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

Merlin5 said:
I called Cameraworld about the Sigma 18-50 f2.8 to see if they have any in their London shop. They're ordering one over from another branch so I can go and try it, probably tomorrow. £429. What do you reckon guys, buy it or wait for a used one? Lol, I want it but don't know if I'm being impatient. I don't need it urgently, although I'm looking forward to having that versatility. But you know what it's like, once there's a bit of gear on our minds, we want it yesterday. :D I suppose £429 is quite cheap for what that lens offers.
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It's weird see, I've never really got on with wide zooms. The last I owned was the 17-40L back in 2013ish...... I then had 28mm as my widest for years after that!
 
Merlin5 said:
I agree with that, Alan. Working only with primes has given me some experience in positioning myself for composition.

Also, this photographer I met who let me try his zoom lens said to me not to zoom in and out randomly but to try and zoom to the marked numbers on the lens to get more familiar with specific focal lengths.
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I can't say I totally agree with all of that :D

If you have some grasp of perspective and by that I mean how the various things in the frame will appear relative to other things in the frame and any stretching or flattening of things that your distance to the subject may cause you may think you need to be X feet or meters from the subject and at around or about 28, 35, 50 or 70mm or whatever but once you're at or about at the distance and position you think you may need to be at to get the perspective and framing you want things may not be perfect and you may want to zoom in or out a bit to include or exclude something in the scene.

For example. I think I want to be at around 50mm and stood about there for a half body shot with that interesting thing in the background, that should look nice, but when I'm there 65mm is a better fit... Or I get there and something is visible in the background and I want the foreground persons body to obscure it so I step forward and take the shot at 42mm So, I wouldn't get hung up on focal lengths. I think it's best to just go with what works best.
 
woof woof said:
I can't say I totally agree with all of that :D

If you have some grasp of perspective and by that I mean how the various things in the frame will appear relative to other things in the frame and any stretching or flattening of things that your distance to the subject may cause you may think you need to be X feet or meters from the subject and at around or about 28, 35, 50 or 70mm or whatever but once you're at or about at the distance and position you think you may need to be at to get the perspective and framing you want things may not be perfect and you may want to zoom in or out a bit to include or exclude something in the scene.

For example. I think I want to be at around 50mm and stood about there for a half body shot with that interesting thing in the background, that should look nice, but when I'm there 65mm is a better fit... Or I get there and something is visible in the background and I want the foreground persons body to obscure it so I step forward and take the shot at 42mm So, I wouldn't get hung up on focal lengths. I think it's best to just go with what works best.
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I guess he was trying to get me to think more specifically about what each 'standard' focal length looks like so that I can make a decision on which I generally prefer, but yeah, I agree with what you say.
 
Merlin5 said:
I guess he was trying to get me to think more specifically about what each 'standard' focal length looks like so that I can make a decision on which I generally prefer, but yeah, I agree with what you say.
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As woof woof says have an understanding of perspective, decide what focal length will give you the shot that you want and go from there. Obviously having an understanding of what a focal length looks like helps with this but I'd say don't get too hung up on it. If you want to go 'that' route then just stick with a single focal length, such as 35mm, and get to know it inside out to the point it becomes instinctive (y)
 
How many camera bags does a photographer need...

fstoppers.com

How Many Camera Bags Does a Photographer Need? | Fstoppers

Every photographer needs a camera bag. Preferably one that not only protects the equipment, but is also comfortable to use. It has to carry at least a camera and a couple of lenses, along with the necessary accessories. Unfortunately, there is not one camera bag that is perfect for every situation.
fstoppers.com fstoppers.com

I started to count mine in my head and decided I'd have to check to be sure as it might just about scrape into double figures but my most used camera bags are actually a cheap man bag and a bag I got free from the National Trust.

How many do you have and are you really looking at another one? :D
 
woof woof said:
How many camera bags does a photographer need...

fstoppers.com

How Many Camera Bags Does a Photographer Need? | Fstoppers

Every photographer needs a camera bag. Preferably one that not only protects the equipment, but is also comfortable to use. It has to carry at least a camera and a couple of lenses, along with the necessary accessories. Unfortunately, there is not one camera bag that is perfect for every situation.
fstoppers.com fstoppers.com

I started to count mine in my head and decided I'd have to check to be sure as it might just about scrape into double figures but my most used camera bags are actually a cheap man bag and a bag I got free from the National Trust.

How many do you have and are you really looking at another one? :D
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Last time I counted a couple of years ago I had 16 bags and I have more now. People keeping buying them for Birthday & Christmas presents, what can you do, it never seems worth the hassle trying to sell so most of them are in the roof space never to be seen again.

I have 3 x Lowepro reporter bags that we regularly use for work a Vanguard hardcase that we regularly use for work and a Billingham Hadley pro that we regularly use for work. I also have a Billingham Hadley small pro that I use for personal stuff.
 
woof woof said:
How many camera bags does a photographer need...

fstoppers.com

How Many Camera Bags Does a Photographer Need? | Fstoppers

Every photographer needs a camera bag. Preferably one that not only protects the equipment, but is also comfortable to use. It has to carry at least a camera and a couple of lenses, along with the necessary accessories. Unfortunately, there is not one camera bag that is perfect for every situation.
fstoppers.com fstoppers.com

I started to count mine in my head and decided I'd have to check to be sure as it might just about scrape into double figures but my most used camera bags are actually a cheap man bag and a bag I got free from the National Trust.

How many do you have and are you really looking at another one? :D
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More than my wife's collection of handbags :LOL:
 
woof woof said:
How many camera bags does a photographer need...

fstoppers.com

How Many Camera Bags Does a Photographer Need? | Fstoppers

Every photographer needs a camera bag. Preferably one that not only protects the equipment, but is also comfortable to use. It has to carry at least a camera and a couple of lenses, along with the necessary accessories. Unfortunately, there is not one camera bag that is perfect for every situation.
fstoppers.com fstoppers.com

I started to count mine in my head and decided I'd have to check to be sure as it might just about scrape into double figures but my most used camera bags are actually a cheap man bag and a bag I got free from the National Trust.

How many do you have and are you really looking at another one? :D
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I actually only have 3....
 
nandbytes said:
I actually only have 3....
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You have far too much restraint.

I rarely throw anything out if it's even remotely useable or if any part of it may be useable so I have just about every bag I've ever bought or been given. I did sell two a few years ago and I got an identical one as a present later.
 
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woof woof said:
You have far too much restraint.

I rarely throw anything out if it's even remotely useable or if any part of it may be useable so I have just about every bag I've ever bought or been given. I did sell two a few years ago and I got an identical one as a present later.
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actually I lie, I have 4 bags :D

I keep meaning to sell one but haven't been able to.
 
So, as it's very nearly December it'll soon be love it or hate it Christmas! Personally, I love it :D I've bought just about everything for everyone already and maybe now just need some more wrapping paper, which I'll get tomorrow, and a couple more cards which I'll probably get next Monday, so I'm very nearly done.

Last year I bought a couple of film era primes for people to give me and this year I bought myself the 24mm f2.8 G so that's it photography wise for me unless I can't resist and order the 40 or 50mm f2.5 G.

How are you doing? Maybe like me you're nearly ready or maybe you haven't started yet or maybe you just wont bother? If you are bothering is anything photography related involved?
 
The park again. A7 and 24mm f2.8.

ee9c8Ic.jpg


I was going for a sort of trees in the light and trees in the shadows thing but also the elderly couple with the guy using a stick and a long way to walk caught my eye.
 
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Mike.P said:
I have 2 bags and really only use the one. They mean absolutely nothing to me apart from being a vehicle to carry my camera gear, if I could do that with a carrier bag I probably would.
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Ha! That brought back memories for me as I used to go to meetings with all my stuff in carrier bags, even my lap top. It just never struck me that this was unprofessional or in any way an issue until our biggest customer told me about someone we both knew (and disliked) who had a lovely brief case but no clue whereas I had a clue and everything they needed to know in my carrier bags. They laughed when they told me. Later someone in purchasing gave me a briefcase as they used to see me walk past with my carrier bags.
 
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For those tempted by a Canon R3...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8YtcHF8ZX4

One limitation with my creaking old A7 is that the face detect doesn't detect faces that are smaller in the frame whereas these newer cameras seem to be able to detect faces which are further away.

There's just no way that I'd ever go for one of these big gripped cameras though.
 
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Mike.P said:
I have 2 bags and really only use the one. They mean absolutely nothing to me apart from being a vehicle to carry my camera gear, if I could do that with a carrier bag I probably would.
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I'm the same, I have only one a Think Tank Retrospective 5. Can't stand bags that scream "camera bag" and have no love for bags in general.
 
robj20 said:
I'm the same, I have only one a Think Tank Retrospective 5. Can't stand bags that scream "camera bag" and have no love for bags in general.
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My most used...

Q3JrikU.jpg


This takes my A7 and lens, spare battery and close up filter and a bottle of water and some biscuits and other stuff.
 
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As it's quiet.

A7 and Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 at f5 and possibly with a No.4 close up filter.

VGzhh4n.jpg


The same lens.

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One last one. She wanted some sand, possibly to mix into a plant pot.

fsGlMQE.jpg


This lens sometimes does badly in reviews but it's one of my favourites and is much better than the older M mount version.
 
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woof woof said:
My most used...

Q3JrikU.jpg


This takes my A7 and lens, spare battery and close up filter and a bottle of water and some biscuits and other stuff.
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I absolutely love my Wotancraft Pilot, it's just so well put together and comfortable on the shoulder. It doesn't look big but I carry my a6600, three lenses, rocket blower, ND filter, cloth, wipes and still have space for a few more things and of course biscuits and sweets are a must. :D I put those in the add on pouch attached to the front.

I have the Tenba DNA 15 as well but not using it anywhere near as much even though it has more pockets and zips. The Wotancraft just looks and feels right for me. It's got a very useful gap running through the centre where I've been able to pull a jacket or jumper through and store it there.
 
The pilot looks nice. I like that man bag of mine because it was cheap and I remember the day we got it on a floating market in Thailand, Mrs WW haggled :D I also like the Billingham Hadley Small Pro as it holds more and can be opened and closed without zips or velcro. I also have a couple of old Town and Country video bags which are is nice.
 
I have a Manfrotto messenger style bag that I got in a sale on Amazon for 43 quid that I like, I only have 1 other, a canvas Donke which I quite like as well.
After talking to my wife again, she doesn't want to get me camera stuff, she has other ideas, so Im waiting for the money transfer across and Im buying the batis 40 F2.
If I owned an a7c I would probably go for either the sony 40 or maybe one of the Sigma I series purely for portability but I dont and although the the images I have seen are very good, to me, same as the GM's, they look way too clinical for me. I've spent too long using vintage lenses I guess. The GM's are technical masterpieces, but they are too perfect for my eyes - I know Im weird when it comes to lenses.
The closing down of the aperture in close focus in a non issue with me, and the AF will be fine for what I need it to do, I just love the rendering of Zeiss lenses and the 40 FL is one I like from my Pentax days so Im can't wait to order it.

I plan on maybe the 20G, the Batis 85 and I will have a nice 67mm filter size trio of primes..
 
E-infinity (£2,269) and Panamoz (£2,390 but with their longer warranty) now both seem to have stock of the A7 IV:

Sony Alpha a7 IV Mirrorless Digital Camera (Body Only)

£2,219.00 - 12 Months<br />Warranty - 14 Days<br />Money Back - 100%<br />Brand New - Free<br />Shipping - Import Tax<br />Included
www.e-infin.com www.e-infin.com

panamoz.com

Sony Alpha a7 IV Mirrorless Digital Camera (Body)

Why Buy From Panamoz.com?Free 3 Year UK/EU/US Local Warranty14 Day Money Back GuaranteePrices include taxes and dutiesAll inclusive prices with no hidden feesProducts are 100% brand new and in boxExpress shipping with insurance and trackingDelivery in 7-14 business days onlySecure payment with...
panamoz.com panamoz.com


Panamoz stock didn't last long. Already out of stock!
 
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I have my Osprey backpack which is my usual go to bag for my photography. The old Lowepro Flipside 300 has come back to me and my boy has my 400 now..... the 300 is just used for storage though. I have a non photography messenger style bag (Firetrap maybe....) which has a perfectly fitting insert in which I sometimes use for city or beach walks etc where I'm not taking the tripod and waterproofs etc
 
MrMackyB said:
If I owned an a7c I would probably go for either the sony 40 or maybe one of the Sigma I series purely for portability but I dont and although the the images I have seen are very good, to me, same as the GM's, they look way too clinical for me. I've spent too long using vintage lenses I guess. The GM's are technical masterpieces, but they are too perfect for my eyes - I know Im weird when it comes to lenses.
The closing down of the aperture in close focus in a non issue with me, and the AF will be fine for what I need it to do, I just love the rendering of Zeiss lenses and the 40 FL is one I like from my Pentax days so Im can't wait to order it.

I plan on maybe the 20G, the Batis 85 and I will have a nice 67mm filter size trio of primes..
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The Sony 20mm f1.8 is a very good modern 20mm lens with very good performance from wide open into the corners, so you may say it's clinical. I'd shy away from words like that as I think I prefer words like "accurate" and phrases like "virtually free of optical issues." I do have a couple of film era wides, a Tokina 17mm f3.5 and a Vivitar 19mm f3.8 and they both have issues compared to a modern lens like the Sony 20mm f1.8 which must be pretty close to state of the art for this sort of lens at this sort of price point.

What you could do is buy the 20mm f1.8 and download the free version of Nik Filters. You can then pick an old camera/film simulation and add as much character as you need but of course you can't really buy an old film era wide and make the pictures look as good as ones from a Sony 20mm f1.8. I'm not taking the P here, I do think there's sometimes a need for accurate vice free pictures and you can add character as and when appropriate as I'm pretty sure some subjects will suit that look whilst others may suit the more clinical look.
 
woof woof said:
The Sony 20mm f1.8 is a very good modern 20mm lens with very good performance from wide open into the corners, so you may say it's clinical. I'd shy away from words like that as I think I prefer words like "accurate" and phrases like "virtually free of optical issues." I do have a couple of film era wides, a Tokina 17mm f3.5 and a Vivitar 19mm f3.8 and they both have issues compared to a modern lens like the Sony 20mm f1.8 which must be pretty close to state of the art for this sort of lens at this sort of price point.

What you could do is buy the 20mm f1.8 and download the free version of Nik Filters. You can then pick an old camera/film simulation and add as much character as you need but of course you can't really buy an old film era wide and make the pictures look as good as ones from a Sony 20mm f1.8. I'm not taking the P here, I do think there's sometimes a need for accurate vice free pictures and you can add character as and when appropriate as I'm pretty sure some subjects will suit that look whilst others may suit the more clinical look.
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I sometimes prefer the CV40 over the 35GM for that reason - I certainly prefer the "look" from the 40mm. I can now shoot and edit the GM images to my liking though. But if I'm shooting stars the 35GM wins over (virtually) everything I think!
 
Stars are I suppose a particularly good and bad example as you'll get all that coma (or whatever it's called) look as you head towards the edges that'll look just awful to some people. I'm a bit of a fan of film era lenses myself but their performance at wider apertures does tend towards the funky in some circumstances. As I don't tend to take night sky pictures messy compositions and backgrounds are where the funkiness usually shows up at f1.x with old lenses for me.
 
If money was no object, I'd buy the complete GM set as then I would have the best there is, but as I don't I look for samples I like and then look for the lens used. Usually it was a Zeiss, though the CV's are also good in the way they render as they come up a fair few times as well as does the Samyang 45..
 
The GM's are a bit too big for me. I like compact unobtrusive kit and the Sony f1.8's are already getting towards the largest lenses I'm happy to point at things.
 
I mentioned that on Saturday I met up with a street photographer colleague and we went to the Tate Modern where he got me into thinking about buying a zoom lens. Anyway, in the evening, we left the Tate and were both strolling in London with cameras in hand taking a few photos when this american girl came up to us asking if she could book a photo shoot. She just wanted photos for herself and to send to her family. She was over from New York for a few days.

The guy I was with said he couldn't as he has commitments and doesn't live in London. I said I'd do it although didn't really want to as I felt it might be out of my depth. I showed her some photos I'd done and she liked a photo I'd taken of a curvy staircase in the Tate and wanted to do the shoot there. I asked the guy I was with how much should I charge. We decided on £45.
She was happy with that. She's a student and I'm not a pro. I haven't really had any proper experience of photo shoots, so certainly couldn't think of asking for three figures. In the end I took £40 from her and said don't worry about the extra fiver.

I booked two tickets to the Tate and we did the shoot a couple of days ago. She turned up very late though! I said how many photos do you want thinking 10 or so should be enough. She said 100, lol. I said "100 :jawdrop:?" She said yeah, that's what they do in the US. Anyway, I took about 144 shots, she then wanted me to send them to her unedited so she could choose a few. She also didn't want me to crop any, wanted full body shots and no close up head shots. I thought it was going to take forever to convert each raw file to jpg but found out I could batch convert multiple raw files in lightroom. And then I sent everything to her on whatsapp. She chose half a dozen or so for me to process. I was really nervous during the shoot, didn't feel I was nailing focus properly. I felt the pressure of what pro photographers must go through. She absolutely loves them though and said she'd contact me again when she's next in London so that's nice. I said next time we could do an outdoors shoot with good light. She's a really lovely girl, very sweet and friendly, we had a fun time.

For me, the lack of good light inside the building meant not very sharp photos and several missed focus ones, which was probably more user error than anything! But they're a bit better than I thought when I was reviewing them on the LCD during the shoot. There was a model and female photographer there at the same time doing a shoot and the photographer was holding a portable light. She said it a was a Neewer something or other. So I'm going to buy one. A 'Lume Cube' is apparently another to consider. If I get another situation where someone wants a photo shoot, at least I won't have to worry about bad light. All at f1.4 since the ISO would have been way too high otherwise. Used the 56mm and the 16mm. Anyway, here's four of them.:exit:


Model 1 by Merlin 5, on Flickr


Model 1 by Merlin 5, on Flickr


Model 2 by Merlin 5, on Flickr


Model 4 by Merlin 5, on Flickr
 
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Is anyone else waiting on an A7 IV order? Announcing the camera and not releasing for months is a little ridiculous.

I hope it turns up soon, though somewhat suspect I’ve got at least another month to wait,
 
Matt. said:
Is anyone else waiting on an A7 IV order? Announcing the camera and not releasing for months is a little ridiculous.

I hope it turns up soon, though somewhat suspect I’ve got at least another month to wait,
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Par for the course all the manufacturers do that now.
 
I think it is expected now especially with the supply chain issues at the moment - I ordered 2 mil worth of network switches last week, expected lead time May next year...
It is absolutely insane! A Chinese friend I know who works in the docking industry has told me it is absolute chaos in China at the moment, 1 positive covid case and they shut an entire port down for a week to contain things. Its the world we live in now
 
Merlin5 said:
...this american girl came up to us asking if she could book a photo shoot. She just wanted photos for herself and to send to her family. She was over from New York for a few days.
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She's a good looking girl so I suppose it'd be difficult to take a bad picture with her in it but I don't find the concrete staircase shots particularly interesting from a "here I am in London at a famous place" sort of point of view as there's a lot of featureless concrete about rather than recognisable features and not much clue as to where she is. I think maybe it could be an idea to include more recognisable context or if she just wanted a shot on the stairs and recognisable context isn't all that easy (because there isn't any) maybe try to limit the concrete in that second one by shooting down the stairs (portrait orientation maybe?) so it's mostly her and the stairs in front and behind her with less surrounding concrete and maybe place her a bit further up in the frame so you can include more of the more interesting spiral staircase in that last one.

Just thoughts as I think some recognisable context would be nice (rather than featureless stuff which could I suppose be in any multi story office block or car park) and if that's not possible because there isn't any maybe fill the frame more with her and try and limit the featureless and / or unrecognisable stuff.

I hope you enjoyed the experience despite the nervousness :D
 
How long did you spend don't it. £45 seems not a lot. I guess if it's the experience you're after then it's great.
 
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