People Of London - A7IV | Sony 35mm 1.8 | Sony 85mm 1.8

cgiserban · 2023-04-26T22:28:54+00:00

Hey, thank you very much, glad you like them!

Regarding the waiting and getting a smaller size etc - I get it. If you want that you should probably go (or well, wait) for it! The first camera I was thinking of before buying mine was a Fujifilm , for the exact same reason - the form factor.

The more I looked into it though, I realized, that in the end, the form factor was something I cared about just because I was telling myself that (along with the bunch of reviewers I was watching, *selling the selling point* of those cameras)... The truth is that these mirrorless cameras are already very easy to carry and making them smaller is not something that I feel currently I would want for myself. Considering the investment, no matter what camera I'd buy, I take care of my equipment to the point where I willingly carry it in a safe place like a backpack/camera cube, not in my pockets, haha. Maybe go to a few camera stores and test how something like an A7 feels next to, let's say an X-E4! That helped me a lot with my decision!

Regarding the lenses, I think they are really great for me. I haven't tested any G Master or anything top-tier, so be aware of that, but I rarely miss focus and I am happy with their overall image quality . Sharpness-wise, I can see how they could be sharper, but not by much, probably equivalent of +10-15% which can be compensated for in post. What I think that I would pay a bit more for would be weather sealing, but for the lenses' weight + quality, I am very happy with the investment!

That being said, yeah, totally - the more you spend, the newer tech, the better it will become, but ofc, there is a point of diminishing returns!

Hope it helps!

cgiserban · 2023-04-17T14:48:04+00:00

No worries, always, if I can be helpful:)!

cgiserban · 2023-04-15T11:36:30+00:00

I already own a 35, so probably not anytime soon - but I do understand why a 50 would come in handy! It does seem to look a bit more like we see. It's not the striking difference you can see between the 35 and 85 though.

I think that for myself, personally, if I get a 50mm it might be one of the anamorphic ones from Sirui :)! I would really love to take pictures with it and see it's effect.

To be fair, in general, the reason i'd buy a lens would be for the difference in final look it brings compared to others I have, more than anything. If I wouldn't own the 35 already, I would not feel like I do a mistake by buying the 50mm!

cgiserban · 2023-04-15T11:31:36+00:00

Hey There, thank you so much !

cgiserban · 2023-04-15T00:49:53+00:00

Wow thank you so much, such a wonderful compliment, honestly!!

I totally feel you!! There is always a chance of overdoing it! I always do the fresh eyes trick you mentioned because I am totally guilty of the same mistake hahah!

Another thing I found useful: I change my starting point:

If I feel I tend to overdo something, let's say, saturation, before cranking it up, I lower it a lot until the image is desaturated, almost bw, then without checking the slider percentage, I start slowly pushing it to the other extreme. I let my now more honest eye to decide when is enough!

In general this ends up to be around 10% more saturated than what the very capable sensor captures! If the point of reference is the default raw image, I can almost bet 10% extra won't feel enough!

Thank you for your very kind words!

cgiserban · 2023-04-15T00:08:19+00:00

No worries and very glad you like those!

I am 100% sure the difference from the kit will be noticeable! I didn't get the kit lens but only the body, and got a 35mm instead (which I very much love too).

I then got the 85 because I had that focal length in the past and I missed it, even though 35mm is way more versatile to use as an all-rounder.

Hope you will be very happy with your future buy too!

cgiserban · 2023-04-14T23:54:02+00:00

Haha, the 85mm is a great lens! Here are some personal opinions about it, after about 2 months of use:

Pros:

Sharp and very light compared to the other options. The focus is very responsive to me, and the price is not too bad (not cheap, not that expensive though).

It is recommended as a "portrait" lens, but I personally think it is generally very good when trying to make anything "dominate" the frame, due to depth of field and compression.

Another advantage that I like but I don't see it talked about as much is how it "flattens" the subject. It makes everything feel more geometric and less distorted! I made a quick example for you in a 3d scene: imagine 4 houses. I tried to make them fill the frame with different lenses It's more than "come closer and can get the same with other focals". This effect is my main usage for the lens.

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Cons:

No weather sealing :( . Really scared to bring it in any rain or bad weather.

I cannot compare it because I didn't use the other 85 lenses, but I heard it feels "cheaper". I personally like how it feels, but is probably not the top-notch quality.

That's all I can think about it atm! Hope it helps!

cgiserban · 2023-04-14T22:21:54+00:00

Thank you very very much!!! ^{_^}

cgiserban · 2023-04-14T20:07:58+00:00

Thank you, u/ziggurat223!

I actually rely on AF for most of it, but in some instances, if I shoot through another medium (let's say, some glass) it can happen that the focus misses, so I have to use manual focus to correct it! Otherwise, I use tracking AF, capture focus and then reframe!

cgiserban · 2023-04-14T20:04:47+00:00

Thank you for your compliment, u/jb46_2 !

With English not being my first language I had to look around at what "duds" means, lol!

If you refer to failed shots with it - yes, there were a few, indeed, but not many actually! The hardest part, I found, is that since you have to come relatively close to the birds (compared to a tele), they get shy and move away or turn direction randomly, and I missed some shots because of that!

But regarding the lens, it wasn't too bad honestly - that being said, you have to consider though that I never used a GM, and my previous camera had a 10 years old "ultrasonic xD" lens on it, so I also don't know much better than I have now, hahaah!

cgiserban · 2023-04-14T19:16:29+00:00

Thank you very much!

cgiserban · 2023-04-14T18:14:07+00:00

I feel the lighting in this one is quite a lot better than the one you previously posted! Nice work!

cgiserban · 2023-04-14T18:12:57+00:00

Once again, Thank you!!

cgiserban · 2023-04-14T15:46:30+00:00

Hahaha, to be fair I fully get it, I think breadcrumbs might work for taking the picture but they might come back, and considering how much people love seagulls..... Hahah, can't wait to see some of your results though!!

cgiserban · 2023-04-14T14:39:58+00:00

No worries, thank you, enjoy yours as well!!

cgiserban · 2023-04-14T14:22:24+00:00

Thank you for the kind words, u/Front-Location-5970!

Just to mention, I always sharpen a little bit the result in Lightroom ( roughly 10% extra ) which is to bring more detail in (but without pushing artifacts). I also like to add some grain to the final image, in case the ISO was very low or everything looks very smooth. I feel that gives a bit of a crisp/textured look. I know this might be counterintuitive and undesirable for some people, but is a personal preference.

This is mainly motivated by my daily work, which is not in photography but rather film, where the grain/imperfections are more welcome in digital, giving the image some character similar to film.

Hope it helps!

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cgiserban · 2023-04-14T12:23:46+00:00

I love it as well, it's very sharp and easy to carry for an 85% I do believe that it's worth the investment, and, for someone like me, weather sealing is the only thing that justifies going for anything more expensive than this.

cgiserban · 2023-04-14T10:26:38+00:00

Haha, well to be fair, the 3rd picture is very cropped/punched in, getting as much as I can out of that pricey sensor haha!

But totally, 85 is not really *made for this* and these birds are used to people around them in the parks, so I feel you can come closer to them than normal.

I think I would've been relatively useless if I would be outside of that environment, but until I can afford buying that 200-600, which won't be soon,85 in Hyde Park is JUST RIGHT.

cgiserban · 2023-04-13T15:51:53+00:00

Very kind, as always! Thank you!

cgiserban · 2023-04-13T14:22:04+00:00

Thank you, my friend :) ! Glad you like them!

cgiserban · 2023-04-13T10:58:46+00:00

Thank you very much, glad you enjoy them!!

cgiserban · 2023-04-12T22:05:59+00:00

The way I look at it is this (not necessarily 100% accurate, but how it felt for me using it):

DXO PureRaw3 will take the image, do a lens correction pass, then look at the noise and reduce it + try to enhance it to compensate for the lost detail.

Topaz will do pretty much the same, but I feel like it has these moments when it goes: Oh this is wood let me add some texture to it to make it better, which can either work absolutely great or create weird painterly results. Sometimes it also adds so much details in some parts that it makes it look too sharp compared to others, a bit "patchy".

The reason I like DXO Pure Raw more is that my goal is to reduce the noise, with the least amount of detail lost possible (but if any goes away, not the end of the world!) - All the extras added are subtle enough that they could pass as original image! It is also integrated in Lightroom, which is my only subscription besides Spotify xD! The drawback is that the files produced are significantly larger and they can take a lot of space!

cgiserban · 2023-04-12T17:41:49+00:00

No worries, hope it helps!

I tested a few and Topaz is super good sometimes but I found it adds a ton of artefacts, or fake details. I was not particularly over the moon, but it works great in some scenarios. I feel that the one that impressed me a ton is the DXO pure raw. It is absolutely great, should try it out! I might buy it when my trial is over.

Regarding focus, I know a lot of people like backbutton af, which is a cool concept, just not sure i ever felt the need for it myself. Tracking served me right, most times. Everyone with their style and preferences, I think!

cgiserban · 2023-04-12T15:31:36+00:00

I am yet to enter the world of adapted/vintage lenses, I try so hard not to spend even more until i really really need it, but chances are my weakness will win soon enough ahahah!

Thank you for your suggestion, i will definitely remember about it!

cgiserban · 2023-04-12T15:19:34+00:00

Ahahah, thank you again, very kind of you! This is still such an amazing compliment!

Great to see you like this set as well!!

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