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

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Merlin5 said:
No problem Toby. :)



Very nice photo Les(y) I was youtubing about macro photography last night. I'm not sure how much of it I'd do. The Raynox could be fun to use occasionally but it seems to really get into it I'd also need a ring light, and/or a flash or dual flash, and a diffuser. I think I'll see how I get on with just the Raynox to start. My F1.4 primes might work well with natural light. But I suspect using my 70 to 350 F4.5 to 6.3 will be difficult to get good exposure without artificial light unless it's a really really sunny day.

But with your F2.8 macro lens, are you getting most macro shots without any flash?
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I use a flash with diffuser as you need to stop down quite a lot to get any reasonable DOF
Lez325 said:
I rarely use flash as f2.8 is wide enough even on overcast days Lee

But I am an awesome photographer ha ha :) :).
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If you use f2.8 for 1:1 macro DOF must be thinner than a piece of paper ;)
 
woof woof said:
I can't watch this with the sound on so I don't know why but I hopefully will in the morning.

"July 2021: Buy the Sony a7R II (TWO), Brand-New, for $1200 While Supplies or Sale Lasts."

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZMz82M1J0k
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I really enjoyed my A7RII. Its such a great body and that sensor was way ahead of its time. Keeps up with the latest and greatest even today.
 
I'll watch the vid with sound in the morning.
 
Watching the competition... This is a nice looking camera and lens, IMO :D

www.dpreview.com

Nikon Z fc Review

The Nikon Z fc is a midrange ILC with the same eye-catching design as the company's classic film cameras. It's not just a good-looking camera, though: it's quite capable. Read our review to find out if the Z fc is right for you.
www.dpreview.com www.dpreview.com
 
Cupotea said:
I can't watch this guys videos. His way of taking makes my brain feel strange. Like Jeff Goldblum on acid.
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I have that joy of joys to come when I can turn the sound on :D I wonder if there are subtitles :D
 
There's a bit on macro/extreme macro here...

fstoppers.com

Extreme Macro: Pushing Photographic Equipment Beyond Normal Restraints | Fstoppers

Original, innovative photography is hard to find. However, Ethan Beckler has excelled. He leads the way in macro photography, pushing camera and lens technology beyond normal limits and creating astounding art at the same time. With great generosity, he shares his techniques with us.
fstoppers.com fstoppers.com
 
nandbytes said:
I really enjoyed my A7RII. Its such a great body and that sensor was way ahead of its time. Keeps up with the latest and greatest even today.
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The only thing stopping me is that it doesn't use the same battery as the R3/R4. I can even live with the Single Memory Card for personal/travel stuff, but the battery thing tips it over the edge. Not sure why it bothers me that much.
 
Raymond Lin said:
The only thing stopping me is that it doesn't use the same battery as the R3/R4. I can even live with the Single Memory Card for personal/travel stuff, but the battery thing tips it over the edge. Not sure why it bothers me that much.
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bothers me too and also the only reason I haven't picked one up :D
I really like having the same battery for all my bodies. I am glad Sony kept the z battery for A7C.
 
I very briefly thought about it and even Googled prices but I think that for the moment I have no gas and my A7 does really do just about everything I want.

Good luck to those who go for one and I'll doubtless be just a teeny bit jealous :D
 
nandbytes said:
I really enjoyed my A7RII. Its such a great body and that sensor was way ahead of its time. Keeps up with the latest and greatest even today.
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I bought one a couple of months ago for less than a grand brand-new. Couldn’t get on with it so I sold it. Battery life was abysmal. No wonder they pack 2 in the box. Even for me, who doesn’t shoot more than double figures in a day, it was annoying. And, even for landscapes, I’ve got used to AFC tracking on the A7C, which of course is cr#p on the R2. Maybe I should have persevered, but it just didn’t gel.
 
I have the A7R2 and don't find the battery life terrible at all.

I suppose I got used to it having come from the Olympus.

I've never used more than 2 batteries even on a long landscape shoot.

I have 5 just in case but they're not exactly bulky to carry round in the bag.
 
GreenNinja67 said:
I have the A7R2 and don't find the battery life terrible at all.

I suppose I got used to it having come from the Olympus.

I've never used more than 2 batteries even on a long landscape shoot.

I have 5 just in case but they're not exactly bulky to carry round in the bag.
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It's not how long they last, but I have 8 of the new Z battery already.
 
GreenNinja67 said:
I have the A7R2 and don't find the battery life terrible at all.

I suppose I got used to it having come from the Olympus.

I've never used more than 2 batteries even on a long landscape shoot.

I have 5 just in case but they're not exactly bulky to carry round in the bag.
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I wonder if it's any worse than my A7?

I used to try to routinely carry two batteries but sometimes just take the one.
 
snerkler said:
I use a flash with diffuser as you need to stop down quite a lot to get any reasonable DOF
If you use f2.8 for 1:1 macro DOF must be thinner than a piece of paper ;)
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It is and even at f8 its narow :)
 
Guys QQ just received my A1 soooo excited, Battery needs charging, BUT i tested it switched on. Am i right in thinking this one takes the APPs again ?
I remember buying loads for my R2, then the R3 didnt have the option..... Does it use them again ?
 
GreenNinja67 said:
I have the A7R2 and don't find the battery life terrible at all.

I suppose I got used to it having come from the Olympus.

I've never used more than 2 batteries even on a long landscape shoot.

I have 5 just in case but they're not exactly bulky to carry round in the bag.
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I have 4 batteries for mine, that has always done the job for me. The A7R2 is a cracking camera, it is so good that it makes the upgrade path complicated. A7R3 = not enough of an upgrade to justify the cost, A7R4 probably is, but do I need all those megapixels?

I think the A1 probably hits the sweet spot :-) (in about 3 yrs time when 2nd hand prices are good!
 
MrMackyB said:
I have 4 batteries for mine, that has always done the job for me. The A7R2 is a cracking camera, it is so good that it makes the upgrade path complicated. A7R3 = not enough of an upgrade to justify the cost, A7R4 probably is, but do I need all those megapixels?

I think the A1 probably hits the sweet spot :) (in about 3 yrs time when 2nd hand prices are good!
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Maybe mine had a power leak fault, I don’t know. But I do know I have never had to change a battery in the field on any other camera (including Olympus) and I don’t want to, although I do carry spares with me. It’s the same with memory cards. Also I seem to have recently taken umbrage with cameras which have the faux pentaprism hump. Must be something to do with being a grumpy old man. :p
 
snerkler said:
@Merlin5 these are taken with a 150-600mm zoom lens at it's min focus distance (around 8ft from memory)

DSC_7221 copy by TDG-77, on Flickr
DSC_7071 2 by TDG-77, on Flickr




If you want the really close ups like these then you'll need a dedicated macro set up (macro lens, reversed prime etc). These were shot with a 105mm macro lens at its min focus distance (around 30cm from the sensor)

DSC_9577 by TDG-77, on Flickr

DSC_8056 2 by TDG-77, on Flickr

DSC_8759 by TDG-77, on Flickr
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Excellent stuff Toby
 
Mike.P said:
Anyone tell me how the AF on the RIV compares to the a9? As good as the a9 is the resolution just doesn't quite do it for me.

I know the autofocus isn't as good but is it 80% of the a9 ... more ... less ?


Peregrine Falcon New Milton Water Tower by Michael Pursey, on Flickr


Peregrine Falcon New Milton Water Tower by Michael Pursey, on Flickr


Peregrine Falcon New Milton Water Tower by Michael Pursey, on Flickr
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why choose when you can have both, get the A1 and be done with it :D

to answer your question if the A9 is say 80-90% of my current A1 (I have only briefly used A9) then I'd say A7RIV is more like 60-70% of A9 for AF.

True blackout free shooting is a revelation for shooting wildlife!
 
Mike.P said:
Anyone tell me how the AF on the RIV compares to the a9? As good as the a9 is the resolution just doesn't quite do it for me.

I know the autofocus isn't as good but is it 80% of the a9 ... more ... less ?


Peregrine Falcon New Milton Water Tower by Michael Pursey, on Flickr


Peregrine Falcon New Milton Water Tower by Michael Pursey, on Flickr


Peregrine Falcon New Milton Water Tower by Michael Pursey, on Flickr
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It is in no way close to the a.f of the A9, A9II not used an A1 to know if it’s as good as the A9 series everyone else seems to think it is.

I had an A7RIV I bought for a project but sold it again after finding the a.f wasn’t up to par even fir weddings would imagine it would struggle with stuff that actually moves fast.

To be fair I have probably been spoiled with the A9.
 
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I've had an annoying fault with the shutter release crop up on my A7III. Sometimes it won't respond to a press at all, sometimes it tries to focus but the contact makes for a moment repeatedly and the focussing system 'flick-flick-flickers' as it tries to lock, sometimes it locks - unlocks and re-locks. Just occasionally it works OK. The fault is present with multiple lenses including the 24-105.

It's going to have to go back to Sony unless someone knows of a menu issue that causes this.
 
f/2.8 said:
It is in no way close to the a.f of the A9, A9II not used an A1 to know if it’s as good as the A9 series everyone else seems to think it is.

I had an A7RIV I bought for a project but sold it again after finding the a.f wasn’t up to par even fir weddings would imagine it would struggle with stuff that actually moves fast.

To be fair I have probably been spoiled with the A9.
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Is the A7iv af really that bad compared to the A9? That's certainly settled my niggling doubt that maybe I should have got the A7iv instead.
 
gman said:
Is the A7iv af really that bad compared to the A9? That's certainly settled my niggling doubt that maybe I should have got the A7iv instead.
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no its not. I think he's over exaggerating. Plenty of people on this forum and elsewhere inc. me who have shot plenty of action with it.
its not as good as the A9 but I wouldn't say it struggles. Even the lowly A7RII was half capable at shooting action. I think some people just like their hyperboles :p
in fact its actually better than the A7III.
 
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The a7r4 is really very good for most things but you do see a difference when you put it down and pick the a9mk2 for birding i saw quite a marked improvement in focus and shooting speed a bit like a 7dmkII and a 1dx it just felt turbo charged to me but this is only really felt when birding .
the a1 is just a little quicker than the a9mkII but of cause it has bird eye AF so the whole package feels better .

Rob.
 
gman said:
Is the A7iv af really that bad compared to the A9? That's certainly settled my niggling doubt that maybe I should have got the A7iv instead.
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I thought it was quite poor, always the chance I had a bad one I guess, but a friend of mine had the same issues and sold there’s on too.

I said at the time on here even though it has real time tracking I found it missed an awful lot. Found that even the A7III was much better in terms of a.f reliability and it doesn’t even have real time tracking.

Was very good for the project I used it for as I need a high res body but that was all static subjects for anything that moves I found it poor compared to my A9, A9II and A7III. A6400 was much more reliable too.
 
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ancient_mariner said:
I've had an annoying fault with the shutter release crop up on my A7III. Sometimes it won't respond to a press at all, sometimes it tries to focus but the contact makes for a moment repeatedly and the focussing system 'flick-flick-flickers' as it tries to lock, sometimes it locks - unlocks and re-locks. Just occasionally it works OK. The fault is present with multiple lenses including the 24-105.

It's going to have to go back to Sony unless someone knows of a menu issue that causes this.
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Sounds like the common sticky shutter button issue, happens on all Sony bodies usually caused by debris getting in behind the shutter button. Sometimes you can rocket blow the debris out otherwise it will need to go in to have the button removed area cleaned and reassembled.
 
f/2.8 said:
It is in no way close to the a.f of the A9, A9II not used an A1 to know if it’s as good as the A9 series everyone else seems to think it is.

I had an A7RIV I bought for a project but sold it again after finding the a.f wasn’t up to par even fir weddings would imagine it would struggle with stuff that actually moves fast.

To be fair I have probably been spoiled with the A9.
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I find the A9 much better too and only really use the A7R IV for slower moving subjects. I'm surprised it wasn't up to weddings though. Not shot many people shots but the ones I have it did fine.
 
wookie6262 said:
I find the A9 much better too and only really use the A7R IV for slower moving subjects. I'm surprised it wasn't up to weddings though. Not shot many people shots but the ones I have it did fine.
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For portraits and detail shots the A7RIV was great for everything else not so much. I count on fast reliable a.f for capturing all those in the moment type shots that are important for the way I shoot weddings. The a.f just wasn’t reliable enough compared to the other options.
 
nandbytes said:
no its not. I think he's over exaggerating. Plenty of people on this forum and elsewhere inc. me who have shot plenty of action with it.
its not as good as the A9 but I wouldn't say it struggles. Even the lowly A7RII was half capable at shooting action. I think some people just like their hyperboles :p
in fact its actually better than the A7III.
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I have 2 x a7Riv's and the tracking for me is good enough for the wildlife I shoot

like this Oystercatcher- which as many know is NOT a slow bird - Sony a7Riv with the FE 200-600mm

DSC00646 Oystercatcher Fly by by Les Moxon, on Flickr

Or this Swallow - not known to be sluggish- I'll stick with what I know :)

bdI8Tjh.jpg
 
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f/2.8 said:
For portraits and detail shots the A7RIV was great for everything else not so much. I count on fast reliable a.f for capturing all those in the moment type shots that are important for the way I shoot weddings. The a.f just wasn’t reliable enough compared to the other options.
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I have a genuine question here, I guess I could also ask Raymond as you both are pro's rather than hobbyists so have different expectations from your tools.
Im guessing that this has been your job for a while so how did you manage 10 yrs ago, as there must have been a noticeable improvement in AF since then? So if you think the A7RIV is bad now, you really must have had alot of frustration back then with the kit you had available to use? Did people just ignore AF and shoot manual for certain shots?

Or is it that as AF has improved, it has opened up new ways to shoot so the benchmark has gone up as you use a camera differently now because of the better technology? Shots you get now, you just wouldn't have bothered trying back then..

Or have expectations gone up with every new generation of camera? Are there long standing issues that manufacturers just never fix?

I know before my A7R2 I would upgrade just for the higher MP count, that seemed important for me, when actually 2 of my favourite pictures that I have taken were on a Canon G2 (4MP) and a Canon S90 (around 10MP), so my logic when I bought my Sony was flawed. I probably didn't even need a DSLR , a decent point and shoot would have probably done. However by then I had been sucked into the joys of photography forums and bitten by GAS :)
It was very hard at the time to resist the reviews for the a7R2, I suspect if I had the money now, Id have fallen for the A1 as I know it would have solved problems that I didn't even know I had until GAS kindly told me..

Even now I have an itch for a new camera early next year, don't need one, but it suddenly seems like the ideal way to celebrate my next big birthday.
 
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Lez325 said:
I have 2 x a7Riv's and the tracking for me is good enough for the wildlife I shoot

like this Oystercatcher- which as many know is NOT a slow bird - Sony a7Riv with the FE 200-600mm

DSC00646 Oystercatcher Fly by by Les Moxon, on Flickr

Or this Swallow - not known to be sluggish- I'll stick with what I know :)

bdI8Tjh.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice ones, especially the swallows. Harder catch in flight and then follow it.
 
Lostmymojo said:
Excellent stuff Toby
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Thanks very much.
Mike.P said:
Anyone tell me how the AF on the RIV compares to the a9? As good as the a9 is the resolution just doesn't quite do it for me.

I know the autofocus isn't as good but is it 80% of the a9 ... more ... less ?
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From my experience the A7RIV was good until it came to subjects heading towards the camera in which case it struggled massively for me. The A9ii is much better in this regard from my experience.
MrMackyB said:
I have a genuine question here, I guess I could also ask Raymond as you both are pro's rather than hobbyists so have different expectations from your tools.
Im guessing that this has been your job for a while so how did you manage 10 yrs ago, as there must have been a noticeable improvement in AF since then? So if you think the A7RIV is bad now, you really must have had alot of frustration back then with the kit you had available to use? Did people just ignore AF and shoot manual for certain shots?

Or is it that as AF has improved, it has opened up new ways to shoot so the benchmark has gone up as you use a camera differently now because of the better technology? Shots you get now, you just wouldn't have bothered trying back then..

Or have expectations gone up with every new generation of camera? Are there long standing issues that manufacturers just never fix?

I know before my A7R2 I would upgrade just for the higher MP count, that seemed important for me, when actually 2 of my favourite pictures that I have taken were on a Canon G2 (4MP) and a Canon S90 (around 10MP), so my logic when I bought my Sony was flawed. I probably didn't even need a DSLR , a decent point and shoot would have probably done. However by then I had been sucked into the joys of photography forums and bitten by GAS :)
It was very hard at the time to resist the reviews for the a7R2, I suspect if I had the money now, Id have fallen for the A1 as I know it would have solved problems that I didn't even know I had until GAS kindly told me..

Even now I have an itch for a new camera early next year, don't need one, but it suddenly seems like the ideal way to celebrate my next big birthday.
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People's expectations have just got better. I remember not so long ago how much the D750 was lauded by wedding togs for its AF and ability to "nail every shot" but now it's seen as poor against the competition.
 
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