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

woof woof said:
As it's quiet and just for fun...

Is there anything you might want that might be in the pipeline? Or even not in the pipeline?

I suppose there are a few things that could tempt me...

A really compact 50mm f1.8 with better focus than the current cheapo Sony 50mm.
A Sony mount Voigtlander 28mm f1.2.
A Sony mount Voigtlander 50mm f1.4 of the same sort of size and quality as their 35mm f1.4 for Sony mount.
An A7 with retro look and dials like the Nikon and Fuji offerings.

That's about it for me :D
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I would pick up a 50 1.8 if it was small, had fast a.f and decent I.Q. There is a ton of fifties but none of them are great, other than the G.M.

Can’t really think of anything else maybe a fisheye or a tilt shift.

I am keen to see how the new Viltrox lab series lenses perform when they launch.

Have been waiting for a replacement for the 85 G.M for an age think it’s due soon but I have the Siggy art now which I am happy enough with it. Unless the new G.M is something special I probably won’t bother changing.

I would probably snap up a 200 f/2 if one ever became available. I would probably never use it but would buy it anyway.

Probably won’t ever happen but I would have a hard look at a Sony medium format if it ever became available.
 
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My unnecessary lenses are

Canon 45/2.8 Tilt Shift - manual lenses anyway even on Canon so it makes no difference on Sony. In fact, it works better through EVF.
Sigma 105/1.4 - for the lolz
 
woof woof said:
As it's quiet and just for fun...

Is there anything you might want that might be in the pipeline? Or even not in the pipeline?

I suppose there are a few things that could tempt me...

A really compact 50mm f1.8 with better focus than the current cheapo Sony 50mm.
A Sony mount Voigtlander 28mm f1.2.
A Sony mount Voigtlander 50mm f1.4 of the same sort of size and quality as their 35mm f1.4 for Sony mount.
An A7 with retro look and dials like the Nikon and Fuji offerings.

That's about it for me :D
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Nothing for me :)

Too much already..... lol
 
f/2.8 said:
I would pick up a 50 1.8 if it was small, had fast a.f and decent I.Q. There is a ton of fifties but none of them are great, other than the G.M.

Can’t really think of anything else maybe a fisheye or a tilt shift.

I am keen to see how the new Viltrox lab series lenses perform when they launch.

Have been waiting for a replacement for the 85 G.M for an age think it’s due soon but I have the Siggy art now which I am happy enough with it. Unless the new G.M is something special I probably won’t bother changing.

I would probably snap up a 200 f/2 if one ever became available. I would probably never use it but would buy it anyway.

Probably won’t ever happen but I would have a hard look at a Sony medium format if it ever became available.
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Fisheye and Tilt would be good. I need to get an adapter for the Sony a mount fisheye I got
 
woof woof said:
As it's quiet and just for fun...

Is there anything you might want that might be in the pipeline? Or even not in the pipeline?

I suppose there are a few things that could tempt me...

A really compact 50mm f1.8 with better focus than the current cheapo Sony 50mm.
A Sony mount Voigtlander 28mm f1.2.
A Sony mount Voigtlander 50mm f1.4 of the same sort of size and quality as their 35mm f1.4 for Sony mount.
An A7 with retro look and dials like the Nikon and Fuji offerings.

That's about it for me :D
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Still after a 16-600mm f1.4 weighing 600g :lol:

I keep toying with the 16-35mm f2.8 GM II but as I never shoot with the 16-35mm f4 wide open I'm wondering how much improvement I'd see.

I'm interested in the 85mm GM II but I doubt I'd buy it, I rarely use my Sigma 85mm and that's a cracking lens anyway.

A small 50mm f1.8 GM would be nice.

A retro styled A1 would be nice as long as it maintained the functionality.
 
Interesting wish lists :D but Lee... Nothing? Really?

I've sold a few of my film era Nikon primes and I was considering trying to sell some of my Canon FD's, Rokkors and Zuikos and I was thinking about selling those that don't sell on here to a dealer and only keeping a very few, maybe just a couple of 50mm lenses as they seem to be the ones which are the most interesting.

I'm in two minds though. I hardly use these lenses now but selling them I get little for them and I don't need the money anyway and of course if I still have them they're there if I do want to use them :D That's one view :D The other view is that I hardly use them and I'm not getting any younger and one day my eyesight or general health might fail and one day they just mind end up in a skip.

Decisions.
 
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imattersuk said:
@trevorbray Has got me looking at these.......leica M mount adapter required but they look pretty good to me, this video shows it on the ZF but will work fine with Sony too.
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I looked at their 35mm recently when there was a review on Philip Reeve but what put me off was that price wise they're getting into range of a Sony mount Voigtlander. With their 28mm though there's no Voigtlander alternative.
 
woof woof said:
I looked at their 35mm recently when there was a review on Philip Reeve but what put me off was that price wise they're getting into range of a Sony mount Voigtlander. With their 28mm though there's no Voigtlander alternative.
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I know what you mean but the Voigtlander 1.2's aren't great, the f2 on the other hand is wonderful.
 
woof woof said:
Interesting wish lists :D but Lee... Nothing? Really?

I've sold a few of my film era Nikon primes and I was considering trying to sell some of my Canon FD's, Rokkors and Zuikos and I was thinking about selling those that don't sell on here to a dealer and only keeping a very few, maybe just a couple of 50mm lenses as they seem to be the ones which are the most interesting.

I'm in two minds though. I hardly use these lenses now but selling them I get little for them and I don't need the money anyway and of course if I still have them they're there if I do want to use them :D That's one view :D The other view is that I hardly use them and I'm not getting any younger and one day my eyesight or general health might fail and one day they just mind end up in a skip.

Decisions.
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I don't think so no. With the exception of things such as a 35GMII which is lighter and smaller :)

I used to sometimes think of a 40/1.4GM but with the R3 now I sometimes just shoot a bit loosely with the 35GM and crop a little if I have to/want to.

24GM, 35GM, FE85 & Tamron 70-180mm pretty much do whatever I want from them & anything more is just more of a decision making pain in the ar$3 about what to put in the bag!

Sony spec eye AF in the X100f would be the icing on the cake for that though!! ;)
 
imattersuk said:
I know what you mean but the Voigtlander 1.2's aren't great, the f2 on the other hand is wonderful.
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I've had all three of the Voigtlander Sony mount f1.2's now and I think they're all good lenses. The 35 is the softest wide open but still useable and all are good across the frame and IMO only show weakness in the extreme corners. Bokeh wise I think they do well at middle distance and generally I think they do well for lenses of this size. The issues they have are IMO decent trade offs and only significant in what for me are a small number of specific instances.

I also have the 50mm f2 and it is a nice lens and the best 50mm I've owned. The straight out of camera look it gives is nice.

I don't know but I suspect that any of these Sony mount lenses will be better on a Sony than the Thypoch's but 28mm f1.4 wise there's less competition. There is the Laowa 28mm f1.2 and I've been tempted by that but it's a bit of a Heffalump.
 
LeeRatters said:
I don't think so no. With the exception of things such as a 35GMII which is lighter and smaller :)

I used to sometimes think of a 40/1.4GM but with the R3 now I sometimes just shoot a bit loosely with the 35GM and crop a little if I have to/want to.

24GM, 35GM, FE85 & Tamron 70-180mm pretty much do whatever I want from them & anything more is just more of a decision making pain in the ar$3 about what to put in the bag!

Sony spec eye AF in the X100f would be the icing on the cake for that though!! ;)
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I don't know if I'll ever own a 35 or 50mm GM as they're a bit on the big side for me and I do like the smaller kit. Even the 55 and 35mm f1.8 are on the large side for me. I do keep getting tempted by the 50mm f2.5 due to my fixation on the 55mm being 55mm and not 50 but I have the 24mm f2.8 and 35mm f2.8 so maybe they should satisfy my small lens fetish.

I just didn't gel with the Fuji. I suppose the annoyances for me were the manual focus which for me was appalling, the AF which I found much less consistent and reliable than anything else I have plus a minor gripe with the to me strange terminology and scatter brain menus. In the end I decided that the GX80 and GX9 and even the GM5 suited me much better and the Fuji just never got used. I did like the Fuji lack of modes and simplicity though and I can see how people would like to use these cameras with film modes and filters. I would at least think about a Sony with a similar retro manual dial set up.
 
woof woof said:
I don't know if I'll ever own a 35 or 50mm GM as they're a bit on the big side for me and I do like the smaller kit. Even the 55 and 35mm f1.8 are on the large side for me. I do keep getting tempted by the 50mm f2.5 due to my fixation on the 55mm being 55mm and not 50 but I have the 24mm f2.8 and 35mm f2.8 so maybe they should satisfy my small lens fetish.

I just didn't gel with the Fuji. I suppose the annoyances for me were the manual focus which for me was appalling, the AF which I found much less consistent and reliable than anything else I have plus a minor gripe with the to me strange terminology and scatter brain menus. In the end I decided that the GX80 and GX9 and even the GM5 suited me much better and the Fuji just never got used. I did like the Fuji lack of modes and simplicity though and I can see how people would like to use these cameras with film modes and filters. I would at least think about a Sony with a similar retro manual dial set up.
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I think the smaller aperture 24G and 40G primes would be idea for me if I didn't shoot night skies.....
 
Going to sell my Sony 20mm f1.8 and Tamron 28-200.
Being replaced with something else which is on its way hopefully have it in a week or so.
 
Some interesting Viltrox lenses rumoured. No idea what the difference is between their LAB and Pro lenses though :thinking:

List of upcoming 20+ E-mount autofocus lenses from Sony, Viltrox, Meike and others | sonyalpharumors

Here is the list of rumored autofocus lenses coming for the Sony E-mount starting from this month Sony (with click bait "Easter eggs" in the link): Sony FE 16-25mm F2.8 G (coming on April 16/17) Sony FE 24-70mm F2.0 GM (likely coming before Summer) Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II (coming in June) one more
www.sonyalpharumors.com www.sonyalpharumors.com
 
f/2.8 said:
It is surprisingly not bad at all for what it is. Focuses reasonably close as well which is a nice bonus over the Samyang 18mm. Seems to control C.A better than the Samyang 18mm as well.

I only bought it as couldn’t resist at such a cheap price for a brand new lens. Seems to be unreal value for money.

A.F is even pretty snappy which I wasn't really expecting. Mine came with the newest firmware already installed, apparently this improved a.f performance by a good bit.

The corners aren't great as you would probably expect.

Have nothing to complain about really, build quality is better than I expected as well.

The only negative thing I can say is that it took an age for it to be delivered, must have been sent using the cheapest delivery option FedEx provide and then with the Easter holidays as well. Viltrox were also a little slow in shipping it as well.

Obviously it isn't going to compare well with the Sony 20mm but you wouldn't expect it too.

If anyone fancies taking a punt on one there are lots of discount codes around to get it down to the £114 price when ordering direct from Viltrox, I used Dustin Abbott's discount code which was DUSTINABBOTT.

It is a good choice for someone using the A7C series due to the tiny size and small weight or for someone wanting to try a cheap wide angle at a very cheap price. Have no idea at all how on earth they managed to make these so cheap, even the packaging is reasonably premium feel to it.

Yer man with the really annoying voice seemed to like it.

View: https://youtu.be/VRwONvWc7C8?si=K9nMmkAhB7aRitXC
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What’s the website you ordered from Viltox Uk have them listed for £145 but I can’t get any of the discount codes to work.
 
Raymond Lin said:
He mentioned FedEx so I guess the .com site.
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Wondered where it was shipped from and if there was possibility of getting stung with VAT and handling charges. .com is free shipping but talks about US/EU warehouse and some items shipped from China. Doesn’t say anything about tax included in the sale.
 
simonbe said:
Wondered where it was shipped from and if there was possibility of getting stung with VAT and handling charges. .com is free shipping but talks about US/EU warehouse and some items shipped from China. Doesn’t say anything about tax included in the sale.
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Under £135 won’t attract tax. I also found if the original currency is not £, then the line is a bit more blurred, not guarantee it will avoid it completely but I’ve had a few things up to like £250 come in unscathed because it was in yen.
 
simonbe said:
What’s the website you ordered from Viltox Uk have them listed for £145 but I can’t get any of the discount codes to work.
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Viltrox don't have a U.K website. If you are talking the website that is called Viltroxstore.co.uk it is a completely different company and has nothing to do with Viltrox the brand although they have been clever with copying their branding style etc. They are just a reseller who are just purchasing from the grey market and selling on and have branded themselves as "Viltroxuk". Quite clever really as Viltrox are a brand that is going to become massive over the next couple of years. There is another U.K reseller as well called AVMPhoto, interestingly they both trade from the same address so are likely the same business. Edit- Just checked and they have the same company registration number as well. :ROFLMAO:

Viltrox only have the one website it is the .com one. I ordered direct from there, There is no tax as the lens is under £135.
 
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f/2.8 said:
Viltrox don't have a U.K website. If you are talking the website that is called Viltroxstore.co.uk it is a completely different company and has nothing to do with Viltrox the brand although they have been clever with copying their branding style etc. They are just a reseller who are just purchasing from the grey market and selling on and have branded themselves as "Viltroxuk". Quite clever really as Viltrox are a brand that is going to become massive over the next couple of years. There is another U.K reseller as well called AVMPhoto, interestingly they both trade from the same address so are likely the same business. Edit- Just checked and they have the same company registration number as well. :ROFLMAO:

Viltrox only have the one website it is the .com one. I ordered direct from there, There is no tax as the lens is under £135.
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Thanks - I did Google the address of the Uk reseller and it’s a house on a private estate - thought was a bit odd:

What was delivery time from .com?
 
Had a quick play with the blur feature in lightroom, seems to work pretty well.
Edit: doesn't actually look that great on here, but the original file looks OK

Screenshot 2024-04-06 at 16.16.40.jpg
 
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Bit of a mixed day today, BSB test day at Donny in the morning and for the pass out a walk around the waterpark.
Donington park BSB test day 06-04-2024-15 by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
Donington park BSB test day 06-04-2024 by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
Kingsbury water park by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
Kingsbury water park by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
Kingsbury water park by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
Kingsbury water park by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
Kingsbury water park by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
Kingsbury water park by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
 
Bungieben said:
Bit of a mixed day today, BSB test day at Donny in the morning and for the pass out a walk around the waterpark.
Donington park BSB test day 06-04-2024-15 by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
Donington park BSB test day 06-04-2024 by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
Kingsbury water park by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
Kingsbury water park by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
Kingsbury water park by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
Kingsbury water park by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
Kingsbury water park by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
Kingsbury water park by Ben Cheneler, on Flickr
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I was going to go to the testing tomorrow but it’s forecast strong winds and rain :(
 
snerkler said:
I was going to go to the testing tomorrow but it’s forecast strong winds and rain :(
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It was gusty but no rain. I stayed most the time on the bank at the esses where it was sheltered from the wind and i was practising slow speed panning first time with bikes but alas i'd like to blame the wind for the failure rate but i cannot.

Emra Rd1 at Mallory today
 
Bungieben said:
It was gusty but no rain. I stayed most the time on the bank at the esses where it was sheltered from the wind and i was practising slow speed panning first time with bikes but alas i'd like to blame the wind for the failure rate but i cannot.

Emra Rd1 at Mallory today
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I’m giving it a miss today, still forecasting rain from mid morning onwards, last time I went and it rained the bikes didn’t bother coming out :(
 
If any of you have some time to kill here's my keepers from a recent trip to Hong Kong over Chinese New year (1-22 Feb 2024). Don't judge harshly please as there are plenty 'so-so photos' in amongst them as they're just moments I wanted to keep ;). Gear used was Sony A7iii, Sony 85mm f/1.8, Sony 200-600, Viltrox 20mm f/2.8, Tamron 28-75 f/2.8, Canon 200mm f/2.8 and Samyang 14mm f/2.8

photos.app.goo.gl

Hong Kong 2024

2003 new items added to shared album
photos.app.goo.gl photos.app.goo.gl
 
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snerkler said:
I’m giving it a miss today, still forecasting rain from mid morning onwards, last time I went and it rained the bikes didn’t bother coming out :(
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It is blowy again, gets me out though. Pic with phone.
20240407_085953.jpg20240407_085253.jpg20240407_085240.jpg
 
imattersuk said:
Great review of the Voigtlander 50mm APO Lanthar. This guy deserves more subscribers, a refreshing change to the boring technical claptrap with great humour thrown in...
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Two of my own Voigtlander 50mm f2 pictures.

I like this one.

DSC09308.JPG

Just showing off across the frame sharpness, but it might lose a bit posted here.

DSC04125.JPG

For across the frame performance it is the best lens I've ever had but the look it gives is also IMO very nice.
 
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