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  1. #1
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    Sony owners, a question.

    If I rent an Ar7iv (or III, or even ii) for a week, which lens should I rent with it?

  2. #2
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    Depends on what you're doing as well as your talent level (seriously).

    If you're site seeing, street shooting, a 28 or 35.

    The 24-70 covers a lot of ground and is big and heavy.

    If you're traveling, are you sure you don't want to rent an M4/3 from either Oly or Panasonic?

    ... Thom
    Galibier Design
    crafting technology in service of music

  3. #3
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    I want to own a very high MP camera that handles well.

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    Sony owners, a question.

    24-105 is a good do it all. If you want the best lenses get a 24-70 and a 70-200

    A 35mm is a great walk around lens

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Benny Profane View Post
    I want to own a very high MP camera that handles well.
    The more megapixels, the better your shot discipline needs to be to exploit the advantage. Check out Thom Hogan's and Ming Thien's writing on the topic.

    If you're asking a question about what lens, my guess is that a big pixel camera is a waste of your money.

    ... Thom (no relation to Hogan)
    Galibier Design
    crafting technology in service of music

  6. #6
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    Not really sure how you get from A to B on that one, but, whatever. Just want to handle one of these things, carry it around, since I need something small and light enough to walk with in Euro cities for miles, like my present Fuji setup. I also want to take side by side images with the Sony and my Fuji XT20 and make some prints and see if that works out. So, just one lens for this tryout.
    Of course the Ar7iiii is intriguing at 65 or whatever MP, but I could save a ton of money buying a used Ar7ii at this point at an already substantial 45 MP. I'm pretty sure, down the line, I can pick up a 7iiii cheaper than now. Just want to make sure before I spend for a whole new system.

  7. #7
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    65 MP will eat up card space and be a bear to work with in post.

  8. #8
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    I know. Buying new computer. I work with 2-3 gig Photoshop files these days a lot, so, this won't be too bad.

    I want the ability to crop a lot, too.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by galibier_numero_un View Post
    The more megapixels, the better your shot discipline needs to be to exploit the advantage. Check out Thom Hogan's and Ming Thien's writing on the topic.

    If you're asking a question about what lens, my guess is that a big pixel camera is a waste of your money.

    ... Thom (no relation to Hogan)
    Quote Originally Posted by Benny Profane View Post
    Not really sure how you get from A to B on that one, but, whatever. Just want to handle one of these things, carry it around, since I need something small and light enough to walk with in Euro cities for miles, like my present Fuji setup. I also want to take side by side images with the Sony and my Fuji XT20 and make some prints and see if that works out. So, just one lens for this tryout.
    Of course the Ar7iiii is intriguing at 65 or whatever MP, but I could save a ton of money buying a used Ar7ii at this point at an already substantial 45 MP. I'm pretty sure, down the line, I can pick up a 7iiii cheaper than now. Just want to make sure before I spend for a whole new system.
    It's really pretty simple. If you're asking what lens to buy for walking around, then you have a lot to learn about lenses, especially if you've had a Fuji and still don't know what works for you. Seriously.

    Honest advice ... walk around town for a week with your Fuji and ONE ... FIXED ... FOCAL ... LENGTH ... LENS. Learn the ins and outs of that focal length (which could take 6 months to a year, but I know you'd never do that). Repeat with another lens.

    If you're walking around for miles, I have no clue as to why you'd want to lug around a full frame, but whatever.

    OTOH ... just buy the red one ... and keep reading DP Review and listen to the comments from all the measurebators.

    ... Thom
    Galibier Design
    crafting technology in service of music

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by galibier_numero_un View Post
    It's really pretty simple. If you're asking what lens to buy for walking around, then you have a lot to learn about lenses, especially if you've had a Fuji and still don't know what works for you. Seriously.

    Honest advice ... walk around town for a week with your Fuji and ONE ... FIXED ... FOCAL ... LENGTH ... LENS. Learn the ins and outs of that focal length (which could take 6 months to a year, but I know you'd never do that). Repeat with another lens.

    If you're walking around for miles, I have no clue as to why you'd want to lug around a full frame, but whatever.

    OTOH ... just buy the red one ... and keep reading DP Review and listen to the comments from all the measurebators.

    ... Thom
    Jezuz, dude, calm the fuck down. Are you well?

    You sound like a film hipster street shooter. Chill.

    I'm going to swing my photo dick at you. I've been around photography all my adult life. Photo assistant in NYC in six studios, photo processing and printing color and bw after for the ad market, pre press operations at a major publishing firm for twenty years, and then a decade of photo retouching/aka photoshop mastery.i know what I'm doing. I want a really good sensor with excellent glass in a durable and portable package. From what I can tell, the Ar74 produces better raw material to start making a 16x20 print than a Mamiya 6x7 of old. That's remarkable. Maybe even the Ar73. I want to find out. I'm just asking about the appropriate glass for this test. Shitty glass makes for shitty prints. Which I make myself. Ok?

  11. #11
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    Sony owners, a question.

    If that’s the case maybe look at some of the Zeiss primes. 25 f2 could be good or 85 1.8

    ETA - I don’t shoot Sony so I have no personal experience with these but I hear good things.

    For the best lens you could go Nikon Z7 with the 54 f.98 Nocta. You lose like 30MP in the process but that thing is $$

  12. #12
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    I'm all about collecting data. Raw data. The more, the better. Through good glass. I'll take it from there in Adobe. Could never afford Phase One, or the like, but that stuff is hard to carry and shoot fast with, anyway. The Sony is a pinnacle of digital evolution, unthinkable just fifteen years ago. Fuck, phone quality was unthinkable. I don't doubt that, in five to ten, there will be much better. It's just a matter of the brand to devote to because of lenses. Fuji ain't doing it for me. The high rez Fujis are tanks. Oh, and I like the fact that you can use Canon lenses on Sony.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Benny Profane View Post
    Jezuz, dude, calm the fuck down. Are you well?

    You sound like a film hipster street shooter. Chill.

    I'm going to swing my photo dick at you. I've been around photography all my adult life. Photo assistant in NYC in six studios, photo processing and printing color and bw after for the ad market, pre press operations at a major publishing firm for twenty years, and then a decade of photo retouching/aka photoshop mastery.i know what I'm doing. I want a really good sensor with excellent glass in a durable and portable package. From what I can tell, the Ar74 produces better raw material to start making a 16x20 print than a Mamiya 6x7 of old. That's remarkable. Maybe even the Ar73. I want to find out. I'm just asking about the appropriate glass for this test. Shitty glass makes for shitty prints. Which I make myself. Ok?
    Well bully for you. If you have the experience you claim to have, you know it was a lazy question.

    Your lens question was equivalent of asking (on Tech Talk): "I'm moving out West. What ski should I buy?".

    It took my prodding to get you to begin to frame the question so you have a chance of getting a meaningful answer. You're welcome ...
    Galibier Design
    crafting technology in service of music

  14. #14
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    I'd get the 400mm F2.8. That'll fill your megapixel fetish. And did I mention compression...oh the compression.

    Here's a review...
    https://alphauniverse.com/stories/in...master-and-a9/
    Last edited by Timberridge; 03-03-2020 at 11:16 AM.
    "timberridge is terminally vapid" -- a fortune cookie in Yueyang

  15. #15
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    If your renting an A7r, try to rent one of their GM lenses. I've got the 24-70 GM and love it. If you end up liking the A7R and buy used go with the III as there was a firmware upgrade back in 2019 that greatly improved focusing speed, eye AF and, I think, added focus tracking. The II didn't get that upgrade. I recently sold my II and got the IV...huge improvement in speed and ergonomics which is why I upgraded, not the MP increase. That said my old macbook pro seems to handle the files just fine.

    Worth it to take 15 minutes to setup the camera...may or may not want to follow the suggestions below:

    https://www.colbybrownphotography.co...r-sony-a7r-iv/

    Best thing I liked was customizing a button to switch from crop mode to full frame...love the ability to do that on the fly.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Colorado_Freeskier View Post
    If your renting an A7r, try to rent one of their GM lenses. I've got the 24-70 GM and love it. If you end up liking the A7R and buy used go with the III as there was a firmware upgrade back in 2019 that greatly improved focusing speed, eye AF and, I think, added focus tracking. The II didn't get that upgrade. I recently sold my II and got the IV...huge improvement in speed and ergonomics which is why I upgraded, not the MP increase. That said my old macbook pro seems to handle the files just fine.

    Worth it to take 15 minutes to setup the camera...may or may not want to follow the suggestions below:

    https://www.colbybrownphotography.co...r-sony-a7r-iv/

    Best thing I liked was customizing a button to switch from crop mode to full frame...love the ability to do that on the fly.
    Thanks.

    You could probably run big files on a newer laptop if you max out the memory and use at least a 1T external drive for files. An upgrade to SSD and maybe a new graphics card inside would help a lot, but you're still stuck with a crappy screen. If a laptop takes a second screen, look into a good one, like NEC or Eizo, for home.
    Check out https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Appl...cs_and_Tablets for cheap hot rodded Macs and upgrades. They save me a ton. I'm looking at a jacked up 2013 Mac Pro since my present Mac Pro is now obsolete.
    That's fucked up that the II can't take the same firmware update. Sounds jive (on Sony's end), but, whatever, IIIs are cheaper now that the 4 is here. Maybe I'll spring for a 4, but, that's a big hit with lens. Stock market is tanking.

  17. #17
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    Not sure but I wonder if it is just that the III has the processing power to handle the update and the II didn't. Regardless, when I was researching the III I saw a bunch of post update reviews and they said the update made significant improvements. I love the IV but the 42mp sensor on the II/III was incredible...I didn't really need more mp because I was never dissatisfied with the image quality.

  18. #18
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    OK, just rented an A7RIII, with the 24-70 2.8. Now returned. Fuckers charged me for five days when all I wanted was the minimum three, and all I really needed was one, but, I digress.

    Bottom line is that it's not worth the switch from my Fuji, which kind of surprised me. First, no way this thing handles well with that lens. Ridiculously heavy and hard to hold in a stable fashion. Pretty breezy day, which made things worse. Nice body, not much bigger than the Fuji with my third party handle/grip, but that lens is absurdly large for carrying around. No way. Makes my Fuji XT20 with the kit 18-55 feel like a kitten in my hands. And the Fuji kit lens is probably one of the best around. (IOS included)
    Nice viewfinder, murky menu system, but, one day isn't enough to learn any menu system.

    I shot a bunch of stuff, and made some large (17x22) prints of the same subject with both the Sony setup and my Fuji. Cannot see the difference. Sony maybe a C hair more detail, but 4 grand is a lot for a C hair. The files are larger, which is great, about 20% bigger, but, again, working within my limitations of 17x22 sheet paper, doesn't matter too much unless I'm cropping.

    So, it's stick with Fuji. That saved me some money. Maybe I'll get a Fuji XT40 if they make one, only if it has in camera stabilization. Hopefully Fuji ups their game and develops new sensors over the next few years, which, of course they will. Unless they get swallowed up in the new depression.

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