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Fun With Sony Cameras

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serhan

New member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Here is my lion shots:)

Contarex CZ 25mm 2.8 distagon


Contarex CZ 50mm f2 planar


Contarex CZ 85mm f2 sonnar


The close mfd on these lenses is very nice, but 50mm & 85mm needed CLA, not bad 50 year lenses...

Finally Spring is here, w/ 100 ZF Makro
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Many who do zoo photography on a regular basis seem to go to great lengths to hide the "zoo-ness," as if the animals they're shooting aren't in small cages. Personally, I don't get it.
Poor man's safari... I guess. I've been fortunate enough to experience and take pictures at both.
 

Ron Pfister

Member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

I think zoo photography is an excellent way to prepare for a safari, but it can also be very rewarding in its own right. I particularly enjoy slightly abstract zoophotography (i.e. photography of animals). The image of the pelican above is an example. This can be done wherever animals can be found, and the closer you can get to them, the better...
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

I think zoo photography is an excellent way to prepare for a safari, but it can also be very rewarding in its own right. I particularly enjoy slightly abstract zoophotography (i.e. photography of animals). The image of the pelican above is an example. This can be done wherever animals can be found, and the closer you can get to them, the better...
I agree and in essence that's what I sort of did in preparation for my Safari last summer. Some zoo's do "behind the scenes" tours at a much higher rate. If you live near a zoo that does it's usually a good idea to try it out. Depending on the time of day that you go feeding the animals is sometimes allowed (with zoo handlers monitoring of course) and you are allowed inside some enclosures (usually the animals that aren't normally/naturally as aggressive.)
 

Barry Haines

Active member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

We only have stuffed Lions here in Cornwall to practice on...do they count? :LOL:




_____________________________________________________

Re-visitation of Colliford Lake...16-35mm instead of the WATE.
I absolutely detest using a tripod nowadays but no other choice with the 10 stop ND filter if you wish to blur the water and clouds.
B+W 110M ND Filter 10sec / F8 with 3 layer tone mapping + Some pseudo halation glow filtration thrown into the mix.





LARGER


PS. Werner do you have a LR profile for the not so “Neutral” 10 stop filter?...Cheers Barry
 

frozenbb

Member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

No zoos here either, though we do have an excellent aquarium. I know zoos are sort of antiquated institutions, but I must admit that I still enjoy them, with or without a camera.
 

Ron Pfister

Member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

I enjoy them, too, but I'm not sure you can call zoos antiquated institutions these days. Most of them have dramatically enlarged enclosures, have otherwise improved husbandry, and are active in a wide variety of breeding programmes geared towards the conservation of endangered and threatenes species. I'm sure an animal in the wild is happier, but their counterparts in zoos live a much better life these days than they did not so many decades ago.
 

dandrewk

New member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Wild Animal Park near San Diego is a must.

Be sure to bring the longest lens you can, and IBIS is a very useful feature.
 

frozenbb

Member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

I enjoy them, too, but I'm not sure you can call zoos antiquated institutions these days. Most of them have dramatically enlarged enclosures, have otherwise improved husbandry, and are active in a wide variety of breeding programmes geared towards the conservation of endangered and threatenes species. I'm sure an animal in the wild is happier, but their counterparts in zoos live a much better life these days than they did not so many decades ago.
Points well taken. Agreed! Here's my contribution to abstract avian zoo photography.

Welcome to the Alien Aviary.

 

pegelli

Well-known member
Re: Fun With Sony _____

Two more from visiting the big lock in the Antwerp harbour

A looooong row of big sand carriers standing in the lock

NEX5 + E10-18/4

A loooong row of people on the ramp going in and out of the lock

NEX6 + MC Rokkor 58/1.4
 

W.Utsch

Member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

PS. Werner do you have a LR profile for the not so “Neutral” 10 stop filter?...Cheers Barry
Barry,

yes i made one with color checker and x-rite, but i don't use it much.

I think you can remove the colorcast with white balance sliders quite good.

I prefer the more warm cast of the BW to the cold blue cast of the Lee....
There is no 1000x ND filter with no cast.

At 16mm with the 16-35 and the BW110 ( i have a 77mm and step-down ring) i get very strong vignetting in the corners otherwise the combo is perfect.

I like the BW filters because they are not bulky compared to the Lee System.

In sunny conditions or at sunset with strong backlight the 110 is not enough....

My best Regards

Werner
 

biglouis

Well-known member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Damn. Keep seeing these 16-35 shots and telling myself I don't want one. I am thinking of upgrading my 15/4.5 to the Mk III version which is half the cost of the 16-35 but on the other hand...
 

Viramati

Member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Damn. Keep seeing these 16-35 shots and telling myself I don't want one. I am thinking of upgrading my 15/4.5 to the Mk III version which is half the cost of the 16-35 but on the other hand...

It is indeed a good lens and you get the benefit of OSS if the light get low. On the other hand after years of Leica primes I still find it hard to be really comfortable with a zoom lens mostly because of their size. As a one lens option for landscape and city work where you don't need a fast aperture it really excels. All this said as yet I can't bring myself to sell my WATE which is now getting a lot less use.
 

Barry Haines

Active member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Barry,

yes i made one with color checker and x-rite, but i don't use it much.

I think you can remove the colorcast with white balance sliders quite good.

I prefer the more warm cast of the BW to the cold blue cast of the Lee....
There is no 1000x ND filter with no cast.

At 16mm with the 16-35 and the BW110 ( i have a 77mm and step-down ring) i get very strong vignetting in the corners otherwise the combo is perfect.

I like the BW filters because they are not bulky compared to the Lee System.

In sunny conditions or at sunset with strong backlight the 110 is not enough....

My best Regards

Werner
Re: B+W 10 stop ND's. Thank you Werner, always a full informative answer my friend...I have tried the WhiBal method in the past and wasn’t entirely happy...I will see if I can tweak it a bit better with the CB sliders as you say.

Likewise I used to use the Lee filter system with ND Grads + LF 5”x4” (Film days) etc...I was only too glad to dispense with it when digital came along, it was much bulkier and slower to use.

I now have 3 of these filters (B+W MRC 1000x ND - 72mm, 67mm and 52mm) + A few step up rings for the lesser used lenses.

The colour cast with the WATE on the A7R + The cast from the 1000x ND filter were pretty impossible to neutralize...Out of pure frustration I just ended up doing black & white!
The final straw for me was the WATE’s even stronger vignetting + That awful Leica WATE filter holder which only ended up making matters worse. I now much prefer using the 16-35mm lens with the A7R + 10 stop ND’s.

I’m now thinking that if Sony decides to battle Canon’s 50mp camera with a possible 50mp rumoured A9/A7RII camera, then the colour cast corners are going to be even more evident, just like they were when the Nex-7 (24mp) came along over the Nex-5N (16mp)...Personally I just hope they stick with 36mp’s and concentrate the batteries power to improving ISO noise, DR, FPS and bit processing of raw files.

A9/A7RII used in conjunction with the 35mm FE Distagons heavy wide open vignetting I might just end sticking with the lighter manual focus Voigtlander 35mm F1.2 II (which doesn’t vignette to badly wide open) as I’m more interested in updating my camera than necessarily the 35mm lens.

_______________

Ron and Tom...Great wildlife shots :thumbup:
Not so keen on zoos if I’m being honest :thumbdown: but as you say Ron a lot has changed for the better with most of them, just unfortunately not all of them!

_______________

Edit: Louis, loved the CV15mm (Mk1 & 2) in the past on film and APS-C it's obviously much improved for the Sony 7 series nowadays in a Mk3 form...but it has grown in weight and size and is no longer that lens that took up no space in your camera bag where the 16-35mm is even bigger and heavier (and obviously not a 15mm FL) but the benefits IMHO outweigh the negatives and make that a much more appealing lens to take out for the day, especially if you leave behind your CV21mm and you want to walk around the streets of London not having to keep switching lenses...Just my 2 pence worth.

Cheers Barry
 
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Ron Pfister

Member
Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Most intriguing - thanks for sharing this, Werner! I've always liked the drop-in filters of super-teles. Handling is easier, too, because the filter is near the lens mount and not an arm's length or so away. I wonder about the quality of the adaptor itself...

Edit: what I would really like is an adaptor with a built-in rotating tripod collar. Combining this with a filter holder would be fab!
 
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