Zeiss 24mm prime lens??!!!! Oh no! Now I dunno whether to get the 20mm prime or the Zeiss 24mm prime...

Sorry, been off the net for the CNY so missed all the excitement of the new announcements...

When you put your cam in M mode, the dial will set the aperture when you turn it. To set the shutter speed, you would need to press the AEL button and turn the dial (IINM - my a100 setting is like this. Dunno about the a380 though).

As for focussing you need to remember

1. All lenses have a MFD - minimum focussing distance. If object is too close to the lens, then it can't focus. You have to move back.

2. If there's not enough contrast on the object (e.g. blank wall or cloudless sky) then the AF would not be able to lock focus. You will need to use manual focus.

Wahlau eh! You think I got a money tree growing in my garden meh?

But have to see lar how much the Zeiss cost...

albnok : Ahahahaha! Yes, I am pretty familiar with the seduction of the Zeiss glass. Stung me hard when I first looked through the 135mm F1.8 waaaay back when I only had the A100.

Fortunately for me, time has diluted the poison by a lot. I am now pretty immune to the Zeiss' bite. Size and weight is one off-putting factor for me. That's why the 16-35mm and 135mm holds very little interest for me now. The 24-70mm has just a little tiny bite but if this 24mm prime is a stellar performer, the 24-70mm will be off the list.

The 85mm prime pops up occasionally on the back of my head but the price tag is a big hurdle.

If the price tag for the 24mm is lower than 3k (which is very unlikely) then the poison will be too much to resist. Till then I am safe from the Zeiss poison. Hehehehehehe...

Talking of which a 24mm Ziess coupled with a Sigma 50mm f1.4 is pretty tempting.... Ahhh... if only I had the money.....

The 28mm focal length is NOT WIDE when used on an APS-C body which is what the A3xx range of body is. Try turning your kitlens to 28mm and look through the viewfinder. Do you find that to be wide?

On an APS-C you would need somewhere around 16mm focal range to be considered wide. 18mm on your kitlens is acceptable as wide but I personally prefer the 16mm on APS-C.

You could try the 11-18mm for a UWA but that lens is not cheap. Wide angle and ultra wide angle lenses never come cheap.

In addition:

F58 can strobe while the F42 cannot
F58 can be used as a wireless commander on the A700/A850/A900 while the F42 cannot

The F42 and F58 has the same recharge time of 4 secs after firing it at full power. And to answer your question, the recharge time may differ using a F42 and F58 if:

The environment caused the F42 to fire at full power while the F58, with a higher GN, may not need to fire at full power to achieve the same exposure level.

Using the strobe function you can create an effect like multiple exposures in a single frame on a moving object. Granted that you may not have the need to do this much but the function is still there should you need it.

Ok guys... I need a favor. I just got a last minute Actual Day wedding gig. IT IS NOT CONFIRMED YET at this point but I may need at least one photog to tag along if this comes through.

So I am calling for a tentative tag along Actual Day wedding shoot:

Details:

Wedding is in PJ area.
Coverage needed for morning session only - 8am to around noon.
Date : 14/03/2010 Sunday
You will be tagging with the groom.

Money : Please take this as a no payment job first. I will try to nego for some token fees if possible.

Gears and experience needed:

1. Alpha body
2. Kitlens at least
3. External flash 100% required

Would be best if you've at least had some practical in shooting low-light indoors event.

PM me if you are interested. If you could provide a link to some of your shots, it would be great.

It's short notice and tentative at this point but I'm hoping some of you may wanna get some exposure and experience. Will let you all know by Thursday latest if it is on.

Moo : Probably not... but spell my nick properly lar....

wingster : Did you use flash? I noticed that the first pic seemed a little OOF.

Also, try to watch your WB. Pics seem a little too warm for my taste.

The second pic, I would have shot it from another angle. Maybe I would stand beside the huge spotlight and shot it from there. The first thing that caught my eye was the spotlight in the pic meaning it was kinda of a big distraction. Also having such a big bright spot in your frame is bound to cause your metering to go haywire.

I also am kinda vague on what you are trying to show in the third pic. The bulletin board? I can't seem to read any of them from this view. The 2 persons on the left? They seem to be engaged in a conversation and one of them has his back towards the cam. The hand jutting out from outside the frame with the paper bag is a real distraction. Your selective coloring has emphasized this distraction even more.

The fourth pic could have used a fill flash fired directly.

Just my 2 cents though.

albnok : Is that a new lens??!! Like never seen before....

If you're on APS-C then the Sony 50mm f1.8 wins hands down. The Minolta 50mm f1.7 is a full frame lens and the one thing that gets to me is it's rather long MFD. I do not know exactly the MFD but I do find myself having to back up to get things in focus sometimes.

IQ wise the Sony should be sharper and has better bokeh.

Survive??!! SURVIVE??!!!!!

You have the 70200/2.8 plus the 50/1.4 - you can shoot until the cows come home lor....

I have ONLY the 50/1.7 on my A850 and when I shoot weddings, I can say 70% of the shots come from the A850. The 50mm can take in small groups of up to 4 people and you go in close for portraits and candids. Great for isolating busy backgrounds and the large aperture is a dream to work with.

Of course a wide angle would round up most focal lengths and would be great to have but till then the 2 lens will get you through about almost anything.