• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

NeoGAF Photography & Camera Gear Community

JORMBO

Darkness no more
That's fantastic. Do you do photography professionally?

I used to do a mixture of a lot of different things - shooting for fun or pay, selling prints, running lighting workshop, galleries, etc. Never a full time profession though. I haven't shot too much in the past 2 years. Models today mostly just want quick Instagram glam stuff, which I got bored of shooting a long time ago.
 

dcll

Banned
I have been searching all over for a deal on the 16-35 f4 IS but no luck, I'm wondering if I should just settle for the 17-40L
 
Last edited:

Imtjnotu

Member
okay guys

these were shot off my A7iii


DSC03479.jpg
 
Last edited:

Chankoras

Member
I have been searching all over for a deal.on the 16-35 f4 IS but no luck, I'm wondering if I should just settle.for.the 17-50L
Canon glass? Seems like is a similar focal range, but not familiar with the quality between them.
I've seen some good deals in Reddit r/photomarket
 

Bo_Hazem

Gold Dealer
unfortunetly my A7Riv files are too large to upload to imgbb lol

You should use our beloved, old flickr. I've been on flickr since 2009 but stopped interacting there since years now, but have like 6500+ geotagged photos there. It can take up to 100MP.
 
Last edited:

Bo_Hazem

Gold Dealer
DJI-0038.jpg


Raw shot by the drone (Phantom 4 Pro), did a quick modification on Polarr app. Didn't correct the lens bend so flat-eathers don't kill me, even though earth is not flat. :lollipop_tears_of_joy:

Location: Jibjat, Mirbat, Dhofar, Oman. This location has seen the last Asiatic cheetahs in the Arabian Peninsula in 1977, sadly.
 
Last edited:

Chankoras

Member
DJI-0038.jpg


Raw shot by the drone (Phantom 4 Pro), did a quick modification on Polarr app. Didn't correct the lens bend so flat-eathers don't kill me, even though earth is not flat. :lollipop_tears_of_joy:

Location: Jibjat, Mirbat, Dhofar, Oman. This location has seen the last Asiatic cheetahs in the Arabian Peninsula in 1977, sadly.
Nice capture, is it difficult to fly those drones?
 

Bo_Hazem

Gold Dealer
Nice capture, is it difficult to fly those drones?

I'm still rookie, yet I've been told by Oman TV that I must have aerial footage with my small documentaries so rushed and got one and flied one after minor basic tips from my friend on the fly in field and started flying. I would say it's easy to start shooting with them but it's kinda hard to master. Still learning:




This was me using sport mode, pretty hard to avoid minor shakes while filming at 4K@60fps instead of 24fps.
 

Chankoras

Member
I'm still rookie, yet I've been told by Oman TV that I must have aerial footage with my small documentaries so rushed and got one and flied one after minor basic tips from my friend on the fly in field and started flying. I would say it's easy to start shooting with them but it's kinda hard to master. Still learning:




This was me using sport mode, pretty hard to avoid minor shakes while filming at 4K@60fps instead of 24fps.

Nice footage, wanted to get one but lately seen more restrictions on where you can fly etc, went to Morocco for holiday, witnessed some other traveler having his drone taken away in customs, despite that, still want to get one.
 

Bo_Hazem

Gold Dealer
Nice footage, wanted to get one but lately seen more restrictions on where you can fly etc, went to Morocco for holiday, witnessed some other traveler having his drone taken away in customs, despite that, still want to get one.

Yeah they're getting restrictive here as well, it can get you up to 10,000 OMR fine ($26,000) and 1 year in jail. That harsh one is mostly for flying it around the airport or above military camps. When you use it in the wild mostly police give a blind eye as plenty are filming in a daily basis without organized licenses so far. KSA did a wonderful job of giving you a license for like 250 Saudi Rials (I think around $63).

Here is one of my early ones:





It was actually dark, just after sunset, had to push the exposure 1+ or 2+, I don't remember.
 

Chankoras

Member
Yeah they're getting restrictive here as well, it can get you up to 10,000 OMR fine ($26,000) and 1 year in jail. That harsh one is mostly for flying it around the airport or above military camps. When you use it in the wild mostly police give a blind eye as plenty are filming in a daily basis without organized licenses so far. KSA did a wonderful job of giving you a license for like 250 Saudi Rials (I think around $63).

Here is one of my early ones:





It was actually dark, just after sunset, had to push the exposure 1+ or 2+, I don't remember.

That's great video, beautiful place!
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
I've been waiting so long for a new a7s III for at least 4K@60fps 8-bit, now they are providing up to 4K@120fps 10-bit 4:2:2 internally and 16-bit externally! A massive jump and an insane camera for birding! Still 12.1 MP but with even better sensitivity.



Looks like a damn fantastic camera. I'm surprised how much effort Sony put into it.

This video does a pretty deep dive and really made me want one.

 

Bo_Hazem

Gold Dealer
Looks like a damn fantastic camera. I'm surprised how much effort Sony put into it.

This video does a pretty deep dive and really made me want one.



It appeals mostly to videographers first, photographers second. I can live with 12MP for photography, but 4K@120fps 10-bit internally opens a new horizon for me, especially for bird videography and slowmo when they fly!
 

Bo_Hazem

Gold Dealer
Some a7s3 footage including low light.


Man, this guy is pure quality, I remember his first version, what a wonderful video it was, and this one just puts it into shame with the dramatic slomo! It's always better to have a hi quality audio recorder in case the 4K@120fps doesn't record sound. This is like a dream come true, an expensive one though but worth every penny.
 

Yams

Member
It appeals mostly to videographers first, photographers second. I can live with 12MP for photography, but 4K@120fps 10-bit internally opens a new horizon for me, especially for bird videography and slowmo when they fly!

Yeah it is very clearly aimed at videographers. It's low light capabilities look amazing but I'd much rather go for something with more resolution, especially because modern cameras already do very well in low light. It's very rare that I shoot anything above 1600 ISO. If I wasn't already bought into the Nikon system I'd definitely consider something from Sony though They put out some great cameras.
 
Last edited:

Bo_Hazem

Gold Dealer
Yeah it is very clearly aimed at videographers. It's low light capabilities look amazing but I'd much rather go for something with more resolution, especially because modern cameras already do very well in low light. It's very rare that I shoot anything above 1600 ISO. If I wasn't already bought into the Nikon system I'd definitely consider something from Sony though They put out some great cameras.

Yup, it's critical for night videography/videography of owls, animals, and when we have bad light during monsoon season with no sun at all and thick layers of clouds. I can see myself doing 100-400K ISO, but it's not for everyone, I would say that a new A7 4 would be more mainstream for most with just 4K@60fps.

To me, this is just a dream, I was dreaming of FX9 camcorder sensor capability and it was spot on. It's 30% photography except if low light is very critical for you, but 70% videography. I still think that a7R mark 4 is the king of photography so far.
 

Yams

Member
I still think that a7R mark 4 is the king of photography so far.

Probably. If we're talking about pure image quality then the Nikon D850 or Z7 get the closest. They use a Sony sensor so it makes sense. Maybe the Canon R5 will pull within reach but I don't think the sensor data is in yet. Apparently it uses a similar sensor as the 1D X Mark III which is very good but doesn't quite have the same dynamic range or colour depth as the three mentioned above. We'll see soon enough.
 
Last edited:

Bo_Hazem

Gold Dealer
Probably. If we're talking about pure image quality then the Nikon D850 or Z7 get the closest. They use a Sony sensor so it makes sense. Maybe the Canon R5 will pull within reach but I don't think the sensor data is in yet. Apparently it uses a similar sensor as the 1D X Mark III which is very good but doesn't quite have the same dynamic range or colour depth as the three mentioned above. We'll see soon enough.

There is a wonderful mode that makes I think 240 megapixel image mode in a7R mark 4 through several image construction, but needs static image with no movement for the best results.
 

Aarbron

Member
Amazing photography

I can't come close to the artistic ability shown here. My own humble contribution. The Gabriela Mistral Nebula (star cluster in the top right corner is NGC3293), observable from southern hemisphere. I have largely mastered the technical aspects of image acquisition. but need to improve in the image processing aspects.

Photo was captured with a ZWO ASI1600MM monochrome camera, using LRGB filters. Telescope used was a small 80mm refactor. Total exposure times was 2hrs approximately.

bpj_QK57RvLQ_1824x0_71V83cc_.jpg
 

Bo_Hazem

Gold Dealer
Amazing photography

I can't come close to the artistic ability shown here. My own humble contribution. The Gabriela Mistral Nebula (star cluster in the top right corner is NGC3293), observable from southern hemisphere. I have largely mastered the technical aspects of image acquisition. but need to improve in the image processing aspects.

Photo was captured with a ZWO ASI1600MM monochrome camera, using LRGB filters. Telescope used was a small 80mm refactor. Total exposure times was 2hrs approximately.

bpj_QK57RvLQ_1824x0_71V83cc_.jpg

That is insanely good! What a diverse thread! Thank you for sharing, I love space!
 

Chankoras

Member
Amazing photography

I can't come close to the artistic ability shown here. My own humble contribution. The Gabriela Mistral Nebula (star cluster in the top right corner is NGC3293), observable from southern hemisphere. I have largely mastered the technical aspects of image acquisition. but need to improve in the image processing aspects.

Photo was captured with a ZWO ASI1600MM monochrome camera, using LRGB filters. Telescope used was a small 80mm refactor. Total exposure times was 2hrs approximately.

bpj_QK57RvLQ_1824x0_71V83cc_.jpg
That very good!
How is the process? Do you have to take separate pictures with each filter? If so what software for image composite?
 

Aarbron

Member
That very good!
How is the process? Do you have to take separate pictures with each filter? If so what software for image composite?

It can get a bit involved but the basic workflow is:

1. Polar align the telescopic mount to the celestial pole (perhaps most important step)
2. Fix on a target - gets easier and easier with practice, especially if step 1 ok.
3. Most setups have a guide scope with small guide camera in addition to the main imaging rig. The guide camera gets calibrated to a guide star.

Most people use PhD2 guiding software. This is remarkable software - it effectively takes over and tracks the star as it moves across the sky. I would do this manually, but in freezing conditions it gets too much :). Age is catching up. Software is for Windows, Mac and Linux PHD2 software

4. To control the main imaging camera - there are a few choices. I change depending on what camera I go with. If I use an SLR (Canon or Nikon) I go with BackyardEOS or BackyardNikon from O'Telescope. Of course, you don't have to use specialised software. I started with stock software that came with my first EOS (or even just use the camera itself with no software!).

If I use my main imaging camera, the ZWO ASI1600MM. I use an awesome application called Sequence Generator Pro. If offers total control over CMOS chip temp (say getting it down to -15C), unity gain, LRGB filter, image focus and so forth.

5. I usually take exposures up to 2min per filter. Usually in the ratio of 3 luminance, 1 Red, 1 Green, 1 Blue. But I tend to experiment there a bit. For a single target I can easily take over 100+ images. Images saved in FITS format.

6. Take all the images and stack (composite) them. There is a lot of software that does this (some excellent free and open source software too), but I stick with one piece of software that is used mainly in astronomy, Pixinsight. It is damn expensive, but they have thankfully stayed off a subscription model. Pixinsight site. If you use just a DSLR, then DeepSkyStacker does an amazing job and is free.

From this point on, I work on stretching the data as much as possible whilst keeping the noise level low. Then follows noise reduction, HDR, removing gradients (a big problem with light pollution :( ), wavelet transforms etc etc. Much of this could be done in Photoshop though too!

Pixinsight is extraordinarily powerful, but sometimes it gets a bit daunting (even though I have been using it for 2years). I've recently stated using Startools. Developed by a local, and way cheaper too. I might switch to it, as it takes out alot of the guess work.
 

Bo_Hazem

Gold Dealer
It can get a bit involved but the basic workflow is:

1. Polar align the telescopic mount to the celestial pole (perhaps most important step)
2. Fix on a target - gets easier and easier with practice, especially if step 1 ok.
3. Most setups have a guide scope with small guide camera in addition to the main imaging rig. The guide camera gets calibrated to a guide star.

Most people use PhD2 guiding software. This is remarkable software - it effectively takes over and tracks the star as it moves across the sky. I would do this manually, but in freezing conditions it gets too much :). Age is catching up. Software is for Windows, Mac and Linux PHD2 software

4. To control the main imaging camera - there are a few choices. I change depending on what camera I go with. If I use an SLR (Canon or Nikon) I go with BackyardEOS or BackyardNikon from O'Telescope. Of course, you don't have to use specialised software. I started with stock software that came with my first EOS (or even just use the camera itself with no software!).

If I use my main imaging camera, the ZWO ASI1600MM. I use an awesome application called Sequence Generator Pro. If offers total control over CMOS chip temp (say getting it down to -15C), unity gain, LRGB filter, image focus and so forth.

5. I usually take exposures up to 2min per filter. Usually in the ratio of 3 luminance, 1 Red, 1 Green, 1 Blue. But I tend to experiment there a bit. For a single target I can easily take over 100+ images. Images saved in FITS format.

6. Take all the images and stack (composite) them. There is a lot of software that does this (some excellent free and open source software too), but I stick with one piece of software that is used mainly in astronomy, Pixinsight. It is damn expensive, but they have thankfully stayed off a subscription model. Pixinsight site. If you use just a DSLR, then DeepSkyStacker does an amazing job and is free.

From this point on, I work on stretching the data as much as possible whilst keeping the noise level low. Then follows noise reduction, HDR, removing gradients (a big problem with light pollution :( ), wavelet transforms etc etc. Much of this could be done in Photoshop though too!

Pixinsight is extraordinarily powerful, but sometimes it gets a bit daunting (even though I have been using it for 2years). I've recently stated using Startools. Developed by a local, and way cheaper too. I might switch to it, as it takes out alot of the guess work.

Man, that's beyond me, but it's wonderful to share such knowledge here! Might one day find it useful and follow your steps ;)
 

Chankoras

Member
It can get a bit involved but the basic workflow is:

1. Polar align the telescopic mount to the celestial pole (perhaps most important step)
2. Fix on a target - gets easier and easier with practice, especially if step 1 ok.
3. Most setups have a guide scope with small guide camera in addition to the main imaging rig. The guide camera gets calibrated to a guide star.

Most people use PhD2 guiding software. This is remarkable software - it effectively takes over and tracks the star as it moves across the sky. I would do this manually, but in freezing conditions it gets too much :). Age is catching up. Software is for Windows, Mac and Linux PHD2 software

4. To control the main imaging camera - there are a few choices. I change depending on what camera I go with. If I use an SLR (Canon or Nikon) I go with BackyardEOS or BackyardNikon from O'Telescope. Of course, you don't have to use specialised software. I started with stock software that came with my first EOS (or even just use the camera itself with no software!).

If I use my main imaging camera, the ZWO ASI1600MM. I use an awesome application called Sequence Generator Pro. If offers total control over CMOS chip temp (say getting it down to -15C), unity gain, LRGB filter, image focus and so forth.

5. I usually take exposures up to 2min per filter. Usually in the ratio of 3 luminance, 1 Red, 1 Green, 1 Blue. But I tend to experiment there a bit. For a single target I can easily take over 100+ images. Images saved in FITS format.

6. Take all the images and stack (composite) them. There is a lot of software that does this (some excellent free and open source software too), but I stick with one piece of software that is used mainly in astronomy, Pixinsight. It is damn expensive, but they have thankfully stayed off a subscription model. Pixinsight site. If you use just a DSLR, then DeepSkyStacker does an amazing job and is free.

From this point on, I work on stretching the data as much as possible whilst keeping the noise level low. Then follows noise reduction, HDR, removing gradients (a big problem with light pollution :( ), wavelet transforms etc etc. Much of this could be done in Photoshop though too!

Pixinsight is extraordinarily powerful, but sometimes it gets a bit daunting (even though I have been using it for 2years). I've recently stated using Startools. Developed by a local, and way cheaper too. I might switch to it, as it takes out alot of the guess work.
Thanks for explaining the process, very cool stuff.
lately I been enjoying false color Hubble palette images, maybe not accurate but interesting.
 
Question for you all: what would you recommend in a laptop for photo editing?

My wife uses a Nikon DSLR, decent Lumix compact and a Go Pro, but currently uses her iPhone for editing and an old Mac Mini for storing and sharing, which is obviously not ideal.

Basically what do I need and what do I want in a laptop for her? I'm thinking up to £2500, but if I can spend less I obviously would prefer to, and I don't need it until next June, for her birthday.
 

Bo_Hazem

Gold Dealer
Question for you all: what would you recommend in a laptop for photo editing?

My wife uses a Nikon DSLR, decent Lumix compact and a Go Pro, but currently uses her iPhone for editing and an old Mac Mini for storing and sharing, which is obviously not ideal.

Basically what do I need and what do I want in a laptop for her? I'm thinking up to £2500, but if I can spend less I obviously would prefer to, and I don't need it until next June, for her birthday.

I doubt you need that much, you might be surprised but you'll be more than happy with an iPad Pro 2020, just check the reviews. I use Polarr, the free version, on my PC, and it can get as cheap as $10-20 for the full version and it's pretty amazing, download it and try it out. And I think Adobe Lightroom is also free on iOS products but you pay for cloud save capacities if you want to.

Also for video I use DaVinci Resolve for free now as I'm only doing 8-bit videography so far and it's free up to 8-bit 4K, but it's pretty heavy on GPU and you need a strong one, $300 for the full version. But guess what? Lumafusion is like $10-20 and it's nearly as capable as Adobe Premiere, DaVinici has some 3D wonders and a bigger program in comparison.

I think an iPad Pro 2020 will make you extremely satisfied, I don't have one yet but getting one for my wife for graphics design on procreate with the pen. I personally use a high-end "gaming" PC as you can easily crunch a video clip, so far tried up to 4K@1200fps and still working good and no lags, crashing, but you can't preview it.
 
Last edited:

Yams

Member
Question for you all: what would you recommend in a laptop for photo editing?

My wife uses a Nikon DSLR, decent Lumix compact and a Go Pro, but currently uses her iPhone for editing and an old Mac Mini for storing and sharing, which is obviously not ideal.

Basically what do I need and what do I want in a laptop for her? I'm thinking up to £2500, but if I can spend less I obviously would prefer to, and I don't need it until next June, for her birthday.

It really depends on where she'd like to go with her photography. Would she move to Lightroom or Photoshop on a laptop? Does she usually just edit a couple photos at a time to throw up on Instagram or does she see herself doing large batch edits?

£2500 is probably more money than you need to spend for simple edits on a couple photos at a time. If she wants to stay in the Apple ecosystem, a base model with a RAM upgrade to 16GB would probably be fine.
 

Bo_Hazem

Gold Dealer
It really depends on where she'd like to go with her photography. Would she move to Lightroom or Photoshop on a laptop? Does she usually just edit a couple photos at a time to throw up on Instagram or does she see herself doing large batch edits?

£2500 is probably more money than you need to spend for simple edits on a couple photos at a time. If she wants to stay in the Apple ecosystem, a base model with a RAM upgrade to 16GB would probably be fine.

I think iPad Pro 2020 is a wonderful, versatile device, you can even make photos with it as well. You can have few accessories at home to make it desktop-like as well:

b3bb3d2496fdc7328842018d20705a77.jpg


The best thing is they went with USB-C now, and you can use any cheap keyboard/mouse through Bluetooth. Apple products are overall overpriced but pretty performant and have cheap apps that make wonders. I'm an android fan myself, never owned an Apple product before but getting it because it's the best for drawing/designing for my wife compared to the beasty Huawei and Samsung tablets. There are even cheap Chinese tablets with Windows 10 if you want with high demand and great user feedback, can suggest some.
 
Last edited:

Yams

Member
I think iPad Pro 2020 is a wonderful, versatile device, you can even make photos with it as well. You can have few accessories at home to make it desktop-like as well:

b3bb3d2496fdc7328842018d20705a77.jpg


The best thing is they went with USB-C now, and you can use any cheap keyboard/mouse through Bluetooth. Apple products are overall overpriced but pretty performant and have cheap apps that make wonders. I'm an android fan myself, never owned an Apple product before but getting it because it's the best for drawing/designing for my wife compared to the beasty Huawei and Samsung tablets. There are even cheap Chinese tablets with Windows 10 if you want with high demand and great user feedback, can suggest some.

For sure. I use an iPad and think they are great products. However, I use Photoshop and Lightroom on a daily basis and wouldn't consider using an iPad for heavy editing or composite work. That's my own bias though because I've always worked off an iMac/PC. It could be the perfect device for many people. It depends on the kind of photography you do.
 
Last edited:

Bo_Hazem

Gold Dealer
For sure. I use an iPad and think they are great products. However, I use Photoshop and Lightroom on a daily basis and wouldn't consider using an iPad for heavy editing or composite work. That's my own bias though because I've always worked off an iMac/PC. It could be the perfect device for many people. It depends on the kind of photography you do.

You should check this out, along with plenty others. I doubt I'll buy another desktop few years from now, but here:





And 4K video editing:





I think it's a wonderful piece and budget friendly. But it's better to see as much reviews as possible for any kind of product.
 

Bo_Hazem

Gold Dealer
Kinda get distracted from the PS5 hype, I'm pretty much in A7S III hype now, haha!

I was doing a shortlist of potential lenses to get, starting from the first then the last:

1-Sony FE 24-240mm F3.5-6.3 OSS: Landscape, multi-purpose lens.
2-Sony FE 200–600mm F5.6–6.3 G OSS: Birds, animals, and general telephoto purposes. It can do some decent semi-macro for flowers and tree branches, photo/filimg distant waterfalls and other interesting aspects.
3-Sony FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS: Insects, flowers and fruits, portrait, and some potential commercial usage with it.
4-Venus Optics Laowa 24mm f/14 Probe Lens: A very interesting lens that can open some creativity.

Most important aspect of my photography: Fauna, flora, and nature in general. Commercial usage could help get some extra money as well but still so much ahead to be a pro. Gonna do some night photos/videos for some shy animals like genets, owls, etc.

Any thoughts?
 
Top Bottom