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

woof woof said:
Does anyone else find themselves with no real keepers but having still enjoyed the time out and the experience?
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If I've gone out with the intention of talking pictures then I'd find it enormously disappointing, but if just out anyway then it matters much less. I've spent the last 2 evenings trying to set up a 'harvest' shot, not really happy with anything, but in the end just making do.
 
snerkler said:
Purchase :runaway: Although I have 30 days in which I can return it.

I think it's a keeper, it's far from perfect and it's obviously slow compared to my A1 but the image quality seems very good and it should do what I want from a compact.
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There was me thinking you'd stay strong... Who can resist the lure of more kit (apart from me, apparently)?
 
ancient_mariner said:
If I've gone out with the intention of talking pictures then I'd find it enormously disappointing, but if just out anyway then it matters much less. I've spent the last 2 evenings trying to set up a 'harvest' shot, not really happy with anything, but in the end just making do.
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On Tuesday I could see that the light was poor before I set off but I haven't been out much with a camera since may so I thought I'd go and do long exposures and that's something I don't normally do so that made it a bit more interesting as did using what is to be honest technically quite a poor lens.

I've managed to stop buying watches, building my own seems to have cured that, so maybe I can get back to buying camera kit now.
 
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I haven't been out intentionally with the Sony for quite a while excluding the Devon holiday, dull sunsets.....

I've probably shared more 120 film shots than Sony shots the past few months! But we're off on that little Welsh road trip holiday next month so I'm planning plenty of Sony landscapes fingers crossed! I'm not sure what other gear to take yet!
 
Mr Perceptive said:
I'd give some consideration to sending the labcoat on holiday, preferably with a one-way ticket
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Labcoat's been out already and as I mentioned I really can't fault the IQ. I'll only know if the rest annoys me with real world shooting ;)

Oh, my wife was really impressed when I showed her :ROFLMAO:
woof woof said:
Quite often the light is poor and sometimes I don't take a camera but sometimes I'd still rather take pictures than not bother because I like taking pictures. One problem is if the scene is very familiar and I've taken the same poor light picture 100 x before, I think "Why bother"? The chances of taking a keeper taken in poor light do increase if it's something new, like on a more special day out or on holiday or if Mrs WW does something interesting.

Overcast, raining a bit, flat light, but for me still worth taking because it's a memory of the moment. A flat light scenic picture with nobody in it of a familiar place without a moment to remember is less worth taking because I lose interest and attachment but I still do it :D

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I've read that the older RX1's don't have modern focus performance but for I doubt that'd be a problem for me. The MK2 is cheaper and it has a tilting rear screen but the evf is pop up, the III has the in place evf but it's dearer and there's no tilt screen. I'm tempted by the II but I'll have to think, maybe an A7cII would be a better way to go for me but not this month as I've already spent over £3k. Not that it matters financially but due to upbringing I stop myself from going too mad. Actually just had a talk with Mrs WW today about us not having to worry about money and if she wants something, don't ask, don't mess on, get it. She agrees but upbringing is a difficult thing to get out of.
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I must admit I'm now in the phase of "I don't bother" if I'm venturing out to an area that I've been to many times before.

With regards to the RX1R as you know I've pretty much considered everything, right from way back, having gone through the Olympus EM10 phase, RX100, Fuji X-T1, Canon G7x, and probably others I've forgotten about. I did consider the A7cR last year but bought the A7RV instead as swapping from one to the other I couldn't tell any significant weight difference and I didn't like the EVF on the A7cR. Having two bodies didn't prove to be as convenient as I hoped so I went back to looking at something compact. Assuming I get the price offered the A7RV will 'only' have lost £270 over the past year, less than £1/day so I can live with that.

Initially I wanted the X100VI as I've just always loved the look of them, and I liked the idea of film simulations. However, having played with the original X100 on Monday it wasn't as cool as I thought, and it was bigger than I was expecting. Don't get me wrong it's a nice looking camera, it just wasn't 'that' nice. Also, I've been looking at some comparison videos and blogs between the Fuji and the RX1 series and for me the Sony images are noticeably better, and that for me is more important than having a 'hip' camera (I'll probably always hanker over an X100 though ;))

David made me look at the Q3 and as lovely as it is it was never seriously on the cards, even second hand they're £4900 which is outside of my budget, by a long way. Also, it's bigger than what I had in mind that I want right now. It has made me want one at some point, maybe me wife will buy me one when I hit my half century in a couple of years ;)

The RX1R III was never on the cards as you know. The price is unjustifiable for me, and the lack of tilt screen means it's a no no. I also prefer the pop up EVF over the fixed one. Performance wise the AF on the RX1R II is plenty snappy enough for static objects, although I did notice it hunted a bit when stopped down to f11 indoors. I don't think the tracking will be very good though, but then I'm not sure you buy a camera like this for that. If I had it on single point AF tracking and focussed on Betty's eye it would immediately jump off to her nose. Of course it doesn't have animal eye AF so I don't expect it to track the eye per se, however It would be nice if it stayed on the spot that I focussed on. That being said, every camera has struggled with Betty, I think because her eyes are dark and blend into the rest of her face. I'm pretty sure AF will be better than the original A7 though.

The other thing that will take some getting used to is the lack of BBF. There is a workaround of sorts but putting the camera in MF and then using the AEL button to focus in AF, however it only works in AF-S and can't be set to AF-C. It could be useful for landscapes although I'll likely focus recompose.

Build quality feels truly excellent, the only let down is the rear control dial. I don't know how to describe it but it doesn't feel as smooth as other cameras.

ancient_mariner said:
If I've gone out with the intention of talking pictures then I'd find it enormously disappointing, but if just out anyway then it matters much less. I've spent the last 2 evenings trying to set up a 'harvest' shot, not really happy with anything, but in the end just making do.
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I saw a good 'harvest shot' whilst out on my bike today but I'm just too lazy to go back out. I'm finding this a lot these days, I just can't be bothered to go out to do landscapes. The heather's out at the moment but I just can't be bothered to head out at 7pm at night to go and take pictures :(
ancient_mariner said:
There was me thinking you'd stay strong... Who can resist the lure of more kit (apart from me, apparently)?
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I was always going to buy something else, I'm proud of myself for not going with the Fuji just because it looks cool ;)
 
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Betty keeping cool with her cool vest on.

Edit: looks soft on here again :(


DSC00052 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr
 
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Mr Perceptive said:
Your new camera is broken, it appears to only go to F2.2 now :ROFLMAO:
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I know, I didn't notice I'd not moved the aperture ring far enough, such an amatuer :lol:
 
Question.. Apart from the MP difference, which would you say is the better camera… Sony A7Riv or the Nikon Z7ii ?

To be used mainly for Portraiture.
 
Gandalf said:
Question.. Apart from the MP difference, which would you say is the better camera… Sony A7Riv or the Nikon Z7ii ?

To be used mainly for Portraiture.
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Tough call, I don’t think you can go wrong with either. I’d base it on which you prefer using and which has the better lenses you want. Sony primes tend to be smaller and lighter, and the 35mm f1.4GM and 50mm f1.2 GM are hands down the best lenses I’ve ever used.

Nikon do have an 85mm f1.2 which could be tempting, however it’s big, very heavy and very expensive.
 
Mr Perceptive said:
The Q3 has a min wide aperture of F2.8 in Macro mode, so theres a party trick your Sony can do that the Q3 can't!!
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What’s the min focussing distance?
 
Mr Perceptive said:
Q3 Normal 60cm Macro 17cm
Q3 43 Normal 60cm Macro 27cm

Looks like you can go to 14cm in Macro Mode
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It says so on the specs but on the focus ring it ‘only’ says 0.2m, and when you use manual focus it only goes to 0.2m :thinking:
 
snerkler said:
It says so on the specs but on the focus ring it ‘only’ says 0.2m, and when you use manual focus it only goes to 0.2m :thinking:
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Ahh, I see the confusion where the confusion lies now, according to the Sony website 14cm is from the front of the lens, it’s 20cm from the camera sensor.
 
snerkler said:
Testing out the macro capabilities of the RX1R II, wide open of course ;)
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They look nice. There's been a lot of critisism of this lens on the MKIII but I can understand why Sony have kept it unaltered as changing it would have changed the look of the pictures. Maybe a change to more SOTA motors but leaving the optics as they are would have been nice though.
 
woof woof said:
They look nice. There's been a lot of critisism of this lens on the MKIII but I can understand why Sony have kept it unaltered as changing it would have changed the look of the pictures. Maybe a change to more SOTA motors but leaving the optics as they are would have been nice though.
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I would question whether the lens stands up to the 61mp sensor. It certainly does on the 42mp sensor, it's not 35mm GM sharp but not much is and it's certainly better than I was expecting. It would go in my "very good" category. The focus motors definitely could do with updating, I'd forgotten what old lenses were like.
 
This is IMO the whole point of the camera.

This shocked me... The RX1 looks very similar in size to my 1" sensor Panasonic TZ100. The Panasonic is thinner but only when turned off and the lens retracted.

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When I did this comparison I almost couldn't believe it.
 
woof woof said:
This is IMO the whole point of the camera.

This shocked me... The RX1 looks very similar in size to my 1" sensor Panasonic TZ100. The Panasonic is thinner but only when turned off and the lens retracted.

View attachment 460545

When I did this comparison I almost couldn't believe it.
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I’ve always thought the TZ100 was large for what it is when you consider the size of the RX100

IMG_0881.jpeg
 
It does have the VF and maybe more physical and arguably better placed controls though.

I think if the RX1 was any smaller we'd have people complaining louder about it being too small and they couldn't grip it and use the buttons. I could manage it at this size but even if technology allows I think making the body significantly smaller would only be an idea if it was to become a true point and shoot with limited buttons and dials and maybe just automated modes on the top dial like a more traditional point and shoot.

Anyway. A big car bill came and went today and the bank balance still looks healthy so I'll have to think about an A7cII. The stumbling blocks at the moment are worries about the VF quality but it will probably be ok for me and the articulated screen. One reason for going for the A7III over the 4 was the choice of screen type and there's no point buying something which I might not like. I'll have a think.
 
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Has this been posted already? I forget. Sorry if it has.

phillipreeve.net

REVIEW: TTArtisan AF 40mm f/2 - phillipreeve.net

TTArtisan AF 40mm f/2, a popular focal length with a bright aperture and an ace up its sleeve: a dedicated aperture ring
phillipreeve.net phillipreeve.net

Available in Sony mount for £159 but Wex say "awaiting stock." Ah! In stock at London Camera Exchange.

If I didn't already have the more expensive Sony f2.5 I might be interested.
 
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woof woof said:
It does have the VF and maybe more physical and arguably better placed controls though.

I think if the RX1 was any smaller we'd have people complaining louder about it being too small and they couldn't grip it and use the buttons. I could manage it at this size but even if technology allows I think making the body significantly smaller would only be an idea if it was to become a true point and shoot with limited buttons and dials and maybe just automated modes on the top dial like a more traditional point and shoot.

Anyway. A big car bill came and went today and the bank balance still looks healthy so I'll have to think about an A7cII. The stumbling blocks at the moment are worries about the VF quality but it will probably be ok for me and the articulated screen. One reason for going for the A7III over the 4 was the choice of screen type and there's no point buying something which I might not like. I'll have a think.
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The A7c's are very nice, however the VF isn't the best. I found it awkward to look through, but I'm a left eye shooter, and coming from the A1 and compared to the A7RV it is smaller and not as detailed. How it compares to the A7III I don't know.

With regards to the RX100VII vs the TZ100, the RX100 does have a VF, it's the pop up type which is actually better than you might imagine. No it's not great, but it's good enough for this sort of camera imo.

The ergonomics of the RX1R aren't great, it's manageable but obviously whenyou start to go small you don't have much to hold on to. I've actually ordered a grip for mine.
 
I know it has the pop up vf so I should have added "fixed" or something for the TZ. As I mostly use the vf I don't want one which has to be popped up and down. Some people wont care especially if they mostly use the back screen but I want a fixed or tilting vf not a pop up and of course popping it up increases the size and if you leave it up there could be a feeling that it's more exposed to damage.

I have the GX8 and GX80 and although if I think about it I do think the evf's are poor when I'm out taking pictures and not analysing the tech I don't notice the poorness and they're ok and I think the same will be true of the A7cII. That really just leaves the screen as the sticking point. After years with articulated screen on my G1 and G7 and then years with just a tilt screen on my A7 and A7III I think I'd much rather just have a tilting screen.
 
woof woof said:
I know it has the pop up vf so I should have added "fixed" or something for the TZ. As I mostly use the vf I don't want one which has to be popped up and down. Some people wont care especially if they mostly use the back screen but I want a fixed or tilting vf not a pop up and of course popping it up increases the size and if you leave it up there could be a feeling that it's more exposed to damage.

I have the GX8 and GX80 and although if I think about it I do think the evf's are poor when I'm out taking pictures and not analysing the tech I don't notice the poorness and they're ok and I think the same will be true of the A7cII. That really just leaves the screen as the sticking point. After years with articulated screen on my G1 and G7 and then years with just a tilt screen on my A7 and A7III I think I'd much rather just have a tilting screen.
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Yeah, I prefer the tilt screen however the articulated screen on the new sonys is much better than the other makers as it can just be used as a tilt screen, or you can pull it out and use it as a vari angle so you have the best of both worlds.
 
Shame the A7cII hasn't got the fully articulated and tilting screen. Maybe the MK III will or maybe not if it means the camera will be 2mm thicker and Sony don't want that.
 
woof woof said:
Shame the A7cII hasn't got the fully articulated and tilting screen. Maybe the MK III will or maybe not if it means the camera will be 2mm thicker and Sony don't want that.
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I must admit I just assumed the two new A7c's would have the new type screen but you're right, it's the old type flip out screen, that's a shame.
 
It is.

Everything should be made to suit ME! and YOU too of course but sadly there's something annoying with everything so it's just comes down to what we need and what we can do without and also what will annoy us too much.

I'll have to make my mind up but if I get one it'll be the 33 and not the 60mp version. I might not save a lot in size or weight but one attraction is the lack of evf hump. The difference between the A7 and Panasonic GXxx is noticeable to me.
 
snerkler said:
I must admit I just assumed the two new A7c's would have the new type screen but you're right, it's the old type flip out screen, that's a shame.
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That's the only negative thing I have to say about the A7Cii, otherwise I love it to bits.
 
woof woof said:
It is.

Everything should be made to suit ME! and YOU too of course but sadly there's something annoying with everything so it's just comes down to what we need and what we can do without and also what will annoy us too much.

I'll have to make my mind up but if I get one it'll be the 33 and not the 60mp version. I might not save a lot in size or weight but one attraction is the lack of evf hump. The difference between the A7 and Panasonic GXxx is noticeable to me.
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I don't get it, I know we all have different wants but when a new camera comes out most people complain about the same things that are either missing or could be better so what sample the developers use when designing a new camera go only knows :thinking:

That being said, I don't think there's anything I'd change on the A1 II, apart from the price and weight of course ;)

With regards to the A7cII I'm not sure the lack of EVF hump is worth sacrificing the EVF quality for, but YMMV.
 
snerkler said:
With regards to the A7cII I'm not sure the lack of EVF hump is worth sacrificing the EVF quality for, but YMMV.
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For me the lack of a hump does make a difference and the camera does feel smaller plus it fits into a bag better. The hump on my A7's always catches the bag, my evf in the corner humpless Panasonics seem to slide in and out much better.

EVF quality wise, as above, my Panasonics have pretty poor evf's by todays standards but in use I don't seem to obsess over that. I do when I sit at home and think about it and look at them but I don't seem to notice when I'm out.

Really apart from an arguable and probably minor handling difference it's probably just gas. I haven't bought anything photography related since the 40mm f2.5 so I'm maybe overdue some gas :D
 
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