Photo sharing: Sony Alpha

[foolishmortal]

VERY nice on all 3 of these!! But I really like the bear shot, the best. It's like he's peeking over "You got anything to eat?"

thx. I think myfav is the peacock feathers...ONLY because I know how long and hard it was to get the shot. lol Damn thing wouldn't stop for 1 second

I also like one of the lions in a rather compromising situation. lol

here it is

and I snapped this, looks like the bear sticking his toungue out and the other laughing at him

 

[foolishmortal]

I felt like he was looking at me like I was his lunch

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I don't know how many of you are Lightroom users but I wanted to comment that finally Adobe is getting the Noise reduction handling for the Sony raw files! I downloaded the LR version 3 beta and it's night and day over the noise reduction in 2.5. No more smeary blotches and much better detail. I had gone so far as to demo DXO but I'm glad I decided to wait. I'll be upgrading when it's released in it's final version.

 

[Code]

I don't know how many of you are Lightroom users but I wanted to comment that finally Adobe is getting the Noise reduction handling for the Sony raw files! I downloaded the LR version 3 beta and it's night and day over the noise reduction in 2.5. No more smeary blotches and much better detail. I had gone so far as to demo DXO but I'm glad I decided to wait. I'll be upgrading when it's released in it's final version.

Yup, the 3 beta is light years ahead of 2.5 in handling Sony RAWs

 

[acejka]

I don't post too often because my pictures are no where near as wonderful as yall's are, but here is a picture or two that I got on our Disney/Ft. Walton trip last month...

Too bad we got to Disney, dh dropped his camera bag, it fell no more than 12 inches, but that was enough to stick the anti-shake sensor... Good thing I had a p&s with me... Camera is off getting fixed because I always buy accidental breakage policies since I fall or drop things a lot!

 

[vandort]

acejka--Thanks for sharing your pictures! This one is my favorite.

foolishmortal--Thank you, too for sharing your pictures. I think that your peacock feathers are my favorite too.

Kathy,
After this,

I got the A850 back in late Sept!

I've been expecting to here more about your new camera (and I'm sure that I'm not the only one)! How do you like the A850?

 

[DznyFan]

 

[vandort]

I thought that I'd post a picture that I took this week. I've been spending a lot of time at the local ice rink with the speed skating club.

 

[zackiedawg]

Acejka...that pier sunset shot is lovely!

Was out this Saturday at my wetlands, snapping some photos. I grabbed a few bird-in-flight shots for fun, and also had a fun encounter with a heron that I thought I'd share. All taken Saturday with my A550 and Tamron 200-500mm lens.

Here's what I believe to be a royal tern in flight:

Here, a great egret is flying low over the water - he was flying almost against the late afternoon sun, and I liked the harsh contrast between the white bird and dark water patterns:

A great egret coming in for landing, while an anhinga dries his wings far in the distance:

A great blue heron mom returning to her nest, with her chicks anxious to see if she brought food:

The sun was just about gone at 6pm, as I was headed out of the wetlands reserve, when I ran into this tricolor heron sitting on the boardwalk rail, and not looking willing to move as I approached. This is at 200mm...I'm probably about 12 feet from him. Had to use ISO1600 as light was getting very low:

So I decided to walk closer...maybe 7 feet away at 200mm and ISO1600, I get this:

How close can you go? Well, from about 7 feet, and using 420mm (630mm equiv), you can get THIS close at ISO1600:

Now that's a super-close-up!

And one more I thought had a nice mood to it...a black-bellied whistling duck flying off into the colored Florida sunset sky:

Comments, questions, critique always welcome.

 

[polkadotminnie]

Beautiful photos!

Acejka...that pier sunset shot is lovely!

Was out this Saturday at my wetlands, snapping some photos. I grabbed a few bird-in-flight shots for fun, and also had a fun encounter with a heron that I thought I'd share. All taken Saturday with my A550 and Tamron 200-500mm lens.

Here's what I believe to be a royal tern in flight:

Here, a great egret is flying low over the water - he was flying almost against the late afternoon sun, and I liked the harsh contrast between the white bird and dark water patterns:

A great egret coming in for landing, while an anhinga dries his wings far in the distance:

A great blue heron mom returning to her nest, with her chicks anxious to see if she brought food:

The sun was just about gone at 6pm, as I was headed out of the wetlands reserve, when I ran into this tricolor heron sitting on the boardwalk rail, and not looking willing to move as I approached. This is at 200mm...I'm probably about 12 feet from him. Had to use ISO1600 as light was getting very low:

So I decided to walk closer...maybe 7 feet away at 200mm and ISO1600, I get this:

How close can you go? Well, from about 7 feet, and using 420mm (630mm equiv), you can get THIS close at ISO1600:

Now that's a super-close-up!

And one more I thought had a nice mood to it...a black-bellied whistling duck flying off into the colored Florida sunset sky:

Comments, questions, critique always welcome.

 

[DznyFan]

Fabulous as usual, Justin! Love the blue heron!

 

[foolishmortal]

 

[DznyFan]

a quick test shot. Oh, HELLO a550 and 70200G!! f/2.8, 200mm, 1/60 sec, ISO 1600. I am going to LOVE the new gear!

 

[zackiedawg]

Nice one. I think you'll love the gear for sure - I know I have. Wait until you start venturing up to ISO6400 and still getting results cleaner than what you used to get at ISO1600 with your previous cam.

 

[Code]

Awesome, congrats! How much did you end up getting the 70-200G for?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

a quick test shot. Oh, HELLO a550 and 70200G!! f/2.8, 200mm, 1/60 sec, ISO 1600. I am going to LOVE the new gear!

So you like the setup?!?! Congrats again!!

 

[figment97]

Currently in the wish list is a longer zoom and a fish-eye. I have a 75-200 at this time. What would be the best option for the longer zoom... can I get a converter of some sort? Or do I need to buy another lense? What are the tradeoffs of a converter?

What about the fish eye? Is there one out there that is good without a hefty price tag?

Thanks in advance.

 

[zackiedawg]

It all comes down to money...how much would you be willing to spend? There are a few different options you can look into at different price ranges - I wouldn't recommend a converter though with the 75-200...just not a fast enough lens to be paired with a converter, which will lose even more light.

You can consider some used Minolta lenses for a reasonable price - such as the big beercan or the 100-300...those would be reasonably priced choices to get more zoom. Or you can look into some of the pricier new zooms that go to 300 - 400mm...most of those are 'G' range lenses and will cost more, but will be good, fast lenses and high quality glass. The third option is look at some 3rd party lens makers who make very good lenses, like Sigma or Tamron, and see what you can find with more zoom - an all-in-one zoom like the Tamron 18-270mm, super-big zooms like the Tamron 200-500mm, etc.

I'm guessing you can find a used Minolta lens with up to 300mm in the $500 and under range with some good hunting. I'm thinking in the range of $700-900 for a third party big zoom, and over $1K for the Sony G lenses.

As for fisheyes...I don't know much about them. I'm more of an ultrawide guy, rather than fisheye.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Currently in the wish list is a longer zoom and a fish-eye. I have a 75-200 at this time. What would be the best option for the longer zoom... can I get a converter of some sort? Or do I need to buy another lense? What are the tradeoffs of a converter?

What about the fish eye? Is there one out there that is good without a hefty price tag?

Thanks in advance.

Yep - so much depends on your budget. And what focal length you would like to get. The Sony 70-300G is around $850 and is an excellent lens. And as Justin said there are very good third party lenses as well as older Minolta's. There's a Minolta 70-400 which is pretty compact (for the zoom range) and can be found for around $500. It can hunt a bit though and be a bit slower to focus. Pretty good IQ though. Or the Minolta 100-300 APO for around $300. Looks like the Minolta lens prices are coming down from a year or two ago. DH has the Sony 75-300 that came with his camera and for the price it's very decent IMO if you are looking to spend less. More plastic in the lens but it's not flimsy by any means.

I also wouldn't use a tele converter with the 75-200. IQ usually drops off dramatically and they usually won't auto focus unless you are pairing them with a f/2.8 lens. It also will increase the aperture of the lens which could be an important reduction in functionality to you.

Sigma has a newer 10mm Fisheye that Code used recently at WDW and I believe liked. He's posted a picture or two on the this thread towards the end: Ultra wide angle Or there are a few that are manual focus that can be purchased for less but I don't know about them. I have the 16mm fisheye which is great on a full frame but not as quite as good on the crop bodies - it wasn't designed for the crop factor although you do get some "fish bowl" distortion.

 

[foolishmortal]

Currently in the wish list is a longer zoom and a fish-eye. I have a 75-200 at this time. What would be the best option for the longer zoom... can I get a converter of some sort? Or do I need to buy another lense? What are the tradeoffs of a converter?

What about the fish eye? Is there one out there that is good without a hefty price tag?

Thanks in advance.

These are what I have now and have no complaints, especially for the price

Bower 8mm Sony/ Minolta Digital SLR Fish-eye Camera Lens $300


http://www.overstock.com/Electronic....html?keywords=sony fisheye&searchtype=Header

Sony - 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 Super-Telephoto Zoom Lens $200

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+...Lens/7909196.p?id=1149207366234&skuId=7909196