Sony A7x lounge

navydoc wrote in post #18079243
My precarious perch. Since I've decided to video my cooking at a more intimate distance and I have such limited space in my kitchen, this is my best setup at the moment. The camera is my Sony a6300 and the lens the FE 24-70 f4. The stand is obviously the weak link here using a tabletop tripod to which is mounted a "selfie stick" for additonal height.

To get the angle I want, this is the best solution for me for now at least, but I will add some weight to the back legs of the tripod for more stability. I can also use this setup to video the countertop where I'll be doing the prep work for whatever recipe I'm working on at the moment.

This isn't the same setup I used for my recent test. For that, I used my tripod in a way that was even precarious than this and I used my Canon 70+200 f4 lens. This new setup will work much nicer I think.

The video if you missed it:

http://www.ussoriskany​.us/SE/

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/KrDg​tP Precarious Perch by Gene, on Flickr

Serious lean to the tripod, oh never mind you are addressing that...me worried a6300 into the pudding.

navydoc wrote in post #18079334
Sorry about the broken link ...try this one.

http://www.ussoriskany​.us/SE/

Finally got a chance to watch. Hits home with me. I eat 14-18 eggs a week and have for over 30 years. I think in the
root cellar I've got over 40 pounds of eggs.

David Arbogast wrote in post #18079667
Wow, this is great Alfredo. Supercool building against an awesome LE sky.

Thanks David! The LE sky was courtesy of the SR app. Unfortunately the clouds were not moving very fast so as a by product of using the SR app, there was some stutter in the clouds in the image. I smoothed it out by applying a slight radial blur filter to parts of the cloud. Problem solved. I am loving the Batis 18, by the way. The files are nice and sharp and give me lots to work with. I do have to add a bit more contrast and color to my images compared to the Loxia 21 but I can live with that.

MedicineMan4040 wrote in post #18079671
Hotel Emma! I bet it is a labyrinth inside. Love your sky. The SR app is wonderful don't you think.

Thank you MM. I do really like the SR app for skies and some applications for water (doesn't work quite as I like on waterfalls and ocean). Yes it's a big hotel but very industrial on the inside. I love the hotel.

Ok, so it took me over an hour to clean up the power lines in this image that I posted several days back. Thank you guys again for the suggestions on how to clone them out. It's tedious work but worth it.

Love the shot of the Hotel Emma.

We just don't have skies like that around here. It's always a sort of whitish hazy look. Specially in the summer, and now with the fires and bad air quality. Nothing like a nice blue sky with contrasting clouds to make a landscape pic pop.

Puckman wrote in post #18079703
Love the shot of the Hotel Emma.

We just don't have skies like that around here. It's always a sort of whitish hazy look. Specially in the summer, and now with the fires and bad air quality. Nothing like a nice blue sky with contrasting clouds to make a landscape pic pop.

Thanks Nadim. We have had our fair share of blah skies this summer too. We had nice clouds and blue skies that day. I went shooting during my lunch break that day to take advantage of the conditions. I always have my camera and one or two lenses with me. My tripod stays hidden in my truck just in case.

navydoc wrote in post #18079334
Sorry about the broken link ...try this one.

http://www.ussoriskany​.us/SE/

Gene, I enjoyed your video. Made me hungry.

genesimmons wrote in post #18079617
did that update for the fuji include the older x100? i recently picked one up and i updated it right away to what i think is the newest version and unfortunately that cam has 0 button mapping,i can't seem to even get the iso to be adjusted via the wheel. to go into the menu to adjust iso is ridiculous,the wheel seems to adjust shutter which is odd because theres a dedicated dial for shutter.

Unfortunately I don't think the original X100 was included in the latest firmware revisions, to be fair that model is now 3 generations behind though

jocau wrote in post #18079634
I remember you saying that you didn't get why people thought their camera/lens wasn't good enough anymore as soon as a new version came out since the camera/lens was still as good as on day 1. I think this example resembles that a bit.

Your Sony camera is still as good as on day 1. If you really needed a certain feature that wasn't available on the camera when you bought it, you shouldn't have bought it in my opinion. Some features are more "WANT TO HAVE" than "NEED TO HAVE". No need to buy a new camera for every "WANT TO HAVE" feature. At least that's how I see it.

Of course it would be great if every camera company would provide firmware updates like Fuji does. But that just isn't realistic. Fuji is the exception, not the norm.

Right, I didn't say my a7S was any worse than it was day one... the same gripes I have now I had on day one also, in fact I highlighted them in my review of the a7R. My point is that these things could have all been added in firmware (and to a certain degree I expected some of them to be added) and they weren't, and I think that's extremely disappointing. I also still love my a7S... just not as much as my X-E2

And why isn't it realistic? Why shouldn't we hold every company to a higher standard? That type of ideology is what stagnates a market, look at what Canon has been doing for the past 5+ years...

MedicineMan4040 wrote in post #18079677
Finally got a chance to watch. Hits home with me. I eat 14-18 eggs a week and have for over 30 years. I think in the
root cellar I've got over 40 pounds of eggs.

digital_AM wrote in post #18079711
Gene, I enjoyed your video. Made me hungry.

Thanks Alfredo. MM, I hope my video made you a bit hungry for a couple of those eggs you're hoarding in your cellar too.

Puckman wrote in post #18079703
Love the shot of the Hotel Emma.

We just don't have skies like that around here. It's always a sort of whitish hazy look. Specially in the summer, and now with the fires and bad air quality. Nothing like a nice blue sky with contrasting clouds to make a landscape pic pop.

Luminance tool is your friend

EverydayGetaway wrote in post #18079728
Unfortunately I don't think the original X100 was included in the latest firmware revisions, to be fair that model is now 3 generations behind though

Right, I didn't say my a7S was any worse than it was day one... the same gripes I have now I had on day one also, in fact I highlighted them in my review of the a7R. My point is that these things could have all been added in firmware (and to a certain degree I expected some of them to be added) and they weren't, and I think that's extremely disappointing. I also still love my a7S... just not as much as my X-E2

And why isn't it realistic? Why shouldn't we hold every company to a higher standard? That type of ideology is what stagnates a market, look at what Canon has been doing for the past 5+ years...

It isn't realistic because of multiple reasons. Every company has their strong and weak points. One of the strongest points of Fuji is their support (firmware updates). Fuji can easily put resources on making firmware updates since they don't have to put resources on making sensors (they only have to add their non-Bayer array to the Sony sensor). If Sony would want to go Fuji style regarding firmware updates, they would have to use resources from their R&D department (which would mean less sensor advancements) or they would have to create new jobs which in the end means even higher prices for us buyers.

Also, you can be innovative without releasing a ton of firmware updates. Sony just likes to be innovative through their sensors instead of through their firmware updates. Different business strategy.

digital_AM wrote in post #18079693
Thanks David! The LE sky was courtesy of the SR app. Unfortunately the clouds were not moving very fast so as a by product of using the SR app, there was some stutter in the clouds in the image. I smoothed it out by applying a slight radial blur filter to parts of the cloud. Problem solved. I am loving the Batis 18, by the way. The files are nice and sharp and give me lots to work with. I do have to add a bit more contrast and color to my images compared to the Loxia 21 but I can live with that.

Thank you MM. I do really like the SR app for skies and some applications for water (doesn't work quite as I like on waterfalls and ocean). Yes it's a big hotel but very industrial on the inside. I love the hotel.

Ok, so it took me over an hour to clean up the power lines in this image that I posted several days back. Thank you guys again for the suggestions on how to clone them out. It's tedious work but worth it.

love the color and the mood. what lens? the FE55? with that color, i'm missing my 35F2.8 already. it has that color. i sold it.

EverydayGetaway wrote in post #18079440
I always try to limit my bag to no more than 3 lenses for any shoot I go on. One wide, one "normal" and one telephoto, though sometimes I do one UWA, one wide and one "normal". I tend to use a zoom for the telephoto and a prime for everything else, it keeps my lens switching to a minimum

I limit myself by adapter/mounts

If I have an M Mount day - CV40 1.4 and Leitz Tele-Elmarit 90 2.8

Canon FD day - 85 1.8, 50 1.4, Sigma 24 2.8 and just picked up a cheap Canon 28 2.8 - I'll be keeping the better of those two.

Yashica mount - ML 28 2.8 and ML 50 1.9

M42 - 135 2.8 and 77M-4 (on its way) so probably sell 44-2

In all honesty, it's usually M Mount or FD Mount

jocau wrote in post #18079756
It isn't realistic because of multiple reasons. Every company has their strong and weak points. One of the strongest points of Fuji is their support (firmware updates). Fuji can easily put resources on making firmware updates since they don't have to put resources on making sensors (they only have to add their non-Bayer array to the Sony sensor). If Sony would want to go Fuji style regarding firmware updates, they would have to use resources from their R&D department (which would mean less sensor advancements) or they would have to create new jobs which in the end means even higher prices for us buyers.

Also, you can be innovative without releasing a ton of firmware updates. Sony just likes to be innovative through their sensors instead of through their firmware updates. Different business strategy.

I'm really not seeing the logic in your argument.

If you look up Sony's biggest gripes from their customers it's lack of support of their products, hiring a few people (which is seriously all it would take, their bodies pretty much share the same processing engines for the most part) to solve this issue would save them money, lots of people jump ship over stuff like this or just plain never get on board to begin with, it's not some little thing that should be ignored. Creating a few jobs to solve the problem is a drop in the bucket for Sony, arguing that it will raise the cost to the consumer borders on silly in my opinion... I don't get the blind defense over a company for lacking support in their products.

Fuji doesn't make their sensors because they're a much smaller company than Sony, instead they focus their efforts on suiting the needs of what photographers are asking for and wanting from their entire lineup.

vinmunoz wrote in post #18079757
love the color and the mood. what lens? the FE55? with that color, i'm missing my 35F2.8 already. it has that color. i sold it.

Vinz, thank you. It was shot with the Loxia 21. I need to update my signature.

EverydayGetaway wrote in post #18079440
I always try to limit my bag to no more than 3 lenses for any shoot I go on. One wide, one "normal" and one telephoto, though sometimes I do one UWA, one wide and one "normal". I tend to use a zoom for the telephoto and a prime for everything else, it keeps my lens switching to a minimum

This!. 3 lens walkabout bag always (including the mounted lens). Only time I deviate from this is when I'm out with my landscape bag