d4rkholeang3l: Nice stripes! Could be less tightly framed.

I don't find anything natural about Nikon skin tones. You can different Creative Styles (and make sure your WB is correct) but I do prefer Sony skin tones.

cassplayer: Yes there is a Sony-mount version. It can be used for event photography also as a beauty dish - just make sure to hold the ring upwards, pointing at the subject like a shower head.

ahpingko: For #6 the crop on her arm is a bit weird. Otherwise, I like the choice of background. You can also stand from a higher viewpoint and aim down, to get less of the trees.

I would prefer the compositions on #2 and #4 and #10 (but without the tilt)

eddybeh: The Vivitar 85mm F1.4 is the same as the Samyang/Opteka and does not cost so much!

gjtan: For #2 I like how you've shot it at an angle to avoid parallax distortion, but you could avoid cropping the top and bottom bit.

rajatetra: There isn't a "HD" filter, but uh... it is a bit higher priced than normal.

wingster: Be brave, shoot skaters with a wide.

blowsh: Cam1 - B. Cam2 - A/C. Focus 1/3rds into the scene.

a b c d e doesn't matter. You're shooting a group and want everyone to be in focus, so use a flash and F8-F16 (do your test shots before they all sit down.)

Mikeshashimi: I can't say that about Pro-Tama. Yes, JPG+RAW means regular Fine JPG and not Extra Fine.

Bulb in hot sun with strong ND filter is not a problem.

wha7ever: Use a F1.4 lens then.

sonyx: Try with or without the WWW prefix. It seems to be a domain problem. It works on mine.

chiahau: Either end of October or November.

chiahau: RM2xxx for sure. The A580 is meant to be an A550 replacement and as such will not be priced any higher than what it was when it was launched. The A55 with kit lens is also under RM3k.

Also, if you are broke, should you be buying a camera?

This post has been edited by albnok: Oct 18 2010, 12:25 AM

I've uploaded a video from the A55 + Zeiss 135mm F1.8:



The A55 seems to have different characteristics when recording audio compared to the NEX-5. I am not an audiophile though so I can't say that as a scientific fact.

signither: Oddly, that doesn't look as lomo as my experience with the 35mm F1.7 was. The effect is probably stronger when the picture is a landscape where focus curvarture will show on the edges.

mint87: It is not a big deal. The ability to focus quickly in video and Live View far overrides any noise benefits that regular dSLRs give.

No mirror slap on a translucent camera means less shake in pictures and a quieter sound when taking pictures. The pictures become more critically sharp as a result (for dSLRs, they would have to resort to Mirror Lock Up.)

zstan: Quite doubt they will change the Eye Start AF sensor location - it would make it incompatible with all Minolta and Sony eyepiece attachments.

fansoption: Put the 50mm F1.8 DT SAM on your A55. Take a picture.

Then put the 50mm F1.4 on your A55. Take a picture.

Is there a difference in angle of view?

wingster: Wah very hard to figure out what #1 is even though you already said it is syrup. Nice #2!

evanttc: You want "adding point" lenses? The Sony Carl Zeiss and Sony G lenses have the best optical quality. On average, they focus closer than the Nikon/Canon counterparts. The Sony 50mm F1.8 DT SAM for example will focus to 34cm close while the Nikkor 50mm F1.8 AF-D will only focus to 45cm close. The Nikkor 50mm does not have VR, but the Sony A55 will have stabilization on the body.

By the way, it is only Malaysia who is so backwards where it comes to knowledge of cameras. You step into a second-hand shop in Singapore, and you'll see loads of Minolta SR/MD, Canon FD, M42, and Minolta AF/Sony mount lenses, and plenty of Mamiya 6x7 bodies.

If you are aiming for the NEX bodies though, bear in mind that the NEX bodies do not have in-body stabilization. The Sony E 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 Optical SteadyShot however comes with OSS, and so does the Sony E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 Active Optical SteadyShot.

For adapted lenses, if you get the third party Nikon G adapter, there are no contacts on it, so no way for the NEX body to power the VR mechanism.

Sigma makes lenses with OS (Optical Stabilization) in A-mount. So you can use that with the Sony LA-EA1 Alpha-mount to E-mount adapter - it has the necessary contacts and OS will work.

Cacti: We recommend a tripod. It is going to be heavy!

destfull: Love #2!

evanttc: You can ask for an International Warranty. Yes, the A580 is coming in next month or end of October.

destfull: I prefer the Minolta 70-210mm F4 for its close focusing (1.1 meters) compared to the Minolta 75-300mm F4.5-5.6 Original (big beercan) which only does 1.5 meters. The big beercan also focuses slower than the beercan. However, it does have the image quality of the beercan... quite unlike the Sony 75-300mm F4.5-5.6.

Wonka: Not interesting. What's in the bag?

lwliam: Nice concept! The part in the top left is a bit jarring though.

destfull: Nice #2 and #3!

I've recorded a video:



NEX-5 v3 with LA-EA1 v2 with Sony SAM lenses!

Contrast Detect Auto Focus test with the Sony Alpha NEX-5, firmware version 3, with the Sony LA-EA1 A-mount to E-mount lens adapter, firmware version 2, with Sony SAM lenses.

Tested with the following: Sony 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 DT SAM, Sony 28-75mm F2.8 SAM, Sony 30mm F2.8 DT SAM Macro, Sony 50mm F1.8 DT SAM, Sony 55-200mm F4-5.6 DT SAM (2).

The Sony 35mm F1.8 DT SAM and Sony 85mm F2.8 SAM have not arrived in Malaysia as of time of recording this video.

More to come when I have finished uploading them.

lwliam: The plate behind spoils the shot.

VIDEO #2 OF 5



Contrast Detect Auto Focus test with the Sony Alpha NEX-5, firmware version 3, with the Sony LA-EA1 A-mount to E-mount lens adapter, firmware version 2, with Sony SSM lenses.

Tested with the following: Sony Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 16-35mm F2.8 ZA SSM, Sony Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM, Sony 70-200mm F2.8G SSM, Sony 70-300mm F4.5-5.6G SSM, Sony 70-400mm F4-5.6G SSM.

The Sony Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 24mm F2.0 ZA SSM has not arrived in Malaysia as of time of recording this video.

Video #3 #4 and #5 should be out this week.

lwliam: Yeah man I laughed too!

boyzone: Yes DRO will still be active.

destfull: Thanks for the encouragement!

lwliam: Sony Style KLCC.

dtdw: Nice, though I don't think the lines are necessary.

freddy manson: It would be best you ask your hospital - I am sure you know what the rules are. It should be private.

fansoption: No need hard cover lah. Use a soft protector.

Newbieeeeee: Nice for #2 but even better if you can get the background to fill up totally. Melaka shots a bit boring though.

fansoption: First thing I did when I got my A55 was I walked to a mobile phone accessories shop and got myself a screen protector.

VIDEO #3 OF 5



Phase Detect Auto Focus test with the Sony Alpha SLT-A55, with Sony SAM lenses.

Tested with the following: Sony 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 DT SAM, Sony 28-75mm F2.8 SAM, Sony 30mm F2.8 DT SAM Macro, Sony 50mm F1.8 DT SAM, Sony 55-200mm F4-5.6 DT SAM (2).

The Sony 35mm F1.8 DT SAM and Sony 85mm F2.8 SAM have not arrived in Malaysia as of time of recording this video.

Notice that the SAM lenses seem a fair bit quieter on the A55 (or its equalizer is different.)



VIDEO #4 OF 5



Phase Detect Auto Focus test with the Sony Alpha SLT-A55, with Sony SSM lenses.

Tested with the following: Sony Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 16-35mm F2.8 ZA SSM, Sony Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM, Sony 70-200mm F2.8G SSM, Sony 70-300mm F4.5-5.6G SSM, Sony 70-400mm F4-5.6G SSM.

The Sony Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 24mm F2.0 ZA SSM has not arrived in Malaysia as of time of recording this video.

This post has been edited by albnok: Oct 20 2010, 01:53 AM

jianh: The A580 is already in Sony Style KLCC.

The A55 is a SLT. It is also in KLCC, so you can compare both!

ahpingko:

The Samyang 8mm F3.5 Diagonal Fisheye does not have vignetting on APS-C.

The Sigma 10mm F2.8 EX DC HSM Diagonal Fisheye does not have vignetting on APS-C.

The Peleng 8mm F3.5 Circular Fisheye will always have vignetting on APS-C and FF (but then on FF, it is a fully circular image.)

The Sony/Minolta 16mm F2.8 Diagonal Fisheye does not have vignetting on APS-C and FF (but on APS-C, it is not very fishy.)

I have both ultra-wide and fisheye lenses if you want to test - we can have a TT!

dtdw: Get the news right - the A560 is pushed to next year, the A580 is in town already.

zstan: Yes, that is one thing that was unfortunately removed from the A450/A500/A550.

I cannot confirm that the A560/A580 does not show ISO in viewfinder. (EDIT)

The A33/A55 does show ISO in viewfinder though, when you press the ISO button.

MechaHerc: Isi itu penting.

fansoption, thanks! Eh your A55 also can do 7.5x and 14x magnification for focus checking what.

This post has been edited by albnok: Oct 20 2010, 05:21 PM

fansoption: Yes, do enable that option - it lets you use the Delete button to magnify.

fatnir: Where got difficult?

First you enable the option to magnify using the Delete button.

When you want to magnify, press the Delete button once to select an area, then press the Delete button to magnify at 7.5x.

The mirror does not flip up while doing this. All other dSLRs must flip up their mirrors to allow magnification!

Also, because the magnified view is at F1.4 for a F1.4 lens on the A55, you can focus very accurately.

On a optical viewfinder, you put a F1.4 lens on, the viewfinder only shows you accuracy for F3.2 or so, so when you take a picture your manual focus might not be accurate!

This post has been edited by albnok: Oct 20 2010, 05:28 PM

mastering89: Good question, will have to try again.

I generally don't like to override the focus because the camera would often refocus if I half-press again. Of course, if you half-press and then turn the focus ring, everything is fine.

Banzai_san: Nice #1 and #4! #5 could use a "digital graduated ND" (Google it.)

zstan: Won't work - image would be upside down.

You're right on the AF assist/red eye flash.

fansoption: I like #5 but with more light on the tourist. Try getting #7 from the front instead of an angle.

Sony SLT-A55 with ECM-CG50 shotgun mike comparison


Compared the Sony SLT-A55 with Minolta 24-50mm F4 (a screw-drive lens, sure to make a sound when focusing) and the ECM-CG50 shotgun mike in three situations;

1) using on-board mike
2) using ECM-CG50 shotgun mike
3) using ECM-CG50 shotgun mike with low cut filter on


The holder itself has rubber to form an isolation mount - this prevents vibrations from pressing the camera buttons, from reaching the mike. The iISO to ISO coldshoe adapter (it cannot work for flashes) is included in the package.

VERDICT?

We can observe certain things - for one, the average video length with the NEX-5/LA-EA1 combo with SAM lenses was 30 seconds (minus the introduction.)

The average video length with the NEX-5/LA-EA1 combo with SSM lenses was 20 seconds (minus the introduction.)

Meanwhile, the A55 videos clocked in at an average of 4 seconds (minus the introduction.)

These were all for 3 cycles, focusing close, then further, then close again. I had to adjust my shooting location to accomodate lenses that could not focus so close, like the telephoto lenses.

Contrast Detect AF, especially on the NEX-5/LA-EA1 with Sony 30mm F2.8 DT SAM Macro, was particularly loud! This was probably because the NEX-5/LA-EA1 decided to go all the way to minimum focus distance (MFD), then to infinity, then back, then to the focus point.

The camera tells the lens motor to go at full speed from MFD to infinity which causes that loud sound.

Compare this to Phase Detect AF, where the camera just tells the lens motor to go to the focus point (quite simply, because it only needs to look once to get it in approximate location.)

Contrast Detect AF also seems to be a lot faster with shorter focal lengths. The Sony Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM in particular proved to be the fastest in both contrast detect and phase detect situations.

Contrast Detect AF also does much, much better with brighter lenses.

The NEX-3/NEX-5 has another handicap - you cannot set the AF point to be fixed on the center; it will always go into Wide Area AF whenever it records video. The A33/A55 lets you change AF points even when recording video!

My next mission - to find the Sony Alpha 580!