Photo sharing: Sony Alpha

[HPS3]

Claire by Harry Shields, on Flickr

 

[johamna]

Hamilton, great shot! I just bought the Hoya ND400 and was testing it out yesterday on my Sigma 10-20. I found out I have light leaking in my adapter so I'll have to resolve this before WDW next month. I was planning on this spot for Illuminations. What spot do you recommend?

I would definitely say it's worth trying out, as it's certainly the 'easiest' spot after moving from the front-and-center spot by the entrance to the showcase.

After trying it for two nights, however, I'm not entirely sold on it being the best spot for me, personally. You're watching the show at an angle, so the fireworks never really fill the frame and that leaves you with a lot of open space to accomodate for. On the second night (this shot was from the first) I tried moving even more to the left to try and make it more dynamic and I think it was a good move, so I'd recommend shooting closer to the staircase (facing the lagoon).

Recently I saw an IllumiNations show from Italy and it looked awesome, so I'm going to have to try from there, as well.

Unrelated, here's a WWOHP shot!


Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Entrance to Hogsmeade by Hamilton!, on Flickr

 

[johamna]

Animal Kingdom: Yak and Yeti Restaurant by Hamilton!, on Flickr

 

[HPS3]

Hamilton, have been using Photomatix to edit these? I was on my way home from work today and wanted to stop and test out my Hoya ND400. It was really cloudy and windy.


SMH Cancer Center by Harry Shields, on Flickr

 

[HPS3]

I love shooting with my Tamron 60/f2 on my Nex 5N.


Up Close and Personal by Harry Shields, on Flickr

 

[HPS3]

I love the versatility of a Macro lens.


Reflecting by Harry Shields, on Flickr

 

[HPS3]

Hamilton, what lenses do you carry in WDW with your NEX? I'm trying to make a list of main lenses I want to bring to WDW this month. I'm trying to keep changing to a minimum because I'll be chasing a 18 month old.

 

[HPS3]

Rose Bush by Harry Shields, on Flickr

 

[zackiedawg]

I like closeup work too, though I haven't been doing it with a macro lens. I've been loving the bang-for-the-buck SEL 55-210mm lens on my NEX-5N, which is surprisingly sharp, clear, with excellent color and contrast, and most importantly seems to have been designed with bokeh in mind. Here are some shots I took this weekend with this combo:

This has fast become my favorite lens on my 5N!

 

[HPS3]

Justin, you were the one who inspired me to start taking nature shots. I follow you on the NEX Forums. I would love to have the 55-210 but right now I'm looking into getting a standard zoom to use with the LA-EA2 that I purchased again( my new one focuses spot on with the SAL35F18). I can't decide on the Sigma , Tamron, or Sony 2.8's. I'd like to find a Sigma with OS. Do I need OS? I shoot the Tamron at 1/50 with pretty much no problem.

 

[zackiedawg]

Thanks HPS. Glad to hear the new LA-EA2 is working as it should. Tough call on which zoom to go for...I own all three brands, and have good experience with them all, but on Sony I tend to lean towards Tamron or Sony brand (which are often actually Tamron builds anyway). Not that there's anything at all wrong with my excellent Sigma 30mm F1.4, but in general I like the Tamron lenses' color and contrast which seem to mate well with Sony bodies, and Tamron has never had any compatibility or stripping problems with any Sony model likely because of their 'inside' deal with Sony.

As for whether you need stabilization or not...again tough call. The old normal rule is 1/focal length as the minimum shutter speed to hold steady for a shot. Those with steadier stances and a good hold can probably go a stop or two under that. With stabilization, you typically can gain 3-4 stops. Combine stabilization with a very good stable stance and hold, and you might see 5-6 stops. Obviously the longer the focal length becomes, the harder it gets. If you can work out a stabilized lens vs a non stabilized one, I'd personally always opt for it. It's definitely a life-saver with the 55-210mm!

 

[HPS3]

Thanks Justin for the info. I think I'll try to get the Sigma with OS. I can't believe how popular the mirrorless camera have gotten.

 

[Amy]

Here are some shots I took this weekend with this combo:

This has fast become my favorite lens on my 5N!

Hi Justin! In this photo, is this how vivid the colors really were? I'm asking, because as much as I absolutely love my NEX5, I always end up having to tone down the reds and sometimes the greens - they're just too vivid. (And yes, I checked my settings, and I do NOT have it set for vivid colors.) No problems with yellows or blues, just the reds.

Or was my former camera (Canon SX10 IS) that bad dealing with colors that I got used to seeing non-vivid colors?

 

[zackiedawg]

Amy,

I'd say those colors were about right for what I saw - the colors were very bright and vivid, and the sunlight here in Florida very strong and warm. I actually DO have my camera set to vivid mode, however I turned the saturation down to -1 to avoid blowing out the colors with too much saturation.

My guess is it might just be what you're used to - all cameras have their own 'color' defaults that the manufacturers like to tune to - some are more flat and others more bold, some lean towards greens and blues, others reds and yellows, some go very contrasty, others much more neutral. People tend to get used to the colors they've been shooting with - you'll often find fans of 'Olympus color', 'Sony color', 'Canon color', etc. However, for the most part, all brands of cameras can be set up to deliver pretty similar color by manipulating the picture setting controls, to tune them to where you like them personally. I'd say if you're set to the 'standard' setting and still find colors a bit too saturated for your liking, try turning your saturation down to -1. If you want more or less contrast, adjust that up or down. Same for sharpness. For my personal preferences, I've tended to set up my two Sony cameras to 'Vivid' setting, with Saturation at -1, contrast at 0, and sharpness at -1. I have a Fuji P&S camera that I set to 'Standard', with saturation 0, contrast +1, and sharpness 0.

The other thing to be wary of is your white balance - if you're using Auto white balance all the time, Sony's system is pretty good but can occasionally get confused with some indoor lighting and can tend to be overly warm - so reds/browns tend to get too rich. I always found Canon defaults to be a little bit too 'greenish' or cool in temperature for my personal likes, so with Canon cameras I'd usually juice up the saturation a touch, throw in a bit more contrast, and see which color setting warmed things up a bit (portrait, maybe).

Hope that helps!

 

[Amy]

Thanks for the tips Justin! I have the NEX5, and I checked thru all the menu options and didn't see any settings for saturation, contract and sharpness. Or are you talking about post-processing settings? I usually shoot with an exposure comp. of -.3 or -.7 just because my pictures always seem to come out really bright.

Today was a beautiful day here in Pittsburgh, so I decided to head to the zoo. These were all taken with my NEX5, using the 55-210 Sony zoom. I haven't had time to crop or anything yet - these are straight from the camera.

Love the markings on this tiger!

Sleepy lion

Ocelot, taken thru the glass

Scary teeth

Working on his tan

Some tiny blooms

My favorite photo (and I'm not even that crazy about flamingoes)

 

[Amy]

And some fun ones from my back yard.

Doesn't he realize it's BIRD food??

And this is why they call it a bird bath

 

[HPS3]

Hey Amy, to adjust the sharpness, contrast, and saturation, go to your menu where you pick picture style. I think its under brightness/ color. When you pick your style( standard- vivid-etc.) before pressing OK, there should be an option button on your soft key B. Hit the button and you should be able to adjust your settings. That's how it works on many Nex 5n and 7. I hope that helps.

 

[Amy]

Hey Amy, to adjust the sharpness, contrast, and saturation, go to your menu where you pick picture style. I think its under brightness/ color. When you pick your style( standard- vivid-etc.) before pressing OK, there should be an option button on your soft key B. Hit the button and you should be able to adjust your settings. That's how it works on many Nex 5n and 7. I hope that helps.

Well whaddya know? There it is! Adjustments are made. Thanks HPS!! I printed out the whole manual for my NEX5, but I've only read bits and pieces of it. I got one of those "Short Courses" books for both of my prior Canon cameras, but last time I checked, they didn't have one for the Sony NEX. Maybe it's time to check again.

 

[HPS3]

Your welcome Amy. I learn so much stuff on these Nex's just by playing around. One thing I love about the Nex7 is that I can shoot in manual with the Tri-Navi controls. The controls are sooo much nicer than my Nex 5N or D5100.

 

[HPS3]

I went out today to the local St. Patricks Day Parade. I had my first chance to use the Nex 7. This camera ROCKS! The only thing I wish it had was a screen that rotated and pivoted like my D5100 for low ground shooting. This was shot with the Fujian 35/f1.7 cctv lens.


St. Patrick's Day Parade by Harry Shields, on Flickr