Photo sharing: Sony Alpha

[fractal]

Happy Halloween

 

[fractal]

A few shots with the Minolta 200mm 2.8.

 

[Hockeyman]

Fractal, looks like almost everyone is jumping the Sony ship and now just you and I left

 

[havoc315]

Fractal, looks like almost everyone is jumping the Sony ship and now just you and I left

Who else is leaving?

Fractal, it's hard to believe you got such sharp action shots with manual focus. Well done.

 

[fractal]

Fractal, looks like almost everyone is jumping the Sony ship and now just you and I left

Lol! We also still have Justin - I guess we just have to take and post more pics.

 

[fractal]

Who else is leaving?

Fractal, it's hard to believe you got such sharp action shots with manual focus. Well done.

Thanks Havoc. Completely manual controls with the camera on a monopod. I was trying to shoot 1/250-300 sec and keep my ISO at 800. The lighting in the pool required me to shoot between f/2.8 and f/3.5 so not a lot of dof to play with. The focus peaking is what allows me to manage a pretty high hit rate. When shooting into an "active" pool the waves will register with the peaking which gives me a "zone" to shoot in. I set the shutter to speed priority which gets me 6fps in RAW ( or 11 in jpg). It's a bit challenging but also fun, especially when you are making adjustments on the fly.

I had a guy with a new Canon 7dII + 70-200mm come up to me and ask me about my setup. He didn't believe that the NEX-7 was an APS-C sensor camera.

Very happy with the results from the Minolta. Significantly sharper than the Soligor 200mm, especially wide open.

 

[havoc315]

I had a guy with a new Canon 7dII + 70-200mm come up to me and ask me about my setup. He didn't believe that the NEX-7 was an APS-C sensor camera.

Very happy with the results from the Minolta. Significantly sharper than the Soligor 200mm, especially wide open.

I miss that lens more than any other part of shooting with Sony. It really had truly incredible sharpness..

And Canon shooters see the white lens and assume you're one of theirs. But it's much smaller and more compact than most white lenses.

My Nikon substitute is going to be the 70-200/4 -- Which supposedly has incredible sharpness, fantastic VR. But it's still bigger than that 200/2.8, and a whole stop slower. And I doubt it is any better optically -- I'm hoping it is a good match at least. Even if it's a good match, I'm sure the 200/2.8 had better bokeh.

Have you tried the 2x teleconverter? It definitely softens the image but still usable IMHO. So it's either a truly incredible 200mm, or an okay 400mm.

 

[fractal]

My Nikon substitute is going to be the 70-200/4 -- Which supposedly has incredible sharpness, fantastic VR. But it's still bigger than that 200/2.8, and a whole stop slower. And I doubt it is any better optically -- I'm hoping it is a good match at least. Even if it's a good match, I'm sure the 200/2.8 had better bokeh.

Have you tried the 2x teleconverter? It definitely softens the image but still usable IMHO. So it's either a truly incredible 200mm, or an okay 400mm.

Good luck with the Nikon lens. I have not tried the teleconverter yet. I didn't need it at the pool but do plan on seeing the results and how it compares to the "precious digital zoom" of the camera.

 

[fractal]

 

[zackiedawg]

Yep - I'm still around this group. Maybe I count for two users, since I shoot with a dual-Sony rig.

A few snaps from my September Disney trip with the A6000 - unfortunately grey overcast skies and intermittent rain on MK day, but it didn't have as bad an impact for at least some of the theming - grey rainy overcast makes Haunted Mansion look a little more ominous, and the fiery dragon has the same grey, smoky, dreary theme:

Animal Kingdom day was a little nicer - the sun was out - shooting with the A6000 and 55-210mm lens with 1.7x teleextender for the safari ride:

I just got back from a cruise last week, so have been off the boards a while...the week before the cruise, getting ready to go - then the week ON the cruise, and this whole week so far trying to sort through the photos from the trip and catch up at work at the same time!

 

[1Grumpy9]

I haven't jumped ship just yet (too many lenses to replace if I change...LOL). I haven't had too many pictures I wanted to post. I just got back last week from WDW and I haven't had a chance to get all of my pics uploaded, but I did get some great shots from the FoF parade at the train station.

DSC01264 by brynfn95, on Flickr

DSC01291 by brynfn95, on Flickr

DSC01326 by brynfn95, on Flickr

DSC01414 by brynfn95, on Flickr

DSC01471 by brynfn95, on Flickr

 

[fractal]

Justin and Grumpy - nice WDW shots!

Grumpy, what camera are you using?

 

[1Grumpy9]

Justin and Grumpy - nice WDW shots!

Grumpy, what camera are you using?

Thanks!!

I am using my A57.

 

[Hockeyman]

Sony Alpha Rumors just posted a rumor they are pretty solid about. New FF Emount geared toward the Pro market and to compete with the Nikon D810 and Canon 5DMarkIII. One thing that pops out to me is it will used and advanced version of the A6000's AF system and will have a new sensor. This might just be the camera that makes me trade in my A99 for.

 

[fractal]

Sony Alpha Rumors just posted a rumor they are pretty solid about. New FF Emount geared toward the Pro market and to compete with the Nikon D810 and Canon 5DMarkIII. One thing that pops out to me is it will used and advanced version of the A6000's AF system and will have a new sensor. This might just be the camera that makes me trade in my A99 for.

Yep, Game on. Very interested in the new sensor - apparently with new technology.

(SR5) Brand new Alpha PRO FF E-mount camera to be announced before the CP+ show in February!

http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sr5-alpha-pro-e-mount-camera-at-cp-in-february/#disqus_thread

 

[Hockeyman]

Yep, Game on. Very interested in the new sensor - apparently with new technology.

(SR5) Brand new Alpha PRO FF E-mount camera to be announced before the CP+ show in February!

http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sr5-alpha-pro-e-mount-camera-at-cp-in-february/#disqus_thread

The only thing that would put a wrench in my plans if this cost more than $3,000. This might be one of those things where I wait until 2016 to get, keep my A99 for another year and then pull the trigger once the price drops.

 

[fractal]

The only thing that would put a wrench in my plans if this cost more than $3,000. This might be one of those things where I wait until 2016 to get, keep my A99 for another year and then pull the trigger once the price drops.

Same here. I'm guessing in the mid-$3,000 range.

 

[havoc315]

The only thing that would put a wrench in my plans if this cost more than $3,000. This might be one of those things where I wait until 2016 to get, keep my A99 for another year and then pull the trigger once the price drops.

My guess is around $2500, though $3000 would not surprise me.
But here are the questions:
Will it be a single model that tries to make everyone happy.... Which is pretty difficult to do. Not everyone wants/needs 36+ mp... some are more concerned with smaller files and a more responsive camera.

IF it is an A9 + A9r..... I could see the A9 being 2k-2300. While the A9r may fall in the $2500+ range.

Putting aside price of the camera body as a factor, there is the question of whether to change your lenses.... Sell your lenses and get all new lenses.. Which will *probably* be necessary for the best AF performance. (Assuming it works the same way as the A6000). It will also be necessary if you want stabilized lenses.
Option 2-- Keep your better lenses and use them with a mirrorless adapter -- lets your mostly keep the IQ, but slow autofocus. Or Option 3--use a mirrored adapter -- adding bulk to the camera, and reducing the low light performance, but giving you dSLR autofocus.

Basically, the A9 might be a truly fantastic camera. But switching to it, I don't see as upgrading an A-mount body. It's really switching systems, no different than switching to Nikon or Canon. I do suspect it will be a successful system, and I do suspect it will draw people away from Canon and Nikon. The A7 series is already drawing some pros... so fix most of the A7 shortcomings, and it should be a winner.

And I miss you Sony people.. I enjoyed our little Sony community on this board.

 

[fractal]

We miss you too Havoc - you are always welcome. I would love to hear your comparisons of the Nikon vs. A99.


As far as a pro-level A9, I'm fascinating in seeing how this effects the overall camera market and how much of a disturbance it will make with high-end DSLRs.

The SARS article stated that the A7 series was sorta of a "test" to see the reaction of mirrorless with serious amateurs and pros. Apparently, the interest exceeded Sony expectations.

 

[fractal]

Lightroom vs. DXO

Here's an interesting comparison of a photo shot in RAW and processed in both LR and DXO (using Prime Noise reduction). I tried to keep the "amount" of NR equal for both images when processing, as well as the exposure and other setting. Not perfectly scientific but I think gives a fair representation of the NR engines of each software.



Lightroom

DXO Prime

Which do you prefer?