Smpetty,
I forgot to tell you that I'm looking at the Tamron FE 70-300.
I need it like a hole in the head but I've always had a 70-300 and besides
loving the focal range I like the size for walkabout. The FE100400GM is heavy
compared and the 200600G is way way heavier compared.
If the 70-300 is anything like my Tam 17-28 or 28-200 then it should be a great lens.
I'll start googling to see if it is sharp at 300.
I've got the Sony E 70-350G (for cropper you know) and had to ship back my first copy to B&H.
My second copy from Henrys was wonderfully sharp at 350.....the wife 99% of the time has it on her
a6400.
Michael Everet wrote:
I know I sound like a broken record on this but it's surprising how much more than APS-C the 70-350 covers. And even at 350, where it's coverage is the most circumscribed, I find I am going to crop some on a FF anyway, especially with birds.
Coverage indeed doesn't matter if you are cropping. It mostly helps if you only care about central sharpness, e.g. low DoF shots close to the center.
On other APS-C lenses that I've tried, the sharpness decreases significantly outside of the APS-C circle even at f/11.
Many APS-C lenses also have a rear baffle you can remove for more coverage. In theory it blocks some rays from bouncing around but I have not noticed decreases contrast.
Speaking of center sharpness, the Tam 70-300 arrived yesterday.
Having 100400GM,200600G, an EOS 70-300 that adapts well (MC-11)
why even consider the Tam?
Weight!
I observed something else in post yesterday, something I've had a strong inkling about, and that's ISO performance of the A7C vs. my A1.
I've read the A1 is capable of ISO performance equaling the A7iii (A7C sensor mate I believe). I think not, and this after going through thousands of A1 shots (but only several hundred A7C shots so take my opinion into the coffee shop for a cup of Joe The A1's ISO performance is wonderful given its pixel density for sure, but this the A7C bests it.....makes since to me since the pixels are so much larger.
I'd compared the original A7s's performance in this regard to the A1 on a Milky Way shoot and found the A7S way better. Just hard to beat pixels the size of quarters
Anyway, BIF is not the reason to buy an A7C but small pack size is. In my little sling I can get this body the Tam70-300, the FE 28-60, the Sony FE 20/1.8, my wallet, a phone, my amateur radio, and an automatic and still have room for a rain poncho and a protein bar!
A7C+Tam70-300
It's not 100400GM but the A7C weighs only 0.1 pound less haha!
Next test for the A7C and why I bought it.
Long hike/lots of ups and downs and too many slick rocks.
Took the FE20/1.8 and the Tam17-28. Ended up using the Tam for
the Flickr
MedicineMan404 wrote:
Next test for the A7C and why I bought it.
Long hike/lots of ups and downs and too many slick rocks.
Took the FE20/1.8 and the Tam17-28. Ended up using the Tam for
the Flickr
I'm enjoying the A7C so much I'll be studying the A7iv when it comes out.
In the meantime I've been comparing the E70-350G to the just arrived Tam FE 70-300mm.
Still long ways to go yet but the E lens focuses faster. I still think large slow BIF (herons,cranes,etc)
will be fine with the Tam.
This shot via the 70-350G and at the river....little happening here on the lake.
I think the A7c along with the 35gm is perfect for me, a dad of two kids that don’t want to lug heavy equipment around along with their diaper bag strollers etc. Its a great secondary portable system that can produce high quality photos on the go. The ability to fit it in a small bag and the small bag into a backpack is valuable. I used to have the a7iii and the functions (small evf, lack of buttons, inferior image stabilization in video mode) that was left out on the A7c is not important. Adding better focus, rotating screen, and improve color science is huge upgrade. I consider it a upgrade to the a7iii. The only thing I’m weary of is the lack of full mechanical shutter because I shoot wide open a lot! But supposedly the difference in bokeh quality won’t even be noticeable unless it’s a side by side comparison. Even so, I don’t think it’s a factor.
MedicineMan404 wrote:
I'm enjoying the A7C so much I'll be studying the A7iv when it comes out.
In the meantime I've been comparing the E70-350G to the just arrived Tam FE 70-300mm.
Still long ways to go yet but the E lens focuses faster. I still think large slow BIF (herons,cranes,etc)
will be fine with the Tam.
This shot via the 70-350G and at the river....little happening here on the lake.
When you use the 70-350 do you shoot in crop mode which I guess would give you only about a 10.2 MP file rather than 24 or is the lenses capable of shooting in FF mode with less loss when cropping? In either case is the reduced file size (compared to the Tamron 70-300 an issue? -Jim
Just picked one up last night to try out. Some great info here. Currently using Leica and some Fuji gear. Setting the camera up and going through the menu made my head hurt. Is it me or is this menu system a convoluted mess? Are all the current Sony's like this?
Nick Dakota wrote:
Just picked one up last night to try out. Some great info here. Currently using Leica and some Fuji gear. Setting the camera up and going through the menu made my head hurt. Is it me or is this menu system a convoluted mess? Are all the current Sony's like this?
Partly it is that the camera is extremely configurable, so there is a lot in the menus and often it is not named well. And partly it is that the "old" menu system is not organized in an intuitive way, so one never quite knows where to find things. Once you are set up, you will rarely need to go into the menu system. The Fn menu will help a lot with the things you will actually want to change more often. And there is just a learning curve with the shooting and menu settings that has to be endured, especially for a first time Sony user. There is a new, much more intuitive menu system in the most recently introduced Sony cameras--the A7SIII and the A1.
I would be very interested to hear your comparisons of shooting with the A7C and with Leica bodies (I am assuming M bodies). I have a long running debate with myself about whether the Leica bodies would feel different enough in a good way to justify getting into them. And how much I would miss modern camera tech with the Leica--AF, Eye-AF, tracking, IBIS. My applications for the Leica would be candid images of people, travel, landscapes while walking, and some scenes of interiors, buildings, or interesting objects and settings. So I would be interested in your take on comparisons between the Leica M bodies and the A7C. And also the Fuji bodies, now that I think of it.
chiron wrote:
Partly it is that the camera is extremely configurable, so there is a lot in the menus and often it is not named well. And partly it is that the "old" menu system is not organized in an intuitive way, so one never quite knows where to find things. Once you are set up, you will rarely need to go into the menu system. The Fn menu will help a lot with the things you will actually want to change more often. And there is just a learning curve with the shooting and menu settings that has to be endured, especially for a first time Sony user. There is a new, much more intuitive menu system in the most recently introduced Sony cameras--the A7SIII and the A1....Show more →
Different people use their cameras differently. I have an A7r iii and I still sometimes need to go through the menu right at the job site as I need to change a setting that I couldn't assign to a custom button. A7c is even worse because I has omitted some of those super useful customizable buttons. Because of this, I will not buy an A7c. I am hopping Sony will fix this in the next iteration of A7c.
Because modern cameras have so many settings and features, the most helpful way is indeed the inclusion of touch interface. Unfortunately, Sony omitted their new touch menu in A7c (even though the new Sony touch menu is still incomplete compared to the Canon).
A7c is also missing a front dial. Compare it to thew New Nikon Z fc. which has one dedicated shutter speed dial, one dedicated ISO setting dial and still manages to have two other dials (one front dial and one back dial). Interestingly, it still costs half the price of A7c.
I almost bought an A7C as a family camera. My partner wanted an upgrade from her a6300 an 16-50. So I was thinking a7c and the 28-60. But then that’s a lot of money for a bigger camera with the same EVF and what is most definitely a better lens but not one that will open up new types of photos for her.
So I realized that the 35GM is the lens we need, and then why bother with an A7C when a used A9 is the same price.
I have been using my A7C for awhile. I had the A7R2/3/4 and decided I wanted to try a smaller size body with small light primes for hiking and travel. Might add the Sigma 28-70 (I pack the CV15, FE20, 35i, 65i and the 28-60 is on the camera) since the filter size of the 28-60 is ridiculously smaller and using a CPL is challenging. Often I briefly stop hiking and shoot handheld. I think the 28-60 is great for town use where I don't need a filter since the lens is pretty good even though it feels cheap in-hand and the entire package of camera and lens is discrete. I carry the primes for taking pictures during lunch time which is eitehr at the top of a peak or at a cirque lake.
I used Mark Galer's ebooks in the past and got the one for the A7C. there are fewer Custom buttons but I started to use the custom memory settings 1,2,3 and with a customized My Menu and the FN menu which is customizable for still AND movies, I never have to go into the main menu.
In order of frequency, I shoot Landscape, Close-up, Action so that is how I have Memory settings i.e. 1= Landscape, 2= CLose-up, etc.
Everytime I get tempted to rebuy a GM lens or buy an Art, I remember how light the A7C is on my pack shoulder strap w/ a Capture clip while hiking. My weekly hikes typically range from 8 to 24 miles RT (avg is 13 RT) ranging from 500 to 1,000 feet of change/mile so less weight is much more enjoyable.
The A7C low light performance is great and the shadow recovery when exposing for the sky is fantastic. The dynamic range of the sensor is impressive. These matter more to me then the EVF.
The EVF is less than ideal but I don't shoot fast action so it is a compromise I am fine with for now and I have not missed a image composition as a result. I am not taking hundred of pictures/day for a client so using the EVF is not that big an issue for me.
Really love my little A7C . Just shot this . I used my Wescott 400 watt strobe with soft box shot with HSS with my new 35m GM at F5. They where in the shade which turned out with strobe a nice blend
offtraildog wrote:
I have been using my A7C for awhile. I had the A7R2/3/4 and decided I wanted to try a smaller size body with small light primes for hiking and travel.
Do you miss the 42 or 61mp images? I ask because I would like something smaller but find it hard to let go of the higher resolution especially for cropping.
Michael Everet wrote:
Do you miss the 42 or 61mp images? I ask because I would like something smaller but find it hard to let go of the higher resolution especially for cropping.
TLDR - No, not for my use case though I will upgrade to a higher resolution A7C if it gets produced. I like this small compact body. I rarely shoot long but do plan to get a 100-400, probably the sigma, to experiment with more compressed landscape images
I take pictures as a hobby to capture the moments and I post them on my smugmug site for friends and family. So 99% of the viewing is digital on a variety of phones, pads, computers, and TVs.
I shoot uncompressed Raw, PP in C1, export full size (22mb) jpgs to Apple photos which I use as my DAM since all my devices are linked to icloud photos. I then export a small jpg (1.2mb) to Smugmug with no output sharpening.
This hike was last thursday and almost all the images I used the 28-60 kit lens with no filter. I also took a couple pics with the CV15 & FE20. Most of the images have some cropping plus 1.2mb jpgs with no output sharpening for web. https://www.offtraildog.com/Hiking/Wolverine-Lake/.
A7C in APS-C mode is about 10Mpx, still more then a 4k screen (which I think is about 8.2Mpx)
The A1's ISO performance is wonderful given its pixel density for sure, but this the A7C bests it.....makes since to me since the pixels are so much larger.
