Photo sharing: Sony Alpha

[Amy]

Some random MK photos:

I like how you can see the reflection of the buildings in the balloons:

 

[zackiedawg]

Had fun yesterday with the A580 out in my usual wetlands birding areas - light was gorgeous, selection of birds is getting amazing as we enter winter migration time, and the good-old Minolta 300mm F4 lens worked its magic:

I started with Daggerwing, a small park near my house which is usually pretty sparse but was rumored to have a kestrel hanging out there lately. Sure enough, the kestrel was there, easy to spot on a lookout tree in nice light:

Moving on to Green Cay Wetlands, the usuals were still there. Light was nice at 2-3pm, with the winter hours and earlier sunset.

Mottled duck:

Green heron:

I wrapped up by going to Wakodahatchee Wetlands, which had been closed for a few weeks to clean up the trails/boardwalks. The good news is that the birds didn't mind the cleanup and stuck around or came in for winter...it was jam-packed.

Another green heron:

Tricolor heron:

I believe this is a red-shouldered hawk - sitting high on top of a tree and watching the wetlands:

I happened to notice a dragonfly, and since I don't shoot bugs as often, decided to shoot him too:

Snowy egret running after a meal:

Little blue heron, watching for fish:

Snowy on the hunt:

Great egret got himself a fish:

A juvenile purple gallinule:

Snowy egret taking off in sunset light:

Roseated spoonbill waking up from a nap:

 

[Amy]

I always love looking at your wildlife photos Justin - you're so lucky to live in an area where you can see so many different birds! All we have around here are deer, and we usually don't see the deer, just what's left after they decide to eat my plants.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Thought I'd share a few of the photos I've uploaded so far from our visit to WDW last week. The majority of them were taken with my new NEX 5N. I had purchased the NEX 3 several months ago and found I was using it a lot. The touchscreen and improved sensor in the NEX 5N and the ability to add an EVF pushed me to an upgrade sooner than I thought would happen b/c I did like my little Red NEX. Sadly that little beauty needs to find a new home. I can say I love the 5N! I haven't purchased the EVF yet since I wanted to make certain this camera was what I thought it would be and it didn't disappoint. As soon as I find an EVF in stock someplace I'll be adding it!! I'm excited to see how much I can use this to replace my DSLR once I add the view finder.

Also, a couple of weeks earlier I had purchased the new 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 and was very happy with how it performed.

SONY NEX-5N, f/3.5 @ 18 mm, 1/6, ISO 6400 Handheld Twilight Mode

This was one of my first photos with the camera and I wish I had a better feel for the focus and abilities of the camera. If so I would have attempted to have the sign in focus but that was not what I was trying to do when I took this shot.

SONY NEX-5N, f/5.6 @ 55 mm, 1/40, ISO 6400 Handheld Twilight Mode

SONY NEX-5N, f/5.6 @ 16 mm, 1/60, ISO 2500 with fisheye attachment

SONY NEX-5N, f/5.6 @ 55 mm, 1/640, ISO 1600 Cropped

SONY NEX-5N, f/4 @ 26 mm, 1/40, ISO 3200

SONY NEX-5N, f/3.5 @ 18 mm, 1/8, ISO 6400 Handheld Twilight mode

SONY NEX-5N, f/4 @ 21 mm, 1/20, ISO 3200

SONY NEX-5N, f/7.1 @ 111 mm, 1/160, ISO 3200

SONY NEX-5N, f/6.3 @ 173 mm, 1/640, ISO 3200

SONY NEX-5N, f/6.3 @ 210 mm, 1/800, ISO 3200 Heavily cropped

SONY NEX-5N, f/6.3 @ 210 mm, 1/640, ISO 3200 Cropped

SONY NEX-5N, f/2.8 @ 16 mm, 1/25, ISO 3200

SONY NEX-5N, f/2.8 @ 16 mm, 1/8, ISO 3200

SONY NEX-5N, f/5.6 @ 55 mm, 1/320, ISO 100 Cropped

SONY NEX-5N, f/3.5 @ 18 mm, 1/400, ISO 100. Using strong DRO setting.

SONY NEX-5N, f/5.6 @ 144 mm, 1/250, ISO 320 I did heavy use of the HDR mode on this one - either 2.0 or 3.0

SONY NEX-5N, f/6.3 @ 210 mm, 1/2000, ISO 100
I liked this one for the colors when the sunshine popped out around worldshowcase while the storm clouds were all around.

SONY NEX-5N, f/10 @ 210 mm, 1/400, ISO 200

 

[HPS3]

^^^awesome shots!!^^^How do you see the screen when it is sunny? I tried using the 5N on a sunny day and I couldn't see anything on the screen. I am on the fence about returning it and just using my D5100 but the size is so much nicer to haul around. Do you find yourself using it more than your DSLR?

 

[Amy]

^^^awesome shots!!^^^How do you see the screen when it is sunny? I tried using the 5N on a sunny day and I couldn't see anything on the screen. I am on the fence about returning it and just using my D5100 but the size is so much nicer to haul around. Do you find yourself using it more than your DSLR?

I got the NEX5 this summer, and I, too, had a problem seeing the screen. I really missed having a viewfinder!! Two things helped: Justin on this thread pointed me to the settings where you can adjust the brightness of the display. You have to set it for "bright sunshine" rather than "auto". That helps a lot. I also bought an LCD screen shield that clips on the back. This helps somewhat; sometimes it's just a pain and I usually end up not using it. (Wearing a baseball cap or visor also helps with sun issues.)

HOWEVER: when shooting in bright sun, you have to trust the settings on the camera and not what you see in the viewfinder! We were in WDW about a month ago, and I found myself setting the exposure comp. down to -1, sometimes even -1.3 so that the shot would look good on the LCD screen, and this ended up being too dark. I had quite a few photos that needed to be lightened up. The NEX5 tends to shoot a little over-exposed (at least to my liking), so setting the exposure comp to -.3 or -.7 is plenty. (Although I think I read somewhere that when you underexpose, it's easier to get details back in post-processing than when you overexpose.)

 

[Amy]

Here's a link to an LCD screen shield like the one I have for my NEX5: LCD Screen Hood

 

[HPS3]

Amy, thanks for the info. When I tried using the 5N outside I just couldn't see the screen. With my Nikon lenses I think it would be near impossible to use focus peaking in daylight.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

^^^awesome shots!!^^^How do you see the screen when it is sunny? I tried using the 5N on a sunny day and I couldn't see anything on the screen. I am on the fence about returning it and just using my D5100 but the size is so much nicer to haul around. Do you find yourself using it more than your DSLR?

Thank you!

As Amy mentioned there is an adjustment for the brightness of the LCD screen. I actually meant to change it on the 5N but never got around to it and there were cases where it was difficult to see in the brightest sun. Usually adjusting the angle of the LCD screen helped. I do know from having the NEX 3 that adjusting the brightness will make a big difference. Also, have you tried different colors for the peaking? I haven't used manual lenses too often but I think it was red that I could see best when shooting in bright light. If you were considering the EVF attachment that would take care of the problem too.

As far as using it more than the DSLR - yes. That was probably the most surprising thing to me. The picture quality is just as good and I love the light weight and compact size. It's now the first camera I consider taking and unless there is some specific reason that the DSLR would do better such as fast moving sports it is what goes in my bag. I'm very interested to see if the EVF will allow me to use it for some of that as well.

 

[zackiedawg]

As for the peaking and manual lenses, I've been using it for a while now on my NEX3, and it really hasn't been a problem under Florida sun for me. I have often used my 135mm F2.8 and 200mm F3.5 manual lenses for outdoor shooting and even some wildlife shooting, manually focusing and using peaking to very accurately nail focus even on those longer lenses with shallow DOF. I do realize that some folks may have worse problems seeing the screen and some not so bad - it's up to the person - however as mentioned above some ways to help deal with bright outdoor light are to switch the LCD to 'sunny' mode, partially shade the LCD with your body or hand or brim of a hat, always remember to take off any polarizing sunglasses which can make the screen completely disappear, and tilt the LCD slightly down or up to change the angle to the sun to elinimate glare. Of course, for lots of manual and long lens use, the 5N's optional EVF makes a ton of sense as an investment - it depends on how often you'll be shooting with those types of lenses and those conditions.

 

[saintstickets]

New addition to the family...

 

[RivaLJ]

so cute!

 

[HPS3]

Love the puppies!!!!!

 

[saintstickets]

so cute!

Love the puppies!!!!!

Thanks. They are Havanese pups. Google the breed and be prepared to ooh and aah!

HPS3....since you are from Slidell, you will know this....for everyone else, when you go to New Orleans, you never know what you might see. DW and I went to the Oak Street Po-boy Festival today and this guy was standing in the middle of the street, perfectly still, on top of a bucket!

 

[zackiedawg]

Back in my day (ugh...20 years ago!), there was always a 'Heismann Trophy' guy painted silver who would stand in the statue's pose on Bourbon Street - he was there for years. Don't know if he's still doing his thing. There's always something strange going on down there!

 

[zackiedawg]

Back in my day (ugh...20 years ago!), there was always a 'Heismann Trophy' guy painted silver who would stand in the statue's pose on Bourbon Street - he was there for years. Don't know if he's still doing his thing. There's always something strange going on down there!

 

[HPS3]

Saintstickets, how was the Po Boy festival? I wish I could have made it. My DW had to work Sat. night so we spent our afternoon decorating for Xmas instead. Before I got my DSLR, we used to take the kids to the French Market and walk around the Quarter frequently. Since I got my D5100, I can't get a free day to get down there and take some photos(I have so many shots I want to take). I'll be posting in this thread soon with my new Nex 5n. I had one about 2 weeks ago and ended up returning it to BB(I didn't give it a chance). Today I just ordered a white one from the Sony Store which should be here by Friday.

 

[jakoky]

oops

 

[saintstickets]

Saintstickets, how was the Po Boy festival? I wish I could have made it. My DW had to work Sat. night so we spent our afternoon decorating for Xmas instead. Before I got my DSLR, we used to take the kids to the French Market and walk around the Quarter frequently. Since I got my D5100, I can't get a free day to get down there and take some photos(I have so many shots I want to take). I'll be posting in this thread soon with my new Nex 5n. I had one about 2 weeks ago and ended up returning it to BB(I didn't give it a chance). Today I just ordered a white one from the Sony Store which should be here by Friday.

HPS3....it was pretty nice until about mid-afternoon when it got hot! Three stages with bands, 40+ vendors (including Emeril's Delmonico, Dickie Brennans, Pascals' Manale, and Antoine's to name a few), an artist village and of course, lots of beer!
Another of the cast of characters walking around...

 

[HPS3]

Saintstickets, sounds like you had a great time. I can't believe it's been in the 80's lately.