timb196

September 15, 2014

Well, Ahem, you might be waiting awhile! FWIW me too

Tim

July 22, 2014

Good Day all:

Does anyone have any recommendations for an android app that calculates DOF/Hyperfocal distances for multiple formats from APS-C to large format (4 x 5). I still do shoot film on occasion and would like some form of calculator on my phone. I have found several but they don't tell me the formats (unless I missed it)

Thanks

Tim

February 24, 2014

Daniel:

That , after is, is the point, isn't it? Hopefully in 1-2 years maybe those P45/P65 backs will be sown in price where I might be able to afford one!! I am thinking in the 5-6K range.

I know of about two photogs who will be changing to the CMOS sensor within the next 6 months. Unfortunately, I cannot get either to give me a good deal :-(( on their old backs

February 22, 2014

Well in the interest of furthering discussion, I proudly provide the following

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/the_phase_one_iq250_cmos_fully_realized.shtml

February 21, 2014

I'm late to the party as well. I have the same desire to get a digital back for my Hassie especially for a trip to Antartica currently scheduled for early 2016. Just to update; Sony is producing a 50 MP sensor for Phase 1, Hassie and Pentax that will go in these folks latest generation. It apparently will have, as I recall, ISO up to 6400, is approximately 6 x 4.5 size and is capable of a little over 1.1 FPS. I may not have all the specs correct as it is from memory. If it comes in a Phase 1 back then I assume (hopefully not incorrectly) that it will be adaptable to a Hassie V series. So that is sort of where the techology is going.

Lumunious Landscape has a discussion with the Phase 1 folks about the sensor and the back on their site. It is rumored that Sony is also working on a 50 MP (I think actually 54) Full Frame sensor for inclusion in their camera line. Latest rumor is that is of stacked design (aka a Foevon sensor). It is hard to argue the quality of the Sigma Foevon sensor at low ISOs so maybe a Sony FF 54 might be another choice. However whether or not it would be equal to a 6 x 4.5 sensor is of course subject to much of the discussion in this thread. Also it will probably not be available til 2015. Since it is confirmed that this 50 MP sensor is in fact in production for these vendors then I surmise that the older Phase 1 backs will hit the used market. That may be a viable alternative too but obviously this requires time which you may or may not have. In my case, I do so I am going to wait for the fallout and what Sony may do since I shoot with Sony gear.

This is just my .000000002c worth

Tim

January 30, 2014

I forgot one....the Maxxum 9 which should probably replace the KM 7d. If I have to ward off an irate Polar Bear or Bengal tiger, all I need to do is whack it up the side of the head with the camera and I have a trophy mount. Not to mention, it probably took a great picture before I was forced to to do that.

Tim

January 27, 2014

Ok, I'm old and curmudegeny so

5. SRT 202

4. KM 7D

3. A900

2. a99

and the all time winner

1. The XK.....now if Sony would build that with the a99 gizzards :-)

Tim

October 23, 2013

I tend to agree with Dave on the sharpness question not being a bright line.

However, depending on your composition or subject a sharp object in the image can serve as a potential anchor point to draw the eye in the image or to seperate the main object from the background. So while there is perhaps some over emphasis on sharpness these days, it can serve some very useful purposes. The converse is also true; not all compositions or subjects require razor sharpnesses.

One of the reasons I am very fond of my Minolta 85mm/1.4, is its particular quality of seperating the main subject from the background. The same is true of my Minolta 300/2.8. My belief is that the Minolta paid particular attention to micro contrast and higher resolution leading to better edge seperation for their upper echelon series lenses.

Cheers

Tim

October 22, 2013

So as I understand it; Samyang is coming out with 5 MF lenses: 14/24/35/85mm plus a T&S lenses in the next two months. Zeiss has announced apparently that it will produce a series of MF lenses for the A7 series althought this takes a year. Samyang lenses have been praised in stuff I have read for their Optical performance. I am potentially interested in the 24mm T&S

So couple that with the Zeiss ZA series, the Sony FE lenses plus the amount adapter, it looks like there will be fair set of choices.

The LA-4 adapter supposedly has the a99 focusing system in it.

My take is this is by far better than the Nex introduction!

Cheers

Tim

October 22, 2013

James: Congrats on your a99. It is a beautful camera. The A99 was the first Sony DSLR that actual got me thinking about using JPG!!

The A7 series will have an impact on the market and it will be interesting to see which way.

A few months ago, I had a conversation with a Nat Geo Photog who, like many others, was looking for a way to lighten the load. She had looked at the Nex and eventaully chose some other camera (Lumix? maybe) because she had not yet really gotten into EVF or somesuch.

I believe there is a definite trend to towards smaller and lighter and , if that thesis is true, then one has to believe Sony is in a good spot.

Tim

October 22, 2013

I'll second what James has said except I will add

dyxum.com

which has a very,very good lens data base.

Gnerally speaking my experience with the Minolta G series is they have handled 24 Mp pretty easily. those include the 200/300/400/600MM tele and the 80-200 zoom. If you find a good copy of the 28-135 zoom that does it too. The 100 macro/100 f2/85 f1.4/28 f2 also in my experience have handled 24 Mp pretty well.

Tim

September 4, 2013

Stephen:

The Zeiss may test a lot better but in real world stuff, while there is a difference, I'm not sure it is that pronounced over the Minolta 85mm.

Now the 135mm is on another planet. I am a big Zeiss fan coming over from Hassies and I will probably get the 50mm sometime in the near future but the 85mm has not driven me that way

-Tim

August 31, 2013

I have one of the older Minolta 85mm. It is just a glorious lens. Next to my Zeiss 135mm, it has the most pronounced 3d effect of all my lenses.

If I didn't have this lens, then I would go for one of the later models but since there is very little (if any) difference in optical quality IMO, I see no need!.

As far as I know, there is very little difference in the optical configuration (perhaps with the singular exception of the Zeiss). They may have tweaked the coatings somewhat with the later Minolta/Sony version.

Tim

September 18, 2012

Robert:

No I'll have to look that thread up

In 1999, I chased 844 and 3965 from Cheyenne to Sacremento. It was a wonderful trip

I think the a99 might be a great foamer camera. I really like the idea of mixing stills with video. It will go down real well with my group who, frankly, have some real luddites. One still shots with an AE1 and damn near died when Kodachrome went down the tubes. My a900 is wonderful camera but I like to focus at the edges and it simply has difficulty doing that. Sometimes the nose of the locomotive will be just slighlty out of focus because the camera has stayed with the center spot. This can be a little irritating especially on 3/4 wedge shots.. Parallel or head on is not a problem

Cheers and say hi to 844 for me, She is the wallpaper on my computer

September 13, 2012

Robert:

A fellow Foamer....great!

If I do buy an A99, it will be out getting Train shots. Love the idea of GPS and the better AF'ing especially if it goes out to the rule of thirds. Then movies...especially if 844 is toodling around

Cheers

September 13, 2012

Just some comments here. I cam across this earlier to day

<a href="http://blog.mingthein.com/2012/09/13/hands-on-preview-sony-a99-nex-6-nex-5r/">http://blog.mingthein.com/2012/09/13/hands-on-preview-sony-a99-nex-6-nex-5r/</a>

First off, I haven't handled an a99 or even seen one of the damn things but I have at least scanned though the comments and observations that are out there.

My criteria as to whether or not I would buy this thing is largely dependent on the following when compared to the a900:

(1) Improved AF over the a900

(2) Improved JPG engine

(3) Frame rate in the 8-10 FPS range

(4) IQ increase mostly in the high ISO, dynamic range increase without losing the Sony colors

Nice to have

(a) GPS

(b) Video

So after further review, here is my preliminary assessment

AF:- Appears to be much improved over the a900; specifically with regard to a 3d approach which I think will be substantial. Not sure about the overall FP pattern yet ,basically if they covered the rule of 3rd's with cross points which I think they have, then I'll be ok.

JPG engine:- too early to tell. I mostly shoot RAW with the a900 but the Nex 5n I typically shoot JPG. However it does look like the noise characteristics builds on the a900 pattern which means it is relatively well behaved. The a900 prints very well at 3200 so I exoect this camera to be better. There is a bunch of stuff out there but it is really difficult to judge at the moment.

FPS: well 6 FPS gives me 1 FPS over the A900 but not quite what I was looking for. I would also have liked the buffer to be somewhat larger handling maybe 18-20 RAW although I very, very, rarely go above 6-8

IQ: Color seems to be ok but DR remains to be quantified. I suspect it will be pretty good. I suspect that 1 stop increase over the a77 is reasonable and some handlers have at least made the comment that they feel the IQ is equivalent to a 5DIII. I would have liked to have seen expansion of HDR to 5 to 7 frames at least 1 stop apart but I have not experimented much with HDR to start with anyway.

I appreciate the hands on review above. I rather think Sony has tweaked the EVF somewhat in spite of all the noise about it beinga A77 equal. I do not mind the switch to the ISO hot shoe as I think they overall flexibility in what can be done with RF triggers for a studio environment is considerably expanded. I'm rather amused by the kefaffle over the lack of pop-flash as I have a Maxxum 9 and when that came out with a pop up flash there was much weeping about how this was not a pro-level camera. It also looks like Sony has tweaked the menu structure and displays from the a77 and brought back the Quick Nav concept from the a900. Also the multi-controller button on the front seems to be a useful idea.

PRICE: Well everyone has an opinon on this but since I paid approximately $2900 for my a900 I feel it is reasonable. I know a lot of people wanted $2k or less and are using the Nikon D600 as a point of comparison but it was about what I expected. Nor is the D600 going to make me switch, it is simply lacking what I feel I need. Plus the cost to buy equivalence from a system point of view would easily suck up the ~$800 delta difference. the whole EVF versus OVF discussion is of little interest to me. I have been shooting with OVFs form everything from a Rf to a 4 x 5 plus live veiw and EVfs. I adapt to the tool at hand

So am I going to buy, probably but I haven't not placed an pre-order as of yet. I'm not quite sure what people expectations for this cameras were but it seems to me that if one scans through dpreview then it is something like a Canon Eos 1DX with totally clean IQ to 25,600, 12 FPS, not to interfere video, at the price point of a Nex 5r and an OVF. I am obviously being facetious here. Did I expect a mammouth leap in performance, no! not really, other than the FPS, I think it is in the ball park. I think this will be a very, very, versatile camera which will allow a photog plenty of capability to explore new horizons. The fact that this camera seems to have a robust video capability may very well be a plus as that is a medium that I am just begining to explore. I have also found it to be useful in several paying jobs. For those with kids/grandkids, favorite pets etc, I think they will find it useful.

I have a couple of trips planned for next year. If they were imminent, I would have orderd the damn thing but I also want the Zeiss 24-70 so that is my priority at the moment. I want to be able to get down to 24mm-200mm range with 2.8 lenses. I have the 80-200 lens/2.8 and 70-400 so that is going to be my exotic travel trip setup. I digress, however.

Cheers to everyone

Tim

August 28, 2012

More complete a99 and Nex 5r specs

<a href="http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/">http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/</a>

But GPS is omitted, I hope not!

Tim

August 25, 2012

picked on something else on the usual rumor site is that the a99 had both PD sensor in the typical fashion (i.e light deflected to a seperate sensor array) and has PD sites on the main sensor. It is theorized that these two systems work together to form an integrated focusing system whereby the sites on the main sensor provide final adjustments and the PD array coarse adjustments.

of course, it could also help the video!

cheers

Tim

August 25, 2012

Does anyone know if the Sony 70-400mm is compatible with the old Minolta TC (1.4x and 2.0x)? I am away from my home at the moment and don't have access to the TCs and I am starting to plan for a trip to Myanmar.

Thanks

Tim

August 23, 2012

See:

<a href="http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/">http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/</a>

If true and works as advertised, maybe the AF issues will be put to bed! Also might explain why 102 AF points.

Tim

August 13, 2012

James;

As I mentioned earlier, I have an a900 and have been more than saitisfied. I think it is important to understand the fundamental differnces in the camera sensor. The controbution of microlenses and the strength of the AA filter cannot be underestimated. I've found that the noise in the a900 is well behaved and well controlled and thus lends itself to PP to the degree I want. To be honest most the sites on the web that I see reviews from rarely explore this behavior

Depending on what your desires are in the finished product and subsequent control, then you most certainly have choices. While I have not shot with the 5dIII, I have experience with the EOS-Id(various) and frankly the color seperation did not fit my my idea of IQ. Nikon was much closer from what I have seen. But it was not enough to make me even consider changing. As I said before, I judge by the print and not by looking at 100% on the monitor. When Sony came out with the a900, there was a pretty big hullabaloo over noise at 100% and somebody had pointed since this was a much bigger sensor looking at 100% was actually incorrect, One should evaluate at 50%. That was before it was discovered that Adobe Raw converter was actuallt screwing up the image.

In any case, there are choices but even looking at the Nikon 800 at the 100-800 range, still doesn't make me go "Oh wow" got to have it.

Just my feelings, good luck to you in whatever choices you make. The key I think it is whatever is important to you.

August 12, 2012

James:

Are you unhappy with the A65 performance? I tend to look at what people are showing as opposed to dome web site tests and generally I don't see much of a difference. Just curious, I guess

Yim

August 11, 2012

Scott/James:

I do think that Sony will introduce 2 FF by mid 2013; The second is probably going to be the 36mp with ~ 4 fps (similar to the Nikon).

I don't happen to disgree with your discussion, Scott, but I think it has to do more with when these things will happen. Right now a 36mp if it has 4 fps is probably not going to be my cup of tea although initially I was leaning that way. After all 36mp versus 24mp doesn't buy you a whole lot. For the landscape guys and cropping room, maybe but not in terms of sheer resolution.

As for other variants, maybe a 24mp FF SLT with 5 fps, no weather sealing etc at about $1500-1800 might make sense but at that price point it would directly compete with the a77. From a marketing point of view, thats a consideration.

Sony has introduced a speciality lens...the 500mm, which maybe the best in class and supposedly there is the Zeiss 50mm/1.2 coming. If the performance of Zeiss is to be considered, it ought to be stellar.

It looks to me that right now Sony's entry in the race insofar as techology is concerned is focused primarily in their bodies with the odd technology lens thrown in for good measure. Personally if Sony was to expand its horizons, I would like to see it develop a sensor with adapter plates for Hassie and Bronica MF camera's (I happen to have both). If they did that at say 50mp for a price point of $5k, I'd be interested. OTOH if you have a >50mp FF sensor in the pipeline, MF size sensors may be irrelevant.

The other thing they have to do IMO is develop a support organization which they already know how to do in the video world. I have little need to buy a 500mm but renting one is a different kettle of fish. Oh and and throw in an intervalometer feature on the bodies. The little things can make a difference to the serious amateur/semi-pro/pro level. I think they have started down this path with the ISO/Minolta flash shoe adapter as that should help the guys who like to do Pocket Wizard triggers and studio work.

In any case, a useful discussion and I thank all for reading my missives. I hope Sony reads these things!

Tim

August 10, 2012

BeBu:

The a900 may not be as bad as you think it is at 3200/6400 especially if you shoot RAW. JPG yes but RAW with LR3/4 or a good noise reduction program makes it not as bad as it may seem. At least in the print which is y standard.

It tends also to be sensitive to the proper exposure; the ETTR thing. Sony in its metering tends to be conservative with regard to highlight clipping and also the ISO rating. The DxO measurements show that at 3200/6400 are actually slightly less than that.

As a result, I tend to to use the inteligent preview and see where the histogram falls and adjust accordingly so I can push the histogram to the right. In PP, I then use some form of selection on the shadows and highlights to adjust the noise accordingly. Perhaps a little more work than say the Nikon but if I'm going to print that is part of my normal workflow anyway.

Anyway, thats just my observation

Tim

August 10, 2012

Scott:

I get the notion as does Nikon clearly about 2 price points for FF. I think there are multiple dynamics that enter into the picture though. First and foremost for what I do, 5 Fps is about as low as I want to go. 3-4 FPS generally will not hack it. Secondly, the other thing that most manufacturers do in reducing cost is to eliminate things like weather sealing and detuning the AF module. I' pretty sure I don't want a detuned AF module. Yeah I suppose you could eliminate or detune the video function but then I think Sony would be making a pretty big marketing mistake.

I do a fair amount of travelling and come across some pretty hostile environments. I've had my Minolta/Sony cameras in everything from -20 to +120 deg F and over 14,000 feet. They've been in snow, rain etc. Sometimes they get banged around pretty good regardless of what protection I give them.

So the degree of ruggedness is important to me. Personally I don't think you can build a FFcamera and sell it with a reasonable degree of protection and profit margin at $1500 without making substantial sacrifices elsewhere.

Yeah, I hear you about a F1.0 lens but frankly I would rather have a an F1.4 lens that had really good sharpness across the frame and was weather sealed. Hell I have enough trouble with DOF on my 85/1.4, never mind 1.0. I always had the feeling that 1.0 or so lens were a little bit of a fad or at least highly specialized lenses.

If the a99 comes in at $2500-2800 with all of these type bases covered then I'll be ok with it. Systems are by nature always a compromise but for me I need to understand what the minimums I'm willing to except are. However, $8K is not where I'm willing to go unless I can figure out a way to amortize it

I would love to see a 17mm/2.8 fully rectinlinear lens and I would love to see an equivalent to the old Minolta MD 35mm/VFC as I would probably get more use out of those .

The analogy on this cost thing that comes to mind is hiking gear. When I first got into all of that stuff, I'd buy cheap stuff as the costs for the good stuff seemed to be outrageous. Then I started to discover that the cheap stuff didn't hold togther, didn't work at the envelope edges so I started buying good stuff. You know things like boots that didn't turn my feet into a sea of blisters the first I wore them.

Maybe a lot of us do not require all of this "additional stuff" and the lower price point works fine. Great! I think Sony can do that but I think if this is going to be your flagship showing you can build a camera "for all seasons" as it were, then it is not unreasonable to say that it will be priced somewhat higher. I just think there needs to be more to it than just how cheap can I make it.

Anyway thanks....a useful discussion

tim

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Posts posted by timb196