Fun with the A99!

[petetsai]

Hi all,
Numero ~ I didn't find it hunting much if at all and I was shooting in quite dark conditions. My goal wasn't really pushing the AF that night as much as making some interesting shots in some higher iso's.

Howard ~ Thanks!

Khatsalano ~ My understanding was that adobe released support in LR and ACR back in the beginning of October, actually a month before the cameras actually hit the streets for consumers....

 

[Rand47]

Is the dearth of shared images from the a99 an indication of a dearth of interest in it? I'm still on the fence, though heavily invested in ZA & G glass.

Come on ladies and gents, make me want one!!!!

 

[MikalWGrass]

Rand, you took the words right out of my mouth. I also want to see the a99 in action, shooting sports instead of stationary subjects.

 

[jonoslack]

Rand Mikal - Me too - what are these luggards up to

 

[4711]

Is the dearth of shared images from the a99 an indication of a dearth of interest in it? I'm still on the fence, though heavily invested in ZA & G glass.

Come on ladies and gents, make me want one!!!!

skip the a99 and wait til Sony realize its mistake and offers the same with ovf.

For a normal still photographer, there is simply no advantage of having this EVF on a FF camera. Everything is inferior compared to the A900 OVF. See LL comments on the A99.

 

[jonoslack]

skip the a99 and wait til Sony realize its mistake and offers the same with ovf.

For a normal still photographer, there is simply no advantage of having this EVF on a FF camera. Everything is inferior compared to the A900 OVF. See LL comments on the A99.

Actually, there are lots of advantages, but like most innovations (autofocus comes to mind), it needs a sideways step from the user to realise the advantages. We tend to simply try and use the new technology the way we used the old.


What Advantages? I hear you say . . well, just for starters:
No mirror slap (and the inevitable camera shake that goes with it)
Less lag time (no need to up the mirror or close the aperture)
Visible exposure makes it much easier to get the exposure right
Visible white balance
No need for stop down metering on 3rd party lenses

I could go on (and on and on and on)

However, I'm not sure this is the place for a discussion of this, and I'm quite willing to agree that some people will always prefer an OVF . . . All I'm trying to say is that 'simply no advantage of having this EVF' is pretty hard to qualify, whatever LL may say!

all the best

 

[mazor]

EVFs have come along way in terms of resolution and color, and now they are really quite usable on the field, and make a good replacement over OVF. Not saying any is superior to the other but, the age of OVF will gradually fade and make way for EVFs. Sony just has done it sooner than the competitors.

 

[Shashin]

Sorry, but a company making something a particular person does not want is actually not a mistake. There are folks that prefer and EVF and right now Sony is the only player making that for full frame. But LL is hilarious. I never thought a 35mm viewfinder as "large and bright."

 

[Shashin]

...but, the age of OVF will gradually fade and make way for EVFs...

Like the paperless office, three-day work week, and flying cars.

I certainly hope you are wrong. The only group that will lose out are photographers. EVFs have advantages, but they don't replace OVFs.

 

[jonoslack]

Like the paperless office, three-day work week, and flying cars.

I certainly hope you are wrong. The only group that will lose out are photographers. EVFs have advantages, but they don't replace OVFs.

Yes Yes - I quite agree. Defending EVF's is one thing (I'm up for). Defending OVFs is another thing I'm up for!

 

[Show Performance]

Rand Mikal - Me too - what are these luggards up to

Hah, sorry I sent mine back.

I'll be living with the A900 for the foreseeable future.

The big surprise (negative) for me was not the EVF - It was the overall shooting experience. The camera just did not feel ready for prime time. Odd little quirks here and there and an unsettling shutter action all added up to a "no thank you".

I'll miss the EVF as it was excellent for focussing my C/Y Zeiss primes and the IQ was fine but nothing that made me say "wow" or feel that the A900 was a generation behind. Yes, high ISO is better but in my application it was maybe a one stop improvement (at most) in Lightroom.

Maybe my perspective (coming off the A900) is skewed but I was really hoping for the control experience of the A900 with the addition of an EVF and video features. Instead I can only assume, the A99 is based on the A77 experience, which I have no experience with. I struggle to put my complaints into a cohesive summary but basically, the A99 is too "electronic".

I'm sure some will use and enjoy it and be rewarded with excellent IQ but for me, the IQ improvements were not visibly measurable enough to abandon the enjoyable experience of the A900.

So if anyone wants to get rid of a reasonably priced A850/A900 I'm looking for a second body.

Best,
Chad

 

[Rand47]

Actually, there are lots of advantages, but like most innovations (autofocus comes to mind), it needs a sideways step from the user to realise the advantages. We tend to simply try and use the new technology the way we used the old.

...

I could go on (and on and on and on)

...

all the best

Exactly. I'm an OVF appreciator who is willing to learn to adapt & appreciate what advantages that may come with EVF. But I'm distinctly not a video person - have zero interest there. I'm sensing I might end up like Chad, though, and not see much "over" my a900 except live-view advantages.

In the meantime I'm satisfying my lust for ever increasing image quality by messing about with my DP2M - which proves beyond doubt that I'll put up with all sorts of silliness if the end product/output is worth it! :ROTFL:

 

[wentbackward]

I had all my flash gear with me this weekend for a portrait shoot that didn't happen, my daughter and I had some fun instead.

 

[jonoslack]

I had all my flash gear with me this weekend for a portrait shoot that didn't happen, my daughter and I had some fun instead.

Hah - where's the shadow!

 

[Shashin]

Hah - where's the shadow!

You think someone that can bend the forces of gravity to their will can't handle a few properties of the electromagnetic spectrum?

 

[MikalWGrass]

Held the a99 at Pittman Photo in South Miami / Pinecrest yesterday. I was with my 7 year old so I didn't have that much time to fiddle around with it. One thing that struck me was just how light it was compared to the a900. Same price as at B&H for you south Florida Sony fans.

 

[mazor]

I think alot of camera ppl are not really into video, but it seems having video as an option since the tech is available is a must. We can even see the likes of the latest Leica m which has been up till now only been known to be able to capture stills, now able to capture video.

OVF, now EVF, MF now AF, stills with megapixels now stills with video. Evolution...

 

[waardij]

I have my a99 now for close to two weeks, and I love it. I used an a900 before (and a NEX-7). The EVF is something I like most of the time and the hinging LCD is great. It is very useful on a tripod, especially when working low. Having iso 50 is very nice. very clean files that can handle an enormous amount of processing. in general I think the files at low iso are at least as good as those out of the a900, and in some ways, hard to define, even better. Somehow the files are very believable, I do not know how else to put it. it is something that shows especially in (bigger) prints. and the files are much more malleable than those out of the a900. when pushed, the a900 files sometimes showed ugly color spots, which I have not seen happening with the a99 files yet. maybe it is the 14 bits and probably just improved technology in general.
when using the camera on a tripod I mostly manual focus, with magnified view, which gives 100% certainty the focus is where I want it to be.
High iso is great too, although that is not something I use a lot. maybe I will use it more now it is so good.
It's a great tool.

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

No need for stop down metering on 3rd party lenses

I try to figure out this statement, Jono, but my brain capacity is limited. Can you elaborate?

 

[mazor]

I try to figure out this statement, Jono, but my brain capacity is limited. Can you elaborate?

I can answer that, Jono meant with EVF the viewfinder does not go dim when stopping down the aperture in legacy glass. with a traditional OVF SLR type camera, the brightness of the viewfinder gets real dim when the stopping down to f8 say or f16 etc

On electronic aperture type lens, the same effect can be simulated by pushing the depth of field preview button on the camera, and setting a small aperture.