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

snerkler said:
I did that whole photobook I posted a while back on A4 and was pretty happy with it, although the colours are quite muted in comparison. The company said they shouldn't be that way and sent some reprints but they were exactly the same as the previous book. I did a couple of prints and they were much more like what I see on my screen.
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This is why I print at home. The first digital print I ever paid for was an A3 and it was way too dark. This was easily fixed by printing it myself at home. Gosh knows what came over me to pay someone else to do it but I think it was costs as my local camera shop (long gone) offered a good price so I though I'd give them a go. The second time I payed it was for our wedding album from Jessops and the prints were fine. I've therefore perhaps wrongly thought that paying a company to make prints is a lottery but at home I'm in control of quality.
 
LeeRatters said:
He's pretty much always shot in that soft, airy style.

I actually had an Instagram comment the other day saying my stuff had a similar feel to his work.
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I don't mind soft, it's the slightly over exposed and muted look he's getting that annoyed me. I only watch these when I'm a bit bored but recent ones of his have annoyed me so I'll give him a miss unless he's covering something I'm very keep to see.
 
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woof woof said:
This is why I print at home. The first digital print I ever paid for was an A3 and it was way too dark. This was easily fixed by printing it myself at home. Gosh knows what came over me to pay someone else to do it but I think it was costs as my local camera shop (long gone) offered a good price so I though I'd give them a go. The second time I payed it was for our wedding album from Jessops and the prints were fine. I've therefore perhaps wrongly thought that paying a company to make prints is a lottery but at home I'm in control of quality.
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I don't have the facility to print a book or bind it together so my only option for a book is to have someone else do it. Unfortunately I've not found anywhere (yet) that does test prints before ordering the book.
nandbytes said:
No but helps keep your bokeh circular when stopped down and stopping down reduces vignetting :)
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I'm not sure I understand? :thinking: :ROFLMAO:
 
snerkler said:
I don't have the facility to print a book or bind it together so my only option for a book is to have someone else do it. Unfortunately I've not found anywhere (yet) that does test prints before ordering the book.

I'm not sure I understand? :thinking: :ROFLMAO:
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I can't print books either which is why I went to Jessops but for anything up to and including A3 on paper I'd rather trust myself than pay someone else.

When you stop the lens down the cats eye effect becomes less pronounced but of course as you stop down you get more depth and the size of the specular highlights reduces.

I used to have a thread with examples from f1.2 to f2.8 but I've just looked at it and all the pictures have been replaced with a red X. Oh well.

Just tried to post them in this thread but it seems I can't post pictures without them turning into red X's. I must have been naughty :D
 
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woof woof said:
I can't print books either which is why I went to Jessops but for anything up to and including A3 on paper I'd rather trust myself than pay someone else.

When you stop the lens down the cats eye effect becomes less pronounced but of course as you stop down you get more depth and the size of the specular highlights reduces.

I used to have a thread with examples from f1.2 to f2.8 but I've just looked at it and all the pictures have been replaced with a red X. Oh well.

Just tried to post them in this thread but it seems I can't post pictures without them turning into red X's. I must have been naughty :D
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Lol, thanks but I was joking as I rarely stop down ;)
 
BvTqBXB.jpg


Hmm. I can't post pictures.

I'll see if I can tomorrow. Maybe something wants turning off and on again.
 
addicknchips said:
They are definitely not round though and if anything less consistent, which for me makes for a less pleasing image.
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Yeah I know what you mean but in real life they’re less obvious to me,….. at the moment ;)
 
snerkler said:
I did that whole photobook I posted a while back on A4 and was pretty happy with it, although the colours are quite muted in comparison. The company said they shouldn't be that way and sent some reprints but they were exactly the same as the previous book. I did a couple of prints and they were much more like what I see on my screen.
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Choice of paper makers a big difference, and using glossy photo paper is necessary to get close to screen appearance.
 
So with the A9ii due tomorrow, do I need fancy new cards or will the latest version of the UHS1 Sandisk Extreme Pros be sufficient. I don’t often shoot in massive burst and will probably shoot compressed RAW.

Also, does the electronic shutter turn to mechanical when using flash and vice versa or does it have to be manually switched over?
 
gman said:
Very nice! The eye is sharper than a sharp thing that's just been sharpened. A1?
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Thanks, yes A1 but it's the Sigma DG DN that's sharper than a sharp thing (y)
T_J_G said:
So with the A9ii due tomorrow, do I need fancy new cards or will the latest version of the UHS1 Sandisk Extreme Pros be sufficient. I don’t often shoot in massive burst and will probably shoot compressed RAW.

Also, does the electronic shutter turn to mechanical when using flash and vice versa or does it have to be manually switched over?
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I'd always suggest UHS-II but you may be able to get away with UHS-I for short bursts. I prefer UHS-II for transfer to the computer as well though, but that might not matter if you connect the camera to the computer for transfer.

From memory you have to manually change the shutter over, if in electronic shutter the flash simply won't work. You can have the shutter set to auto, not sure how good this is though.
 
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snerkler said:
So we've had Betty photos with 70-200mm, 50mm, 85mm and now we have 35mm ;) It actually renders quite nicely, although I still want the f1.4 GM at some point (y)


A1_02939 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

A1_02945 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

A1_02952 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr
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Your comparison of the Samyang 50mm f/1.4 II vs the Sony GM 50mm f/1.2 were really interesting. I'm in the market for a new 50mm after moving my Samyang 45mm and 35mm f/1.8 on. I would like something that performs better in harsh light - and I found as soon as the 45mm was turned towards the light I was ending up with lots of green fringing which just wasn't good for delivering to wedding clients. I think the GM might be a bit out of my budget but your comparison really makes for a good argument that the Samyang 50mm II might be a worthy consideration. Were you put off the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG DN because of it's weight? Certainly the 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM might be behind the Samyang as it's a bit old now, and I imagine optically / AF not as good.
 
I've had a lot of fun with my one and only GM lens. Really keen to get better glass now after realising the difference in quality between my 135mm compared with my much cheaper Samyang 45mm

DSC09888 by Gilbo B, on Flickr
DSC09896 by Gilbo B, on Flickr
 
gilbouk said:
Your comparison of the Samyang 50mm f/1.4 II vs the Sony GM 50mm f/1.2 were really interesting. I'm in the market for a new 50mm after moving my Samyang 45mm and 35mm f/1.8 on. I would like something that performs better in harsh light - and I found as soon as the 45mm was turned towards the light I was ending up with lots of green fringing which just wasn't good for delivering to wedding clients. I think the GM might be a bit out of my budget but your comparison really makes for a good argument that the Samyang 50mm II might be a worthy consideration. Were you put off the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG DN because of it's weight? Certainly the 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM might be behind the Samyang as it's a bit old now, and I imagine optically / AF not as good.
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As you have probably noticed, I'm a big fan of the Samyang, I think it renders beautifully. After being disappointed in the AF last week I've been doing various tests and it's actually no worse than other lenses in those lighting conditions, i.e. backlit with the dog's face being dark and in shadow. OK it's not quite as good as the 50mm f1.2 GM but it wasn't far off and the GM did miss from time to time in such conditions (Betty's eyes are particularly difficult for the AF I believe). It's certainly as good as the Sigma 85mm DG DN and Sony 35mm f1.8.

All this being said, and I've said this before, if I was doing paid work I'd stick to the GM lenses (or at least G and/or Zeiss). The Samyang does suffer from green fringing, whereas I could not get the GM to show any fringing at all. If I was you I would seriously consider the 50mm f1.4 GM. From what I've seen the Sigma doesn't perform as well as the Samyang in a number of areas, plus it is heavier although still significantly lighter than the f1.2 GM. The F1.4 GM is smaller and lighter than the Sigma, but not quite as light as the Sammy.
 
Just ordered the 35mm GM, Clifton have it on at £1370 tonight meaning £1270 after cashback and it's on 12 months interest free finance. Thought I'd rather do this than pay £1150 from Panamoz this time as it's easier on the old cash flow.
 
snerkler said:
Just ordered the 35mm GM, Clifton have it on at £1370 tonight meaning £1270 after cashback and it's on 12 months interest free finance. Thought I'd rather do this than pay £1150 from Panamoz this time as it's easier on the old cash flow.
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That's a pretty good price. Most places are still selling for £1500.
 
snerkler said:
Thanks, yes A1 but it's the Sigma DG DN that's sharper than a sharp thing (y)

I'd always suggest UHS-II but you may be able to get away with UHS-I for short bursts. I prefer UHS-II for transfer to the computer as well though, but that might not matter if you connect the camera to the computer for transfer.

From memory you have to manually change the shutter over, if in electronic shutter the flash simply won't work. You can have the shutter set to auto, not sure how good this is though.
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I initially tried the shutter in automatic mode but it seemed to mostly use the mechanical shutter so I assume for auto it would only use the electronic shutter when it had to such as for the high speed burst modes. I switched it to electronic mode and left it like that although I don't use a flash with it.

I use a couple of UHS-1 Sandisk Extreme Pros with the A9 and find the transfer speed decent, it's around 1 minute 7 to clear the buffer with UHS-II and two minutes for the UHS-I so even when I'm shooting a lot of burst shots I don't find it gets in my way especially with the A9 having a decent buffer size.
 
JohnMcL7 said:
I initially tried the shutter in automatic mode but it seemed to mostly use the mechanical shutter so I assume for auto it would only use the electronic shutter when it had to such as for the high speed burst modes. I switched it to electronic mode and left it like that although I don't use a flash with it.

I use a couple of UHS-1 Sandisk Extreme Pros with the A9 and find the transfer speed decent, it's around 1 minute 7 to clear the buffer with UHS-II and two minutes for the UHS-I so even when I'm shooting a lot of burst shots I don't find it gets in my way especially with the A9 having a decent buffer size.
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Thank you
 
nandbytes said:
That's a pretty good price. Most places are still selling for £1500.
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Been watching it for a while as I saw Clifton had it under £1400 last month and I thought if it came up again whilst still in the cashback period and interest free I’d go for it as I don’t have the funds right now to buy outright. After cashback it’s more or less the same price as used like new from MPB.

Spreading the cost and buying UK is worth the extra over Panamoz I think, I wouldn’t have bought it at £1500 though.
 
snerkler said:
Been watching it for a while as I saw Clifton had it under £1400 last month and I thought if it came up again whilst still in the cashback period and interest free I’d go for it as I don’t have the funds right now to buy outright. After cashback it’s more or less the same price as used like new from MPB.

Spreading the cost and buying UK is worth the extra over Panamoz I think, I wouldn’t have bought it at £1500 though.
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This is what I'm looking to do for the 50GM, if you use PayPal on e-infin's eBay shop when paying the interest it works out very similar to UK price.

My camera is due today :banana:, although I don't think it'll make todays wedding.
 
T_J_G said:
This is what I'm looking to do for the 50GM, if you use PayPal on e-infin's eBay shop when paying the interest it works out very similar to UK price.

My camera is due today :banana:, although I don't think it'll make todays wedding.
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I've never used e-infinity before, but I'll only do finance if it's interest free (y)

Enjoy the new camera (y)
 
snerkler said:
I've never used e-infinity before, but I'll only do finance if it's interest free (y)

Enjoy the new camera (y)
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It’s here!

Loving the new grip, the 20fps is pretty crazy and overkill for me, but being able to shoot silently is pretty good. Memory cards seem ok for now. I’ll set it up tomorrow as too late for todays wedding and then give it a run out on Saturdays wedding.
 
Anyone with an opinion on the Sony RX100 VII? Is it still a good buy, anything better for tiny and lightweight. The zoom range and IQ looks good.

Contemplating it as a hillwalking / hiking very lightweight option.
 
BethAtTheHug said:
Anyone with an opinion on the Sony RX100 VII? Is it still a good buy, anything better for tiny and lightweight. The zoom range and IQ looks good.

Contemplating it as a hillwalking / hiking very lightweight option.
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I got one for a mate as he goes away on holiday a lot and the images were excellent. The AF is top notch as well.
 
BethAtTheHug said:
Anyone with an opinion on the Sony RX100 VII? Is it still a good buy, anything better for tiny and lightweight. The zoom range and IQ looks good.

Contemplating it as a hillwalking / hiking very lightweight option.
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I used one and thought it was great, I'd have been tempted to buy one myself if it wasn't so expensive. You've obviously got to accept that IQ is not going to rival FF, but it is very good, and the EVF is better than I thought it was going to be. The fact that it's just one action to press it down makes it much better to use too.

The only issue I find with these kinds of cameras is that they're a bit fiddly to use as they're so small. They're fine for a walkabout to take snaps, but I wouldn't want to use one for a shoot etc.
 
BethAtTheHug said:
Anyone with an opinion on the Sony RX100 VII? Is it still a good buy, anything better for tiny and lightweight. The zoom range and IQ looks good.

Contemplating it as a hillwalking / hiking very lightweight option.
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I've got one that I use as a pocketable camera which I carry about most of the time. IQ is okay, though I do find I press the wrong buttons and change the settings by accident as it is so small.

Couple of pics from it below. First two are cropped in a bit.

TP52 2023 Week 18 Distant by Peter C, on Flickr

YWP by Peter C, on Flickr

TP52 2023 Week 11 Patterns by Peter C, on Flickr
 
All reading about you lot buying stuff has got my gas going :D

I've been looking at buying an old Voigtlander lens but they're hard to find and I'm cooling off by the day. I've also thought about the Laowa 35mm f0.95 and/or 28mm f1.4 as they do look lovely but I have the Sioptic 50mm f1.1 and although it's 50mm not 28 or 35mm it should do the job when I want a wide aperture and it is small and light. Oh well. Guess I'll have to watch from the sidelines as you lot buy new kit :D
 
woof woof said:
All reading about you lot buying stuff has got my gas going :D

I've been looking at buying an old Voigtlander lens but they're hard to find and I'm cooling off by the day. I've also thought about the Laowa 35mm f0.95 and/or 28mm f1.4 as they do look lovely but I have the Sioptic 50mm f1.1 and although it's 50mm not 28 or 35mm it should do the job when I want a wide aperture and it is small and light. Oh well. Guess I'll have to watch from the sidelines as you lot buy new kit :D
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I did buy one of those metal slotted vintage style hoods for the CV40/1.2 the other day :)
 
I hardly ever use hoods in fact I can't remember the last time I did. I've kept my Voigtlander hoods in their boxes and if I do want to use one I'll use one of the no brand vented ones just in case I lose it
 
woof woof said:
I hardly ever use hoods in fact I can't remember the last time I did. I've kept my Voigtlander hoods in their boxes and if I do want to use one I'll use one of the no brand vented ones just in case I lose it
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I never don’t use hoods, but I use them as protection for the front element rather than flare control.
 
woof woof said:
I hardly ever use hoods in fact I can't remember the last time I did. I've kept my Voigtlander hoods in their boxes and if I do want to use one I'll use one of the no brand vented ones just in case I lose it
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snerkler said:
I never don’t use hoods, but I use them as protection for the front element rather than flare control.
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It does vary on the situation. I wanted that little hood for the Voigtlander for when it's on the capture clip, then the hood is touching whilst it's hanging and I don't have to have a lens cap on. Just easier. Also if the camera happens to be hanging from a strap on the rare occasion. Night skies I tend to use one unless it's windy like it was on the Brecon's a few days ago.
 
There's not been many photos posted on flickr and the like using the 50mm f1.4 GM, I thought there'd be a lot more examples by now :thinking:
 
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