Scouting Yosemite with the A7r

[Guy Mancuso]

Running around scouting for our upcoming workshop and these are all handheld and weird thing is all with the Leica 19mm R lens. I was going to sell this but decided I was really having a bad brain fart on that line of thinking.

This was ISO 320 shot at 1/20 of a second

Shot these in the town of Hornitos. I decide I may just move in. LOL

 

[Guy Mancuso]

I wanted to add here I have done a lot of testing and playing around with this cam with all my glass, processing in C1 and I am coming to the conclusion and honestly I was on the fence until I could really shoot it and have to say I am very satisfied. I shot the A7 last week about 13,500 images on the A7 and it really worked good, sure It had a few quirks but I got the job done and the images look very good out of the camera.

 

[PSon]

This Leica Elmarit-R 19mm is one of my favorite super wide angle lens; a lens I am looking to reuse with the A7R.

 

[fmueller]

I wanted to add here I have done a lot of testing and playing around with this cam with all my glass, processing in C1 and I am coming to the conclusion and honestly I was on the fence until I could really shoot it and have to say I am very satisfied. I shot the A7 last week about 13,500 images on the A7 and it really worked good, sure It had a few quirks but I got the job done and the images look very good out of the camera.

Wow. That's quite the shakedown cruise!


www.fredmuellerphotography.com

 

[BSEH]

Look good.. please tell about the A7 - what quirks ? and what work dit you make with it ? Thanks

 

[Guy Mancuso]

From the big fire here in Yosemite all with the Leica 19mm

Shot with the Zeiss 85 1.4 ZA lens. These are all shot with a ND filter and long exposures like 6 to 15 seconds.

Hard time deciding between the two.

 

[nostatic]

Hard time deciding between the two.

I like the extra green in the water on the second.

These threads are pushing me to the edge of an A7 - love the colors, especially the night shots. I'd also be interested in hearing the quirks part.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

A7 I shot last week where mostly all shot at ISAO 1250 with a Sony A 70-200mm lens and Sony adapter plus with the additional crop factor that I setup in camera. I shot continuous focus with review off for speed reasons between frames and it worked very well. Obviously If I was using a native lens the AF would be faster but it kept up pretty well with a few misses here and there. Someone walking in front of me would cause havoc but it would return pretty quickly. Right now its the only option like that until the native 70-200 comes out so yes it is a little slower to focus and more of a challenge right now but I did well. More importantly I shot all jpegs since i shot so much that its the only choice. I did bump the sharpness up to +1 and NR to low and images look great. Im under tungsten stage lighting and my WB is set for that and to me its maybe the best in color out of the box I have seen. The A7 and A7r are great systems but the menu setup is too big and noty organized very well either. Sony needs to sit down with a real shooter and organize it the way we shoot not how a engineer thinks. outside the AF there really no major quirks if your willing to work things out for some hobbyists this maybe to daunting to understand every bell and whistle and still be able to shoot fast.

Here are just a few quickies from the A7

Let me also add I am throughly enjoying shooting the A7r over my D800e by a long shot doing landscape making use of the focus peaking, zoom feature and being on manual to pick the shutter speed for exposure control. I also been using the articulating LCD as well for low and high shots. Battery life is weak but it really does not bother me. I carry seven batteries which is maybe 3 to many but there small and light and really does not bother me. My lenses are killer on it and have to say maybe better files than I had with the D800e, I like to say I am getting more detail but unless you did some serious testing I won't make that call and don't care to even bother with that test. Its kind of meaningless but its certainly equal to it if not better.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

I like the extra green in the water on the second.

These threads are pushing me to the edge of an A7 - love the colors, especially the night shots. I'd also be interested in hearing the quirks part.

A little extra bump in color editor in C1.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Love to give advise on which one to buy but really they both are very good and for me having both made perfect sense. The A7r is a all manual kit designed for the best quality I can nail. The A7 is for speed and AF work. Its a perfect setup for me. For the one camera owner if you need the 36mpx sensor and or you like to crop in than its a great kit. I never crop but I need the Mpx for large prints and clients that beat the crap out of your files. But thats my needs and not everyone else's. So I totally understand the indecision or decision on which one to buy bottom line they bot sing very well and one should be happy with either choice. The A7 has faster sync speed and is quieter so maybe if your doing street a better choice or doing outdoor with strobes.

 

[BSEH]

Thanks for your time.. I have sold my D800 and got the A7R - due to the EVF, small body, flip screen and focus peaking. Not losing anything in IQ. The slower handling is not a issue for my tripod shooting anyway. But had some concern about more speedy shooting and the A7 - but sounds like A7 is doing the work there. And The ideer about 2 body - using same lenses (when they come), sounds better then getting a D7100 and run 2 systems.

Thanks for your Input Guy - it's much appreciated ...

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Your welcome and your right I was about to buy the D7100 for the runway stuff and decided instead of that I would be mostly better off and the way I want to have two distinct system within the same line though and still use the same lenses. I don't shoot AF doing tripod work so in the end the Sony move made a lot of sense to me and I am starting to feel really good about it and even better I am enjoying it and for someone thats been doing this a long time excitement about a system is a great thing. I'll keep updating as we go. We have several folks that want to try this system out on the workshop with some of there glass so that should be fun and interesting.

 

[BSEH]

:thumbs: looking forward to read more stuff on the subject, and what the workshop will reveal.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

I used Jacks Nikon 50mm F1.2 AIS today and really like this lens and plan on getting one at the cost of 600 or less its a no brainer.

I shot all these at 1.2 wide open

 

[nikonf]

Guy, my wife bought me one for Christmas last year and I love using it at f1.2 to f2. It throws a beautiful bokeh.
It is not always about sharpness.
This lens is a classic.
Beautiful images.
Have fun,
Mike

I used Jacks Nikon 50mm F1.2 AIS today and really like this lens and plan on getting one at the cost of 600 or less its a no brainer.

I shot all these at 1.2 wide open

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Okay today I had the pleasure of trying several Leica M lenses and they all worked really nice. Have not shot real images with them to post but my wallet blew up in my pocket just thinking about it. 35 cron, 50 Cron latest and greatest, 75 cron, 90 cron , 135mm tele apo, A 1945 Jena Zeiss Sonnor50mm and a 280 MM Leica R. All worked perfectly. Oh a Nocti too.

I figure at least 150 banks from Yosemite to Phoenix on the way home, I have my ski mask handy. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[D&A]

Guy, really like your posted images with the 50mm f1.2. The bokeh is so creamy, I'd never have realized that red tractor was sitting in the field .

As to the banks, why waste gas and make multiple stops at all those financial institutions? Simple do one stop shopping with your ski mask at the Leica store in Calif and pick up all those lovely Leica lenses. Oh wait, once you ask for that 1945 Jena 50mm, they'll catch on to your ploy and probably call for the sheriff. On second thought, the banks are probably a better idea...LOL! Anyhow, please keep posting your lovely images.

Dave (D&A)

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Well the darn thing is Camera West is on my way home. Personally I think the best used Leica glass in the country. It's a really dangerous place. More images coming a little later. This thing is just a blast to shoot. Everyone wants one.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Couple more water series images . I focused stacked all of these.

Leica 19mm

Zeiss 85mm ZA

Zeiss 35mm F2 lens

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Just a couple random shots. Really Im just having fun. Workshops are the best for me as no client involved its my own personal vision and just love to hang friends and participants that just want to shoot and enjoy the art.

Zeiss 135mm F2 wide open

Zeiss 85mm . A barn we all got to shoot together which we all thought had interesting light hitting it

Zeiss 85mm. Hate to say it and as devastating as this fire was to Yosemite months ago its very interesting place to shoot. I just love the light on this one