Sony A7x lounge

3 different compositions of Yosemite Falls. Shot from the bottom of the falls.
These are the lower falls (the smallest/shortest section of the falls).

Let me know which you prefer.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/H86H​kN

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/H86J​ay

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/H86J​TY

Puckman wrote in post #18010741
3 different compositions of Yosemite Falls. Shot from the bottom of the falls.
These are the lower falls (the smallest/shortest section of the falls).

Let me know which you prefer.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/H86H​kN DSC00152.jpg by Puckman2012, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/H86J​ay DSC00154.jpg by Puckman2012, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/H86J​TY DSC00155.jpg by Puckman2012, on Flickr

I had to be incredibly patient and wipe the lens down after each shot, then keep it covered with the lens cap while the 2 second counter ticked down, and mastered the art of moving the cap off the lens at the last moment. Took many tries before I got a few shots without water all over the lens. Needless to say, I was drenched by the time this little exercise was over.

All shot with the A7Rii and the EF 16-35/4 IS.

For me it's between the first and third shots, they give a greater sense of scale.

mystik610 wrote in post #18010719
None of that haziness you get in the metropolitan parts of Texas....particularly in the summer. I've noticed that the sky is MUCH bluer out in the rural areas around here even less than an hour from the city.

How's the Loxia working out for you Alfredo? I'm taking a trip to Disney with the family in a couple of weeks and debating whether or not I should bring that or borrow my friends 16-35.

I would not hesitate to bring it but you'll need to take your time dialing in the focus. This lens is special though and I think you'll get some excellent shots with it. It can also serve as an environmental portrait lens to. Just keep your subject away from the edges.

FE 55mm

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/H6h7​4f

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IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/HbG5​Nq

mystik610 wrote in post #18010728
Not direct comparisons, but some shots from my Batis vs GM 85mm throw-down. Don't read too much into the differences...lighting is different from shot to shot.

so what's your verdict? do you think they're the same?

I got lucky with Milky Way right over the Haleakala observatory on a new moon. It was so dark and cold at 10,000ft! I wish I would have arrived an hour earlier so I could have taken more time with my composition and focusing. Manual focusing in pitch black was something else. This was around 4:30 AM. I left the hotel at 2:30 AM. Still, I'm excited I got some shots of the Milky Way and happy to share these. First time editing astro shots so please excuse any mistakes. It was definitely an experience. I switched to my Canon 16-35L but the MW was fading quickly so no usable shots at 16mm.

Loxia 21 (not bad for astro I think). ISO3200, f2.8, 21mm

digital_AM wrote in post #18010768
I got lucky with Milky Way right over the Haleakala observatory on a new moon. It was so dark and cold at 10,000ft! I wish I would have arrived an hour earlier so I could have taken more time with my composition and focusing. Manual focusing in pitch black was something else. This was around 4:30 AM. I left the hotel at 2:30 AM. Still, I'm excited I got some shots of the Milky Way and happy to share these. First time editing astro shots so please excuse any mistakes. It was definitely an experience. I switched to my Canon 16-35L but the MW was fading quickly so no usable shots at 16mm.

Loxia 21 (not bad for astro I think). ISO3200, f2.8, 21mm

2nd version with a vertical crop

Beautiful ... thanks for sharing.

Kayla.. 85GM wide open (no crop, fullframe)

vinmunoz wrote in post #18010758
so what's your verdict? do you think they're the same?

It's very close in most circumstances Vinz. BUT there are conditions in which the GM clearly has an advantage in the OOF rendering. Basically if your subject is relatively close to the busy elements in the background, there is a material difference in the quantity of bokeh produced at f1.4 vs f1.8. Also, if you have hard specular highlights in the frame, the GM produces rounder bokeh balls and has a much gentler rendering of the high contrast boundaries. For outdoor portraiture these differences can pretty frequently be a big deal....and the only reason I bothered with the GM is because I have a number of shots where this bugged me with the Batis.

Batis:

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/Gm5y​M8

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/Hdvc​g5

Lupo-Lobo wrote in post #18010781
Beautiful ... thanks for sharing.

Thank you!

85GM wide open

digital_AM wrote in post #18010768
Loxia 21 (not bad for astro I think). ISO3200, f2.8, 21mm

2nd version with a vertical crop

The Loxia looks amazing for astro - did you take any more images going up? This would make a great pano given the milky way is vertical.

digital_AM wrote in post #18010768
I got lucky with Milky Way right over the Haleakala observatory on a new moon. It was so dark and cold at 10,000ft! I wish I would have arrived an hour earlier so I could have taken more time with my composition and focusing. Manual focusing in pitch black was something else. This was around 4:30 AM. I left the hotel at 2:30 AM. Still, I'm excited I got some shots of the Milky Way and happy to share these. First time editing astro shots so please excuse any mistakes. It was definitely an experience. I switched to my Canon 16-35L but the MW was fading quickly so no usable shots at 16mm.

Loxia 21 (not bad for astro I think). ISO3200, f2.8, 21mm

2nd version with a vertical crop

Nice work Alfredo!

danialsturge wrote in post #18010933
The Loxia looks amazing for astro - did you take any more images going up? This would make a great pano given the milky way is vertical.

Unfortunately I ran out of time. I was getting ready to shoot some vertical panos but I had to move to another spot to shoot the sunrise. From my research, it's best to shoot astro here after sunset. I had planned to return but it didn't work out. It's quite a trip from the resort we were staying to get to the summit.

But I agree with you. The Loxia 21 does work well for astro. I didn't see much coma. The images were shot at 20sec and there is just a trace of star trail. 15sec would have been ideal. Also f2.8 works fine but faster would have been ideal, say 1.4.

mystik610 wrote in post #18010945
Nice work Alfredo!

Appreciate it!

digital_AM wrote in post #18010971
Unfortunately I ran out of time. I was getting ready to shoot some vertical panos but I had to move to another spot to shoot the sunrise. From my research, it's best to shoot astro here after sunset. I had planned to return but it didn't work out. It's quite a trip from the resort we were staying to get to the summit.

But I agree with you. The Loxia 21 does work well for astro. I didn't see much coma. The images were shot at 20sec and there is just a trace of star trail. 15sec would have been ideal. Also f2.8 works fine but faster would have been ideal, say 1.4.

Ah, that's a shame, but it's a cracking photo regardless! You can only see star trailing at 100%, which in my mind doesn't count and that extra 5 seconds exposure it worth it for sure!