Sony Lounge Thread MKIII (All Sony cameras welcome)

David Arbogast wrote in post #18532551
I should have thought to start this discussion before year’s end, but here is a fun subject to discuss on this GAS driven forum:

What was your favorite/best gear purchase in 2017?

What was your least favorite/worst gear purchase in 2017?

Can be anything from a lens pen to a camera. If you made zero purchase mistakes, just share the purchase that least excited you. I’ll start...

Favorite purchase:Zeiss Batis 135mm. Totally shocked by this, but somehow the lens just really delivers for me time and again. I bought the outstanding 100-400mm GM thinking I’d sell the Batis, but the size, weight, and wider aperture of the Batis won out and I sold the 100-400mm instead.

Made a lot of lens moves in 2017 and don’t regret any of them except maybe selling the CV 65mm (great lens, but just a bit too heavy/big for what I wanted from it).

Best is obviously the A7R3. i think it's now a legit competitor to DSLRs

Least fave: i can't think of any

Amen to this ^. Bought the Zhiyun Crane 2 and so far i tested it once and it wasn't a very good test. I can't balance it well. Yah i need more patience too.

Gimbals in general are not as good as well balanced steady cams, monopods, or sliders. But Gimbals are about as troublesome as I'm willing to get with video.

Best, worst.
Coming at the answer from a wildlife/BIF'er wannabe.

For wildlife a zoom lens is always desired over a prime by me because they have wings and hooves
and can be close or far. Until this year no camera could AF-C at F11 with so many AF points.
The ability to have complete superfast AF from 200-800mm has only recently been made possible
by the a9. So #1 purchase is-
Sony ILCE9/B

At the same time no zoom lens in the past has afforded the sharpness bare that would allow acceptable
IQ with a 2.0TC. With a 1.4 yes but never a 2.0, so #2/tied with the a9 is the FE100-400GM; which
is to say the Sony zoom with the the a9 and 2.0TC is the fatest most powerful wildlife combo made to this
date and with huge ISO capability and full frame goodness to date. Neither lens or body could do it alone
but together they rule!

Worst-
Peak Design 30L. Nothing bad about it. Just too big for me and that's why I sold it only to replace with 2 of the
20L.

Throwback shot from the original A7R+FE70200F4

Ambient light

Puckman wrote in post #18531792
Last one from last night.

Hosted photo: posted by Puckman in
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forum: Sony Digital Cameras

thought the skies looked familiar :P

i was at belmont shore pier

MedicineMan4040 wrote in post #18532595
Well had to see if it works, and works with MBv and the DOii.
Had to get used to frame flickr again and exposure is different between the a9.
Still looks initially to be a joy to wield this combo....though after 40 min's fingers
were numb from the cold.

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sharp and clean. i like!

navydoc wrote in post #18532645
Played with my FE 100-400GM mounted on the a7rIII using off camera flash a bit today.

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Hosted photo: posted by navydoc in
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these are great Gene. so clean. 100-400 seems like a winner for telephoto zoom

vinmunoz wrote in post #18532788
Best is obviously the A7R3. i think it's now a legit competitor to DSLRs

Least fave: i can't think of any

Amen to this ^. Bought the Zhiyun Crane 2 and so far i tested it once and it wasn't a very good test. I can't balance it well. Yah i need more patience too.

I want to get the Crane 2. I purchased the Smooth Q for my phone and I really enjoy it. I was hoping the Crane 2 would raise my game a little.

navydoc wrote in post #18532645
Played with my FE 100-400GM mounted on the a7rIII using off camera flash a bit today.

Hosted photo: posted by navydoc in
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forum: Sony Digital Cameras

Hosted photo: posted by navydoc in
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forum: Sony Digital Cameras

Both great, first glorious!

David Arbogast wrote in post #18532742
I really enjoyed everyone's contributions regarding favorite/least favorite gear purchases for 2017. I think it will go down as one of the greatest new-gear years ever. Sony rolled out the a9 and a7R II and a whole lot of amazing glass. Last summer they announced the 12-24mm, 16-35mm GM, and 100-400mm GM - and all three of those amazing lenses were mentioned in your responses. I've never been (and never will) be a fanboy for a manufacturer, but it feels damn good to own a Sony e-mount kit right now - I've never been happier with my gear than right now.

_______________

From my walk this afternoon: a thin layer of ice covers a beaver pond near West Point Lake.

Me too on never being firmly planted in one camp but over the last year Sony has really shot for the Moon and had a very successful lunar landing.

David Arbogast wrote in post #18532742
I really enjoyed everyone's contributions regarding favorite/least favorite gear purchases for 2017. I think it will go down as one of the greatest new-gear years ever. Sony rolled out the a9 and a7R II and a whole lot of amazing glass. Last summer they announced the 12-24mm, 16-35mm GM, and 100-400mm GM - and all three of those amazing lenses were mentioned in your responses. I've never been (and never will) be a fanboy for a manufacturer, but it feels damn good to own a Sony e-mount kit right now - I've never been happier with my gear than right now.

_______________

From my walk this afternoon: a thin layer of ice covers a beaver pond near West Point Lake.

Yeah it was definitely a big year for Sony. Sony has made huge strides since the original a7 bodies were released 4 years ago. But in my mind, 2017 is the year that mirrorless cameras outperformed DSLR's (a9 and a7rIII). Plus yes, lots of nice glass these days. I think the 12-24 is particularly special because it's one of those lenses that achieves a high optical quality while being significantly smaller than its DSLR counter-parts.

A prediction....
I've never been a big Sigma fan but lately they've put out some really good glass and
I can't fault the 35ART (another holdover from my EOS stint).
They're not daft either.....I'm sure they look at the buy/sell column at FM and see tons
of CaNikonians making the switch.
So I predict at least 3 Sigma lenses in FE mount in 2018.
I was just looking at an image Joshua posted at FM with the Sigma 135 1.8, not my cup of tea
but made me think of what'll they'll put out in E this year.

For 3rd party I've always liked Tamron but they are way late to the e-mount party.

I’m trying to think of a single fe-mount lens I wouldn’t love to have from Sony, Zeiss, Voigtlander, or Laowa. They’re all great in varying measures. The FE 24-70/4, FE 28, FE 35/2.8, Loxia 35, FE 50/1.8 are all on my “weak lens” list, yet each has strong merits that make me want every last one of them. Heck, the Loxia 35 is in my bag and I’m nuts about it.

I nearly forgot about the 24-240 or 70-300...those may be weak lenses too; those two don’t register on my radar as much. What else should go on the “weak lens” list from Sony, Zeiss, or Voigtlander?

What FE-mount lenses do you want to see this year?

My Sony wishlist:
FE 24mm F1.4 GM
FE 24mm F3.5 TS GM
FE 135mm F2 GM (nobody ever complained about the Canon 135L bokeh...f/2 is adequate for evaporating backgrounds).
FE 200mm F2.8 GM
FE Sports/Wildlife Big Guns GM

My Zeiss wishlist:
Batis 35mm F2
Loxia 15mm F4
Would love to see a Makro Planar in FE mount.

David Arbogast wrote in post #18532939
What FE-mount lenses do you want to see this year?

My Sony wishlist:
FE 24mm F1.4 GM
FE 24mm F3.5 TS GM
FE 135mm F2 GM (nobody ever complained about the Canon 135L bokeh...f/2 is adequate for evaporating backgrounds).
FE 200mm F2.8 GM
FE Sports/Wildlife Big Guns GM

My Zeiss wishlist:
Batis 35mm F2
Loxia 15mm F4
Would love to see a Makro Planar in FE mount.

Any 35mm f/2 or faster in a similar price/size category of the Sony FE’s. I would love the Zeiss 35 1.4 but that thing is massive. I’d go with the Sigma so I can still mount it to my Canon.