I Speak My Brains II

In the past I've been deliberately obtuse about the reasons why Sony have had to develop a new lens mount for their mirror-less cameras – but I do understand, really. It’s because the flange distance on the a-mount lenses is prohibitively large and would have driven up the size of the camera bodies, thus negating one of the main benefits of a mirror-less design.

[Canikon have this problem as well, which is why their mirror-less offerings eschew their long established standard lens mounts.]

The A7s are currently the world’s smallest full frame cameras, smaller even than the Olympus OM-D, as Sony are keen to point out. However, the current drive for smaller and lighter bodies can only take them and their competitors so far – what then?

I guess that I'm looking to Sony to start innovating in terms of form factor. Despite all the advances of the past few years, cameras are still basically a box with a lens on the front, a screen on the back and some buttons on the top; surely, with the mirror and the OVF gone, we can do something different?

This image comes from a return visit that we made to the National Botanic Garden of Wales in September to see the IGPOTY exhibition that was running at the time. I found this mushroom on one of the nature walks. Without my tripod or remote release, I had to put the camera on the ground and use the self timer to make the image. I should also say that I was using my Tamron super-zoom as my macro lens was being repaired. Despite all these factors, I think that the resulting image is passable. 

I Speak My Brains

Over the next few posts, I'll record some of my thoughts about the direction that Sony Imaging is taking, then we can determine the level of my prognosticative powers. To start with, some reflections on the designation of the new full frame cameras announced last week.

First, a quick recap of my understanding of Sony’s naming conventions. 

A + 3 digits = DSLR; 

A + 2 digits = DSLT; 

A + 1 digit = full frame(?) mirror-less(?); 

The higher the number, the higher the spec of the camera, with A9** being the top of any particular range.

Confusingly, the same number doesn't designate cameras at the same price point in different ranges. And I don't get why two very different cameras - the A7 and A7r - are given similar designations. And how are upgrades to be designated? With the three and two digit nomenclature, this was easy, but with a single digit you have to go to mark numbers, which would be a new departure for Sony.

Whatever, designating the new cameras as A7s leaves room in the range for a higher spec A9 - and an A9r? -  model. What would that be like? A full frame, 48 mega-pixel mirror-less model, perhaps?

Anyway, the image above is the final one from the last batch that I made prior to my Sigma lens breaking. Its another of a rose from our garden - I was experimenting with black backgrounds at this point, which I've get to return to.

Sony Day

Yesterday was a big day for Sony's Imaging division. They announced three new cameras, amongst them not one, but two full frame e-mount models - the third being the RX10, which amounts to a £1,000 bridge camera with a big sensor.

Anyway, back to the e-mount cameras, the A7 and the A7r. The two share the same body, although the internals are quite different. The first has a 24 mega-pixel sensor with a hybrid autofocus system, but the second is a 36 mega-pixel monster, optimised  - if you believe Sony - for image quality, without a low-pass optical filter to improve resolution further.

Along with the cameras, five full frame - designated FE - Zeiss (aka expensive) lenses were announced, with more to come next year.

Its interesting to note that, despite the fact that the A7s are effectively NEX cameras, they attract an Alpha designation. Apparently, Sony are bringing the two brands together. Now, I find the Sony camera range confusing enough as it is and I'm a fairly assiduous Sony watcher. In my view the whole range is likely become a hotchpotch of a-mount and e-mount cameras that will be incomprehensible to a disinterested observer.

Despite all this and my previous ranting on the subject, I find myself really wanting an A7r. Body only, one of these babies comes in around £1,700. And I'd need a new lens kit, so the whole lot would set me back the better part of four grand. So, that's not going to happen then.

Above is another image of a rose that I made with my now rather sorry looking Alpha 77. Enjoy, if you can bear to be without the additional twelve mega-pixels.

Cold Roses

Another rose from our garden. I've posted images of roses from this bush before - the flowers are dark red, probably my favourite blooms in the whole garden. 

The bush is quite leggy, so some of the flowers are above head height and difficult to photograph. I'd have been happier if the camera had been level with this one rather than below, resulting in the slight upward angle that I've had to use, but needs must and all that.

My previous post, "Acuf Rose" was named after an Uncle Tupelo track, off their final album "Anodyne". The track took its name from the music publishing partnership of the same name and features the lyric "Name me a song that everybody knows / I'll bet you it belongs to Acuf Rose." 

This post takes its title from a double album released by another alt-country luminary.

The Real Deal

If you want to see how flower photography should be done (stifled sob) - and to see a properly designed website, although a little more commentary would be nice - you should check out the work of Annemarie Farley here.

Acuf Rose

After the ranting of my previous post, back to some actual imagery.

This is, obviously, of a rose from our garden. We have several bushes, this particular one is pink. I struggled to make decent images of these flowers all summer and ended with only a couple that are passable, of which this is one.

"I Remember California" took its title from a track by REM, from their major label début album "Green". This post title has a very general musical connection, but it has been used as a track title as well.

Sony and Swear

When I bought my first DSLR, back in 2006, my instinct – and I base all my technology purchasing decisions on instinct - was to go with the entry level Nikon – the D1000 or whatever it was at the time. However I let my father persuade me to buy a Sony Alpha 100. To be fair, he was picking up some of the bill as a birthday present.

Recently, I've begun to doubt the wisdom of that choice. This is unfortunate, as the cost of changing camera brands is high. In my case, I have three a-mount bodies, one kit lens and two third party lenses, plus various accessories such as remote releases and the like. This may not be a vast amount of kit, but I don’t have that much in the way of cash (or time, for that matter) to devote to photography which is, when all’s said and done, a hobby.

So, what’s the problem? I'm not unhappy with the cameras – far from it.

The problem is Sony’s strategy around their two lens mounts, a-mount and e-mount. When e-mount was first introduced, it was exclusively on the mirrorless NEX cameras. At the time, I tended to see these cameras as a bit of a distraction, as I was already bought into a-mount, and I've never been good at seeing which way the wind is blowing with regards to technology or anything else. I couldn't understand why Sony would go to the expense of buying Konica-Minolta and then developing their own lens mount anyway.

However, the mirrorless camera market has boomed over the past few years, although slowing slightly at the moment, and the NEX brand has been one of the best-selling in this space. At the same time Sony has failed to make an impression in the professional market with its high end Alpha cameras.

Sony has therefore put a lot of effort into developing its NEX range – whilst, some might argue, neglecting the Alpha range. Numerous NEX models, with increasingly high specs have been introduced, until this reached its logical conclusion. When the Alpha 77 was released, alongside it was a mirrorless version – the NEX7 – essentially the same camera, at the same price point, in a different form factor. Meanwhile, the top of the range Alpha 9* series has seen only three models since the brand launched several years ago.

Perhaps I should have seen the next step coming, but as noted above, I've always been poor at predicting tech trends. Anyway, it now appears that Sony are going to introduce e-mount entry level DSLRs – in fact the A3000 has already been announced - and that these will probably replace the a-mount models at the low-to-medium end of the range. Alpha mount will become Sony’s high end, pro spec format.

That’s great, but I won’t have pro-spec money to spend when I come to replace my Alpha 77.

In contrast, Nikon and Canon have the same lens mount for all their DSLR cameras, from entry level through to the flagship pro models. So the upgrade path is relatively painless – and for that matter, so is the downgrade path.

[To be fair both Canon and Nikon have introduced mirrorless models with lens mounts that are incompatible with their DSLR ranges. But these have been me too offerings which have failed to challenge NEX and micro four thirds cameras in this space. And there is no suggestion that Canikon are going to replace the lens mounts on their entry level models with ones that are incompatible with their pro-spec cameras.]

To further confuse the issue, there are rumours of a full frame NEX camera to be announced shortly – this will leave the a-mount looking increasingly like a minority interest for the well-heeled. This appears to be another case of a company chasing new customers whilst forgetting their existing ones.

So, what do I do? Stick with a-mount and hope that it doesn't die too soon? Give up on it and go e-mount (bearing in mind that I find the NEX cameras pig-ugly)? Or abandon Sony altogether in a fit of disgust at the way that they treat their existing customers? In theory, the decision point is a few years away, but I'm thinking of buying a new macro lens and my instincts say that an a-mount lens may be a waste of money…