What is it with me and Sony?

In my last post I talked about getting ready to shoot a wedding, and the gear that I was planning on using for it. I had my Sony a77ii and a bag of lenses that I was looking forward to putting through their paces on a wedding day. Good times ahead....

Because the a77ii was a very recent purchase, and the bag full of lenses hadn't been used for quite a while, I decided to do due diligence and test everything before the big day. And boy am I glad I did! 

Te Kinga Macrocarpas. Sony a77ii. f/8 A 1/200th, ISO 100

To cut a very long (and very stressful) story short, it seemed that most of the lenses I had 'acquired' for the a77ii were past their best and badly in need of calibration. I've already discussed in previous posts how I've decided to build an A-mount Sony kit around the very generous gifting of a camera bag full (literally) of Minolta and Sony lenses. Well it seems like I may have been a little hasty in my decision.

I'm not going to cram this post full of slightly un-sharp photos just to prove a point, but basically that's what I was getting with the lenses I had. With a couple of exceptions.

The Minolta 85mm f1.4 was bitingly sharp. Ironically, for portraiture, you might even say it was a bit too sharp! The same goes for the Minolta 50mm f2.8 macro used as a regular 50mm lens. Incredibly sharp on my a77ii. So I know the camera can produce sharp images - with the right lenses.

But try as I might (and believe me, I did try), all the zoom lenses I had for the a77ii just didn't cut the mustard (as they say). For some they were sharp at the long end, but not so sharp at the wide end - and for others it was the exact opposite! The Minolta 24-70mm F2.8D wasn't sharp at all, at any focal length. While the Sony Zeiss 16-35mm f2.8 and Sony Zeiss 24-70mm f2.8 were just 'so-so'.

I took so many 'test shots' (thanks to my wife for being a willing(?) and very patient model) and poured over so many images at 100% that I started second-guessing myself and tying myself up in knots! One moment I'd think everything was 'soft', and the next I'd decide that some of them weren't 'too' bad. But were any of them good enough to shoot a wedding with? I didn't think so....

Rapahoe Relics. Sony a77ii. f/11 @ 1/50th, ISO 100

With only a week to go, and no lenses that I was happy with (other than an 85mm and 50mm prime), I was in panic mode. And wishing I hadn't agreed to shoot the damn wedding! But, once again, my mate Stew came to the rescue. Since I was getting all of his 'old' gear, and he was replacing it with new E-mount gear, he let me borrow his new Sony a7iii and Sony 24-105mm f4 to shoot the wedding with. Whew!

And again, long story short - it worked perfectly! Of course. In fact it was a joy to use. And I'm even getting used to the Sony A7 series ergonomics! So I'm getting one - right?

Hold that thought for a moment. Because yes, I have decided that the Sony A-mount system is obviously not for me. The a57 with the sensor alignment issue was the start of my A-mount woes. And although the a77ii is an amazing piece of kit, getting lenses for it has proven to be somewhat of a challenge. As much as I want to love the system, it seems the powers that be have other ideas.

So what's next, you may ask? And that, dear reader, is a very good question. Perhaps it's already been answered with my favourable experience with the Sony a7iii? But there are a couple of things that give me pause to jump straight into the Sony E-mount system.

First, it's a Sony. Duh! Do I really want to continue to tempt fate with my Sony woes? Who's to say these won't extend into the E-Mount system? And while no - I'm not a suspicious person by nature - this seems too much like out of the frying pan....

Trapdoor Spider. Sony a77ii with Minolta 100mm f2.8 macro. f/18 @ 1/4sec, ISO 400

The good thing about switching to the Sony E-mount is that it's a) full frame, and b) fairly plentiful on the used market. I could pick up an a7ii body for about $1k, and then have to figure out what lens to put with it (and how I'm going to afford it!?).

Then again, I could go back to my old flame - micro four thirds. A used Olympus E-M1 mk2 with a lens would be about the same price as an a7ii body - and further lenses down the track are surprisingly affordable.

But you know what... I think I've had it with second-hand gear! Recently it feels like I've just been inheriting somebody else's problems, and I'm getting tired of it. I'm also getting old, and frankly fed up with changing systems all of the time - even when there have been good reason to. I want a system, and a camera, that I can 'hang my hat on' so to speak - and grow old with. So yes, I think I'm going to buy new this time (and for the last time).

No, I haven't won the lottery, or fallen into a big pit of money. But my wife and my circumstances have changed recently. I've started a new job this year, with a bit more pay, so I think it's now or never! All I have to do is decide what my 'forever' camera system will be - oh, and convince my wife that it's a good idea! One of those things will be easier than the other 😳😂

Camera gear for the occasional wedding photographer

I'm shooting a wedding in a months time.

Not earth-shattering news, I know. But for someone who doesn't photograph weddings very often anymore, it becomes something of a big deal. Or maybe you're just starting out on your wedding photography journey and don't know what gear you need (or want, or should have)? What to take to a wedding if you're 'the' photographer can be quite daunting (I know it was for me).

I was a wedding photographer for several years - several years ago. And I still get asked to shoot the occasional wedding for friends or family. Hence the wedding next month (as I write this). 

Fortunately, I'm in the enviable position of having a lot of very nice gear to choose from. But I don't need to use all of it. In fact I shouldn't take all of it on a wedding. That would be overkill.

So then what should I take? What gear do you need to photograph a wedding? Do you have to use all f/1.4 primes with pro DSLR's, or will a basic camera and kit lens suffice?

As with most things in life, the answer isn't always simple. And I could fall back on the old 'it depends' answer. But that's not particularly helpful. What I want to do in this post is go through my choices for what I will be taking to photograph the upcoming wedding - and why. I'm not for a moment suggesting that the list will be exhaustive, or that it's what you should take whenever the need arises. But I do hope that it will help someone maybe looking to get into wedding photography, or who might have been asked by a friend to shoot their wedding. So lets go photograph a wedding, shall we? 

Ok, so let's start with the easy one first shall we? First things first, you're going to need a camera. You've got one of those - right? Great. Let's move on.

But hang on. Not so fast. You'd better make that two. 

Yes, that's right. If you are the main photographer at a wedding, never - I repeat never - go with only one camera! This kinda goes without saying for most paid (or non-paid) professional gigs. Especially if it's a 'once-in-a-lifetime' non-repeatable event like a wedding. Back-up is the key. And maybe even a back-up for the back-up! (although that may be slightly overkill)?

Does it need to be the exact same camera as your main one? No, not really. If your main camera is a Canon 5D Mk3, your 'back-up' could be a 5D Mk2, or even a Canon 80D. Preferably something that will take the lenses you've got. Just as long as if your main camera dies (for whatever reason), you can just pick up another camera and keep shooting.

And while we're on the subject of cameras, don't worry if you haven't got the latest or greatest gear on the market. Are big, expensive 'pro' cameras necessary for photographing weddings? No. They are not. Should you feel 'inferior' if you shoot a wedding on a Canon 80D, a Nikon D7200 or an Olympus E-M5? No - you should not. I realised very early on in my wedding career that some guests at the wedding were likely to have 'better' gear than me. Did that make them better photographers? (That's a rhetorical question). Take a look at any of the wedding images that accompany this post and tell me if they were taken on a Canon 1D Mk4 or a Canon Rebel. What's that? You can't tell!? Of course you can't. And that's the point....

Are 'pro' cameras more solidly built that prosumer cameras? Of course they are. But that doesn't mean that Canon Rebels are prone to failing constantly. Want to know the only camera that has ever failed on me? The Canon 5D. The most expensive camera I've ever purchased brand new. It lasted just as long as the warranty period and then died on me - just before a wedding. Which takes me back to point number one. Whatever camera you choose to use, have a back-up.

Are dual card slots in a camera necessary for photographing weddings (hang on, it's about to get controversial)... No, they are not!

Yes, I realise that I've just finished banging on about the importance of back-up. But trust me, hundreds of thousands of weddings have been photographed, by professionals, who used cameras that only had one card slot - long before dual-card slots in cameras were a thing. If your camera has dual card slots, then by all means use one slot as a back-up. Of course. But if your camera doesn't have dual card slots, it's NOT a deal-breaker. 

Case-in-point, my main camera for the upcoming wedding will be the Sony a77ii - which has a single card slot. My back-up camera will be the Sony a99 (which does have dual card slots, but which is getting old in the tooth now so will only be my back-up camera).

Ok. That's enough about cameras. What about the seriously difficult question of lenses....? What lenses should you buy/beg/borrow/steal to photograph a wedding?

Everyone is different. Some wedding photographers pride themselves on using only two primes over an entire wedding (usually something like a 35mm and an 85mm), while others have a bag-full of fast glass and three camera bodies slung over their shoulder (perish the thought).

Again, do you need to use fast primes at a wedding? No, you don't. Do you even need to have 'fast' lenses to cover a wedding? Again, I would argue (especially with the recent crop of modern digital cameras) that no - you don't. But should you have some fast glass on a wedding shoot? Yeah, I think you probably should.

At least as fast as you can afford. Because I also don't think that anyone starting out in wedding photography should need to take out an extra mortgage or personal loan to buy a bag full of fast glass. You can get by without it. 

My recommendation if you are just starting out, is to at least have a 50mm f/1.8, especially if you are using an APS-C sensor camera. That will equate to a 75mm (or 80mm on Canon) f/1.8, which I use mostly for hair and makeup shots of the bride and bridesmaids getting ready - and for some individual portraits. Used at around f/2.8 I get some very nice, out-of-focus creamy backgrounds which help to remove any distracting elements that may be present. A 50mm f/1.8 is the cheapest fast prime in any manufacturers line-up, and a must-have for the budding wedding photographer (imho).

Ironically I don't have a 50mm f/1.8. But what I do have is a 50mm f/2.8 macro which, at f/2.8, is a sharp lens. And as a bonus, it can also do double-duty as a macro lens to take detailed ring, dress and flower photos (see first image of this post).

As useful as a fast prime like a nifty fifty is, it probably won't see you through an entire wedding! For your main wedding lens - something that you might use at least 80% of the day, you will be better suited with a zoom lens. Something like a 24-70mm (or equivalent for APS-C).

Since most (if not all) cameras come packaged with a 'standard' zoom (often referred to as a 'kit' lens), will this do, since you probably already own one? And the answer, which may surprise some of you, is undoubtedly 'yes', it will do. I shot my first half-dozen weddings using the 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 Nikkor 'kit' lens than came with my Nikon D70, and not one bride complained about her images - ever.

Again, look at most of the images in this post. I'm not sure any of them were taken at f/2.8? More than likely they were all shot around f/5.6 - which all lenses are capable of. Wedding days aren't about capturing background blur and 'bokeh'. they are about capturing emotion and moments that express that emotion. That's what will make a bride cry when she sees your images after the wedding is over.

Are there 'better' lenses out there? Of course there are. I would suggest, if  (and when) you can afford it, to 'upgrade' to a constant aperture standard zoom. Something like the outstandingly sharp (and reasonably priced) Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8. These can be found regularly on the second-hand market, and make a great wedding/portrait standard zoom.

My zoom of choice for the upcoming wedding? I'll probably take two (remember back-up) - the Sony 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* and the Minolta 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5. One of those will probably be on my lens for most of the wedding, covering everything from group portraits to the service itself, and bridal photos afterwards.

To be honest, you could get away with just those two lenses for an entire wedding - a 50mm prime and a reasonably fast standard zoom (and in all honesty, you could probably ditch the prime).

But there is one more lens that I will be taking in my bag, and that I will use on about 10% of the shots. And it's another prime - a medium telephoto 85mm.

On my a77ii this will equate to roughly a 130mm field-of-view - still somewhere in the medium telephoto range. And this is a lens that I will use for a specific look -  those classic, out-of-focus background, creamy bokeh, portrait images. I like swapping to the 85mm prime when I'm working with just the bridal party on individual portraits. There's just something about an 85mm prime that oozes confidence, and it's a lens I really enjoy using when I get the chance.

I'm fortunate to own the Minolta 85mm f/1.4, but the f/1.8 version is certainly just as good, and a lot cheaper when you're starting out. So the Minolta 85mm f/1.4 will be the last lens to go into my wedding bag.

To be clear, this last lens is an optional extra - the icing on the cake, and not strictly 'necessary'. I shot dozens of weddings before owning an 85mm prime. But when I finally got one, it 'elevated' my portrait work to the next level - so is a highly recommended piece of kit to work towards if you are serious about your wedding/portrait work.

So is that it? What else do you need on a wedding day? What else will I be taking with me?

Well I guess the rest is almost common sense for any photography shoot. Lots of charged/spare batteries (I'll take five), spare SD cards (64Gb x4), a flash (with spare batteries) for the reception/indoor shots (if allowed), and a good solid backpack to keep it all in.

I'm not one of these wedding photographers who carries spare needle and thread with them so they can be the hero on the day if there's a serious dress mishap. Some may disagree (and that's their prerogative), but I really don't see that as my job. And I've never actually needed it on any wedding I've ever shot - so there's that.

I also don't take a drink bottle or snacks with me. There tends to be enough drink and food around as a natural occurrence on a wedding day, and I don't mind asking for a glass of water if needed. New Zealand wedding days are fairly relaxed as a rule (at least the ones I've been involved with have been), and now I only shoot for friends or family, so I'm not a 'stranger' on the day.

The last piece of kit worth mentioning, that certainly is an added 'extra', is a vertical grip for your camera (if it supports one). Whilst certainly not a 'necessity', I always tend to shoot weddings with a vertical grip attached. For two reasons. 

First, it adds a second battery, which means you get double the shooting time. Depending on your system, you might even be able to get through an entire wedding without having to change batteries.

And second, it makes shooting in the 'portrait' orientation (which I do during a wedding a lot), so much easier. Yes, it adds weight and bulk to your system - but the two benefits I've mentioned above out-way the extra weight (in my humble opinion). Your mileage may vary. 

I don't actually have a grip for my a77ii at the moment - but one is on its way. It's an after-market product (I'd prefer an actual Sony one), but should do the job.

So, as you can see, you don't need to take a tonne of gear with you on a wedding shoot. My kit will consist of a Sony a77ii with grip (and a99 body as a back-up), 50mm f/2.8 macro, 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5, 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 and 85mm f/1.4. A Sony flash, and associated batteries and memory cards, will round out the kit - all kept in a Lowepro Flipside 400 AW backpack. Not a bad kit.

Finally, I want to reiterate what I said earlier. More than about what 'gear' you use, wedding photography is about capturing the emotion, the energy, and the essence of a wedding day. Use whatever gear you can (yes, even a fisheye) to create captivating and memorable images for your bride and groom and you will have successfully fulfilled your purpose.

Trust me, your clients won't care what camera/lens combination you shot their wedding on, what f-stop it was, or what shutter speed you used. If you can present them with a set of photographs that tell the story and encapsulate the joy of their wedding day, you've done your job. Well done you. 

Sony a77ii quick shoot

Since receiving my Sony a77ii last week (while I was isolating at home with my second bout of Covid), I've been itching to get out and shoot with it. If only to set me mind at ease, due to my experience with the a57 (see here).

Given that I'm still in the Covid recovery phase, all I really want to do in the evenings is rest after a day at work. But I was determined to take some photos with the a77ii. And with bad weather forecast for the next week, I decided to go out last night (as I write this) and make the most of the good weather.

We've been having some stunning sunsets here on the West Coast recently, and I was hoping that this evening would be no exception. The conditions looked promising - but alas, it was not to be.

Cobden Beach. Sony a77ii with Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 ZA DT (SAL-1680Z)

The above image is pretty standard stuff - nothing to get too excited about. But it's the first photo taken on my 'new' Sony a77ii, with my 'new' Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* 16-80mm ZA DT lens (wow, that's a mouthful)!

Again, nothing special - the spectacular lighting never eventuated. But it is sharp (shot at f11), has good detail, and the colours look natural. So I'm happy.

Rusty wheel. Sony a77ii with SAL-1680Z. f/5.6 @ 1/30th, ISO 100

Taking landscape shots with the camera focused to infinity is all well and good. Even the a57 could do that. It was with subjects at closer focusing distances where the sensor alignment issues on my previous a57 showed up. So I found a subject to focus on, set the a77ii up on a tripod, and used the central spot focus area to lock on to the rusted wheel.

Result - pin sharp focus exactly where I wanted it. Whew! I can breath a sigh of relief. My Sony a77ii has no sensor alignment issues and is focusing perfectly on where I'm aiming. Great news 😀

In fact, I'm very pleased with the sharpness, although I guess I shouldn't be surprised - given that I was using the 16-80mm Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* lens. You should expect nothing but stellar results from a Carl Zeiss designed lens, and I'm happy to report that that appears to be the case. I'm pretty sure this lens will remain practically glued on to the front of this camera, given its fantastic 24-120mm focal range and fairly good f/3.5-4.5 aperture. I will write a more in-depth review of the lens in due course...

Cobden Tiphead Sunset. Sony a77ii with SAL-1680Z. HDR blend in Photoshop

As previously mentioned, the brilliant sunset colours never eventuated. Which is a shame, since the clouds were looking very dramatic. The image above is really as good as it got, and even this had to be created from a two-shot blend - one for the highlights and one for the shadows. 

Soon after taking this image, and having only been out for about 20 minutes, it actually started to rain. The a77ii is weather-sealed, but I wasn't that keen to test that out just yet (and also, the lens is not). So my first landscape outing with the new gear was unfortunately cut short. It was long enough to show that everything seems to be working ok though. So I'd say despite the weather, lack of light, and average images, I'd call the first outing a resounding success! Onwards and upwards...

Micro adjusting your DSLR

I've got my 'new' Sony a77ii and a whole bunch of lenses. Now comes the fun part - taking them all out and testing them in the field.

I enjoy testing cameras and lenses - always have. But I'm not really the 'brick wall and colour chart' kind of tester. I'm more of a 'how does it actually perform out in the real world' type of guy.

With one exception - the micro adjustment of lenses. For this sort of testing you kinda have to resort to some charts to be a little more 'exact' in your results. You are, after all, effecting the autofocusing results of said lenses.

Having said that, you don't have to spend hundreds of dollars on the fancy lens calibration charts that you need a degree in origami to be able to fold in exactly the right angle. A simple downloaded focusing chart off of the interwebs will do. Just do a google search and you'll come up with plenty of them.

But before we get underway with all of this AF micro-adjustment palaver, the question needs to be asked - "do I need to micro adjust my lenses?" And that's a very good question. The answer to which may very well be a resounding 'no'!

Are you happy with the results from your lenses? Do they look sharp to you? Do you have any fast (f1.4 - f2.8) lenses where autofocus will be critical? Or are all your lenses zooms, with an f4 - f5.6 range? If you don't have any fast glass, then chances are the aperture ranges you are using won't show up any 'slight' autofocus alignment issues.

But if you aren't happy with the sharpness you are getting out of your lenses, or if some seem sharp while others not so much, then maybe you need to consider in-camera micro-adjustments for certain lenses? That is, of course, if your camera actually supports such a thing. Many don't.

In-camera micro adjustment is a feature in more hi-end enthusiast or professional level DSLR's. You won't find this option on any of your Canon Rebels. And mirrorless cameras don't need to be micro-adjusted, since autofocusing happens directly at the sensor level, whereas DSLR's use separate AF modules. Sometimes these can be ever so slightly out of alignment, necessitating micro-adjustment. In the 'good-old-days', you would have to send you camera and lens(es) in to Canon/Nikon etc to have them calibrated if you thought the autofocus was 'out'. Photographers' talked of their camera either front or back focusing - especially portrait photographers who would lock the AF onto the eye of a model, only to find that the camera had focused ever so slightly in front of, or behind, the point of focus.

I haven't started using my a77ii yet, so I can't say that I'm having any focusing issues whatsoever. But I do have some very nice, fast, prime lenses for it. So I thought it was worth going through the motions, just for giggles. First up, the Minolta 85mm f1.4.

As mentioned earlier, their are lots of different suggestions online as to how to go about micro-adjusting your lenses. I decided to try a couple of different options, to see if they gave me the same results. Firstly, I found a chart where you set the camera up at a 45 degree angle and then focus on the chart laying flat, at a horizontal line with measurements down either side. Access your micro adjustment menu (check your manual since it will be different for each make of camera), and then shoot at a series of steps (I did 0,5,10,15,20,-5,-10-15-20) with your camera locked down on a tripod, 2 sec timer, aperture wide open, all stabilization turned off (since you are on a tripod). Take the images into Photoshop, enlarge to 100%, and check the areas of sharpness. It will soon become very evident as you go through the images whether this particular camera/lens combination is front or back focusing (or not).

It may be tricky to tell from the above re-sized image for the web, but the a77ii with 85mm f1.4 was ever-so-slightly front-focusing. On initial inspection a +10 adjustment looked the sharpest, but then I refined the process by shooting from +5 to +10 and reviewing the results. After inspecting this set closely, I determined that +7 was the sharpest of the lot.

Not totally convinced, I tried a second method. The 'flat-image-on-a-wall' test. This time you shoot some text on a wall with the camera parallel to the words. Same procedure with the camera (tripod, wide-open, self-timer etc). And wudda ya know - same result! It must be true 😀

Again, it might be hard to tell in these low-res images, but trust me - '0' was nowhere near sharp enough, and +7 sharpens things up nicely. Job done.

My a77ii can retain up to 30 lens adjustments - automatically. Meaning once you have adjusted the lens, the camera will remember it again once that particular lens is mounted on the camera. Brilliant. And I don't know about you, but I think even I might struggle to have 30 lenses to worry about?

So yes, it would seem that at least some of my lenses will benefit from micro-adjusting. And it also seems that either process will give you the exact same results.

But don't take my word for it. Download the charts, grab a fast prime, and try it yourself (as long as your camera supports micro adjustments). You may just breath some new life into that 50mm f1.8 that never quite felt sharp enough?

Sony a77ii. Getting serious about Sony A mount.

I'm not going to beat-around-the-bush with a long teaser introduction to this post. I'm too excited.

I've done it. I've purchased a Sony a77ii. And in doing so, I've placed my stick in the ground, so to speak.

From the beginning of this year when I started getting into macro photography (fungi in particular), using the Sony a99, I already had a foot in the Sony camp.

Then in February I jumped in, boots and all, and traded in my Olympus E-M1 for a Sony a57. And while the a57 was certainly no a99, I did enjoy using it, and took some of my favourite landscapes from this year with the camera.

As it transpires, the a57 had a problem with the sensor being out of alignment. Not noticeable when the camera was focused at infinity (for landscapes), but very obvious if you tried to focus on a subject closer.

So unfortunately the a57 went back, and my E-M1 was returned to me. I started using the micro four thirds system again, and that would have probably been that. Had it not been for a recent phone call.

I had been 'borrowing' the Sony a99 from a friend, together with a 50mm macro lens, and this is the kit I'd been enjoying using for macro fungi photography. Although I had also used the E-M1 with standard lenses as well. Stewart is a professional photographer who has been transitioning from Sony a-mount to Sony e-mount for a while. He rang to ask me if I was still interested in using a-mount gear, and would I like any of his? Of course I said 'yes', and in doing so, my fate was sealed.

Stewart has a load (and I mean a load) of a-mount lenses that he can 'give' me - basically on permanent loan. That's good enough for me - Stewart is definitely a man of his word. But lenses are no good without a camera body to go with it. And the a99 is really in no fit state to guarantee continued performance, or build an entire system on. So I needed a camera body. In my price range. Enter the Sony a77ii.

The Sony a77ii is, to all intents and purposes, a 'baby' a99. It has a 24 megapixel CMOS sensor (rather than full frame), a superior 79 point autofocus system, and the same design and layout. Including the same excellent flip up, down and around articulating lcd screen that I love on the a99. It has a solid magnesium alloy body, is weather resistant, only has one SD card slot (nevermind), and shares the same excellent OLED viewfinder. It is Sony's last, top-of-the-line cropped sensor camera, with fast 12fps shooting and a superb autofocus system. As such, it became very popular with sports action and wildlife photographers looking for the extra reach that an APSC cropped sensor can give. All I had to do now was find one for the right price!

The Sony a99's and a77's don't seem to come up on the used market as regularly as other cameras. And when they do, the seller is often asking a ridiculously high price for them. And I do mean ridiculous. There are a couple on TradeMe (an NZ online auction site) for almost NZ$2k for an a77 and almost NZ$3k for an a99 - both mark 1 versions! No thank you.

Fortunately, if you are patient (I've been watching the market for over 10 months), a bargain will eventually appear. One such bargain showed up recently in my watchlist. But even then I didn't pull the trigger straight away, since I don't really have the money to purchase the camera.

A couple of questions emailed to the seller indicated that he was happy to wait for a little while for me to get the $$ together should I win the auction. And then, a timely query for a paid photography job sealed the deal and I bid on the camera in the dying seconds of the auction. And I won. For the starting price (which was actually less than I put in an early offering bid for but which was rejected by the seller). Score!

The images in this blog are of the actual camera I have won, taken from the auction site photos. So yes, it looks in pretty good shape. It also comes with two standard Sony lenses - the 18-55 and the 55-200mm kit lenses. Probably won't use them that much (if at all), but hey, they come with the camera. So that's a bonus. It also comes with a charger (obviously), two Sony batteries (yay), two remote controls, and a Peak Design Capture camera clip for placing on a backpack strap. Never used one of those before, so will be keen to try it out.

All for a lot less than any of the other a77 mark 1 cameras on TradeMe presently. Bargain! At least I hope it is!? We'll see when I have it in my hot little hand. Which should be no more than a couple of weeks away?

I'm already eyeing up an after-market grip for it so I can extend the shooting time and have a vertical shutter release. I would prefer an original Sony one, but these are even rarer than the cameras on the secondhand market, so a third-party offering will have to do.

Super-excited to be getting the Sony a77ii, and using it next fungi season for some serious macro photography! Oh and yeah, I also have a wedding to shoot early next year. Could be a good season of photography coming up! I'll keep you posted.