neo_lam: No filter will reduce the F-stops. Some filters, like color filters, ND filters, CPL filters, will reduce the light coming in, so the shutter speed will be slower.

You should put a UV filter on it at all times. CPL filters are only used for some situations to darken skies and reduce reflections. CPL filters also reduce light so you do not want to use it all the time.

gabriellai: Yes, that adapter will work for both PC Sync and ISO hotshoe flashes.

Seng_Kiat, there was a fair bit of potential in #3 - straighten the horizon, and point lower to get more of the poles and less of the sky.

Again, I like #3 - the leaf. Though get less of the bottom-left part.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13580_3-10186271-39.html



New Sony lenses announced at PMA!

This doesn't quite match what I've seen in the Sony inventory, but they are:

Full frame:
1) super telephoto
2) 28-75mm F2.8

APS-C only:
1) 50mm F1.8 DT
2) 30mm F2.8 DT Macro
3) 55-200mm F4-5.6 DT (probably restyled)
4) 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 DT

Oh, and...
Sigma 18-50mm F2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM and 50-200mm F4-5.6 DC OS HSM for Sony!

This is what DPReview says:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0903/09030304sigma18mm50mm.asp
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0903/09030303sigma50mm200mm.asp

This lens features a new Optical Stabilization unit which Sigma claims will work on Sony and Pentax bodies with in-body stabilization systems

The 18-50mm F2.8-4.5 is also internal focus and internal zoom!

Both aren't as spectacular in minimum focus distance, though, with the 18-50mm taking a plain 30cm MFD instead of the fantastic 20cm MFD of the 17-70mm F2.8-4.5 DC and 18-50mm F2.8 DC. Even the Sony 55-200mm F4-5.6 DT bests the Sigma equivalent at a 95cm MFD.

Oh, and the Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM is the brightest ultra-wide DT lens we've ever had. Sigma seems to be going back to 82mm filter sizes though.

This post has been edited by albnok: Mar 3 2009, 02:41 PM

shootkk, there might be other differences with the 50mm F1.8 DT which we don't know about. Hopefully, it will have a closer minimum focus distance than the standard 50mm lenses, which have always been 45cm close (the Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM and Nikkor AF-S 50mm F1.4G too!)

The Pentax DA 55mm F1.4, an APS-C only lens, also has a 45cm MFD. Bummer. Though Sigma has a knack of making close-focusing APS-C lenses e.g. 17-70mm F2.8-4.5 DC and 18-50mm F2.8 DC both focus to 20cm close.

The wider a lens is, the closer they can make the MFD - the Nikkor AF-D 35mm F2.0 has a very sweet 25cm MFD. The Nikkor AF-S 35mm F1.8G has a 30cm MFD which is quite potong stim la.

There are some M42 lenses out there that go real close and still do F1.8 - the Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar Electric 50mm F1.8, for example, does an impressive 35cm close, while the Pentacon 50mm F1.8 does 33cm close. I really hope Carl Zeiss teaches Sony a thing or two about making close-focusing record-beaters.

That said, if you just need a F1.8 on a budget, you can't go wrong with the 50mm F1.8 DT. Yes, you can't use it on full-frame... but by the time you have an A900 you'll be putting a full-frame 50mm F1.4 on it.

noprob, I had the O-ME53. Good for APS-C cameras but I was broke when getting the A900 so I sold mine.

services189, you might like the Sigma 18-125mm F3.5-5.6 DC for its range. I'm glad you discover you don't need long focal lengths, it's a phase we all discover sooner or later.

If you want it bright, though, there's the Sigma 50-150mm F2.8 II EX DC HSM for Sony mount. That should go for RM3k or so.

Seng_Kiat: Depends on the difference between the color of the ambient light and the color of the flash. We use flash gels to balance the color and make everything neutral.

MechaHerc: Yes I still make the flash gel holders, in flourescent green and tungsten orange, for F36/F42/F56/F58 flashes.



Seng_Kiat: You can find a long, big roll of flash gel at Eng Tong SS2 or Digicolor. Stock finishes quite fast. Often you don't need such a big piece which is why I cut mine into many pieces and bring the holders to TT sessions.

AlphaBeta, you can read why they wanted to sell their lenses - funding, or they didn't want it as it came in a package.

Also bear in mind a lot of them are students or need cash for something else. So telephoto lenses get sold a lot.

Why don't A700 and A900 owners sell their lenses much? Because they already know what they want! If they're having cameras in that price range, they're probably not in an income range that needs them to sell stuff at certain times.

The Sony A900 at the Dakar Rally!



http://translate.google.pt/translate?hl=en...6lr%3D%26sa%3DG

SinnerBuyer, the guy writes about using compressed air to make it clean again. As a pro you're expected to be able to take care of your own stuff.

chiggy, SHARP!!! OW!

dark lenanza, actually P mode makes a lot of sense especially for landscapes, or if I assume he was using the 70-400mm and he'd go between a 70mm landscape and a 400mm sports shot.

Program Mode works like this:

1) Set aperture to brightest and ISO to lowest of Auto ISO range (e.g. 300mm F2.8 ISO200)

2) Calculate reciprocal of focal range as your "needed shutter speed"

For an APS-C body, 300mm * 1.5 = 450mm equivalent, so 1/450s is what is used. But that doesn't exist so they round it up to 1/500s.

3) If shutter speed is faster than "needed shutter speed", stop down the aperture so that the shutter speed is correct.

Let's say at 300mm F2.8 ISO200, it meters at 1/8000s. So it picks F11, so it becomes 300mm F11 ISO200 1/500s.

4) If shutter speed is slower than "needed shutter speed", increase ISO so that the shutter speed is correct.

Let's say at 300mm F2.8 ISO200, it meters at 1/30s. So it increases the ISO to the maximum defined by Auto ISO, let's say ISO1600 - now it's at 300mm F2.8 ISO1600 1/250s. Sure, it's not able to hit 1/500s... but that's where Super SteadyShot helps!

As you can see, Auto ISO prefers to use a good shutter speed to avoid having to use Super SteadyShot much.

On the A900 however, Auto ISO is a bit more relaxed... at 135mm for example, it picks 1/100s as the "needed shutter speed" instead of 1/160s.

I know a lot of you love Aperture Priority, to maximize bokeh, but here's an example where Program Mode works great:

Shot at 135mm F10 1/100s ISO200 on the A900.

If it was shot at F1.8 you certainly would not be able to make out any people, and it would reduce the story-telling aspect of the picture. Not that there is much of that, here...

ryzan76, I like how it looks like it's sneezing!

This post has been edited by albnok: Mar 5 2009, 12:19 PM

colbert89, the Pentax O-ME53 will not block the eye-start sensor. Maybe it might if you push it down to the maximum but even when I did, it didn't block...