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


Ah yup, it was an AF D lens.

From this useful reference http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/lenses.html#28

I’ve 6 or so manual Nikon lenses, of varying vintage. All excellent, imo, including the unfairly maligned series E. The 50 in particular is nice and compact.

I have the series E 28mm. Nice enough but for my tastes, not a focal length I enjoy. Phone photography is normally about that on the main camera and has made it seem commonplace to me - which could be a pro or con!
 
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the_accidental said:

Ah yup, it was an AF D lens.

From this useful reference http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/lenses.html#28

I’ve 6 or so manual Nikon lenses, of varying vintage. All excellent, imo, including the unfairly maligned series E. The 50 in particular is nice and compact.

I have the series E 28mm. Nice enough but for my tastes, not a focal length I enjoy. Phone photography is normally about that on the main camera and has made it seem commonplace to me - which could be a pro or con!
Click to expand...

I had E series 28mm f2.8 and 35mm f2.5 but sold them. Also sold Nippon Kogaku 24 and 35mm f2.8's. I still have Nippon Kogaku 50mm f2 and f1.4 and AIS 24, 28 and 35mm f2.8's, 50mm f1.4 and 85mm f2.

From yesterday. A7 and Sony 40mm f2.5.

DSC06133.jpg

I wanted someone to sit at the bench so I hung around for a while but it didn't happen. Or for these.

DSC06132.jpg

DSC06136.jpg
 
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Not sure whether this is the right place to ask...

I've taken the decision to move from my Sony A77ii (which has been great, but is now getting a bit creaky!) and I have a Sony A9ii on the way. Does anyone use the Sony Vario-Tessar T* SEL1670Z 16-70mm f/4 ZA OSS E on an A9ii? I notice that it is E-mount, rather than FE - does this matter too much? It will be my secondary lens (general stuff and landscapes) as I have the Sony 70-200 FE lens for sports (my main interest)
If it isn't suitable - what would you recommend in that sort of range?

Thanks
 
percyp said:
Not sure whether this is the right place to ask...

I've taken the decision to move from my Sony A77ii (which has been great, but is now getting a bit creaky!) and I have a Sony A9ii on the way. Does anyone use the Sony Vario-Tessar T* SEL1670Z 16-70mm f/4 ZA OSS E on an A9ii? I notice that it is E-mount, rather than FE - does this matter too much? It will be my secondary lens (general stuff and landscapes) as I have the Sony 70-200 FE lens for sports (my main interest)
If it isn't suitable - what would you recommend in that sort of range?

Thanks
Click to expand...

It will only use a 10mp section of your sensor as it's an APS-C lens. Sounds like you want/need a 24-70 (ish) standard zoom. Lot's of options in full frame for this focal range. Some popular lenses are the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8, Sony 20-70mm f/4, Sony GM 24-70mm f/2.8, Sigma 28-70mm or 24-70mm ART, plus others.
 
percyp said:
Not sure whether this is the right place to ask...

I've taken the decision to move from my Sony A77ii (which has been great, but is now getting a bit creaky!) and I have a Sony A9ii on the way. Does anyone use the Sony Vario-Tessar T* SEL1670Z 16-70mm f/4 ZA OSS E on an A9ii? I notice that it is E-mount, rather than FE - does this matter too much? It will be my secondary lens (general stuff and landscapes) as I have the Sony 70-200 FE lens for sports (my main interest)
If it isn't suitable - what would you recommend in that sort of range?

Thanks
Click to expand...
16-70mm f4 is a APS-C lens as already mentioned. So it cannot cover the full frame sensor in A9II.
Equivalent for FF would be the Sony 24-105mm f4 but its a fair bit larger and costs more.

Some options already suggested above, I personally use the 20-70mm lens as it gives a nice UWA 20mm coverage.
There is also a tamron 28-200mm f2.8-5.6 lens which you might find useful and its very good optically especially shooting on a 24mp sensor.

if you decide to get a sigma lens make sure you get the sony e-mount version and mirrorless version which is has the "DN" lens designation.
 
nandbytes said:
Some options already suggested above, I personally use the 20-70mm lens as it gives a nice UWA 20mm coverage.
There is also a tamron 28-200mm f2.8-5.6 lens which you might find useful and its very good optically especially shooting on a 24mp sensor.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info and explanation
- as I said, I have the Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 ii as I loved using the A-mount version so much. Really looking for something up to 70mm 'ish' maybe even less. The Tamron 28-75 f2.8 looks interesting.
 
percyp said:
Thanks for the info and explanation
- as I said, I have the Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 ii as I loved using the A-mount version so much. Really looking for something up to 70mm 'ish' maybe even less. The Tamron 28-75 f2.8 looks interesting.
Click to expand...
The 70-200mm GM II is a superb lens, doesn't get any better for that type of lens.

As for the other lens, the reason why it's not really suitable has been covered already. What are you planning on using the shorter zoom for? The reason I ask is that f2.8 isn't often required for short zooms and therefore I'd strongly recommend the 20-70mm f4. Sharp across the frame, and 20mm at the wide end gives more scope. The difference between 20mm and 28mm is huge in terms of field of view, there's even a big difference between 20mm and 24mm. 20mm on FF is roughly equivalent to 13mm on your old A77.

The A9ii is a great camera btw, I loved mine. If you've not had blackout free shooting before it'll be a revelation, and it's nice not having the sound of the shutter machine gunning away ;)
 
There's also that new Sony 24-50mm f2.8 which afaik is getting good reviews.
 
percyp said:
Thanks for the info and explanation
- as I said, I have the Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 ii as I loved using the A-mount version so much. Really looking for something up to 70mm 'ish' maybe even less. The Tamron 28-75 f2.8 looks interesting.
Click to expand...
What did you have as a shorter lens on your A77ii ?
Note that if you still have any A-Mount lenses with in-lens motors (Sony SSM, Sigma HSM, Tamron USD) then these will work just as well on an E-Mount body via the LA-EA5 adaptor (I have an A7iv, LA-EA5 and use the 70-300G, Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 HSM, Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 USD and Sony CZ 16-35 f/2.8 that way).
I'll switch them for the newer native e-mount equivalents over time, but the adaptor gave me a fully working system for a fraction of the cost of completely switching.
 
snerkler said:
The 70-200mm GM II is a superb lens, doesn't get any better for that type of lens.

As for the other lens, the reason why it's not really suitable has been covered already. What are you planning on using the shorter zoom for?
Click to expand...

Faldrax said:
What did you have as a shorter lens on your A77ii ?
Click to expand...
I have been using the Sony 16-50 2.8 SSM lens on the A77ii.
I use that lens for abstract (ICM) landscapes as well as just a general lens for paddock shots and landscapes.
I did think about using an adaptor, but part of me also wants to make a clean break to E-mount
 
percyp said:
I have been using the Sony 16-50 2.8 SSM lens on the A77ii.
I use that lens for abstract (ICM) landscapes as well as just a general lens for paddock shots and landscapes.
I did think about using an adaptor, but part of me also wants to make a clean break to E-mount
Click to expand...
The 16-50 f/2.8 SSM is a nice lens, but it's APS-C, so would suffer the same issues as the SEL 16-70 Z - not worth getting an adaptor for just the one lens.
A FF lens with a similar FOV would be a 24-75, so that's the sort of FL range to consider.
 
percyp said:
Thanks for the info and explanation
- as I said, I have the Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 ii as I loved using the A-mount version so much. Really looking for something up to 70mm 'ish' maybe even less. The Tamron 28-75 f2.8 looks interesting.
Click to expand...

I'm not really a zoom person but as far as I'm aware the Tamron 28-75/2.8 is a pretty good lens if you don't need the more usual 24mm field of view.
 
I had a conversation with another amateur photographer today and I told him I'd bought a new lens and it was really good but that I was struggling to decide if I liked it because it seemed to display no real flaws and I often liked a bit of character. He looked at me as if I was from Mars, he looked really puzzled. Next time I see him I'll keep off the subject and talk about football.
 
woof woof said:
I had a conversation with another amateur photographer today and I told him I'd bought a new lens and it was really good but that I was struggling to decide if I liked it because it seemed to display no real flaws and I often liked a bit of character. He looked at me as if I was from Mars, he looked really puzzled. Next time I see him I'll keep off the subject and talk about football.
Click to expand...
I’ve said it many times before, the character of a lens is more important to me than sharpness (y)
 
OK, quick question for you seasoned Sony users that are experts with Apple IOS :-)

I'm off on 2 weeks holiday next month and I'm planning for the very first time in taking just my new Sony A6700 system with a few key lenses. Usually when I travel with either my Olympus or Nikon Z gear, for end of day back up I use my 2TB 12.9" iPad Pro, which I take everywhere with me, then once on the iPad, then offload to a 4TB SSD. This normally works just fine as on all the aforementioned camera brands, the Video and Images are all stored on the memory cards in the DCIM Folders, meaning when I plug my Card reader into the iPad it immediately shows up in the "Photos" app and allows me to bring them all in.

Now on the Sony cameras, whilst the still images are located in the DCIM folder, it seems that all Videos are stored in separate folders i.e. the "PRIVATE" -> "M4ROOT" -> "CLIP" folder path, which doesn't show up in the Photos app. I know I can manually download them into the "Files" "On my iPad" folder, but then I won't be able to play them in the Photos app.

Has anyone therefore found a way to get these video files over to the Photos app without having to copy and paste everything from the "Files" folder on the iPad first ?
 
Hi Andrew, did you know you can select a Folder as the source to import from and that will show all media files you can import, including subfolders.
Here's a screenshot from the Photos help screen. showing how I selected a higher folder and the import dialog allowed me to select the photos and the video in the Subfolder and then it imported into an album of my choice. So you could just select the main folder on your SD card and it Photos should find the photos in the DCIM and the movies in the "PRIVATE" -> "M4ROOT" -> "CLIP" folder
Screenshot 2024-06-13 at 12.38.32.png
 
I didn't know that thanks. I'm guessing you can only do that from a Mac and not from a IOS device like an iPad Pro ?
 
I went to a private hide yesterday in the hope to see some Ospreys diving for fish, unfortunately luck wasn't with us as there was one unsuccessful dive (facing away from us) and then they just circled or sat on a branch. Strangely though a Red Kite dived down and got a fish.

More on Flickr

1.

A1_00671-Edit by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

2.
A
1_00725-Edit by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

3.

A1_00833 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

4.

A1_00966 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

5.

A1_01170 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

6.

A1_01336 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

7.

A1_01363-Edit by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

8.

A1_01548-Enhanced-NR by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr
 
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Now that my shoulder has fully recovered, I decided to take my a1 + Sigma 100-400 for a stroll along the nearby riverside path.
Nothing as spectacular as sneckler's Kites, Osprey and Mandarin but I did get this wee Wren that I quite liked.
Next step will be trying the weight of the 200-600 for capturing our local Gannets and Puffins as I missed them last year due to a different shoulder injury.
Old age doesn't come itself as they say - GRRR!!!

Wren by Mike Stephen, on Flickr
 
Sootchucker said:
I didn't know that thanks. I'm guessing you can only do that from a Mac and not from a IOS device like an iPad Pro ?
Click to expand...
I've been playing around with this on my much older iPad and this works for me:

  1. Connect A6700 to iPad directly via USB-C
  2. Open photos
  3. Turn on camera and select USB Connection Mode = 'Image Transfer (MTP)'
  4. Wait... this mode seems slow to load
  5. Import as normal - videos show up
 
Thanks I just tried that but think I've found a limitation in Apple IOS. It can't import 10 bit files or those in 422 Colour mode directly onto the iPad using the Photos app. Only 8 bit 420 format. This seems to be confirmed by a number of posts on the web. I do hope apple resolve this in the new version of IOS 18 whenever it's launched, as 10 bit video isn't that special anymore and it becoming more normal.
 
I bought something :D

It's an old film era prime. In this case a Vivitar 28mm f2. I read about this lens and it seems to have its fans these days especially for video so when I saw a copy which was significantly cheaper than all the others I bought it. I read that it's quite poor at f2 but interesting to the trendy video crowd but I do have to say that it's better than I thought it'd be for still photography and especially so after processing. After doing a decentered check I snapped a few things and here are my findings.

It's useable at f2 if you know and accept what you are going to get. This is a film era 28mm f2 so the bokeh is never going to be gorgeous and there's probably going to be vignetting and ca, and these things are true. Things improve a bit at f2.8 and more so at f4 and at f5.6 too. I don't have any complaints at f4 and onward. The minimum focus distance is respectable but the front does rotate with focusing but that wont affect me.

100% at f2 and just before MFD.

1-c.jpg

f2.8.

2-c.jpg

f4.

3-c.jpg

f5.6.

4-c.jpg

This was at f4 or f5.6, I can't remember. 100% again. Ey up there!

DSC06233.jpg
 
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At f2 unless you are going for a very dreamy look some clarity and maybe contrast could be dialed in to get a less funky look.

Just about MFD at f2 and with nothing done to it. Whole picture and then a 100% crop.

a.jpg

a-flat.jpg

With added +10 clarity but who is going to shoot wide open at MFD? So this is just to see what happens. It's not as bad as I expected, it's better than I expected after watching reviews.

DSC06236-2clarity.jpg

Stopped down to f4 or 5.6, sorry I forget which, 100% crop.

f2-w-c1.jpg

These are in the centre and the towards the corners things will deteriorate.

On the whole this lens is a lot better than I thought it would be. At f2 and less so at f2.8 there's some vignetting but not too much and there's softness and a lack of contrast and other issues but some of these things can be improved post capture, if you want. I might get to take this out on Sunday or Monday but I think this is a perfectly useable old film era lens from f2.8 with f2 being useable if you're not going to pixel peep and demand to see a sharp picture with a lot of clarity and contrast. I haven't looked at flare too much yet but it looks to be pretty resistant. I might get the chance to have another look next week, weather depending.

I will use this lens when I don't want a very modern look.
 
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More Vivitar 28mm f2 pictures.

There seems to be good colour and contrast. Sadly there was no one on the bench this evening.

PS.
Some of these have suffered a bit in posting. In this first one for example the pier looks a bit fuzzy but in the original it's sharp front to infinity. They all seem to have suffered to some degree.

DSC06259.jpeg

Getting some limited DoF at f8.

DSC06279.jpeg

If the sun is in the frame there will be flare but I've seen worse. Avoiding it means changing angle or as here losing it in the sun.

DSC06288.jpeg

I have to like 28mm perspective.

DSC06294.jpeg

DSC06291.jpeg

Up the steps and back to the car.

DSC06308.jpeg

I can see how video people with a liking for an old look and maybe some flare could like this lens. It's main issues are at f2 and flare. Oh, and infinity is nowhere near the end stop lens marking wise, it's at about 20ft. I don't know if this is normal, iffy assembly by the manufacturer or if someone has had this lens apart and botched the reassembly. Anything is possible.

I bought this lens as I'm probably going to sell most of my film era primes just keeping some. I want to keep one of my Nippon Kogaku 50's, either the f2 or the f1.4, and I thought I'd get something I could take out with a 50 to make a good pair and this Vivitar looked interesting and it's in Nikon mount.
 
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Another toy has arrived and it looks to be good. Can't really go out and use it as it's pouring down. Just waiting for another which was due but hasn't arrived and then my most recent buying spree is over.
 
Hiya,

With the sony alpha 7rm5... is it possible to take advantage of the hdr part of lightroom ?
I already have it on raw (compressed) and am going to try raw uncompressed to see if there is any difference other than file size. But I am curious to the hdr part of light room as it expands the graph. but most of the details are in the lower quad, so doesnt seem to be of much use?
Hence thinking perhaps there is a setting in the camera to take advantage of it...
 
ecniv said:
Hiya,

With the sony alpha 7rm5... is it possible to take advantage of the hdr part of lightroom ?
I already have it on raw (compressed) and am going to try raw uncompressed to see if there is any difference other than file size. But I am curious to the hdr part of light room as it expands the graph. but most of the details are in the lower quad, so doesnt seem to be of much use?
Hence thinking perhaps there is a setting in the camera to take advantage of it...
Click to expand...
I think it's more optimisation for HDR displays rather than a true HDR image with expanded range.
 
I don't remember them doing manual lenses before but maybe I missed it...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDSgf9cx6RA


I did quite fancy that f1 as in Leica mount it got excellent reviews but I have the f1.2 so there's not a lot of point swapping.

Seems odd to compere the 50mm f1 to the 40mm f1.2. Why not just compare the 50mm f1 to the 50mm f1.2?
 
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I managed to see the fioritura in Castelluccio for the first time last weekend. This plain in central Italy is famous for its lentils but the farmers encourage wild flowers also to grow. Unfortunately, my Italian isn't good enough to understand my brother-in-law's explanation of why they do this. More recently, this flowering has become a tourist attraction and the fields of wild flowers are more regimented. We got there a little early, so missed the violets, but the poppies were out in force.

1.
DSC00395 by Ian, on Flickr

2. Some of the slopes are more wild
DSC00379-Pano by Ian, on Flickr

3.
DSC00390 by Ian, on Flickr

4. And a bonus shot from the Ragnolo plain, a less farmed plain near our place. Full of tiny wild flowers but even more full of flies so I wasn't venturing too far into the fields and focused on the view over the mountains instead
DSC00494-Edit by Ian, on Flickr

All taken on a Sony A7sII and either a 50 or 28mm lens. Thanks for looking
 
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