The time has finally come. I've been on the Minolta/Sony A-Mount for about 20 years, starting with a chance Minolta film camera, when I knew absolutely nothing about stills, then through a bunch of Sony cameras and now switching to the A7 IV.
Still am two weeks from having it delivered to my doorstep, and I guess once I have it, I would need to perhaps create a new blog, for this brave new e-mount world. I've also been relying a lot on action cameras for my new work as a cycling videographer, so after a decade of writing this blog, I'm ready to move on to a whole different videography/photography world.
Amitzi's Sony A99 blog
Blog dedicated to my (right now future) Sony Alpha A99 SLT camera
Sunday, February 27, 2022
Moving to E-Mount!
Thursday, September 2, 2021
Next Camera Update
I've been really close to actually already buying the Sony A1. Saw one for a good price on ebay and almost went for it. That said, I am pretty glad that I didn't.
Even though on paper it's almost the perfect camera, there are thing on the A1 I simply don't need. I don't really 20-30fps since I don't really shoot sports, and I don't need 8K. If I do ever need that, I could rent whatever camera Sony comes up with in the future. So had I bought it I would own an overly expensive camera with features I don't need. To be honest, I don't even need the 42MP I have right now on the A99ii and definitely not more MP. Few of my clients do large prints anymore and most just view photos on social media. I do enjoy making stitched photos with higher resolution, but any current camera would do for that.
So here we are thinking about getting the upcoming Sony A7IV when it comes out in a month or so. I already saved enough money to get it, and already purchased the LE-AE5 to be able to mount my current A mount lenses. With the much lower price I can start thinking of getting some e-mount lenses with it to replace some my current aging lenses.
So now my plan it to find a used Sony A7IV. Hopefully, someone will buy it to review and then decide to sell it soon so I'll be able to find one used soon after launch.
Once that's done, I'll close this blog and open a new one, or perhaps rename this blog, we'll see.
Friday, March 5, 2021
My Next Camera
This is my second post about replacing my ageing A99ii. While I don't really do sports photography, I believe that the A99ii is one of the worst camera for tracking any moving subjects and way behind all current mirrorless cameras and some DSLRs.
This comes into play when I shoot a family with kids on swings. Sure, if you know the limitations of your camera, there are always workarounds, but I would rather be able to have a 100 photos with eye-AF spot-on to choose from, than one that somehow I was able to make work.
As I mentioned before, the Canon R5 is a very tempting camera for me to think of ditching Sony altogether. As specs go, it is a great replacement to the A99ii. If it wasn't for the pandemic, I would have been tempted for sure. The downsides of jumping ship is needing to replace some Sony specific accessories that I already own, such as my Godox flash equipment.
Also, for environmental reasons, everything I buy is used. With Sony, there are so many lenses from various manufacturers that you can buy used on e-bay or FB. There are some Canon lenses available used, but they are definitely very expensive.
So what is my current plan? I really like the Sony A1. It just came out and costs twice as the A99ii. That said, it does everything I need and more. Spec-wise, it seems like it would last for many years as a perfect hybrid camera. I might not need 8K or 30fps, but at least I know that I have them in case they are needed a few years from now.
I would probably want to get the LA-EA5, also not really available much on the local used market right now. I would also need to get some CFExpress A cards, but they also don't have great availability right now.
So it seems that everything I would need to switch to mirrorless is out there, but that I will have to wait until next year to do it. For now, I can get by with the A99ii and perhaps rent out some mirrorless cameras for larger jobs like weddings. For now, I am avoiding event and wedding photography, due to the pandemic. I do have a wedding scheduled for September which I will probably shoot with rented A1 and mirrorless lenses.
So, it seems like there are two possible roads for me. If the pandemic will be over by summer and there will be an influx of photography work, I will possibly get the camera of my dreams sooner than expected. If I continue relying mostly on video editing work with some portrait photography on the side, I'll wait until next April to buy a bunch of great used mirrorless equipment that hopefully will last me a long while.
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
New Cameras - will I buy them?
So why wouldn't I but a camera that is somewhat expensive but perfect for my needs? Unfortunately there is no converter/adapter from A-mount to the Canon RF mount, so I would have to but all new lenses, accessories and cards which would prove too expensive. Even just switching from A-mount to E-mount I might have to buy two adapters totaling around $500.
As wedding season is practically non existing right now due to COVID-19, even with more money coming from my current documentary editing gig, I will hold off buying a new camera. All I want is for Sony to create a better camera that is exactly like the one I have but with much improved AF, video and menu system. If they don't, I will probably settle for the A7rIV at some point.
Saturday, July 11, 2020
My Setup for Sound
Now, ten years later, technology has advanced and I no longer put a lot of equipment into a beat up student car or a nice looking van borrowed from my parents. Instead, I bike around, with all of my equipment inside my supercharge touring bicycle.
I'm also using a hybrid stills/video camera (still the A99ii) to shoot everything, at least until I can afford to switch to e-mount. The good news is that the A99ii has a terrific built-in microphone that is great in a pinch. Even if you're not planning on that microphone it provides better sound to allow Adobe Premiere Pro to sync the sound from the internal microphone with that of a better sound recorded from an external recorder.
Most of what I do when recording sound on my current video gigs is interviews with people sitting or standing.
The bad news is that the pre-amp on the A99ii is TERRIBLE. For a while I was recording to an external Zoom recorder I've had for 7 years and got good results, but had deal with syncing audio in post, and not forgetting to press record on both the camera and the Zoom.
I was using a no brand lav mic for a few years, and had to deal with lots of PL 3.5 cables. It was also a problem when recording an interview with a person who needs to go to the bathroom.
I got the Rode Go Wireless Compact system after getting strange noises on the Sony ECM-W1M system and mediocre sound. The Rode Go is really small and easy to pack, seem to be one of those rare times where audio/video manufacturers remember that it is 2020 now and match the technology to that of smartphones. I got the Rode Smartlav+ microphone to go with it which is a solid lav mic but requires to also get the Rode SC3 3.5mm TRRS to TRS Adapter for smartLav because it was originally meant to connect to smartphones.
Finally, I go the SR-AX100 audio mixer that sits on my camera, underneath the Rode Go's transmitter. Sure, it's a kind of a weird tower now, but now I can connect all this straight to the camera and not worry about an external recorder running out of battery or memory card. The SR-AX100 is one of those rare electrical machines that does NOT need a battery to operate. It will also allow me to connect another microphone and record stereo to two channels in case I ever do an interview with two people or still want to record some sound where the camera is along with sound coming from the lav mic.
If you like your mixer under your camera you might get the SR-AX101 which is basically the same product but hooks under your camera, a setup I don't like and will avoid.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
My Next Camera
So, should I get another A99ii or should I start planning for the next camera? Do I even like the smaller e-mount bodies? To be honest if an A99iii came out tomorrow I might eventually be tempted to buy it. That said, no new A-mount camera will probably ever be made.
Recently the A7rIV came out with a better grip, making it a cool camera to look to if and when I will make my new purchase. That said, not only don't I need the 61 Megapixels that it's packing, to be honest I don't even need the current 42 Megapixels that my A99ii has. Experience has shown that starting from ISO 800 it doesn't really matter that you have all these megapixels. It's just clogs out your hard drive without providing any actual benefits. The extra megapixels are useful to landscape and studio photographers that have the need for large prints. A lot of my clients don't even print at all.
So, what would I spend my money on? Perhaps the future A9ii? Hard to tell. I definitely don't need 20fps. That means that if and when Sony comes out with a A7IV I might get that one after a while, even though it's the "low end" one. If it come with 36 Megapixels that would be perfect.
For now this is all speculation and I will probably buy something after its been on the market for a while, perhaps get a good deal on a used body.
Update: Now aiming to purchase the A7rIV in late April to coincide with my birthday. Of course, that will depend on my ability to save money to buy it. Right now it seems like I would be able to pull it off, but life sometimes happens when you're making plans.
Of course I will need to buy some batteries and the LE-EA4 converter to be able to mount my current A-Mount lenses on it. Eventually I will want native lenses so will also have to start saving money for future lenses. Hoping that some video work will pay for all of this.
I will probably also need to change the name of this blog, after years of shooting with the A99 and the A99ii. I think it will be good to have an e-mount camera so that my blog will appeal to more people.
Saturday, April 13, 2019
Post
Now that I have all the photos in Lightroom, on the right lower side of the screen I will switch to the filter to flagged.As nothing is currently flagged, the view will show none of the photos.