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Clix Pix

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Jul 3, 2018
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596
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8 miles from the Tysons (Virginia) Apple Store
Some members here may recognize my user name from Nikon Cafe, where I have been a long-time participant. Hi, guys! Tomorrow I'll get an avatar in place.....

For many, many years prior to the internet and certainly after its emergence, I have thought of myself as a "Nikon girl." I spent some years learning photography with their film cameras before stepping into digital -- first with the Coolpix 900 and then eventually taking a deep breath and jumping into the Nikon D70 once I realized this digital thing really was darned cool and good images could be made. Like so many of us, through the years I've gone through various camera bodies and lenses and found certain favorites and explored what I like to shoot the most...... And like all of us, I'm also getting older and am realizing that the days of carrying a tripod under one arm while having a bag filled with lenses and an extra camera body hanging from a shoulder while another camera body with lens attached dangles from my neck are coming to an end..... I also now have developed a pretty good idea of what I most like to shoot, too. Weight is becoming more and more of a factor, as well, and not an insignificant one.

So why am I here on a Sony forum? Well.... I've had the Sony NEX-7 for several years and also have had the RX100 M3 and currently own the RX100 M5, with the new RX100 M6 on preorder. I've loved all of them and am really excited about the RX100 M6 -- but the latter is not an interchangeable lens camera and certainly in my mind does not replace one. For the past several months I have been following the enthusiastic reviews of the A7III with great interest. From time to time, I'd poked my head in here for a casual look, but tonight I decided that it might be a good idea to actually join the forum so that when I have a question to ask or a comment to make, I can post it

I'm tempted, SOOOO tempted, to make a huge switch and to really fully buy into the Sony FE system, but as with all big decisions like this, I like to glean as much information as possible, especially from everyday, experienced users, when it comes to both the camera body itself and the various lenses available. While the price of the camera body itself is surprisingly reasonable, reality is, as we all know.... it's the glass, the good glass, that makes the difference and which can carry a big price tag. I probably would end up saying goodbye to my Nikon gear if I make the decision to go with the A7III and the FE lenses that I am pretty sure I would want.....so it's a big decision. $$$$$..... I have already looked and found that at least one of the major manufacturer of adapters does not provide one which is compatible with some of my favorite Nikon lenses. Aside from that, I tend to prefer using lenses that are native to a camera body anyway. So I'm here to see what everyone else's experiences have been and to learn from you all!

What do I like to shoot? Macro and still lifes in particular, but also I enjoy being able to photograph and commune with my neighbors: the geese, ducks, GBH, turtles and frogs who hang out on or in the little lake where I live. I've done and love shooting of other elegant water birds as well -- Florida is amazing for that kind of opportunity! -- and I also like to do candids of people enjoying themselves, involved in some activity or other. Landscapes, while nice, don't really excite me, nor am I big on sports photography.

OK, so there's a brief snapshot, if you will, of who I am and why I'm here.....
 
Last edited:

WoodWorks

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Dec 12, 2012
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Ashland, OR, USA
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David
Welcome Clix Pix! Jump in. The water’s fine. :D

And I bet if you posted some of your photos here for those of us who haven’t met you over in the Nikon Cafe, you might get some good FE lens advice from some of the inmates here. I’m mostly a landscape shooter, so I don’t know how much help I’ll be.
 

runnerpsu

TalkEmount Top Veteran
Joined
Feb 12, 2016
Messages
605
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South Florida
Welcome! I'm a former Nikon user and member of the Nikon cafe. I've enjoyed my time here and the community is friendly and knowledgeable. I look forward to seeing your photos.
 

bdbits

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Bob
There's been a discussion here on lenses including longer zooms, which it sounds like you might be interested in. What's next? What lens should I get?

For macro, the Sony 90mm is quite well regarded. Personally I am keeping an eye on the Voigtlander 110mm APO macro coming out next month, but it is a fully manual lens and will probably not be very lightweight. I love its sibling, the 65mm.

There are a lot of lenses from Sony and third-party manufacturers these days. If you just want to see what is out there, Brian Smith (a Sony Ambassador or whatever they call them) maintains a pretty extensive list at Ultimate Fullframe E-mount FE Lens Guide for Sony a7 & a9 Cameras. If you've already been looking, post what you've got your eye on an someone here might very possibly have experience with it.
 

Clix Pix

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Joined
Jul 3, 2018
Messages
596
Location
8 miles from the Tysons (Virginia) Apple Store
Thanks, everyone, for your welcomes! It's a bit late now but tomorrow I'll get an avatar up and also maybe dig around in my archives and find some images to post..... It has been a while since I've done much shooting at all and I'll admit, I'm thinking that maybe my zest for photography will be rekindled with some new gear..... LOL!!!

Bdbits, thank you for that link and for verifying that the Sony 90mm f/2.8 macro is well-regarded; that is one lens that is at the top of my list! Also am interested in the 50mm f/2.8 macro, as sometimes I want a shorter lens for easier manipulation. 90mm is best for shooting flowers and avoiding bugs and bees, though!

For the all-around walkabout sort of lens, rather than the 28-70 that is usually offered as a kit lens, I am thinking about the 24-105 f/4, which I think offers more flexibility in terms of range and which probably would suit me better -- but of course is significantly more expensive!

I also have loved my 70-300mm Nikon lens and am pleased to see that Sony has an offering also in 70-300mm....not the fastest lens on the block but should be just fine in most good lighting situations.

Lots of decisions, but thankfully I am not in any rush. At least temporarily my current attack of GAS is being assuaged by the RX100 M6, whenever it arrives on my doorstep, and I'll have fun with that while still continuing to think about and making up my mind about the A7 III and the lenses which would work out best for my usage.
 

bdbits

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The 28-70 is not a terrible lens, especially kit lens. But the newish 24-105 is being compared to a bag of primes. I cannot imagine you would be dissatisfied with it.
 

WNG

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Will
Welcome Clix Pix!

Since you have experience with the NEX-7, you probably know how easy it is to adapt glass to Sony mirrorless. It opens many options for creativity and lenses, especially if you like shooting macros and still life. Majority of which is shot with a tripod anyway, there are some wonderful and affordable legacy manual focus macro lenses out there.
I have several manual-focus macros from Canon, Tamron, Vivitar, Minolta, Nikon and Olympus to play with. If AF is a must then the Sony 90mm f/2.8 and upcoming Sigma Art macro, should be excellent. On the long end for birding, the 100-400mm GM is excellent. Or do as I did and go manual-focus. I have a number of long telephotos and zooms for long reaching shots. A bit harder for birds in flight, but stationary fauna is not an issue.
And don't forget, the A7III will have vastly improved dynamic range and ISO performance over your current Nikon. So, that 24-105 f/4 may not hurt your low light captures.
The popularity of the Sony Alpha line is sure to garner more third party lenses to come. So, it's a good time for new adopters.

But I will add that Nikon is certain to offer a full frame mirrorless body by 2019. Probably by the end of Spring 2019. You will be able to use your current Nikkors with a dedicated Nikon adapter. Something to consider as well.
 

Ad Dieleman

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:Welcome: I've been a Nikon user from 1994 (F3 with a truckload of fine lenses) up to 2009 (D300s), then switched over to µ4/3 with the Panasonic G1 and stayed mirrorless ever since. I went mirrorless for the weight and size reduction and stayed because of the much more reliable autofocus (no fine-tune, not having to choose between back-focus at one end of the zoom or front-focus at the other, that sort of thing). Can't imagine photographic life these days without viewfinder magnification and peaking and seeing in the dark with the electronic viewfinder.

If you want to go Sony FF, the A7 III is almost a no-brainer, one heck of an extremely capable camera for a reasonable outlay. You obviously have a good idea of what you want as lenses, sounds like a good start to me. Oh yes, and you can leave your tripod at home a lot more often than you're used to, that image stabilization works wonders and it's great that all your lenses will be stabilized!
 

Kiwi Paul

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Hi Clix Pix and welcome.
The Sony kit is excellent, I'm just in the process of selling my FF kit (A7R2 plus 9 lenses) as I also have the A6300 with 4 zooms and the excellent RX100 Mk4 and Mk6 (selling the Mk4) and I've found I'm happy with the IQ etc I get from both of these to not really justify keeping the FF kit, but that's just my preference.
The FF kit I had was really good, since you like macro the Sony FE 90 macro lens is awesome, the IQ just blows you away, it's quite possibly the sharpest and most detailed lens I owned and is an excellent macro lens, the only flaw is it has focus creep so trying to do focus bracketing is not very practical for macro. I've just sold mine.
I can also recommend the FE 70-300 f4.5-5.6 lens. I used it with my FF kit but kept it to use on my A6300 (crop sensor camera) as a nice 105-450mm equivalent lens.
 

quezra

TalkEmount All-Pro
Joined
Aug 22, 2012
Messages
1,055
Welcome! Agreed with everyone who raves about the 90 macro. It really seems incapable of doing any wrong. Just a word of warning: DO NOT GET ADDICTED TO ZEISS GLASS. IT IS INCURABLE.
 

Clix Pix

TalkEmount Top Veteran
Joined
Jul 3, 2018
Messages
596
Location
8 miles from the Tysons (Virginia) Apple Store
WOW!!!!! I have found a wealth of information here!!

Yes, I have heard about Nikon's upcoming new mirrorless camera and lenses that will eventually be on the market....but at this point it is really hard to know when exactly that WILL happen, and I tend to be a bit impatient. I also keep thinking that Sony has already been doing mirrorless for quite some time now and have really developed some good cameras and lenses, are really established in this area. For Nikon it is going to be somewhat of a new game (the Nikon I- series notwithstanding).

Adapters.... I have one which I have used a few times with my NEX-7 and one or two of my Nikon lenses, so I am familiar indeed with them. The other night I looked at one manufacturer's site and it looks to me as though their adapter for the A7III would not be compatible with a couple of my favorite Nikon lenses, so that isn't good! One reason I am thinking in terms of just getting the native lenses from the get-go.

Older-but-goodies lenses: yep, I've got a few! The old Tokina 90mm Macro, a Lester Dine, Nikon's 70-180mm Macro..... (Can you tell I really do love macro!) Oh, and Nikon's rare and wonderful Noct.....

For most shooting I prefer autofocus (my eyes aren't getting any younger!), but with macro, yes, manual focus is the best way to go, and in some situations the ONLY way to get the desired image! I definitely need AF for shooting BIF and just about anything else, though. I think my days of going to Conowingo Dam in Maryland to shoot eagles are pretty much over -- might be able once in a while to snag a GBH in flight over our little lake, though....

Lots to think about, and I can see already that I'm going to benefit from everyone's experiences here!
 

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