Pixtus - Photography Forum, Photographers, Photo Tips

groovyone · 08-27-2009, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmora

yea but who would want to buy a sony.

Me. There will actually be 3 of us with A900s at the Galveston photo shoot this weekend.

Murph · 08-27-2009, 08:50 PM

Quite a few people apparently. I like what Sony is doing, even though I am a Nikonian.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmora

yea but who would want to buy a sony.

tc95 · 08-27-2009, 10:00 PM

I switched to Sony from Nikon about 8 months ago....

zebulus · 08-27-2009, 11:21 PM

I switched from Nikon to Sony and im loving every last minute of it.

Murph · 08-28-2009, 08:05 AM

While Sony does not have the lens line up that Nikon/Canon have, they are getting there, and you get to use all of the old superb Minolta lenses. Also the Carl Zeiss lenses are just world class glass. I just don't like the ergonomics and small, dim viewfinders on the lower end models. Although the add on grip looks intriguing, and ergonomic. IIRC someone posted that the battery life was less than optimal though on the early models of the A900, did they ever do a firmware/hardware fix for that?

KBerntsen · 10:25 AM

I've not had any complaints about battery life with my 900. I'll shoot all day with the 70-200 G SSM and won't have to change them out. But I will add to that that I'm using the VG which holds 2 batteries.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murph

While Sony does not have the lens line up that Nikon/Canon have, they are getting there, and you get to use all of the old superb Minolta lenses. Also the Carl Zeiss lenses are just world class glass. I just don't like the ergonomics and small, dim viewfinders on the lower end models. Although the add on grip looks intriguing, and ergonomic. IIRC someone posted that the battery life was less than optimal though on the early models of the A900, did they ever do a firmware/hardware fix for that?

KBerntsen added 3 Minutes and 22 Seconds later...Double Post Merged Below

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffkohn

I think it's great that Sony is getting competitive price-wise and putting some heat on Canon and Nikon.

But I have to wonder who the ideal user for this camera is. For serious tripod work, the lack of sensor-based LiveView is a fatal flaw in a camera like this. It's the only way to consistently get critically-sharp focus on a camera with such high resolution. And if you're not concerned with maximizing sharpness and resolution, 24mp is overkill.

What's puzzling is that there's no reason they couldn't have implemented sensor-based LiveView with this sensor. After all, Nikon did. But Sony has apparently decided that LiveView is just a toy gimmick to put in their low-end DLSR's for folks who want to shoot handheld with the camera at arm's length.

I'll expect the next round of the Advanced/Pro bodies to have the off the sensor LV like the A500 & 550 offer. But if I were going to do some landscape shots, which is what I'm assuming you're doing when you say tripod work, I'd get one of the M-type (super spherical acute matte) focusing screens.

jeffkohn · 08-28-2009, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KBerntsen

I'll expect the next round of the Advanced/Pro bodies to have the off the sensor LV like the A500 & 550 offer.

Off-sensor LiveView makes sense in the consumer DSLR's, for folks who want to be able to shoot at arm's length just like they did with their P&S cameras. It makes no sense in a high-end full frame DSLR IMHO. Which is probably why the a900 shipped without LiveView in the first place since that was the only form of LiveView Sony had until very recently.

Quote:

But if I were going to do some landscape shots, which is what I'm assuming you're doing when you say tripod work, I'd get one of the M-type (super spherical acute matte) focusing screens.

Yes, landscapes is primarily what I shoot; although any type of studio/commercial work where you're not shooting people would also apply. A focusing screen is still inferior to LiveView. I can zoom into 100% pixel levels to nail focus exactly, on any part of the image. I can also scan the entire frame checking focus/DOF. And I don't have to worry about any mirror/VF alignment issues. With LiveView what you see is what you get. And it's not just for MF lenses that it's useful; sensor-based/contrast AF is also more accurate than phase-detect AF.

groovyone · 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murph

While Sony does not have the lens line up that Nikon/Canon have, they are getting there, and you get to use all of the old superb Minolta lenses. Also the Carl Zeiss lenses are just world class glass. I just don't like the ergonomics and small, dim viewfinders on the lower end models. Although the add on grip looks intriguing, and ergonomic. IIRC someone posted that the battery life was less than optimal though on the early models of the A900, did they ever do a firmware/hardware fix for that?

No complaints on bettery life for me either. I think some people just got a bad run of batteries. Mine have worked great.

I completely agree on the lower end viewfinders. My A100 was pretty good, my A700 was better, and the A900 is amazing.

I MF my A900 quite often, especially when I use the 135mm STF since it is only MF, and I have been able to be surprisingly accurate with it thanks to the A900s viewfinder. I could see the advantage of LV for more precision, if it was done well and with a high res LCD, but the $2K A850 it is still a steal without it.

groovyone added 17 Minutes and 51 Seconds later...Double Post Merged Below

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...52921665970159

SHIPPING MONDAY!! A member of an A-mount forum ordered one and said it has already shipped.