it's like stumbling across a vein of gold ore!

Just shot an event yesterday with the a65, stills and video. Just processing the image files now but I have to say in all "brutal frankness" and after using the 5D (two shutter mechanisms worth) and the 5D2 over 5 years, that this Sony technology (semi-translucent technology, or SLT) will be the wave of the future, esp now with the 2.4M pixel OLED viewfinder. I shoot with the traditional optical viewfinder 6 days a week and I don't like it anymore. And this 24MP resolution on an APS-C sensor!! This really blows the FF sensor out of the water, esp on a camera that cost me less than a thousand for the body!!

I had my serious doubts about noise but  ISO12800 is not a big problem if the exposure is right and any image is better than nothing. And if it is a perceived irritant, I've heard that Topaz Denoise is an amazing plugin for reducing noise.I'm a camera slut...I'm only loyal as far as the tools allow me to express myself... I go where the technology goes and I realize that it's the photographer not the camera... but I know of what I speak of. But don't take it from me...if you are a Nikon/Canon user, and you have a few thousand dollars invested in lenses, and maybe planning on adding on to it, you owe it to yourself to try the latest Sonys. You could always sell it on Craigslist at a slight loss.
Other pluses:
ability to take other lens mounts
focus peakingoption to use lenses on the "rangefinder-type" NEX series
PHASE-DETECT CONTINUOUS FOCUS FOR VIDEO!!!
(sample photos  on this blog to follow shortly)

My Sony a65 set-up for Stills and Video

 

 

 

a65 (a77 would be too big for this setup),

HVLF43AM Flash (the 58AM would be too big for this setup),

ThinkTank's CB Junior bracket w/ enough room for an LED light.

A study in contrasts: a warm holiday dinner for the 99% and an ad for the 1%

I have just come back from shooting Stills and Video, part 2 in a series of 3 Holiday Dinners for the Toronto Mission City, whose purpose and vision is to transform at-risk communities. "Concepts" such as sharing, giving, appreciation of the small things in life, and a sense of community, are still fresh in my mind.

I unwind by reading the paper and this is what I see:

Selected phrases from a full-page back page ad (read: expensive!) in the Saturday Globe and Mail for a condo development with individual units in the million+ $$ price range. The copy writer must have had a field day!

why is it "instinctively home"? 

 what about common sense? what about scientific reasoning? what about financial reality?

 ???

 ... and not with the sweaty, smelly masses?

 but this "home" screams "I am filthy rich!"

 like a plain-looking Rolls Royce,

 what exactly does this mean? tender ratios? 

 a building that promises a religious experience?

are we all driven to belong to the 1%?

obviously... not unlike our instinct for a full stomach, our instinct for a warm bed...

East-end London European? Athens European? Bucharest European? Marseille European? Sarajevo European? or is it a cozy, "familiar" Hallmark card  mish-mash of Paris, London, Milan, and Vienna?

iPhone Diaries #434: "Food Drive"

I just hate it when I have to go through a gauntlet of fresh-faced healthy kids with their parents and coaches collecting money for their sports teams, especially hockey teams. Perhaps "hate" is too strong a word; "dislike" is probably more apt. It just seems to me that a purely discretionary sport, particularly a money-intensive sport like hockey, should not be collecting money in a manner that preys on our altruistic natures. There is the "guilt" factor too; one feels like a grinch when the wide, innocent eyes are passed by without handing over a token quarter or a loonie (or the register receipt).

So it was with trepidation that I approached the entrance to our Zehr's supermarket this morning on seeing a group of hockey-jersey-clad youngsters manning both doors. Trepidation was washed over with relief on seeing that these kids were handing out  slips of paper reminding everyone of the disadvantaged amongst us (see photo).

What an excellent gesture! The coaches and parents should be commended for an exercise that not only benefits other people but also instills in children lessons in sharing.  I would gladly share a bit of my bounty every time a group devotes their time advocating for their neighbours, a prime example being the Salvation Army. Arguably, a dollar going to a sports team is a dollar less for those who could really use it.

Now don't get me started on the people who exploit children by asking them to sell chocolates based on commission pay coupled with blatant lies about the proceeds supposedly going to help needy children.

Love-at-first-sony! This relationship had better work. It will be too expensive to switch (yet again)..

I just picked up the a65. I was in line for the a77 but it's not in stock. I could switch within 2-3 weeks if the a77 comes in but if there's such a thing as love-at-first-sight, it's happened to me! I've been around the block (Nikon D100, D70, D80, D90, Fuji S2PRO, Canon 5D, 5D2, 40D, 60D, Olympus E1, E3, E-30, E-330) averaging over 100,000 clicks a year at work and at play.... but this a65  is the real sweetheart. I might just stay with this instead of the a77.... or use this a65 as a backup to an a77.

Some major plus points:

-SteadyShot allows me to shot 1/2nd sharp (f2.8 at 75mm equivalent). Without SteadyShot, my sharpest is at 1/30th (50-year-old hands will do that to you).

-Focus Peaking.... a godsend when using manual lenses.

-EVF.... I've forgotten about optical finders already.

-Ergonomics, controls... usually an acquired taste but just overnight, I'm already comfortable with it.

-24MP sensor... noisy at 3200 but I expect noise at !SO3200. Anyways, its a killer resolution and one has to use a premium lens to realize this potential. I got the DT16-50 (should have been classified as a premium G lens) and it is NICE!

Some minor plus points:

- lens corrections in the camera body,

- panorama feature,

- twilight mode really works.

So-so HDR but then I'm used to Photomatix.

I have a video shoot this Saturday and on Monday (4 hours each) so we'll see how the video works for me. It better because this is the main reason I switched from Canon to Sony.

The major downers for me are: 

-the lack of weather sealing (a77 has it). I shoot weddings and I've been splashed a few times so it matters.

-The a77 also has 150,000 actuations versus the a65's 100,000. The $400 price difference is about the price of a shutter replacement.

-No PC sync socket. A must for using pocket wizards.

I love this camera! I hope this love-at-first-sight becomes a long term relationship!