[clackers]

Yeah, I am fully aware of that. I was talking about what would happen outside the APS-C area, where lenses generally have weaker resolving power.

?

That is true for all lenses then, on every camera body. The new $3000 Canon 85mm f1.2 has a massive 2.2eV vignette and sharpness drops off at the edges, so what? That's life with a full frame or 35mm film camera.

This is my FA35 on my A7. What was I supposed to be afraid of?

[UncleVanya]

This is my FA35 on my A7. What was I supposed to be afraid of?

Nice use of a classic lens. Love that train photo.

[ChristianRock]

?

That is true for all lenses then, on every camera body. The new $3000 Canon 85mm f1.2 has a massive 2.2eV vignette and sharpness drops off at the edges, so what? That's life with a full frame or 35mm film camera.

This is my FA35 on my A7. What was I supposed to be afraid of?

I'd be scared to be on that wooden bridge on a train this heavy with people! Is this in Australia?

[BigMackCam]

I'd be scared to be on that wooden bridge on a train this heavy with people! Is this in Australia?

Unless I'm much mistaken, that's the "Puffing Billy" railway near Melbourne...

https://www.smh.com.au/national/puffing-billy-keeps-australian-steam-train-h...03-11fuud.html

[ramseybuckeye]

I would look at the specs of that new camera and see what you might want to exploit that can't be done with the others, or really what can it do better. And maybe there is nothing that you really need. I do like the idea of using it for manual focus, including macro.

[clackers]

I'd be scared to be on that wooden bridge on a train this heavy with people! Is this in Australia?

(Laughs) It's a tourist only line now, but sure, once upon a time, goods and passengers used it!

Wooden trestle bridges were still used on some eastern lines in the 1970s and perhaps 1980s in this state.

[ExSpectator36]

Ah gotcha. Yes I don't know either but I would think the truly FF lenses on my list (FA* 300 and FA Limiteds) will do better than some of the less FF centric ones. I'm going to be curious how the FA 31 and the Sony FE 28 f2 compare for example, but I know from this list that the FE 28 isn't the most resolving lens around:

Here are the best lenses to maximise the potential of the Sony A7RIV - sonyalpharumors

The FE 28/2 obviously has AF on the Sony and is more compact once you factor in the required adapter with the FA 31, but the FA 31 has the better rendering - I love it on my 42MP Sony sensor. I also find the FA 77 to perform very well (minus the well-documented fringing) on the Sony - just keep in mind the negative impact using Silent or EFCS shutter modes has on bokeh at fast shutter speeds.

Not on your list of lenses, but a couple other Pentax lenses I've enjoyed on the A7RIII are the SMC K 28/3.5, which performs extremely well on modern FF digital sensors with an unmatched flare resistance for a lens that old, and the M 120/2.8 as a great compact tele option for hiking/travel.

And sure the A7rIV is more resolving than the A7rII but I am using this as a guidepost. The 24-105 my dad has on loan is pretty spectacular he says, but I haven't compared images yet. He took some with the 28 and says he can't tell the difference on his laptop screen even zoomed in. Time will tell.

The 24-105 is impressively good for a zoom with that range - sharp at all lengths, good build quality etc. It does trade "character" for that sharpness, but it's hard to beat when you need one-lens versatility at a somewhat reasonable size without sacrificing much at all in the way of IQ

[UncleVanya]

The FE 28/2 obviously has AF on the Sony and is more compact once you factor in the required adapter with the FA 31, but the FA 31 has the better rendering - I love it on my 42MP Sony sensor. I also find the FA 77 to perform very well (minus the well-documented fringing) on the Sony - just keep in mind the negative impact using Silent or EFCS shutter modes has on bokeh at fast shutter speeds.

Not on your list of lenses, but a couple other Pentax lenses I've enjoyed on the A7RIII are the SMC K 28/3.5, which performs extremely well on modern FF digital sensors with an unmatched flare resistance for a lens that old, and the M 120/2.8 as a great compact tele option for hiking/travel.




The 24-105 is impressively good for a zoom with that range - sharp at all lengths, good build quality etc. It does trade "character" for that sharpness, but it's hard to beat when you need one-lens versatility at a somewhat reasonable size without sacrificing much at all in the way of IQ

Thanks for the advice. I have a few ideas on what else to try and I appreciate the input.

[UncleVanya]

Observations now that I have had the camera a week:

The standard grip isn’t bad, a tad small and not quite as deep as I would like, but serviceable at least with everything I’ve thrown at it (DA* 60-250 is the heaviest and largest so far)

Manual focusing is a little easier than on a k-3 but can be challenging. EVF in this case helps.

EVF is ok but not an exciting tool for composing shots at times. Compressed dynamic range in the viewfinder isn’t fantastic, particularly outdoors when viewing landscapes.

Super slow pipeline means waiting for a moment after a shot for that massive raw filter to write.

Jpgs aren’t bad SOOC most of the time.

Nice to see FA 31 wide again.

Menus are in fact designed by a demonic being to crush photographers souls.

[surfar]

Menus are in fact designed by a demonic being

There have been many complaints ive read over the years,your description is a classic!

[Clarity]

Observations now that I have had the camera a week:

The standard grip isn’t bad, a tad small and not quite as deep as I would like, but serviceable at least with everything I’ve thrown at it (DA* 60-250 is the heaviest and largest so far)

Manual focusing is a little easier than on a k-3 but can be challenging. EVF in this case helps.

EVF is ok but not an exciting tool for composing shots at times. Compressed dynamic range in the viewfinder isn’t fantastic, particularly outdoors when viewing landscapes.

I suggest getting the vertical grip, it improves the overall feel of the camera quite a bit! I like my EVF a lot! In fact I like it much more than I anticipated.

Menus are in fact designed by a demonic being to crush photographers souls.

That is absolutely true! It makes no sense.

[UncleVanya]

More observations, battery life is pretty awful. My batteries are not new so I can’t rule out the possibility that their capacity is worse than normal. Additionally my unfamiliarity with the camera has me menu diving and chimping more than I do on my k-3. The combination has the lcd on more than is typical for me.

[Jonathan Mac]

I would say the first thing you need to do is look at what lenses are available natively in the E mount and see if they are what you want. The cheaper Sony lenses are, to my knowledge, not highly regarded, and the more expensive ones are REALLY expensive and not all of them are highly regarded.

It makes no sense to get into a system you don't like.

Personally, I really like the look of the three new primes recently announced by Sigma - not too big, fast enough, and high quality. Being Sigma I imagine the prices will be reasonable too.

[UncleVanya]

I would say the first thing you need to do is look at what lenses are available natively in the E mount and see if they are what you want. The cheaper Sony lenses are, to my knowledge, not highly regarded, and the more expensive ones are REALLY expensive and not all of them are highly regarded.

It makes no sense to get into a system you don't like.

Personally, I really like the look of the three new primes recently announced by Sigma - not too big, fast enough, and high quality. Being Sigma I imagine the prices will be reasonable too.

I have read a number of reviews including this: Sony FE lenses: The honest Guide for the A7/A7II/A7III A7rII/A7rIII/A7rIV A7c A9 - phillipreeve.net

I currently have the FE 28 f2 and the FE 85 f1.8 and a borrowed FE 24-105 f4, other than the FE 50 f1.8 and the FE 28-70 f3.5-5.6 I’m not really considering much at this time. I’ve already got a lot of fine Pentax lenses that I plan to use.

[Jonathan Mac]

I suppose it may hinge on how well that AF K to E adapter works, at least it would in my case.