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Saint Finbarr's Oratory, Gougane Barra Forest Park

Howdy folks.

Apologies for the posterization on the jpg image!

One of the reasons I got the Sony A7r was for longer exposure photography. I shot this night scene on a completely still night with the Sony and Canon 24mm Mark ii TS lens 100 ISO.

It's from the stunning Gougane Barra Forest park in County Cork. Before you enter the forest Park you are presented with this amazing location on the shores of Gougane Barra Lake. It is located just a couple of hundred meters from the lovely Gougane Barra Hotel, where I stayed. You really have all the ingredients for a lovely experience. Great food, wine and landscape :). I wanted to take a night photo of Saint Finbarr's oratory. I had checked the best location earlier in the day. There was absolutely no wind that evening. I checked the satellite imagery. The sky was clear for the entire south west of the country. Perfect. So off I went to shoot the scene. I had planned to shoot the Milky Way, which I knew would be located just above the roof of the oratory. I spent a bit of time setting up the shot. (It always takes a while in the dark!) I started shooting and suddenly this mist came from nowhere! It was moving at quite a speed but there was no wind. The photo was 4 minutes long and the branches are pin sharp. So weird. However I love the shot. The mist created amazing affects from the lights around the Oratory


 
Thanks. Ya it was really quite strange. You could see the mist moving quite fast but the air was completely still. Hence the 100 ISO. But keeping the ISO down makes a big difference :) The owner of the hotel actually came out to see if there was a fire!
 

Hausen

Active member
Great image. A question for you. I am trying to decide between the 24 TS-E and the 17 TS-E for the A7r. Have had the 24mm before but am very intrigued by the 17mm. What made tou decide on the 24mm or do you have both? Any opinions would be great.
 
Great image. A question for you. I am trying to decide between the 24 TS-E and the 17 TS-E for the A7r. Have had the 24mm before but am very intrigued by the 17mm. What made tou decide on the 24mm or do you have both? Any opinions would be great.
Thanks David
I have both. I tend to use the 24mm a bit more simply because I prefer the less exaggerated perspective but the 17mm is a cracking lens and if your budget can go for both I would. The 17mm is great for astro photography and architecture and sometimes you just need that extra bit of a viewing angle for a single view landscape image
 
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Hausen

Active member
Thanks David
I have both. I tend to use the 24mm a bit more simply because I prefer the less exaggerated perspective but the 17mm is a cracking lens and if your budget can go for both I would. The 17mm is great for astro photography and architecture and sometimes you just need that extra bit of a viewing angle for a single view landscape image
Thanks for that. It is not so much a budget thing but more a what lens to have with you question. Reason I originally went to Sony was to reduce kit size, so if you had to choose one, because you always wanted one with you, would you choose the extra width of the 17mm or more traditional and easier use of the 24mm? Tough question but I like to walk around in the countryside shooting what I see and often in that situation where you see something and wish you had have brought the other lens:( So I am thinking the 17mm probably gives me more options. Will be a bit more problematic with filters, shoot mainly long exposure, but that width is attractive to me.
 

Uaiomex

Member
I've used my 17TS combined with a TC1.4XII. IQ is amazing. If it suffers, you'd have to really peep at 200 percent.
I bought the 24TSEII afterwards. The reason was the use of filters and why not, the uncompromised IQ.
I love the 17 for tight interiors. Unbeatable! For exteriors it is often too wide. But when you need it, again, it is unbeatable.
My advice is always go first for the 17. Later get the 24. As expected the 24 combined with the TC make and excellent 34mm.
Eduardo
 
Hi David
Personally my view is both lenses are quite small and light. The A7r camera is light. I come from a view camera background so weight wise it's neither here nor there for me. When shooting commercial I use the Canon lens bag over my shoulder with one lens in it, I wouldn't even notice I'm carrying it. If you really do want to just have one lens I would go with Eduardo's advise and get the 1.4m adaptor with a 17mm. But would you really struggle to carry a 700g lens. Bear in mind if you are using a TS lens than you will need a tripod, which is more cumbersome. Personally I hope the A9 or whatever is a beefier camera. At the moment the a7 series looks way too fragile. It's all a bit Apple for me in that they are sacrificing performance and specs just to say how bloody small it is.
 
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