Sony Lounge Thread MKIII (All Sony cameras welcome)

odd..
honestly I never check dxo points..
I put more value in the average of you tuber riveiws

and from what I recall.. most said there wasn't a huge improvement in high iso performance from a7s to a7sii but there was some..not enough for it to be the sole reason to upgrade

ONLY reason I questioned your post

What's funny is that according to DXO Mark the original a7 models are rated higher in their respective strengths over the Mark II bodies. The a7r is rated to have better DR over the a7rII and the A7s is rated to be better in low light over the a7sII. Yet I doubt you'll be able to find someone if given the choice between the Mark I and Mark II wouldn't chose the Mark II bodies. So while sensor performance is important, what contributes to overall satisfaction shooting isn't based solely on the sensor but ergonomics, feature set, etc.

David Arbogast wrote in post #18380744
a7R II with Batis 25mm @f/11 + Tiffen variable ND + SR app

The water looks delicious!

TMaG82 wrote in post #18380849
The DXO Mark scores put the a7sII noticeably lower than the original. While the numbers looks drastic, all told its often barely 1/2 to 2/3 a stop difference. But the A7s is rated at 3702, the a7sII at 2993, with the a9 at 3517 and the a7rII at 3434. What does this all mean? Not much to me, lol. But those who read dxomark like it's the gospel have something to read and discuss.

Bottom line is that the a9 on paper is another Sony high ISO machine.
and looks like I'm recovering my lost A7S in this new body, two cameras in one
Only thing I need now is a Batis 18mm eh!
I think I need to learn how to focus on stars first though.

Well my curiosity grew, so I went to Dyxum for some more data points.
My interest specifically was pixel density....you all know Poof and I shoot lots of birds and right or
wrong I've decided that pixels on target is key for me to get a keeper...that often means cropping
and sometimes a lot.
Further, over time I've gotten more keepers with my 7dii than the 1DXii and I again attribute this
to the pixel density.
Not that matters for this post; it's more me trying to think through the prowess of the various Sony
bodies I have or have interest in.

So the data points, pixel density
a6500 6.63
alpha9 2.83
A7S 1.44
a99ii 4.9
A7Rii 4.92

No surprise then that the least able with higher ISOs has the highest pixel density; and the least pixel dense sensor
affords the greater light bucket/conversely the crop sensor camera puts more pixels on target by far.

Well this was probably common knowledge to most here eh; I just needed to see it on paper and work through it
mentally.

So seeing this it would appear the alpha9 is a bit of a compromised beast with a pixel density between the a6500 and
the A7Rii. I know how much I can crop with the 1DXii (21.5mpx sensor) so it looks like the alpha9 will allow just a bit
more cropping. Just how much we'll find out soon enough.

Now do you guys remember the high mpx cameras of just 10 years ago costing an arm and a leg. I know TMaG82 does since he responded to
this outloud line of my thinking over at FM.....so I put the a9 into crop mode and get 10ish mpx. That's still huge compared to not so long ago.
I guess I just wish when I do pop the a9 (the A7Rii for that matter as well) into crop mode that the pixel density would increase! Impossible
I know

TMaG82 wrote in post #18380849
The DXO Mark scores put the a7sII noticeably lower than the original. While the numbers looks drastic, all told its often barely 1/2 to 2/3 a stop difference. But the A7s is rated at 3702, the a7sII at 2993, with the a9 at 3517 and the a7rII at 3434. What does this all mean? Not much to me, lol. But those who read dxomark like it's the gospel have something to read and discuss.

A7s to a7sii a little less than 1/4 stop, essentially all are in the same ballpark

A few months back I had the great pleasure of receving a request from one of my former employers, HNTB Architecture, requesting my photography services for their newly constructed downtown Atlanta offices. HNTB is a wonderful company that gave me incredible opportunities as a designer (I led the interior architecture design of big projects like the Denver Broncos Stadium Clubs, the downtown Kansas City Public Library, Michigan State University stadium clubs and suites, and many many more incredible design opportunities), so I was thrilled to work again with a former co-worker now leading the interiors team for them. I don't think they do any architecture in their Atlanta offices - think it's all engineering (highways, bridges, airports, etc.). Anyway, thought I'd share some of the shots I took for them.

Unfortunately the day turned out to be gloomy and overcast, so didn't get much to work with in the window views. Except for the Laowa 12mm, I used a CPL on every shot to remove glare. In some instance a shot was taken to remove glare from the flooring, and another taken with the CPL rotated to remove glare from wall finishes. Multiple brackets were taken at 1EV apart, along with some light painting. The light painting and exposure brackets were all blended together via Lumenzia.

One gear note: the EF 24-70mm f/4L IS made my life extra painful with terrible flaring from the light fixtures...gave me all the motivation I needed to sell that thing as soon as I finished up this project!

EF 24-70mm f/4L IS:

MedicineMan4040 wrote in post #18380890
Bottom line is that the a9 on paper is another Sony high ISO machine.
and looks like I'm recovering my lost A7S in this new body, two cameras in one
Only thing I need now is a Batis 18mm eh!
I think I need to learn how to focus on stars first though.

If it's solely for stars you should consider the samyang/rokinon 24 1.4. Much easier to focus on stars as it's not focus by wire and it's cheaper (1/3rd price). I've used both for Astro side by side and whilst the batis was very good with low coma the samyang was easier and had even less coma so I ended up keeping the samyang for astro. It's also one of the sharpest lenses I've used on the sony for landscapes when at f/8

David Arbogast wrote in post #18380984
A few months back I had the great pleasure of receving a request from one of my former employers, HNTB Architecture, requesting my photography services for their newly constructed downtown Atlanta offices. HNTB is a wonderful company that gave me incredible opportunities as a designer (I led the interior architecture design of big projects like the Denver Broncos Stadium Clubs, the downtown Kansas City Public Library, Michigan State University stadium clubs and suites, and many many more incredible design opportunities), so I was thrilled to work again with a former co-worker now leading the interiors team for them. I don't think they do any architecture in their Atlanta offices - think it's all engineering (highways, bridges, airports, etc.). Anyway, thought I'd share some of the shots I took for them.

Unfortunately the day turned out to be gloomy and overcast, so didn't get much to work with in the window views. Except for the Laowa 12mm, I used a CPL on every shot to remove glare. In some instance a shot was taken to remove glare from the flooring, and another taken with the CPL rotated to remove glare from wall finishes. Multiple brackets were taken at 1EV apart, along with some light painting. The light painting and exposure brackets were all blended together via Lumenzia.

One gear note: the EF 24-70mm f/4L IS made my life extra painful with terrible flaring from the light fixtures...gave me all the motivation I needed to sell that thing as soon as I finished up this project!

EF 24-70mm f/4L IS:

Batis 25mm:

Laowa 12mm:

EF 24-70mm f/4L IS:

Batis 18mm:


Batis 25mm:


Batis 18mm:

Every shot here is publication worthy, superb

David Arbogast wrote in post #18380984
A few months back I had the great pleasure of receving a request from one of my former employers, HNTB Architecture, requesting my photography services for their newly constructed downtown Atlanta offices. HNTB is a wonderful company that gave me incredible opportunities as a designer (I led the interior architecture design of big projects like the Denver Broncos Stadium Clubs, the downtown Kansas City Public Library, Michigan State University stadium clubs and suites, and many many more incredible design opportunities), so I was thrilled to work again with a former co-worker now leading the interiors team for them. I don't think they do any architecture in their Atlanta offices - think it's all engineering (highways, bridges, airports, etc.). Anyway, thought I'd share some of the shots I took for them.

Unfortunately the day turned out to be gloomy and overcast, so didn't get much to work with in the window views. Except for the Laowa 12mm, I used a CPL on every shot to remove glare. In some instance a shot was taken to remove glare from the flooring, and another taken with the CPL rotated to remove glare from wall finishes. Multiple brackets were taken at 1EV apart, along with some light painting. The light painting and exposure brackets were all blended together via Lumenzia.

One gear note: the EF 24-70mm f/4L IS made my life extra painful with terrible flaring from the light fixtures...gave me all the motivation I needed to sell that thing as soon as I finished up this project!

EF 24-70mm f/4L IS:

Batis 25mm:

Laowa 12mm:

EF 24-70mm f/4L IS:

Batis 18mm:


Batis 25mm:


Batis 18mm:

Masterful, David, masterful.

(And the co-worker who took over from you has done a good job as well! Not as good as you would have done obviously - but still very acceptable.)

David Arbogast wrote in post #18380984
A few months back I had the great pleasure of receving a request from one of my former employers, HNTB Architecture, requesting my photography services for their newly constructed downtown Atlanta offices. HNTB is a wonderful company that gave me incredible opportunities as a designer (I led the interior architecture design of big projects like the Denver Broncos Stadium Clubs, the downtown Kansas City Public Library, Michigan State University stadium clubs and suites, and many many more incredible design opportunities), so I was thrilled to work again with a former co-worker now leading the interiors team for them. I don't think they do any architecture in their Atlanta offices - think it's all engineering (highways, bridges, airports, etc.). Anyway, thought I'd share some of the shots I took for them.

Unfortunately the day turned out to be gloomy and overcast, so didn't get much to work with in the window views. Except for the Laowa 12mm, I used a CPL on every shot to remove glare. In some instance a shot was taken to remove glare from the flooring, and another taken with the CPL rotated to remove glare from wall finishes. Multiple brackets were taken at 1EV apart, along with some light painting. The light painting and exposure brackets were all blended together via Lumenzia.

One gear note: the EF 24-70mm f/4L IS made my life extra painful with terrible flaring from the light fixtures...gave me all the motivation I needed to sell that thing as soon as I finished up this project!

EF 24-70mm f/4L IS:

Batis 25mm:

Laowa 12mm:

EF 24-70mm f/4L IS:

Batis 18mm:


Batis 25mm:


Batis 18mm:

Beautiful spaces beautifully photographed David. At first glance, I wondered why you posted two identical photos and then realized that in the 1st, it showed a conference room that was closed off with privacy screening and the 2nd image with the conference room exposed. Amazing, thanks for sharing your work...and the office workplace.

I know I've been ranting and raving about getting the 24-70GM, even had Vin PM with a killer price (if anyone is looking for one, check his out). Guess my wife must've seen me watching YouTube video reviews and reading up on it obsessively, so just woke up this morning to my wife telling me it's on the way this week as a Father's Day gift. Lucky me I guess!

In honor of all of you who are lucky enough to be fathers, I hope you enjoy your day with your children and loved ones!

Image hosted by forum (860829) © TMaG82 THIS IS A LOW QUALITY PREVIEW. Please log in to see the good quality stuff.

David Arbogast wrote in post #18380984
A few months back I had the great pleasure of receving a request from one of my former employers, HNTB Architecture, requesting my photography services for their newly constructed downtown Atlanta offices. HNTB is a wonderful company that gave me incredible opportunities as a designer (I led the interior architecture design of big projects like the Denver Broncos Stadium Clubs, the downtown Kansas City Public Library, Michigan State University stadium clubs and suites, and many many more incredible design opportunities), so I was thrilled to work again with a former co-worker now leading the interiors team for them. I don't think they do any architecture in their Atlanta offices - think it's all engineering (highways, bridges, airports, etc.). Anyway, thought I'd share some of the shots I took for them.

Unfortunately the day turned out to be gloomy and overcast, so didn't get much to work with in the window views. Except for the Laowa 12mm, I used a CPL on every shot to remove glare. In some instance a shot was taken to remove glare from the flooring, and another taken with the CPL rotated to remove glare from wall finishes. Multiple brackets were taken at 1EV apart, along with some light painting. The light painting and exposure brackets were all blended together via Lumenzia.

One gear note: the EF 24-70mm f/4L IS made my life extra painful with terrible flaring from the light fixtures...gave me all the motivation I needed to sell that thing as soon as I finished up this project!

EF 24-70mm f/4L IS:

Batis 25mm:

Laowa 12mm:

EF 24-70mm f/4L IS:

Batis 18mm:


Batis 25mm:


Batis 18mm:

VERY clean. Publication caliber stuff David. Nice!

I hope you guys aren't getting tired of my gear testing. I'm settled on my gear so this is the last of it....but here's a dynamic range test between the a7rII and a9. I needed to this test for myself to understand how and when to use my two cams. Real images, not test charts. Really abusive scene. I lifted that shadows by a 100, and pulled back the highlights by 100 in each image.

Excuse the dust spots in the images....I didn't bother to clean them in post.

It seems that the a7rII really does have about a 1 stop-ish advantage in DR. The deep shadows in the treeline on the left side of the frame are cleaner at every level (its more obvious if you look at the uncompressed files on flickr). Also keep in mind that no additional processing was done to the files other than adding some saturation. Anything additional done to the files will exaggerate the noise in those deep shadows.

All in all this is a pretty big deal for me...obviously it matters for landscapes, but it also matters a lot for outdoor portraits in natural light. For outdoor portraits, when I'm shooting in harsh light like that, I typically will put my subjects in the shade...which means the exposure of my subjects will basically be the treeline, and if I expose for the sky so it isn't blown out, I very regularly push the exposure 2-3 stops. Obviously there are work arounds for portraits...use fill flash or a longer focal length to take the sky out of the frame. Nonetheless, it's pretty clear to me that for outdoor portraits where I have a lot of high contrast light, the a7rII will be the right tool for the job. i.e., I did a 3 stop push on the a9 in this image and got some nasty noise in the deep shadows


2 stop push

a7rII

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Your architectural and interior shots are awesome. Love these. I tried my hand at some and they just look horrible lol.