MFT cameras which automatically select the electronic shutter if speeds faster than 1/4,000 are needed. This could still leave some electronic shutter issues but I can't remember ever being affected by any and wouldn't be shooting at 1/4,000+ under artificial lighting.

I do like the idea of the A7c but I will almost certainly not get one because of the missing front dial as I don't like using that back wheel. Good luck to those who don't mind, but it's not for me.
 
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I wouldnt bother with it. The A7M4 will have the same features plus a fold screen, a better EVF and much more.
I wouldn't bother with the A7m4 it will be bigger and heavier.
 
I’m amazed that the size of the A7c is such an appealing feature.
 
I’m amazed that the size of the A7c is such an appealing feature.
it was the main reason i moved to e-mount from a-mount. I am really glad they are catering for those people or people like myself again

edit:
I'd be even happier with a thinner body with no IBIS. And even better if it came with a high-res sensor (>36mp). but I can live with this for now :D
 
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But the fact that being smacked over and over with the cripple hammer is what's made it smaller is a massive put off.
 
I’m amazed that the size of the A7c is such an appealing feature.
I kind of wish they'd stuck the old battery in and made it even smaller. I'd also be willing to do without IBS, though that is a nice feature to have even though Sonys IBS is a bit pants.
I'd also be happy with a plain non movable screen on the back if it made it smaller.
 
I kind of wish they'd stuck the old battery in and made it even smaller. I'd also be willing to do without IBS, though that is a nice feature to have even though Sonys IBS is a bit pants.
I'd also be happy with a plain non movable screen on the back if it made it smaller.

agree with all apart from the battery bit (at least for myself).
Its nice to not have to main two different battery sets and I have kinda got used to the nice long battery life :D
 
Unlikely, but then I don't where a trench coat.
neither do i
original A7 easily fit in my normal jacket pockets and even in some trousers in a pinch.

went through a long trip in Italy with A6000 around my neck and a nex7 in my jacket pocket. was really nice.
 
The only thing appealing about the A7c to me is the flippy rear screen and tweaked AF. The small weight saving *IMO* doesn't make up for the lack of features and rangefinder ergonomics, and it seems in almost every way a lesser tool apart from being just a little smaller.

Now that Panny S5 OTOH with 20-60mm std lens looked interesting. ;)
 
The only thing appealing about the A7c to me is the flippy rear screen and tweaked AF. The small weight saving *IMO* doesn't make up for the lack of features and rangefinder ergonomics, and it seems in almost every way a lesser tool apart from being just a little smaller.

Now that Panny S5 OTOH with 20-60mm std lens looked interesting. ;)

I'd say its more than "just a little smaller". It is noticeable.
I can definitely tell the difference between A6XXX bodies and larger A7 bodies especially having had both at the same time and switched back and forth between them.
 
Not having the evf hump can make a camera seem more compact and can make it easier to get in and out of a bag. My Panasonic RF style camera are just the evf hump and a smaller grip smaller than my A7 but they do feel even smaller.
 
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