Photo sharing: Sony Alpha

[zackiedawg]

Thanks Amy - nice photos yourself especially for just getting used to the camera! First thing if you haven't already is that I'd recommend doing the Firmware 03 available for the camera...it really improves the interface and controls a bit. iAuto will work much the same, but as you get into other controls, there's a level of customization where you can put most-used functions one-touch away, and get rid of the 'help tips' button when you don't need it anymore.

Second thing is: yes, the NEX does tend to overexpose a touch...actually, it's fairly common to many Sony cameras. They safeguard against noise in shadows at higher ISOs and losing shadow detail, but the flip of that is it makes it easier to slightly blow out highlights and colors. You're method is spot-on - dial in a little bit of - EV and you can pretty safely leave it there. Mine is always at -.3 EV, and on a few occasions I might move it to -.7 EV.

Third thing: you may want to change your color profile, and also fine-tune your picture settings a bit. With DSLRs and interchangeable lens cameras, the output is often a bit 'neutral', and coming from P&S cameras it may look a bit flatter or with less pop than you may want. That's because so many DSLR and MIL shooters like to post process. But many of us who like JPG shooting are accustomed to tuning the camera's output to suit our personal taste. For example, I switched my NEX3 to 'vivid' color output the day I got it...then I adjusted the 'saturation' level to -1, as the vivid's saturation was a bit too strong. I like how 'vivid' mode increases the colors a bit, and even with -1 saturation it gives the colors a more saturated pop...and it also moves the contrast tone a bit so you get deeper blacks and shadows. You have individual controls within the picture settings where you can set the saturation, contrast, and sharpness from the camera to suit your taste, and you can select from a few preset color profiles like Vivid and Portrait (each one can be tuned with the same 3 controls too, so you can start with a preset color profile, then tune it to your taste).

Hope that helps!

 

[Khokhonutt]

Thanks Amy - nice photos yourself especially for just getting used to the camera! First thing if you haven't already is that I'd recommend doing the Firmware 03 available for the camera...it really improves the interface and controls a bit. iAuto will work much the same, but as you get into other controls, there's a level of customization where you can put most-used functions one-touch away, and get rid of the 'help tips' button when you don't need it anymore.

Second thing is: yes, the NEX does tend to overexpose a touch...actually, it's fairly common to many Sony cameras. They safeguard against noise in shadows at higher ISOs and losing shadow detail, but the flip of that is it makes it easier to slightly blow out highlights and colors. You're method is spot-on - dial in a little bit of - EV and you can pretty safely leave it there. Mine is always at -.3 EV, and on a few occasions I might move it to -.7 EV.

Third thing: you may want to change your color profile, and also fine-tune your picture settings a bit. With DSLRs and interchangeable lens cameras, the output is often a bit 'neutral', and coming from P&S cameras it may look a bit flatter or with less pop than you may want. That's because so many DSLR and MIL shooters like to post process. But many of us who like JPG shooting are accustomed to tuning the camera's output to suit our personal taste. For example, I switched my NEX3 to 'vivid' color output the day I got it...then I adjusted the 'saturation' level to -1, as the vivid's saturation was a bit too strong. I like how 'vivid' mode increases the colors a bit, and even with -1 saturation it gives the colors a more saturated pop...and it also moves the contrast tone a bit so you get deeper blacks and shadows. You have individual controls within the picture settings where you can set the saturation, contrast, and sharpness from the camera to suit your taste, and you can select from a few preset color profiles like Vivid and Portrait (each one can be tuned with the same 3 controls too, so you can start with a preset color profile, then tune it to your taste).

Hope that helps!

Justin, I have to say I truely appreciate the perspective and knowledge you share on this and other threads. I look forward to your posts, because you always seem to offer a well thought out perspective that obviously comes from experience and not just following the herd. Thanks for sharing!

 

[zackiedawg]

Thank you Jeff - much appreciated!

I'm looking forward to giving my NEX its first Disney trip, starting tomorrow. Of course, the A550 will come to play as well. I'll be up there for 5 days at Saratoga Springs - looking forward to being back 'home'!

 

[Khokhonutt]

Thank you Jeff - much appreciated!

I'm looking forward to giving my NEX its first Disney trip, starting tomorrow. Of course, the A550 will come to play as well. I'll be up there for 5 days at Saratoga Springs - looking forward to being back 'home'!

I look forward to seeing the results. Have fun!

 

[tazdev3225]

Zackiedawg - That heron shot was great. How did you get it? There is a heron that flies over my DGS's baseball game and I got a shot with my Sony HX-1 that caught the bird but it's really blurry. I have switched to my A-300 and am bringing a tripod to tonights game. It flies overhead at the same time every game so I will be prepared. Hopefully I will have a shot to post.

 

[zackiedawg]

Thanks. I've been shooting bird photography for years now, so it's finally become fairly easy. But in general, your shutter speed is the most important thing for a bird-in-flight shot, and focus is next. The shutter speed should be at least around 1/500, or the movement of the bird and wings will most likely cause blur. Faster is better - so if you're in a lower light situation yu may need a decently fast lens or may need to bump up the ISO. Before you see the bird, you can test shot in the same direction you usually see him and determine what aperture and ISO are required to get the shutter speed you need. I often shoot in P or A mode, but I do so while consciously watching and adjusting for my shutter speed - you can control it just as much as in manual, just by making EV adjustments or metering adjustments on the fly. With a flying bird, I find it is often easier to use spot focus and just try to get the center-crosshairs on the bird - it won't work as well with tiny fast birds, but herons fly slow and are large, so this method works well. Center-weighted metering mode also works best for me with big flying birds, as it takes the bird a little more into account against the sky so you can catch the details rather than getting a silhouette. You have to pan with the bird, and it's often a good idea to half-press to try to get focus first, then press the shutter the rest of the way. Focus in AF-C mode so it can track the bird as it gets closer or farther, and best to put your camera in continuous frame mode and hold the shutter down so you can catch a sequence of 3-10 shots. Sometimes if the focus fluctuates or struggles, you'll get 2 or 3 bad focus shots, and 2 or 3 good - that's why the buirst mode is best. Also, you may even get a good focus on the bird, but the wing position or head position are poor, the eyes are caught during a blink, etc - by shooting a series of shots you give yourself a better chance of getting all of these things right.

 

[zackiedawg]

Just back from Disney World yesterday, and still have some sorting and posting to do - but I specifically had my first chance to shoot with my NEX3 at Disney. Fun! Because I go to Disney often, and have had plenty of just about every angle and shot with my DSLR, I decided to really throw myself into the NEX, and brought it exclusively on the first day, and as the primary cam for two other days...only on Animal Kingdom did I relegate it to backup duty and let the DSLR get the most use. I tried a little of everything with it - much shooting with the 18-55 kit lens, daytime and night shots, low light handheld, dark ride samples, and manual lens shooting. Other than the limitations shooting the wildlife/action stuff at AK, and having much less telephoto capability due to my mostly wide to standard lens collection, the NEX was equal to the task and completely equal to DSLRs in nearly every respect...sometimes surprisingly better, due to some of the new technologies like the handheld twilight ISO stacking ability. I can't wait to start sorting through the shots and get some posted - might take me a few days as work duties and home tasks take precedence.

Oh...and it was hot. And humid. And did I mention...hot?!

 

[Khokhonutt]

Just back from Disney World yesterday, and still have some sorting and posting to do - but I specifically had my first chance to shoot with my NEX3 at Disney. Fun! Because I go to Disney often, and have had plenty of just about every angle and shot with my DSLR, I decided to really throw myself into the NEX, and brought it exclusively on the first day, and as the primary cam for two other days...only on Animal Kingdom did I relegate it to backup duty and let the DSLR get the most use. I tried a little of everything with it - much shooting with the 18-55 kit lens, daytime and night shots, low light handheld, dark ride samples, and manual lens shooting. Other than the limitations shooting the wildlife/action stuff at AK, and having much less telephoto capability due to my mostly wide to standard lens collection, the NEX was equal to the task and completely equal to DSLRs in nearly every respect...sometimes surprisingly better, due to some of the new technologies like the handheld twilight ISO stacking ability. I can't wait to start sorting through the shots and get some posted - might take me a few days as work duties and home tasks take precedence.

Oh...and it was hot. And humid. And did I mention...hot?!

Looking forward to the pictures, as always.

 

[Amy]

I'm also looking forward to your photos, Justin! Esp. since I just found out last night that we'll be going to WDW in October!!! Our first trip there in 4 years! My DS21 is in his college marching band and jazz ensemble, and they'll be performing during their fall break. He'll be a senior this year, so this is my last ever chance to see one of my kids march down Main Street USA, and you bet I'm not going to miss it. That's what credit cards are for, right?

I guess I'd better get practicing with my NEX5!!

 

[zackiedawg]

Thanks guys - I had a lot to sort through but finally whittled down the selections of those to upload. Here are some quick teasers - shots taken with the NEX and the 18-55mm kit lens - a few handheld twilight mode shots and handful of others. No tripods used this trip!:

Handheld twilight at ISO6400, right out of the camera:

Interior HDR shot, straight from camera:

Exterior HDR shot straight from camera:

Long exposure, steadied on the handrail:

Even some close wildlife shots:

 

[mikelawson]

Very nice collections and so many good Pictures really superb

 

[tazdev3225]

Very nice shots. I have been debating the NEX or another Alpha. Looking at those shots I am really debating now.

 

[Khokhonutt]

Very nice shots. I have been debating the NEX or another Alpha. Looking at those shots I am really debating now.

I have to say I'm loving mine, so far. The only thing I'm missing is a longer lens. I saved my Minolta Beercan lens and got the alpha lens adapter for my NEX, but having to manual focus without the 'help' the other lenses provide is difficult. The 200mm E-mount lens is still a bit more than I can stomach, but I may put the Beercan and adapter on ebay to see if I can offset costs.

Otherwise, I've been following some of Justin's tips and am shooting in jpg and using the custom settings on the camera, with a goal of little to no post processing.

I still have a lot to learn, but the size advantage of the camera and cutting down on post processing (which I admittedly could have done with my A700) has made taking pictures more fun for me.

 

[zackiedawg]

Thanks all. Taz, mostly just figure out what you are most likely going to be shooting. Either system is quite capable of excellent image quality, but mostly it comes down to whether you want the portability and convenience of the smaller ligther system and the compromises won't affect most of your shooting, or you need the specialty capabilities of a DSLR for too much of your shooting, and nede to accept the compromise of the larger size and heavier lenses. While I love my NEX3, I also continue to need a DSLR because a very large portion of my shooting involves action, wildlife, flying birds, etc. which require superfast focus, tracking focus systems, huge buffers, and a viewfinder and larger body for ergonomics with long lenses. The NEX system just cannot do that type of shooting - it either requires too much work and workarounds, or simply cannot altogether.

But when it comes to comparing scene-for-scene, for normal travel, portrait, architecture, scenic, landscape, etc type shooting, whether night or day, low or high ISO, the NEX and my DSLR are a dead heat - the NEX can definitely match the IQ of the DSLR and in a much smaller, lighter, more portable package. It's absolutely excellent as a second body, and for some folks could be all they'll need in a main body too, as long as sports, action, and moving wildlife are not the majority of their photography.

JEFF - there's a great solution on the way for your manual focus issues on the longer lenses like your beercan...the firmware coming up on June 20 adds a feature called 'peaking' - during manual focusing, the area that is in focus will show up on your LCD with a blue outline around lines of definition - it will help quickly determine what areas of the shot are in focus, without having to use the MF assist zoom - and it can even clue you in to how deep the focus is, since any area that is in focus will show in blue, and the blue stops where the focus ends. I've had this on a past camera, and it really works - I'm looking very forward to this next firmware update to get this feature to use with my manual lenses!

 

[Khokhonutt]

JEFF - there's a great solution on the way for your manual focus issues on the longer lenses like your beercan...the firmware coming up on June 20 adds a feature called 'peaking' - during manual focusing, the area that is in focus will show up on your LCD with a blue outline around lines of definition - it will help quickly determine what areas of the shot are in focus, without having to use the MF assist zoom - and it can even clue you in to how deep the focus is, since any area that is in focus will show in blue, and the blue stops where the focus ends. I've had this on a past camera, and it really works - I'm looking very forward to this next firmware update to get this feature to use with my manual lenses!

I'll look forward to checking that out. I'm curious, where do you get your info on the upcoming firmware and such? I've updated my camera and my Alpha converter, but I've found very little information regarding their updated features and how they differ from the default manuals I've read. I'd also like to get the same heads up without having to wait for you to post it on this thread.

 

[zackiedawg]

Generally, I keep up to date on camera related stuff on the 'dpreview' forums, specifically the two forums for Sony DSLR and Sony NEX. The dpreview news section usually updates any new cameras or firmware, and the general chat in the forums will let you know what's coming too.

The firmware specifics can usually be found on Sonystyle, in the support area. Next to each firmware, they tell you what the update will include. Firmware 3 was pretty extensive, mostly dealing with menu functionality and control layout, like programmable soft keys and rollover menus. Firmware 4 is more mild, in that it's mostly adding the focus peaking option, and some new picture effects for the menu. Here's the breakdown:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/1106/11060814sonyfirmware.asp

 

[Khokhonutt]

Generally, I keep up to date on camera related stuff on the 'dpreview' forums, specifically the two forums for Sony DSLR and Sony NEX. The dpreview news section usually updates any new cameras or firmware, and the general chat in the forums will let you know what's coming too.

The firmware specifics can usually be found on Sonystyle, in the support area. Next to each firmware, they tell you what the update will include. Firmware 3 was pretty extensive, mostly dealing with menu functionality and control layout, like programmable soft keys and rollover menus. Firmware 4 is more mild, in that it's mostly adding the focus peaking option, and some new picture effects for the menu. Here's the breakdown:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/1106/11060814sonyfirmware.asp

Cool! Thanks!

 

[Amy]

Thanks for the info on the firmware 4 update. I tried using manual focus, and was totally lost - it seemed like I was turning that focus dial for a long time before I could see any change. Hopefully this will help.

 

[Khokhonutt]

Thanks for the info on the firmware 4 update. I tried using manual focus, and was totally lost - it seemed like I was turning that focus dial for a long time before I could see any change. Hopefully this will help.

Amy, do you have the manual focus assist (MF Assist) turned on? It's on the setup menu. If not, give it a shot.

That feature automatically zooms in a portion of the shot when you're using manual focus, to help you get things sharp. I find it aboulutely necessary when shooting with MF.

 

[tazdev3225]

Thanks all. Taz, mostly just figure out what you are most likely going to be shooting. Either system is quite capable of excellent image quality, but mostly it comes down to whether you want the portability and convenience of the smaller ligther system and the compromises won't affect most of your shooting, or you need the specialty capabilities of a DSLR for too much of your shooting, and nede to accept the compromise of the larger size and heavier lenses. While I love my NEX3, I also continue to need a DSLR because a very large portion of my shooting involves action, wildlife, flying birds, etc. which require superfast focus, tracking focus systems, huge buffers, and a viewfinder and larger body for ergonomics with long lenses. The NEX system just cannot do that type of shooting - it either requires too much work and workarounds, or simply cannot altogether.

I think I'll stick to the alpha. I actually like the size and do take a lot of sports pics and am working on wildlife and birds. I may actually be gettinbg a second alpha body at little cost from someone I know who works for Sony which will make the choice really easy.