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

If anyone is selling an original A9 or has one sitting around that they may consider letting go please give me a shout (and post in the appropriate 'for sale' section in line with the rules). ;)
 
snerkler said:
I've never understood these videos, or the ones such as this is what I have in my camera bag, I really don't give a monkey's what someone else is using, particularly someone I don't even know. But then I'm not of the generation that follow celebs, or youtubers etc ;)
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And “why I left Canon/Nikon/Sony/Fuji/Pentax/Oly” videos.
 
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What's everyone using to process their RAWs.
With Capture One Express coming to an end I need options.
I've given Darktable a quick go and wasn't happy.
 
robj20 said:
What's everyone using to process their RAWs.
With Capture One Express coming to an end I need options.
I've given Darktable a quick go and wasn't happy.
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Lightroom
 
robj20 said:
What's everyone using to process their RAWs.
With Capture One Express coming to an end I need options.
I've given Darktable a quick go and wasn't happy.
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LR/PS, but 12 months sub on Amazon at Black Friday/Prime Day sales for around £70 once a year.

Saves 45% over the monthly sub.
 
Maybe I should have said for free or very small amount of money.
Going from £0 to £70 a year is a bit much of I can avoid it.
I don't take many photos.

Guess I could try Sony Imaging Edge Desktop see what control that has, might be just enough.
 
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NewBeetle said:
If anyone is selling an original A9 or has one sitting around that they may consider letting go please give me a shout (and post in the appropriate 'for sale' section in line with the rules). ;)
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Might have an A7iv for sale soon but no A9 though
 
robj20 said:
Maybe I should have said for free or very small amount of money.
Going from £0 to £70 a year is a bit much of I can avoid it.
I don't take many photos.

Guess I could try Sony Imaging Edge Desktop see what control that has, might be just enough.
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I've been using LR 6, converting RAWs to DNGs using ACR first before editing. On1 Photoraw is also pretty good now TBH, for a 1-off payment.

Free? Try DigiKam, Raw Therapee, Dark Table, the old Nik software suite.
 
snerkler said:
I've never understood these videos, or the ones such as this is what I have in my camera bag, I really don't give a monkey's what someone else is using, particularly someone I don't even know. But then I'm not of the generation that follow celebs, or youtubers etc ;)
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I suppose this sort of vid could help me when my A7 dies as I wouldn't know what to buy.
 
nandbytes said:
A7cii :D
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Highly unlikely due to all the hobbles. AFAIK max mechanical shutter speed of 1/4k, I've no idea if it automatically switches to electronic or not after that, AFAIK constant EFCS, question mark over if I'll like the evf or not. The shutter question is something no reviewer seems to cover. If it switches automatically like my MFT cameras that would be ok but I'm not interested in fiddling with shutter type settings shot to shot. Trying one out in person will possibly mean a day trip to York or Newcastle as there's precious little chance Currys will have one here and I don't think I can be bothered with taking a day out to see one so I would possibly go for one of the slr types as I think I'll know better what they have.

I'll do more research when the time comes but at the mo a A7c just isn't on my radar due to those possible issues.
 
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woof woof said:
Highly unlikely due to all the hobbles. AFAIK max mechanical shutter speed of 1/4k, I've no idea if it automatically switches to electronic
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Doesn't automatically switch to electronic.
woof woof said:
or not after that, AFAIK constant EFCS,
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Have been using EFCS forever, not sure why anyone cares. I know there are some lab tests to prove it affects the bokeh but who really notices in the real world?
woof woof said:
question mark over if I'll like the evf or not.
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No worst than A7
woof woof said:
The shutter question is something no reviewer seems to cover. If it switches automatically like my MFT cameras that would be ok but I'm not interested in fiddling with shutter type settings shot to shot.
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You can set a button to toggle between electronic and mechanical shutter. How many times do you actually need to shoot above 1/4000s?
I personally rarely do but you might be different (at the same time you seem to stop down your lenses a lot more than I do)
 
nandbytes said:
Doesn't automatically switch to electronic.

Have been using EFCS forever, not sure why anyone cares. I know there are some lab tests to prove it affects the bokeh but who really notices in the real world?

No worst than A7

You can set a button to toggle between electronic and mechanical shutter. How many times do you actually need to shoot above 1/4000s?
I personally rarely do but you might be different (at the same time you seem to stop down your lenses a lot more than I do)
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I don't know what % of my pictures would be over 1/4k, certainly a minority but certainly some almost every time I'm out and toggling for the ability is out of the question as it's just another thing to remember and do and another annoyance so thanks for ruling this one out. The c range is an option I don't have to think about now.

Why they can't switch automatically like the Panasonics do I just don't know.

To me the things like this that Japanese companies miss are often just fascinating. Why would a company selling cameras and wide aperture lenses not imagine that people would use a A7c and lens at f1.x in good light? Requiring customers to toggle a button to be able to shoot at wide apertures? How many extra lines of code would it take to have three options in the menu, mechanical, electronic and auto? Seems it's too much trouble. ND's could be an option but I've been there with early MFT cameras and I'm not going back.

On stopping down I very rarely go beyond f8 as with a 35 or 50mm f8 usually gives more than enough depth.
 
LeeRatters said:
Don't worry about it for now Alan.

We'll help you spend your money on something when the time comes.... :)
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haha.

Next might be a new pc as the one I got from PC Specialist during lockdown is developing a few niggles and I'd like bigger in the thing storage as I can never be bothered plugging an external drive in :D I might get a new laptop next year.

One thing to sway me to one camera or another might be do I want just a tilting screen or a full fandangled flappy one.
 
woof woof said:
haha.

Next might be a new pc as the one I got from PC Specialist during lockdown is developing a few niggles and I'd like bigger in the thing storage as I can never be bothered plugging an external drive in :D I might get a new laptop next year.

One thing to sway me to one camera or another might be do I want just a tilting screen or a full fandangled flappy one.
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I've not tried a flappy one. But I think I'd prefer the tilting.

My current thinking is getting the A7, or buying av second A7, to have astro h-alpha modified for night skies. As far as I'm aware, it can still be used for normal photography with custom wb settings. Full spectrum requires clip in filters for normal photography.
 
woof woof said:
I don't know what % of my pictures would be over 1/4k, certainly a minority but certainly some almost every time I'm out and toggling for the ability is out of the question as it's just another thing to remember and do and another annoyance so thanks for ruling this one out. The c range is an option I don't have to think about now.
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Up to you. All other options will be larger and heavier than the A7.

woof woof said:
Why they can't switch automatically like the Panasonics do I just don't know.
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I imagine mostly because half the Panasonic cameras' mechanical shutter max out at 1/500s which is a joke (and IMO is a bigger issue than not automatically switching to electronic shutter).

woof woof said:
On stopping down I very rarely go beyond f8 as with a 35 or 50mm f8 usually gives more than enough depth.
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I meant to say you stop down more often than I do. I shoot wide open more often and rarely ever need to go beyond 1/4000s.

Having said that I don't always shoot on bright sunlight and UK weather isn't always great either.
 
nandbytes said:
Doesn't automatically switch to electronic.

Have been using EFCS forever, not sure why anyone cares. I know there are some lab tests to prove it affects the bokeh but who really notices in the real world?

No worst than A7

You can set a button to toggle between electronic and mechanical shutter. How many times do you actually need to shoot above 1/4000s?
I personally rarely do but you might be different (at the same time you seem to stop down your lenses a lot more than I do)
Click to expand...

woof woof said:
I don't know what % of my pictures would be over 1/4k, certainly a minority but certainly some almost every time I'm out and toggling for the ability is out of the question as it's just another thing to remember and do and another annoyance so thanks for ruling this one out. The c range is an option I don't have to think about now.

Why they can't switch automatically like the Panasonics do I just don't know.

To me the things like this that Japanese companies miss are often just fascinating. Why would a company selling cameras and wide aperture lenses not imagine that people would use a A7c and lens at f1.x in good light? Requiring customers to toggle a button to be able to shoot at wide apertures? How many extra lines of code would it take to have three options in the menu, mechanical, electronic and auto? Seems it's too much trouble. ND's could be an option but I've been there with early MFT cameras and I'm not going back.

On stopping down I very rarely go beyond f8 as with a 35 or 50mm f8 usually gives more than enough depth.
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I thought there was an Auto shutter type on Sonys?

Edit: The A1 does, I’d assume others do.

IMG_6883.jpeg
 
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snerkler said:
I thought there was an Auto shutter type on Sonys?

Edit: The A1 does, I’d assume others do.

View attachment 409548
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Pretty sure A7c doesn't.
I just assumed A7cii and A7CR would be the same, but they do have newer firmware.... So I could be wrong (which is good if I'm)

Edit:
As per online guide A7cii doesn't have this option in shutter type
Screenshot_2023-12-17-18-05-23-33_40deb401b9ffe8e1df2f1cc5ba480b12.jpg
 
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JohnMcL7 said:
The A9mk1 does have the option so it may be just the stacked sensor cameras that have the option of auto for the shutter type?
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Looks like it.
But most other (A7) bodies have the same mechanical and electronic shutter limit i.e. 1/8000s
In case of A7c series mechanical shutter is 1/4000s and electronic is 1/8000s
 
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The Sony a7R IV Full Frame has 61MP. If I shoot in APS-C mode at 26.2MP, will the RAW size be also smaller? At times I would like to use 61MP, but the file size would be expensive to keep, so having the best of both worlds would be useful, but only if the RAW files are smaller at 26.2.
 
nandbytes said:
Looks like it.
But most other (A7) bodies have the same mechanical and electronic shutter limit i.e. 1/8000s
In case of A7c series mechanical shutter is 1/4000s and electronic is 1/8000s
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What I'd like is the ability to switch between mechanical and electronic automatically, a higher than 1/8k max shutter speed and lower than 100 ISO in auto ISO. That lot should be a doddle to implement and would cover most wide aperture situations.

One issue for me with the A7 is that 1/8k may give over exposure and I keep forgetting to manually select ISO 50 and when selecting ISO 50 I sometimes I forget to put it back on auto.
 
woof woof said:
What I'd like is the ability to switch between mechanical and electronic automatically, a higher than 1/8k max shutter speed and lower than 100 ISO in auto ISO. That lot should be a doddle to implement and would cover most wide aperture situations.

One issue for me with the A7 is that 1/8k may give over exposure and I keep forgetting to manually select ISO 50 and when selecting ISO 50 I sometimes I forget to put it back on auto.
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If I was bumping into that scenario often id just have an ND filter on.
I get what you mean though, it surely would be an easy tweak in the firmware of the camera.

It sounds like you're perfect camera could be the A7C with a global sensor. It'll happen eventually.
 
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Redspider said:
The Sony a7R IV Full Frame has 61MP. If I shoot in APS-C mode at 26.2MP, will the RAW size be also smaller? At times I would like to use 61MP, but the file size would be expensive to keep, so having the best of both worlds would be useful, but only if the RAW files are smaller at 26.2.
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The important thing here isn't really the file size but the fact you would be "changing" focal length by shooting in APS-C.
 
LeeRatters said:
The important thing here isn't really the file size but the fact you would be "changing" focal length by shooting in APS-C.
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I thought it was more akin to cropping than changing focal length.
 
woof woof said:
What I'd like is the ability to switch between mechanical and electronic automatically, a higher than 1/8k max shutter speed and lower than 100 ISO in auto ISO. That lot should be a doddle to implement and would cover most wide aperture situations.

One issue for me with the A7 is that 1/8k may give over exposure and I keep forgetting to manually select ISO 50 and when selecting ISO 50 I sometimes I forget to put it back on auto.
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ISO50 isn't native, it's basically an extended ISO range. Base ISO is 100. Pretty much the same as just reducing it by a stop in post.
 
Redspider said:
The Sony a7R IV Full Frame has 61MP. If I shoot in APS-C mode at 26.2MP, will the RAW size be also smaller? At times I would like to use 61MP, but the file size would be expensive to keep, so having the best of both worlds would be useful, but only if the RAW files are smaller at 26.2.
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Yes the file size would be smaller, I believe there's a list in the manual somewhere that tells you the file sizes. In some of the newer cameras you can also choose file size between large, medium and small IIRC, this gives you smaller file sizes with a subsequent loss of megapixels but without changing the effective focal length like APS-C mode does, more below
woof woof said:
What I'd like is the ability to switch between mechanical and electronic automatically, a higher than 1/8k max shutter speed and lower than 100 ISO in auto ISO. That lot should be a doddle to implement and would cover most wide aperture situations.

One issue for me with the A7 is that 1/8k may give over exposure and I keep forgetting to manually select ISO 50 and when selecting ISO 50 I sometimes I forget to put it back on auto.
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Sounds like you need one of the A9's or A1 then (y)
robj20 said:
I thought it was more akin to cropping than changing focal length.
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Same thing, if you crop you're changing the effective focal length. APS-C mode in Sony is a 1.5x crop, therefore your effective FOV will be that of a lens 1.5x longer.
 
robj20 said:
If I was bumping into that scenario often id just have an ND filter on.
I get what you mean though, it surely would be an easy tweak in the firmware of the camera.

It sounds like you're perfect camera could be the A7C with a global sensor. It'll happen eventually.
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I used ND's when I had my Panasonic G1 and I hated it because I'd need the ND on for a picture and then for the next I could be pointing the camera in a different direction for example taking a picture of a flower or something and looking at too slow a shutter speed or too high an ISO so I was fitting and removing the ND multiple times on a day out and it became... very irritating. 1/8,000 and ISO 100 (or in the case of MFT 1/16k at ISO 200) solves that a lot of the time but there's still a small percentage of shots which need either ISO 50 or a faster shutter speed.

It's irritating that even my A7 can usually solve this problem with ISO 50 but I can't include that in auto ISO and as above I keep forgetting to set the ISO to 50 or reset it to auto again. My fault I admit but the ability to include lower ISO's in auto and to allow automatic switching to the electronic shutter for faster than 1/8,000 shutter speeds could be available even if with a note in the manual that some image degradation may occur. These things could I assume even come in a firmware update if Sony had the inclination.

At the moment an A7III or IV would be a much better fit for me than the A7c range. I'm not intending to replace my A7 until it fails so if and when it does I'll see what's on the market... or ask here :D
 
nandbytes said:
ISO50 isn't native, it's basically an extended ISO range. Base ISO is 100. Pretty much the same as just reducing it by a stop in post.
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I know ISO 50 isn't native but when I first got a 50mm f1.1 I did hit problems which I couldn't rescue post capture by dropping the exposure a stop so whatever ISO 50 does it does seems to give better results as a starting point in raw than I can get from shooting the shot at ISO 100 and dropping it a stop. That might be due to my lack of processing skills but whatever ISO 50 does it seems to result in a more manageable file for me.
 
snerkler said:
Yes the file size would be smaller, I believe there's a list in the manual somewhere that tells you the file sizes. In some of the newer cameras you can also choose file size between large, medium and small IIRC, this gives you smaller file sizes with a subsequent loss of megapixels but without changing the effective focal length like APS-C mode does, more below

Sounds like you need one of the A9's or A1 then (y)

Same thing, if you crop you're changing the effective focal length. APS-C mode in Sony is a 1.5x crop, therefore your effective FOV will be that of a lens 1.5x longer.
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Focal length and cropping aren't the same thing though.
You can't replicate focal length by cropping, you can replicate field of view though.
 
robj20 said:
Focal length and cropping aren't the same thing though.
You can't replicate focal length by cropping, you can replicate field of view though.
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By cropping you are changing the *effective* focal length. A 50mm lens is always a 50, but on APS-C it behaves effectively like a 75mm lens on full frame in terms of field of view.
 
robj20 said:
Focal length and cropping aren't the same thing though.
You can't replicate focal length by cropping, you can replicate field of view though.
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That's kind of saying the same thing, unfortunately when cropping we do use the wrong term and it should be field of view, however field of view is controlled a result of focal length so the terms are used interchangeably. That's why a 16mm on APS-C looks like 24mm on full frame etc etc (y)
 
robj20 said:
Focal length and cropping aren't the same thing though.
You can't replicate focal length by cropping, you can replicate field of view though.
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I think maybe you can replicate a focal length by cropping if you were at the required distance to replicate the perspective . For example 28 and 50mm. If you stand at 50mm distance with a 28mm and then crop the picture you should end up with a picture which has the FoV and perspective of the 50mm. What'll be missing is resolution and DoF effects.
 
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