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

[wookie6262]

When you look at the used prices of those lens then it does indeed sound worth it. Does it come with guarantees?

The repair or the lenses. The repair is only a clean and wouldn't include any glass and if the fungus is inside a group then he won't fix that either. That sounded fairly steep given there is not really any material cost. However, saying that I have no idea how long it will take and how much an hour a technician costs. Labour for self employed workers seems to have went off the scale recently. We tried to hire a magician for the Gala Day this year. He does around 2 hours and basically does the same show every year. He was wanting to charge £700 but my colleague decided to make him disappear sharpish before I sawed him in half.

 

[snerkler]

I don't know what's happening with the used market at the moment but I've been looking at multiple lenses over the past two weeks and a number of "like new" lenses at MPB are only 2% cheaper than new, so for example with the Sigma 35mm f1.4 DG DN Art you're only saving £15 (£749 vs £734). There's no way I'd buy second hand for such little saving.

What's worse is that some "like new" used lenses are the same price as new and even more expensive (Samyang 35mm f1.8 is £329 on mpb yet is £329 new from Wilkinsons and £323 on Amazon)

 

[snerkler]

The repair or the lenses. The repair is only a clean and wouldn't include any glass and if the fungus is inside a group then he won't fix that either. That sounded fairly steep given there is not really any material cost. However, saying that I have no idea how long it will take and how much an hour a technician costs. Labour for self employed workers seems to have went off the scale recently. We tried to hire a magician for the Gala Day this year. He does around 2 hours and basically does the same show every year. He was wanting to charge £700 but my colleague decided to make him disappear sharpish before I sawed him in half.

Don't get me started on the cost of things these days

So he'll only do the front and rear elements? I'd need to know what the chances of the fungus returning are, and also if it's on the group elements then it seems little point having the front and/or rear elements done.

 

[wookie6262]

Don't get me started on the cost of things these days

So he'll only do the front and rear elements? I'd need to know what the chances of the fungus returning are, and also if it's on the group elements then it seems little point having the front and/or rear elements done.

I think he will strip the whole lens and clean every surface that is available to clean. I think some of the lens groups are sealed units and are cemented together and he won't deal with them. My worry is I pay £250 and get back a lens that looks similar as the fungus was in hard to reach parts. I've heard good things about the repairer recommended so I'm sure he will do all that is possible. That doesn't mean I will get a useable lens back though.

I'll make my mind up in the next few days but I'm inclined to sell the 100mm on ebay and keep the other two as they have very little evidence of fungus I can see and not enough to effect image quality that I will be able to see. I might get a UV light with the correct wavelength and then set up a cabinet to make sure it is all dead and combine that with some silica packets and make sure there is no moisture left.

They aren't lenses I would use very often and they were so cheap it was worth a gamble. I can always resell and I can't imagine making a loss given the money some spares and repairs goes for. The caps and hoods are probably worth around £100 second hand given the ludicrous price they are new.

 

[woof woof]

I thought you could kill fungus with UV or even just sunlight?

If you can kill it what you're left with is the dead stuff and you'd need to assess if it affected pictures too much, or at all.

Resale value may be peanuts, but you're getting the kit for peanuts and if fungus is the only issue it could be worth a go.

 

[f/1.2]

I think he will strip the whole lens and clean every surface that is available to clean. I think some of the lens groups are sealed units and are cemented together and he won't deal with them. My worry is I pay £250 and get back a lens that looks similar as the fungus was in hard to reach parts. I've heard good things about the repairer recommended so I'm sure he will do all that is possible. That doesn't mean I will get a useable lens back though.

I'll make my mind up in the next few days but I'm inclined to sell the 100mm on ebay and keep the other two as they have very little evidence of fungus I can see and not enough to effect image quality that I will be able to see. I might get a UV light with the correct wavelength and then set up a cabinet to make sure it is all dead and combine that with some silica packets and make sure there is no moisture left.

They aren't lenses I would use very often and they were so cheap it was worth a gamble. I can always resell and I can't imagine making a loss given the money some spares and repairs goes for. The caps and hoods are probably worth around £100 second hand given the ludicrous price they are new.

It will come back it always does. Be careful having them near any of your other equipment, spores are small and it wouldn't be the first time one lens with fungus has infected an awful lot of other equipment.

I wouldn't even have them in the same house.

 

[wookie6262]

It will come back it always does. Be careful having them near any of your other equipment, spores are small and it wouldn't be the first time one lens with fungus has infected an awful lot of other equipment.

I wouldn't even have them in the same house.

There seems to be differing views on this and very hard to work out what the truth is. They are up the attic at the moment sunning themselves as much as possible in Scotland under the rooflight with caps off.

I might just sell the 100mm and 50mm spare or repair and hope to get enough to get a repair done and some of my purchase price back.. That was the only one I was really interested in anyways. I have sold goods before that were beyond economic repair and it is amazing how much they go for.

 

[snerkler]

There seems to be differing views on this and very hard to work out what the truth is. They are up the attic at the moment sunning themselves as much as possible in Scotland under the rooflight with caps off.

I might just sell the 100mm and 50mm spare or repair and hope to get enough to get a repair done and some of my purchase price back.. That was the only one I was really interested in anyways. I have sold goods before that were beyond economic repair and it is amazing how much they go for.

I've been reading up on this since your post and I agree it's hard to differentiate fact from myth, numerous reports dismissing fungus transfer/contamination to other gear as myth. That being said I'd just be too paranoid to risk it.

 

[snerkler]

So I've took a punt on the Samyang 50mm F1.4 FE II (well it's actually an early father's day gift), should be arriving tomorrow so it will be getting a thorough testing for decentering and "eyelash AF". Fingers crossed I get a good copy.

 

[f/1.2]

There seems to be differing views on this and very hard to work out what the truth is. They are up the attic at the moment sunning themselves as much as possible in Scotland under the rooflight with caps off.

I might just sell the 100mm and 50mm spare or repair and hope to get enough to get a repair done and some of my purchase price back.. That was the only one I was really interested in anyways. I have sold goods before that were beyond economic repair and it is amazing how much they go for.

A good friend of mine caught some fungus on one lens while on a trip to Cambodia, she only brought the one lens with her.

Back home the lens that had gotten fungus was stored away from the rest of her gear, she didn't need her gear for another couple of weeks, when she went back to grab it another 3 lenses had fungus.

She sent all 4 away to be cleaned, within not too long a time at all they all had fungus again along with a lens she had bought while the others were away getting sorted.

To be fair she is the only person I know who has run into fungus issues so that might be an extreme one off. She ended up selling the lot of them on eBay for peanuts.

 

[wookie6262]

A good friend of mine caught some fungus on one lens while on a trip to Cambodia, she only brought the one lens with her.

Back home the lens that had gotten fungus was stored away from the rest of her gear, she didn't need her gear for another couple of weeks, when she went back to grab it another 3 lenses had fungus.

She sent all 4 away to be cleaned, within not too long a time at all they all had fungus again along with a lens she had bought while the others were away getting sorted.

To be fair she is the only person I know who has run into fungus issues so that might be an extreme one off. She ended up selling the lot of them on eBay for peanuts.

You are nudging me in the sell them all route. From what I have read if you have under 60 degree humidity it wont grow. My house sits between 45 and 50

 

[woof woof]

This raises the question of if you kill it how can it regrow? So the next questions are can it be killed and how?

Or, just sell it

 

[woof woof]

So I've took a punt on the Samyang 50mm F1.4 FE II (well it's actually an early father's day gift), should be arriving tomorrow so it will be getting a thorough testing for decentering and "eyelash AF". Fingers crossed I get a good copy.

I'll look forward to reading your views and seeing your pictures

 

[f/1.2]

You are nudging me in the sell them all route. From what I have read if you have under 60 degree humidity it wont grow. My house sits between 45 and 50

I am only basing my opinion on the one person I know who had fungus and what I have read online.

The guy who is doing the repair is probably the best person to give advice around what the best thing to do is.

 

[wookie6262]

I am only basing my opinion on the one person I know who had fungus and what I have read online.

The guy who is doing the repair is probably the best person to give advice around what the best thing to do is.

They have had a good soak in the sun for a couple of hours and now back up the attic. I'm not in great hurry so will get some silica and make sure whatever moisture was there is gone. I can monitor over a month and see if there is any change and next time I am through in Glasgow I will pop them in for an opinion there

 

[woof woof]

Apropos of nothing.

I've used my Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 a lot and I like it but it has issues... the extreme corners are mushy and the bokeh can be wild with an unfriendly scene at f1.4-1.x.

I read in another place that when cropped square the corners are sharp and that will be true as it's only the extreme corners that are mushy and I know this but reading this made it occur to me that some of the more wild bokeh will also be cropped so I'm going to give square crops with that lens a go and I may keep it to f1.4-f2 to see if the square crop tames the wild bokeh a bit.

Unfortunately I'll have to guestimate the framing as with raw I only get two choices, 3:2 or 16x9. Do later cameras give any other raw format choices?

 

[snerkler]

Apropos of nothing.

I've used my Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 a lot and I like it but it has issues... the extreme corners are mushy and the bokeh can be wild with an unfriendly scene at f1.4-1.x.

I read in another place that when cropped square the corners are sharp and that will be true as it's only the extreme corners that are mushy and I know this but reading this made it occur to me that some of the more wild bokeh will also be cropped so I'm going to give square crops with that lens a go and I may keep it to f1.4-f2 to see if the square crop tames the wild bokeh a bit.

Unfortunately I'll have to guestimate the framing as with raw I only get two choices, 3:2 or 16x9. Do later cameras give any other raw format choices?

What I found in the past when choosing different ratios is that the original 3:2 is preserved and you can revert back to the original in LR if you choose to. As for the different aspects I’ll have a look later if no-one answers your question.

 

[woof woof]

What I found in the past when choosing different ratios is that the original 3:2 is preserved and you can revert back to the original in LR if you choose to. As for the different aspects I’ll have a look later if no-one answers your question.

Thanks.

Just out of interest I'll take a couple of raws, one 3:2 and the other 16x9 and see if the changes 16x9 brings are reversable or not.

I suppose it doesn't really matter if I can't see 1:1 as I can crop on the pc but being able to see it in the evf would help with composition, but I'll have to guestimate

It's just out of interest really. I've had the lens long enough and taken enough pictures with it to know how it performs but after reading the comment about 1:1 I just thought it'd be interesting to give it a try and they'll have to be new pictures as the ones I have were (obviously) composed as 3:2.

 

[snerkler]

Thanks.

Just out of interest I'll take a couple of raws, one 3:2 and the other 16x9 and see if the changes 16x9 brings are reversable or not.

I suppose it doesn't really matter if I can't see 1:1 as I can crop on the pc but being able to see it in the evf would help with composition, but I'll have to guestimate

It's just out of interest really. I've had the lens long enough and taken enough pictures with it to know how it performs but after reading the comment about 1:1 I just thought it'd be interesting to give it a try and they'll have to be new pictures as the ones I have were (obviously) composed as 3:2.

Always good to try new things

From the A9ii manual

 

[woof woof]

Ah, thanks, so later cameras can. My ancient A7 can't, not raw anyway but probably can for jpegs.

Thanks.

 

[snerkler]

Ah, thanks, so later cameras can. My ancient A7 can't, not raw anyway but probably can for jpegs.

Thanks.

It would appear so, but without trying it out I don't know whether it's jpeg only, or whether it's raw too and if so whether the full frame is preserved if you want to revert back. I'll try it at some point and see.

 

[snerkler]

I've just received an email with a discount for "The Guild of Photographers", never even heard of it before. Looking into it it's not something for me, and I don't understand why an enthusiast would want to shell out £100/year to be a member? I get it for pros for the legal help, copyright protection etc etc but not for enthusiasts. Am I missing something?

Join Us | The Guild of Photographers

The Guild’s membership offers you a great network with top support, insurance, legal protection, great discounts and so much more…

photoguild.co.uk

 

[woof woof]

I've just received an email with a discount for "The Guild of Photographers", never even heard of it before. Looking into it it's not something for me, and I don't understand why an enthusiast would want to shell out £100/year to be a member? I get it for pros for the legal help, copyright protection etc etc but not for enthusiasts. Am I missing something?

Join Us | The Guild of Photographers

The Guild’s membership offers you a great network with top support, insurance, legal protection, great discounts and so much more…

photoguild.co.uk

What's the saying? I don't want to be a member of any club that will accept people like me as a member

Apropos of nothing.

My A7 is the only camera I have which allows exposure lock and exposure compensation with auto ISO in manual mode. So useful

None of my Panasonic cameras allow this. The closest is the GX9 which allows auto ISO and exposure compensation in manual but not ael. schoolboy error there Panasonic

 

[snerkler]

What's the saying? I don't want to be a member of any club that will accept people like me as a member

Apropos of nothing.

My A7 is the only camera I have which allows exposure lock and exposure compensation with auto ISO in manual mode. So useful

None of my Panasonic cameras allow this. The closest is the GX9 which allows auto ISO and exposure compensation in manual but not ael. schoolboy error there Panasonic

From memory my m4/3 cameras are the only ones that haven’t this feature. It does come in useful as you say.

 

[woof woof]

From memory my m4/3 cameras are the only ones that haven’t this feature. It does come in useful as you say.

Yes, useful but to be honest if I only want 1 stop or so the results will probably be ok if done on the pc post capture. It's just this thought that as much as possible should be done in camera that makes me want these settings to be available.

Thinking about it it's usually / almost always and maybe always less than a stop.

ocd

 

[snerkler]

Yes, useful but to be honest if I only want 1 stop or so the results will probably be ok if done on the pc post capture. It's just this thought that as much as possible should be done in camera that makes me want these settings to be available.

Thinking about it it's usually / almost always and maybe always less than a stop.

ocd

Depends, sometimes over a stop is needed, BIF springs to mind.

 

[Icee]

I don't know what's happening with the used market at the moment but I've been looking at multiple lenses over the past two weeks and a number of "like new" lenses at MPB are only 2% cheaper than new, so for example with the Sigma 35mm f1.4 DG DN Art you're only saving £15 (£749 vs £734). There's no way I'd buy second hand for such little saving.

What's worse is that some "like new" used lenses are the same price as new and even more expensive (Samyang 35mm f1.8 is £329 on mpb yet is £329 new from Wilkinsons and £323 on Amazon)

I think that MPB is getting a bit greedy with its secondhand price’s.

 

[woof woof]

Depends, sometimes over a stop is needed, BIF springs to mind.

Yes but thankfully for my bank balance I'm not into BIF

 

[LeeRatters]

Portland Bill Lighthouse | Dorset UK

16 frame panoramic with the A7 & 24GM


*** by Lee, on Flickr

 

[snerkler]

Portland Bill Lighthouse | Dorset UK

16 frame panoramic with the A7 & 24GM


*** by Lee, on Flickr

This is superb

 

[trevorbray]

This is superb

Certainly is.

 

[LeeRatters]

This is superb

Certainly is.

Thank you both.

 

[snerkler]

Ah, thanks, so later cameras can. My ancient A7 can't, not raw anyway but probably can for jpegs.

Thanks.

So the aspect ratio works in raw like previous cameras I've had, for example if I shoot as 1:1 then it imports into LR as 1:1 as below

Screenshot 2022-06-07 at 08.03.19 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr



However, if I go into crop in the develop panel it has retained the full frame and you can select to use the full frame or any other crop you want.

Screenshot 2022-06-07 at 08.03.27 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

 

[bovey9]

E-infinity refuse to pay full cost of repair to camera under warrenty.

I bought a Sony A7iv back in December from e-infinity. About two months ago I noticed a stuck pixel showing up as red. After trying every at home fix you can think of and a few you may have not have, I contacted e-infinity to seek repair. To my surprise they said send it to Sony in the UK and they would pay for the repair. So at my expense it posted it to Sony Uk who are used to dealing with equipment from E-infinity. Sony's technicians are clueless, despight me send them picture of the red pixel showing up on the images they insisted the problem was the rear LCD screen. So after a few emails back and forth they realised they were wrong and the sensor needed replacing which would cost £632. I informed E-infinity who to my surprise told me that was too much and they would only pay £400. Not sure how they expected me to get the sensor replaced for under £400 when the parts alone cost more than £400. They did say I could send it back to them, which may take unto 12 weeks. The trouble was I had already paid £20, Sony would charge me £50 if I did not want them to repair it and then I would have to pay to send it to Hong Kong. So I ended up paying the extra £232. I think it was wrong of E-infinity to tell me to send in for repair in the uk only then to refuse to cover the full cost of the repair. Since changing from Canon to Sony I have bought a lot of equipment including 3 cameras and five lenses of them so the money I have saved goes into the thousands . So would I still recommend E-infinity, thats a tough one, I think it depends on what you buy and how much you save. Being able to get it fixed in th UK was great despite how useless Sony repair people are. I was just surprised and disappointed to have to pay part of the bill. I have since bought the Sigma 24-70 f2.8 and I did not buy from E-infinity instead opting for Cotswold camera as the price difference was so small. So E-infinity have already lost one sale.

 

[snerkler]

E-infinity refuse to pay full cost of repair to camera under warrenty.

I bought a Sony A7iv back in December from e-infinity. About two months ago I noticed a stuck pixel showing up as red. After trying every at home fix you can think of and a few you may have not have, I contacted e-infinity to seek repair. To my surprise they said send it to Sony in the UK and they would pay for the repair. So at my expense it posted it to Sony Uk who are used to dealing with equipment from E-infinity. Sony's technicians are clueless, despight me send them picture of the red pixel showing up on the images they insisted the problem was the rear LCD screen. So after a few emails back and forth they realised they were wrong and the sensor needed replacing which would cost £632. I informed E-infinity who to my surprise told me that was too much and they would only pay £400. Not sure how they expected me to get the sensor replaced for under £400 when the parts alone cost more than £400. They did say I could send it back to them, which may take unto 12 weeks. The trouble was I had already paid £20, Sony would charge me £50 if I did not want them to repair it and then I would have to pay to send it to Hong Kong. So I ended up paying the extra £232. I think it was wrong of E-infinity to tell me to send in for repair in the uk only then to refuse to cover the full cost of the repair. Since changing from Canon to Sony I have bought a lot of equipment including 3 cameras and five lenses of them so the money I have saved goes into the thousands . So would I still recommend E-infinity, thats a tough one, I think it depends on what you buy and how much you save. Being able to get it fixed in th UK was great despite how useless Sony repair people are. I was just surprised and disappointed to have to pay part of the bill. I have since bought the Sigma 24-70 f2.8 and I did not buy from E-infinity instead opting for Cotswold camera as the price difference was so small. So E-infinity have already lost one sale.

Yeah that's not great service tbh. I know that warranty work is usually done in HK with a long turnaround time which is why I've always shied away from them. It's surprised me they offered to fix it in the UK first though. I wouldn't be happy to pay anything towards a warranty repair, I guess you really need to go through the small print with a fine-tooth comb.

 

[woof woof]

E-infinity refuse to pay full cost of repair to camera under warrenty.

Going grey is a difficult choice isn't it with the balance between savings and the possible hassles if you have a fault.

I'm surprised the camera couldn't map out the hot pixel though.

 

[snerkler]

Going grey is a difficult choice isn't it with the balance between savings and the possible hassles if you have a fault.

I'm surprised the camera couldn't map out the hot pixel though.

The only grey company I've heard hassle free service from is Panamoz, but their prices are all over the place lately. HDEW are supposed to be very good too although I've not heard any feedback on warranty work. They don't sell Sony stuff though.

 

[woof woof]

The only grey company I've heard hassle free service from is Panamoz, but their prices are all over the place lately. HDEW are supposed to be very good too although I've not heard any feedback on warranty work. They don't sell Sony stuff though.

Yup. Need to check the prices these days as you can't assume you're getting the best deal anywhere.

 

[woof woof]

There's a nice Sony wide angle comparison on the rumor site. Here it is on youtube...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5aP1_jcYng&t=593s

 

[f/1.2]

E-infinity refuse to pay full cost of repair to camera under warrenty.

I bought a Sony A7iv back in December from e-infinity. About two months ago I noticed a stuck pixel showing up as red. After trying every at home fix you can think of and a few you may have not have, I contacted e-infinity to seek repair. To my surprise they said send it to Sony in the UK and they would pay for the repair. So at my expense it posted it to Sony Uk who are used to dealing with equipment from E-infinity. Sony's technicians are clueless, despight me send them picture of the red pixel showing up on the images they insisted the problem was the rear LCD screen. So after a few emails back and forth they realised they were wrong and the sensor needed replacing which would cost £632. I informed E-infinity who to my surprise told me that was too much and they would only pay £400. Not sure how they expected me to get the sensor replaced for under £400 when the parts alone cost more than £400. They did say I could send it back to them, which may take unto 12 weeks. The trouble was I had already paid £20, Sony would charge me £50 if I did not want them to repair it and then I would have to pay to send it to Hong Kong. So I ended up paying the extra £232. I think it was wrong of E-infinity to tell me to send in for repair in the uk only then to refuse to cover the full cost of the repair. Since changing from Canon to Sony I have bought a lot of equipment including 3 cameras and five lenses of them so the money I have saved goes into the thousands . So would I still recommend E-infinity, thats a tough one, I think it depends on what you buy and how much you save. Being able to get it fixed in th UK was great despite how useless Sony repair people are. I was just surprised and disappointed to have to pay part of the bill. I have since bought the Sigma 24-70 f2.8 and I did not buy from E-infinity instead opting for Cotswold camera as the price difference was so small. So E-infinity have already lost one sale.

Not a surprise to be honest.

E-infin customer services is shockingly bad.

They are very shady. I only use them them for stuff that there is no other option for, I would never use them for a camera body.