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

Thanks very much, it really is a lovely part of the world.

Snowdonia is stunning, probably in the top 3 places we’ve been in the UK. I’d love to go and do some ‘proper’ photography there. Whilst I do take a lot of photos when we’re away they’re only what I’d call ‘grab shots’ when we’re out and about. I’d love to go out when the light’s good and survey the areas to find the best locations.

Looking forwards to seeing your photos, I’m expecting some stunners (y)

Yeah, quite a few of mine are just "daytime images" whilst out and about. I did manage to get some dedicated sunrise/sunset shoots in there though too.

We were about 5 miles from the Llanberis tree and Dinorwic Quarry. About 11 miles to Ogwen Valley.
 
Nice Alan. I've found out, that it appears I shot a lot of panoramas in Wales too :ROFLMAO:

There was a fault in the Yorkshire one that I didn't notice until I posted it so I've just tried to fix it. At 200% I can see the fault but never mind :D I've started to like doing them and also TBH sometimes I do them just for something different.
 
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There was a fault in the Yorkshire one that I didn't notice until I posted it so I've just tried to fix it. At 200% I can see the fault but never mind :D I've started to like doing them and also TBH sometimes I do them just for something different.

I think half the time I like the more technical techniques of shooting them. The other half is for the focal length/compression I'm going to get. Occasionally, it's because I don't have a lens wide enough..... :ROFLMAO: Either way, I still enjoy shooting them.

And, I don't look at my own images at 200% so I'm not going to study yours Alan :)
 
I think half the time I like the more technical techniques of shooting them. The other half is for the focal length/compression I'm going to get. Occasionally, it's because I don't have a lens wide enough..... :ROFLMAO: Either way, I still enjoy shooting them.

And, I don't look at my own images at 200% so I'm not going to study yours Alan :)

200% if I'm lax. 300% normally.
 
A few from waterskiing today. I thought it was a competition but just a few older guys practicing. Not been my weekend as Dog wouldn't stop barking at sitters so had to turn back from planned event and drive about 80 miles back to where I had come from. I was trying a spot of panning today and got a few I liked
A9T01023 by Simon Wootton, on Flickr
 
There was a fault in the Yorkshire one that I didn't notice until I posted it so I've just tried to fix it. At 200% I can see the fault but never mind :D I've started to like doing them and also TBH sometimes I do them just for something different.
I'm rubbish at panos, there always seems to be some mad distortion when I do them despite trying to spin the camera on a single axis. Here you can see how squashed the right hand side of the left hand picture looks compared to a corrected (to the best of my ability) image on the right.

Screenshot 2025-09-21 at 09.11.38.jpg
 
I'm rubbish at panos, there always seems to be some mad distortion when I do them despite trying to spin the camera on a single axis. Here you can see how squashed the right hand side of the left hand picture looks compared to a corrected (to the best of my ability) image on the right.

View attachment 463608

This is the perspective effect I notice the most and in some pictures I quite like it, for others it doesn't work at all though.

1-Lake District-May 2025-8.jpg
 
This is the perspective effect I notice the most and in some pictures I quite like it, for others it doesn't work at all though.

View attachment 463626
Yep, that's what I usually have, but twice this holiday it looked squished on one side :thinking:
 
Not a new picture just a reprocessing of a pano I did in November last year. A7III and Sony 40mm.

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Just a bit more blue in the sky and a lightening of the shadows in the banks on the RHS. I like this better than the first version.
 
Nice, looks a bit like Linacre near me.
I searched Linacre but a few places came up.
It's Clifton Marina in Manchester.

Hoping to get my daughter into photography. Might keep me into it, I drift in and out over the years.
 
I searched Linacre but a few places came up.
It's Clifton Marina in Manchester.

Hoping to get my daughter into photography. Might keep me into it, I drift in and out over the years.
It's just outside of Chesterfield, it's a series of 3 reservoirs.
 
Some leaked stuff on the A7V.

Nothing too ground breaking other than the expected upgrade to the better LCD which works very well tbf and the 2 x CF-A slots. Pity it's not gonna be the A9III body as it is far and away the best in terms of ergonomics.

Don't think i will bother with this one unless it has blackout free, which seems probably unlikely.

 
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Some leaked stuff on the A7V.

Nothing too ground breaking other than the expected upgrade to the better LCD which works very well tbf and the 2 x CF-A slots. Pity it's not gonna be the A9III body as it is far and away the best in terms of ergonomics.

Don't think i will bother with this one unless it has blackout free, which seems probably unlikely.

It's all in the sensor - the body, ergonomics and even AF are all going to be pretty familiar. From a photography perspective I'd think the IMX366 sensor as found in the Panasonic S1Rii would make sense but understand how video folk would prefer a stacked sensor. The rumoured prices are too high but hopefully grey prices rapidly lower.
 
Some leaked stuff on the A7V.

Nothing too ground breaking other than the expected upgrade to the better LCD which works very well tbf and the 2 x CF-A slots. Pity it's not gonna be the A9III body as it is far and away the best in terms of ergonomics.

Don't think i will bother with this one unless it has blackout free, which seems probably unlikely.

It was never going to be groundbreaking, I'm not surprised it's just an incremental update. I don't think new bodies are necessarily made to entice people using the previous gen to upgrade, but more to keep on par, or slightly better the competition for those looking at getting into a system. Of course there will be those that upgrade every time.

I do wonder if the A7 and A7R series will ever get blackout free shooting, whether that be a stacked sensor or global shutter. I guess these things would significantly increase the price.
 
It was never going to be groundbreaking, I'm not surprised it's just an incremental update. I don't think new bodies are necessarily made to entice people using the previous gen to upgrade, but more to keep on par, or slightly better the competition for those looking at getting into a system. Of course there will be those that upgrade every time.

I do wonder if the A7 and A7R series will ever get blackout free shooting, whether that be a stacked sensor or global shutter. I guess these things would significantly increase the price.
Yes but Nikon Z8 grey available at £2129 grey with a stacked sensor made by Sony, so Sony should be able to offer similar? Though I’ve no idea what % of the total design/manufacturing cost of a camera the sensor is.
 
Yes but Nikon Z8 grey available at £2129 grey with a stacked sensor made by Sony, so Sony should be able to offer similar? Though I’ve no idea what % of the total design/manufacturing cost of a camera the sensor is.
The Z8 was always a relative bargain and I think shook the market up a bit, a lot of people were surprised by it's price. Why Nikon chose this price point, and why others haven't appeared to match it I don't know. Sony bodies have always been overpriced imo.
 
It was never going to be groundbreaking, I'm not surprised it's just an incremental update. I don't think new bodies are necessarily made to entice people using the previous gen to upgrade, but more to keep on par, or slightly better the competition for those looking at getting into a system. Of course there will be those that upgrade every time.

I do wonder if the A7 and A7R series will ever get blackout free shooting, whether that be a stacked sensor or global shutter. I guess these things would significantly increase the price.

The A7III was groundbreaking to be fair. As was the original A7.

If the rumored pricing is correct it would need to offer something other than the basic tweaks like slightly improved a.f etc.

I will be in the market for a new body soon if this isn’t a stacked sensor I will just get another A9III.
 
The A7III was groundbreaking to be fair. As was the original A7.

If the rumored pricing is correct it would need to offer something other than the basic tweaks like slightly improved a.f etc.

I will be in the market for a new body soon if this isn’t a stacked sensor I will just get another A9III.
Yeah the A7 was definitely groundbreaking, I'm not sure about the A7III?

I would say the A1 could go in the groundbreaking category, as could the A9III.

If I had the choice of an A7V or A9III I'd be choosing the A9III all day long. Is the A1 II not on your radar?
 
The A7IV didn’t offer enough for me to change from the a7III.
Seemed like a slight video improvement and a little more MP, but very little else from everything I read.
If this is just another sideways move which doesn’t even include a sensor improvement it’s dead in the water.
I want to upgrade my 3 even though it probably would make zero difference to me me and I’ve held of to see if this camera was a marked improvement.
If not I will hold on another 4/5 years with the 3 or get the 7RV.
 
The A7IV didn’t offer enough for me to change from the a7III.
Seemed like a slight video improvement and a little more MP, but very little else from everything I read.
If this is just another sideways move which doesn’t even include a sensor improvement it’s dead in the water.
I want to upgrade my 3 even though it probably would make zero difference to me me and I’ve held of to see if this camera was a marked improvement.
If not I will hold on another 4/5 years with the 3 or get the 7RV.
It is very difficult to justify 'upgrading' for incremental updates. I'd really like the A1 II but it would cost around £2k-2.5k to swap and it's simply not justifiable imo as I'd only be doing it for the improved subject AF detection. If it also had a global shutter with at least 14.5ev DR then it would definitely tempt me.
 
The A7IV didn’t offer enough for me to change from the a7III.
Seemed like a slight video improvement and a little more MP, but very little else from everything I read.
If this is just another sideways move which doesn’t even include a sensor improvement it’s dead in the water.
I want to upgrade my 3 even though it probably would make zero difference to me me and I’ve held of to see if this camera was a marked improvement.
If not I will hold on another 4/5 years with the 3 or get the 7RV.

That's how I feel too, my III is good enough most of the time, and although a small increase in puxels and AF quality might be nice, they aren't going to make much difference.
 
Yeah the A7 was definitely groundbreaking, I'm not sure about the A7III?

I would say the A1 could go in the groundbreaking category, as could the A9III.

If I had the choice of an A7V or A9III I'd be choosing the A9III all day long. Is the A1 II not on your radar?

Don’t wanna deal with the file sizes tbh. No real need for weddings and I don’t crop much.

The file sizes are even a hassle for uploading to their online gallery. I have an A7RIV and I downsize all the files from it for the same reason.

For weddings 24mpx is more than enough.

The A9III is perfect but obviously more expensive than an A7V.

The A7III was first with proper eye a.f was huge at the time and was the most popular body they have ever sold.
 
I kind off feel everything Sony does is now push everything to the top tier camera’s and holds that tech as long as possible.. like canon was always criticised for doing with dslr’s.
Sony brought so many over as they push innovative tech in lower cost body’s not ones that cost 5k.

I do feel like the tech has plateaued some what past the a7III eye AF.
everything has been an incremental improvement… it’s iPhone style updates.. the minimum amount needed to make it look like an improvement
 
I guess I've never been (or needed to be) one for the latest tech - not in anything really.

I think the 35GM was the only thing that I bought close to the time it was released.

The only thing I can possibly see in the future (into next year) is swapping the X100f for the X100vi
 
I kind off feel everything Sony does is now push everything to the top tier camera’s and holds that tech as long as possible.. like canon was always criticised for doing with dslr’s.
Sony brought so many over as they push innovative tech in lower cost body’s not ones that cost 5k.

I do feel like the tech has plateaued some what past the a7III eye AF.
everything has been an incremental improvement… it’s iPhone style updates.. the minimum amount needed to make it look like an improvement

It’s a pity nobody really innovates would be great to see a menu system more like a phone.

It would great to be able to upload Lightroom Presets direct to camera seems ridiculous that we can’t do that already.

Would be great if Sony could put back the stuff from the O.G A7 like double exposure etc all really simple stuff that should be able to do but don’t.
 
The A7IV didn’t offer enough for me to change from the a7III.
Seemed like a slight video improvement and a little more MP, but very little else from everything I read.
If this is just another sideways move which doesn’t even include a sensor improvement it’s dead in the water.
I want to upgrade my 3 even though it probably would make zero difference to me me and I’ve held of to see if this camera was a marked improvement.
If not I will hold on another 4/5 years with the 3 or get the 7RV.
For me it was the A7iv finally having a single A-Mount adaptor (LA-EA5) that made the jump from my A900 practical - a relatively minor update, irrelevant for most people, but very important for my use.
 
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They have aspect ratios 3:2, 4:3, 16:9, 1:1 and can have different quality/file sizes

Sunny day :), so had a go at long exposure. Think I need to try harder next time:)
DSC04504.jpg by Keith, on Flickr

That's few more than on the Riii - that has 16:9 as the only option. Which I never really shoot in :rolleyes: But, I have got pretty good at guessing the crop I want from a 3:2 screen over the years.

I've not counted, but I probably have an equal(ish) share of 3:2, 4:3 and 5:4 with the rare something else in there.

Nice long exposure BTW Nice simple image - sort of bugs me it isn't exactly central though :ROFLMAO:
 
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Do the newer bodies have all the crop ratios? Like the Fuji's?
They have the different aspect ratios as mentioned, and also have the APS-C crop. My RX1R II has these aspect rations but doesn't have the APS-C crop which is a little disappointing.

I never use the aspect ratios but crop in post. I almost always used 3:2 but over the last couple of years I've been using 4:3 more and even 5:4. It's rare that I'll use 3:2 for portrait orientation these days

Screenshot 2025-09-23 at 07.20.50.jpg
 
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They have the different aspect ratios as mentioned, and also have the APS-C crop. My RX1R II has these aspect rations but doesn't have the APS-C crop which is a little disappointing.

I never use the aspect ratios but crop in post. I almost always used 3:2 but over the last couple of years I've been using 4:3 more and even 5:4. It's rare that I'll use 3:2 for portrait orientation these days

View attachment 463796

Yeah, it's the one thing I do wish the Riii had tbh
 
Back to the seaside as I had an hour free. A7cII and Sony 40mm.

1-DSC00483.jpg

Long exposure.

1-DSC00490.jpg

I tried a long exposure on the wind farm which is quite far away so this is a heavy crop.

1-DSC00491-c.jpg

I thought I'd try an almost 180 deg panorama. I think it's worked better than I thought it would as I thought it'd follow the waves and create problems and it has to an extent but it's ok except at very close peeping.

1-Untitled_Panorama-7.jpg

And then I ran out of time :D
 
Back to the seaside as I had an hour free. A7cII and Sony 40mm.

View attachment 463827

Long exposure.

View attachment 463828

I tried a long exposure on the wind farm which is quite far away so this is a heavy crop.

View attachment 463829

I thought I'd try an almost 180 deg panorama. I think it's worked better than I thought it would as I thought it'd follow the waves and create problems and it has to an extent but it's ok except at very close peeping.

View attachment 463830

And then I ran out of time :D

Your turning into a nice landscape photographer there Alan :)
 
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