A bit of help for a new Alpha shooter.

[Cyshooter]

Hello fellow Alphashooters. Excuse my beginnership as this is the first time i ever write a thread in a forum. I would love it if you could help me clear my head cause i'm a bit confused.
I used to shoot on an old nex-f3 for the last couple of years, which also was the begining of my photography journey. I bought the sony 28-70fe kit lens from the start because i always had on my mind upgrading to the (delicious) sony full frame world. I shot great images with my little nex-f3 but i felt like i started outgrowing it because it wouldnt give me much especially in terms of the iso tolerance. So recently i bought a second hand sony A7ii, which is in a very good condition, and im using it with my already owned kit lens. Now my issue is that i believe that it didnt make that much of a difference for my final pictures. Maybe i built my expectations too high, believing that the difference from the nex-f3 would be huge compared to the A7ii, maybe i'm doing something wrong, or maybe the difference will show when i buy my first quality lens. What do you believe?
In terms of my skills, i believe i know how to use the exposure triangle well, i know basic stuff on how to use apperture for portraits at low f stops or for landscapes on higher (for max sharpness of any lens) and other stuff, but of course i'm currently a hobbyist, all i know about photography i know it from youtube tutorials, or forums. I aspire to make the most out of my A7ii and your help to do that would be a bless for me. I also posted some (non edited) pictures i took for you to see my current results.

 

[Ziggy]

What were you expecting to see?

 

[Tim Mayo]

For these type of shots you generally won't see a night and day difference between an APS-C camera like the Nex F3 and a full-frame camera like the a7II. The difference between APS-C and full-frame is normally more visible when you are shooting in lower light with increased ISO levels, or trying to extract more details from the highlights and shadows in post. Of course, you also have a few more megapixles to play with which can be useful for cropping, along with a larger selection of lenses. Lovely cat!

 

[Cyshooter]

What were you expecting to see?

One thing i expected is sharper images. Now, im not the guy that blames his gear. So do you believe in order to do that i must buy a good lens? Or learn my camera better?
Thanks for the response.

 

[Cyshooter]

For these type of shots you generally won't see a night and day difference between an APS-C camera like the Nex F3 and a full-frame camera like the a7II. The difference between APS-C and full-frame is normally more visible when you are shooting in lower light with increased ISO levels, or trying to extract more details from the highlights and shadows in post. Of course, you also have a few more megapixles to play with which can be useful for cropping, along with a larger selection of lenses. Lovely cat!

Thanks for the reply, i also found interesting the difference between the field of view. I'm planning to buy my first quality glass. Which you believe i should start with?
P.s. Because you liked it. Here is the cat's final photo

• ILCE-7M2
• FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
• 70.0 mm
• ƒ/5.6
• 1/100 sec
• ISO 640

 

[Tim Mayo]

The cat looks quite scary now! The kit 28-70 is a decent lens but not the sharpest. If you are looking for a similar focal range then maybe take a look at the Sony FE 24-105 F4, the Tamron 28-75 F2.8 or the Sigma 24-70 F2.8.

 

[Cyshooter]

Yeah those are the 3 lenses i'm now thinking about to get. I excluded the 24-70 2.8gm because of the price, and i think i'm gonna go with the Tamron 28-75.

 

[RolyPolyWendy]

Thanks for the reply, i also found interesting the difference between the field of view. I'm planning to buy my first quality glass. Which you believe i should start with?
P.s. Because you liked it. Here is the cat's final photo View attachment 6283

It's name is not Sylvester is it?

 

[RolyPolyWendy]

I think you enter it into a pet magazine contest. I used to get one for Cats but I can't remember the name. I really like this photo !
I am biased because I love cats as much as photography!

 

[Reciprocum]

One thing i expected is sharper images. Now, im not the guy that blames his gear. So do you believe in order to do that i must buy a good lens? Or learn my camera better?
Thanks for the response.

Even while I was still shooting m43 bodies the biggest improvement in IQ I felt was when I moved from zooms to prime lenses. The second biggest leap when I moved from SOC jpegs to RAW editing. The third biggest gain when I moved from 12mpx m43 to 24mpx FF (DR jump was dramatic on this one move).

 

[garuda]

One thing i expected is sharper images....

I think the 2nd cat shot was pretty good, had a little bokeh going on behind face. So Constantino, I'm curious, what do think is wrong w the 2nd cat shot?

 

[Jeff A]

Thanks for the reply, i also found interesting the difference between the field of view. I'm planning to buy my first quality glass. Which you believe i should start with?
P.s. Because you liked it. Here is the cat's final photo View attachment 6283

What a beautiful set of teeth on this Kitty. I hope it wasn't really the final photo. :-(

 

[Reciprocum]

Thanks for the reply, i also found interesting the difference between the field of view. I'm planning to buy my first quality glass. Which you believe i should start with?

Don't discard the hypothesis of trying out a prime lens too, if you are looking for "quality glass" that is were you will find it (check DXOmark lens ratings to see how many zoom lenses sit in the top 100 slots of their ranking ... Answer: none, I stopped counting after 100). I suggest you start with the SEL85F18
Don't knee cap your 7M2 by feeding it only zoomed glass... the saying goes: you date your camera bodies you marry your lenses.

Edit: added this photo for you to assess what that 85mm f1.8 can do indoors with available (window) light

• ILCE-7M3
• Sony FE 85mm F1.8 (SEL85F18)
• 85.0 mm
• ƒ/4.5
• 1/160 sec
• ISO 100

In studio with flash light at f7 is even better.

• ILCE-7M3
• Sony FE 85mm F1.8 (SEL85F18)
• 85.0 mm
• ƒ/7.1
• 1/250 sec
• ISO 100