Okay, I've donned my Nomex suit and am ready for a severe flaming :ROTFL:
Complacency never leads anywhere, so ...
My question is ... are we really exploring the outer boundaries of what this fantastic camera can do? I ask this after spending the better part of an hour looking through the entire "fun with Sony" thread.
Frankly, I'm a tad bit unimpressed. And admit to no better results myself either ... so far.
For the most part the B&Ws are all flat looking and lack the deep velvet blacks that still show detail ... and over-all a lack of sparkle that is the Zeiss trademark. In general there seems a lack of depth and/or POP! Obviously, there are some exceptions, so I'm speaking in general and strictly as a matter of opinion. Yet, I look through some other "fun with" threads and it makes me wonder if we really are getting to the real abilities of this camera?
Now, separate content from the discussion since each of us have different approaches and subject matter we engage in shooting. However, to my eye some of the landscape shots lack dimensional dynamics that I've seen of the same subjects from other cameras, and is almost a default result from even the smallest MF Digital back. (Shots like "Ocean Beach" have preserved the atmosphere, etc., so not everything falls under the same category.) HDR shots look fake to me ... again, clinically clean but no dynamic depth that just sucks you into the scene. Jewelry shots look clinically informative but somewhat flat and uninspiring ... maybe that was the intent, but this is personal adornment folks not an engineering illustration or a lens test. I admit that my own efforts primarily in wedding photography are lacking ... so far. Lacking that special something I already get with other camera's with less lofty specs. It's getting better, so I know the camera can do it ... so it's me ... and how I'm using the A900. Perhaps a result of treating the files like they were other cameras not specifically THIS camera.
Have we really zeroed in on the settings, and how to use software with this specific camera? I remember how intense it was when people explored custom profiles and such with the Leica DMR and M8 ... it was a ferocious learning curve that led to incredible results not readily apparent when the cameras were first launched.
Also, it may be we haven't pushed ourselves with the A900 yet ... some of the shots seem taken at inopportune times when the lighting itself is flat as a pancake. Are we A900ers a lazy lot? :ROTFL:
Are we patting each other on the back at every turn rather than challenging ourselves at this stage of the learning curve with a relatively new camera?
Well, there's the challenge to all of us ... flame away.
Your thoughts?
-Marc
(no, my name is not shyt head, or dork, or a-hole )
Complacency never leads anywhere, so ...
My question is ... are we really exploring the outer boundaries of what this fantastic camera can do? I ask this after spending the better part of an hour looking through the entire "fun with Sony" thread.
Frankly, I'm a tad bit unimpressed. And admit to no better results myself either ... so far.
For the most part the B&Ws are all flat looking and lack the deep velvet blacks that still show detail ... and over-all a lack of sparkle that is the Zeiss trademark. In general there seems a lack of depth and/or POP! Obviously, there are some exceptions, so I'm speaking in general and strictly as a matter of opinion. Yet, I look through some other "fun with" threads and it makes me wonder if we really are getting to the real abilities of this camera?
Now, separate content from the discussion since each of us have different approaches and subject matter we engage in shooting. However, to my eye some of the landscape shots lack dimensional dynamics that I've seen of the same subjects from other cameras, and is almost a default result from even the smallest MF Digital back. (Shots like "Ocean Beach" have preserved the atmosphere, etc., so not everything falls under the same category.) HDR shots look fake to me ... again, clinically clean but no dynamic depth that just sucks you into the scene. Jewelry shots look clinically informative but somewhat flat and uninspiring ... maybe that was the intent, but this is personal adornment folks not an engineering illustration or a lens test. I admit that my own efforts primarily in wedding photography are lacking ... so far. Lacking that special something I already get with other camera's with less lofty specs. It's getting better, so I know the camera can do it ... so it's me ... and how I'm using the A900. Perhaps a result of treating the files like they were other cameras not specifically THIS camera.
Have we really zeroed in on the settings, and how to use software with this specific camera? I remember how intense it was when people explored custom profiles and such with the Leica DMR and M8 ... it was a ferocious learning curve that led to incredible results not readily apparent when the cameras were first launched.
Also, it may be we haven't pushed ourselves with the A900 yet ... some of the shots seem taken at inopportune times when the lighting itself is flat as a pancake. Are we A900ers a lazy lot? :ROTFL:
Are we patting each other on the back at every turn rather than challenging ourselves at this stage of the learning curve with a relatively new camera?
Well, there's the challenge to all of us ... flame away.
Your thoughts?
-Marc
(no, my name is not shyt head, or dork, or a-hole )