Fun with the A99!

wentbackward · Dec 29, 2012

Shot the whole xmas morning opening presents using the A99 and an old Nex5 to send to Granny back in the UK (video)! Christmas dinner was also shot (stills) using the A99 and the dedicated flash. The video was done and uploaded, the images were printed, laminated and mounted all by the 26th as one sister in law was returning to the UK. Very happy with the productivity of the A99. FWIW I simply selected the camera JPG for every single shot. Here are some of the snaps. I'll spare you the video, 25mins of my kids is probably not something you'd be rushing to watch!

A bit of vignette in LR

Father and Daughter: Just a camera JPG, no gel on the the flash!!

More of my daughter (sorry) with the star present. We can't get Monster High in HK but found it in a mall in the Philippines!!

Cindy Flood · Dec 29, 2012

Carlos, beautiful color!

Wentbackward, very cute kids. All jpgs look great.

etrigan63 · Dec 29, 2012

Thanks Cindy & Vivek! WB, the A99 is starting to make me rethink my RAW only policy, however the results I am getting from DXO Optics 8 are amazing!

MikalWGrass · Dec 29, 2012

Great shots with the a99. May have to get one in the near future. Meanwhile, I am on vacation in Asheville, NC with no camera except my iphone. It is an exercise to enjoy my family while the kids are young. So far, no withdrawals. I know, one day at a time.

Show Performance · Dec 29, 2012

Question for all you A99 owners - Marc, Cindy and co.

When you get AF confirm and hear the beep, is it perfectly synched with the visual AF confirmation (green box)?

On my A99 (since returned) and on another store demo, I witnessed the audio confirmation (beep) first and then, a fraction of a second later, the visual green box. This asynchronous behavior sounds like a small thing but it drove me nuts. I know the camera has AF locked when I hear the beep but my brain is trained to wait for visual cue as well. Both are perfectly synchronized on the A900 and every Canon DSLR I have ever used. Sure you could turn off the audio cue but then you know you are getting a delayed visual. And that fraction of a second is a big deal in my world.

I checked to see if the A77 behaves this way too and I did detect the delay but it was much closer to perfect synch.

So someone please tell me their cameras do not exhibit this "little" issue and that it was a firmware glitch of some sort. I want to like the A99 - especially for the peaking with my old C/Y lenses but it just didn't feel ready for primetime to me. Maybe I gave up on it too soon but like many of you, this isn't my first rodeo and I know when I am not synching (pun intended) with a new camera.

Thanks,
Chad

jsparks · Dec 30, 2012

There's a beep? I never heard one. I guess I found the setting to turn it off when I was going through settings, but I don't even remember turning it off. As far as I'm concerned, beeps are just software glitches and have no place on a camera, but that's just me.

Ok, I turned on the beep. I was using an autofocus (screwdriver) lens and using autofocus. What I saw and heard was a delay after the AF stopped before hearing the beep and then a bit more delay before seeing the box light up (I'd be fine with the box going away as well, I find it distracting, but not as distracting as the beep).

When I switched to manual focus, I still got the box (but only if I was focusing where the box is located which I normally don't do), but never got a beep at all (so shouldn't be an issue with C/Y lenses

).

John

Show Performance · Dec 30, 2012

jsparks said:
There's a beep? I never heard one. I guess I found the setting to turn it off when I was going through settings, but I don't even remember turning it off. As far as I'm concerned, beeps are just software glitches and have no place on a camera, but that's just me.

Ok, I turned on the beep. I was using an autofocus (screwdriver) lens and using autofocus. What I saw and heard was a delay after the AF stopped before hearing the beep and then a bit more delay before seeing the box light up (I'd be fine with the box going away as well, I find it distracting, but not as distracting as the beep).

When I switched to manual focus, I still got the box (but only if I was focusing where the box is located which I normally don't do), but never got a beep at all (so shouldn't be an issue with C/Y lenses ).

John

Thanks John.

Yes, I wasn't concerned about the confirm on my MF lenses but on the AF lenses, Sony needs to get this fixed.

I don't understand how they can ship a camera with such a basic interface problem. AF confirm is paramount to capturing an image quickly and in-focus. I firmly believe that the A99 is acquiring focus plenty fast but then inserting an artificial lag, at least with the visual confirm box. Most of the photographers I know, like John, turn off system beeps immediately. So in the case of the A99 the user is seeing an AF confirm a fraction of a second - I'm guessing as much as 1/4 sec - after it was actually made.

Odd that I have not seen this reported elsewhere but it appears to be affecting all the A99 cameras.

Thanks for the confirmation (pun intended again) John!

Chad

Cindy Flood · Dec 30, 2012

I am not the best person to ask this question of, so I'm glad John answered it. I only own 4 AF lenses and they are all older Minolta screw-drive. I seldom use AF and wanted the A99 to use with Leica-R glass. I love the SLT magnify feature to allow me to get precise focus.
With that said, I turned on the beep and now that I know to look for it, I can hear the beep a second or two before I see the green box, but it wouldn't bother me. I don't shoot too many fast-moving subjects. I use AF sometimes to get me in the ballpark, then hit the AF/MF button and manual focus.
Why don't you ask Robert J to talk to his Sony rep about your concerns. Maybe there is a valid reason for the tiny delay or maybe they can fix the lag?

Show Performance · Dec 30, 2012

Cindy Flood said:
I am not the best person to ask this question of, so I'm glad John answered it. I only own 4 AF lenses and they are all older Minolta screw-drive. I seldom use AF and wanted the A99 to use with Leica-R glass. I love the SLT magnify feature to allow me to get precise focus.
With that said, I turned on the beep and now that I know to look for it, I can hear the beep a second or two before I see the green box, but it wouldn't bother me. I don't shoot too many fast-moving subjects. I use AF sometimes to get me in the ballpark, then hit the AF/MF button and manual focus.
Why don't you ask Robert J to talk to his Sony rep about your concerns. Maybe there is a valid reason for the tiny delay or maybe they can fix the lag?

Hi Cindy!

Yes, I shared this with Robert when I returned the A99 - not sure if he passed on to the rep though. He knows more than anyone how much I was looking forward to the A99. I even converted my C/Y lenses so I could be ready to use them with peaking (which worked great). But I also use the camera in high action low light scenarios - something it should excel at - but that AF confirm was throwing me off big-time. Compared to the A900, the A99 feels like it is stuttering. I am so annoyed with Sony. What a stupid, simple little thing to have screwed up.

It is great that it doesn't affect you or other shooters who are using the camera for more contemplative moments but regardless, a modern camera should not exhibit this behavior. Heck, my X-Pro with its slowish AF at least gives me synchronized confirmations so I am confident when AF is set. I think confidence is the key word. We demand it of our cameras and I simply did not have it with the A99 (due to this and some unexplained random lock-ups). I'm hopeful that Sony will tidy things up with firmware but until then I'm happy enough with the dependable A900 and NEX for peaking the MF lenses.

Jealous that you are enjoying MF on the A99 though. It was almost worth keeping just for that but in the end I couldn't justify it.

Best,
Chad

etrigan63 · Jan 2, 2013

Too funny not to share:

etrigan63 · Jan 7, 2013

An experiment in converging lines

Night Street by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

etrigan63 · Jan 9, 2013

The Young Oboist

IMG_20130108_1551_DxO by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

IMG_20130108_1550_DxO by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

IMG_20130108_1549_DxO by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

IMG_20130108_1538_DxO by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

IMG_20130108_1534_DxO by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

IMG_20130108_1532_DxO by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

IMG_20130108_1528_DxO by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

All shots Sony A99 + Rokinon 85mm 1/200s @ f/5.6 Radio Popper + Interfit 200W strobe with a 36" Octabox on camera left.

etrigan63 · Jan 10, 2013

Just a comment of shooting in studio with the Rokinon 85mm f/1.4: as you can see from the photos above, the lens is sharp! However, in lowlight situations its lack of contrast make focus peaking almost useless. The lens has no electronics, so the A99 is unaware there is even a lens attached. I did have Lens Effect turned off in the EVF so that I would not be shooting blind. It is interesting to note that with the HVL-F60M flash attached, the A99 automatically reflects the flash's contribution to the shot prior to shooting.

etrigan63 · Jan 14, 2013

Well my Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 just arrived and I will be taking it on walkabout tonight. Will probably have some goodies to post later.

etrigan63 · Jan 15, 2013

From today's walkabout with the Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 DG HSM:

IMG_20130114_1593_DxO by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

IMG_20130114_1591_DxO by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

IMG_20130114_1590_DxO by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

IMG_20130114_1587_DxO by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

IMG_20130114_1583_DxO by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

IMG_20130114_1581_DxO by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

IMG_20130114_1579_DxO by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

IMG_20130114_1578_DxO by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

IMG_20130114_1575_DxO by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

IMG_20130114_1570_DxO by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

IMG_20130114_1568_DxO by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

MikalWGrass · Jan 15, 2013

Carlos, looks good. You seem to love South Miami. By the way, and I know it was pure coincidence, but my 11 year old son is the redhead stretching post run, immediately to the right of the palm tree in front of Footworks.

etrigan63 · Jan 15, 2013

I'm there Monday and Wednesday nights every week while my daughter is in choir practice. I challenge myself to find new stuff on my walks. Small world, that I should photograph your son (who appears to be well trained, he noticed me photographing the group right away).

etrigan63 · Jan 18, 2013

Trickier than Street Photography is shooting photos inside of places like markets and stores (the owners can be quite irritable). I managed to get some shots without bothering people (mostly going for color and texture shots).

Sammiches by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

Decaf by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

Gruyere by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

Seafood by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

Avocado by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

Eggplant, Cukes, & Squash by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

Kiwi by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

Orchid by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

Come and sit next to me, my dear... by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr