A77II questions

[1/8000]

I'm about to possibly get the A77II with 16-50 2.8 and 55-300 lenses. Just have a few questions. What remote options are available(wireless and wired)? Are the 2 lenses I mentioned pretty good? Is the hot shoe standard? I mean, can I mount pocket wizard or old flahes(to use in manual mode) to it? Does it have exposure delay mode like Nikons so you can hit the shutter button instead of using remote when you don't want to shake the camera when shutter fires?

[TokyoCarGuy]

While 16-50 F2.8 is absolutely excellent lens.  Probably best for the money and capabilities. I heard bad things about 44-300.  If you spend this much money on camera you shoould proably get something more decent for superzoom.  70-300 G from Sony or 70-300 USD from Tamron should do the trick.  I don't use flash and my remote is very basic IR (I got it for  like 5 bux) so can't really help you with the rest of the questions.  Happy shopping!

[cadmus]

I have the A77ii with the 16-50 2.8.  Fantastic combination, and the only drawback to the lens could be that it is a little heavy and bulky, but that virtually never worries me.  I don't have the 55-300, but  have the Sony 75-300, which is probably similar, and it's awful.  I went to the Minolta 70-210 F4.5-5.6 (thinking it was the beer can, but I messed up, as that one is F4)and it was a mile better, nice and sharp, especially at F8, but that was back on my A100 and A700 (10 & 12 MP, not 24). I now have the Minolta 80-200 2.8, and it's truly amazing.  Fantastically sharp, even wide open.  Along with my Minolta 100mm macro, these 3 lenses are virtually my entire lenses line-up now.

 

I now have the F43 flash which suits the new hotshoe, so that is fine.  I do also have the F36 and F58, but hey would need an adapter to fit in the new hotshoe.  I have successfully fired all 3 wirelessly from the on board flash perfectly.  You can't use any one of these to fire the other two, but the on board will. As for pocket wizards, I'm still looking for the right solution.  The Phottix Odin seems to be the best bet, but if you get the Sony/Minolta version you the still need the adapter for the hotshoe, and then another adapter for the receivers on any of the new flashes (F43, F60).

 

As for remotes, I bought a fairly cheap Phottix wireless system for my A100 about 7 or 8 years ago now, and it still works beautifully (it plugs into the wired remote port). 

 

As there is no mirror to move, there is no 2 second mirror lockup, as its unnecessary, but there are still 2 and 10 second delays available as a timer option, which will take finger shake away.

 

I don't know what the circumstances are around you getting it, but I can heartily recommend it - IF you take the time to learn all of it's functions and possibilities.  I recommend getting Gary Friedman's book.  It will open your eyes!  Good luck!

[HM1]

The SAL-1650 is in my opinion a great lens. It's well built and nice to use. Among other things it's quite good wide open, especially in terms of contrast and sharpness seems to be at it's best at F/4.0.

 

The SAL-55300 is also quite good and from an optical standpoint its a great value. I like the range a lot and its also a lot better than the 55-200 or 75-300 in sharpness across the range as well as in contrast wide or near wide open. However all three of these lenses have a substantially slower and noisier auto-focus than the SAL-1650 as they lack the SMM motor. 

 

Depending on budget or if you get a bundle and, of course the range choice you might want to look at the Tamron SP 70-300 which is a notch above the 55-300 optically and is certainly a lot better to use thanks to its USD focus motor. 

[mvesseur]

Agree with other comments about lenses. The 16-50mm 2.8 is brilliant with the A77, the 55-300mm not so much. I had it, it was ok, but no match for the Tamron 70-300mm USD. Other than that there is no cheap way to get a powerful tele lens for wildlife photography. The 70-400mm would be the next step up, but that would cost more than the entire camera&lens kit. No experience with flashes. We have very little use for them. A pair of softboxes turned out to be the better solution.

[1/8000]

I got it today at the local camera shop. Got the body, 16-50, 55-300 and grip with a total of $750 in rebates. The battery is charging now.

[1/8000]

I've been enjoying it so far. Last night I ordered from B&H a 72mm slim polarizer for the 16-50, Vello wired remote(since you can't use the self timer in HDR mode), and a second battery.

[Valery]

For a77-II you can use Android, iPhone as remote over WiFi or any computer(notebook) over USB.

[cadmus]

I was playing with the PlayMemories app on an iphone a few days ago, and it's pretty cool, but also fairly limited.  It can change virtually no settings, and you can't tell it to focus at all, but it *might* be trying to focus when it takes the shot, I couldn't be sure.  Some shots were in focus, some not.  One interesting thing to note, that makes sense when you think about it, is that while I shoot exclusively in raw, when using the app it changes the setting to raw+jpg, and leaves it there after you stop using the app.  At least it doesn't change it to just jpg - I did a portrait session the next day and didn't notice that it was now on raw+jpg, so it could have been worse!

[fotomatix]

I've been enjoying it so far. Last night I ordered from B&H a 72mm slim polarizer for the 16-50, Vello wired remote(since you can't use the self timer in HDR mode), and a second battery.

So how are you enjoying the a77ii? I will get mine by the weekend. I've used several mirrorless models from both Sony and Olympus. In fact, I have an OMD EM10. Enjoy it. Good quality for significant affordability, including lenses and body. I do notice superior low light results with APSC sensor models. I want a step up from m43. The rapid burst of 12 fps for the a77ii is very intriguing to me. I have also viewed several videos on the web which confirm the a77ii's superb autofocusing (both quality and speed wise). What has your experience been? Do you have any photos to share taken with your a77ii? 

I know this forum focuses on the mirrorless models however I find the DSLT models are a better fit for me. Handling is important when using a camera, and the A77 just 'fits' well for me. I don't mind the larger size vs E-mount models. I also think there are several A mount lenses that offer quality and affordability. I'm a casual shooter focusing mainly on family gatherings and small social events. I also 'shoot' fast moving and restless kids!!! 

Cheers. 

[1/8000]

Hi fotomatix. I've been enjoying it so far. I don't have any other Sonys to compare it to. But I will compare it to my Nikon DSLRs D300 and D7100. The Sony does not have the retouch menu like the Nikons. You cantt apply effects and corrections after you've shot pics. Creative style will let you apply everything as the photos are being shot. Also I haven't been able to get the same level of sharpness with the Sony. I tried both lenses I have(16-50 2.8 and 55-300 DT SAM)at different f stops and different focal lengths with a solid tripod. The AF on the A77II is a little better than the Nikons, especially with human faces and eyes. The Sony has a little more delay when you press the shutter. I really like the articulating LCD-Nikons don't have it. About the electronic viewfinder, there are some advantages as well as disadvantages compared to the Nikons' optical viewfinders. One good thing about the EVF is it's not dark like the optical is in low light. I find the Sony's HDR to be a little better than my D7100(D300 doesn't have it). I recently got a Sony A-Nikon adapter so I can use Nikon lenses with it. The adapter does not allow infinity focus, so it's for macro only. I shot some macros with the Nikon 75-150 Series E and the Nikon 4t close up lens and was happy with that setup. Overall, I do like the A77II and have been enjoying it. Here are some pics.

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[1/8000]

I enjoyed doing the traffic trails.

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These were shot with the Nikon 75-150 and Nikon 4t close up lens.

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These with the 55-300 DT SAM and Nikon 6t close up lens.

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[fotomatix]

Thanks for the comments and sharing the pics. Nice ones!!!! Beautiful rich colors. 

 

The camera that the a77ii is most compared to is the D7100. Many good things to say about the Nikon as well. I think if the Nikon had the full articulating screen it may be a more difficult choice for me. The lens library alone is most impressive with Nikon (as it has always been) 

 

Happy shooting! 

[Austerror]

So I'm curious to find out what makes the Sony less sharp.

 

I'm wondering if that is just micro contrast and the way that the chosen RAW file processing software is rendering Nikon differently to the Sony RAW files.

 

Or perhaps the focus is not 100%  I have noticed that some of my lenses require micro AF adjusting to get the focus spot on.

[1/8000]

So I'm curious to find out what makes the Sony less sharp.

 

I'm wondering if that is just micro contrast and the way that the chosen RAW file processing software is rendering Nikon differently to the Sony RAW files.

 

Or perhaps the focus is not 100%  I have noticed that some of my lenses require micro AF adjusting to get the focus spot on.

 

So I'm curious to find out what makes the Sony less sharp.

 

I'm wondering if that is just micro contrast and the way that the chosen RAW file processing software is rendering Nikon differently to the Sony RAW files.

 

Or perhaps the focus is not 100%  I have noticed that some of my lenses require micro AF adjusting to get the focus spot on.

I am a JPEG shooter and don't even have software that will open RAW files at this time. I don't know why the A77II can't get as sharp as my Nikons. I've tried the 16-50 2.8 at different focal lengths and different f stops with a rock solid tripod. And sharpness setting in the camera is maxed out. Even with NR turned off, the A77II loses more sharpness as the ISO goes up.  I don't like to go higher than ISO 1600 with it. But I am comfortable at 3200 with my D7100. The D7100 has more noise at high ISOs, but also has more detail. My Nikon sensors can pull some amazing detail even with 30+ year old lenses. But sharpness isn't everything. I had a few 8X12's made from the A77ii and they were very nice. It's when you go pixel peeping at 67% or larger on the monitor you can see the lack of detail. Overall I do like my first Sony SLT A mount body.****And it's not a focus issue. When testing I used MF with the image on the LCD screen zoomed.

[Austerror]

Sony's JPEG engine is not the greatest.

 

Have you tried the free Phase 1 Capture 1 software?  Its free for Sony cameras.

 

http://www.phaseone.com/Imaging-Software/Capture-One-for-Sony.aspx

[Apollwnios]

Sony A77II BEST!!!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/apollwnios/sets/72157648507920547/

[kivis]

I have my A77ii w/ 24-70 lens arriving this week. Psyched.