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

I'm not comfortable putting any camera I have in a pocket so they go in a man or camera bag and my MFT RF style camera aren't really all that much smaller or lighter to make any real difference if I'm taking a bag so I often take my A7 or III as they're better cameras especially as now that I have the III I have a FF camera with an electronic shutter for silent shooting. Today I took my GX9 and 20mm f1.7 just for a change.

1-P1004773-C.jpg

:D
 
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woof woof said:
I'm not comfortable putting any camera I have in a pocket so they go in a man or camera bag and my MFT RF style camera aren't really all that much smaller or lighter to make any real difference if I'm taking a bag so I often take my A7 or III as they're better cameras especially as now that I have the III I have a FF camera with an electronic shutter for silent shooting. Today I took my GX9 and 20mm f1.7 just for a change.

View attachment 452992

:D
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I will occasionally take the A7Riii/35GM/FE85 in an old Crumpler messenger if I want good IQ or performance or I'm out at a car meet in the Escort and I might want something extra nice, etc.

Otherwise the X100f is often just on its leather strap around my body/neck - unless I'm taking the Yashica film camera too and I'll use the brown wax style bag I have which I really like. That's my general way of doing things for the average day out or a walk somewhere.
 
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Hi folks, I'm wading through the reviews online for the Sony 20-70mm f4. I only have a Sony 35mm prime and a couple of nice 50mm prime film lenses (one is f1.4) at the moment.

I'm definitely missing something wide for landscapes and architecture and the 20-70mm appeals, so I can leave the house with one lens knowing most bases are covered. I've ruled out the 24mm-70mm Sigma Arts as I think I'll get more from the wider 20mm of the Sony vs the f2.8 of the Sigma. The smaller size and weight of the 20-70mm is also a very significant advantage for me.

So I think I can live with f4, and I've read about and am cool with some distortion at 20mm....but would welcome any experiences of anyone here who has the lens? Any other limitations / deal-breaking issues I should be aware of? Sample images welcome!

Thanks all
 
bullinachinashop said:
Hi folks, I'm wading through the reviews online for the Sony 20-70mm f4. I only have a Sony 35mm prime and a couple of nice 50mm prime film lenses (one is f1.4) at the moment.

I'm definitely missing something wide for landscapes and architecture and the 20-70mm appeals, so I can leave the house with one lens knowing most bases are covered. I've ruled out the 24mm-70mm Sigma Arts as I think I'll get more from the wider 20mm of the Sony vs the f2.8 of the Sigma. The smaller size and weight of the 20-70mm is also a very significant advantage for me.

So I think I can live with f4, and I've read about and am cool with some distortion at 20mm....but would welcome any experiences of anyone here who has the lens? Any other limitations / deal-breaking issues I should be aware of? Sample images welcome!

Thanks all
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I have the 20-70mm f4 and it's a great lens for travel as it covers most bases as you say, however for landscapes and architecture I prefer to use the 16-35mm as i still prefer wider than 20mm for these things.

The distortion doesn't bother me as it's automatically corrected for me. If having to 'put up with' distortion correction is a trade off for having edge to edge sharpness in something smaller and lighter then I can live with it (y)

Those gull shots above were with the 20-70mm ;)
 
The rumor site is saying that two new cameras are coming, one with a tilting evf.

Sony registered another camera in China: Two new cameras on the horizon! | sonyalpharumors

On 9 May, Sony registered another new camera in China. We now have a total of two cameras that have been registered and should be announced soon: Registered on April 21: Code "WW934774" with dual band Wifi support and manufactured in China Registered on May 9: Code "WW697160" with dual band Wifi...
www.sonyalpharumors.com www.sonyalpharumors.com

I've been thinking of getting an A7cII. They're not greatly smaller than my A7 cameras, maybe just the evf hump smaller, but every little helps and an A7cII and 40mm f2.5 could replace one of my Panasonic RF style cameras especially if the new rumoured tilting evf Sony is RF style.

I'll wait for news and reviews but one thing that could put me off is increased mp's. I had thought that the A7cII was 24mp but I've just read that it's 33 but it might not be too much of a problem as I need a new pc anyway and if I do get a high mp count camera I'll have to make sure that a new pc is spec'd to cope.
 
I was going to post a picture... as it's quiet... We've now had a post so I'll post it anyway as it made me think of a question.

A single picture from a panorama, because I decided I liked it on its own.

DSC00234.jpg

How often do you end up keeping a frame from a panorama as a single picture?
 
bullinachinashop said:
Hi folks, I'm wading through the reviews online for the Sony 20-70mm f4. I only have a Sony 35mm prime and a couple of nice 50mm prime film lenses (one is f1.4) at the moment.

I'm definitely missing something wide for landscapes and architecture and the 20-70mm appeals, so I can leave the house with one lens knowing most bases are covered. I've ruled out the 24mm-70mm Sigma Arts as I think I'll get more from the wider 20mm of the Sony vs the f2.8 of the Sigma. The smaller size and weight of the 20-70mm is also a very significant advantage for me.

So I think I can live with f4, and I've read about and am cool with some distortion at 20mm....but would welcome any experiences of anyone here who has the lens? Any other limitations / deal-breaking issues I should be aware of? Sample images welcome!

Thanks all
Click to expand...
More samples, nothing special mianly holiday snaps. I've tried to provide some variety (y) Better viewed on Flickr as this site has a tendancy to soften images.


A1_08413-Edit by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

A1_07962 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

A1_08316 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

A1_02560 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

A7R03118-Edit by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr


A1_09036 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

A1_08223 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

A1_03464 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr
 
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woof woof said:
I was going to post a picture... as it's quiet... We've now had a post so I'll post it anyway as it made me think of a question.

A single picture from a panorama, because I decided I liked it on its own.

View attachment 453103

How often do you end up keeping a frame from a panorama as a single picture?
Click to expand...

I sometimes do, as I often post on Instagram as a 'set' - I certainly do with night sky panoramic images as often with a full arch Milky Way, the centre part which is typically the Cygnus region is usually above the foreground subject.
 
LeeRatters said:
I sometimes do, as I often post on Instagram as a 'set' - I certainly do with night sky panoramic images as often with a full arch Milky Way, the centre part which is typically the Cygnus region is usually above the foreground subject.
Click to expand...

It's something I'm going to try and keep in mind, either take one shot then the pano or try and make sure that the pano includes a framing I might like as a single photo.
 
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snerkler said:
More samples, nothing special mianly holiday snaps. I've tried to provide some variety (y) Better viewed on Flickr as this site has a tendancy to soften images.


A1_08413-Edit by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

A1_07962 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

A1_08316 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

A1_02560 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

A7R03118-Edit by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr


A1_09036 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

A1_08223 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

A1_03464 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr
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Thanks for the feedback and for sharing some great photos - I think you must have posted the gulls as I was typing my post!

It does look like a brilliant all-rounder based on this set of photos.

Amazon selling for £859 new at the moment and I'm very tempted but your 16-35mm option is interesting too and I do have a couple of 50mm film lenses already. Which model do you have?
 
bullinachinashop said:
Thanks for the feedback and for sharing some great photos - I think you must have posted the gulls as I was typing my post!

It does look like a brilliant all-rounder based on this set of photos.

Amazon selling for £859 new at the moment and I'm very tempted but your 16-35mm option is interesting too and I do have a couple of 50mm film lenses already. Which model do you have?
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Thanks. I bought mine grey from Cotswolds, the amazon price is good but IIRC Amazon is not an official retailer so not covered by Sony warranty.

I have the Sony Zeiss 16-35mm f4, it gets mixed reviews but I've always found my copy to be sharp, although I always have this lens stopped down to f8-11. I did want to replace if with the 16-35mm GM II and bought one but it was decentered so it went back and I've just carried on using the f4.
 
Sony have announced their new oblong block wireless telephonic device.

Just announced: new Sony Xperia 1 VII | sonyalpharumors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAKiyQk_1Xs Sony announced the Xperia 1 VII. They made a lot of marketing around this smartphone having "Alpha" alike features: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLM14MOrlV4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KCnyL4DRgI
www.sonyalpharumors.com www.sonyalpharumors.com

Such fun.
 
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Using the 35mm f1.4 I've definitely been running into shutter speed limit issues with this lovely weather we've been having, I was surprised to find the electronic shutter is also limited to 1/8000 compared to 1/32000 with the A1. I thought it'd go to 1/16000 at least :thinking:
 
Wow.

First image of the new SongRaw 85mm f/1.2 FE lens | sonyalpharumors

On 20 May, the Chinese company SongRaw will introduce this new 85mm f/1.2 full-frame autofocus lens for the Sony E-, Nikon Z- and Leica L-mount system cameras. Above you can see the first image of the E-mount version. A pretty big lens!
www.sonyalpharumors.com www.sonyalpharumors.com

Who's getting one?
 
LeeRatters said:
I have one. From about 30 years ago. I don't know where it is :)
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You wont be surprised to know I know where all of mine are and when there's several in the same box I know what order they're in. The joys of being a geek with ocd.
 
snerkler said:
Using the 35mm f1.4 I've definitely been running into shutter speed limit issues with this lovely weather we've been having, I was surprised to find the electronic shutter is also limited to 1/8000 compared to 1/32000 with the A1. I thought it'd go to 1/16000 at least :thinking:
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That’s right Toby. I frequently shot with variable grads on my 35&50 GM’s with the A7R5
 
As I've said before, it'd be great if ISO 50 could be included in the auto range. Plus, I've found that using ISO 50 gets me better results than I can get from ISO 100 and trying to recover blown areas post capture. That might be down to how I process, others might do better.
 
woof woof said:
You wont be surprised to know I know where all of mine are and when there's several in the same box I know what order they're in. The joys of being a geek with ocd.
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On the morning of my wedding, I did think about wearing a watch. I did look in quite a few places that I thought it could have been but no luck. It's definitely here, I've not thrown it out.

And talking of weddings.... Well, honeymoons, we were going to pass through your way on a bit of a road trip but I'm not sure now - It's being a bit of a pain, to find reasonable places to stay in the areas we want, which are pet friendly.
 
LeeRatters said:
On the morning of my wedding, I did think about wearing a watch. I did look in quite a few places that I thought it could have been but no luck. It's definitely here, I've not thrown it out.

And talking of weddings.... Well, honeymoons, we were going to pass through your way on a bit of a road trip but I'm not sure now - It's being a bit of a pain, to find reasonable places to stay in the areas we want, which are pet friendly.
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You need a dress watch at least :D

Good luck with it all. I remember a thread on here a while back in which the groom insisted he was going to take some pictures at his own wedding. Do tell us you're not doing that? But if you are, what camera and lens will you be using? :D

BTW.
When I got married the then future Mrs WW told me I wasn't wearing a suit as they're old fashioned and instead I just had to wear nice trousers and a shirt. She wore a very nice dress but she took her back pack with her and as soon as she could she changed into trousers and a top. Have you got your clothes sorted?
 
woof woof said:
You need a dress watch at least :D

Good luck with it all. I remember a thread on here a while back in which the groom insisted he was going to take some pictures at his own wedding. Do tell us you're not doing that? But if you are, what camera and lens will you be using? :D

BTW.
When I got married the then future Mrs WW told me I wasn't wearing a suit as they're old fashioned and instead I just had to wear nice trousers and a shirt. She wore a very nice dress but she took her back pack with her and as soon as she could she changed into trousers and a top. Have you got your clothes sorted?
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I got married nearly 4 weeks ago ;) All went well.

I didn't take the photos :) But if I did I would have used the A7Riii & 35GM :) Actually, as it turned out, most of the wedding was shot with a 35GM :)
 
LeeRatters said:
I got married nearly 4 weeks ago ;) All went well.

I didn't take the photos :) But if I did I would have used the A7Riii & 35GM :) Actually, as it turned out, most of the wedding was shot with a 35GM :)
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Ah. I missed that. Congratulations!
 
woof woof said:
Wow.

First image of the new SongRaw 85mm f/1.2 FE lens | sonyalpharumors

On 20 May, the Chinese company SongRaw will introduce this new 85mm f/1.2 full-frame autofocus lens for the Sony E-, Nikon Z- and Leica L-mount system cameras. Above you can see the first image of the E-mount version. A pretty big lens!
www.sonyalpharumors.com www.sonyalpharumors.com

Who's getting one?
Click to expand...
Not me, looks huge :eek:
woof woof said:
As I've said before, it'd be great if ISO 50 could be included in the auto range. Plus, I've found that using ISO 50 gets me better results than I can get from ISO 100 and trying to recover blown areas post capture. That might be down to how I process, others might do better.
Click to expand...
Yeah it's a bit of a pain having to manually change it when needed. ISO 50 did do the trick, but if I'd been using the 50mm f1.2 I don't think 1/8000 and ISO 50 would have sufficed.
LeeRatters said:
I got married nearly 4 weeks ago ;) All went well.

I didn't take the photos :) But if I did I would have used the A7Riii & 35GM :) Actually, as it turned out, most of the wedding was shot with a 35GM :)
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Congratulations :clap: Did you have a honeymoon?
 
I'm not sure if I'm getting more picky or whether my 100-400mm's not as sharp as it once was, but I took a few shots yesterday and I was a bit disappointed in the detail. Maybe there was some atmospheric conditions coming into play but here's a 1:1 crop of the original on the right and than run through Topaz Sharpen AI on the left. I don't normally have to run it through Topaz :thinking:

Edit: Hmmm once again this forum's not displaying it very well :( Can you click through as I've marked it private as I don't want it on my photostream?


Screenshot 2025-05-13 at 19.07.30 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr
 
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snerkler said:
Not me, looks huge :eek:

Yeah it's a bit of a pain having to manually change it when needed. ISO 50 did do the trick, but if I'd been using the 50mm f1.2 I don't think 1/8000 and ISO 50 would have sufficed.
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It depends on the light at the time and where you point the lens but ISO 50 has been ok for me with my f1.1 and f1.2 lenses. My problem is remembering to switch back to auto again.

Realising 50 is needed and switching and switching back all takes time and the moment may be gone, I do wish Sony would either allow 50 in auto or up the shutter speed if only in electronic. My Panasonic's go higher but of course their base is 200 so no better off.
 
Maybe more interesting than that 85mm.

Zhongyi Optics announced a new 35mm f/1.4 FE lens | sonyalpharumors

The Chinese company Zhongyi Optics is about to release its first autofocus lens. It will be a new 35mm f/1.4 made for Sony E, Leica L and Nikon Z-mount cameras. The lens has an aperture ring, a focus ring, an AF/MF switch and an Fn button. Price and start of delivery to be announced.
www.sonyalpharumors.com www.sonyalpharumors.com

I do like smaller lighter kit and one day a 35 or even 50 or 28mm f1.4 might come along and really tempt me.
 
snerkler said:
Not me, looks huge :eek:

Yeah it's a bit of a pain having to manually change it when needed. ISO 50 did do the trick, but if I'd been using the 50mm f1.2 I don't think 1/8000 and ISO 50 would have sufficed.

Congratulations :clap: Did you have a honeymoon?
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We were going to have a little road trip. We want to do Edinburgh. So the rough plan was over to the Whitby area for a Fri-Mon, Edinburgh M-F, Lake District F-M, Snowdonia/Anglesey M-F and somewhere south Wales F-M..... But the planning and booking, especially reasonably priced and dog friendly is a bit of a headache......

Plan B might be a few days in Pembrokeshire or the west coast of Wales and then up to north Wales.

Ideally, Italy, but the dog...... That'll have to be later......
 
LeeRatters said:
We were going to have a little road trip. We want to do Edinburgh. So the rough plan was over to the Whitby area for a Fri-Mon, Edinburgh M-F, Lake District F-M, Snowdonia/Anglesey M-F and somewhere south Wales F-M..... But the planning and booking, especially reasonably priced and dog friendly is a bit of a headache......

Plan B might be a few days in Pembrokeshire or the west coast of Wales and then up to north Wales.

Ideally, Italy, but the dog...... That'll have to be later......
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All sound lovely, hope you manage to make at least one of them (y)
 
woof woof said:
Have you thought about a pod Lee?
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Yeah, a pod is an idea. We are really caravan people, but open to other things. Edinburgh was the difficult one for the balance of pet friendly, location and cost. I think we might just delay that one for a while until the time we are dog free and then go up, or maybe even fly up there.

When the wife's dad passed away a few years ago, they were building a new lifeboat for Anstruther (which I think is about an hour up from Edinburgh) and you could donate and have a name put on the boat in memory, which we done - it's where all the thousands of names make up the shape of the boat number ID - so it would be special to go and see that too.
 
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