Pulled the trigger on a new camera

rdrr

rdrr

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I have been very envious of some of the shots on the photo of the day, so I did a lot of research, back and forth, and finally decided on pulling the trigger. Expensive hobby is what I am finding, but I soften the blow with a minimal (~$300 off) "Black Friday" sale, and cashing in some gift cards. After getting talking it over with the SO, I finally pulled the trigger on a Sony a7 IV with the base lens package. Bought a few accessories including an official Sony battery with charing pad, K&F filter and screen protector, and obviously a memory card. Going to have to ask for a carrying case and other 3rd party batteries for Christmas.

Cannot wait to get the camera, and start playing with it. Hopefully with time, I'll be able to get close to some of you good folks on this site.

Edit: Also hoping the new hobby will distract me through the next 4 years.
 
Congratulations on your new A7IV! I hope you will enjoy learning to use it and have fun throughout the process! :)

One thing which I know saved my sanity throughout the whole pandemic thing was my beloved Sony A7R IV, which I had bought a few months before the whole pandemic struck. Yes, definitely photography is a way of distracting us and keeping us busy and preoccupied even as things are not good around us.....
 
rdrr said:
I have been very envious of some of the shots on the photo of the day, so I did a lot of research, back and forth, and finally decided on pulling the trigger. Expensive hobby is what I am finding, but I soften the blow with a minimal (~$300 off) "Black Friday" sale, and cashing in some gift cards. After getting talking it over with the SO, I finally pulled the trigger on a Sony a7 IV with the base lens package. Bought a few accessories including an official Sony battery with charing pad, K&F filter and screen protector, and obviously a memory card. Going to have to ask for a carrying case and other 3rd party batteries for Christmas.

Cannot wait to get the camera, and start playing with it. Hopefully with time, I'll be able to get close to some of you good folks on this site.

Edit: Also hoping the new hobby will distract me through the next 4 years.
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Congratulations! It's a great camera. What sort of stuff are you going to be shooting?
 
rdrr said:
I have been very envious of some of the shots on the photo of the day, so I did a lot of research, back and forth, and finally decided on pulling the trigger. Expensive hobby is what I am finding, but I soften the blow with a minimal (~$300 off) "Black Friday" sale, and cashing in some gift cards. After getting talking it over with the SO, I finally pulled the trigger on a Sony a7 IV with the base lens package. Bought a few accessories including an official Sony battery with charing pad, K&F filter and screen protector, and obviously a memory card. Going to have to ask for a carrying case and other 3rd party batteries for Christmas.

Cannot wait to get the camera, and start playing with it. Hopefully with time, I'll be able to get close to some of you good folks on this site.

Edit: Also hoping the new hobby will distract me through the next 4 years.
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great camera! At some point I’d suggest the 24-70 f2.8 gmii if you can find it cheap enough at some point. Keh.com, adorama, or b&h sometimes have it used. Best all-around lens, IMO. (Not sure what the base lens you got was).

I just ordered its baby brother, an RX100vii. Handing down my RX100vi to my daughter for her birthday now that she’s started to really use a camera, to replace the RX100ii I previously handed down to her.
 
Cmaier said:
great camera! At some point I’d suggest the 24-70 f2.8 gmii if you can find it cheap enough at some point. Keh.com, adorama, or b&h sometimes have it used. Best all-around lens, IMO. (Not sure what the base lens you got was).

I just ordered its baby brother, an RX100vii. Handing down my RX100vi to my daughter for her birthday now that she’s started to really use a camera, to replace the RX100ii I previously handed down to her.
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This lens pretty much lives on both of my Sony cameras.
 
Eric said:
Congratulations! It's a great camera. What sort of stuff are you going to be shooting?
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Eventually I would like to do some astro photography, but I will need a better lens, tripod and sky tracker kit. Until I will have the option to capture the Boston Skyline from a few local advantage points, and the SO bought me one of those "where are we going" mystery road trip packages for my birthday.

Cmaier said:
great camera! At some point I’d suggest the 24-70 f2.8 gmii if you can find it cheap enough at some point. Keh.com, adorama, or b&h sometimes have it used. Best all-around lens, IMO. (Not sure what the base lens you got was).

I just ordered its baby brother, an RX100vii. Handing down my RX100vi to my daughter for her birthday now that she’s started to really use a camera, to replace the RX100ii I previously handed down to her.
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I believe the base lens that came with body was a Sony 28 - 70 F/3.5-5.6. I know its a lower end lens, but I had a price point to fit within. It'll be good enough for now, and then maybe I can invest (a.k.a sneak) in a newer lens at some point.

Herdfan said:
At least now you don’t have to pay for film and developing. 😉
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Man you are just as vintage, as I am. Do you remember the Photomat shacks? My SO worked in one of those as a young mother.
 
rdrr said:
Man you are just as vintage, as I am. Do you remember the Photomat shacks? My SO worked in one of those as a young mother.
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Only from TV and movies. We never had one but I do know what they are. 😊
 
rdrr said:
Going to have to ask for a carrying case and other 3rd party batteries for Christmas.
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If you also happen to be looking at camera bags, you might want to consider those from ThinkTank. They're really excellent being designed by San Francisco Bay Area photojournalists. They're a little pricey, but are well made, very comfortable with loads of thoughtful features, offer good protection, and are easy to access your gear. I hate bags that make it a challenge to get your stuff out.

I have three of them, in different sizes, in their Retrospective series of bags (Retrospective 4, 5, and 7) for different uses and cameras. In addition to camera/lenses/batteries/SDcards, I also carry notebooks, pens/pencils, etc. I also carry a bunch of 4x6 prints I can show people I hit up on the streets for a portrait and conversation. I've owned a lot of bags over the years, and these are the best for my needs.

I also like that they don't scream "camera bag" when I'm out and about making photos in San Francisco. And that they'll last a lifetime.
 
Citysnaps said:
If you also happen to be looking at camera bags, you might want to consider those from ThinkTank. They're really excellent being designed by San Francisco Bay Area photojournalists. They're a little pricey, but are well made, very comfortable with loads of thoughtful features, offer good protection, and are easy to access your gear. I hate bags that make it a challenge to get your stuff out.

I have three of them, in different sizes, in their Retrospective series of bags (Retrospective 4, 5, and 7) for different uses and cameras. In addition to camera/lenses/batteries/SDcards, I also carry notebooks, pens/pencils, etc. I also carry a bunch of 4x6 prints I can show people I hit up on the streets for a portrait and conversation. I've owned a lot of bags over the years, and these are the best for my needs.

I also like that they don't scream "camera bag" when I'm out and about making photos in San Francisco. And that they'll last a lifetime.
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Thanks! Looking at the Retrospective 7 v2.0. Too bad it isn't in the Black Friday sale.
 
Citysnaps said:
You might check B&H Photo. They carry ThinkTank.
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Thank you for the suggestion, I ended up pulling the trigger on a Retrospective 5. Although I wanted the 7 at first, they didn't have it in the pine color and black just seems to look too much like a camera bag IMO, and if I am honest I don't need the 7 at first. I don't have any extra lenses to carry around (yet).
 
Anyone have pros/cons of the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN II Art Lens vs putting down an additional $1k for the Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II?
 
rdrr said:
Anyone have pros/cons of the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN II Art Lens vs putting down an additional $1k for the Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II?
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I haven’t used the sigma, but i”ve heard a few things. I’m told the corners aren’t as sharp, and that dust accumulates in the front element. I think sigma redesigned the seals, so newer units may be fine. And of course the sigma weighs a bit more. That said, most people seem pretty happy with the sigma, and I imagine it’s doubtful that the price difference is worth it based purely on image quality or 40-or-so grams.
 
Cmaier said:
I haven’t used the sigma, but i”ve heard a few things. I’m told the corners aren’t as sharp, and that dust accumulates in the front element. I think sigma redesigned the seals, so newer units may be fine. And of course the sigma weighs a bit more. That said, most people seem pretty happy with the sigma, and I imagine it’s doubtful that the price difference is worth it based purely on image quality or 40-or-so grams.
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Yeah I saw a video and they did complain a bit about the corners. I am not sure I can convince the SO that the corner difference is worth $1000, since I am not going to be making money with my hobby. More likely it will continue to cost more and more, unless... @Eric wants to add a 💰like button, then I can tell her I made 5 💰today from my Photo of the Day.
 
rdrr said:
No... I don't need it. ☹️

I do need to make a decision before Jan 20th 2025 and not regret it.
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The way I see the it is the benefits are mostly size and weight, which are really not that big of a deal with this scale of a lens anyway. If it's going to be mostly stationary or on a tripod anyway then there's really no need to spend all that extra money IMO.
 
Eric said:
The way I see the it is the benefits are mostly size and weight, which are really not that big of a deal with this scale of a lens anyway. If it's going to be mostly stationary or on a tripod anyway then there's really no need to spend all that extra money IMO.
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For sure. I carry mine around and use it as my default “travel” lens, so the weight was a big deal for me. Straps kill my back, so I use a spider clip on my belt. Works great. (I tried the peak clip, too, but didn’t like it as much. can’t remember why.)
 

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