• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

The Official Camera Equipment Megathread

Status
Not open for further replies.

Ty4on

Member
The A7 looks to be extremely cheap here right now, $1045 AUD with 28-70mm lense kit and metabones adapter. Anyone got any thoughts on the A7? I've read some negative opinions on the build quality and the shutter being loud, but that's about it.
The shutter isn't that loud thanks to an electronic first curtain shutter. I think the build quality issues were also exaggerated. It isn't water proof, but light leaks when you shoot a 30 second exposure of the sun at ISO 25600 doesn't seem like a huge issue in most cases.
 
And wow, I cannot state how incredible this is. Feels like I own a luxury car.

125s/800/1.4

iIrpmGz.jpg
 
Ordered my Canon 50mm 1.4 the other day... avoided Sigma in the end because the unreliability reports and claims of a lacklustre bokeh put me off...

Thanks to all that helped!
 

leng jai

Member
The shutter isn't that loud thanks to an electronic first curtain shutter. I think the build quality issues were also exaggerated. It isn't water proof, but light leaks when you shoot a 30 second exposure of the sun at ISO 25600 doesn't seem like a huge issue in most cases.

Sounds good. How scratch resistant is the metal/plastic casing? I've heard a few posts say it's very easy to scratch which would drive me crazy.

People clearing their A7 bodies now that the A7 II gets shipped everywhere. Good time to grab one "cheap".

Yeah, only one year ago the A7 was over $2000 here. I've never seen a camera drop in price so fast. Seems like an absolute steal.
 

Thraktor

Member
The A7 is a waste of time for me if I'm not ready to shell out for some expensive lenses at the moment, right?

That depends. Are you comfortable with manual focusing? If so there's a world of old film lenses you could use on it with adapters, many of which will give you fantastic shots for a fraction of the cost of their modern equivalent. Of course, you do have to give up the convenience of autofocus and full-auto exposure, so it really is an approach for people who like to do things the old-fashioned way.
 

hitsugi

Member
The A7 is a waste of time for me if I'm not ready to shell out for some expensive lenses at the moment, right?

I almost feel like any camera you can swap lenses with has this issue. You need to be prepared to drop $$ on lenses.

Thraktor is right in that there is a whole treasure trove of good old lenses you can use in manual for a fraction of the price, though.
 

leng jai

Member
That depends. Are you comfortable with manual focusing? If so there's a world of old film lenses you could use on it with adapters, many of which will give you fantastic shots for a fraction of the cost of their modern equivalent. Of course, you do have to give up the convenience of autofocus and full-auto exposure, so it really is an approach for people who like to do things the old-fashioned way.

I almost feel like any camera you can swap lenses with has this issue. You need to be prepared to drop $$ on lenses.

Thraktor is right in that there is a whole treasure trove of good old lenses you can use in manual for a fraction of the price, though.

I think I'm going to be lazy for now and just get the RX100 M3. That's plenty of camera for my skill level while being nice and compact. Fixed lens still looks like the way to go for me for another year at least.

$737 with 64GB SD card, screen protector and grip is s solid deal.
 
Just ordered a Sony a7 Mark II :X

Can't wait. It's backordered everywhere but I ordered from B&H. Hoping it comes in right after Christmas. I'm kicking myself as it was in stock late last night at like 3am and I could of had it before Christmas. UGH
 

Flo_Evans

Member
Jealous! I've got Sony fever. My cousin brought his a7r over to family Christmas. Had the adapter for the a-mount 24-70 2.8. I think he is defecting from canon lol. Said he was going to sell his 5d iii.
 

Radec

Member
Just ordered a Sony a7 Mark II :X

Can't wait. It's backordered everywhere but I ordered from B&H. Hoping it comes in right after Christmas. I'm kicking myself as it was in stock late last night at like 3am and I could of had it before Christmas. UGH

Get the Sonar FE 55 as well if you can :)
 

Aurongel

Member
I hope Sony releases the 7RII soon so the 7R reaches that sort of pricing.

Hmm, the A7R always struck me as a camera that was more targeted at studio photographers and landscape photographers who wouldn't benefit much from the addition of IBIS. I can't imagine there being a similar amount of demand for something like that but I'd love to see it anyway. The more pressure this puts on other camera manufacturers the better I say.
 
Hmm, the A7R always struck me as a camera that was more targeted at studio photographers and landscape photographers who wouldn't benefit much from the addition of IBIS. I can't imagine there being a similar amount of demand for something like that but I'd love to see it anyway. The more pressure this puts on other camera manufacturers the better I say.
I'm really not expecting IBIS from a new model. The "R" stands for resolution, so for a successor of this camera I would expect a new higher megapixel sensor and better ISO. I would also expect the same kind of improvements in auto-focus the A7II got, though.

You look forward to the day that you can pick up a Sony FF body cheaper than a FF lens?
I don't see why not. Having bodies cheaper than lenses isn't anything out of the ordinary, specially when talking about Sony. FE lenses can go from little over €200 to over €1200. Also, If the A7 can reach sub $1000/€1000 I don't see why the A7R can't at least get close to those prices.
 
Hey GAF, I'd finally like to grab an entry-mid level DSLR. I plan to shoot manual mostly, and my subjects will be pretty much everything (at both night and day). I'm trying to stay in the $600 range. I want to get the kit lens for whatever I go with, and I'm planning to add a telephoto and a couple prime lenses soon.

Currently I'm looking at the Nikon D3300 and Pentax K-50. I'm leaning towards the K-50 for the weather sealing, and the D3300 for the better video and higher resolution. Any recommendations?
 

RuGalz

Member
Hey GAF, I'd finally like to grab an entry-mid level DSLR. I plan to shoot manual mostly, and my subjects will be pretty much everything (at both night and day). I'm trying to stay in the $600 range. I want to get the kit lens for whatever I go with, and I'm planning to add a telephoto and a couple prime lenses soon.

Currently I'm looking at the Nikon D3300 and Pentax K-50. I'm leaning towards the K-50 for the weather sealing, and the D3300 for the better video and higher resolution. Any recommendations?

K50. Large collection of legacy, manual K mount lenses, has affordable (consumer grade) weather sealed lenses, focus peaking for manual focusing, has more mid to high end DSLR features, etc.
 

RayStorm

Member
I have come to enjoy the easy synchronization via OneDrive of my Lumia1020 Smartphone. If I wanted to have a similar thing (automatic upload to either a CloudService or my NAS of the pictures I take as soon as the camera is in range of either my WLAN or an Internet connection) with my Nikon D600 or a prospective Sony RX100M3, what would I have to do to make that happen?
 
K50. Large collection of legacy, manual K mount lenses, has affordable (consumer grade) weather sealed lenses, focus peaking for manual focusing, has more mid to high end DSLR features, etc.

Seems the kit lens on the K-50 doesn't allow manual focus.

Gotta find a cheap K mount to replace that...

EDIT: I think I read the description wrong. It doesn't allow the automatic switch between manual and auto.
 

Ty4on

Member
Seems the kit lens on the K-50 doesn't allow manual focus.

Gotta find a cheap K mount to replace that...

Of course it does. I assume you have to use the switch on the camera though because it is driven by the motor inside the camera. Screw drive focus is quite fast (and the Nikon 18-55 focuses kinda slow), but much noisier than the Nikon 18-55.

Pentax has the best body with weather sealing (note that it does not mean waterproof), dual dials (for manual mode, the Nikon isn't that bad when you get used to the fn and +/- buttons) and IBIS, but you take pictures with lenses so take a good look at the lens selection. Pentax has a smaller selection, especially if you're on a tight budget. If you like older lenses though that screw drive autofocus means every lens will autofocus while older Nikon lenses without AF-S in their name can only autofocus on higher end bodies (D7000/D7100 and every FX body). The downside is almost every Pentax autofocusing lens uses the screw drive (except when has SDM or DC in its name) and is noisy.
 
anybody ever own one of those fujifilm fixed lens medium format cameras? I'm thinking of getting one. cheaper than a mamiya 7ii. which one's the best?

I WANT A MAMIYA 7ii SO BADLY
 
I have come to enjoy the easy synchronization via OneDrive of my Lumia1020 Smartphone. If I wanted to have a similar thing (automatic upload to either a CloudService or my NAS of the pictures I take as soon as the camera is in range of either my WLAN or an Internet connection) with my Nikon D600 or a prospective Sony RX100M3, what would I have to do to make that happen?
I don't know about Nikon but most recent Sony cameras (including the RX100M3) have Wi-Fi, NFC and support apps. This means you can use the camera itself to upload photos to services like Flickr or send them automatically to your smartphone. I personally prefer sending them to my phone first because I'm not limited to a specific cloud storage.
 

RuGalz

Member
I have come to enjoy the easy synchronization via OneDrive of my Lumia1020 Smartphone. If I wanted to have a similar thing (automatic upload to either a CloudService or my NAS of the pictures I take as soon as the camera is in range of either my WLAN or an Internet connection) with my Nikon D600 or a prospective Sony RX100M3, what would I have to do to make that happen?

Eye-fi card is probably the closest that will automate the process when you are in wifi range. Of course it does mean either your camera has to be on or you plug the dongle into some powered USB source with your eye-fi card in it. YMMV in term of signal strength especially with DSLR. It does have some annoying quirks but usable I guess.

Grabbed the K-50.

congrats!
 

alterno69

Banned
I read a couple of D750 reviews a month ago and as a result, went a little crazy and decided to sell my Canon gear and make the switch to Nikon. I sold one of my two 5D bodies already and bought a D810 and a D750.

I havent tried the D810 fully yet but damn is it an amazing piece of gear, my 5D looks like a toy next to it, and the shutter sound, god it's so quiet and nice, love it.

My D750 and lenses should arrive early next week and i'll be able to fully test both cameras, i'll probably create a couple of videos with my impressions.


Edit: The D750 has wifi so you can send images to your phone straight from the camera.
 

Gila

Member
I read a couple of D750 reviews a month ago and as a result, went a little crazy and decided to sell my Canon gear and make the switch to Nikon. I sold one of my two 5D bodies already and bought a D810 and a D750.

I havent tried the D810 fully yet but damn is it an amazing piece of gear, my 5D looks like a toy next to it, and the shutter sound, god it's so quiet and nice, love it.

My D750 and lenses should arrive early next week and i'll be able to fully test both cameras, i'll probably create a couple of videos with my impressions.


Edit: The D750 has wifi so you can send images to your phone straight from the camera.

I was so tempted to get the D810 cause it was $2699 on Amazon

Post your impressions cause I'm on the fence between those two as well
 

teiresias

Member
I've got a $100 VISA gift card that I've no idea what to do with. I'm thinking of using it towards getting a Nikkor 50mm 1.8G to use with my D90. I can't justify going full-frame just yet (mainly because I'm wanting to buy a house this year), but I figure I can use this as a good portrait lens on the D90 in the meantime (I have a 35mm dx lens for my 50mm equivalent) and then have a good 50mm when I do go full-frame.

Sound reasonable?
 

Ty4on

Member
I've got a $100 VISA gift card that I've no idea what to do with. I'm thinking of using it towards getting a Nikkor 50mm 1.8G to use with my D90. I can't justify going full-frame just yet (mainly because I'm wanting to buy a house this year), but I figure I can use this as a good portrait lens on the D90 in the meantime (I have a 35mm dx lens for my 50mm equivalent) and then have a good 50mm when I do go full-frame.

Sound reasonable?

That 50 looks quite nice, it's actually better featured than the 1.4 :p
The 50mm D lens is cheaper, noisier and softer wide open, but similar when stopped down.
What FF camera are you planning on getting? I want an old FF camera (they're so much cheaper) and have been eying the D700 which had really good low light performance for the time.

If you can live with DX then the 40mm micro look like great value with CFC (floating elements) and good reviews. There is a more expensive 85mm micro which has internal focus and VR and various FX 60mm micros. If you lack a standard lens I've seen some talk about the 18-70mm f3.5-4.5 which lacks VR, but is very cheap used (~150USD at KEH) and is much better built than the 18-55 with full time manual focus, much faster internal focus with SWM and good optical performance. It does vignette more at 18mm though.
I'm just rambling about other Nikon lenses that are good value and not trying to turn you off the 50 BTW :p
 

teiresias

Member
That 50 looks quite nice, it's actually better featured than the 1.4 :p
The 50mm D lens is cheaper, noisier and softer wide open, but similar when stopped down.
What FF camera are you planning on getting? I want an old FF camera (they're so much cheaper) and have been eying the D700 which had really good low light performance for the time.

If you can live with DX then the 40mm micro look like great value with CFC (floating elements) and good reviews. There is a more expensive 85mm micro which has internal focus and VR and various FX 60mm micros. If you lack a standard lens I've seen some talk about the 18-70mm f3.5-4.5 which lacks VR, but is very cheap used (~150USD at KEH) and is much better built than the 18-55 with full time manual focus, much faster internal focus with SWM and good optical performance. It does vignette more at 18mm though.
I'm just rambling about other Nikon lenses that are good value and not trying to turn you off the 50 BTW :p

I know I want to go full frame at some point so I'd rather invest in FX glass from this point on. I like the new D750, as it feels great in hand (much more comfortable to grip than the 600 or 610 ever did when I tried them). I don't really want something the size of the D800 though.

Just playing around with the 750 the autofocus on that is like a quantum leap over my D90, aside from FX that's another reason I'd like to upgrade, I've never quite been comfortable with the autofocus on the D90 (I suppose it could have a problem but I've never quantified it with a test or sent it to Nikon for a calibration).

I have the DX 35mm 1.8 which is nice but always seems soft for me, so the reports of the 50mm being very sharp are appealing (though the 35mm softness could be my previously mentioned focus concerns).


Like I said though, I'll stick with my D90 right now though at least another year.
 

Ty4on

Member
Just playing around with the 750 the autofocus on that is like a quantum leap over my D90, aside from FX that's another reason I'd like to upgrade, I've never quite been comfortable with the autofocus on the D90 (I suppose it could have a problem but I've never quantified it with a test or sent it to Nikon for a calibration).

You can print simple charts that can tell you if a combination front/back focuses. They can sadly be random issues because AF systems are designed for speed.
8464399899_65305a800b.jpg
 

teiresias

Member
You can print simple charts that can tell you if a combination front/back focuses. They can sadly be random issues because AF systems are designed for speed.
8464399899_65305a800b.jpg

Oh I know that, I just have such little time to grab my camera at all right now that the last thing I want to do when I have time is spend it doing focusing tests, lol.
 

leng jai

Member
So I'm well and truly on the Oly E-M1 bandwagon now. Been reading back in this thread and there doesn't seem to be that much enthusiasm for Olympus cameras in general. The reviews have been ridiculously good for it especially when paired with the 12-40mm Pro lens. I passed on the A7 due to limited (and expensive lens) selection and the fact that I probably wouldn't be shooting in RAW anytime soon. The Oly looks to be a good compromise of size, IQ and versatility.

I can get the E-M1 with 12-40mm Pro lens kit for $1373 and I'm pretty close to pulling the trigger. Seems like that combo would be a great starting point for general use.
 

Ty4on

Member
I think I'm close to pulling the trigger. on the E-M1 12-40mm Zuiko kit. Anyone care to persuade me otherwise?
If you like shallow DoF then it will be a bit dissapointing. A theoretical 24-80mm f5.6 on a FF camera and a theoretical 16-55mm f4* on an APS-C camera would both have the same DoF as that lens wide open. ISO performance will also be noticable worse, but outside of action you can take advantage of the IBIS and modern sensors still do really great for most people.
*16-53mm f3.7 for APS-C, close enough :p

I'm not that good with mirrorless systems, but the basics I know is that MFT has the smallest sensor, but biggest lens lineup. Fuji has been praised for its JPEG processing, but the lenses are really expensive. Sony has a lot more bargains and a bigger lineup than Fuji, but they don't have many premium lenses for APS-C.
Mirrorless Nikon and Canon both suck.

My recommendation as always is to find lenses (and eventually bodies) you want and make your decision upon that. If you want multiple lenses that is likely where most of your money will go. If you're not planning on any other lenses in the near future then the 12-40mm looks decent with good reviews.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom