Nikon, Sony, and Canon users should be happy these days since there are so many models to choose from. Canon was very smart when producing two adapters that are fully compatible with older Canon lenses, plus lenses from other manufactures with mounts for Canon. My youngest son uses Nikon cameras, and he is quite happy with what Nikon has to offer these days.
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Olympics camera collections.
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mollyc
macrumors G3
do you find you miss a lot of shots with your current gear?
Clix Pix
macrumors Core
?? Not any more than I did with my previous gear...... Especially when shooting wildlife/birds, living creatures which are unpredictable, it is a different situation than shooting under more controlled circumstances.
Clix Pix
macrumors Core
Still trying to justify it to myself that I "need" it because it would be the fastest lens I'd own..... but first I need to get my hands on Sony's Alpha 1! THEN I'll address the temptation to buy their new 50mm f/1.2.
Clix Pix
macrumors Core
To clarify something for anyone who may be wondering if I am harboring illusions that buying "x" new camera body or "x" new lens is suddenly going to make me a fantastic, prize-winning photographer on the cover of magazines with my images hanging on gallery walls and in museums -- I know that of course it won't. LOL! I don't care about that kind of thing. That's not why I shoot in the first place, not my primary focus in taking photos. That said, buying good gear certainly doesn't hurt, but the person handling the gear also is the one responsible overall for whatever the end results are. I've seen gorgeous, amazing photos shot by skillful photographers using all kinds of gear and I've seen lousy photos shot by photographers using top-of-the-line "flagship" gear. The gear can help in getting nice results but it is not the end-all-and-be-all.
Clix Pix
macrumors Core
Naw, I'm doing one thing at a time, and my primary goal right now is to eventually get my hands on an A1..... Then I'll have fun playing with it and my current lenses, and after a while decide if I really do want to add the 50mm f/1.2 to the family.
Darmok N Jalad
macrumors 603
Call me old-fashioned, but I "enjoy the hunt" when it comes to wildlife photography. If I miss, I miss. That just makes the winners more rewarding. I guess that's why I like golf, too. A lot of bad with a little bit of good thrown in there! 😀
Clix Pix
macrumors Core
You make a good point, Molly, that one should build one's gear collection with the tools which will best serve the purpose and fill in any gaps. That is why a few months ago I finally bought a wide-angle lens because that was a significant gap in my lenses, limiting my ability to shoot certain kinds of images. I've been enjoying working with that lens and learning from it! Definitely a different approach than shooting with a telephoto or macro lens.
As for the camera body and the desire to purchase a Sony A1, there is again a reason for this: the A1 brings together two functions and features of two of Sony's other notable camera bodies, the A7R IV (notable for its ability to capture resolution and detail) and the A9 or A9 II (notable for the ability to capture quick action, high "burst" speed without intermittent black-out). Wildlife photographers also often have to crop, though, due to the fact that their subjects don't always obligingly pose in just the right environment and the 24MP sensor on the A9 and A9 II can be somewhat marginal when there is a need to crop. With the A7R IV, croppability is out the wazoo, it's fantastic -- but the price to be paid is that in shooting rapidly trying to capture an animal or bird in fast movement, sometimes that 61MP and its fps can be a bit too problematic (along with pushing the ISO to its limits as well) and shooting with the camera set at Continuous High + still may not get exactly what the photographer had been hoping to capture. Sony's answer to this? The A1 has now come along to more-or-less serve as a one-camera-solves-both-situations. From what I've seen from users this has indeed proven to be a successful approach.
Prior to the announcement of the A9 II I had vaguely begun to think that probably an A9 would be a nice complement to my A7R IV. Still, justifying the expense of either an A9 or A9 II was a bit of a sticking-point and I continued to waffle about it. Then along came the announcement of the Alpha 1. Bingo!!! Sounded exactly like what would work for me. I could go out on an excursion and shoot something which benefits from a fair amount of resolution and then quickly fire off some shots at Alfred or another bird rising into the air and have hopes of getting a few good results from that as well..... Decent burst speed plus decent resolution, what more could one ask for? I didn't preorder, just waited to see what actual users, not just professional reviewers, would have to say, and so far they've all been loving this camera body. Well, until I actually have one in my hands and using it with my own lenses in the kinds of situations in which I frequently shoot, I won't know the answer to this for sure. What I DO know, though, is that my beloved A7R IV isn't going anywhere, as that camera body is a jewel when it comes to working with images which benefit from high resolution.
Someone who actually has a Sony A1 now can probably speak much more to the benefits it has to offer than I can, but everything I have seen, heard and read about it makes this seem like a good choice for my next camera body.
As for the camera body and the desire to purchase a Sony A1, there is again a reason for this: the A1 brings together two functions and features of two of Sony's other notable camera bodies, the A7R IV (notable for its ability to capture resolution and detail) and the A9 or A9 II (notable for the ability to capture quick action, high "burst" speed without intermittent black-out). Wildlife photographers also often have to crop, though, due to the fact that their subjects don't always obligingly pose in just the right environment and the 24MP sensor on the A9 and A9 II can be somewhat marginal when there is a need to crop. With the A7R IV, croppability is out the wazoo, it's fantastic -- but the price to be paid is that in shooting rapidly trying to capture an animal or bird in fast movement, sometimes that 61MP and its fps can be a bit too problematic (along with pushing the ISO to its limits as well) and shooting with the camera set at Continuous High + still may not get exactly what the photographer had been hoping to capture. Sony's answer to this? The A1 has now come along to more-or-less serve as a one-camera-solves-both-situations. From what I've seen from users this has indeed proven to be a successful approach.
Prior to the announcement of the A9 II I had vaguely begun to think that probably an A9 would be a nice complement to my A7R IV. Still, justifying the expense of either an A9 or A9 II was a bit of a sticking-point and I continued to waffle about it. Then along came the announcement of the Alpha 1. Bingo!!! Sounded exactly like what would work for me. I could go out on an excursion and shoot something which benefits from a fair amount of resolution and then quickly fire off some shots at Alfred or another bird rising into the air and have hopes of getting a few good results from that as well..... Decent burst speed plus decent resolution, what more could one ask for? I didn't preorder, just waited to see what actual users, not just professional reviewers, would have to say, and so far they've all been loving this camera body. Well, until I actually have one in my hands and using it with my own lenses in the kinds of situations in which I frequently shoot, I won't know the answer to this for sure. What I DO know, though, is that my beloved A7R IV isn't going anywhere, as that camera body is a jewel when it comes to working with images which benefit from high resolution.
Someone who actually has a Sony A1 now can probably speak much more to the benefits it has to offer than I can, but everything I have seen, heard and read about it makes this seem like a good choice for my next camera body.
There is another way to offset the advantage the A1 has over the 24MP sensor of the A9 II relating to cropping only, and that is as follows: use longer lenses on the A9, specially ones with wide apertures. These lenses are a lot more expensive, but with apertures of at least f/4 you still can double the focal length using a 2x extender-if needed. Also, most of the money will be spent on lenses, as long as you want the best. The body loses a lot of its value a year or two later when the need model arrives, but the price of the lens remains constant.
Even with the A1, Sony still has to nail-down the eye focus and tracking on both video and still photos, and I am certain that Sony will solve that issue very soon.
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That said, I seldom use the fastest electronic burst mode of my R6, because it takes hours and hours in front of a screen to view so many images. But then...I am not a professional photographers taking pictures of small and very fast birds in flight 🙂 Instead I use the mechanical shutter at medium speed, and sometimes at 12 fps. How fast are the burst modes of the A9 II? And how good is eye focus/tracking?
And guess what? So that you know, I do dream of the 45MP sensor on the Canon R5 sometimes.
Even with the A1, Sony still has to nail-down the eye focus and tracking on both video and still photos, and I am certain that Sony will solve that issue very soon.
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That said, I seldom use the fastest electronic burst mode of my R6, because it takes hours and hours in front of a screen to view so many images. But then...I am not a professional photographers taking pictures of small and very fast birds in flight 🙂 Instead I use the mechanical shutter at medium speed, and sometimes at 12 fps. How fast are the burst modes of the A9 II? And how good is eye focus/tracking?
And guess what? So that you know, I do dream of the 45MP sensor on the Canon R5 sometimes.
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Clix Pix
macrumors Core
Well, yes, if I had the financial resources to pick up a Sony 400mm f/2.8 and a 600mm f/2.8, I would have done that..... And, yes, using one of those lenses on the A9 or A9 II body and with a 2x TC one can obtain fantastic results, as I've seen on images from others who have those lenses and either the A9/A9 II or the new A1. I wouldn't use a 2x TC on my 100-400mm or my 200-600mm lenses but, both work fairly well with a 1.4x TC. A prime lens with fixed aperture throughout the focal length range does make a difference. I saw that years ago with my Nikon 300mm f/2.8 and both a 1.4x TC and a 2x TC. You're preaching to the choir here! Thing is, I do have my financial and practical limits and plonking down upwards of $12,000 for a lens is where I draw the line.... I am not a professional, nor do I aspire to become one, I just enjoy shooting what I can with the gear that I choose and can afford.
Have you actually ever used a Sony camera body and lens(es)? What makes you so certain that "Sony still has to nail down the eye focus and tracking on both video and still photos..." ??
As for how fast the burst modes are on the A9 or A9 II, I don't know off the top of my head, nor would I presume to speak about the eye focus/tracking on them, since I have not used either of those camera bodies.
It requires more computer power, and faster plus larger hard drives and SSD's. But the advantage of the 45-50MP and larger sensors in relation to image cropping over a 25MP sensor is that you can crop an image by half its size, and still have a 25MP image left. But if you don't crop by much, or just use longer/faster lenses, it should not be an issue.
My R6 is as fast as the R5, but it has a 20MP sensor instead to eh 45MP sensor of the R5. In most respects, it is like having a R5 with a smaller sensor, plus missing the top screen. That little screen is very useful, but not a big deal to me. The R5 costs twice as much as the R6, thus my reason for buying the latter. So far I haven't had the need for longer than 400mm lenses, but I decided to my a new lens for the new camera (RF 100-500mm), and a 1.x TC for it to stretch the distance. I am still using two old Canon cameras (cropped-sensor and a FF), plus all the older lenses "adapted" to the new camera.
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It is all explained in the video I posted above (FF to Focusing, about 11.26 on the video). It is a very long video, but the host is very unbiased about camera models and brands. The A1 has a burst mode of 36 fps versus 20 fps on the R5 (much faster than the R5). I read the specs of the A9 II, and the burst mode of 20 fps is amazing by itself.
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kenoh
macrumors 604
You don’t need an A1. Your gear is plenty good enough just practice with it and use the extortionate money for an A1 on faster glass. The A1 won’t help you predict movement better, only practice and observation will do that. When your subject moves out of frame in a blink of an eye, no amount of tracking focus voodoo will help.
mollyc
macrumors G3
Yes, I understand the concept of being able to crop heavily in post. I just question the logic in that. Why would someone (and this is honestly meant generically, not directed to anyone on this thread) spend $7,000 on a camera to shoot 50mp images, then crop out half of them? And then what do you do with your resulting 25mp image? Resize it to 2000px to post on the internet?? How many hobbyists are making large scale prints from full 50mp cameras? Hell, how many hobbyists are making large scale prints from 24mp cameras?
There are certainly genres that benefit from larger MP cameras: commercial, wedding (whose goal is to sell wall prints), sports shot from a specific distance....maybe photojournalism where you might need to crop in post, but then that can get to the ethical gray area of post processing, which is a different issue.
Someone on this board recently bought a $12k lens as a hobbyist. (Dockland maybe?) To me, that seems like a better use of fun money because it changes the game of what you can shoot. It changes reach, bokeh, quality of glass. A $7k body is going to be outdated in five years; that lens will retain a lot of its value.
This is all semantics, and as I said before, I don't begrudge anyone buying new gear. 🙂 Who doesn't like new gear? And if a new body is going to make someone giddy and they can afford it, then have at it. I'm sure people would question lots of my own purchases if I talked about them all the time on the internet. But personally having shot, what at the time was one of the highest MP cameras available, I didn't find it was all that it was hyped to be, but that is my own time and value placed on that scenario. Everyone comes from a different spot.
It's a good thing we have so many choices so we can decide what is best for each of us. 🙂
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r.harris1
macrumors 68020
If not much, much sooner 🙂 . It might take me 5 years to fully get the hang of any body. I'm still trying to master my d850 and several older outdated bodies - much older in one case. I sure am gonna have my eye on that Z9 though 😎.
Your point on lenses is great, of course. I have a very old Nikon manual focus 500mm lens that is excellent and I can sell it today for only slightly less than what I paid for it 7 years ago.
Here's one of my old favorites from that lens. It's great at isolating subjects. Taken on my beloved Nikon d300s, which, by the way, I never mastered.
American Avocet by Ray Harrison, on Flickr
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Very nice. I think you mastered that D300. I had that camera as well.If not much, much sooner 🙂 . It might take me 5 years to fully get the hang of any body. I'm still trying to master my d850 and several older outdated bodies - much older in one case. I sure am gonna have my eye on that Z9 though 😎.
Your point on lenses is great, of course. I have a very old Nikon manual focus 500mm lens that is excellent and I can sell it today for only slightly less than what I paid for it 7 years ago.
Here's one of my old favorites from that lens. It's great at isolating subjects. Taken on my beloved Nikon d300s, which, by the way, I never mastered.
Darmok N Jalad
macrumors 603
I think things won’t be getting dated as fast, TBH. What we have now and what we had for quite a few years have so much more power, DR, AF speed, etc than early digital. Yes, it all keeps getting better, but it’s only in really specific instances at this point.
In terms of cropping, yes, it offers more image to work with, but it won’t provide the DOF like more zoom would. There’s a smartphone out there with a 108MP sensor. It picks up detail from far away, but DOF is still wide, so shooting a bird at 50 feet might get you enough detail to crop, but the bird isn’t going to have any real separation from the background. It works, but it’s not going to provide the results you might be hoping for.
Just my 2 cents.
In terms of cropping, yes, it offers more image to work with, but it won’t provide the DOF like more zoom would. There’s a smartphone out there with a 108MP sensor. It picks up detail from far away, but DOF is still wide, so shooting a bird at 50 feet might get you enough detail to crop, but the bird isn’t going to have any real separation from the background. It works, but it’s not going to provide the results you might be hoping for.
Just my 2 cents.
Clix Pix
macrumors Core
Oh, I know I don't need an A1!!! I quite agree that it is rather clear that this is one of those situations where "want" seems to have the edge over "need." LOL! I agree that the price on that camera is definitely a bit steep -- whew! I would've been more comfortable had it been more in the $4000 range. Unlike the time nearly two years ago now when I made the switch between systems, since I am planning to keep the A7R IV as a second MILC body and of course the lenses I've thoughtfully added over the last two years, I don't have anything to trade in to help soften the financial blow of purchasing an A1.
As for those lenses, I've pretty much got most of what I initially started out planning to eventually obtain, and yes, I do have some fast glass already, but there's always room for more! I've been adding lenses as I've found a specific purpose for them, and kind of monitoring how often each lens has been receiving use. As for tracking focus and panning, I tend to do things the way that I learned lo these many, many moons ago, rather than depending upon the camera system to do it. That said, I definitely would at least try the function out a few times on the A1 anyway!
At the moment it all seems rather moot, as the A1 is definitely scarce right now, on back-order in most places, so in the meantime I shall indeed continue to happily enjoy my beloved A7R IV and the lenses I've chosen......
Clix Pix
macrumors Core
I had the D300, also -- a terrific camera and the one which I used for shooting eagles and other wildlife with a 300mm f/2.8 lens; they made a great combo. Ray, that shot of the American Avocet is a beauty! I never got to the point of purchasing a 500mm lens, as at that time they were quite heavy and large and I would've had difficulties handling it. Now Nikon has their PF lenses which are significantly lighter and easier to handle (albeit a slowish f/5.6); if I were still a Nikon user I'd definitely be interested!