A77 ah ha

[jfrabat]

Manually adjusting the focus was a big step for tack sharp images...

I've almost never had a problem with sharpness using AF. I'm still impressed by that...

Mine was sharp, but after adjusting, sharpness increased further, which impressed me quite a bit, as I considered the camera to be sharp before the adjustment. The difference will depend on the lens, though; for example, my 70-300 G lens was almost spot on from the factory, and my 16-80mm Zeiss was close to spot on, but my Minolta 50mm 1.7 was way off, so that one improved drastically.

 

[BGeise]

I have discovered some new tricks that i would say i knew were there just didn't think to use. First is some of the scene modes especially hand held twilight which really helps with low light noise if you have a still subject. The other is the built in Tele converter/ 1.4 or 2.0x zoom. I was able to use my 50mm for some pretty far off shots today that turned out pretty great and i didn't have to lug around a heavy zoom lens.

 

[sonicbuffalo]

Do most of you shoot RAW or jpeg?

 

[jfrabat]

I always shoot RAW+JPG... JPG is easier to catalogue, and if it is a snapshot I took, I simply delete the RAW later on (in my PC). But if I need to salvage a pic, I have the RAW file available. Of course, I also use a 64GB card, so space is not an issue, and, to be honest, I rarely need 12 FPS.

 

[ConradM]

I only shoot jpeg. I tried shooting in RAW years back with my a33 but I found since I was composing in real time I never needed the RAW file to make any big changes.

 

[jfrabat]

I only shoot jpeg. I tried shooting in RAW years back with my a33 but I found since I was composing in real time I never needed the RAW file to make any big changes.

I use RAW not for composing; you can do that with JPG as well... I use it for bringing out the highlights and shadows. Raw has more bits than JPG, and it does not compress (better quality).

 

[ConradM]

I only shoot jpeg. I tried shooting in RAW years back with my a33 but I found since I was composing in real time I never needed the RAW file to make any big changes.

I use RAW not for composing; you can do that with JPG as well... I use it for bringing out the highlights and shadows. Raw has more bits than JPG, and it does not compress (better quality).

Not composing as in framing but getting WB and exposure. Also, 90% of my photos go on FB so I'm not missing that last little bit of quality.

 

[vvcarpio]

I recently bought the A77 (not the M2). I don't use it much because I'm thinking of saving it for important work. For my everyday hobby, I still use the A65.

I do mainly HDR. I like doing HDR in NYC because moving objects like people confuse the HDR software and so are effectively erased. The resulting images are of NYC devoid (well, mostly) of crowds.

With the A65, I use the knob-wheel to change shutter speeds between shots. Even when mounted on a tripod, my touching the camera (by turning the knob wheel) introduces mis-alignments. They are mostly minuscule and are easily fixed by nudging the images up/down or left/right during the alignment step. But occasionally, misalignment is harder to fix because it occurs as a pitch-roll-yaw movement. Although the resulting HDR image's mis-alignments aren't noticeable by most people, I know they're there because I've seen better.

Yesterday, I took my A77 out for a spin. My aha moment came when I found out I can set it to bracket 5 shots spaced at 0.7 ev apart. I only needed to press the button on my shutter release cable once until all 5 shots were taken. Because I didn't touch the camera, all 5 shots are perfectly aligned. Also, my brackets took a lot faster because I didn't have to turn the knob wheel for each shot.

Granted, the total spread is only +/-1.30 ev (as opposed to what many recommend as +/-2.0 ev). But the A77 is also capable of bracketing 3 shots with 2.0 ev and 3.0 ev spacings. The 5-shot bracket and 2.0 ev and 3.0 ev spacings are available only on the A77, not the A65.

I still plan on using the A65 for my everyday hobby and save the A77 from wear-and-tear-and-bumps by only using it for more important work. But it's going to be a lot harder now that I've taken better and faster brackets with the A77 which seems to have been designed with the HDR shooter specifically in mind.

Attached photo is of Times Square early in the day. A77 bracket of 5 shots at 0.7 ev used. Lens is Sigma 10-20mm. Software used are Dynamic Photo HDR (DPHDR), Topaz, and Photoshop CC.

 

[BGeise]

I recently bought the A77 (not the M2). I don't use it much because I'm thinking of saving it for important work. For my everyday hobby, I still use the A65.

I do mainly HDR. I like doing HDR in NYC because moving objects like people confuse the HDR software and so are effectively erased. The resulting images are of NYC devoid (well, mostly) of crowds.

With the A65, I use the knob-wheel to change shutter speeds between shots. Even when mounted on a tripod, my touching the camera (by turning the knob wheel) introduces mis-alignments. They are mostly minuscule and are easily fixed by nudging the images up/down or left/right during the alignment step. But occasionally, misalignment is harder to fix because it occurs as a pitch-roll-yaw movement. Although the resulting HDR image's mis-alignments aren't noticeable by most people, I know they're there because I've seen better.

Yesterday, I took my A77 out for a spin. My aha moment came when I found out I can set it to bracket 5 shots spaced at 0.7 ev apart. I only needed to press the button on my shutter release cable once until all 5 shots were taken. Because I didn't touch the camera, all 5 shots are perfectly aligned. Also, my brackets took a lot faster because I didn't have to turn the knob wheel for each shot.

Granted, the total spread is only +/-1.30 ev (as opposed to what many recommend as +/-2.0 ev). But the A77 is also capable of bracketing 3 shots with 2.0 ev and 3.0 ev spacings. The 5-shot bracket and 2.0 ev and 3.0 ev spacings are available only on the A77, not the A65.

I still plan on using the A65 for my everyday hobby and save the A77 from wear-and-tear-and-bumps by only using it for more important work. But it's going to be a lot harder now that I've taken better and faster brackets with the A77 which seems to have been designed with the HDR shooter specifically in mind.

Attached photo is of Times Square early in the day. A77 bracket of 5 shots at 0.7 ev used. Lens is Sigma 10-20mm. Software used are Dynamic Photo HDR (DPHDR), Topaz, and Photoshop CC.

Nice photo. Great tip!

 

[Wasp1]

I have had my Sony a77 since last Christmas. It was a shops demo model and it came with the battery pack, 3 batteries. Though I will say this little lens is one of my most favourite out there.
My only problem was one day the battery pack and the camera didn't want to play together. So I took it off and the next day replaced it and it has never played up again.
I have not heard of the focus peaking but I will go and see where and what it is all about.

My a77 replaced my old Sony a390 which was a great camera and it had to be the best camera to learn what to do.
I am now in a massive learning curve with this one and to this date I have never regretted getting it.
Sony will always be my camera of choice.