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

robj20 said:
I've read a few that all say it's plenty sharp enough.
I think those that compare it to other zooms so it's sharp, that other review was comparing it to primes so obviously it's not as sharp.
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I'm interested in this lens but as I've used primes for years I do wonder if a zoom will be too fiddly for me. Might sound odd but I do think a zoom will take some getting used to.
 
The thing I found when I bought a zoom to save changing lenses when I was out, was that it was nowhere near fast enough for how I like to shoot! I think I used it twice.

Then went back to primes :)

This was the kit zoom mind*
 
woof woof said:
I'm interested in this lens but as I've used primes for years I do wonder if a zoom will be too fiddly for me. Might sound odd but I do think a zoom will take some getting used to.
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I often use zooms like two primes as I tend to just use the two extremes ;)
 
woof woof said:
I'm interested in this lens but as I've used primes for years I do wonder if a zoom will be too fiddly for me. Might sound odd but I do think a zoom will take some getting used to.
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It may be easier to think of a zoom as being like a prime that you can tweak a little to get the view you want. This lens only has a 2 X range, so you won't see radically different views through the 2 ends of it
 
Mike.P said:
I have that problem with primes. I just can't get my head round taking a 35mm out when I could use a 24-70mm instead.
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LeeRatters said:
The thing I found when I bought a zoom to save changing lenses when I was out, was that it was nowhere near fast enough for how I like to shoot! I think I used it twice.

Then went back to primes :)

This was the kit zoom mind*
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snerkler said:
I often use zooms like two primes as I tend to just use the two extremes ;)
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ancient_mariner said:
It may be easier to think of a zoom as being like a prime that you can tweak a little to get the view you want. This lens only has a 2 X range, so you won't see radically different views through the 2 ends of it
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I think it dates back to my Kodak 36 Instamatic and the fixed focus compacts I had and I think part of me will always like that sort of camera so a 28/35/40/50mm prime is just fine and I know where I need to stand and what I'm going to get. I did use a zoom on my Nikon SLR and also occasionally on my Canon DSLR's and briefly on MFT too but mostly I've used fixed focal length lenses.

I do keep thinking I should take the kit lens out with me but I always seem to reach for something else. f3.5-5.6 can I suppose be a bit restrictive but although I do take wide aperture pictures most of mine will I suppose be in the f2.8 to f11 range and I do know from the 35mm f2.8 that f2.8 is enough for me for all but the thinnest DoF and the lowest light.

Anyway, I'll think about it. I went out today and didn't even take a camera and the 20-40mm isn't on the size comparison site yet.
 
gilbouk said:
I did note that when I got my lens there was a firmware upgrade available which I immediately did, likewise for my body. I believe the lens firmware was aimed at solving a7riv issues, and for the body firmware solving Eye AF missing focus. I think that the firmware for the lens addressed the issue somewhat. Certainly I have no complaints about soft images. Perhaps I should try my lens on an older body though.

Tbh, having had the the D500, D750, Z6, R6 and now the A7IV, I've found that the initial AF acquisition on mirrorless being a bit hit or miss on longer lenses. I had some problems with the R6 and canon 100-400mm mkii too. Especially with subjects closer when current focus is initially someway behind the subject. As mentioned by snerkler it did stick to the background even when the subject filled the focus group and was large in the frame. I must double check if this is the case with my current combo as I've been focused too much on what isn't in focus at the time of the problem. My D500 certainly was more positive about hunting and eventually sorting AF acquisition in similar situations without help however I feel the motors in the 200-600 and the Eye AF in the body give much more consistent and accurate AF especially for moving subjects. The zoom speed is also superior to the nikon 200-500mm. Need to do some testing to see if there is a workaround. Like zooming out to then zoom in again once AF has been aquired perhaps. I just wish Sony would allow focus override by grabbing the AF ring like Canon and Nikon
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Try the Fred Miranda forum, so much good info and discussion on there.

Reading some of the in depth user experiences saved me from buying a Leica
 
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imattersuk said:
Try the Fred Miranda forum, so much good info and discussion on there.

Reading some of the in depth user experiences saved me from buying a Leica
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What would you have bought?

I've never had a Leica, too tight I suppose :D but I did have a Bessa. I'm sure I'd enjoy a digital Leica but I'd always want a decent AF camera as MF is just too much of a fiddle sometimes,
 
woof woof said:
What would you have bought?

I've never had a Leica, too tight I suppose :D but I did have a Bessa. I'm sure I'd enjoy a digital Leica but I'd always want a decent AF camera as MF is just too much of a fiddle sometimes,
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I like the images from the old Leicas but I’ve never had the desire for one as my shooting mostly requires advanced AF, at least if I want a high rate of keepers.

I find sometimes the idea is better than the actual reality, this is very true for me with Fuji. The idea I love, the actual usage not so much.
 
snerkler said:
I like the images from the old Leicas but I’ve never had the desire for one as my shooting mostly requires advanced AF, at least if I want a high rate of keepers.

I find sometimes the idea is better than the actual reality, this is very true for me with Fuji. The idea I love, the actual usage not so much.
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I've never used a Leica but I once went to a meet organised from another forum I used to post on and a women there had a film Leica and... What a faff on to change the film... having said that when I had a Bessa I was changing the film when my tie inexplicably dived into the camera and straight through the shutter blades and banjaxed them. The repairer laughed and said it wasn't the first time this had happened. This is I think much less likely with the fiddly Leica.

For those who don't know... you have to take the base plate off a Leica (or at least some of them) to change the film.

I quite like the Fuji X100f but I haven't had much chance to use it.
 
Do you think that it’s possible for Sony to implement the latest AF AI/Eye AF on the A9II with a firmware update or is the hardware not capable?
 
woof woof said:
What would you have bought?

I've never had a Leica, too tight I suppose :D but I did have a Bessa. I'm sure I'd enjoy a digital Leica but I'd always want a decent AF camera as MF is just too much of a fiddle sometimes,
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Q2 or SL2-S, not ruled out the SL2-S totally yet but very unlikely to happen.
 
imattersuk said:
Q2 or SL2-S, not ruled out the SL2-S totally yet but very unlikely to happen.
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I suppose the RF style MF or even the Qx ones could interest me but maybe not the full blown AF interchangeable lens ones as the A7 does for me.

I can't myself ever buying a Leica now though.
 
imattersuk said:
I doubt the processor is up to it plus the A9 III is rumoured to be a thing.
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That’s going to be a tricky camera to pitch as they can’t make it too good or it’ll cripple some of the A1 sales. Unless of course the A1 series just becomes a high res A9 series.
 
snerkler said:
That’s going to be a tricky camera to pitch as they can’t make it too good or it’ll cripple some of the A1 sales. Unless of course the A1 series just becomes a high res A9 series.
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There’s still a gap at around £4.5k and they’ll probably try to fill it but the whole range is now getting silly, way too many models, time to drop the A7III and RIII and reduce the price of the RIV but marketing men know best….except they don’t lol
 
imattersuk said:
There’s still a gap at around £4.5k and they’ll probably try to fill it but the whole range is now getting silly, way too many models, time to drop the A7III and RIII and reduce the price of the RIV but marketing men know best….except they don’t lol
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Sony having too many models? I never thought I’d see the day :ROFLMAO:
 
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imattersuk said:
There’s still a gap at around £4.5k and they’ll probably try to fill it but the whole range is now getting silly, way too many models, time to drop the A7III and RIII and reduce the price of the RIV but marketing men know best….except they don’t lol
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On the subject of dropping the A7iii...... I've not looked into the going used rate for them lately :ROFLMAO:

That's about the most suitable/well priced body for my usage.
 
I keep wondering about an A7rIII, but don't really want to spend £1200 on another camera.
 
LeeRatters said:
Thank you!

But then I'd maybe need extra cash to upgrade the PC for the file sizes....... :ROFLMAO:
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They are ok to be honest, my old 2014 13” MacBook Pro with 8GB handled them, so I upgraded to the 2021 14” MacBook Pro with 16GB because I’m a bloke and it’s what we do :ROFLMAO:
 
imattersuk said:
They are ok to be honest, my old 2014 13” MacBook Pro with 8GB handled them, so I upgraded to the 2021 14” MacBook Pro with 16GB because I’m a bloke and it’s what we do :ROFLMAO:
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The other half's will believe anything if we're lucky... :ROFLMAO:

I'm on an i5 processor, separate graphics card & 16gb even though it's an older PC so I might be okay :ROFLMAO:
 
I've had the A7III in my basket a few times but ended up buying a car.
 
A very Happy Xmas everyone and a happy, healthy and photo rich New Year. :)
 
imattersuk said:
I’m on my fourth one and still can’t work out how to play FIFA on it.
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Lol.

Joking aside the Sony lineup made sense, until the A1 came out.

A7 "entry level" all rounder - makes sense
A7R high res model - makes sense
A7S video model - makes sense for videographers
A9 - High performing sports model - makes sense.
A1 - High res high performance sports cam - Kind of made sense at the time but now I question where the A9 fits in.

If the rumoured A9iii is true then performance wise it needs to be at least on par, or surpass the A1 for it to be a meaningful upgrade over the A9ii but this will then likely take sales away from the A1, especially for sports togs who do not need hi res and would prefer the smaller files.

If the A1 is to run parallel to the A9 as a high res version of the A9 (similar to the A7 and A7R) then it's a heft premium just for a bit more res :thinking:

If the A9iii is on the cards for me it's got to have the latest AF AI (or maybe a new version), better EVF, better LCD (included the new fangled vari-angle and tilt), lossless compression, and better slow shutter panning with the EVF, i.e. little to know slideshow effect. Oh, faster readout time too so the electronic shutter can be used with flash.
 
snerkler said:
Lol.

Joking aside the Sony lineup made sense, until the A1 came out.

A7 "entry level" all rounder - makes sense
A7R high res model - makes sense
A7S video model - makes sense for videographers
A9 - High performing sports model - makes sense.
A1 - High res high performance sports cam - Kind of made sense at the time but now I question where the A9 fits in.

If the rumoured A9iii is true then performance wise it needs to be at least on par, or surpass the A1 for it to be a meaningful upgrade over the A9ii but this will then likely take sales away from the A1, especially for sports togs who do not need hi res and would prefer the smaller files.

If the A1 is to run parallel to the A9 as a high res version of the A9 (similar to the A7 and A7R) then it's a heft premium just for a bit more res :thinking:

If the A9iii is on the cards for me it's got to have the latest AF AI (or maybe a new version), better EVF, better LCD (included the new fangled vari-angle and tilt), lossless compression, and better slow shutter panning with the EVF, i.e. little to know slideshow effect. Oh, faster readout time too so the electronic shutter can be used with flash.
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Not really A9III will likely launch at about £4500-£5000 maybe even more. So the jump in cost to the higher res A1 is about right.
 
f/2.8 said:
Not really A9III will likely launch at about £4500-£5000 maybe even more. So the jump in cost to the higher res A1 is about right.
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I forgot it was as much as this. I’d still like an A1 but it’s still too much for me, even grey.
 
LeeRatters said:
I suppose all the A7iii would add for me is cleaner high ISO and improved AF on the rare occasions that I use it. Maybe better battery life, but then I have 4 A7 batteries anyway so......
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Does the A7III have an electronic shutter too? That can be very useful when shooting indoors and quiet places.

That's something the A7 lacks.
 
LeeRatters said:
Ohhh.... Not sure about that tbh.
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The lack of an electronic shutter on the A7 is one thing that keeps me hanging on to MFT. There are other things but the electronic shutter is definitely a factor.
 
woof woof said:
Does the A7III have an electronic shutter too? That can be very useful when shooting indoors and quiet places.

That's something the A7 lacks.
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Yes but any LED will get banding even with the flicker mode on.

If you are outside shooting tennis or birds then it’ll work.
 
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