Sony A7R II impression and images

Thank you! Do you mind sharing a link to that thread? This style can be tedious but also creatively rewarding. I plan to practice and learn as much as I can. Topaz Remask helps with the hard selections. I wish you all the best.

heldGaze wrote in post #17885099
I just read that entire thread last week, and so just discovered them. Now that I have my A7RII (arrived late this afternoon) I'm going to have to read their tutorials and see if I can reproduce it as well. That's impressive for a first try, well done.

digital_AM wrote in post #17885125
Thank you! Do you mind sharing a link to that thread? This style can be tedious but also creatively rewarding. I plan to practice and learn as much as I can. Topaz Remask helps with the hard selections. I wish you all the best.

What is Topaz Remask? I'll have to Google that and do some additional reading beyond the tutorials I link below.

Sure, here's a link to my first (and so far only) post in that thread.

Art of Architecture - Not Realestate Photography

And here is a link to David Arbogast's post with link's to their flickr pages, a link to their e-book and some notes about the technique.

For completeness sake, here are the links to the tutorials I plan on reading:
HOW TO CREATE AN ARCHITECTURAL FINE ART PHOTOGRAPH – PART 1
HOW TO CREATE BLACK AND WHITE FINE ART ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY – DXO LIVE WEBINAR
TUTORIALS – Black and White Fine Art Photography (the category on her blog)

Edit: Oh, it looks like you've posted this photo in that thread as well. Didn't realize that until I tested my links, but your post is two below mine.

heldGaze wrote in post #17885099
...I have my A7RII...

Congrats!!!

David Arbogast wrote in post #17885272
Congrats!!!

Thanks, *and* the 11-24. First thing I did after getting it was to take several photographs of my girlfriend. Then I realized all the cool shots I just took were lost because I hadn't installed the memory card. By the time I got the card in, the battery died as I was trying to format it. Grrr. I forgot the card twice, once when buying, then again when shooting. I just never think about it normally.

^^ See you already have the camera. I was going to say why didn't you get say a tilt shift for real state than 11-24? I used to have Sigma 12-24mm but those ultra wide is more pain for buildings. Maybe I don't know how to use them properly. Also in my testing I prefer native Sony glass on A7rII as AF (eye/face detect) seemed so much better to me. I should add this was my limited testing, I don't own A7rII. Overall it is very nice camera but for now I don't need another system in addition to Canon and Fuji.

heldGaze wrote in post #17885167
What is Topaz Remask? I'll have to Google that and do some additional reading beyond the tutorials I link below.

Sure, here's a link to my first (and so far only) post in that thread.

Art of Architecture - Not Realestate Photography

And here is a link to David Arbogast's post with link's to their flickr pages, a link to their e-book and some notes about the technique.

For completeness sake, here are the links to the tutorials I plan on reading:
HOW TO CREATE AN ARCHITECTURAL FINE ART PHOTOGRAPH – PART 1
HOW TO CREATE BLACK AND WHITE FINE ART ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY – DXO LIVE WEBINAR
TUTORIALS – Black and White Fine Art Photography (the category on her blog)

Edit: Oh, it looks like you've posted this photo in that thread as well. Didn't realize that until I tested my links, but your post is two below mine.

Topaz Remask is a masking tool used to make selections, very powerful and quite easy to use.

With the a7R II and 5DS / R you can use an 11-24mm as a sort of TS-E by the sheer brute force of the resolution - just level the camera exactly as with a TS-E (to ensure perfect verticals) and frame as needed to get everything you need in the frame. Of course the advantage of a TS-E is being able to frame everything you need and nothing you don't need (by shifting up or down). But, with the 11-24mm you can leverage the higher resolution and simply crop off the parts of the image you don't need (typically the ground plane).

I shot a few professional architectural projects with the 11-24mm and was generally very pleased with the results. Admittedly, though, I have indeed reverted back to shooting a TS-E. However, I will also say that I hate shooting the TS-E on my a7R II - for whatever reason I get terrible internal reflections from the Metabones adapter with a TS-E mounted to any a7 series camera. But, all my standard (non TS-E) lenses work wonderfully on the a7R II - including the 11-24mm. So, I think it is an excellent choice.

bobbyz wrote in post #17887650
^^ See you already have the camera. I was going to say why didn't you get say a tilt shift for real state than 11-24? I used to have Sigma 12-24mm but those ultra wide is more pain for buildings. Maybe I don't know how to use them properly. Also in my testing I prefer native Sony glass on A7rII as AF (eye/face detect) seemed so much better to me. I should add this was my limited testing, I don't own A7rII. Overall it is very nice camera but for now I don't need another system in addition to Canon and Fuji.

I didn't get it solely or even primarily for real estate, that's more of a side project to my preferred subjects of landscapes, cityscapes & astrophotography. You can still make some stellar real estate photos with the 11-24, so there is some overlap in this lens's use for me. Real estate is still a new subject for me, but should it grow into a bigger part of my work, then a TS lens would certainly make wise pickup at that time.

Also, for that line of work, face detection and eye AF aren't necessary. I'll do family portraits at holidays and the like, when I'll use the 24-70 or nifty fifty, but i don't shoot portraits on the regular. If I find myself doing more portrait work an 85 prime is already on my wish list. Currently debating between the 85 L and the Zeiss Batis, the Zeiss has been growing more attractive partly due to the features you mention. But even a 35 prime, a long telephoto macro prime, and a long telephoto zoom are currently higher on my wish list.

David Arbogast wrote in post #17887667
just level the camera exactly

The built-in level in the Sony A7RII certainly helps with this too.

David Arbogast wrote in post #17887667
I think it is an excellent choice

Seattle sunrise pano from gasworks park. Ten zeiss 85 otus shots

Image hosted by forum (774224) © SeattleSpeedster THIS IS A LOW QUALITY PREVIEW. Please log in to see the good quality stuff.

SeattleSpeedster wrote in post #17889203
Seattle sunrise pano from gasworks park. Ten zeiss 85 otus shots

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I watched my first fireworks show in Seattle from Gasworks Park. My parents and I managed to get one of the two benches that park has, and it was freezing (Summer of 1998). We were sitting there with our winter jackets on. The local news came over and interviewed us, it was a cool story at first. I was out there interning for MSFT, my parents came to visit. Then they asked what I thought of Seattle so far. And I explained, it's the 4th of July, middle of summer, and we were wearing our winter jackets. I understand now why Seattle is the suicide capital of the country. That ended the interview, but I'm sure made some editors private highlight reel. Haha!

Great shot... though I might like to see it a touch brighter, especially on the right and the houses on the hill. But not sure if that would spoil the mood you've created so well. I love the red/orange reflections off the skyscrapers downtown and wouldn't want lose that by brightening the image too much.

Cheers,
heldGaze

SeattleSpeedster wrote in post #17889203
Seattle sunrise pano from gasworks park. Ten zeiss 85 otus shots

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forum: Sony Digital Cameras

Lovely shot, SeattleSpeedster
What program did you use to stitch them together?

I went with LR's photomerge in this case...seemed to work ok. Below is a similar pano from the Zeiss 55/1.8

Hey congrats on the a7RII and new lens. That's some lineup!

heldGaze wrote in post #17885331
Thanks, *and* the 11-24. First thing I did after getting it was to take several photographs of my girlfriend. Then I realized all the cool shots I just took were lost because I hadn't installed the memory card. By the time I got the card in, the battery died as I was trying to format it. Grrr. I forgot the card twice, once when buying, then again when shooting. I just never think about it normally.

digital_AM wrote in post #17889540
Hey congrats on the a7RII and new lens. That's some lineup!

Thanks! Yeah, I'm loving it right now. It is going to take some time to get the muscle memory for using the Sony controls versus the Canon controls. But, when I do, I think I may actually prefer the Sony controls. The only issue, which I had read about and now notice, is that it is a bit more difficult to use the dials. They don't want to start spinning and when they do, it is easy to overshoot your target aperture or whatever. With time, this may not be a real problem though. And of course learning the new menus will take time before I can just jump around them with ease. But I am loving the camera, the 11-24, and the 24-70 f/2.8 II. Fantastic gear together. Just love it and I've only had it a week. Can't wait to really start making some images with it. I am hoping that I'll be able to set up the telescope this week and capture Jupiter and its moons using prime focus and my 2x barlow (1524mm effective focal length). If I manage to do that (it'll have to be at like 4:30am), then I'll be sure to share on POTN. And hoping to get a sunrise cityscape some time this week with the lens that goes to 11. I already have the location spotted out. It'll take some time to get up to speed with my gear, but once I do I can't imagine having made a better choice of equipment than I did, for me and my wants & needs.