Sony A7x lounge

For the folks that were in the Canon prior to their A7 purchase - are you getting the Sony flash as well - Sony HVL-F60M External Flash. Is there a decent 3rd party to the Sony?

Just thinking if I go with the new a 7 r ii, canon meta adapter, spare battery, SD card, etc. and flash I just did some coin dropping.

lance60031x wrote in post #17606647
For the folks that were in the Canon prior to their A7 purchase - are you getting the Sony flash as well - Sony HVL-F60M External Flash. Is there a decent 3rd party to the Sony?

Just thinking if I go with the new a 7 r ii, canon meta adapter, spare battery, SD card, etc. and flash I just did some coin dropping.

I've heard good things about the Nissin i40.

xpfloyd wrote in post #17606637
Brandon. There seems to be different versions of even the M42 mount. I see Helios 44M - X where X is a number from 1 to 7. Cant work out what the differnent numbers mean though and not sure if 1 is best or 7 is best. Any ideas?

EDIT - I think 7 is best as they are the most expensive.

Here's a good breakdown on the 44M's.. original source link with more complete info on the Helios family is at the bottom of the post.

Mine is the first one, straight 44M, with 8 aperture blades. I have a sneaking suspicion that the single coating is what is causing the retro look, and that the MC may handle flare better, which would decrease that vintage feel.

Helios-44M

- M means M42
- MC (rare) or single-coated
- A/M switch
- 8 aperture blades
- resolution: 38/19

44M - KMZ (e.g. 1979-82, , rebadged/export models may have sn "00xxx")
44M MC - KMZ (e.g. 1981)


Helios-44M1

- M means M42
- 2 aperture blades


Helios-44M-4 / 44K-4

- M means M42, K means Pentax K-mount
- MC or single-coated
- auto only
- 6 aperture blades
- resolution: depends on model (see list)

44M-4 - JOV, res. 38/19 (e.g. 1984-1989)
44M-4 MC - KMZ, res. 41/20
44K-4 MC - KMZ, res. 41/20


Helios-44M-5

- M means M42
- MC or single-coated (rare?)
- auto only
- 6 aperture blades
- resolution: 41/20
- e.g. 1991


Helios-44M-6

- M means M42
- MC
- auto only
- 6 aperture blades
- resolution: 45/25
- e.g. 1992


Helios-44M-7

- M means M42
- MC
- auto only
- 6 aperture blades
- resolution: 50/30
- protruding rear mechanism (can damage DSLR body)
- e.g. 1996

--Source - http://forum.mflenses.​com …etting-closer-t26100.html

According to the Metz website (perform a search on the right side), the mecablitz 44 AF-1, 52 AF-1 and 64 AF-1 should work with the Sony A7 cameras.

Thanks Brandon

http://www.dpreview.co​m …ost-important-data-for-me

Interesting interview with Kimio Maki (Senior General Manager of the Digital Imaging Business Group, Sony Corporation).

Things that stand-out to me:

• Sony is very much in tune with their customers…products are specifically designed around customer feedback. (The a7rII is a product of this approach)
• Sony acknowledges that mirrorless AF still doesn’t quite match DSLR systems, but that the gap is ‘very close’. On the flip-side, he brings up some advantages to on sensor phase detect AF: No need to microfocus adjust, and the ability to give wider AF coverage with more AF points.
• Allowing adapted lenses is a means to attract customers, but their mission is to release lenses that are better than their competitors (with regards to their primes, I’d say they’ve succeeded as their offerings are better than the Canon/Nikon equivalents).
• Faster primes and f2.8 zooms are a priority

xpfloyd wrote in post #17606667
Thanks Brandon

np! This one seems to be the exact copy I have, pretty similar serial #'s as well.

http://www.ebay.com …ain_0&hash=item​51cf6b12bf

mystik610 wrote in post #17606669
http://www.dpreview.co​m …ost-important-data-for-me

Interesting interview with Kimio Maki (Senior General Manager of the Digital Imaging Business Group, Sony Corporation).

Things that stand-out to me:

• Sony is very much in tune with their customers…products are specifically designed around customer feedback. (The a7rII is a product of this approach)
• Sony acknowledges that mirrorless AF still doesn’t quite match DSLR systems, but that the gap is ‘very close’. On the flip-side, he brings up some advantages to on sensor phase detect AF: No need to microfocus adjust, and the ability to give wider AF coverage with more AF points.
• Allowing adapted lenses is a means to attract customers, but their mission is to release lenses that are better than their competitors (with regards to their primes, I’d say they’ve succeeded as their offerings are better than the Canon/Nikon equivalents).
• Faster primes and f2.8 zooms are a priority

A stand-out for me: Sensor

"To create a balance between resolution and ISO sensitivity. Usually, if you increase resolution, you have to sacrifice sensitivity. To achieve both we created a full-frame back-side illuminated sensor. We needed resolution of 40MP+ and we also needed ISO sensitivity greater than 6400, and in order to achieve that balance, this [BSI CMOS] technology is necessary. Once you’ve gathered the light, improving processing speed is an important issue, so we changed the wiring inside the sensor from aluminum to copper, and reversed the structure. So we’ve improved the resolution and the ISO sensitivity over the original a7R."

After saying to myself that I'm fine with my D810, 24-120, and 50/85, this past weekend pushed me back into thinking that I need a mirrorless system again. Went up to Newport and Boston with my wife and my 2 yr old with the 810 and 24-120 mounted packed in my Mindshift bag and my 50/85 as well. Literally took 10-15 shots at the beach in Newport and maybe 25-40 shots all throughout Boston. Had it slug over my shoulder in the Boston children's Museum with the 85 and must've hit my kid in the head at least 4 times chasing her around. My neck and shoulder feel a little sore, and that's with a comfortable bag and strap. Also handing the camera to my wife to take pictures is a lesson in frustration, since i would hear 'how come I can't see the picture on the back' to 'why won't it record videos' to 'why is this so heavy'. Prior when I shot mirrorless I did enjoy the lazy mans approach of using the rear screen at times and just capturing quick video clips. Ever since I went back to a dslr, I've taken maybe 4-5 videos because of having to flip in and out of live view. One thing I do like is the dual card slots which makes transferring pictures to my iPad super easy since I shoot JPEG to one card, and the fact of no shutter lag. I don't need high fps or a deep buffer, but taking pictures I often like to fire off 5-8 shots in quick succession to make sure I have a keeper, on some mirrorless that's not possible due to shutter lag (if that's the right word for it).

But the a7r2 fits all I'm looking for, small size, ibis, 4k now, high mp count, and if it can give me improved high ISO over my 810, then having a 1.8 prime instead of a 1.4 won't be an issue. I could see getting a 24-70 f/4 (I know this lens gets mixed reviews, but center sharpness is all I need) combined with say a 28/55/85 prime setup would take care of 95% of my shooting (I don't shoot Uwa and I'm not a wildlife/sports shooter). Just a 24-100 or so range and taking pictures of vacations and family. I'm in for a preorder at the least.

That's a good summary of the Helios Brandon, I've had a number of these and still have two versions of the 58, I have a very early version in silver as well as the latter back version 44M as well as the current 85 1.5. Both produce the vintage " look" as well a swirly Bokeh in the right conditions as do most of the Zeiss Biotars on which the Helios is based on.

Eddie, Brandon summed the Helios 44's up well. Basically the 44-2 or 44M will give you the soft look and the swirling bokeh more so than the later ones. The later ones though are supposed to have the best resolution such as the 44M-7. My 44-2 is pretty sharp IMO. Not the prettiest of lenses though IMO either

Thanks lee, for the cheap price they are going for I'm going to pick one up

Tell me more of the Nissin i-40 PLEASE....any owner/users here. Nothing against the reviewers at B/H, Amazon, etc. but this is like family talking here and I know you won't bull##&t me.
Don't laugh but could you put a Better Beamer on it? I relize it's dinky. Has anyone?

With the A7Rii's AF ability(supposed at this point) I'm looking at adding a 400 5.6 for a super lightweight BIS (bird in stance, not in flight) setup. 42+ mp's will allow a super crop factor inherent, the (again hoping) hugely improved ISO is nothing but a plus and the IBIS would be icing on the 400 5.6 cake.
Thoughts?

I know 5fps is not BIF territory but in our guts we know Sony has made leaps and bounds in AF, but in no way will be able to replace a DSLR for BIFs. My only real complaint against e-mount has been (and still remains) no native FL beyond 300mm, really 240mm with the 24-240 FE. I had and enjoyed the 400 5.6 on a Nex-7 but completely MF....things could change in a massive way come August.

Miranda1 wrote in post #17606707
That's a good summary of the Helios Brandon, I've had a number of these and still have two versions of the 58, I have a very early version in silver as well as the latter back version 44M as well as the current 85 1.5. Both produce the vintage " look" as well a swirly Bokeh in the right conditions as do most of the Zeiss Biotars on which the Helios is based on.

Oohh.. a silver one huh? I've seen those and would love to have one, but they usually run ~$100+ and while I like the Helios/Biotar look, I have a shelf full of old manual glass that I barely use as is. As soon as I picked up the C/Y Zeiss MMJ stuff, the rest of it just started gathering dust.. and even the Zeiss stuff is starting to get relegated to the bookshelf the more I get back into using the native FE lenses.

I prefer the earlier versions however both are pretty good bang for the buck.