Hi, new here and new to Sony

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi All,

I am Pat from the US and I have yet to start my Sony journal. I am currently a Nikon shooter and photography is a retirement hobby for me. I currently have a Nikon D500 which I use for wildlife and a Nikon D850 which I use for landscape and a bit of everything else. I have yet to own anything Sony is I am here to learn.

I will be looking for recommendations on which body to start with and lens recommendations for wildlife, landscape and macro.

So hi to everyone and look forward to seeing everyone's suggestions and photos. Here's a few of mine.

Pat

 

[Brownie]

Hi Pat, welcome to the forum. You have two very capable and amazing cameras in that set. Mirrorless is a whole different animal in size and weight.

Your question is common, and while I'm sure many will want to respond it would be helpful if we knew what your price point for the body is. Are you looking for resolution? Speed? Lower cost? Recommendations could go from $2,000 for an A7 III to $6500 for the A1 and every point in between.

 

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Brownie and thank you. Fair questions. TBH I am looking at the Sony A1 BUT I also want a second body. Two Sony A1s is too pricely especially since I am starting from nothing. So I guess I need to start with a cheaper body in the 4,500 range for mostly doing wildlife including birds in flight. Does that help lol?
Pat

 

[Jeff A]

Hi Brownie and thank you. Fair questions. TBH I am looking at the Sony A1 BUT I also want a second body. Two Sony A1s is too pricely especially since I am starting from nothing. So I guess I need to start with a cheaper body in the 4,500 range for mostly doing wildlife including birds in flight. Does that help lol?
Pat

Welcome to the Forum Pat. I'll recommend you consider the A7 IV, which is beginning shipping at this time. Depending on what your overall plan is, a second body to consider is the A7C. Unfortunately, I think there is a post on this forum today saying that there is a temporary production hold on a couple of cameras, one of which is the A7C. Chip shortage I believe.

Great pictures you posted. My favorite in that group is the 3rd one. What part of the country do you hail from, Pat?

 

[Brownie]

Look at the A9II, the A7 RIII, and the A7 RIV.

 

[Second Hand Pat]

Welcome to the Forum Pat. I'll recommend you consider the A7 IV, which is beginning shipping at this time. Depending on what your overall plan is, a second body to consider is the A7C. Unfortunately, I think there is a post on this forum today saying that there is a temporary production hold on a couple of cameras, one of which is the A7C. Chip shortage I believe.

Great pictures you posted. My favorite in that group is the 3rd one. What part of the country do you hail from, Pat?

Hi Jeff and thank you. I live near Orlando Florida and mostly shoot birds. They are handy and do not require a model release (j/k). Also thank you for your recommendations. I will be in the research mode for a while and will definitely checkout your suggestions.
Pat

 

[Second Hand Pat]

Look at the A9II, the A7 RIII, and the A7 RIV.

Funny you should mention the A7R IV and the A9/A9ii Brownie. I just watched a video comparing the two and I like the A7R IV with the A9 AF. Back to watching videos
Pat

 

[Brownie]

Funny you should mention the A7R IV and the A9/A9ii Brownie. I just watched a video comparing the two and I like the A7R IV with the A9 AF. Back to watching videos
Pat

If you can live with 33MP, the new A7IV that Jeff recommended has the A1's focusing, along with Bird Eye Focus, something the A9 doesn't have. The thing is you may have to wait, they were just released in the US today and are backordered just about everywhere. Definitely look at it though.

 

[Jeff A]

Funny you should mention the A7R IV and the A9/A9ii Brownie. I just watched a video comparing the two and I like the A7R IV with the A9 AF. Back to watching videos
Pat

Pat, the big thing about the A9 II is that it has a Stacked Sensor like the A1. I guess this makes things better because the processing power is faster which improves those processes which can take an advantage of that speed. And if it appears that I don't know what I'm talking about, you would be absolutely correct. All of that is definatley above my Pay Grade.

 

[Second Hand Pat]

If you can live with 33MP, the new A7IV that Jeff recommended has the A1's focusing, along with Bird Eye Focus, something the A9 doesn't have. The thing is you may have to wait, they were just released in the US today and are backordered just about everywhere. Definitely look at it though.

Hi Brownie, I watched a review on youtube of the A7 IV so seems it is definitely worth considering. I will do more research tomorrow.
Pat

 

[Second Hand Pat]

Pat, the big thing about the A9 II is that it has a Stacked Sensor like the A1. I guess this makes things better because the processing power is faster which improves those processes which can take an advantage of that speed. And if it appears that I don't know what I'm talking about, you would be absolutely correct. All of that is definatley above my Pay Grade.

Hi Jeff, I am only beginning my research but seems the A9 ii seems to lack of some things I care about like low light performance, ergonomics, etc BUT I am not throwing anything out the window. I think this will be a fun journey so on with the learning process.
Pat

 

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi guys, what is "Compressed RAW"? Once the raw file comes off the camera does it become Uncompressed and is Compressed RAW a lossless format? Guessing the Compressed RAW would have less data then the Uncompressed RAW? How much data is lost?. Can LS and PS handle a Compressed RAW?
Pat

 

[Brownie]

The ultimate answer is yes, there is loss with compressed. The practical answer is it probably doesn't matter.

Here's a recent discussion on the subject. There are more in here as well, type 'uncompressed or 'compressed' in the search box.

Sony A7iii - Raw files - compressed VS uncompressed - there is no lossless compression available

Hello all I see that this topic has been discussed here before. But still, my query is quite a bit different. I am new to Sony Alpha camera, switching over from Nikon systems. Just got the new system 4 days back. This is about RAW files - compressed and non compressed...

www.alphashooters.com

 

[Second Hand Pat]

Just understand that any kind of compression will result in loss of detail. Even 'lossless' compressed will have that effect. Again though, we come back to how much it matters? Most of the guys at my local shop shoot lossless compressed to save space and file size.

Thanks Brownie, this is all I needed. Bring back my days as a software engineer.
Pat