ahpingko: Sounds like your shutter speed was slow in the 1st attempt and so there was more ambient light than flash light. So the effect of the flash is little.

When using shutter speeds faster than 1/160s on the A550, the flash goes into High Speed Sync mode. This will take up a lot of power. If you try 1/4000s the power will be even less.

You can change your A550's EV and it will effect the flash. I suggest trying 1/160s F1.8 ISO200 EV -2, and bouncing.

What the heck man, the Samyang 35mm F1.4 UMC in A-mount is 111mm long!

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1009/10091610samsyng35mm1p4.asp

Fortunately the MFD is 30cm like all other 35mm F1.4 lenses.

Minolta/Sony 35mm F1.4G - 55mm filter thread, 510 grams, 30cm MFD, 1:5x maximum magnification, 76mm long
Canon 35mm F1.4L USM - 72mm filter thread, 580 grams, 30cm MFD, 1:5.5x maximum magnification, 86mm long
Nikkor AF-S 35mm F1.4G SWM - 67mm filter thread, 600 grams, 30cm MFD, 1:5x maximum magnification, 89.5mm long
Samyang 35mm F1.4 UMC - 77mm filter thread, weight N/A, 30cm MFD, maximum magnification N/A, 111mm long (Alpha mount)

To give you an idea of how long 111mm is - the Carl Zeiss 24-70mm F2.8 SSM is 111mm long, and the Carl Zeiss 135mm F1.8 is 115mm long!

ahpingko: So you can try 1/200s ISO1600 F1.8. You can leave it in Auto for daylight as it needs to pick a fast-enough shutter speed to avoid overexposing the background.

mastering89: Yeah I hope so too!

The Sigma 85mm F1.4 EX DG HSM is RM4xxx. Madness!

ahpingko: The MSPD was probably pirated. My WX-1 and NEX-5 both say the same thing on an MSPD that works perfectly on my A700 and A900 (because Sony didn't make a big issue about it then I guess.)

You know lah if properly exposed, an ISO1600 shot can be very clean also.

5564321: I wrote a tutorial way back to restore tones in blown colors:

http://www.glaringnotebook.com/default.asp?id=1313

ReasonsofThanatos: It has not been launched yet, but that doesn't mean it will never be launched - the A380 and A500 made it here after all even though they were not supposed to be.

clivengu: Not that hard honestly. The Samyang 35mm F1.4 UMC is a FF lens. Same goes for the 14mm F2.8 and 85mm F1.4, while the 8mm F3.5 diagonal fisheye is APS-C only.

And to think, I used to think the Minolta 35mm F1.4G was a heavy lens, and it was front-heavy (it's fairly long for a prime.)

yuhi: Clean your A350's flash contacts with a blue ink eraser. Turn off and turn on camera and flash. It should be in sync.

evilhomura89: Yep!

mastering89: The Sony Carl Zeiss Planar T* 85mm F1.4 ZA is about RM4900 street price. The Sigma is still cheaper but we have yet to see how its optical performance will be.

If it's great wide open, it will be worth it for HSM alone.

The Sigma 85mm F1.4 was not in stock yet so I didn't get to try it, even on another mount.

fansoption: It looks DIY lah.

You can find some brackets at Digicolor, Mutiara Complex, 4th Mile of Jalan Ipoh.

You can find the flash extender cable at Studio Zaloon, Pudu Plaza.

The A580 will be coming to Malaysia in October 2010. Just in time to be tried against the A55. The A33 and SEL18200 are already in Sony Style outlets.

Deerc: Handheld Twilight is a lot cleaner than if you set ISO manually. If you insist on using a lower ISO then use 7 FPS drive mode instead.

Reasonsofthanatos, did you miss this posting? I called the Alpha product manager to confirm this. The A560 will be delayed but the A580 will be coming soon.

---

Added on September 18, 2010, 1:32 amfansoption: A55 is coming in October 2010.

zeipher: Yes contrast/saturation/sharpness.

eddybeh: Have you the EVF on the A33?

d4rkholeang3l: Put your F42 and 360 bounce card on the floor, pointing up. Trigger it wirelessly.

Observe how much light goes in front, and how much goes behind the flash. Take a picture of it and show us.

The Gary Fong Lightsphere is a major light sucker (since it bounces half of the light to the back!)

And no, TTL will not be misled by bounce cards. TTL will always send one pre-flash, and detect how bright that pre-flash is through the lens (hence the TTL name) and then adjust power accordingly.



This post has been edited by albnok: Sep 18 2010, 01:32 AM

ieR: The EVF is great! It might not be able to gain up so much in very low light, but then I have not tried it in much lower light.

If I try recording a video in low light with a F2.8 lens and EV +1.3, the LCD may show the proper +1.3 EV effect, but during the video, because it has to shoot at at least 1/30s, the video looks underexposed. However once I mount the F1.4 it gets my intended exposure during video. So there will be a limit to how dark the EVF can see in.

And yes thanks for pointing out about the fixed manual power.

eddybeh: Ironically, the FDA-SV1 optical viewfinder for the NEX-3/NEX-5 is optically crap. It is very smeary off center unless you stick your eye exactly aligned to it... even then it looks very trippy inside.

The Leicas that used EVF were probably the Panasonic rebadges - as I remember those were many years ago.

Deerc: I said "Handheld Twilight is a lot cleaner than if you set ISO manually."

Which I shall rephrase:

There are two options - you can use:
1) Handheld Twilight
2) set ISO manually

Handheld Twilight is a lot cleaner. Have you noticed? ISO6400 HHT is a lot cleaner than ISO1600 in regular A mode. So what's the big deal? It seems to clean up motion as well.

Oh and of course, Handheld Twilight does not have AF in continuous shooting either!

You can merge the 2 JPGs from 6 EV HDR and use a mask to combine them. I will copy the part of the image with HDR to cover moving people. For example:


6 EV HDR image.


Regular "safe" JPG.


Combined version.

(On a side note, not directed to you or anybody here, I find it annoying that I have friends who confuse the words "than" and "then".)

d4rkholeang3l: Yes correct, any light modifier will reduce how much light is going to the subject, and so more power must be used.

Eh, ieR did the explanation for pre-flash... seems like the 'credit-wrong-person' bug was passed on to you also LOL.

jedi_master: Thanks for the hands-on! I have to say it is very well done.

I went on Thursday actually to Sony Style Times Square but have been busy.

The coloration at higher ISOs is because Sony Style KLCC uses flourescent lighting, which flickers. You will always notice this at faster shutter speeds. Try shooting a 3 FPS burst at home with flourescent lights with ISO1600 and F1.8 and you'll see it.

destfull: WAH very optimistic ah you! I'd say more like 85% of retail price.

ieR: Well the A33/A55 like the NEX-3/NEX-5 and A550 in MF Check LV has a lot lower 'minimum light' fortunately.

Your example is good! (Though of course, let's say bounce loses 50% then 1/16 going to 1/8 is exactly correct.) In your example, 87.5% would be right to get 1/2 equal in exposure.

evilhomura89: Beats me how exactly Sony does Handheld Twilight.

Anyway everyone should read this tutorial - the masking bit is what you need to know, in order to merge HDR with JPG.

http://www.ronbigelow.com/articles/neutral...ral-density.htm

I actually use a sloppier 30% opacity brush to 'color in' moving people.

This post has been edited by albnok: Sep 18 2010, 11:52 PM

A few days ago, I came across the NEX-5H package - the NEX-5 with Sony E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 Active OSS!


The FA-EX1S flash extender comes with the NEX-5H package.


It is meant to extend the flash forward and above the large 18-200mm, like so.


From the front, not raised (above) and raised (below).


It does look funny with the Sony E 16mm F2.8 pancake...


The FA-EX1S flash extender has two nubs next to the screw hole. This prevents the ECM-SST1 external microphone (above) and FDA-SV1 optical viewfinder (below) from being mounted on the FA-EX1S.


Left-to-right: Sony A850 with Sony 70-200mm F2.8G SSM, Sony NEX-5 with FA-EX1S flash extender and HVL-F7S flash and Sony E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 Active OSS in its shortest 18mm position with lens hood stored backwards.


Left-to-right: Sony A850 with Sony 70-200mm F2.8G SSM, Sony NEX-5 with FA-EX1S flash extender and HVL-F7S flash and Sony E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 Active OSS in its longest 200mm position with lens hood stored forwards.

So how does the flash extender work?


Top-left: 18mm without FA-EX1S flash extender; top-right: 200mm without FA-EX1S flash extender; bottom-left: 18mm with FA-EX1S flash extender; bottom-right: 200mm with FA-EX1S flash extender.

If you are going to use the HVL-F7S on the NEX with the Sony E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 Active OSS, the FA-EX1S flash extender is a must!

This post has been edited by albnok: Sep 19 2010, 05:12 AM

The FDA-SV1 optical viewfinder.


It matches the field of view of the Sony E 16mm F2.8 pancake only, without the VCL-ECU1 ultra-wide converter or VCL-ECF1 fisheye converter.


Since there is no way to turn off the NEX-3/NEX-5 LCD screen, you will have to get close to the viewfinder to avoid glare from the screen!

Honestly though, I thought the FDA-SV1 was optically crap. It had massive smearing away from the center, and only if you placed your eye exactly in the middle, with the 3 dashes getting illuminated, then you'd be in perfect alignment. Even then there was parallax error and there is no way to see depth of field in the viewfinder.


The rare NEX body cap makes an appearance in the NEX-5H package!


The Sony E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 Active OSS is Made in China. Nevertheless, it is a very solid lens.


18mm F3.5 ISO1600 yielded 1/30s with EV +1. Obviously, this is no indoor lens!


200mm F6.3 ISO3200 1/25s with EV +1. Still a bit too slow for indoors!

Remember that the average camcorder that cannot change lenses has a F1.8 zoom lens even on the telephoto end! So before buying this, make sure you know what you are getting into.

I also tried the Sony Cybershot WX-5, a proper replacement for the WX-1 (which I have.) F2.4 at 24mm (35mm equivalent) with Exmor-R backlit sensor means it is the low-light champion of the Cybershot series!


One new feature that it adds is Background Defocus, which takes two shots and blends them.


This is the same shot in P mode (which chose F2.4).


It is not perfect though, as you can see it didn't work so well on the wire and the lens on the right.


What if there are many subjects in the picture? It states that it cannot perform Background Defocus, but takes a picture anyway.


I tested the A33 with Sony 50mm F1.4, while looking at it from the front. In video, when looking from the front, it appeared to be wide open, but the moment I started recording, it stopped down to F3.5 as expected whenever AF was on. When MF was used, it could record videos at F1.4.

Yes, ISO and menus can be accessed from the viewfinder, exactly as you would from the rear LCD screen.


This is the optional AC-PW20 AC Adapter (for NEX cameras) dummy battery. The battery cover has a flap just to allow the cable in.

Hmmm the NEX-3/NEX-5 does have this flap! However, interestingly, the NEX-3/NEX-5 can operate just fine with the battery cover open, as I've just tried.

The A560 is delayed to 2011, while the A580 would only come to Malaysia in October 2010 (but if other places are only getting it in November 2010, I can't be too optimistic.)

According to this:

http://www.sony-asia.com/support/resources...pages/Sony.html

The A560/A580, which has contrast detect AF in Focus Check Live View, will not be able to use contrast detect on screw-drive lenses. This limits contrast detect to SAM/SSM lenses. However, you can still use phase detect AF in Quick AF Live View with screw drive lenses.

Also, video is strictly manual focus only on the A560/A580.

In other news:

What the heck man, the Samyang 35mm F1.4 UMC in A-mount is 111mm long!

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1009/10091610samsyng35mm1p4.asp

Fortunately the MFD is 30cm like all other 35mm F1.4 lenses.

Minolta/Sony 35mm F1.4G - 55mm filter thread, 510 grams, 30cm MFD, 1:5x maximum magnification, 76mm long
Canon 35mm F1.4L USM - 72mm filter thread, 580 grams, 30cm MFD, 1:5.5x maximum magnification, 86mm long
Nikkor AF-S 35mm F1.4G SWM - 67mm filter thread, 600 grams, 30cm MFD, 1:5x maximum magnification, 89.5mm long
Samyang 35mm F1.4 UMC - 77mm filter thread, weight N/A, 30cm MFD, maximum magnification N/A, 111mm long (Alpha mount)

To give you an idea of how long 111mm is - the Carl Zeiss 24-70mm F2.8 SSM is 111mm long, and the Carl Zeiss 135mm F1.8 is 115mm long!

Finally, here's a picture from a roadshow:



The Sigma 85mm F1.4 EX DG HSM is starkly a lot higher in price than I expected. I was hoping it would be around RM3000 street price, even taking into account that these are retail prices!

This post has been edited by albnok: Sep 19 2010, 01:53 PM

gizmo_pony: I'll be darned, there is a flap for the battery cable! Thanks for pointing it out LOL. I've edited my original posting.

yuhi: Yeah man, that and the 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM are notably missing!

ahpingko: Nice colors on #1 but I feel like you could either include more of the faraway buildings, or less of it. Well processed on #2 because the subject pops out (since she is less gray.)

ProX: You can test the A33 at Berjaya Times Square or KLCC or The Curve. The only difference is that the A33 has 7 FPS while the A55 has 10 FPS, built-in GPS and 16.2 megapixels.

cjlai: Waiting for it too! No it's the retail price list.

wingster: Wah you tested it for 1 hour or you bought it?

mowkey: Not true. Any lens that is good on my A900 is good on the NEX-5 as well. Not softer at all. The 16mm F2.8 is sharp in the center also but misfocusing may make some people think it is soft.

zstan: How do you know this? And what are you presuming mowkey is referring to - the NEX lenses or the A-mount lenses on the APS-HD sensor?

Let's see if you all can figure out which lens is used in which sequence for this video!

http://vimeo.com/groups/alpha/videos/14826647

mowkey: Here's one from the NEX-5 with the LA-EA1 lens adapter and Opteka 85mm F1.4 at F1.4:



Large version here:


Here's one from the NEX-5 with the Coyo Nikon G adapter and Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC HSM for F-mount at F1.4 (I think my colleague Ijan shot this, though):



Large version here:


More street shots posted here:
http://www.glaringnotebook.com/default.asp?id=1437

ahpingko: I like the mood in #5, and is #3 a color version of the earlier black-and-white?

lwliam: Nice #1 and interesting play on angle in #2.

Okay, so I broke my resolution to buy only one A-mount lens this year. Technically, this is the only A-mount lens I have bought this year, but I originally intended to buy another lens.


This is the Minolta 24-50mm F4 Original! What does it mean by Original?


These are the original Minolta AF lenses. From left to right: Minolta 24-50mm F4, Minolta 50mm F1.4, Minolta 70-210mm F4 beercan.

They all look alike, with diagonal ribbed zoom rings, and tiny ribbed focus rings.


Left to right: Vivitar 24mm F2.0 OM mount (modded to A-mount), Minolta 24-50mm F4 Original, Minolta 24-105mm F3.5-4.5(D).

If you notice, the later Minolta 24-105mm F3.5-4.5(D) has a new styling, with a thicker focus ring and different zoom ring rubber design. The Minolta 24-50mm F4 Original was an external, extending focusing design while the Minolta 24-105mm F3.5-4.5(D) was an internal focusing design.

The Minolta 24-105mm F3.5-4.5(D) also has a focus clutch, and a very geary manual focus action of which I am not fond of.

You might ask, why have two lenses in a redundant focal range? Simply - the Minolta 24-105mm F3.5-4.5(D) had a minimum focusing distance of 50cm, while the Minolta 24-50mm F4 Original had a minimum focusing distance of 35cm. This was the shortest MFD of any Minolta standard zoom at that time!

The Carl Zeiss 24-70mm F2.8 SSM focuses to 34cm close, just 1cm better. The Konica Minolta 28-75mm F2.8 beat that at 33cm.

Everything else back then, like the Minolta 20-35mm F3.5-4.5, 24-85mm F3.5-4.5, 28-85mm F3.5-4.5, 28-105mm F3.5-4.5, 35-70mm F3.5-4.5, 28-135mm F4-4.5, 35-70mm F4, 35-105mm F3.5-4.5 - none of them focused to anything closer than 50cm (and the 28-135mm was a 150cm distant champion.) Some of them had a Macro switch which allowed them to focus closer, but in manual focus only! (I did not count the F3.5-5.6 zoom lenses because I was not looking for darker aperture lenses. I also did not consider F2.8 zooms because of the size and weight.)


At maximum extension.

My first outdoor shot with the 24-50mm on the A900! The vignetting is pretty spectacular, and an effect I'd like to leave in. The classic Minolta color is all there in all its glory.


35cm is showing its benefits.


24mm F10.


Another 24mm F4.0 close range shot.


This lens supposedly has better bokeh than the Minolta 24-105mm F3.5-4.5(D). I am just seeing a fair bit of barrel distortion, which always happens on the wide end of a zoom especially at close focus.


50mm F4, at MFD, giving a maximum magnification of 1:5.55x. While the Minolta 24-105mm F3.5-4.5(D) does slightly better, at 1:5.49x maximum magnification, I I would rather have the close focus capability at 24mm, than the magnification at 105mm. The 24-50mm is already very versatile when shooting at close range, like stuff on your table, or food on your plate - I don't have to lean back excessively in order to focus anymore!


The lens has a decent amount of contrast, but not too much to kill it for the sensor. Then again, the A900 has always had excellent dynamic range.


And here's a street shot.

Oh and of course, the shots of the Sony SLT-A33 and Sony E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 Active OSS were all taken with this lens!

ahpingko, love the bridge shot!

clivengu: Nice one on #1 #2 and #4! Somehow I think the Tokina 11-16mm really inspires you.

evilhomura89: That's when I have cleared the stuff to reply to.

zstan: CRT monitors are still the best to view on - they're not overcranked on gamma brightness.

zstan: Secret!

ahpingko: I feel like if the vignetting was not there #1 and #2 would obviously have so-so framing. Would prefer #4 from straight on.

Happy birthday!

porkchop: Happy birthday!

wingster: The A33 does 7 FPS (Speed Priority), 6 FPS (Continuous High) and 2.5 FPS (Continuous Low); the A55V does 10 FPS (Speed Priority), 6 FPS (Continuous High) and 3 FPS (Continuous Low). Refer to page 116 of the A33/A55V manual.

I don't think people care for the Continuous High or Continuous Low options enough to write about them.

Also... do you think the A560/A580 will not have the overheating with SteadyShot in video? A lot of the cons in the A33/A55 apply to the A560/A580 also... people just forget to imply them.

deanmalenko: Okay lah can be cleaner, a slightly faster shutter speed would help.

evilhomura89: You might not care for most of the things he puts in his cons - I know I don't!

You don't even see the problems he does. Carl Gerrard is a very old school photographer. Some people fuss about 2 Second MLU while we don't care. There is no mirror slap on the A33/A55 so MLU does not matter.

Restrictions are what you get when you first play with the A550 and NEX bodies - you cannot use Auto HDR with RAW for example.

Spot Meter AEL Toggle was a function you could activate in the A100/A700/A850/A900. Press AEL while pointing your spot meter circle, and it will change to Spot Metering, on what you were pointed at, and then you can recompose.

wingster: My bad as it seems it sounds like I have directed that at you - I'm just saying that despite all the people noting the cons of the A33/A55, the A560/A580 doesn't do better.

mastering89:

Back on the KM5D/KM7D/A100/A700/A850/A900, you could set AEL to:

AEL Hold
AEL Toggle
Spot Meter AEL Hold
Spot Meter AEL Toggle

Spot Meter AEL Toggle is my favorite use on my A100/A700/A900 as it guarantees a spot metered face, and no underexposure. Underexposure leads to noise (and less vibrant pictures!)

Of course, on the NEX and SLT cameras, you can immediately see that something is underexposed and dial it up.

Yes, you can use the AEL button to lock exposure while recording video, and you can also change EV while recording video, according to this:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/AA55/AA55VIDEO.HTM

I didn't test the AEL during video though (to me, the auto-exposure is a lot smoother than the Canons'...)

And let's have a tight crop of the butterfly!

porkchop: The Sony Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 16-35mm F2.8 ZA SSM is also an ultra-wide angle lens.

I didn't test the A55V GPS indoors as all the A55V units were outdoors. I do not know also if it will have a weak approximation like my phone does.

ReasonsofThanatos: Wah nice Sigma 85mm F1.4! I would rather have used that as I've tried the Sigma 50mm F1.4 on A-mount. It is a very nice lens, but the 85mm is the unknown one so far.

AlphaBeta: In-lens motor with full-time manual focus override.

achew: Long time no see but I can't see what is going on.

shukrie: Hmmm this picture is a lot more casual than your usual stuff.