Testing the Sony SAL75300 and Sony SAL18250 lenses

a57 with 75-300. f/8 @ 1/320th, ISO 800

I have continued to persevere with bird photography now that I have the Sony a57 and SAL75300 lens. On an APS-C sensor that equates to a 450mm equivalent fov (field of view), so I can get reasonably close to the wildlife.

But I can't say that I have been blown away by the performance of the Sony 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 lens. It's certainly not 'tack' sharp (or even close) at the 300mm end - which is exactly where you want to be if you buy a telephoto lens. 

Case-in-point - the other evening I went back down to my local lagoon and followed a Grey Heron around for about an hour. He slowly became used to my presence, and so I got reasonably close. I managed to get some decent poses, fairly close up, but the light was low, so I had to crank the ISO up (again). I've had to do this on both occasions now and I'm beginning to think that the high ISO's are contributing to the overall 'softness' I'm experiencing with this lens?

Of the 250-ish images I shot of the grey heron, I kept just four. All the rest were just too soft. And the four I kept only just snuck through.

So I decided that on the next sunny day, I was going to go out in the middle of the afternoon, in bright conditions, and test the lens at ISO 100. On a tripod. With a 2 second delay on the shutter. At all focal lengths and apertures. Just to see what this lens is really capable of in a 'best case' scenario. So that's what I did this weekend.

And while I was at it, I thought I'd test the SAL18250 at the same time. Just - ya know - because. So sit back, relax, get a beverage, and lets find out how good(?) these two lenses are...

Greymouth Wharf from Cobden. Sony a57 with SAL75300. f/8 @ 1/250th, ISO 100 (at 135mm)

Looking across to the Greymouth Wharf area from Cobden Lagoon is a great place to do these kinds of telephoto lens tests. First because there's plenty of space to set up your tripod, second because it provides lots of details and contrast to lock in on, and third because it's only five minutes from my house 😆

I set up as outlined above; on a tripod, with 2 second timer, central focus point (yes, I auto-focused because that's what I do 99% of the time in real-world shooting conditions), steady shot off (because I'm on a tripod) and aperture priority mode so I could speed up the process, since I would be working through all the apertures at every focal point marked on the lens barrel. Easy...

After I had all the images, I opened them in Lightroom, looked through each set of f/stops for each focal length I shot at, and chose the sharpest of the set. The lenses 'sweet spot' at that focal length, if you will. Below, are the results.

The selections above are all central crops at 100%, made in Photoshop, with my 'normal' sharpening applied (Unsharp Mask Filter applied at 125%, Raduis 1, Threshold 0). It might be difficult to make out what's happening from a low-res internet image, so I'll just tell you what I found....

The Sony SAL75300 lens (at least my copy of it), is soft at 75mm across the aperture range - with f/16 being somewhat presentable. But this isn't a lens I will be shooting at the 75mm end. Period 

From 100mm through to about 250mm, the lens is what I would call 'acceptably' sharp from f/5.6 to f/11 - with f/8 more than likely being the sweet spot. Images within this aperture and focal range are sharp, without being 'tack' sharp. This lens never really manages tack sharp.

At 300mm there is a fall-off in overall sharpness again, although not as bad as at the 75mm end (where it really is horrendous). At the 300mm focal length, f/5.6 to f/8 is 'reasonably' sharp, but I would stick to the 100 - 250mm range for better performance if I could. The lens has other issues at 300mm as well, exhibiting high levels of purple fringing. This is very evident at f/5.6, becoming better (although not completely gone) at f/8. Even with 'Remove Chromatic Aberrations' ticked in Lightroom's lens correction tab.

I thought that maybe the 16MP sensor of the a57 wasn't doing the SAL75300 any favours, and it may perform better on the full-frame 24MP sensor of the a99? So, of course, I tested this theory as well.

Once again, I'll decipher the low-res findings for you...

Basically, nothing changes. Apart for the fact that the a57 crop sensor is producing a slightly bigger fov for equivalent focal lengths - the actual sharpness remains relatively the same. Yes, the a99 is ever so slightly 'cleaner' (ISO 50 compared to ISO 100), and maybe a hair sharper? Maybe. But nothing that makes it shockingly different.

So bottom line with the Sony 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 (SAL75300); don't shoot at 75mm (at all), stick between 100-250mm and between f/5.6 to f/11 (let's just call it f/8 shall we?), and you should get 'acceptably' sharp results. Depending, of course, on your idea of 'sharpness'.

Cobden Lagoon. Sony a57 with SAL18250. f/8 @ 1/400th, ISO 100 (at 18mm)

Ok. So having established that the SAL75300 is really a 100-250mm, lets tackle the 18-250mm super zoom shall we!?

The SAL18250 is another one of those lenses that gets a bad rap from some reviewers. Actual users, on the other hand, often have some good things to say about this lens. Let's find out for ourselves.

Same process as above for the 75-300mm lens, although I changed position slightly so that there would be some interesting foreground in the image. Going through the apertures and focal lengths on this lens, what did I find?

Deciphering the above from what I see full-screen on my desktop computer at home, there's some good news if you want to use this lens as a pseudo landscape lens (as I do).

From 18mm up to 70mm, the lens performs very well in terms of sharpness - from f/5.6 to f/11. I wouldn't hesitate to use any combinations of the above. 18mm up to 35mm is even sharp through to f/16, which is a great result for us landscape photographers. Lens correction at the extreme 18mm end works well in Lightroom, and the corners are also nice and sharp. So at the 'wide' end of the lens, I'm very happy.

From 100mm up things change slightly. At 100mm sharpness is good from f/5.6 to f/8, and at 200mm from f/6.3 to f/8. At the extreme telephoto end of 250mm, only f/8 is what I would call 'acceptably' sharp.

So again, the good news for this lens, as a walk-around/travel/do-it-all superzoom, is that if you lock the aperture down at f/8, then practically all your images will be sharp. And if you want to use it as a landscape lens at the wider ends, then you have a great range of f/stops and focal lengths to choose from (up to about 100mm).

All-in-all I think this is a great result, and I'm well pleased with the SAL18250. 

I'm less pleased with the SAL75300, due to the less than impressive performance at 300mm (and 75mm). So does that mean I should just use the SAL18250 for everything and leave the 75-300mm at home?

Actually - no. Because again, based on my testing, the SAL75300 is a decent performer from 100mm to about 250mm. And the SAL18250 is an excellent performer from 18mm to about 100mm. Can you see the synergy here? The 75-300mm picks up where the 18-250mm leaves off. So effectively, with both lenses, I have decent (to sometimes excellent) performance from 18 to 250mm using both lenses. I did, of course test this theory out as well...

Hopefully you can clearly see that the SAL75300 is sharper from 100mm to 250mm than the SAL18250. Which means that it is still worth keeping both lenses, and taking both with me when I go out. If the 75-300mm lens was a big, heavy beast, then I'd think twice about bringing it. But it's not (it's only 460grams).

Am I disappointed with the lenses performance at 300mm? Yes, I am. And if I had the money, I would be changing it for either the Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 or the Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G SSM lens - both of which would, I believe, be infinitely better.

But I don't (have the money), so the Sony SAL75300, confined to shooting between 100 to 250mm, and from f/5.6 to f/8, will have to do during the meanwhile...

Sorry for the long post - and thanks for sticking with me this far (if you have). But it's a good, and important, exercise to do for yourself if you want to get the best out of your lenses. No matter what they might be. Lens testing doesn't have to be about boring test charts and brick walls. Get out in your natural environment and do some 'real-world' testing. I find this is always the best kind of testing. And the results may surprise, delight, or upset you!? 😄

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UPDATE: 15/04/22

Take all of the above with a grain of salt... 

I have recently discovered that my a57 isn't focusing properly - the sensor is probably out of alignment. So my overall impression of 'softness' is not surprising - and therefore all of the above is probably somewhat invalid!

First landscapes with the Sony a57

Having gone out the previous night with my 'new' (new for me, but second-hand) Sony a57 to photograph some birds (see last post), I thought it only fair that I go out again the next night, to put it through its landscape paces. It is, after all, mainly what I use my camera gear for.

I thought I would go back to Rapahoe Beach, to the spot where I had last tested out the a99 (see the images here). I love the images I get out of the Sony a99 - just gorgeous. So I thought "what the heck", why not put the a57 up against some serious competition and see how it fares!?

Rapahoe Pier structure. Sony a57 with SAL18250. f/11 @ 1/3 sec, ISO 100

What do you reckon? Didn't do too badly now, did it? In fact, lets get right down to it - it did fantastically! 

Now I'm not going to lie to you (honest). Obviously the images from the full-frame 24MP a99, shot at ISO 50 with the Minolta 17-35mm G lens are cleaner, clearer and sharper. They just are. In fact they are some of the most impressive files out of a camera that I think I've ever seen.

But honestly, who wouldn't be happy with the above image, taken with a 16MP APS-C camera and lens combination that all-up cost me $395.00 NZ! These are great results at ISO 100. The camera can achieve an 11-stop dynamic range (the a99 has almost 13 stops - 12.8 to be exact), which is plenty to be able to retain detail in both the shadows and the highlights of a well-exposed image - even in tricky landscape lighting scenarios.

Beachwood, Rapahoe. Sony a57 with SAL18250. f/11 @ 1/13th, ISO 100

Case-in-point is the image above. There is obviously very strong side lighting on the right from the setting sun, but I wanted to retain detail in the highlights, so I exposed for the sky and let the shadows darken. As you can see, they were recoverable in post, and the camera sensor has handled the extreme dynamic range in the scene very well. Again, perhaps it's not as 'clean' as a file from the a99 might have been - but 'again', it's a fifth of the price of the a99 (and that's not counting the Minolta lens).

Meandering. Sony a57 with SAL18250. f/11 @ 1 sec, ISO 100 

I'm doing something with the a57 that I've never really done with any other camera before. Shooting in full manual. Perhaps that's a shocking thing for someone who has been a photographer for over 35 years to say, but it's also true. For practically all of my photography career, since owning my very first film camera (the Canon T70), I've shot - whenever possible - in Aperture priority mode. It's ingrained in me. It's just the way I think photographically. I've trained myself to think in apertures, and that's how I approach every scene. My first consideration - what aperture do I want. Dial that in, and let the camera do the rest.

I've tried to adapt to full manual a few times - when I used digital cameras with optical viewfinders. But I always found it a complete faff, and eventually ended up where I wanted to be if I had been shooting in aperture priority anyway (for the most part).

But with mirrorless, and an evf (electronic viewfinder), I've found that shooting manual is actually now a fast and viable option. Shooting in full manual on the a57 is a breeze. And still centers around dialing in the aperture first.

Ripples in motion. Sony a57 with SAL 18250. f/11 @ 1/6th sec, ISO 100

Setting the aperture manually on the a57 is a two-step process unfortunately, since it has no rear control dial. So you press the AEL button and spin the front control wheel to choose your aperture. Once set, you then also use the front control wheel to choose your shutter speed, and next to that is the ISO button. So the exposure triangle is 'somewhat' at your fingertips.

So why does this make it any better for full manual control? Actually it doesn't. What makes it 'better' is seeing the exposure changes in the evf! With the aperture locked in, and the ISO chosen, all that remains is to toggle the front wheel that controls the shutter speed, and the scene lightens or darkens accordingly! When it was a purely optical viewfinder, you would have to change your exposure value a bit, take another shot, and 'chimp' to see how close you got. If not, then rinse and repeat until you did. By then, the light had probably changed, and you would have to repeat the process all over again! Aarrgghhh.

But with the evf, all of that 'guess' work goes away. You actually get to see what's happening. And for me, this has been somewhat revelational! Yeah, I know, I'm a bit slow on the uptake...

Rapahoe Beach at Sunset. Sony a57 with SAL18250. f/11 @ 5 secs, ISO 100

Long story short, I actually enjoyed shooting in full manual. For the first time ever! Probably helped by the fact that I was working on a tripod (as I am mostly with landscapes) and the apeture never left f/11 nor did the ISO leave 100. So all I had to worry about was the shutter speeds. Which also wasn't a concern, since I was on a tripod. So yeah, we'll see how long full manual control lasts....

Were there things I didn't like with the a57? Of course...

For a start, I find the focus area to be too small. I want more focus points further out towards the edges. But to be fair, this is also a complaint I have with the Sony a99 too - so it's not just an issue with the a57.

Also, the flip down screen is just plain annoying. I'd much prefer if it just slid down like the one on my Olympus OM-D E-M1 did. Or better still, give me the full articulation of the Sony a99. That thing is the bomb! The screen on the a57, hinged as it is at the bottom, gets stopped by my tripod mount, so doesn't really flip out on an angle to aid when viewing on the tripod. I've figured a work-around, where I now mount the camera on the tripod 'back to front' so the locking mechanism is now operated from the front of the camera. But I'm not crazy about this.

Another rear control wheel would be great, so changing the aperture wasn't a two-step process. Not a deal-breaker, but a nice-to-have.

And lastly... yeah, ok - I wish it had the 24MP sensor of the a99 and went down to ISO 50 (or even 64), for a cleaner image. That would be nice. But not, like, essential...

So really, what I'm saying, is that I wish it was an a99?! Maybe, I guess. I've been a bit spoiled by having one at the same time as I got the a57. And let's face it, any APS-C camera would pale in comparison to the full-frame, full-metal, full-control awesomeness that is the a99.

And yet it can still take some fantastic images. As seen above. I did have a fantastic time out with my new a57. And I thoroughly expect to have many more.

Birding with the Sony SAL75300

In my last post I indicated that my 'new' Sony a57 had arrived, and I had already taken it out for a test-drive with the Sony SAL75300 (Sony A Lens 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6).

It's been a while since I've had a dedicated 'telephoto' lens for one of my systems, so I was keen to pop the 75-300mm on and give it a spin. I decided to do some bird photography down at my local lagoon. Unfortunately the clouds had rolled in and the weather was a bit overcast, so I had to bump up the ISO to give me some decent shutter speeds at the 300mm end of the lens.

Shagadelic! Sony a57 with SAL75300. f/11 @ 1/250th, ISO 800

From reading reviews of the lens, I knew that the Sony 75-300mm wasn't going to be the sharpest tack in the box - especially at the long end. So I made sure that I shot at around the f/8 to f/11 apertures, which should produce the sharpest images (a couple of stops shut down from wide open). As mentioned above, this also meant that I was having to bump up the ISO to give me fast enough shutter speeds. Hey ho - I guess I'll get to see how it performs at high ISO's as well then 😊

Lens elements in the SAL75300

The lens itself isn't anything to write home about. It is, after all, the cheapest telephoto to 300mm lens that Sony makes. It is also, apparently, a 're-packaging' of an old Minolta 75-300mm lens.

There are no special lens elements in its construction, and it's made mostly from plastic. Although that's not necessarily a bad thing. The plastic is of the modern polycarbonate type - which has proven to be very rugged and sturdy enough for most uses. Of course the lens elements are all glass, and the lens mount is metal. So that's a good thing. Fit and finish is also fairly impressive for such a cheap and cheerful optic. It's just a no-frills kinda product.

Unfortunately, the front lens element rotates, and the auto-focus is driven from the camera body. So it's not blisteringly fast, and it's not whisper quiet. Although it's also not turtle-slow, nor is it annoyingly noisy. It found focus and locked on reasonably quickly, so no complaints there. But it certainly ain't no G master! It also only cost me $149.00NZ. So there's that...

Swan family. Sony a57 with SAL75300. f/11 @ 1/100th, ISO 1600

I wasn't looking for birds-in-flight, so I didn't need to rely on the tracking on the a57. I did, however, set it to continuous hi-speed shooting so I could fire off a shot burst of images. This helps with getting sharpness, as at least one image in a series of burst should be sharp. Probably didn't need to have bothered with this approach looking back on the files. They are all 'relatively' sharp. 

I say 'relatively' sharp for a reason. Because from what I can tell from my brief outing, the SAL75300 never gets 'bitingly' sharp really, at any focal distance. I shot, as I said, at around the f/8 to f/11 apertures, and it seems to me from pixel-peeping that f/8 is the sweet spot.

It is probably hard to tell from the image samples above (click on the image to enlarge it in your viewer), but absolute sharpness (such as it is with this lens) peaks at around the 200mm focal length. Although it is a little difficult to gauge the lenses true capabilities, since all of the above were shot at ISO 1600 and are therefore a little 'noisy' (adding to the overall sense of softness). I will have to do a bit more testing in brighter conditions, where noise isn't a factor, to really get a sense of this lenses capabilities (and I will do).

All-in-all I wasn't blown away by the results from the SAL75300, although nor was I really expecting to be. I think that at f/8, all focal lengths (but especially below 250mm), will produce very good images up to A3 size. Beyond that, sharpness might start to become an issue?

Wading bird, Cobden Lagoon. Sony a57 with SAL75300mm. f/9 @ 1/500th, ISO 1600

The jury is out on this lens presently. I'm not sure that I got the best out of it on my first try, and I want to try again in better conditions. Ideally I would like to see how it performs at ISO 100, with a much 'cleaner' file.

The images here are not 'bad' per-se, they just didn't blow me away as much as I was hoping they would. And yet maybe my expectations were too high? This is, as has already been previously stated, Sony's cheapest telephoto lens up to 300mm - by far. So was there that much to expect in the first place? 

Trouble is, I'm coming from the micro-four-thirds system, where even the super cheap and plasticky Olympus 45-150mm f/4-5.6 (90-300mm fov in full-frame terms) is exceptionally sharp. So I've been a bit spoiled.

I certainly need to use the lens a few more times before I formulate any firm opinions regarding it's sharpness. And then again - sharpness isn't everything. Is it?

Sony a57 has arrived!

The title says it all really 😄

Yesterday (as I write), my 'new' Sony a57 was delivered by the nice folks who brought it back from Christchurch for me (thanks Macey's dad). It arrived packaged up in a Tenba Solstice 7L sling bag (not a 10L, but never-mind, it fits heaps of gear) which included the body, Sony 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3, Sony 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6, Sony camera strap and Sony charger. The battery in the camera was flat 😞 so I popped it on the charger and gave it a few hours to fully charge.

For a start, overall condition is excellent. Both lenses look practically new - although the SAL18250 didn't come with a lens hood (drats!). The glass on both is clean, clear and pristine. Really don't think they have had much use at all.

As for the camera body itself... it does show a few signs of wear on the body, and the rear thumb leatherette section (which I actually think is some type of rubber) is peeling away slightly. So I have used some double-sided tape to keep it stuck in place. If that doesn't do the trick, then I will glue it down as a long-term solution. It's just a minor thing.

The main 'wear' was evident on the rear LCD screen itself. This could even be seen on the photos they had online. But I was guessing that it was a removable screen protector that had been scratched, and would come off and be replaced easily. Sony actually has their own screen protection film placed on their screens out of the factory, and often it's just a simple case of peeling this off carefully to reveal the clean screen underneath.

Long story short, there was actually another screen protector placed over top of this one by a previous owner, and it just popped off with a little help. So I've just left it as-is now for the time being. The Sony standard plastic film cover is pristine, so that's good enough for me.

So overall condition on the whole kit itself - I'd rate it a solid 8.5 out of 10. Which I'm very happy with. I've also checked the shutter count for the a57. Only 12,224 shutter actuation's, so it's hardly been used at all. I would assume that the a57, being a mid-range series camera, has a shutter life of around 100,000 clicks? So that means the camera has used about 12% of its life-span. Good news.

Settings-wise it's pretty straight forward. Most of the time I will shoot RAW, single-shot, single auto-focus, wide area AF (or spot), multi-metering, at the lowest ISO I can feasibly get away with (not Auto ISO). I usually choose sRGB colour space (since mostly I'm posting on the web), anti-shake set to 'on', eye-focus set to on, and all noise reduction turned off (as is the annoying camera beep). I have left the ISO button to control ISO, but have re-configured the AEL button to switch to manual magnification focus assist. And that's about it.

I haven't delved into the movie settings, since I don't plan on using it for video - at all. And pretty much all the other options don't really matter, since I'm shooting RAW only and not Jpeg (or RAW + Jpeg).

And there you have it. Pretty simple really. Which I think is great. 

I have taken it out with the 75-300mm attached to do some bird photography at my local lagoon, and will post about that next. Unless I cut-in with what I'm planning on for tonight's outing - landscapes with the 18-250mm. Should be fun.

More Landscapes with the Sony a99

I'm really starting to enjoy using the Sony SLT cameras - in particular the a99 (my a57 is on its way). So when my wife said she had an appointment on Wednesday night and I needed to be out of the house, I didn't need telling twice!

The day was gloriously fine and hot, the clouds were puffy and white, and the chances of a colourful sunset looked very promising. In the weekend I had gone to Motukiekie Beach along the coast road (see post here) but the sunset never eventuated. Still got some great shots though. On the way to Motukiekie, I almost stopped at the beach before there, at Rapahoe. At low tide you can get some fantastic reflections in the wet sand and some great views of the coast. So that was my destination this time around..

Rapahoe Beach jetty posts. Sony a99 with Minolta 17-35mm f/3.5 G. f/11 @ 1/13th, ISO 50

I got to the beach fairly early - at 7.30pm. Sunset was another hour away, and the setting sun was very bright. It also seemed to always be pointed directly into the lens from where I wanted to shoot from!

Recently (within the last year or so), some old jetty posts have become uncovered on the beach, and I had been meaning to photograph them for a while. I've been going to Rapahoe beach for about twenty years to take photos, so these recently(ish) uncovered old jetty posts are a very exciting and welcome addition. On my previous visits, I seem to have timed it all wrong - with the posts either completely submerged in the high tide, or left high and dry during low tide. This time, however, I was in luck. I arrived on the out-going tide, with two hours to go before low tide. Perfect timing. Now I just had to wait for the perfect light 😊

Rapahoe Bridge. Sony a99 with Minolta 17-35mm f/3.5 G. f/8 @ 1/20th, ISO 100 + polariser

Since I had some time to kill before the main attraction, I decided to head away from the sun, down the beach, towards a bridge I have photographed before. The light was racking down the beach and through the bridge beautifully and the polariser on the lens really made the white clouds 'pop'. The colours coming out of the Sony a99 24mp full-frame sensor are just gorgeous, and the files are incredibly robust. Both shadow and highlight detail recovery is amazing as long as you have a well-exposed image.

Old jetty posts, Rapahoe Beach. Sony a99 with 17-35mm f/3.5 G. f/11 @ 1/6th sec, ISO 50

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - the a99 is a joy to shoot landscape images with. The articulating LCD screen is clear, bright, and can be placed in the perfect position no matter your shooting scenario. For most of my landscape images - shot in 'landscape' orientation on a tripod, I lift the LCD screen up, out, and over - angled towards me on the top of the camera's viewfinder - for almost a top-down medium-format hasselblady type of shooting experience. Just wonderful. The articulation of the a99 screen has defined for me what a rear screen is capable of, and it will be very difficult to go back to one that is less flexible. Might just have to save my pennies for an a99 on my own! Yes, it really is that good.

Rapahoe Beach Sunset. Sony a99 with Minolta 17-35mm f/3.5 G. f/11 @ 1/8th sec, ISO 50

The above image is very similar in composition to the first image in this post. But what a difference an hour makes in terms of the lighting! There was still quite a lot of strong side-lighting coming from the setting sun to the right, but the sensor has captured plenty of detail. I was able to selectively darken the right side of the image to match the left side, with a gradient adjustment in lightroom. Once again, the richness of colour and detail coming off the 24MP sensor at ISO 50 is astounding. And I'm finding that, very much like the Fuji's X-Trans sensor, the sensor in the Sony a99 gives a very 'filmic' look. It's not overly digital feeling. The images have a subtle softness to them (although they are plenty sharp and crisp enough) that doesn't scream 'digital'. And I like it - a lot.

Rapahoe Jetty Posts, Sunset. Sony a99 with Minolta 17-35mm G. f/11 @ 2 secs, ISO 50.

This final image sums up the night, and the Sony a99, perfectly. It sums up the night because it has a beautiful calm, stillness to the image - which is exactly how I felt while I was there. It was a great night shooting, and has gone a long way to reviving my landscape juices...

It sums up the a99 because it's an image that I wasn't convinced I was going to get away with. And yet the a99's sensor has handled it brilliantly. To get any definition in the sunset area of the sky, I had to under-expose by two stops. As a result, the posts were completely silhouetted in the viewfinder, and in the RAW image as it appeared in Lightroom. I had basically resigned myself to a silhouette image, with the whole left-side of the composition in complete darkness. But I also took the image to see what would happen, and how much latitude I did actually have in post-processing.

I started moving the Shadows slider to the right, to open up the shadow areas, and the colours and detail of the posts magically started to appear. This in itself is fantastic. But at ISO 50, it is also so 'clean' and noise-free.

Yes, if you can't tell, I am thoroughly enjoying using the Sony a99 as a landscape camera. I also think that the amazing glass of the Minolta 17-35mm f/3.5 G is in no small way a contributing factor to the wonderful images it is producing. I am looking forward to getting my a57 as well, but I am also preparing myself for a little bit of a let-down, since it is certainly not in the a99's league. 

But I knew this, and I can't afford an a99 (yet). But I am plotting... and hoping... and dreaming... that an a99ii might be somewhere in my future. We can but dream.

It's official - the Sony a57 is on its way

The deal is done...

I am now the proud owner of a Sony a57 SLT (single lens translucent) digital camera.

I sent my Olympus gear over to Christchurch this weekend past (thanks Levi for taking it for me), to be assessed for trade-in. Initially I was excited by a Fuji X-T20 body (see previous post here), but quickly realised I would get much more bang-for-my-buck if I went the Sony route (and I'm all for bang-for-my-buck!). You can read more about that here.

Late last evening (as I write this) I was contacted by the camera store owner who gave me a very good price for my Olympus gear (thanks Greg), and who also said the Fuji X-T20 was still waiting there for me! In the interim, I had been discussing other options with another member of his staff (hi Adam), and had come to the conclusion that the a57 was the one for me. This conversation obviously hadn't been passed on to the boss - who had even refused a sale for the X-T20 because he believed I wanted it. A quick email later, and I had outlined to Greg what I actually wanted as a trade-in for my micro four thirds gear. But how was I going to make it all happen?

My son is currently studying at the University of Canterbury (starting his second year in Computer Engineering), and Levi (who had picked up my camera gear in Greymouth) is one of his flatmates. So now Josh had my camera gear, and took it in today (as I write) to do the deal. I had outlined to him exactly what I had told Greg in my email of the previous evening, and had already received a reply from the store indicating that all would be ready when Josh got there. The stars were aligning.

Early this afternoon, I got a text from Josh saying he had the gear, and then about 10 minutes later I received an email from Greg at the store indicating the same. He also said that he had thrown in a spare battery (thanks Greg), and that I even had money left over that they would be happy to put into my bank account if I supplied them with a number. Which I immediately did. Wow! All this and money left over! How cool is that!?

So what am I actually getting, you may ask? What did I manage to score for my trade-in?

Well of course for a start there's the Sony SLT a57 body, with charger and batteries (x2). But it also came as a kit, together with the Sony DT 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 super-zoom lens (see above). This will be an absolutely perfect walk-around lens that will probably be on the camera 80% of the time. At least whenever I'm capturing 'daily' life. Yes, I know that the f/3.5-6.3 variable aperture is fairly slow. But it was on my Olympus 12-50mm kit lens as well, and I loved that lens for its versatility. And optically it wasn't bad either.

The Sony DT 18-250mm (SAL18250) is an incredibly versatile lens - ranging as it does from 27-375mm in focal length (35mm full-frame equivalent). I will, of course, test it out once it is my hot little hands. It may not be a 'stellar' performer, but it also might not be that bad? I've tested the Canon 18-55mm kit lens before against an 'L' lens, and the 18-55 held its own admirably. So we shall see.

Add to this the Sony 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 - another 'kit' lens that was cheap, but fills a niche that I like to have filled in my bag. I've written a few times before that I'm not a big telephoto shooter, but when I need it, I need it (if you get what I mean). I already know that this lens will be 'soft' wide open at 300mm. So guess what. I won't shoot it wide open at 300m 😆

With a 112-450mm focal length (in 35mm terms), as with the 18-250mm, it has a pretty impressive range. I'm sure that the 75-300mm will perform better than the 18-250 at the 200-250mm end (although that remains to be seen), so I've got it for two reasons. First because it was cheap 😂 And Second, because it will be the lens that I reach for when I want/need that extreme 450mm focal length (birds,sports,wildlife etc). I could be wrong, but I'm betting that the Sony 75-300mm will be 'good enough' for what I need it to do? Again, testing will be done.

Finally, it will all come in a Tenba 10L Solstice Sling backpack - in black. The Solstice is also second hand, but from what I can tell from the listing on their site, the only thing wrong is that it's missing its rain cover. Which I never use. So no big deal...

I wanted a sling-style backpack for the Sony gear, especially if I decide to carry most (or all) of it with me on a trip. The sling style backpacks are hugely versatile - offering the carrying convenience of a backpack, with the ease and accessibility of a messenger bag. When you get to somewhere you want to take a photo, simply 'sling' the bag around to the front for easy access to your camera. Ingenious! I used to have a Lowepro Sling backpack and loved it. So I'm looking forward to using the Tenba.

So there you have it. A camera, two lenses, and a backpack - plus change... Not a bad trade-in deal if you ask me.

The final stroke of luck... Macey's parents (my son Joshua's other flatmate) are going to Christchurch this coming weekend, and can bring the Sony gear back with them. So I haven't had to pay courier fees to get the gear there, or back again! Brilliant. It will mean that I don't get the gear until after this coming weekend - but never mind. Until then at least I've still got the Sony a99 to get along with. Not a bad fill-in option...

Landscapes with the Sony a99

My Olympus camera gear is off to Photo & Video in Christchurch to be appraised for a trade-in, and I'm now almost 100% sure that my next system will be Sony. Wow!

Spiney rock formation, Motukiekie Beach.
Sony a99 with Minolta 17-35mm. f/16 @ 1/6th, ISO 50. + Polariser

To mentally prepare myself for the transition, I decided to go out this weekend (as I write this) with the Sony a99 full-frame SLT camera and Minolta 17-35mm f/3.5 lens to take some landscape photos. We have had some gorgeous sunsets here on the West Coast recently, and I was hoping the same would be true of this evening. 

Alas, it wasn't to be, with no clouds in the sky and no real colour to speak of. Just flat open skies all along the horizon. Oh well, never mind. At least sunset coincided with low tide (both happened at 8.30pm), so I was able to get right out among the rocks and take some interesting rockscapes.

Motukiekie Rockscape. Sony a99 with Minolta 17-35mm. f/11 @ 1/6th, ISO 50 + Polariser

I've said it before, and I'll say it again... the a99 is a joy to use for landscape photography. Yes, it's bigger and heavier than my Olympus E-M1 was (even with grip attached), and the Minolta 17-35mm lens is no lightweight either. But it's also one of the lighter DSLR-style full-frame cameras you can get, and it really wasn't an issue carrying it - along with a couple other lenses, in my Crumpler messenger-style camera bag. I would, however, like to get a camera backpack to use instead of the Messenger bag, especially if I'm going on a longer walk with my camera gear.

But for this trip, the messenger bag worked fine (Crumpler's 6 Million Dollar Home), and I even took my lighter Manfrotto travel tripod instead of my heavier Slik that I usually take when using the full-frame camera. The Manfrotto actually worked fine, and I always felt the camera had a stable platform. It might have been different on a windy day, but fortunately this evening there wasn't a breath of wind to worry about.

Motukiekie Rockscape 2
Sony a99 with Minolta 17-35mm

Unfortunately this meant that the mosquitos were out in force! Little blood-sucking vermin. They really do ruin a great evening out photographing! For some reason they really love the taste of me, and I always get swarmed whenever they are around (must be my animal magnetism 😂). Very unpleasant. 

I try not to hang-around in the one spot for too long so that they don't all get the chance to converge. This can mean that I don't take my time composing an image as long as I should, because I just want to keep moving and get away from the little buggers! But fortunately the Sony a99 is very quick to set-up, and the vari-angle LCD screen makes it a breeze to see your image no matter how you have the camera positioned. It really is the best rotating  LCD screen I've ever used. Unfortunately I don't think that the a57's back panel LCD screen is as flexible!? Shame.

Because the a99 has most of its important functions mapped to a button or dial on the body of the camera, changing settings is also very quick. The 'Function' button also acts as a 'quick' menu, allowing you to change settings on the fly. I usually shoot most of my images in Apeture priority, so I have the aperture value set to change with the front dial on the camera, while exposure compensation is mapped to the rear dial. I let the camera take care of the shutter speed, and the ISO was set to the smallest native ISO the a99 shoots - an impressive 50 ISO. It's amazing to be able to shoot at these lower ISO's on a digital camera, since I'm used to a native ISO 200 on my Olympus E-M1. ISO 50 on the Sony a99 is very clean, and impressively 'smooth'.

Motukiekie low tide. Sony a99 with 17-35mm. f/11 @ 1/2sec, ISO 50 + Polariser (35mm fov)

The 24MP files that come off of this Sony full-frame sensor are just drop-dead gorgeous! Not to mention the dynamic range that the sensor can capture. DXO puts it on par with the likes of the Nikon D3x and the (much) newer Canon EOS R6. That's pretty impressive for a 10 year old camera! 

In the image above, I have actually processed it to look more like a silhouette - darkening the highlights and shadows. I wanted a more dramatic look to the image, although in reality, the sensor has captured much more detail in the shadows. And at ISO 50 it's very clean, noise-free detail.

Motukiekie low tide silhouette. Sony a99 with 17-35mm. f/11 @ 5 secs, ISO 50 + polariser

Again , more detail was captured in the shadows than is showing up here. In fact, I can see more detail in the image when it is opened in Photoshop. The internet compression isn't doing this image any favours. It does have the 'mood' I was going for though, and the colours are very faithfully reproduced. This is pretty much exactly what I saw with my own eyes when I was there.

Unfortunately, as mentioned above, the sunset never really kicked-off, and with no clouds to catch the colour that was there, the photo doesn't have the kind of impact I was after. Just imagine the same scene with big orange clouds reflected in that mirror-like reflection of the water. Would have been epic! Oh well, there's always next time I guess.

Motukiekie beach sunset. Sony a99 with 17-35mm. f/11 @ 8 secs, ISO 50 + polariser

This was my last shot of the night, taken quickly as I trudged my way back to the car to head home. I was tired, had the images I thought I was going to get for the evening, and simply looked behind me as I was walking along the beach. I begrudgingly got all my gear back out in the semi-dark because I thought it was 'kinda nice', and took one shot. Turns out it's probably my favourite shot of the night. Lol

I am still struggling with motivation to go out and take landscape photos of my local area, even though I enjoyed myself once I was there (apart from those damn mosquitoes). I am still hoping that an injection of 'new' gear will help in this regard, and I am looking forward to getting the a57 and reviewing the camera and lenses that I have. If nothing else, reviewing gear actually gets me out photographing and making images. And if they turn out anything like the photos I took at Motukiekie Beach with the a99, then that's got to be a good thing...