A9 III or 300 mm f/2.8 GM

[-ST-]

I've been trying to decide whether to get the A9 III or 300 mm f/2.8 GM since they were announced.
I've mulled it over every day as I walk around with my cameras, making myself crazy trying to imagine the shots I would get with one or the other.

Spoiler: Click to see what I got

• ILCE-1
• Sony FE 50mm F1.2 GM (SEL50F12GM)
• 50.0 mm
• ƒ/4.5
• 1/200 sec
• ISO 8000

• ILCE-1
• Sony FE 50mm F1.2 GM (SEL50F12GM)
• 50.0 mm
• ƒ/1.2
• 1/200 sec
• ISO 320

Wow! It's hard to get a good shot of this thing.
Does anyone have suggestions on how to shoot something like this?

 

[Unframed Dave]

A nice lens or camera won't get you money for nothing and your chicks for free, we'll played Sir.

 

[AlphaWorld]

Beautiful!

Am I allowed to say "Don't fret about the decision" ?

If you asked me, I'd say get the 300 GM first - it will last you many years, and probably multiple camera bodies.

 

[alexpler]

If you really feel like getting new gear, I'd say a new lens will widen your options and push your creativity more than a new camera. Plus, it will still be useful in the future if you finally get a new camera in the coming years.

 

[-ST-]

Thanks for chiming in, everyone.

A nice lens or camera won't get you money for nothing and your chicks for free, we'll played Sir.

Although I was familiar with the song, I hadn't thought about the meaning. I don't recall ever watching MTV. I just missed the whole phenomenon. Your comment sent me on a journey to learn how it was written. This was fun.

The Meaning Behind Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing," the Song That Bit the Video Channel That Feeds

The meaning behind Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing," a song that pokes fun at MTV's complete domination of the '80s music industry.

americansongwriter.com

Beautiful!

Am I allowed to say "Don't fret about the decision" ?

That's hilarious. Thank you.

If you asked me, I'd say get the 300 GM first - it will last you many years, and probably multiple camera bodies.

Thanks for all your posts about the A9 III and 300 GM. As you know, they are about the same money, and I had that set aside for one or the other. My daily ruminations came down to, "Which one will let me take photos I can't get now?" and "Do I want those photos?"

A guitar like the one in the photos above has been on my bucket list for years. When the stars aligned, it was easy to grab the guitar and skip the body and lens. At this point, I'm happy to wait for the A1 II.

If you really feel like getting new gear, I'd say a new lens will widen your options and push your creativity more than a new camera. Plus, it will still be useful in the future if you finally get a new camera in the coming years.

Thanks.

When this guitar turned up, it was easy to seize that opportunity and table the internal debate about bodies and lenses. Besides, I haven't gotten a new instrument since I bought my first camera over two years ago. So "the decision", was to skip the body and lens and quite probably wait for whatever the A1 II turns out to be.

More about the lens or body discussion:
If I stick to what I'm shooting now (wildlife and landscapes), the lens would be a better investment. However, I've got some coverage in that focal range and aperture between the 70-200 f/2.8 and the 200-600 f/5.6 - 6.3. Sure, I don't have precisely 300 f/2.8, but for what I'm doing, I don't know how much I'd use it even though I already have the 2x Teleconverter (to get 600 f/5.6) and possibly sharper pictures with faster focus (maybe).

The allure of the A9 III is the global shutter and higher frames per second. For what I do now, these probably don't matter much, but trying new kinds of photography (sports or indoor music concerts) might have been fun. So the attraction would be to do new types of photography.


Now, does anybody have some hints about how to get good shots of electric guitars with complex curves, lots of detail, lots of shiny bits, and ridiculous proportions? I'd prefer not to invest in studio lighting, just for guitar shots.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

The camera or lens won't determine what shots you get, only you can do that. Both are big money, but I'd favour the lens, the A9 is too much of a one trick pony IMO

 

[-ST-]

Playing around with light and getting a better rendition of the actual colour

• ILCE-1
• Sony FE 50mm F1.2 GM (SEL50F12GM)
• 50.0 mm
• ƒ/1.8
• 1/500 sec
• ISO 12800

And for you guitar players, this is a 2004 PRS Santana Brazilian Limited Edition.