Ok so who will buy either of the new Sony releases either the a9iii or 300 gm 2.8 or are these irrelevant to you?

[spudhead]

I can only assume the excitement people speak of for the a1 mk2 means they are looking forward to a price tag of 7-8k because that seems to be all Sony are interested in the top line, it will not be long before they force more from this hobby, the practice of constantly over specking cameras with much that many do not need or want should be in Sonys thought process

 

[Clix Pix]

I"m not interested in the A9 III -- My A1, with its 50 MP, much more suits my needs and my usage. Also, I already have issues with a too-heavy finger on the shutter button when shooting in burst mode/Continuous High+ and having to wade through numerous images later in the computer! A camera which can go 120fps would be really dangerous in my hands! Imagine how quickly one would eat up a memory card.....

The 300mm f/2.8 GM is really, really appealing and I would love one, but I probably won't actually purchase this lovely lens.

 

[Paul stuart]

I can only assume the excitement people speak of for the a1 mk2 means they are looking forward to a price tag of 7-8k because that seems to be all Sony are interested in the top line, it will not be long before they force more from this hobby, the practice of constantly over specking cameras with much that many do not need or want should be in Sonys thought process

maybe those stacked sensors will be avaible for the normal a7 line up with out the price hike ,for us wildlife .macro ,landscape ,portrait event photographers a stacked sensor is all that is required ,i do not see nikons z9 and z8 owners clambering for a global shutter with cameras that have no mechanical shutters ,they are too busy showing off stella wildlife lenses

 

[Paul stuart]

i am tempted by the sony 300mm f2.8 ,maybe trade in the 70-200mm gm mk2 as i plan on trying the 70-200mm f4 macro ,i am all for weight savings and the 300 mm with a 2x could replace the 200-600mm also but the jury is out and 2x is not the greatest by all accounts ,but can work on the big primes.

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

That is pretty astonishing at 1.4kg that 300mm!

Think I remember reading Tony AW here saying he hopes it comes under 2.5kg or even better, 2kg. How about under 1.5kg!!?

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

I've been reading comments on other forums, even the M-4/3 people have sat up to take notice!

Absolutely remarkable!

 

[iamdlewis]

How many of those do you know?

Common sense dictates that my person outnumbers your person 20-1.

Since I only know 4 people that have ever done photography as a profession I would have to say all of them are much closer to my person than to yours. In fact the person I described would be the one doing the worst.

BTW if we would use your ratio than the city of Philadelphia would only have like 5 event photographers that are not living event to event and there are way more than that who have offices in Philly and are paying way more that 2k a month in rent for those.

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

Since I only know 4 people that have ever done photography as a profession I would have to say all of them are much closer to my person than to yours. In fact the person I described would be the one doing the worst.

BTW if we would use your ratio than the city of Philadelphia would only have like 5 event photographers that are not living event to event and there are way more than that who have offices in Philly and are paying way more that 2k a month in rent for those.

Go get him Dave!!!

 

[Clix Pix]

No need to imagine, they told us the numbers on the day of release. The camera can shoot 192 images or a 1-1/2 second burst before it hits buffer, which results in 6 Gig worth of data. A 160 gig CF card would get you a total of 26 of those. A Terabyte gets you 167 button presses.

Oh, thank you for the mathematical calculations! I am not fond of math, and not good at it, but for me while reading the initial description of the new A9 III it was enough to off the top of my head realize that in my hands, how much of a disaster using an A9 III at full-out fps would be! LOL!! Thankfully I am not a sports shooter, either as an amateur or as a professional, and so I don't need that kind of speed. I'm perfectly content with my A1's 30 fps or whatever it is..... That is fast enough!

Actually, it's really rather cool to look at the frames, one-by-one, and see the subtle changes in each, as an eyelid begins the process of blinking and closing or the direction of the subject's eyes, along with the head and neck, shifts ever-so-slightly as they are moving to look at something else.

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

Assuming the processor has the potential to keep up, I'd have thought CF Express Type B would have been a far better option for this camera.

 

[Clix Pix]

Sony cameras use only CF Express Type A . Type B is used by other systems such as Nikon and I think Canon...... A Type B CFE card will not work in a Sony camera, so don't waste your time and your money.

 

[Unframed Dave]

I only know one wedding photographer, well, two actually as they work as a couple. Two points: they invested heavily in canon mirrorless a while back after trading nikons in, so this won't interest them at all and they don't use flash to my knowledge.

As an aside, they lent me a camera to play with, but as they didn't believe in any form of front element protection, I was too afraid to do much with it!

They only run one car, when he ran out of oil recently, he popped round and put a gallon of my garden machinery four stroke in it. Hardly the lap of luxury.

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

And yeah, it could keep up

I trust that you've had confirmation from the Sony engineering department on that one. ️

 

[pointreyes]

I've been reading comments on other forums, even the M-4/3 people have sat up to take notice!

Understandable considering the M.Zuiko 300 f4 is 5 grams heavier. Quite an impressive feat on Sony's part.

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

Sorry, I don't have time to spoon feed you. Figure it out for yourself.



Almost forgot:

It doesn't have any information about the processing power required for a 24mp global shutter to take 120fps so I'm not sure what that information achieves in regards to my thought. What I can tell you for sure though is that a CF Express Type B at 4gb/s would clear the buffer quicker than a CF Express Type A can at 1gb/s, so then as I stated it could very well be governed by the processing power, hence the reason they seen the sense of using a what seems to be a hindrance of a card on such a fast camera.

Thank you. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery...

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

The camera has two BionZ XR processors, so I'm thinkin' that ain't the issue.

Oh OK, I didn't hear you the first time. I guess it's official then, Sony used a slower memory card to bottle neck their superior DUAL processing speed. They must do it so that they don't get too far ahead of Nikon and Canon. Great sportsmanship Sony.

 

[spudhead]

I've been reading comments on other forums, even the M-4/3 people have sat up to take notice!

I remember a mate having a Sony 300 2.8 version 2 a-mount cleaned, so taken to pieces, this was done by a guy we knew and if you see the thickness of some of the elements in it, it makes you wonder how they could shave the weight to such an extent. I assume it is all glass elements? also recall people saying version 2 of the a-mount had a plastic protector over the big end element but I have no clue if that is correct.

 

[iamdlewis]

Only four? And that's what you're basing your opinion on? Got it. Good talk.

Yup only 4. I don't appear to socialize in many circles that professional photographers do. I didn't get into wildlife photography because I wanted to be around a lot of people.

Your position is 96% of all event photographers are living payday to payday making it impossible for any to buy the A9iii and my position is that is wrong and many event photographers will consider the A9iii and some will buy it.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

It has occurred to me, after some consideration, that maybe Sony are trying to move the A9 series away from the dedicated wildlife guys, for which the A1 is much better suited.
Maybe the 9 III has some sports applications, though I'm not sure, it's biggest thing in that respect is the global shutter. Given that pro guys have a limited time to send the shots across for publishing, they aren't that likely to use 120fps in the field, in fact, I don't think anyone will!
Anyway, the A1 is still the definite wildlife (or specifically wildlife in action) king in the Sony range thanks to the resolution and burst speed combo. I'm very disappointed with the delay of the new firmware though, I was hoping it would sway me.

 

[Deleted Member 5003]

I will sell my 70mm-200 GMII, along with my A9II and/or possibly my 400mm, and buy the 300 GM as well as the A9III.

The Precapture, Global sensor distortion control and C5-120 FPS of the A9 III all fit into my wheelhouse, photographically speaking,
the 300 GM with a TCx1.4 and added lightness are attractive and having used a Nikon 300mmx2.8 to great effect for many years
the 300 GM again fits well into my shooting preferences.........

Thanks Paul, yes this is my plan and I have initiated a pre- order deal......let's see what comes out of the woodwork as we see further and more detailed field reviews......friendly agents who will accept pre-order cancellations are a wonderful thing...

 

[RogerSmith]

It has occurred to me, after some consideration, that maybe Sony are trying to move the A9 series away from the dedicated wildlife guys, for which the A1 is much better suited.
Maybe the 9 III has some sports applications, though I'm not sure, it's biggest thing in that respect is the global shutter. Given that pro guys have a limited time to send the shots across for publishing, they aren't that likely to use 120fps in the field, in fact, I don't think anyone will!
Anyway, the A1 is still the definite wildlife (or specifically wildlife in action) king in the Sony range thanks to the resolution and burst speed combo. I'm very disappointed with the delay of the new firmware though, I was hoping it would sway me.

agreed, but other than what the price might be, I'm excited on what the A1II could / will be given the A9III tech. Global shutter, some kind of burst mode (doesn't have to be 120 FPS), better AF. That said, the A1, especially in the used market with some deals that pop up like the Amazon discount this week, is getting to be a better deal.

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

Musclehead

Tragic stuff...

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

I noticed the body dimensions are 4mm wider than the RV. Thickness and height are the same, although the RV weighs slightly more.

When I went from the RIII to the RV, even though the body was only a few millimetres bigger at all dimensions it really felt like a fair bit more camera in the hand. Maybe the bigger grip played a big role in that feeling but, though I did have to alter the separators in my bags for the new body.

 

[iamdlewis]

My position is that most event photographers aren't well enough off to spend money on a new camera every time a new model drops. You're the one who mentions a specific percentage, not me. My post uses words like 'most'. Kind of funny that you cite me for extremes, then use words like 'impossible' to state your case. And in which post did I say that 'some' people wouldn't buy it? Not once. Go back and read it from the beginning.

You gave the ratio of 20-1 in which the 20 are the ones living payday to payday, this is both a percentage and a statement of impossibility, especially since you said it was common sense.

The only people that buy a new camera every time a new model comes out are youtubers and us stupid hobbyist.

 

[AlphaWorld]

That is pretty astonishing at 1.4kg that 300mm!

Think I remember reading Tony AW here saying he hopes it comes under 2.5kg or even better, 2kg. How about under 1.5kg!!?

I pre-ordered it!

Yeah, that's very good news for me. Price isn't bad, either.

I am having trouble carrying the 200-600 for too long, but this will be fine. Mark Galer's reviews gave a lot of examples using the 1.4x and 2x and every quite heavy crops of the 2x. I am looking forward to using the 300 GM, especially now I know it will weigh about the same as my first two 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses did.

 

[AlphaWorld]

I remember a mate having a Sony 300 2.8 version 2 a-mount cleaned, so taken to pieces, this was done by a guy we knew and if you see the thickness of some of the elements in it, it makes you wonder how they could shave the weight to such an extent. I assume it is all glass elements? also recall people saying version 2 of the a-mount had a plastic protector over the big end element but I have no clue if that is correct.

I don't think it's plastic elements.

They showed the main way that they got the weight down in the 300 GM - they moved most of the elements back towards the mount. That means that the elements can be smaller in diameter (big win - elements get much heavier as the diameter increases because the thick parts have to be thicker) - Canon shaved some weight in one of their super-teles the same way. I think that's also why it has just one focus group rather than two.

In the 70-200 GM II they also managed to shave the weight by combining elements - they have the tech to put an aspheric surface onto one of the elements, so they could turn what used to be a two-element group into a single element. The GM II has something like 4 fewer elements.

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

I pre-ordered it!

Yeah, that's very good news for me. Price isn't bad, either.

I am having trouble carrying the 200-600 for too long, but this will be fine. Mark Galer's reviews gave a lot of examples using the 1.4x and 2x and every quite heavy crops of the 2x. I am looking forward to using the 300 GM, especially now I know it will weigh about the same as my first two 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses did.

What price did that come in at?

I have a test chart I made and my 70-200mm with the 2x on holds the same consistency through the focal range as the lens does without it, and I think it loses maybe 2% of it's sharpness. In the real world we're looking at identical performances.

I definitely wouldn't hold any reservations in putting a teleconverter onto a new Sony lens based on what I've seen.

 

[AlphaWorld]

The a-mount 300 g mk2 was £6,500 so I guess that a bit better than expected, I might stick on the a91 a bit longer and get the glass I love primes, it should be good with the 1.4 but not sure about 2x

Thanks for that - I had a bit of a look at pricing before the announcement, but it's difficult to get good comparisons.

This is going to be my first super-tele prime - I've owned a 200 f/2 before, but I don't think that counts, even though the 200 f/2 weighed 2.5kg.

 

[spudhead]

I don't think it's plastic elements.

They showed the main way that they got the weight down in the 300 GM - they moved most of the elements back towards the mount. That means that the elements can be smaller in diameter (big win - elements get much heavier as the diameter increases because the thick parts have to be thicker) - Canon shaved some weight in one of their super-teles the same way. I think that's also why it has just one focus group rather than two.

In the 70-200 GM II they also managed to shave the weight by combining elements - they have the tech to put an aspheric surface onto one of the elements, so they could turn what used to be a two-element group into a single element. The GM II has something like 4 fewer elements.

I never thought they would be plastic Tony, but was wondering how the weight was cut

 

[AlphaWorld]

I never thought they would be plastic Tony, but was wondering how the weight was cut

Sorry - I misunderstood.

There was some description of how they did it in the announcement - it's up the front of the video, so you don't have to sit through the A9 III part to see it.