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

A review.

phillipreeve.net

Review: Viltrox AF 85mm 1.4 FE Pro - phillipreeve.net

ContentsIntroductionSample ImagesSpecificationsDisclosureHandling/Build qualityAF performanceVignettinglight falloffoptical vignettingSharpnessFocus Shiftinfinity (42mp Sony A7rII)portrait distance (2.0 m, 42mp Sony A7rII)close (0.8 m, 1:7.5, 42mp Sony A7rII)Flare...
phillipreeve.net phillipreeve.net

I think he likes it.
 
woof woof said:
A review.

phillipreeve.net

Review: Viltrox AF 85mm 1.4 FE Pro - phillipreeve.net

ContentsIntroductionSample ImagesSpecificationsDisclosureHandling/Build qualityAF performanceVignettinglight falloffoptical vignettingSharpnessFocus Shiftinfinity (42mp Sony A7rII)portrait distance (2.0 m, 42mp Sony A7rII)close (0.8 m, 1:7.5, 42mp Sony A7rII)Flare...
phillipreeve.net phillipreeve.net

I think he likes it.
Click to expand...
Watched about 5 YouTube videos so far on this lens as they were all released at the same time.
Seems for the price it hits far above the price.
I got the 50/2 air and it’s extremely sharp.
Not used it a lot but have read in low light it’s hunty.
That would be my only concern with this though it uses far better AF motors.
I may have to pick one up.. I might see how much cheaper they are in China while there.
 
pmac said:
Watched about 5 YouTube videos so far on this lens as they were all released at the same time.
Seems for the price it hits far above the price.
I got the 50/2 air and it’s extremely sharp.
Not used it a lot but have read in low light it’s hunty.
That would be my only concern with this though it uses far better AF motors.
I may have to pick one up.. I might see how much cheaper they are in China while there.
Click to expand...

I didn't know that 50mm f2 existed and it is tempting but any reports of hunting remind me of the Sony 50mm f2.8 macro I had which struggled to me a hit rate of 1 in 3 on my A7. The A7 is old tech now but I still have one and I want to be able to use any lens on it so unfortunately after a micro second of excitement and interest I think I'll have to forget about this lens. I see it has a long MMF distance too. Oh well.

The Chinese do seem to me marching on in camera gear though. I used to have several but now I just have the humble MF TTArtisan 50mm f2.
 
trevorbray said:
I’ve been looking these over and over. I prefer the original. It looks more ‘alive’
Click to expand...
Thanks. Just the hair, or are we talking overall i.e. the one showing the ear?
 
trevorbray said:
Just the hair
Click to expand...
Thanks Trev, appreciate the input. It's good to get another view as you sometimes can't see the woods for the trees when you've spent time editing and image.
 
I've just got an email from Adobe saying my subscription is changing from £9.98 a month to £14.99. that is quite a hike but I think the rate remains the same if I pay the amount in full yearly.

I use PS and have done for years but deal with Adobe grudgingly since having issues over cs3 and feeling gouged over cs5. I'll probably stick with them as I'm used to PS202x but is there a good alternative? I used the raw processor and do very little in the jpeg editor.
 
Last edited:
woof woof said:
I've just got an email from Adobe saying my subscription is changing from £9.98 a month to £14.99. that is quite a hike but I think the rate remains the same if I pay the amount in full yearly.

I use PS and have done for years but deal with Adobe grudgingly since having issues over cs3 and feeling gouged over cs5. I'll probably stick with them as I'm used to PS202x but is there a good alternative? I used the raw processor and do very little in the jpeg editor.
Click to expand...
I’m guessing I’ll get a similar email soon then :( It is getting rather expensive, especially considering it’s just a hobby :oops: :$
 
snerkler said:
I’m guessing I’ll get a similar email soon then :( It is getting rather expensive, especially considering it’s just a hobby :oops: :$
Click to expand...
I think if you have saved credit you don't get the email until you are on your last month of credit - so I'm expecting it sometime next year.
While it's annoying to have the price hike, it has stayed the same for many years (plus we've had Amazon discounts). Compared to the cost of cameras it's cheap!
 
Olly B said:
I'm looking for advice re choice of lenses for my new Sonly A7iv.

I mostly do nature photography, flowers , plants, fungi etc and also some wildlife, I'm on the coast so do love taking images of the birds wading plus other small wildlife as the opportunity arises. I'm absolutely hopeless at birds in flight, due to rather slow reactions and aging arm strength when holding a long, heavy lens. I'm looking to spend about £1500 to start, I recognise there is probably not a one size fits all lens! Happy to look at third party lenses if they can be recommended. As I'm forking out for a good camera, I don't want to compromise too much on the quality of the lenses I put on it. I already have the Sony G 20 - 70 f4. I was looking at the Sony 70 - 200 f4 as a companion lens, but from my Olympus days recognise that 400 mm does give you more opportunity to capture wildlife that is not infront of your nose so to speak!

Any recommendations/advice would be welcomed!
Click to expand...
The Sigma 100-400 is worth a look.
I tend to use it more than my 200-600.
Image Quality is excellent.
Have a look at my Flickr photostream to see some examples ;)
 
Mr Perceptive said:
On a photography day out, most of us spend more than the Adobe Subscription on fuel, let alone food/drink/etc - its a small price to pay for a comprehensive suite of software
Click to expand...
Very true (although my 'fuel' costs are now pence rather than pounds ;)) but it doesn't stop it from being expensive (y) I have to say though, since it's gone to CC the lightroom updates have been superb, and pretty frequent so whilst expensive it's pretty good value, .... relatively speaking.
Faldrax said:
I think if you have saved credit you don't get the email until you are on your last month of credit - so I'm expecting it sometime next year.
While it's annoying to have the price hike, it has stayed the same for many years (plus we've had Amazon discounts). Compared to the cost of cameras it's cheap!
Click to expand...
Oh, maybe it'll be next year for me then (y)
 
snerkler said:
so whilst expensive it's pretty good value, .... relatively speaking.
Click to expand...

I'd go back and look at the standalone prices of PS before it became subscription

snerkler said:
although my 'fuel' costs are now pence rather than pounds ;)
Click to expand...

Maybe I should have put "fuel and depreciation" costs in my post!!
 
Mr Perceptive said:
I'd go back and look at the standalone prices of PS before it became subscription
Click to expand...
I never used PS prior to CC and still barely use it now, I only use it for more complex cloning. I'd love to learn how to use it properly and get a bit 'arty' with it but I never seem to have the time.

Maybe I should have put "fuel and depreciation" costs in my post!!
Click to expand...

I don't even want to think about the latter :eek: :lol:
 
snerkler said:
I never used PS prior to CC and still barely use it now, I only use it for more complex cloning. I'd love to learn how to use it properly and get a bit 'arty' with it but I never seem to have the time.



I don't even want to think about the latter :eek: :LOL:
Click to expand...

Probably a Sony A1 II and a couple/few of GM lenses a year
 
Mr Perceptive said:
Probably a Sony A1 II and a couple/few of GM lenses a year
Click to expand...
Yeah it's a scary thought :runaway: Although I did get 20% off so that's gone some way to reduce the depreciation :)
 
snerkler said:
Yeah it's a scary thought :runaway: Although I did get 20% off so that's gone some way to reduce the depreciation :)
Click to expand...

When a I had a TVR Griffith 500 back in the late 90's we reckoned that for every £50 spent in fuel, was a further £10 spent in tyre wear!!! My Impreza Turbo was similar and that wore out all 4 tyres out the same rate :ROFLMAO: - worst fuel consumption I managed in that was 4.8mpg on a Cadwell Park Trackday..............................
 
Mr Perceptive said:
When a I had a TVR Griffith 500 back in the late 90's we reckoned that for every £50 spent in fuel, was a further £10 spent in tyre wear!!! My Impreza Turbo was similar and that wore out all 4 tyres out the same rate :ROFLMAO: - worst fuel consumption I managed in that was 4.8mpg on a Cadwell Park Trackday..............................
Click to expand...
I've got tyres covered under the maintenance pack, surprisingly for wear as well as damage. I've no idea how long the tyres last but with 610bhp and 811 lb-ft of torque I can't see them lasting forever ;)
 
snerkler said:
I've got tyres covered under the maintenance pack, surprisingly for wear as well as damage. I've no idea how long the tyres last but with 610bhp and 811 lb-ft of torque I can't see them lasting forever ;)
Click to expand...

No wonder the roads are badly potholed, you must be peeling back the surface with your right foot :ROFLMAO:
 
snerkler said:
I've got tyres covered under the maintenance pack, surprisingly for wear as well as damage. I've no idea how long the tyres last but with 610bhp and 811 lb-ft of torque I can't see them lasting forever ;)
Click to expand...
The software used by the lease companies does calculate expected tyre wear (based on mileage), and they will take tread depth measurements on all tyres every time the car is in for any work. If you look at the fine print in the contract you may find there is a clause to charge you if the wear is considered excessive (I wasn't involved with the contract side, but have worked on the software, both for a regional company with in-house software, and at a company supplying software to the big lease companies).
 
snerkler said:
I’m guessing I’ll get a similar email soon then :( It is getting rather expensive, especially considering it’s just a hobby :oops: :$
Click to expand...

I remember the staggering cost of CS5 and against that the subscription seems like a decent deal especially as updates come though all the time and are mostly painless... but there have been a could of cock ups which have annoyed me a lot.

I'll probably stick with them as I've been using this current version and before it CS3 and then CS5 for a very long time now and I know that learning something else will just be annoying, probably more annoying than the price increases. If anyone suggests anything else I'll look at it.
 
Mr Perceptive said:
No wonder the roads are badly potholed, you must be peeling back the surface with your right foot :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
:lol: To be fair I only tootle around most of the time (y)
Faldrax said:
The software used by the lease companies does calculate expected tyre wear (based on mileage), and they will take tread depth measurements on all tyres every time the car is in for any work. If you look at the fine print in the contract you may find there is a clause to charge you if the wear is considered excessive (I wasn't involved with the contract side, but have worked on the software, both for a regional company with in-house software, and at a company supplying software to the big lease companies).
Click to expand...
It wouldn't surprise me. That being said I was told by the dealer that only punctures were covered so I was quite surprised when I read it that it covered normal wear.
 
Prime day should be coming up soon. Last year I just moved to lightroom cloud version only. It now seems to do everything that the normal LR does and I’ve never been able to get to grips with PS.
Don’t have the patience or attention to sit down and learn it properly but think I need to start as I want to start blending images and doing more night/ Astro stuff.
 
pmac said:
Prime day should be coming up soon. Last year I just moved to lightroom cloud version only. It now seems to do everything that the normal LR does and I’ve never been able to get to grips with PS.
Don’t have the patience or attention to sit down and learn it properly but think I need to start as I want to start blending images and doing more night/ Astro stuff.
Click to expand...

I'm the opposite. I tried LR and thought it was a cataloguing software with a processor tucked away in a corner somewhere. That might not be what it is, it's just how it looked to me. I do most things in the raw processor except resizing and some heavier cloning.

Does the LR raw processor look like the PS one? If it does I could maybe manage with it.

PS.
My subscription is up on 17th July so people can probably look forward to similar emails a month before theirs runs out.
 
woof woof said:
I'm the opposite. I tried LR and thought it was a cataloguing software with a processor tucked away in a corner somewhere. That might not be what it is, it's just how it looked to me. I do most things in the raw processor except resizing and some heavier cloning.

Does the LR raw processor look like the PS one? If it does I could maybe manage with it.

PS.
My subscription is up on 17th July so people can probably look forward to similar emails a month before theirs runs out.
Click to expand...

LR is in the same subscription Photography package, so even if you did change, you won't be saving money

snerkler said:
:LOL: To be fair I only tootle around most of the time (y)
Click to expand...

You've paid for all that bhp and aren't using it, bit like shooting small JPG on your Sony :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
Mr Perceptive said:
LR is in the same subscription Photography package, so even if you did change, you won't be saving money
Click to expand...

Ah. No point then.

Years ago I used something called Rawshooter Essentials but I think they were bought by someone and left to die, Googling tells me you can download a 2005 or 2006 version.
 
pmac said:
Prime day should be coming up soon. Last year I just moved to lightroom cloud version only. It now seems to do everything that the normal LR does and I’ve never been able to get to grips with PS.
Don’t have the patience or attention to sit down and learn it properly but think I need to start as I want to start blending images and doing more night/ Astro stuff.
Click to expand...
I really want to learn photoshop, I'm just going to have to pull my finger out and try to find time to do it. That being said I don't know where to start, there's masses of youtube videos but they all seem to be about something specific rather than a walkthrough. PiXimperfect is really good and knowlegable but I'd really like to watch a video where someone does a landscape from start to finish, a portrait from start to finish and a composite from start to finish.

I can't even do simple selections for composite, it always looks like a 2 year old's cut it out :lol: I recently watched a video how to do complex selections on such things like hair and fur but even though I followed it step by step mine wouldn't select like theirs. Clearly I did something wrong but I couldn't figure out what for the life of me.

In an ideal world I'd sit down and do a 1-1 lesson with someone.
Mr Perceptive said:
You've paid for all that bhp and aren't using it, bit like shooting small JPG on your Sony :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
I actually 'only' wanted the iX 50 msport but was offered a deal on the M60 that saved me £600/month :eek:

Plus I never said I didn't use it, just not very often :p
 
A new UWA prime announced

First image of the new Laowa 12mm f/2.8 coming on June 25 | sonyalpharumors

Laowa officially announced that the new 12mm f/2.8 full-frame autofocus lens will be released on June 25. It has autofocus for Sony E and Nikon Z mounts, a lightweight design, and a body weight of only about 377 grams. It is compact and light, with a 72mm filter interface and a near-zero...
www.sonyalpharumors.com www.sonyalpharumors.com
 
snerkler said:
I really want to learn photoshop, I'm just going to have to pull my finger out and try to find time to do it. That being said I don't know where to start, there's masses of youtube videos but they all seem to be about something specific rather than a walkthrough. PiXimperfect is really good and knowlegable but I'd really like to watch a video where someone does a landscape from start to finish, a portrait from start to finish and a composite from start to finish.

I can't even do simple selections for composite, it always looks like a 2 year old's cut it out :LOL: I recently watched a video how to do complex selections on such things like hair and fur but even though I followed it step by step mine wouldn't select like theirs. Clearly I did something wrong but I couldn't figure out what for the life of me.

In an ideal world I'd sit down and do a 1-1 lesson with someone.

I actually 'only' wanted the iX 50 msport but was offered a deal on the M60 that saved me £600/month :eek:

Plus I never said I didn't use it, just not very often :p
Click to expand...
Perhaps I've mentioned this before but try Dave Kelly's "The Joy Of Editing" tutorials on YouTube, especially TK Friday walkthrough videos.
He uses the TK9 panel.
He starts off in LR then really polishes the images up in PS.
 
Last edited:
snerkler said:
A new UWA prime announced

First image of the new Laowa 12mm f/2.8 coming on June 25 | sonyalpharumors

Laowa officially announced that the new 12mm f/2.8 full-frame autofocus lens will be released on June 25. It has autofocus for Sony E and Nikon Z mounts, a lightweight design, and a body weight of only about 377 grams. It is compact and light, with a 72mm filter interface and a near-zero...
www.sonyalpharumors.com www.sonyalpharumors.com
Click to expand...
Did intrigue me but doesn't look much smaller than samyang 14-24mm. Of course it's wider...
But I'm still drawn more towards the samyang
Main benefit of the laowa though is the 72mm filter thread which matches my 20-70mm
 
mstphoto said:
Perhaps I've mentioned this before but try Dave Kelly's "The Joy Of Editing" tutorials on YouTube, especially TK Friday walkthrough videos.
He uses the TK9 panel.
He starts off in LR then really polishes the images up in PS.
Click to expand...
I've started watching PiXimperfect, he's got a series teaching PS step by step (y)
 
snerkler said:
I've started watching PiXimperfect, he's got a series teaching PS step by step (y)
Click to expand...

IMO working through step by step doesn't sink in, unless you are actually doing it. I tend to want to do something in PS (that I can't do in LR or PS does better)., then I just google it, find a guide/video and work through it with the image that I want to edit - I find that this way I actually learn, so I now have the ability to do a number of functions within photoshop (that I quite often use), but still do the bulk of my editing in LR
 
Mr Perceptive said:
IMO working through step by step doesn't sink in, unless you are actually doing it. I tend to want to do something in PS (that I can't do in LR or PS does better)., then I just google it, find a guide/video and work through it with the image that I want to edit - I find that this way I actually learn, so I now have the ability to do a number of functions within photoshop (that I quite often use), but still do the bulk of my editing in LR
Click to expand...
I've tried that way but I only find it useful for that specific thing. I like to learn from the ground up therefore I can then hopefully apply this knowledge to anything and figure out ways of doing it rather than following a 'recipe' (y)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top