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

[snerkler]

For something to do I went to Staithes this evening. I mostly took pictures to stitch.

A7III and Sony 40mm f2.5.

Down the slope.

View attachment 430469

From the path.

View attachment 430471

Just the boats, and someone swimming. What do you think? Paint her out or leave her in? At the mo I have both versions.

View attachment 430472

Single pictures.

Time to head back.

View attachment 430473

Boats.

View attachment 430474

And again.

View attachment 430476

Just the usual view, not long until sunset plus a duck heading home.

View attachment 430475

And then I went home.

Nice, what focal length have you used for the panos? I still haven't managed to do a pano without getting the paralax distortion yet

 

[woof woof]

Nice, what focal length have you used for the panos? I still haven't managed to do a pano without getting the paralax distortion yet

It's the 40mm f2.5. I've also use 28 and 50mm for others.

I haven't read up on paralax so I'm not too sure what it is. What I've seen in my own pictures and other peoples pictures on this site is a curvature like in these two pictures.

This I don't mind and actually I quite like it and I have taken panoramas to get this effect. The tideline should obs be straight but it's curved here.



This I find weird and probably wouldn't want to repeat too often.

 

[snerkler]

It's the 40mm f2.5. I've also use 28 and 50mm for others.

I haven't read up on paralax so I'm not too sure what it is. What I've seen in my own pictures and other peoples pictures on this site is a curvature like in these two pictures.

This I don't mind and actually I quite like it and I have taken panoramas to get this effect. The tideline should obs be straight but it's curved here.

View attachment 430504

This I find weird and probably wouldn't want to repeat too often.

View attachment 430505

Parralax error is just that, the curvature distortion you get when shooting panos

 

[woof woof]

I suppose you can sort of avoid it sometimes. For example by not including the tideline or any bendy piers.

This is one of my favourites. I can't remember how many pictures it is but I think it was the most I've ever done and with a 35mm lens but there doesn't seem to be any great eye catching issue. I remember thinking it was so many pictures it wouldn't turn out

 

[snerkler]

I suppose you can sort of avoid it sometimes. For example by not including the tideline or any bendy piers.

This is one of my favourites. I can't remember how many pictures it is but I think it was the most I've ever done and with a 35mm lens but there doesn't seem to be any great eye catching issue. I remember thinking it was so many pictures it wouldn't turn out

View attachment 430510

From previous discussions Parralax issues can be avoided by using longer focal lengths, not having something in the foreground and by rotating around the centre of the aperture opening (not the sensor)

Since learning this I've not tried it

 

[woof woof]

I may be wrong but I don't think longer focal lengths will help. For example the tide and pier pictures above would I think be the same if taken with a longer lens but ending up with the same framing.

My own experience is that 28, 35, 40 or 50mm seems to get me the same result. No doubt someone will know for sure. Looking at the composition and envisaging what you are going to get is IMO a biggie.

 

[snerkler]

I think my camera is definitely fubar, I don't know if you recall that I've had a couple of occasions where it's refused to turn on, well today I've tried to connect it to my phone and the wi-fi is not working. It either gets stuck on the wifi standby screen, or it shows the connection screen with QR code but is frozen and won't even turn off, requiring the battery to be taken out.

A quick google suggests it could be the motherboard which would require it being sent off. Trouble is I've got the Silverstone festival in a couple of weeks and doubt it would come back in time if I sent it off

 

[Barrysprout]

I think my camera is definitely fubar, I don't know if you recall that I've had a couple of occasions where it's refused to turn on, well today I've tried to connect it to my phone and the wi-fi is not working. It either gets stuck on the wifi standby screen, or it shows the connection screen with QR code but is frozen and won't even turn off, requiring the battery to be taken out.

A quick google suggests it could be the motherboard which would require it being sent off. Trouble is I've got the Silverstone festival in a couple of weeks and doubt it would come back in time if I sent it off

Maybe a rental body? Or buy the A9 that @f/2.8 put up today and sell it on again. Or if you need the mp I’ll put my A7R4 in classifieds.

 

[nandbytes]

Any interest in this?

First image of the new Viltrox 28mm f/4.5 VCM pancake lens – sonyalpharumors

www.sonyalpharumors.com

It looks like something I could potentially be interested in but the focus ring could be very fiddly to use and those of us who normally have a hand under or around the could also find his lens fiddly. Maybe a lens can be too small.

More info released

First real world images of the Viltrox 28mm f/4.5 VCM pancake lens – sonyalpharumors

www.sonyalpharumors.com

It's actually an AF lens and this has caught my interest now. In the past I have used 20mm f2.8 on A6000, this is no different IMO. If it's decently sharp i.e. on the level of a standard f4 zoom I think I'll buy one.

 

[woof woof]

More info released

First real world images of the Viltrox 28mm f/4.5 VCM pancake lens – sonyalpharumors

www.sonyalpharumors.com

It's actually an AF lens and this has caught my interest now. In the past I have used 20mm f2.8 on A6000, this is no different IMO. If it's decently sharp i.e. on the level of a standard f4 zoom I think I'll buy one.

Yes but I can't resist manually focusing at least some of the time

 

[snerkler]

Maybe a rental body? Or buy the A9 that @f/2.8 put up today and sell it on again. Or if you need the mp I’ll put my A7R4 in classifieds.

I did mention to my wife that a second A1 would be a good idea but that went down like a lead balloon

 

[nandbytes]

I did mention to my wife that a second A1 would be a good idea but that went down like a lead balloon

Is hardly a 2nd one if you have only one in the house

Of course when the other one arrives it's hardly your fault Sony sent you another one

 

[snerkler]

In an attempt to fix my A1 I've bitten the bullet an updated to the latest firmware, which was a bit long winded as you can't go to version 2.02 from 1.32, you have to go 1.32 > 1.35 > 2.01 > 2.02

The first bit of good news is that I don't have the error message that some had regarding wifi/bluetooth which does suggest mine's working. Bluetooth definitely is as I can connect to the Creator App which has superseded the imaging edge app, however how do I check wifi? I have to be honest and say that Sony's lingo in the network settings leaves me confused, but if I go to the wifi setting and turn it on it says no access point set. If I go to the access point set option it doesn't pick anything up.

Can someone please explain exactly what the access point set is and what it will connect to? In my wonderful naivety I just assumed it would pick up my router like it would if I was trying to pair my phone

 

[Bungieben]

In an attempt to fix my A1 I've bitten the bullet an updated to the latest firmware, which was a bit long winded as you can't go to version 2.02 from 1.32, you have to go 1.32 > 1.35 > 2.01 > 2.02

The first bit of good news is that I don't have the error message that some had regarding wifi/bluetooth which does suggest mine's working. Bluetooth definitely is as I can connect to the Creator App which has superseded the imaging edge app, however how do I check wifi? I have to be honest and say that Sony's lingo in the network settings leaves me confused, but if I go to the wifi setting and turn it on it says no access point set. If I go to the access point set option it doesn't pick anything up.

Can someone please explain exactly what the access point set is and what it will connect to? In my wonderful naivety I just assumed it would pick up my router like it would if I was trying to pair my phone

It may be like a printer so if WiFi enabled on the camera if you go to the WiFi on your PC can you see it there, if so connect to that network from the PC

 

[the_accidental]

If you use the creator app to transfer a photo from the camera it’ll kick off a wifi connection (certainly on iOS) so you can test it like that.

 

[snerkler]

If you use the creator app to transfer a photo from the camera it’ll kick off a wifi connection (certainly on iOS) so you can test it like that.

Interesting thanks, I thought creator app uses bluetooth?

 

[snerkler]

It may be like a printer so if WiFi enabled on the camera if you go to the WiFi on your PC can you see it there, if so connect to that network from the PC

If you use the creator app to transfer a photo from the camera it’ll kick off a wifi connection (certainly on iOS) so you can test it like that.

Tried it again and it picked up my router as expected, appears to be working fine

 

[snerkler]

Since upgrading the firmware I've lost all my settings and had to program them all again. I've done them all except for one that I just simply can't find. When using the silent shutter a box flashes to show that a shot has been taken, and before I was able to set this box from the outer edge to flash around the AF point, and also to change the colour to a very light blue. Can someone point me in the direction of these settings please?

Edit: Ignore, thanks to google I've found it. It's called "shoot timing display",.... of course it is

 

[woof woof]

Do you think updating the firmware has cleared your faults?

While I'm here. One from the other evening.



Looks very soft here to me.

 

[snerkler]

Do you think updating the firmware has cleared your faults?

I'm not sure, it does seem a bit temperamental. When I have a time that's suitable I'll send it in to be checked over, it needs to go in as one of the control wheel buttons has become 'mushy' and no longer has a definitive 'click'.

Yes your photo does look quite soft

 

[woof woof]

I can't work out why this softness happens. Sometimes my pictures look ok but sometimes for no reason I can see... Soft.

 

[snerkler]

I can't work out why this softness happens. Sometimes my pictures look ok but sometimes for no reason I can see... Soft.

It's bugged me for years, mine are the same.

 

[LeeRatters]

Scenery at f/1.4


*** by Lee, on Flickr


*** by Lee, on Flickr

 

[the_accidental]

So I’m quite a fan of adapted MF primes, particularly late edition manual Nikkors…. Picked up something quite nice today:

I’ve fairly high hopes for this, but no daylight by the time I was able to have a proper look. Maybe some test shots tomorrow, reasonable chance of some hot air balloons…

 

[LeeRatters]

So I’m quite a fan of adapted MF primes, particularly late edition manual Nikkors…. Picked up something quite nice today:View attachment 430651

I’ve fairly high hopes for this, but no daylight by the time I was able to have a proper look. Maybe some test shots tomorrow, reasonable chance of some hot air balloons…

I'm not getting up for them. Not tomorrow

 

[Zadro]

@woof woof the soft focus reminds me of an old film camera (might just have been the ones I played around with as a kid tbf ), I quite like the effect although annoying if it was unintended.

 

[the_accidental]

Interesting thanks, I thought creator app uses bluetooth?

It uses BT but when you transfer pics it uses the BT to set up a direct wifi connection between the devices.

 

[the_accidental]

I'm not getting up for them. Not tomorrow

A small child means I’m often up early enough like it or not, and if I’m lucky prevailing wind tends to bring them over my house. Not looking likely for them taking off tomorrow though.

 

[LeeRatters]

A small child means I’m often up early enough like it or not, and if I’m lucky prevailing wind tends to bring them over my house. Not looking likely for them taking off tomorrow though.

My work is about 3/4 a mile from Ashton Court, but I'm not in work this week Last year I stuck the drone up early morning & got a timelapse

 

[woof woof]

@woof woof the soft focus reminds me of an old film camera (might just have been the ones I played around with as a kid tbf ), I quite like the effect although annoying if it was unintended.

I deleted it and tried again and I think it looks better. A bit anyway.

 

[woof woof]

It's bugged me for years, mine are the same.

Welcome to the club

 

[woof woof]

Light here has been pretty poor for days so I'm hoping for some improvement.

 

[ancient_mariner]

I deleted it and tried again and I think it looks better. A bit anyway.

It wasn't *obviously* soft last night. Have you tried using an external host like Flickr, because I don't see obvious softness on the pictures I post.

 

[snerkler]

I deleted it and tried again and I think it looks better. A bit anyway.

It looks a bit better but still a bit soft on my screen

 

[snerkler]

It wasn't *obviously* soft last night. Have you tried using an external host like Flickr, because I don't see obvious softness on the pictures I post.

I've 'complained' about this for quite some time, sometimes my shots look quite soft, to the point I've been a bit embarrassed by it and put a note on to view on Flickr due to the softness on here. I always host from Flickr and I've tried all sorts of things to try and get to the bottom of it. I've tried exporting from LR in different resolutions, posting here in different resolutions, exported from LR with different screen sharpening settings and it still seems hit and miss

 

[snerkler]

Now that my bluetooth and wi-fi are back up and running I've tried the focus stacking app that Leonardo was promoting on here (free demo)

Initially it wasn't working, the focus said it was moving but it wasn't. I had the lens set to MF, and I tried all different step widths but the focus didn't move. After a while of unsuccessful shooting I decided to try and problem solve, first I tried putting the camera into MF as well as the lens (the lens switch normally overrides the camera setting) but it still didn't work.

I don't know what made me think of if but I then tried with the camera in MF but the lens in AF and all of a sudden it worked and you could see the focus shift, so it all appears to be working as expected now. You can choose step width and number of shots and then the whole process is automated. The app does not stack your images for you, you need to do this on the computer using photoshop or similar.

It comes with a user manual so it's pretty easy to figure out, and for those that like to focus stack I'm sure it will be useful, whether it's worth £29.99 to have this feature will depend on eh user.

The one thing that could be improved is to see the camera display on the phone, all you get on the phone is a black screen with a big red circle which is the shutter button. The UI isn't great, especially considering the price of the app.

 

[snerkler]

So I’m back to thinking the wi-fi on my camera is very iffy at best. Trying the creators app today and as right pointed out by the accidental it does indeed use wi-fi to transfer photos and also to control the camera. If I choose either of these options it tries to connect but then fails, after which the wi-fi is greyed out on the LCD, and also the wi-fi option is greyed out in the menu. If I then turn the camera off it won’t turn back on again, and the only way to get the camera to work again is to take the battery out, wait several seconds, reinsert it and then the camera turns on. When the camera turns back on wi-fi is no longer greyed out.

Seems very dodgy. Oh, and it won’t pick up my router again when trying to set the wi-fi access point

 

[f/2.8]

So I’m back to thinking the wi-fi on my camera is very iffy at best. Trying the creators app today and as right pointed out by the accidental it does indeed use wi-fi to transfer photos and also to control the camera. If I choose either of these options it tries to connect but then fails, after which the wi-fi is greyed out on the LCD, and also the wi-fi option is greyed out in the menu. If I then turn the camera off it won’t turn back on again, and the only way to get the camera to work again is to take the battery out, wait several seconds, reinsert it and then the camera turns on. When the camera turns back on wi-fi is no longer greyed out.

Seems very dodgy. Oh, and it won’t pick up my router again when trying to set the wi-fi access point

Sucks that you are having issues with such an expensive bit of kit. Best get it booked in for repair.

 

[snerkler]

Sucks that you are having issues with such an expensive bit of kit. Best get it booked in for repair.

Yeah not great. It's definitely going to go in for repair, just a matter of when can get it in that's convenient. Not having the wi-fi working is not an issue as I don't use it really, obviously when it decides it doesn't want to turn on is a big issue and I am worried that sooner or later it won't ever come back on again. The mushy button is also pretty annoying.

 

[the_accidental]

So I’ve done a few quick tests of the “new” Nikkor, and it’s impressing me so far. However what’s really impressive is how good the IBIS is in the A7Cii - this is a crop from a quick snapshot of the cat next door at 1/80th handheld - and seem to get a decent keeper rate at that though faster is obviously much better.