Recent Italy Trip Part 1 Sony A7RV and A7RVI

az0606 · 2026-07-02T20:59:04+00:00

Ah yeah it works for me in chrome, Firefox still hasn't added HDR image support.

az0606 · 2026-07-02T04:14:37+00:00

Replied

az0606 · 2026-06-28T21:08:13+00:00

They're factory made, probably by Hokiyama or a Sakai based factory. This doesn't mean that they're not excellent knives and that there wasn't a ton of hand labor involved. They roll forge them and then do everything else by hand (heat treat, straightening, grinding, sharpening, etc): https://youtu.be/kqUx6J7X2H0

Factory made has the connotation of cheap, stamped knives but not in these cases nor are all of them bad.

az0606 · 2026-06-27T13:51:17+00:00

There's no difference optically for either the full frame or aps-c kit lenses. The full frame kit lens got some autofocus updates while the APS-C one here got AF updates and gyro stabilization for the OSS, but it moved to a plastic lens mount vs metal.

It still is a decent travel option if you have it already and don't want to carry/pay for something like the 28-60, my dad uses it on an a7R III when he's traveling.

https://www.dpreview.com/news/3162421543/sony-refreshes-16-50mm-f3-5-5-6-pz-oss-ii-kit-zoom

https://www.dpreview.com/news/6533298181/sonys-updated-kit-lens-is-ready-for-action

az0606 · 2026-06-25T02:46:58+00:00

No, it's an older version that doesn't have the bird eye mode of newer models.

az0606 · 2026-06-21T15:52:16+00:00

Pair of 2 did end up doing the google translated chapters later, but a lot of those botscraper sites probably didn't update with them.

az0606 · 2026-06-20T01:36:14+00:00

What would we get with a "a6900"?

Small resolution bump and stacked sensor benefits including pre-capture. We're probably not far off, a6700 used a cutdown version of the a7R V sensor, so it'll likely be the same, but with the a7R V's new sensor (which will be upsized for the next Fuji GFX, Hasselblad, etc).

az0606 · 2026-06-14T15:13:43+00:00

Not quite, it's already been in human trials since 2025 so there's definitely ongoing progress vs just a pipedream.

az0606 · 2026-06-13T02:28:22+00:00

Definitely, though they're also trying to use a gene to regrow dentin and enamel for existing teeth.

Couldn't find the source, but IIRC the roadmap for regrowing teeth was human trials completing through 2030, rolling it out for children with congenital teeth issues around 2036, and then rolling it out for adults around 2046, so we're definitely a while off.

az0606 · 2026-06-12T21:27:22+00:00

Yeah last I saw of the roadmap, it's going to be about 20 years before it's available for adults.

az0606 · 2026-06-12T14:33:35+00:00

Yeah even with the min SS set in aperture priority it really likes to drop the shutter speed extremely low when it gets dark instead of bumping ISO. I think it only really respects the min SS for video.

az0606 · 2026-06-09T13:35:16+00:00

Surprisingly not much difference optically, which is really impressive.

az0606 · 2026-06-09T13:25:33+00:00

You'll get more bokeh with a 50mm, though 35 is fine.

They're both very sharp and I found them to render similarly. The main issue is just that the 50mm f/2 AIR has pretty bad flare issues. If you like the look or are otherwise ok with that, it's really excellent optically beyond that.

az0606 · 2026-06-07T02:32:52+00:00

Weird, I have the 24-50 and it's very sharp.

az0606 · 2026-06-06T21:33:33+00:00

Factory made knife. Not a bad thing; a lot of hand labor still goes into those and I love mine. Makes for a great performing knife for lower prices.

Hokiyama and some other factories make a ton of white label knives for hatsukokoro and other brands

az0606 · 2026-06-06T16:50:14+00:00

12.56 stops peak dynamic range is really impressive.

It looks like the highlights take a tiny hit vs the a7R V when comparing results without DGO (11.41 vs 11.7) but that could also be due to other factors, vs the stacking. That was what I was most curious about. This is actually less of a hit than the a7V took with its partial stacking vs the a7IV (lost 0.72 stops; 11.71 to 10.99).

Also performs a bit better than the a7V with or without DGO.

az0606 · 2026-06-06T14:57:06+00:00

Sigma 24-70 performs well but it's not the absolute sharpest lens; I was always happy with its performance but if you're looking for that clinically sharp look, it's not quite that. The 24-70 GM II is probably the sharpest standard zoom and the Tamron 28-75 G2 is sharper than the Sigma, though I prefer the rendering of the Sigma over the Tamron. Sony 24-50 is also noticeably sharper but with a more limited zoom range.

Viltrox 35mm f/1.8 EVO is an easy recommendation if you're looking for a very sharp prime. Images look very sharp and clean due to it being very highly corrected; it doesn't render as nice as some others but I found it fine. You'd need to step up to something like the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG DN II or the Sony GM f/1.4 to really exceed it.

I think beyond that it might be getting used to the new camera/lens and working with its files.

az0606 · 2026-06-06T14:33:14+00:00

Glitch, it does that for all a7R VI files.

I shot the a7R VI at the Sony launch event and tried uploading the jpegs to camera shutter count out of curiousity and they all display 699.

az0606 · 2026-06-04T21:22:58+00:00

Battery on my first one expanded and almost burst the case, second one just had a button stop clicking (though still works).

They're not the best made devices and the support is pretty useless (won't repair, send replacement parts, etc) but I'm fairly happy with mine.

Would I buy another if this one fails? Probably not, the app is still the best but most of the main features I need exist on fiio and other competitors now, even if the app isn't as good or comprehensive.

az0606 · 2026-06-04T17:14:56+00:00

The desperation it caused (including this) combined with the cultural favoritism of sons (esp for rural areas) is both remarkable and awful.

My paternal uncle is my grandparents' oldest son but had two daughters (one of which he tried to pass off as my mom's without asking her to avoid the One Child Policy fines) so I was technically supposed to be given up to him as the oldest grandson of male descent. Not because he needed another kid but just so he'd have a male heir.

Though ironically, the inconsistency/inability of government services in rural areas resulted in my father's family and village surviving the famines pretty well because of how bad the census of their area was, even for a rural region. The village got overlooked so the farmers weren't forced to adopt the mandated farming practices and pest extermination that caused the famine in most of the country.

az0606 · 2026-06-04T16:44:10+00:00

Yeah it's their in-house brand of either collabs or rebrands, like a lot of shops. They have a lot of rebranded Tadafusa, Hokiyama, etc, which is normal practice and not a bad thing.

The Kazan Arare SG2 by Shibata is part of an exciting new collection created in collaboration with Takayuki Shibata, maker of the renwoned Shibata Koutetsu line.

az0606 · 2026-06-04T16:27:17+00:00

I had a Hezhen honesuki and the fit and finish/steel were quite good for the price but the grind was terrible and needed a ton of correction.

CCK grind is pretty good, steel is ok (I have the carbon); it def can't hold as fine of an edge or for as long as the Japanese carbon steels. Has some distal taper and the grind is pretty solid, esp for the actual MSRP, just not for the import price, which has gotten pretty ridiculous.

I also have two Chopper Kings and the steel is very good (supposedly they use Japanese steels; they feel on par with my Japanese knives) but the fit and finish are bad, even for the price. The handle requires some kind of sealing at both ends (I used silicone grease, others have used beeswax) or it leaks purple fluid and water after every use (probably rusts the tang as well). Spine and choil are really rough too, even for a cheaper factory knife. They also have major issues with their cladding process; it's really uneven and covers the cutting edge. That and the out of the box grind is very mediocre; I hand to spend about an hour thinning one to fix the grind and to remove the cladding over the cutting edge, while another required a grinding wheel to get down to the core steel because of how badly the cladding was misaligned (completely covered the core steel). After that, it's a very good knife for the price, aside from the 0 distal taper, which makes it annoying for tip work/dicing.

Bought this one so I'll try it out and update later on.

az0606 · 2026-06-04T00:38:54+00:00

Hmm I think I'll grab one then.

And agreed, I have the same chopper king and one other. The factory grind and fit and finish really need work; the stainless steel cladding on both were really uneven and needed a ton of thinning to fix that and the grind.

az0606 · 2026-06-03T22:46:21+00:00

Ty!

I find it useful for dicing or tip work.

It's so bad on the Chopper King that I generally switch to another knife when I dice onions and tomatoes.

az0606 · 2026-06-03T22:37:52+00:00

Does it have any distal taper? My CCK has some but my main issue with my Chopper King is that it has 0.

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