Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Oh, I see, Gary ....

You froze the propellers, huh?

Oh, well ....

How did you like the a77 II?

planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs

I really liked it...focused much faster than my a77 (which I also had with me) and the 70-400 was my first experience with a pro-quality lens - heavy, but it took great shots! Of course, if I focused on the planes rather than poles, backs of people's heads, etc I would have had even better luck :) I switched between spot and multi-point focus. I think next time I go I might check out a full-frame body.

Motorbones Loc: Fair Oaks, CA

They look totally awesome together... Thanks for sharing...

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Did you also try the 70-400 on your a77?

For Full-Frame .... do you mean the a99, or the a99 II, or are you considering going mirror-less?

That 70-400 is a superb looking lens. What did it cost you to rent, may I ask?

planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs

I copied an pasted the bulk of my receipt below. The discount was for a sale they had and/or a first-time renter special. I tried my 17-50 on each camera and did the same for the 70-400. In each instance the a77 was faster regardless of the lens. I think it matters that the ii has about 4x the focus points. I'd have to think about which ff to rent...the 99 is $115 for 7 days while the ii is $182 The a9 is $250, but I don't have any e lenses so it would probably be cost-prohibitive. I picked up the box at the FedEx in Oshkosh on the first Monday I was there and dropped it off the next Monday on the way out of town.

Contents
Product
Description
Price
Sony A 70-400mm f/4-5.6 G II
Sony A 70-400mm f/4-5.6 G II
Hood - Sony ALC-SH121
Tripod Ring - Sony Alpha 70-400mm II (White)
7-day rental (with Lenscap)
$129.00
Sony Alpha a77 II
Battery - Sony NP-FM500H
Charger - Sony BC-VM10
Sony Alpha A77 II
7-day rental (with Lenscap)
$73.00

Subtotal:
$202.00

Shipping:
$25.00

Sales tax:
$10.24

Discount:
-$22.22

Total:
$215.02

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Thanks for that, Gary ... very much appreciate it ....

One thing you may wish to consider ... the original a99 is a monster! ... about the size of the Nikon D5 .... it had a GPS in it, too, like the a77 ...

Sony scaled down the a99 II ... it now uses the same body as the a77 and the a77II .... just higher to allow for the larger prism ....

Gary - Sony makes two adapters which allow use of A mount lenses on E mount bodies ... they are the LA-EA4 and LA-EA 3 ....

If you like the a77 (and, apparently you do) ... I'd go with the A mount bodies, if I were you ....

Interesting - you've made that distinction ... that the a77 II is slower, because of the 79 focus points as opposed to the a77's 19 .... neat!!!!

I suppose I already had, in a sense ... I use the 16-105 on the a77 ... and bought the Sigma EX f2.8 105 OS HSM Macro for the Sony a77 II !!!!

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Gary ... one note here .... I noticed a little incongruity ... which has led to some confusion ...

I asked how you liked the a77 II ... and this - here - was your response: "I really liked it...focused much faster than my a77"

But, in your later comment - this is your response:

"In each instance the a77 was faster regardless of the lens. I think it matters that the ii has about 4x the focus points."

Care to comment, further?

planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs

I mistyped...the a77ii was the drag racer and the a77 was the mule (relatively speaking)...errare humanum est , ignoscere divinum

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Could we see something, Eleanor?

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Oh, I see ... then, perhaps - this comment - written, earlier - in Wordpad .... is no longer necessary ....

Gary ...

One other thing that slows down performance in the a77 II as opposed to the a77 - is this:
the a77 is a true SLT - whereby the mirror remains stationary. You see the image in the EVF - thru use of partial light, subtracted from the overall seen by the sensor. This means the shot-making capability is vastly improved, but that the light-gathering usable capability is diminished, somewhat, and this makes it difficult to see the image, when light is dim.

The a77 II is an ILC ... so the performance, whilst better on the AF front, due to its 4x as many Focusing Points, is slower, as the mirror's flipping action delays recovery. So, whilst you have slower focusing performance, you also have slower shot-to-shot performance. That, said, though ... it's a vastly better camera than its predecessor, employing a number of features built into the a7 series, which filtered down to be included in the a77 II. ... Digital Zoom in the a77 allowed either 1.4x or 2x. The a77 II employs incremental zoom - all the way to 4x. Plus, you can utilize Clear Image Zoom - almost identical to an extender - up to 2X.

The only real letdown was the decision to drop the GPS!!!!

Plus, because it's an ILC, and not an SLT - it's a little louder than the older model. As you already know - the a77 is virtually silent, in operation.

(I guess I was apologizing for the fact MY camera didn't seem to be living up to its wild reviews!!!)

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

I began photographing trains, preserving for tomorrow what was true today.
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-493269-1.html
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-488146-1.html
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-498802-1.html
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-458800-1.html

That is probably my leading subject today, also
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-473004-1.html
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-460362-1.html
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-434756-1.html

although there is much more variety in my subjects today
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-488536-1.html
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-475381-1.html
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-449995-1.html

splatbass Loc: Honolulu

I go back and forth between landscape and street photography. Yesterday I went out to shoot street but found nothing interesting, but the view was great so I ended up with a couple of landscapes. And so it goes....

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Good to be on the fence, Splat ... and when you drop your hat on one side - it's STREET LIFE .... and when you drop your hat on the other side - it's L A N D S C AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA P E S ..........

That's so neat!!!!!

Kinda like tossing a coin, huh, Splat?

splatbass Loc: Honolulu

Yes. In this case I went to Ala Moana Beach and walked down the sidewalk along the beach. There is often something interesting along that walk, but not during the hour I was there. But the view of Waikiki, and the setting sun to the west proved fruitful so I took them. Unfortunately as I was driving down the street afterword I saw a guy in a red Christmas suit with white Christmas trees on it, green shirt, and red tie walking right were I had just been. Something you don't see every day on the beach. :( I always seem to miss the weird kind of stuff like that. Once in the same place I just missed a guy on roller blades playing guitar as he rolled down the sidewalk. It happened to fast for me to get it. :(

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

I would've liked to've seen both, Splat ... shame you missed the chance, both times!!!!

How about that scene of the sun setting over Waikiki?