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

imattersuk said:
@gilbouk Just seen a set of basketball shots in the Facebook Sony A7 IV Shooters group taken with the Tamron 70-180 and they are tack sharp.
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I've shot sport with the 70-180. Sharp, fast to focus, light but felt a bit like a toy in the rough and tumble of a sports game. I'm not a fan of the trombone action either which makes it harder to get a cover when it is lashing down. For the money it is brilliant and I really must shift mine on but it has a couple of faint scratched to the front element so may keep it as an option for a remote
 
sk66 said:
But probably more significant IMO is the programmable buttons/interface.
E.g. when the Z9 decides to lock onto the BG (and it will) the ability to instantly pull the focus back to/towards minimum is extremely useful.
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Is this a feature on Sony lenses? I miss too many photos when this happens but not sure if the customisable button on the lens can be configured to do this. P.S. quote taken from the Z series thread
 
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wookie6262 said:
I've shot sport with the 70-180. Sharp, fast to focus, light but felt a bit like a toy in the rough and tumble of a sports game. I'm not a fan of the trombone action either which makes it harder to get a cover when it is lashing down. For the money it is brilliant and I really must shift mine on but it has a couple of faint scratched to the front element so may keep it as an option for a remote
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I've kinda gone off the Tamron idea after my disappointment with my copy. After playing with my 300mm during a wedding couple shoot, it's turned my attention to perhaps a 135mm either GM or more likely the Samyang mkii. I know it's much more of a specialist lens and I'm unlikely to use it as much, but I'm a sucker for buttery bokeh and compression of the background, and of course the nice sharpness
 
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gilbouk said:
Is this a feature on Sony lenses? I miss too many photos when this happens but not sure if the customisable button on the lens can be configured to do this. P.S. quote taken from the Z series thread
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I've personally never had an issue with Sony jumping on to the background like I did with my Nikons so I've never looked into it, however I'm pretty sure the focus hold buttons aren't programmable so can't be used in this way.
 
snerkler said:
I've personally never had an issue with Sony jumping on to the background like I did with my Nikons so I've never looked into it, however I'm pretty sure the focus hold buttons aren't programmable so can't be used in this way.
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Really only an issue with my 200-600mm. When this happens, the only workaround I have is to zoom to 200mm, focus and then zoom back to 600mm. Perhaps I should try putting the MF/AF toggle to a custom button instead. I did try it on the customisable lens button but inadvertently touched it and would end up in MF when I wanted to be in AF which would miss me shots too. Setting the lens custom button for 'press and hold' to actuate MF was too fiddly trying to do that and twist the focus ring at the same time.
 
Does anyone know..... When you save a M1 memory on the top dial, I know it saves basic M/Av/etc, focus mode, drive mode, etc but does it save other things such as compressed/uncompressed RAW too?
 
LeeRatters said:
Does anyone know..... When you save a M1 memory on the top dial, I know it saves basic M/Av/etc, focus mode, drive mode, etc but does it save other things such as compressed/uncompressed RAW too?
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It does for me (y)
 
NewBeetle said:
Madge enjoying the beautiful weather today and the snow before it disappears.

1:
DSC03381-Edit by A Andrades, on Flickr

2:
DSC03292-Edit by A Andrades, on Flickr

3:
DSC03133-Edit by A Andrades, on Flickr

4: (my favourite shot of the day)
DSC03127-Edit by A Andrades, on Flickr

5:
DSC03044-Edit by A Andrades, on Flickr

6: A genre I definitely struggle with. Ulverston from Birkrigg Common

DSC03217-Edit by A Andrades, on Flickr
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Very striking photos, the clarity and dynamic range is impressive.
 
gilbouk said:
Really only an issue with my 200-600mm. When this happens, the only workaround I have is to zoom to 200mm, focus and then zoom back to 600mm. Perhaps I should try putting the MF/AF toggle to a custom button instead. I did try it on the customisable lens button but inadvertently touched it and would end up in MF when I wanted to be in AF which would miss me shots too. Setting the lens custom button for 'press and hold' to actuate MF was too fiddly trying to do that and twist the focus ring at the same time.
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how do you have your tracking set, i have mine set to 1. (locked on). which i find best , it was jumping all over the show when i had it set to responsive ,
 
gman said:
Very striking photos, the clarity and dynamic range is impressive.
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Thanks, it's the first time I have shot in snow and it was pretty testing with a darkish subject and brightness of the snow. Pleased with how they turned out
 
gilbouk said:
Is this a feature on Sony lenses? I miss too many photos when this happens but not sure if the customisable button on the lens can be configured to do this. P.S. quote taken from the Z series thread
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Just had a look at the 200-600mm specs and it appears the AF lock buttons can be customisable, but to what I don’t know.
 
snerkler said:
Just had a look at the 200-600mm specs and it appears the AF lock buttons can be customisable, but to what I don’t know.
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Do you mean the AF Hold Buttons? As far as I know they all do the same the function depending what you customise the function to be in the camera menus. I don't think it's possible to designate a pre-programmed focus point though. This would be a handy feature that would allow you to overcome when the lens freezes on the background and refuses to focus on a subject much closer even although the focus spot is directly on it.
 
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gilbouk said:
Do you mean the AF Hold Buttons? As far as I know they all do the same the function depending what you customise the function to be in the camera menus. I don't think it's possible to designate a pre-programmed focus point though. This would be a handy feature that would allow you to overcome when the lens freezes on the background and refuses to focus on a subject much closer even although the focus spot is directly on it.
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I‘ve never programmed the buttons on my lenses so have no idea what options you get ;)
 
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There's probably a better place to ask this but I generally only hang out in this thread :ROFLMAO:

I am upgrading to a 'newer' Macbook Pro that only has USB C ports so I am losing the built in SD reader on my current Mac. Would I lose speed by just using a USB C to USB C lead direct to the camera versus buying a USB C SD Card reader?
 
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NewBeetle said:
There's probably a better place to ask this but I generally only hang out in this thread :ROFLMAO:

I am upgrading to a 'newer' Macbook Pro that only has USB C ports so I am losing the built in SD reader on my current Mac. Would I lose speed by just using a USB C to USB C lead direct to the camera versus buying a USB C SD Card reader?
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New Macbook pro has built in SD card slot.

Use the SD and SDXC card slot on your Mac - Apple Support

Learn how to use the SDXC slot on your Mac.
support.apple.com support.apple.com
 
NewBeetle said:
I know, but I am not buying a new one I am getting a 'newer' than my 2012 model that I currently edit on.
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Then i would say a reader is faster, I think the camera is only USB 2 speed? (even though it has USB 3.1 port).

User reports has it only does like 40mb/s
 
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NewBeetle said:
I know, but I am not buying a new one I am getting a 'newer' than my 2012 model that I currently edit on.
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I didn’t know you could still get the older ones. SD card reader will be faster, assuming you get a UHS-II one.

I forgot how convenient an SD slot was until I got my new Mac.
NewBeetle said:
Lovely set Toby (y)
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Thanks.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Then i would say a reader is faster, I think the camera is only USB 2 speed? (even though it has USB 3.1 port).

User reports has it only does like 40mb/s
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Oh crap, I will definitely need a dongle/reader then.
 
snerkler said:
I didn’t know you could still get the older ones. SD card reader will be faster, assuming you get a UHS-II one.

I forgot how convenient an SD slot was until I got my new Mac.

Thanks.
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I'm getting an un-used 2016 (literally been powered on twice) 15" to replace my 2012 15" that is just about dying (though I cannot complain as it's been used daily with heavy editing etc for 11 years). I am priced way out of the new M2 16" unfortunately but this will be a significant upgrade for me without costing a fortune.
 
NewBeetle said:
I'm getting an un-used 2016 (literally been powered on twice) 15" to replace my 2012 15" that is just about dying (though I cannot complain as it's been used daily with heavy editing etc for 11 years). I am priced way out of the new M2 16" unfortunately but this will be a significant upgrade for me without costing a fortune.
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I had the 2016 MBP 15" and it was great, I just kept maxing out the CPU with Logic Pro :runaway: Just be aware of the keyboard as the keys can stick if you don't clean/blow out the dust regularly (y)
 
ancient_mariner said:
Surely a 2020 Air with M1 chip will slaughter a 2016 MacBook? For less than a grand.
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True, but the display is just too small on an air. I'm finding I couldn't go smaller after getting my 16"
 
ancient_mariner said:
Surely a 2020 Air with M1 chip will slaughter a 2016 MacBook? For less than a grand.
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They only come with 8GB as standard which isn’t enough, but a £200 upgrade gets you 16GB which for me is the absolute minimum. On my intel MBP 16GB ram it would sometimes bog down using Lightroom, I think an 8GB system would drive me insane :LOL:
 
ancient_mariner said:
Hopefully one would not *normally* edit on a laptop.
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I always edit on a laptop, I don’t have a desktop anymore as it was always more convenient to do it on my laptop and the desktop never got used (y)
 
snerkler said:
They only come with 8GB as standard which isn’t enough, but a £200 upgrade gets you 16GB which for me is the absolute minimum. On my intel MBP 16GB ram it would sometimes bog down using Lightroom, I think an 8GB system would drive me insane :LOL:
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I think I'd struggle a bit with a 2016 MacBook too. For reference my laptop was a 2014 Dell XPS with 4th gen i7 and 16gb, so about the same as that 2016 MacBook. I can edit on it, but an 8gb M1 Air would be quite a bit quicker and less frustrating.
 
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ancient_mariner said:
I think I'd struggle a bit with a 2016 MacBook too. For reference my laptop was a 2014 Dell XPS with 4th gen i7 and 16gb, so about the same as that 2016 MacBook. I can edit on it, but an 8gb M1 Air would be quite a bit quicker and less frustrating.
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My 2012 15 MBP Retina runs LR, PS and Topaz just fine, and that's with 8GB of Ram. The replacement is 16GB and more powerful CPU and GFX. I couldn't ever go to a Macbook air, the display is everything for me as I only use the one computer and couldn't be bothered with a desk and monitor etc. I would've kept going with my 2012 but the speakers have died along with the trackpad as the old battery is swelling, screens started to get a little blotchy too.
 
NewBeetle said:
My 2012 15 MBP Retina runs LR, PS and Topaz just fine, and that's with 8GB of Ram. The replacement is 16GB and more powerful CPU and GFX. I couldn't ever go to a Macbook air, the display is everything for me as I only use the one computer and couldn't be bothered with a desk and monitor etc. I would've kept going with my 2012 but the speakers have died along with the trackpad as the old battery is swelling, screens started to get a little blotchy too.
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Do you run cc or standalone?
 
snerkler said:
They only come with 8GB as standard which isn’t enough, but a £200 upgrade gets you 16GB which for me is the absolute minimum. On my intel MBP 16GB ram it would sometimes bog down using Lightroom, I think an 8GB system would drive me insane :LOL:
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8GB on the M1 chip performs better than 16GB on the intel chip.
 
imattersuk said:
8GB on the M1 chip performs better than 16GB on the intel chip.
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Amazing what advancements in tech does. I only ever had issues if flicking through photos quickly, sometimes it was fine and sometimes I’d get the spinning beachball. I never did figure out why, didn’t seem to matter how big the catalogue was. Happened more frequently with the 61mp A7RIV files but it did also occur on the 16mp Olympus files. Could drive me mad at times.

I do think it was an issue with my system though, whether it was some other software causing issues or not I don’t know.
 
I do understand the desire for a bigger screen - presently struggling with the trade-off between small/light and bigger/clearer for my laptop upgrade. I found a Lenovo X1 nano 13" screen job for about £860 that weighs 910g, but the SSD is a funny size and I'd really prefer a bigger screen for when I use it travelling. I've found a good value 16" job, but the size makes me baulk a little. All the 15"ers and 14"ers I can afford have crap screens except the ASUS OLED jobs that will likely suffer burn after a couple of years.

Choices, choices. 16" is winning right now, especially since it's a little smaller than the XPS15.
 
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