clivengu: The 50mm on FF becomes a "normal" lens. Come for one of our TTs I'll show you!

The 50mm on APS-C becomes a short portrait lens.

tanjq87: Look directly at the A700 screen. Then tilt it slightly up or down. You might notice that it's a bit warmer straight on but when at a slight angle, that's the true color.

Yes, you might have to calibrate your LCD. Hmmm, perhaps we could have a TT with Azrul and his Spyder!

achew: Exactly, the 50mm on FF is for exactly that. Person and background. But at close range, rotate to portrait mode, and you have a portrait.

tanjq87: Yes, I find the slightly slanted angle shows exposure correctly.

By that you must bear in mind that most LCDs tend to blow out the gamma and make shadows a lot brighter than they should be. That's why, when you print it out, it becomes a lot darker (it's your LCD that's wrong.)

achew: There are a few ways;

The F20 can be used in bounce mode to trigger the F58 (should be enough, depending on your setup.)

The F20 and F58 in wireless commander mode, contribute a lot less light than the pop-up flash (tested at a recent TT). Previously, you'd have to use HSS to hide the effect of the pop-up flash.

SpOOkY: Depends if Nikon and Canon want to, but I doubt that they would. Unless Canon resurrects their 5D MkI for that price LOL. I'm guessing that Sony just got a massive order from Nikon for 24 megapixel sensors for their D700x... if the D700x is much cheaper than the D3x (and there's lots of room for any price) then the A900 might seem rather expensive. Instead of dropping price on the A900, why not a genuinely cheaper-to-make A850, while keeping the price of the A900?

tanjq87: I don't follow LCD technology so I really don't know which is the best. (Also explains why I do not have an LCD yet.) However I do know that higher contrast ratios are better so you get truer blacks.

So what's so great about the A850, or rather, full-frame?


Suddenly, all the lenses in the top shelf can be used. (Hmmm, the Carl Zeiss 16-35mm F2.8 SSM is missing from this...) This is the poisonous Studio Zaloon in Pudu Plaza.

The differences between the A900 and A850 are:
- the A900 has a 100% coverage viewfinder; the A850 has a 98% coverage viewfinder (both have 0.74x magnification)
- the A900 does 5 FPS or 3 FPS; the A850 only does 3 FPS
- the A900 has a shorter burst rate before slowing down, at 12 frames in RAW; the A850 does 16 frames in RAW
- the A900 comes with the RMT-DSLR1 infrared remote controller, the A850 does not
- the A850 is probably going to be priced very, very nicely, knowing Sony!

Everything else is the same! 24 megapixels in a 35.9mm x 24mm full-frame sensor, weight, size, button layout, DRO Level 5, Intelligent Preview, user-changeable viewfinder screens, FM500H battery usage, CF and MS card slots, it's all the same. There was another link where you could order service parts for the A850 - the only differences were the circuitboard and viewfinder assembly.

So, in theory, could you buy an A850 and upgrade the circuitboard and viewfinder assembly? Maybe!

What's the deal with a 100% viewfinder?

The benefit of a 100% viewfinder is that what you frame is what you get. While I have gotten into the habit of framing exactly, 98% is not a big loss and you can still crop unwanted edges out of a 24 megapixel file with minimal loss.

Full-frame digital SLR viewfinder coverage:

Canon 1DsMkIII = 0.76x * 100% = 76%
Sony A900 = 0.74x * 100% = 74%
Sony A850 = 0.74x * 98% = 72.52%
Nikon D3x = 0.7x * 100% = 70%
Canon 5DMkII = 0.71x * 98% = 69.58%
Nikon D700 = 0.72x * 95% = 68.4%

If you put one camera to each eye, you can see the difference in size quite obviously.

The Sony RMT-DSLR1 infrared remote controller is not so useful for studio work - you don't get MLU using the infrared remote.

Various methods to trigger the shutter while reducing vibration:

1) Drive mode set to 2 seconds + shutter release cable = mirror locks up, waits 2 seconds, fires shutter (best results)
2) Drive mode set to remote + infrared remote control (2 sec button) = wait 2 seconds, mirror locks up, fires shutter
3) Drive mode set to 10 seconds + press camera shutter = you press shutter, wait 10 seconds (for hand-induced vibrations to stop), mirror locks up, fires shutter

You can't use Drive mode in 2 seconds + infrared remote control, unfortunately. That's why I bought a shutter release cable and use situation #1.

It is also unfortunate that when the remote's 2 second button is used, there's no mirror lockup before waiting 2 seconds! I don't understand why it was programmed that way... if mirror lockup happened before waiting 2 seconds, it would be the best of both worlds.

I do hope that they improve high ISO performance in the A850, and bring those new methods as a firmware upgrade to the A900.

And back to the second part of my Sony HVL-F20AM report:

The... or rather, my primary use for this flash, is split into three categories:

1) casual events / parties

I will not bring any other flash, just camera, standard or wide zoom and F20. I'd use high ISO and bright apertures anyway to get the ambient light of the party in. It is likely I will use DIRECT flash and blend in plenty of ambient light to reduce the harshness. So, power is not an issue for me.

2) paid events / parties

If I am covering an event and I am paid to take photos, I am obviously not going to use the F20! The F58 is the man for the job.

3) paid shoots with off-camera flash

I probably won't use the F20 as a front light (my Strobist style rarely calls for dead-on front light.)

According to the math, though:

F20 = 20 meters at 50mm ISO100 F1.0

So at F5.6 ISO400, the range at full 1/1 power, direct, is 40 meters / F5.6 = 7.14 meters. When bounced we divide it by 2 and get 3.57 meters. I think that's far enough for me, but I am not afraid to use ISO1600 so I get my 7.14 meters range.

You can tell if the F20 fired full power; it does whirr like a F42. Used indoors you will never hear this happen.

Can the F20AM be used on an A200/A700 to trigger off-camera flashes?

Unfortunately, no. However the manual does say that it can be used on cameras without a built-in flash (which implies the A850 and A900.)

Does the F20AM in wireless controller mode, contribute light to the scene?

When using WL mode and not using shutter speeds faster than the flash sync speed of your Alpha body, the trigger flash signal will still appear in the picture (subject to subject distance, aperture and ISO.)

In order of weakest signal appearing in picture, to strongest:
1) F58 in CTRL+/CTRL1 mode with CTRL ratio set to "-" and flash zoom set to 24mm on A900
2) F58 in CTRL/CTRL2 mode with CTRL ratio set to "-" and flash zoom set to 24mm on A900 (pretty much a tie)
2) F20 set to DIRECT and WIDE
3) F20 set to DIRECT and TELE
4) pop-up flash of A700

Is the F58 or F20 more powerful as a wireless controller in bright daylight?

Casual testing method:

A300, A700 and A900, manual mode, multi-segment metering, 1/160s F22 ISO100. Experiment was conducted from 1200-1230 hours +800 GMT. Minolta 24-105mm F3.5-4.5(D) set at 105mm. F56 flash lying on ground set to 1/8 power, 85mm flash zoom, with full CTO applied to make it 3200K.

It was a sunny day, but unfortunately there were clouds continuously passing, so the meter would go from -2 to 0 EV but never brighter than 0 EV.

F20 set on DIRECT and TELE (50mm).

F58 set on CTRL/CTRL2 mode, ratio "-:1", 50mm zoom, 0 degrees yaw, 0 degrees roll (no rotation.)

I would attempt to shoot when the clouds went away, and the meter read "0". Neither the F20 nor F58 could trigger the F56 when the sun was this bright and shining directly on the F56's sensor.

When the meter dipped to -1 or darker, I could trigger the F56 using both the F20 and the F58.


This picture might give you a representation. It was shot when the meter read -1 EV.

So what was the maximum distance to trigger a F56, given that I have made it as challenging as possible?

- the F56 is weaker at detecting wireless flash signals compared to the F58 and F42
- the F56 is placed at a funny angle - I wouldn't expect the flash sensor to do so well with detecting signals from below!
- the F56 is 'contaminated' with infrared light from the sun (your off-camera flashes aren't usually lying down are they?)
- the brightest Sunny F16 light is on

Distances as read off the Minolta 24-105mm F3.5-4.5(D), not extremely precise given that there are no focus marks between 1.5 meters and 5 meters:
A300 pop-up - about 4 meters
A700 pop-up - about 4 meters
A900 + F20 - about 4 meters
A900 + F58 at 50mm - about 4 meters
A900 + F58 at 105mm - about 5 meters

Remember that you can shoot in bright sunlight and get better range than this because your off-camera flash won't be lying down. These numbers are the worst case scenario!

Your off-camera flash would probably have an umbrella to its own, and that would make it easier for it to detect the signal. When the sun moved a bit, the shadow of the tree actually moved over the F56 sensor, making it very easy to trigger at any distance! So I had to move the F56 flash back into the sunlight.

In short, the F20 is just as powerful as every other pop-up flash, but the F58 when zoomed to 105mm has the extra advantage.

This post has been edited by albnok: Aug 3 2009, 02:56 AM

Addendum to the sunny F20/F56/F58 trigger test:

I lay the F56 and F58 down on the ground, and did the same tests with the F20.

The F58 triggered easier at greater distances than the F56. This was especially so when coming from above (for bouncing the F58/F20 on the ceiling this would be relevant) and from the sides (the right side of the F56 is more sensitive, given that the F56 sensor is on the right... but triggering from the F56's left is pointless.) I guess it was easier when shooting from below, for the F56, but the F58 still won in range, about 1 meter more in range.

However, when I put both flashes upside down, standing on their heads, and fired directly, both had absolutely no problems triggering. How far, I don't know again, because my 24-105mm only marks 5 meters and the next mark is infinity!

These kind of tests are tiring, and might be best done in a controlled environment with hotlights where you can control the power. And probably with a lens that resolves more distances on the focus indicator. The Zeiss 135mm F1.8 comes to mind but that only goes to a precision of 3 meters, 7 meters and then infinity.

mcline_007: DUDE I am LOVING the colors man!

So you're secretly a talented photographer eh.

Melv, the Sony 70-400mm F4-5.6G SSM is selling in Malaysia.

achew: The 1D is an APS-H (1.3x crop) while the 1Ds is a full-frame (no crop).

Melv: Shoot at an aperture of F8-F11 in good light (faster shutter speeds of say 1/125s) with flash, or in bright daylight.

If you shoot with harsh light you will also get the appearance of sharpness.

If you put the Tamron 17-50mm on the A900 you will see a dark circle around the image at all focal lengths.

Alamak I won't be able to represent as far as the A900 or Dynax 7 is concerned; got other plans on Thursday.

mcline_007: No need lah I think they can demonstrate why 28mm is not very wide on APS-C.

nabelon: Thanks! LOL.

shootkk: The 20mm F2.8 has a filter thread of 72mm - that's the only downer for me. I would rather have the Minolta 24mm F2.8 or Minolta 28mm F2.0 (the 28mm F2.8 is so-so).

So a cheaper and very compact prime lineup would be:

A850
F20 flash
28mm F2.0
50mm F1.4
Jupiter-9 85mm F2.0 (M42)

Add a Takumar 17mm F4 pancake diagonal fisheye (M42) and you're set!

Braynumb: Sounds like your flash contacts are dirty. Scrub them, instructions here!

v1rtual: Niiice!

achew: Most 70-200mm F2.8 lenses will be 1.4 kg at least, and all have 77mm filter threads. Yes they are all big.

Interesting rant about bright LCD screens:

http://blog.shutterbug.com/davidbrooks/a_bridge_too_far/

SpOOkY: The Minolta Dynax 7 kinda has a distance meter when you press the DOF preview button, and tells you how much is in focus for your selected aperture.



Yes, this is the first FILM SLR I know with the LCD on the back instead of the top.

My Dynax 7's ADI pins melted already (due to a bad custom lens) so I can't show this anymore.

MechaHerc:

There was the Minolta Dynax 7 film SLR, followed by the Konica Minolta Dynax 7 Digital 6 megapixel digital SLR.

SpOOkY: It's the LCDs that are too bright and can't be tuned down due to the strong backlight. The CRTs are easier to correct.

I just realized that the reading doesn't say what the actual focus distance is; however it does say that there is 0.13m in front and 0.15m behind the focus point.

The screen on the right is the screen you see when you look at the back of the Dynax 7.

MechaHerc: All the Alpha mount digital SLRs (KM5D, KM7D, A100-A700) are APS-C except the A850 and A900.

All the Alpha mount film SLRs (Minolta Dynax/Maxxum/Alpha*) are full-frame. I've corrected Templar on this.

However, there were also half-frame film SLRs like the Olympus Pen F, and there was a film format with a smaller size called APS (Advanced Photo System). However that was expensive and didn't sell well.

*a Minolta 7 sold in the USA would be called a Minolta Maxxum 7, in Japan it's called the Minolta Alpha 7, and elsewhere, it's called the Minolta Dynax 7.

SpOOkY: Yes that is the link for the film 7.

Ksano: Yes, I strongly suggest you get the screen protector.

This post has been edited by albnok: Aug 6 2009, 02:13 PM

Ksano: The PCK-LH1AM is what you're looking for. Most dealers should stock it.

amadeo! Time to update the price list (with thanks to reference from wcs2798 also.)

Camera
---------
Sony A200 + 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 DT = RM15xx
Sony A200 + 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 DT + 75-300mm F4.5-5.6 = RM18xx
Sony A230 + 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 DT SAM = RM17xx
Sony A300 + 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 DT = RM18xx
Sony A300 + 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 DT + 55-200mm F4-5.6 DT = RM22xx
Sony A330 + 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 DT SAM = RM20xx
Sony A350 body only = RM20xx
Sony A350 + 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 DT = RM23xx
Sony A350 + 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 DT + 55-200mm F4-5.6 DT = RM26xx
Sony A700 + 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 DT = RM33xx
Sony A900 body only = RM73xx (Studio Zaloon)

Battery Grip
--------------
Sony VG-B30AM for A200/A300/A350 = RM6xx
Sony VG-C70AM battery grip for A700 = RM9xx
Sony VG-C90AM for A900 = RM9xx

Flash
------
Sony HVL-F20AM = RM4xx
Sony HVL-F36AM = RM8xx - Discontinued
Sony HVL-F42AM = RM7xx
Sony HVL-F56AM = RM11xx - Discontinued
Sony HVL-F58AM = RM11xx

Sony/Minolta Used Lenses
------------------------------
Minolta 28mm F2.8 = RM450-600
Minolta 35-70 F4 (mini beercan) = RM250-400
Minolta 50mm F1.4 = RM750-850
Minolta 50mm F1.7 = RM450-600
Sony 55-200mm F4-5.6 DT = RM450-550
Minolta 70-210mm F4 (beercan) = RM750-1100
Minolta 75-300mm F4.5-5.6 (big beercan) = RM1000-1500
Sony 75-300mm F4.5-5.6 = RM450-550

New APS-C / DT Crop Lenses
----------------------------

Sony 11-18mm F4.5-5.6 DT = RM20xx
Sony Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 16-80mm F3.5-4.5 DT ZA = RM25xx
Sony 16-105mm F3.5-5.6 DT = RM16xx
Sony 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DT = RM16xx
Sony 50mm F1.8 DT SAM = RM5xx
Sigma 50-150mm F2.8 EX DC HSM Macro = RM30xx

New Full-Frame Lenses
------------------------

Sony 16mm F2.8 Diagonal Fisheye = RM25xx
Sony 20mm F2.8 = RM19xx
Sony Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 16-35mm F2.8 SSM ZA = RM54xx
Sony Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 24-70mm F2.8 SSM ZA = RM54xx
Sony 24-105mm F3.5-4.5 = RM18xx
Sony 28mm F2.8 = RM8xx
Sony 35mm F1.4G = RM45xx
Sony 50mm F1.4 = RM10xx
Sony 50mm F2.8 Macro = RM14xx
Tamron 70-200mm F2.8 Macro = RM30xx
Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 EX DG HSM Macro = RM38xx
Sony 70-200mm F2.8G SSM = RM54xx
Sony 70-300mm F4.5-5.6G SSM = RM25xx
Sony 70-400mm F4-5.6G SSM = RM54xx
Sony Carl Zeiss Planar T* 85mm F1.4 ZA = RM50xx
Sony 100mm F2.8 Macro = RM23xx
Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 135mm F1.8 ZA = RM48xx
Sony 135mm F2.8/T4.5 Smooth Transition Focus = RM36xx
Sony 500mm F8.0 AF Reflex = RM25xx
Sony 300mm F2.8G SSM = RM20xxx
Sony 1.4x Teleconverter = RM15xx
Sony 2.0x Teleconverter = RM15xx

Actually, the Minolta 50mm F1.7's bokeh is not quite creamy compared to some other Minolta lenses.

There's the fantastic Minolta 135mm F2.8 - http://www.ewinee.com has some fine samples!

andymillenium:

If you chose ISO200 and the shadows need to be pulled up +3 EV, then you've made the shadows effectively ISO1600.

So, you need to put the camera on a tripod, shoot one exposure at 0, then another at EV +1, and another at EV +2, and another at EV +3, and combine those... that way you'll have clean shadows.

achew: Fantastic! It's a bit blueish in the shadows though.

MemorableStudios: Try to find the kindergarten logo on a wall somewhere and use that. Well I remember mine being that lah.

The real challenge is getting the kid to look at you. Kids are restless! Your crowd shot will be a nightmare so fire off a few burst shots.

chiggy: The closest I'd say are #3 and #10. The others have a very slight angle problem.

mcline_007: Nice #5, though if #7 had more of the statue in the background (notice they both have moustaches) that would be cool.

hokc77: Nice #1. I also like the processing in #2 though you might want to clone out the signboard in the background (as well as the tree behind it, unfortunately.)


Rafique Rashid!


If I remember correctly, 2500K G9 in the very warm Groove Junction.

This post has been edited by albnok: Aug 9 2009, 05:50 PM