Sony Lounge Thread MKIII (All Sony cameras welcome)

David Arbogast wrote in post #18842073
Facing "An Uncertain Future" with my FE 50mm 1.4 ZA. Title is not a reference to the lens, but about my quandary over whether to buy my mom's house or not. Also thinking about the stock market and my efforts to profit from it.

This scene is from beautiful Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park near Tallahassee, Florida. We absolutely loved our camping experience at nearby Ochlocknee River State Park and hope to return next year. Up next month is a camp trip to Vogel State Park in the mountains of northeastern Georgia.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/Tjzp​7Y An Uncertain Future by David Arbogast, on Flickr

Love the mystery 'around' the curve that keeps us walking.
Looks like you are really enjoying the lens David.
I think, and you know how much I know totally of photography, that 50mm takes quite some thought to use.
Wide and tele kinda do their thing, 50 demands more.

KenjiS wrote in post #18842218
Still waiting on the refund so i can order my Distagon

But in the meantime

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2en2​s5o Turkey 1 by Trevor H, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2e55​UUT Turkey 2 by Trevor H, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2en2​s4G Turkey 3 by Trevor H, on Flickr


I wish the tracking AF on the Sigma was a bit better but i still love it

Fantastic Gobbler! I can't help but reach for a bow looking, but I think a camera is a better tool
for this magnanimous creature! Great colors here.

MedicineMan4040 wrote in post #18842435
Love the mystery 'around' the curve that keeps us walking.
Looks like you are really enjoying the lens David.
I think, and you know how much I know totally of photography, that 50mm takes quite some thought to use.
Wide and tele kinda do their thing, 50 demands more.

Thanks Robert. I do indeed like the FE 50 ZA quite a bit. For me it's a prime version of a 24-105 - a good middle-of-the-road prime lens. Not wide, not long...just right. I struggle with the edgy bokeh with the FE 50 ZA sometimes, but am learning to smooth out the rough edges with a slight application of surface blur. A quick easy fix.

It's weird because in the field I thought I was using the FE 50 ZA the most during my camp trip, but Lightroom tells me a different story. My most used lens? Batis 135mm!

I like the Batis 135mm a lot, but since I love shooting it so much, I'm actually thinking about maybe getting the new 135mm GM. Sure, it's heavier/bigger, but if I like shooting a 2.8/135mm then how much more will I love the thinner DOF with a 1.8/135mm? So I may be heading towards a 24GM and 135GM to use with my 50ZA.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/Tk1P​wj

David Arbogast wrote in post #18842440
Thanks Robert. I do indeed like the FE 50 ZA quite a bit. For me it's a prime version of a 24-105 - a good middle-of-the-road prime lens. Not wide, not long...just right. I struggle with the edgy bokeh with the FE 50 ZA sometimes, but am learning to smooth out the rough edges with a slight application of surface blur. A quick easy fix.

It's weird because in the field I thought I was using the FE 50 ZA the most during my camp trip, but Lightroom tells me a different story. My most used lens? Batis 135mm!

I like the Batis 135mm a lot, but since I love shooting it so much, I'm actually thinking about maybe getting the new 135mm GM. Sure, it's heavier/bigger, but if I like shooting a 2.8/135mm then how much more will I love the thinner DOF with a 1.8/135mm? So I may be heading towards a 24GM and 135GM to use with my 50ZA.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/Tk1P​wj Grazing at Dusk by David Arbogast, on Flickr

Ah great deer!
I guess we all have our fav FL's

MedicineMan4040 wrote in post #18842506
Ah great deer!
I guess we all have our fav FL's

Not the beautiful piebald deer I was wanting. Saw one our first day in the park, but didn't capture it , so I was left with the the common stuff.

Otter Lake in the St Marks National Wildlife Refuge near Panacea, Florida. Wonderful cypress trees.

This image is a combination of a 1/60th sec. exposure to freeze the foliage and another long exposure using Breakthrough 6-stop dark CPL in conjunction with Smooth Reflections. 99% of the foliage is from the short exposure, while the sky and water are from the long exposure. There is just a bit of the blurry LE foilage showing and that's OK with me.

The was a marked color difference between no filter and the dark cpl, so it looks like the dark cpl may not be as color perfect as Breakthrough's standard NDs are. This made compositing the two exposures slightly challenging as I had to first match colors via levels adjustment.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2e5t​Sjg

OK Eddie, blaming you.
Hero7Black en route.
Discovered unlike my formor GoPro (the one I watched fly away on a drone)
no housing needed. That's a big plus. And as you mentioned (I think it was you?)
can put in non-fisheye mode, another plus. Can also USB charge from a brick, more
pluses

David Arbogast wrote in post #18842381
Thanks Alan! I’m using LR as my raw converter...just using Topaz AI Clear as a final touch in my photo editing workflow to intelligently clean noise and sharpen details. Unfortunately I don’t think it works as a PS plugin, which would be my preference, so I have to load up Topaz’ proprietary image editor (which is free) and apply the AI clear there.

Topaz can convert Raw files, I think, but I’ll never use it for that. Like all good software companies, Topaz has a helpful 30 day free trial for AI Clear so anyone can try it out for themselves.

David, thanks for the info on AI Clear. I tried it on this image and liked the results. Details were definitely enhanced and overall sharpness improved.

Loxia 85

IMAGE LINK: https://www.alfredomor​aphoto.com …oads/n-mNp4Hr/i-CLxjjbC/A

I've got AI Clear but never to remember to use it

Favorite Kite from our trip to Avandaw

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/TkhS​pb

GAS got the best of me.

While scheming for the SY 85 f1.4, I decided to get the lenstation, and the 50 f1.4 as well. The 50 came in first and oh boy, that lens has the worst AF known to man, worst than nifty fifty on canon. Updated the firmware, and it's a whole different lens.

When do you expect to get the 85mm? I can't wait to hear what you think of it!

digital_AM wrote in post #18842706
David, thanks for the info on AI Clear. I tried it on this image and liked the results. Details were definitely enhanced and overall sharpness improved.

Loxia 85

IMAGE LINK: https://www.alfredomor​aphoto.com …oads/n-mNp4Hr/i-CLxjjbC/A

Wonderful. Spent a little time in the Buckhorn in days past. Gunter Hotel was a place we liked to stay also which would send one by the Buckhorn heading to the RW.

For those who didn't see it, THIS interview with Sigma by DPReview was a good read.

I had said that if Sony made a 35GM that was small and lighter than current 35mm f/1.4's I would get it. This article if correct pretty much guarantees I'll keep the Art.


DPReview Asked "If you had designed the recently-announced E-mount primes from the ground up for Sony’s full-frame cameras, would they be smaller?"

Charlie wrote in post #18842752
GAS got the best of me.

While scheming for the SY 85 f1.4, I decided to get the lenstation, and the 50 f1.4 as well. The 50 came in first and oh boy, that lens has the worst AF known to man, worst than nifty fifty on canon. Updated the firmware, and it's a whole different lens.

Hosted photo: posted by Charlie in
./showthread.php?p=188​42752&i=i226161275
forum: Sony Digital Cameras

Hosted photo: posted by Charlie in
./showthread.php?p=188​42752&i=i190188718
forum: Sony Digital Cameras

GAS will get you. So glad that I’m over it right now.